82 Beatrice's Mother

Sylvie had been the first one to react to Yeon collapsing. Even as the solar eclipse was happening, her attention had been mostly on Yeon.

The eclipse was now ending, and it was getting brighter.

Sylvie shielded Yeon from the other girls, hiding him between her thin arms.

Emily and Mia quickly approached him, but they were stopped by Sylvie's fierce glare.

They didn't act rashly as they could see that Yeon was still breathing.

"Maybe she doesn't trust us enough…" Mia said concernedly.

"Sylvie, you have to let us check on him. Now," Emily said, unabated by Sylvie's resistance.

Sylvie turned to Elsher.

"You…" she called out in an icy voice.

"I have a name, slave. I would have killed you for your rudeness if not for this situation," Elsher shot back, staring daggers at the scarred girl.

"…" Sylvie was silent as she glared at Elsher.

"You… You don't even remember my name, do you?" Elsher realized, laughing at the ludicrosity of the situation: "It's Elsher Elrod. Make sure to remember it, Sylvie the slave."

"Elsher… Explain, now."

"Tsk, like master like slave. He should be completely fine," Elsher remarked. Sylvie's curtness and impoliteness didn't upset her as much as she had thought.

Perhaps it was because she was related to Yeon that she found it weirdly understandable.

"How do you know?" Sylvie asked.

Sylvie placed her hand on Yeon's forehead to measure his temperature and focused on his breathing.

To her surprise, compared to the painful cry Yeon had let out, he was sleeping very comfortably.

"I've read that it happens very rarely. At the peak of the Day of The Dark Night, Aago swallows the Sun completely," Elsher explained to the worried girls:

"At that moment, Aago swallows the time of the past, present, and future. During that short interval, it is said that some individuals receive visions."

"Of the future?" Mia asked. Now that Yeon's safety had been confirmed, she was curious about what Elsher was saying.

"Well… No one knows."

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Elsher explained in more detail.

"That's the thing. No one remembers what they saw, but they claim to have been shown something. But if the past, present, and future have been swallowed and exist only in limbo… Then what exactly are they seeing?"

"Isn't that just a myth?" Emily said with her brows furrowed.

She had understood that Yeon was safe since there were precedents of this situation, but the explanation irked her. It was based on mythology.

"Is Master safe?" Sylvie asked, interrupting the conversation.

She couldn't care less for the details about myths and visions, she only wanted to know whether Yeon was fine.

"Your Master is safe, Sylvie the slave. He's off in dreamland, hallucinating Heaven knows what."

Sylvie let out a sigh of relief as she begins to carry him to bed.

But Yeon's body was too heavy for her, and his feet dragged along the floor.

"Let me help you," Mia suggested.

Sylvie observed Mia and reading the goodwill in her eyes, Sylvie reluctantly nodded.

"Thank you…"

"It's Mia," she pouted as she realized that Sylvie had not bothered remembering her name either.

***

Yeon woke to yellowy-white moonlight and Sylvie's silver eyes as she stood over the bed.

"Watching your Master sleep, aren't you surprisingly perverted?" Yeon teased.

"Master…" Sylvie said, missing Yeon's joke completely.

"Were you worried?" Yeon asked as he got up.

The last thing he remembered was looking up at the solar eclipse and everything after that was a blur.

He didn't panic as he wasn't in any form of pain. He was feeling weirdly anxious, but there was no reason for him to make that known to Sylvie who was relying on him.

"Worried…" Sylvie repeated as she put her hand on her chest.

She felt her heart thumping.

"Yes… Yes, Master. I was worried."

"Well, aren't you just a sweetheart." Yeon smiled as he got out of bed.

He planted a light kiss on her forehead as a thank you for looking after him.

"Nn~…" she purred involuntarily.

"Where did everyone else go, Sylvie?" He asked while opening the door.

"We're all here," Elsher replied.

She sat beside Mia and Emily.

There were no tables or chairs in the house, so they had settled for the terrace.

Yeon wrapped his arms around his chest and squirmed, "W-What are you doing in a fair maiden's abode at this time, Young Master Elrod?!"

"Stop that at once." Elsher scowled.

She felt sick to the core at Yeon's antics, "And I'm the fair maiden in this situation."

"Nay, Young Master Elrod. The fair maiden be the kind lass who watched over my sleep," Yeon said presenting Sylvie.

"And thanks for waiting, Mia, Emily," Yeon said while waving at the two girls who were enjoying Elsher being teased.

As they waited for Yeon to wake up together, they realized that behind Elsher's aloof and proud exterior, she was a surprisingly friendly and well-read girl.

"No problem, Yeon!" Mia said, waving back at him.

