66 Getting A Disciple

Staring at Lu Gang with thought, Duan Guiren asked, "Gege, if I say yes, do I have to leave you?"

"No," Bai Shuixian answered before Lu Gang could. "If you say yes, I'll bring you to the village with me, including your brother. The air there is better and the people are not scary like the ones here."

"Is that true?" Duan Guiren continued to ask with gleaming eyes full of expectations.

Squatting down to the level of Duan Guiren, Bai Shuixian said, "Yes."

"But… But you get nothing if you become my master," Duan Guiren stammered out with nervous eyes.

Laughing at the nervousness that suddenly appeared in Duan Guiren, Bai Shuixian explained, "Xiao Ren, not all people in the world do something for their own benefits. Sometimes, people do things merely because fate brought them together. Sometimes, people do things because they feel like it."

"Are there really such people?" Duan Guiren asked with curious eyes.

Nodding, Bai Shuixian said, "Yes. You can ask your brother. As he's old, he can tell you his personal experiences."

Shaking his head, Lu Gang commented, "I would rather not remember those people. Haha… I haven't experienced anything good after my family died…"

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Bai Shuixian recited as she stood up with her back to Lu Gang. "Take this to heart. Remember that the person standing at the finish line is the winner of the race."

Hearing those inspirational words from Bai Shuixian, Duan Guiren immediately answered to the question that Lu Gang posed, "Bai-jiejie, I'm willing to accept you as my master!"

At the bright tone of Duan Guiren, Bai Shuixian patted his little head and said with a smile, "Little boy, from now on you have to address me as master. Not jiejie."

"Eh? Hm… Alright… Master…" Duan Guiren shyly called out.

With such a tiny voice, Bai Shuixian could still hear it and so could Lu Gang, but she teased, "Saying it so quietly, how is your master supposed to hear you?"

Duan Guiren instantly blushed at the teasing of Bai Shuixian and stammered, "M-master…"

Continuing to pat the soft hair of Duan Guiren, Bai Shuixian said, "I am teasing you. No matter how quietly you call out master, I'll always hear you. So… Xiao Ren, if ever one day you are suffering and need someone to protect you, just whisper master. Alright?"

"Really?" Duan Guiren asked as his eyes lighted up immediately.

"Yes. The abilities of your master are not so low that she cannot hear when you call her name, or when you need help," Bai Shuixian stated. "Alright, Xiao Ren, help me carry this bag, please?"

Seeing the small royal purple bag handed to him, Duan Guiren happily took the bag and responded, "Yes, Master!"

"Lu Gang, I'll help carry you to the village," Bai Shuixian told him.

Shaking his head, Lu Gang rejected, "Ah, no need. I can walk by myself."

"Conserve your energy. The walk is far and with your nimble strength, it would not be enough to carry you to the mountain in which I live at," Bai Shuixian said.

Being persuaded, Lu Gang sighed and relented, "If I was not too weak, I would not have to ask for your help despite knowing your small size."

Hearing that comment, Bai Shuixian let out a small chuckle before saying, "Do not judge a book by its cover."

Confused as to why Bai Shuixian would say that, Lu Gang did not expect the immense strength of her carrying him at all. In fact, he did not even have to get up from the dining chair before she already grabbed him and leaned him onto her shoulder. As soon as she did that, she started walking at a quick pace, but not too fast or else Duan Guiren would not be able to catch up with his tiny legs.

"Y-you… Are you even human?" Lu Gang asked with shocked eyes.

"Who knows. I only know that this physical strength did not come from me," Bai Shuixian replied.

Lu Gang became even more confused and shocked at her reply. It left him completely speechless and he did not know how to continue the conversation. If there was one thing he learned about females in his years of working for or with them, it was that they held grudges.

Walking through the streets of the town, most people had already gone home. However, there were still a few people that were out and about doing private or public businesses. It was those people that stared at Bai Shuixian and Lu Gang weirdly upon seeing that almost his entire weight was on her.

Feeling the stares of the strangers, Lu Gang blushed and asked, "C-can I just walk by myself in town? Uh… Maybe even while we are traveling to the village?"

