An Honest Conversation

It was just barely before sunrise when Jack finally managed to get back to the Hare manor. Surprisingly, there were many more guards patrolling the grounds than usual and Jack had to use his skills to their utmost to sneak past them without being detected. Thankfully, he managed to do so without much problems.

The only issue he encountered was when he reached the manor building. Something must have happened during the night, because the defensive formation had been activated and it also had the trait of having an alarm go off whenever an unwanted person crossed its limits. Jack had to rack his brains for a bit before coming up with a method of diverting a bit of the formation to the side to create a wide enough gap in it for him to go through without sounding the alarm.

He successfully arrived to his room before anyone noticed his absence. Which was fortunate, considering he'd literally spent the entire night outside and there was a high degree of risk that someone would come up to check up on him. As luck would have it, no one had come.

He lied down in his small bed and decided it would be best to meditate and cultivate his soul for a while instead of sleeping as it would only have positive effects for his growth. As such he directed his spirit sense into the ring and engaged with the baptism of fire that he'd long grown accustomed to.

In the morning, he was woken from his meditative state when someone came into his room unannounced. Although he was cultivating his soul, he never forgot to concentrate on his surroundings in case someone wanted to come in and surprise him, a fact that circumstance proved was the right choice. Jack quickly snuck under the covers of his bed and curled up in a sleeping foetal position.

The servant that had been sent over by Ichabod found Jack curled up and deeply asleep. She almost hated having to wake him up from his sweet slumber, but it was time for breakfast.

"Rise and shine, young master." Said Iris, the servant.

Iris was a woman that Ichabod had known for a great many years; purportedly, they met back when Ichabod had begun an apprenticeship in Trumba before opening the Mischievous Hare in Groamburk. She was an old, short, and rather chubby lady that radiated happiness and joy. Everyone who'd ever talked with her said she was a fantastic human being with a massive heart.

As soon as Jack had come under Ichabod's care, he'd sent for this woman to serve as the boy's main nanny. She was quick to respond and made her way to Groamburk, where she joined the ranks at the Hare manor and left a strong impression with her hard work, diligence, and overall fantastic work ethic.

Jack tossed and turned and acted as if he was struggling to wake up. He opened his eyes, blinked a few times at Iris, and proceeded to turn over and 'fall back asleep'. Iris chuckled and pulled off the blankets the covering Jack.

"Come on, sleepy-head, it's time for breakfast." She said tenderly.

"Five more minutes…" Mumbled Jack.

"If you get up now, I'll cook you up some of those bacons strips you love so much." She tried to negotiate with Jack.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll get up!"

If Hector, Hannah's father, had been there to witness Jack acting so lovingly with Iris, then there would be no need for Jack to carry out his threat because the man would certainly die from all the blood he'd spit out.

--

Breakfast was delicious. Iris first served a bowl of oatmeal accompanied by a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice. Then, she prepared some bacon which she served over some freshly baked bread and upon which she grilled some cheese so that it would melt over the delicious bacon.

This woman definitely doted on him. If it were up to Adras, he'd be served a fruit salad and other healthy foods that would usually be ideal for a child his age. However, given his aggressive tempering of his body and constant practicing, he appreciated the protein and carbohydrates as they would prove useful in his bodily growth.

After breakfast he was guided into Jadelere's study where the duo first engaged in an exciting game of chess. Well, it was exciting for Jack because he felt comfortable showing his intellect in front of someone after spending so long in hiding; for Jadelere, it was the usual exercise of agonising defeat.

"Fine, you win, let's leave it at that." Sighed Jadelere as he filled up his wine glass for the second time. This match had only lasted long enough for him to have a single glass.

"Fair enough, uncle Jadelere." Happily replied Jack as he leaned back in his chair. "What will today's lesson be on?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Aye, nothing." Jadelere looked towards his treasured fireplace which had been removed from the Mischievous Hare and placed in his study.

That had been Jadelere's only request at the time, so it could easily be seen how precious it was to him. He sat there in deep thought for a few minutes and Jack dared not interrupt him because he could see that the accountant was struggling to find the right words to express his feelings.

Finally, he sighed.

"It is truly a pity." He sighed again. "Aye, truly a pity."

"What is?"

"You, my good boy. You." Tiredly explained Jadelere, almost not believing he was having this conversation. "Yesterday you had your martial talent tested and the result was atrocious! Your meridians are in an irrecoverable state!"

"So what?"

"So. What?!" Angrily shouted Jadelere as he banged his fist against the armrest of his chair. "You have a brilliant mind that makes me want to cry in envy! Just your wit alone should be enough to guarantee you a high-ranking position in any government office; even the imperial court is within your reach if you desired it!