"That's only because that lass wouldn't let anyone else near you while you slept," Elsher replied while rolling her eyes.

"Then does that mean you also wished to watch me sleep?" Yeon asked while chuckling.

Elsher let out an audible sigh.

"That's enough, Disciple Yeon. Are you free in a week's time?"

"For a date?"

"…Yellow Lily Pond Hall. Noon." Elsher said while leaving.

"My house, an hour before noon."

Elsher paused for a moment but continued to walk towards the exit.

"And Elsher…"

"What?" she asked, visibly irritated.

She was usually a very polite and composed individual who practised etiquette no matter the occasion.

But, whenever she was with Yeon, she always ended up stooping to his level.

Perhaps it was because Yeon had such obviously little concern over social norms and etiquette.

"Thanks for sticking around till I woke up," Yeon said, his jovial tone taking a more sincere one.

"… It was only because Elder Sister Yuula wished to see you and I had to confirm your well-being for that."

And with that, Elsher left for her home.

Mia and Emily reiterated what she had said about the visions to Yeon and that he shouldn't be too worried.

"Did you see anything? Did you see anything?" Mia asked repeatedly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Now that you mention it, I think I did see something, but I can't remember for the life of me," Yeon said.

Mia wilted like a withered flower at the disappointing and uninteresting news.

"Do you remember seeing anything before you passed out?" Emily asked.

"No, why?"

"You were asking whether we could see something, but you passed out before you could say what it was. Elsher and I had a quick look around but couldn't find anything."

"Hmmm, I'll keep it in mind."

As it was already late into the night, the two quickly said their goodbyes and left.

"Again, thank you for staying till I woke up," Yeon said with a warm smile.

"Of course," they both replied with equally affectionate expressions.

"Now…" Yeon said while turning to Sylvie who had been waiting just behind him.

"Would you like to continue our lessons or go to sleep?"

***

*knock* *knock*

"Elsher! You're the last one here," Yeon greeted Elsher at the door with a friendly smile which Elsher returned with a frown.

"What do you mean by that?"

She looked past Yeon to see Mia and Emily sitting and chatting at the terrace.

"What are they doing here? Did you not agree to meet with Elder Sister Yuula today!?" She lashed out at him.

Elsher was ready to escalate this to a conflict if Yeon had the audacity to ignore her beloved Yuula's invitation. Especially after she had already contacted her sister saying that Yeon would attend.

"Calm down, Elsher. I haven't forgotten our previous engagement. They'll just be coming as well." Yeon tried to calm her down as Elsher was genuinely angry.

"To the Yellow Lily Pond Hall?" She seemed to be asking how they would attend when the entrance fee itself was 25 contribution points.

Mia and Emily weren't like Yeon and Elsher who had placed well in disciple trials. They would have to complete multiple missions to afford the entrance fee, but they would have to spend those points to buy resources for their cultivation.

"Yes, to the Hall. Come on you two, we're leaving."

"Yippee! Let's go!" Mia shouted from behind him. She had no thoughts but music and food, a very happy girl.

Emily was a bit more practical, worried about real-life problems: "Yeon, we don't have enough contribution points to-"

"You'll see when we get there." He quelled their worried and began to lead the way.

"Are you not bringing that slave girl with you?" Elsher huffed. It was obvious that she disapproved of Yeon's relationship with her, and her existence in general.

"To the Hall? No way. She'll get killed there." Yeon frowned.

The Yellow Lily Pond Hall had many Inner Disciples there. If an Outer Disciple arrogantly brought around his servant, one that looked like Sylvie, they would quickly be taught a cruel lesson about reading the room.

Servants were not protected like the disciples. If another disciple killed her, then they wouldn't even get punished considering how Sylvie's scarred physique was like a jinx to these people.

"Wise choice," Elsher concurred while walking ahead of Yeon to take the lead from him.

Mia stuck closely to Yeon, shuffling around him like an overexcited dog.

She hesitated for a while before making a face full of determination.

She took that final step into Yeon's space and glomped his arm.

Yeon could feel Mia's full breasts pushing into his arm and a very content smile came over his lips.

"Are you that excited to be going to the Hall?" Yeon laughed while looking down at Mia.

Her smile was as bright and pure as the summer sun on a wonderful picnic day.

"Mhmm!" She replied enthusiastically.

She had been nervous before making her move, but it all felt worth it now.

She was treating this like her own date with Yeon as she made idle conversation.

"How's Sylvie's cultivation going?"

"She's almost ready to step into the initial stages of the Bone Cleansing realm to become a fully-fledged cultivator," Yeon bragged smugly.

"Already! Wow!"

"You're teaching that slave how to cultivate?" Elsher interrupted with her brows raised.