"Hm… It is quite annoying to receive all those stares," Bai Shuixian blankly said.

"Right, right, so how about letting me walk on my own?" Lu Gang continued to insist.

Completely ignoring the request of Lu Gang, Bai Shuixian asked, "Say… Have you ever used qinggong before?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Lu Gang asked with a raised brow though he knew she would not see it.

"Nothing," Bai Shuixian immediately replied, but paused her walking speed and stood at the middle of the street, not walking.

"You… Why did you stop walking? Is something wrong?" Lu Gang asked with a frown, knowing that even if this was only a town, lots of horrible things happened behind the scenes.

"Nothing is wrong with us. Of course, there is something wrong somewhere in the alleys, but it's none of our business," Bai Shuixian answered, allowing Lu Gang to breathe a sigh of relief. "Xiao Ren, do you want to fly?"

Hearing his name called out, Duan Guiren asked, "Master, isn't it impossible to fly as a human? Only immortals can fly."

His response brought a light out of her eyes and she said, "It's impossible to fly, but it doesn't mean that we can't imitate it. Come, climb on my back."

Saying so, Bai Shuixian squatted down as she waited for Duan Guiren to climb onto her back that was half occupied by the weight of Lu Gang. Still holding onto the purple bag she gave him, he climbed on her back with complete trust that she would adjust the position of his brother into a different one in order to make sure they could occupy her back and shoulders. When he was stable, she stood up and tightly held onto the person that she was forcing to lean onto her shoulder.

With a single quick jump, Bai Shuixian landed on the roofs and the eyes of both brothers instinctively closed. As she continued, she did not say anything as she felt that there were no beautiful sights to see in town. Only when they were out of the town did she finally slow down her speed of jumping and running, allowing the brothers to finally be able to open their eyes and not cry from the cold wind scratching their face.

"Looking at the world from above, how do you guys feel?" Bai Shuixian asked when she jumped onto the very thin top branches of a tree, planning to jump onto another.

Excited, Duan Guiren answered while laughing, "It's so beautiful! Master, is this flying? It's so fun!"

On the other hand, Lu Gang answered, "I feel like I'm going to puke."

At the weak response of Lu Gang, Bai Shuixian smiled and said, "Don't puke on me. It took them a long time to make this robe for me."

"Don't worry. I would never puke on your robe," Lu Gang immediately said upon hearing her joke. "They're too expensive. I don't want to be forced to pay for something I can't afford to dirty."

Enlarging her smile, Bai Shuixian said, "I'm merely joking. You can throw up if you want to. I have more than one set of robes that are white."

"Ah, you are too mean," Lu Gang muttered while feeling dizzy.

"I only behave this way towards people that are close to me. Be happy. Besides, I'm only joking about this because I know you won't be dying," Bai Shuixian explained. "If you were in terrible health, I would never have carried you while using qinggong."

"I find qinggong amazing. It's a pity that I'll never be able to learn it," Lu Gang sullenly commented.

"You are still young. You have lots of time to learn.The things that I'll teach Xiao Ren, you can also learn at the same time," Bai Shuixian said.

"Really?" Lu Gang asked, uncertain whether her words merely to cheer him up or truth for they seemed too imaginary.

"I never speak lies," Bai Shuixian said as she continued jumping on trees and running even after they passed the entrance of the village, distracting Duan Guiren and Lu Gang. "Even my jokes are not lies."

With a nervous and tiny laugh, Lu Gang mumbled under his breath, "If your jokes are not lies, you are too scary."

"I don't know if I'm scary or not. I have not interacted with enough humans to know if I'm insane or sane," Bai Shuixian commented upon hearing the mumbling words that Lu Gang said.

Lu Gang wanted to continue mumbling more, but then when he heard what Bai Shuixian said, he knew that she would be able to hear everything even with the wind obstructing most sound, so he instead asked Duan Guiren, "Xiao Ren, are you excited to see Lady Bai's home?"

Just before Duan Guiren could answer though, Bai Shuixian paused in front of a gigantic tree and announced, "We're here."