Chapter 4: A Master's Betrayal.

"How old are you exactly?" Feng Yuan asked with an inquisitive look.

"Sixteen."

"Then why hasn't Master Chen sent you down the mountain yet?"

"I'm the last disciple of course my master can't bear to send me away,"Han Shuo said smiling proudly.

"Those that we think care about us or we trust the most turn out to be the biggest traitors,"Feng Yuan smiled wistfully.

"My Shifu isn't like that."

"Do you usually go back to Taihua Peak immediately you leave the palace?"

"Yes but today my Shifu gave me some money so I'm going to spoil myself with it,"Han Shuo said delightedly.

"How lucky you are,"Feng Yuan remarked sarcastically.

"You don't have to envy me. Don't you always get thousands of silver taels as allowance?"

"But I don't usually celebrate about it like you."

"I just love appreciating the little things I get."

As planned, immediately Han Shuo left the palace,he went to eat in one of the famous restaurants. Considering the amount of money he had,he ordered only the expensive dishes especially meat dishes. He hastily munched on the pieces of meat like the world was going to stop soon.After a nice meal,he strolled around the market buying snacks and eating them instantly. By the time he started walking back to Taihua Peak ,the sun had already sunk below the horizon and the earth had been twilit.

The Sect gate was already locked which seemed unusual. Master Chen wouldn't lock the gate till Han Shuo returned. Or maybe it was his master's way of punishing him for being late.

"I think I have a spare key in my medical kit,"Han Shuo smirked proudly as he opened his medical kit rummaging through the contents inside to look for the key. When he found the key,he tried opening the padlock but it didn't work.

"Did Shifu change the padlock?"

As Han Shuo arranged his medical kit,he came across a note bearing his master's handwriting.

"Live well,my disciple,"he read out aloud.

Realization then dawned on him that his master had already sent him away. He had witnessed his elder sect brothers being sent away but he didn't expect his turn to come so soon. Feeling betrayed,tears welled up in his eyes as he turned around and descended the mountain.

He had already squandered all his money and didn't have anywhere to go . None of his sect brothers lived nearby and he didn't have friends neither would he afford to stay at an inn even for a night. His instincts led him to the palace, Red Sun Hall to be precise.

"Come in,"Feng Yuan said as he heard a knock at the door.

Han Shuo walked in still weeping. He wiped the tears off his face the moment he noticed Feng Yuan's gaze on him.

"What in the world made you weep so bitterly?"Feng Yuan asked in a slightly scornful tone.

"I'm not crying,"he denied.

"Come over here," Feng Yuan said in an endearing voice.

Han Shuo walked over and sat on the floor near Feng Yuan's bed with his back leaning against the bed and hung his head in sadness.

"You were right. The people that we trust the most are usually the biggest traitors,"Han Shuo sniffed.

"Did your Shifu send you away?"

"Yes. I was stupid to think he would give me so much pocket money to spend it on food .I had nowhere to go so I came here I will leave tomorrow."

"Fine... Actually my Shifu did worse to me than your Shifu."

"What did he do to you? Is it worse than mine?"

"He used to make me run along muddy lanes at night ,leap over ten trees at a time. He even flew with me to tops of trees and asked me to fly down by myself just to train my qinggong. The trees were huge with wide trunks so it was hard to even climb down."

"Are masters allowed to do that to members of the royal family?"

"My father gave him full authority over me and I also didn't complain because I was the one who wanted to learn martial arts."

There was a slight lull in their conversation and the door was knocked and two palace maids walked in carrying trays of food,placed them on the table and left.

"Serve the food,"Feng Yuan instructed.

The following day after attending to Feng Yuan's daily treatment,Han Shuo decided to leave to find a place for himself. He walked around different pharmacies asking if they wanted to employ an extra doctor but none of them was ready to offer him a job. They thought he was some scammer pretending to know medicine. No one knew him or ever heard of him. Even if he mentioned he was Chen Minghao's disciple they still weren't moved by that . How cruel the world was ,only the well connected were able to live well. He was just an innocent naive kid who spent most of his life relying on his Shifu and didn't have real life experience.

Although he wasn't used to Feng Yuan's overbearing nature,he still had to go back. Feng Yuan was the only one he could rely on.

"My dear, you're back,"Feng Yuan said in a tone full of total ridicule.

"Can I borrow some money from you and I will pay you back at the end of the month?"

"Sure,"Feng Yuan said smiling mischievously.

"Then can I borrow fifty silver taels?"

"I will charge an interest of five percent every week till you pay back the money."

"Huh? An interest of five percent?"Han Shuo's eyes widened in shock.

"I have a more advantageous offer."

Feng Yuan pointed at sets of packed clothes laid carefully on the table.

"When did you buy all these?"

"They are for you."

"Me? Didn't I tell you I don't like white clothes? I don't want people to think I'm mourning."

"Why do you care about what other people think?"

The offer was for Han Shuo to be his personal doctor and live at the palace rent free and he will receive his salary after every fifteen days. Also he had to run a few errands for Feng Yuan.

"I'm a doctor not an errand boy!"Han Shuo uttered in anger offended by Feng Yuan's words.

"Fine. I will modify it. You won't run any errands but I will have to deduct the rent from your salary."

"Fine. Why don't you have a personal attendant by the way?

"When I started going to war I gave him capital to start a business because I wasn't sure what would happen to me at war and I didn't want him to end up suffering at the palace without me."

"You're so considerate."

"Then do you want to become my personal attendant ?"

"No!No!.I would rather be the devil's henchman than be your attendant,"Han Shuo said with strong emphasis.

"Take the clothes and go pick a room of your choice."

Han Shuo took the clothes and left. Feng Yuan then resumed reading the book he had been currently reading