Time passed. Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. A month came and left. The female cultivator with experience in jadeworking sat happily under the trees, carving away with no need for a forge. Of the other cultivators, three of them had obtained forges of their own, and another two were on the verge of a breakthrough, most notably Hong Lu. Song Wei, the black lotus, struggled with his technique, and at the end of the month, he still failed to obtain the qualifications to cast his forge.

Hui put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. Hmm… well, if he’s cannon fodder instead of a true black lotus, then that’s fine. That resolves all my Song Wei-associated problems! But I can’t discount him yet. Isn’t it common for a black lotus to get trod all over in the first act, with slow cultivation speed and all the typical signs of a butt-monkey protagonist, only to turn around and massacre in the second? I’m willing to lose Hong Lu, but I’m not willing to lose my own little life!

Turning back to the forge, Hui raised his hammer again and brought it down. He lifted the piece of metal and nodded to himself. Well, that is certainly… an edged piece of metal! It might be a bit rude to call it a sword, but it wouldn’t be wrong, either.

He sliced the air. The prototype sword’s edge glowed faintly as a fire spell heated it from within. It isn’t everything I wanted, but it isn’t nothing, either. A good start. At last, I’ve begun to comprehend the mysteries of forging!

Pausing, Hui glanced around, then sliced the glowing sword a few more times, pausing to strike a few famous poses along the way. The sword’s edge glowed faithfully, a bright red. Aloud, he hummed, “Vrmmm… vrmmmmmm… vRMMMmmm…”

Ying Lin peeked inside. “Master—”

Hui froze, glowing saber in hand. Slowly, he peered over his shoulder at Ying Lin.

Ying Lin backed up. “Is it a bad time? I can come back later, Master…”

“No, no. Come in. Your Master was just… practicing a few basic sword forms,” Hui said, quickly setting the sword down. No longer swung, it quickly faded to its usual dull grey.

Ying Lin tilted her head. “Then, the humming…?”

“An incantation, an incantation! Yes. Don’t worry yourself over it, Ying Lin. It’s all very high-realm magic,” Hui said seriously.

Nodding, Ying Lin beamed. “Yes!”

See? That’s what a proper disciple should say. Hui straightened and brushed down his robes. “So, Ying Lin, how can I help you?”

“Mmm. I just came to see how Master was doing. You’re making good progress!” she said, looking at the sword on the ground.

“I’m making progress, anyways,” Hui half-agreed. It’s not like I’m marching in place, but neither am I advancing by leaps and bounds. I’m progressing very normally. “How about you, Ying Lin?”

“Progressing well. I think I’ve nearly mastered the Seven Steps,” Ying Lin said.

Hui blinked. “It took that long?”

“Master, it’s only been a month or so,” Ying Lin returned.

Ah… that’s right. To master a sword technique in a month is already insane. It’s only because Ying Lin’s progress is so crazily fast that taking a month or so to master something seems long. Hui waved his hand. “Never mind, never mind. Ah, I was mistaken. Ying Lin, your progress is already fantastic. There’s no need to worry about making it any faster.”

Ying Lin nodded. “Yes!”

Hui looked at the prototype sword and shook his head. “I need to keep practicing. This isn’t nearly enough.”

“Master has a lot of work to do,” Ying Lin commented.

“That’s right, that’s right. And Rogue has gone missing, too…” Hui sighed. I don’t think he’s died, but to have one fewer clone working on this… it’s already a massive setback when we only had four left in the first place.

Well, five, but First is…

At this rate, how long will it be before we’re ready? We only have ten years before the souls degrade. We can’t take forever. I’m already…

Ying Lin put a hand on his shoulder. “Master?”

Hui looked up. “I miss when it was easy, and all I had to do was play dead sometimes.”

“Mmm. Life isn’t often easy,” Ying Lin mused.

Ah, that’s right. Ying Lin was a servant girl back before I picked her up. Her life wasn’t the easiest. She couldn’t even read, at first. Hui straightened up and nodded, taking up the hammer again. He waved his hand, summoning a piece of medium-grade ore to the forge. “Here I go.”

“Master, excuse me. I’d like to use the forge,” a familiar voice announced.

