Finishing Touches - A Long Story.

Shu He spent the entire day moving back and forth around the sect as he retrieved supplies needed for the garden, bought pieces of furniture for the house, and went about ordering the basic formations for his training room to be laid, the points he had just earned from his mission melted away like butter under the scorching sun as the day went on, but he didn't mind much, it was a worthy investment after all.

The great thing about laying a formation within the sect was that they could link its power source to the sects grand formation, of course it had its limits and wasn't full access, but it meant it was cheaper to make than using precious resources as a power source.

For the garden he bought a lot of fresh soil of different types before he dug out a few patches and filled them up with it before the started sowing different seeds that he'd need, after he was finished he watered them and used some special fertilizer he had obtained from a fellow sect member that tended to the Four Seasons Garden.

With this he would have a constantly supply of the most vital herbs he would use in pills and medication; he wouldn't need to resort to <<Vernal Growth>> and tiring himself out all the time whenever he wanted them.

That, and he found tending to a garden to be a relaxing pass time, the sound of water gently tricking down the leaves and into the mud as the wind gently rustled the leaves and petals of the plants we soothing to him.

For his house, he obtained some well made tables and chairs, a comfy bed for his room, some simple utensils like a kettle that used Qi to function and a stove that was the same, he used a smooth stone to make a toilet inside a large outhouse and water outlets before using the formation to create the waterworks, then in a larger area within the outhouse he carefully created a tub from a single seed, it looked like an odd birds nest but was fairly comfy, the sect themselves has plenty of bath-houses that he had used every now and then but there was nothing like a private bath.

He also bought some nice pictures some of the aspiring artists or collectors in the sect were selling off, there wasn't anything wrong with brightening the place up, even if he was going to spend a lot more time cultivating in the basement.

After night fell he took a nice and warm bath in his own private space for the first time ever in this life, he felt an overwhelming sense of relaxation as the warmth tended to his muscles, so much so that he almost fell asleep in the water.

And then, he hopped in the bed he had bought, it was far comfier than the one he had in the stone room, he really didn't understand those who constantly went without sleep by choice, sleep was amazing.

And then, the next day had arrived, and he had only one major task left, he needed to move what he had in the stone room over to his new home, in a week his access to that room will be rescinded and be given to a new disciple eventually after all.

…

*GRRRRR*

The stone door slid open as Shu He walked out with a chord in his hand, attached to the end of the chord was a small trailer that was stacked high with items that were tied down with string, it was every single one of his belongings that he had here.

Surprisingly, it wasn't much, at most it was a collection of books, scrolls, a crate of clothes he had brought with him to the sect, a couple of Medical tool sets and not much else, so he could fit it all on the trailer for one trip.

He steadily moved it out the door and into the hallway before the door closed behind him, this would likely be the last time he set foot into that room, he hadn't left anything behind.

Of course, there was something valuable in that room, and that said thing was wrapped in a thick cloth and carried in his other arm, it was Little Xue's Ascension Chrysalis, it hadn't changed too much over the past couple days, so Shu He was relieved since he had left it alone.

Either way he had made a space, essentially an altar for it to sit on in his house that was warmed, he wasn't sure whether an animal mid-ascension can feel the heat or cold, but it made him feel a bit better so why not.

He steadily trailed the trailer through the hallways, glad that they were wide enough for 4 people to walk side by side, before he saw a sight that he found oddly familiar, rather it gave him a sense of déjà vu.

In front of one of the stone doors stood a young man, his black hair had grown slightly yet his brown eyes usually filled with pride were slightly dull once more, Shu He's eyebrow rose as he rolled up to the figure.

"Wei Yu, what's wrong, you didn't lose your token again did you?".

Wei Yu looked up slowly until Shu He's image filled his eyes he seemed slow to respond "Shu He? You're back?" his voice lacked vigour as he quietly murmured.

"Yeah, I returned a couple days ago… So, what's wrong?" Shu He looked his friend up and down, he didn't seem hurt or off, he really wondered why he looked so down.