Cultivation itself was an incredibly privileged thing. To teach someone how to cultivate was to give an incredible gift.

Knowledge, comprehensions, and manuals were all exceptionally valuable things. Taking into account the pride of cultivators, to pass on such knowledge to a slave was unheard of.

"What if she runs away, Yeon?" Elsher asked derisively.

"Then she runs away to live her life. I won't stop her," Yeon replied with utmost confidence.

"If I were to tell the Elders about this, both of you would immediately be hunted down and killed," Elsher warned, her voice cold and serious.

"I'm teaching her a poor qi gathering manual that you can find anywhere, not one of the sect manuals," Yeon lied with an expression as if asking who would do something so silly.

Elsher was right in that this was a killable offence within the sect.

Manuals could be borrowed from the sect using contribution points, and the incomplete Divine Sword Manual that Yeon was currently teaching Sylvie was one of best ones they had available.

This was just a short-term measure before Yeon deciphered the incomplete Immortal Yin Flower Manual using his body.

"Besides, I haven't even been to the library yet. How could I have taken out a sect manual?" Yeon explained.

"That's right, you're just a reprobate who skips all their lectures," Elsher scoffed.

Mia quickly came to Yeon's defence before he could say anything.

"Yeon says that he already knows everything!" Mia stuck her tongue out to Elsher.

Elsher eyes shot daggers at Mia, but Mia quickly hid behind Yeon's back, only popping her head to continue sticking her tongue out.

The cultivation speed of the Outer Disciples was relatively slow due to most of the lectures and classes being more knowledge-focused than cultivation-based.

They were also being taught the foundations so that they could eventually learn a few of the basic Divine Sword Arts.

"Then do you know the importance of your eyes and your 'droplets'?" Elsher asked about the topics that were currently being taught, confident that Yeon wouldn't get the answer.

"Many novice cultivators believe that your eyes are important since it allows you to see. They are mistaken. The eyes are important since 'the eyes are the window to your soul'. They can act as conduits for your powers. Moreover, if they're completely destroyed, then even if you manage to miraculously repair them, they'll never be as powerful or pure."

Elsher's eyebrows twitched as Yeon gave a condensed answer. He had missed out on many details but had perfectly relayed the core of the lectures.

"And the droplets?"

"Droplets or drops, you have 12 blood drops and 12 soul drops that represent your life force and soul force. When used, they manifest as blood or soul tears through your eyes, which is how they earnt their name. Blood drops affect your overall cultivation and vitality, and soul drops affect your sanity. They give you huge momentary boosts in power and allow for other forbidden arts, but they can never be regained, ever. Oh, take a right turn there, Elsher."

Elsher was so focused on Yeon's explanation that she didn't even question his directions and moved off the main path.

"Wow, Yeon! That was so much easier to understand than when Elder Marvin explained it for us!" Mia said proudly while hugging his arm.

"That's because Elder Marvin is one of the weakest amongst the Elders. The only reason why he's even an elder in the first place is because his father is relatively powerful, and the Marvin clan is quite prestigious."

"… You seem to know a lot for a supposed rogue." Elsher squinted her eyes suspiciously at Yeon. He spoke as if his family owned a farm, but he had extensive knowledge about cultivation and the sect-related clans.

"My mother was quite the amazing individual," Yeon said proudly.

"Not just a farmer then?"

Mia and Emily listened in as well since Yeon hardly ever spoke about this past. They were happy since they believed that Yeon was being less guarded with them

Adil didn't know anything about his mother so he spoke of Beatrice's instead.

"She was a doctor as well as a musician."

Thinking about Beatrice's mother used to be very uncomfortable for him, but it was less so now. He simultaneously felt closer to her but also more indifferent.

Elsher raised her eyebrows at the new information.

"So, you're not just a simple farmer's boy. How did two people of such different standings meet? A female physician, how rare…"

"Well, Ma was also a sex worker and that's how they met." He looked off into the distance with a complicated look.

"Your mother's a whore?" Elsher gasped at the completely unexpected explanation. The good image she had been building up of her crumbled instantly.

"She was a high-class escort." He insisted on the correct term since he frowned upon the pejorative connotations around the words 'whore' and 'prostitute'.

Beatrice vowed to never be ashamed of being her daughter, and she had never looked down on the people who work in the sex industry either.

To her and now to Yeon, it was just another job. It was nothing to be ashamed of.

Yeon sighed and pushed the topic aside.

"We're nearly here," he said, moving ahead to take the lead.

"…Where are we?" Elsher asked, just realizing that she had no idea where they were.

Mia and Emily were of similar sentiments.

They were all disoriented from the shocking conversation they had just shared.

"Follow me from here on out."

The girls gave him questioning gazes but patiently followed behind him.