Wind’s demeanour changed all of a sudden. “You need to leave!” He dashed past Musnuf, grabbed a few of the essence recovery potions and threw them into a cauldron of his. There was a potion brewing in there beforehand. This would ruin it.

“What’s going on?”

“I said, you need to leave.” Wind rubbed his face with both of his hands over and over. “Things are too clean here.”

Wind started pushing Musnuf out to the back of the courtyard, away from the entrance. “Listen, I’ll give you any art you want but you have to do something for me. There’s a cropping out there. Go down and act like you’re collecting herbs. Don’t hide. She’ll be able to sense you.”

Musnuf just nodded. He wanted no part in whatever this was but Wind was teaching him potion brewing for no cost. He hadn’t even demanded any ingredients from him. Musnuf couldn’t place his personality but he did owe him.

Wind saw Musnuf’s back descending down the mountain and sighed. He took another swig of his flask and looked around. Two of Musnuf’s potions were still lying around. He scrambled over and bent down to pick them up but it was too late.

He heard someone landing down on the ground behind. He straightened his back and slipped the potions into his robe with a calm ease.

He turned around and it was Elder Rain. Some part of him relaxed. She wasn’t as intrusive with her divine sense. She seemed mindful of him at the least. “What do you want?”

“I was hoping to just come in, see how you’re doing.” Wind scanned that face. The little crow’s feet around her eyes, the sharp eyes that were too observant for their own good and the soft nose.

She made eye-contact and he pulled his eyes away. There was a chair placed behind and he slumped into his chair, exaggerating his movements to distract her. He turned to the table and paused. He’d left a bottle of booze. It must’ve been that disciple.

Sword Rain sat down on a chair as well. Both of them looked off into the courtyard. There was a time when the talking was endless. He could see himself out there in the courtyard. That boy was gone and he’d left him with a bottle. Most of what he loved was gone as well.

“Just finished up the examination for the outer disciples.”

“How did it go?”

“I let Clever organize it.”

He smiled, “How did that go?”

“This girl, Snow Gem, came in and swept the competition away. She reminded me of…” Rain let the sentences trail away. That pitch perfect accuracy of word and thought she relied on was gone. “She was foolish. I don’t know if it was greed or pure hubris but she alienated half of her fellow disciples. Well, almost all of them.”

Wind took a swig. He did it out of spite. He knew on some level, Rain blamed herself and he wanted her to feel it. “How so?”

Rain didn’t want to go into the whole examination process and decided to summarize it. “She made a deal with the disciples to split the prize with them, if they let her win. They agreed and then she reneged on it. Made one with the strongest disciple and asked her for a duel. It was a mess, she managed to unite the other disciples in their hatred for her. She’s a fool.”

Wind smiled, he hadn’t considered her in that light. It was like one of those odd artifacts that changed shape in the sunlight. “Yet, you’re talking about her.”

Rain smiled at that and silence lapsed between them. There was something Rain wasn’t addressing her and Wind knew it. He knew her that much at the least.

“Say it now. How long do I have to wait for it?”

“The…” Sword Rain sighed. “The patriarch is waking up tomorrow. He wants you there when he comes out of seclusion.”

Wind just hung his head down. “You can leave now.”

Sword Rain just sat there for a few seconds, hesitating on what to do. She got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Wind brushed it off. “Fuck off now. I don’t need your sympathy.”

Sword Rain picked her hand up and a chain dropped down from the skies. She was strong enough to fly but this was faster. She grasped the chain and started climbing up. Her arms rippled with muscles.

Wind waited for a while. Then he remembered Snow Gem and walked back out again. He did a quick scan with his divine sense and found her.

He descended the hill and came upon her. Her left arm was covered in blood and a leopard was at her feet. It was a small one but she’d slayed it nonetheless, with a brutal ease. She reminds me of him too.

“You should take out its core.” She flinched and turned around to give him a death stare. Wind laughed. “You need to stop doing that!”

She carved out its core, wiped it off and placed it in her inner pocket. It was beside the webnovel.

“Let’s get you an art. I don’t have that many. My focus is on brewing and alchemy. I have maybe four or five. Why do you want them? The Green Dragon Mantra should be your main focus.”

“It is, it’s just that I need something more. I won first place because of an art I learned on the side.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not telling you, it's my trump card.”

Wind smiled. He was ignoring the churning pit of dread coiling around in his stomach.

They walked back into the library and Wind rummaged under one of the shelves. He found an old box and dumped three old scrolls on the table.

“You can go through them. Just be careful with whatever you learn. Don’t deviate your essence with these new toys.” Wind tapped the scrolls and left the room.

Musnuf plopped down on the ground and started reading. He was more than excited.