"Ah… it's nothing, sorry, you don't need to worry about me" Wei Yu responded, reaching for his token and bringing it to the door, clearly he hadn't lost it again, yet Shu He dropped the chord and grabbed his arm, stopping him from opening it causing Wei Yu to look at him surprised.

"Come on, it's obvious something has happened, I do consider you a friend you know?" Shu He spoke gently, he hadn't interacted with too many disciples in the sect, yet of the few he had Wei Yu was one of his closer friends here, he didn't feel right ignoring this.

Wei Yu's arms dropped slightly "I…" he tried to speak, but his words were caught in his throat.

"Is it to do with Mei Ling?" Shu He asked, she was one of the first things that came to his mind, the two were fairly close after all, in fact anyone who glanced at them from the outside might think they were a couple, though the truth was they hadn't crossed that gap yet.

Wei Yu's face twitched slightly as did his hands, but he shook his head "No! No… not entirely….".

'Not entirely?' Shu He frowned slightly; So it was something to do with her?

"It's just… a bit complicated, I was just stuck thinking about it that's all" Wei Yu shook his head again, trying to pretend that it wasn't much of a problem, Shu He picked up the trailers chord and signalled by nodding.

"Wanna talk? I have a great place".

"Huh?" Wei Yu's eyes opened wide as he considered "…Okay" he then nodded before he followed Shu He.

…

"Say, Shu He, where are we going? And why do you have all of that stuff with you? What's that in your arms?" Wei Yu finally worked up the courage to ask about everything Shu He had with him after they were already near their destination.

"You'll see, you'll see and… it's a chrysalis" Shu He answered vaguely.

"That doesn't look like an insects chrysalis though, it's too big…" Wei Yu's brow creased as he inspected the large object wrapped in a blanket "Do you mean the chrysalis of an ascended animal?".

"That's the one".

"How did you get such a thing? Why are you carrying it around like that?"

"What's with the 100 questions all of a sudden?"

"Sorry, I'm just… distracting myself I guess…" Wei Yu scratched his head slightly in embarrassment.

Shu He sighed slightly "I got it in my travels, and I'm carrying it because I'm going to raise it".

"Oh! I was wondering why you joined the Beast Taming Division yet didn't have a partner, so you're raising one now? That's cool…." Wei Yu's eyes sparkled as he looked at the blanketed object "What kind of animal did you find? Knowing you it'd be some rare bird or wolf… maybe a dragon?!".

"Where on earth would I find a dragon? She's a duck" Shu He couldn't help but scoff at his active imagination.

"A… duck?" The sparkles in his eyes were erased, never to be seen again. "I-I see, well it's unique" he tried his best not laugh, Shu He was beginning to get used to this treatment, so he said nothing.

"Look, we're here".

"Huh?.. A house? Wait, isn't this an inner disciples house? Why are we here?" Wei Yu stared with confusion as he looked around the structure.

"Hehe, that's because it's mine" Shu He said as he walked into the boundary while Wei Yu stared with shock, he then turned around and said, "Pull out your token" and Wei Yu did as say, Shu He then he performed a hand sign before directing towards Wei Yu's token, it flashed for a moment before returning to normal.

"There, you can enter now as well" Shu He spoke before turning around, slightly laughing at Wei Yu's shocked face. Wei Yu quickly came to his senses as he carefully stepped towards the boundary, scared of a backlash from trespassing yet nothing happened, he entered with ease.

He then listlessly walked, following Shu He as he looked around at the freshly built grounds.

He stood outside while Shu He dragged his trailer inside and parked it in his room, then Shu He put the kettle on and made some simple tea, placing the two cups on his freshly bought table. "Come on in, we can talk in here".

Wei Yu did as tell, still completely baffled as he took a seat and looked down at the tea in front of him before picking it up and taking a sip, the shock slowly dissipated from his face as calmness steadily tainted it.

"It's good" He gently whispered.

"Right? I was recommended it by someone, it's fresh from the north". Shu He drank some as well before he settled the cup on the table "Now then, what's troubling you?"

Wei Yu breathed out heavily as he took a bigger sip of tea before placing it down with a slight bang.

"It's a long story…".