Zhou Xin (3)

"A-Xin," Madam Su called affectionately.

Kou had left the office to rest in one of the guest chambers, while Zhou Xin stayed in the room as per Madam Su's request.

Looking at the innocent face sitting properly at the low table, Madam Su recalled their encounter.

Years have passed since the legend of the sea witch spread across the five lands, giving birth to rebellions and uprisings of mage pirates and rogue mages practicing sea magic. Each land established different ways to suppress the riot.

The southern land formed an event called the Peninsula Prohibition Act, carried out the moment Chen Rongguang became a clan leader. Those known to practice, master, and educate sea magic were either imprisoned, exiled, or executed. The cruelty of the act inspired mages to come up with another name for it—the Sea Mage Purge.

Just a few months ago, a small village in the Peninsula fell victim to this purge with hardly any survivors, most of whom were under the age of fifteen.

Children with nowhere to go and no one to depend on had to do whatever it took to survive.

At that time, the courtesans of the Jade House served a group of high-ranking officials, it seemed these men's pockets were alluring to those children. The target was locked, and so the smartest and swiftest child of the group was unfairly picked to take responsibility for obtaining food and money. 

Hearing one of her customers complaining of disturbance, Madam Su interfered, only to find a skinny, dirty, and starving child. After resolving matters with her customer, Madam Su gave the girl food and clothing. The girl was quite greedy and ungenerous as she neither called nor shared with the group of children who had made her the fall guy.

Madam Su offered her shelter only if she agreed to help with some business. The girl accepted and introduced herself as Zhou Xin.

A little girl with promising potential in magic. Madam Su had only one person in mind she could trust this child with.

She asked Zhou Xin carefully.

"What are your thoughts?"

Without any hesitation, Zhou Xin replied bluntly.

"I don't like him."

Setting aside how Kou had tied her up and bullied her, that playful and wicked thief was anything but pleasant to her. Although he had acknowledged her strength and wits, he still came across as cocky and full of himself which in Zhou Xin's image was not a good characteristic for a teacher.

Zhou Xin was also aware of her age. She understood that she was young and that she didn't understand the world at all. However, the thief didn't have any compassion for the little kid, as proven when he left her alone even though she was crying. In fact, Zhou Xin regarded him as more childish than herself.

"But…"

Earlier, he made a promise.

'Alright, teaching this brat magic is what you want, right? I'll take her, she has potential. Now, you don't need to worry about me! I swear I'm actually a pretty dignified man. I won't do anything dishonorable to you.'

He was sincere and arrogant at the same time. But he also sounded... responsible?

Zhou Xin hesitated. She was skeptical, but...

"...he's powerful."

Zhou Xin saw him fight with a sword against a powerful mage. Words on the street had it that later on, he stood on his own against Chen Rongguang and another clan leader.

As a little girl from a nowhere village, Zhou Xin could never even dream of touching a real sword, let alone learn to use one. 

She had experienced firsthand going up against Kou using magic. It wasn't even a question that he didn't even take her seriously. He was also using spells Zhou Xin had never heard of.

And all of the tricks he did… There were barely any noticeable gestures or incantations. He was undoubtedly brilliant in magic.

Zhou Xin bit her lips.

"I… want to learn."

Hearing that, Madam Su nodded.

Originally, Madam Su had planned to raise Zhou Xin within the Jade House. However, as time passed, she discovered that the girl was extremely unsuited to be a future courtesan.

Zhou Xin was unsociable, expressive only when it comes to negative emotions, and was more interested in magic than performing arts.

That was why she had opted for Kou. It wasn't the best to leave a child with a notorious thief, but he probably could guide Zhou Xin better than in the Jade House.

In addition, a brothel wasn't exactly the best place to raise a young girl.

Madam Su was fully prepared for Kou to reject taking in Zhou Xin. First of all, he doesn't like working with others. Second of all, he doesn't like children. Third of all, he doesn't like picking up a burden, meaning other people.

And it was unexpected to hear his decision.

Before Zhou Xin arrived in the office, Madam Su had asked Kou if there was anything else he needed, other than the ship she would provide him. Kou didn't manage to answer.

Apparently, he was about to say, 'A crew member.'

He hadn't expected much, but he was a little disappointed that the first ever crew member he would recruit was a little girl.

Madam Su didn't know why Kou suddenly wanted to have a crew member despite wandering around the five lands alone all these years.

It wasn't as if he was lonely. Kou has plenty of friends no matter which way he goes. Then again, if he wanted to gather the everlasting flowers, he might need a skillful partner.

Zhou Xin may be young, but Madam Su couldn't think of anyone else that can keep up with Kou on his journey. Hasn't this girl been running her errands for a few months now?