"And yet, all of that disappeared at the drop of a hat simply because you have no martial talent whatsoever! Even if you possess the brightest mind under the Sun, that doesn't mean shit if any random martial artist can blast you into oblivion with a flick of their dick. No one will employ you! Bloody fuck, even I'm at the later stages of the martial realm!"

After his rant, Jadelere was left bereft of breath and he gulped down the rest of the wine in his glass. It was apparent that the issue of Jack's crippled meridians had been weighing heavily on his shoulders. Maybe that was the reason he'd lost so miserably at chess.

"Are you done?" Asked Jack as if he were talking to a small child throwing a tantrum.

"Of course I'm fucking done. I'm done with your shitty attitude and your shitty words and that shitty smile of yours." Venomously rebutted Jadelere, repeating the word 'shitty' thrice. "I need you to understand the position that you're in and how bleak your future looks right now!"

The old accountant rose to his feet as he spoke and turned to his fireplace. He walked forward and ended up leaning his forehead against it. His strength seemed to leave his legs as he struggled to hold himself up.

For a moment, Jack thought about not saying anything to Jadelere and leave matters as they were. Only for a moment.

"Come here." He said softly, but with a tone so firm that Jadelere could only comply with the command. "Grab my hand."

Jack held out his hand and Jadelere hesitated for a moment before sighing and taking it. Next, he opened his eyes wide, his mouth was left agape and he jumped backwards in fright, letting go of Jack's hand in the process. Jadelere stumbled back a few steps and very nearly tripped against the chess table but was able to catch himself against his chair. However, even after managing to maintain his footing, Jadelere's hands were still shaking from the fright.

"That's… impossible." Said Jadelere, struggling to find the right words to express his feeling. "Completely impossible. It's absurd!"

"Nothing's impossible; only unthinkable."

"Bullshit." Angrily retorted Jadelere. "Complete and utter bullshit! Some things are completely impossible, like coming back from the dead!"

How wrong you are. Thought Jack to himself as he chose his next words very carefully.

What Jack had done to startle Jadelere so much was simple: he'd sent a small but steady flow of qi into his body using their hands as a conduit. This simple act that any cultivator could easily perform was unthinkable for a child to do, much less one with crippled meridians. Hence Jadelere's startle.

"Uncle Jadelere…"

"Fucking can it with the little boy act."

"Fine." Jack became serious. "Jadelere, the world is a vast and mysterious place. No one single man can claim to know its secrets. Any who do, are liars. Brant was wrong; pure and simple. My meridians were never crippled. I was merely choosing to not absorb the qi of the testing array which led Brant to assume that I am, in fact, a martial cripple."

"Even if I believed that, and I'm not saying I do, he examined you!"

"A rather simple exercise of obstructing the passage of foreign qi through my meridians in order to trick Brant." Lied Jack. "Even you could do it with enough practice."

"Abyss take me…" Jadelere slumped down into his chair and placed his head in between the palms of his hand, feeling a massive headache coming. "But… why?"

"I think I don't need to insult your intelligence by explaining."

"I'm not entirely certain I know what you mean."

"And I'm entirely certain you're entirely certain you know exactly what I mean."

For a moment, they shared an intense exchange with their eyes until Jadelere conceded and sighed as he lowered his gaze.

"Aye, I do; It's to keep hidden." Mumbled the old accountant, who somehow seemed even older than when the conversation started. "Even though I'm not personally well-versed in martial matters, even an idiot can deduce that your talent is truly terrifying if you could fool a seasoned healer like Brant into believing you're a cripple. Maybe frightening doesn't quite do it justice. You're only three years old for fuck's sake! And already your ability at qi manipulation is far superior to any standard I've ever heard about!"

Oh? This little smidgen of information surprised Jack. Although it was true that he didn't have any formal training in the standards of cultivation of this world, he hadn't thought Groamburk would be so behind that they wouldn't have any data on qi manipulation within one's meridians. After all, it was a necessary skill when breaking through greater realms of cultivation.

This was something that needed further investigation.

"I just have one question." Warily said Jadelere, interrupting Jack's trail of thought. "Who are you, really? Are you an envoy sent by the divines to this world? Actually, don't answer that; If you are, I don't want to know."

"Excuse me?"

"Best if I don't know. Ignorance is bliss and whatnot." Jadelere waved his hands as if he were swatting some flies. However, Jack knew that curiosity was eating him up inside but it was currently overshadowed by his inherent fear of what the consequences would entail if he truly found out; and Jack knew that one day, Jadelere's curiosity would get the better of him. For now, though, he was happy with matters as they stood. "Besides my silence, what is it that you want from me?"