Hui turned. A handsome young man stood in the doorway, pure and clean as always. Ah, it’s that damn black lotus, Song Wei. Figures he’d show up at a moment where I was pissed off and looking for something to vent my shitty feelings on. Hui hefted his hammer, then grabbed the ore and nodded. “Go on.”

I refuse to fall into the black lotus’ trap! Choose someone else as your future punching bag. This Hui will neatly back off and let you have your way rather than facing off against you and turning into your future victimization parade! Ah, yes, yes, I can see it. ‘This Song Wei was bullied by everyone, that vicious Hong Lu, the horrible Xing Huang…” as he leads his harem-army to stomp us into the ashes of the peak! That’s how these stories always end! This small Hui knows it. How many novels did I read like that? It was all fun and satisfying when I was simply reading it, but in the moment… I know better than to fall into that pattern!

Hmm, it’s simply a footnote, but… my decision to not use my true name sounds better and better by the moment!

Song Wei started, looking at Hui. “E…eh?”

“Do you not want it?” Hui asked, tilting his head.

“No, disciple wants it. I simply… thought… Master didn’t like me,” Song Wei said.

“That victimization complex of yours, you really need to fix it!” Hui said, shaking his head. “Does it matter if I like you or not? You’re my disciple. Naturally, I want you to grow stronger and reach your full potential.”

Song Wei blinked, confused. “But… if Master didn’t like me, you should—”

“Should or shouldn’t, ptui! Do you want the forge or not?” Hui asked.

“Want it, obviously want it!” Song Wei said, nodding.

“So take it!” Hui said, shaking his head. Stop making yourself a victim and get the damn job done!

Song Wei stepped forward hesitantly. He glanced at Hui a few times as he approached the forge, clearly nervous. Carefully, he set out a few ores, glancing at Hui between each one.

Hui sighed. “Song Wei, what are you being so careful for?”

“Master warned me that people might take my ores,” Song Wei said, glancing down.

How advanced is your victim disease? Hui rolled his eyes. “If I wanted your ores, do you think being careful would stop me?”

“No…” Song Wei allowed.

“Do you think I’m the kind of villain who runs around stealing disciples’ ores, when I’m the one who handed them out to you in the first place?” Hui asked.

“But, but Master…”

“But nothing! Even the one time I took your precious ore, what happened? I handed it back to you! Song Wei, you can’t think that the whole world is out to get you. I mean, well, you can, and it is, but there’s a limit to being paranoid, okay?

“You’re the kind to start turning that paranoia into hatred, and sitting on that hatred that you yourself sowed to the point that you think it’s righteous to unilaterally go on the attack because of that hatred. I truly want nothing but the best for you, so stop acting like a wounded tiger and get to work!” Hui demanded. He shook his head. I’m putting way too much effort into this one disciple of mine. This troublesome black lotus… at this rate, the other disciples are going to end up jealous of Song Wei, while Song Wei brews murderous intent inside his heart!

Bah! I really do want the best for you. The best… for the you who ends up crafting magical items! Quickly level up and become a powerful money-tree for me, alright?

Taken aback, Song Wei blinked. “A wounded tiger…” He clenched his hands.

Oh, come on! You can’t hold that against me, too! Sighing, Hui opened his mouth.

Before he could, Song Wei nodded to himself. Under his breath, he murmured, “Master… has faith in me. Master has faith!”

His eyes shone. Song Wei clenched his hand and strode forward, his shoulders squared for the first time. “I’ll live up to your faith, Master!”

Eh. I know I was just complaining about it, but is that really all it took to flip the black lotus back to white lotus mode? Suspicious, very suspicious. Hui tapped his chin for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Song Wei’s back, then shrugged. Oh well. It’s convenient. It’ll be even more convenient if I never have to think about Song Wei again, and he becomes just another forge worker!

“Yes, that’s right. Master believes in you. Go, go, work hard!” Hui said, waving his hand as he walked out the door. I’ll go slack off and snack—ahem, work hard at comprehending manuals and regenerating qi with spirit fruits while he works.

Song Wei’s eyes burned with vigor. He fed one ore after another into the light of the fire. As the fire grew hotter, so too did the flames in his heart. No one’s ever believed in me before. No one’s ever taken my side. For once… could it be? “I have to live up to Master’s belief in me!”