If Kou didn't interrupt her act of swindling the flower mage today, she might have succeeded. On top of that, she managed to collect a debt from one of Jade House's troublesome patrons on the same day.

"You will learn well," she told her.

Madam Su then dismissed Zhou Xin from her office.

Zhou Xin pondered for a bit without going back to her room.

Ever since she stepped foot into the Jade House, she never really felt comfortable. It was too extravagant and gaudy. Perhaps, it was because she grew up in a simple village.

Zhou Xin knew she was clever, but not in the same way as the courtesans.

While they could talk on the go and meet new people, Zhou Xin preferred to stay quiet and observe. While they played instruments with their thin and soft fingers, Zhou Xin was better with brushes and talismans. As the residents took pride in luxurious clothing and decoration, Zhou Xin felt it was suffocating.

She respected Madam Su, but if she had to choose to stay in the Jade House for years, she'd rather wander in the streets or roam the seas.

After pacing back and forth in the hallways, Zhou Xin found herself in front of Kou's room.

She figured if she was to learn from this thief and travel with him, she wanted to be on better terms. 

A few minutes ago, Kou had just arrived in his own room.

He put down his sword on the table and fished out the small pouch containing a single jasmine everlasting flower.

"...Six more to go…"

He carefully put the pouch away and laid out the scroll Madam Su had given him earlier—the payment for the ship.

The 'business' Kou had been helping the Jade House with for years was a side job.

In the Southern Peninsula, mages are quite unruly as the stronger ones are power hungry and torment the weak, while the weaker ones can't rely on the Chen Clan. Therefore, they resort to other options.

The Jade House in the Peninsula wasn't only known for its unrivaled entertainment and services, which might be the perception among the high-class. Even low-ranking mages were seen entering this establishment.

If they had a job to be done within the capabilities of the Jade House, the host would accept and the clients were able to pay in different ways not limited to money.

Most of these tasks were undertaken by a particular rogue mage.

Reading the scroll, Kou absorbed the details of this new job.

It was requested by an anonymous mage.

[The Lan Jing Forest has served as the training grounds for the Tan Sect for over 150 years. The spiritual energy within the forest, derived from the resting places of their ancestors, forms a strong foundation for the development of young mages and novices. However, in recent months, an unsettling complication has arisen. Sickness, troubled minds, and a loss of sanity have afflicted some disciples. Regrettably, one life has fallen victim to this matter…]

The first thing that came to Kou's mind after reading the scroll was how troublesome this job is.

The Tan Sect is a renowned mage scholar academy. It is affiliated with the prestigious Tan Clan, which stands as second only to the Chen Clan in the Southern Peninsula.

While the Chen Clan governs the Peninsula with authority in magic practices and over mages, the Tan Clan is known for its exceptional education in magic, never failing to produce excellent mages from its disciples.

The influence of the Tan Clan wasn't exclusive to education. They are widely respected by mages in the Peninsula and have a close relationship with the Chen Clan, often as their backing and support.

Kou thought of two possibilities. The mage that had requested this job could either come from the Tan Sect or an outsider. If it was the latter, then it is possible that the Tan Sect is trying to suppress any spreading information of this matter, but it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

However, if it was the former, then things might get a lot messier. Why did they have to submit the request anonymously? It might hurt their pride a little, but it is still honorable to ask for help for the sake of their clan. Otherwise, there might be other secrets involved.

The job was quite vague, and Kou guessed that he just had to investigate the forest, which seemed to be the root of the problem.

He began planning to head to Lan Jing Forest the next day and set aside the details of the matter in the back of his head. For the rest of the night, he decided to bathe and rest.

As Kou took off his vest and stripped off his shirt, he heard a knock on his door.

Courtesans of the Jade House are well familiarized with friends of Madam Su. In fact, they were fond of Kou as he had taught them a few useful tricks of magic for entertainment and self-defense. They also adore Zhou Xin as she was always respectful and kind to them.

It never crossed their minds that these two wouldn't get along, so they never expected to hear the well-behaved Zhou Xin yelling irritably in front of their esteemed guest's door.

But it couldn't be helped. Right when Zhou Xin was building up tolerance to her potential comrade, she had his words echoing in her mind, about how he had accepted to take her in.

'I swear I'm actually a pretty dignified man. I won't do anything dishonorable to you.'

However, as the door was opened, the innocent Zhou Xin was faced with a half-naked thief.

And so, she could only shout, "Liar! Horrible! You're horrible!" before running off to her own room, leaving Kou confused in his doorway.

There was nothing he could do other than apologize to the surrounding witnesses and shut his door back.