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"Teacher, I need more books," Wu Xue bowed and asked Ru Meng, "My literary path is thirsty for new knowledge."

"No!" Ru Meng said without even looking at him, she was leisurely painting.

"Why?" Wu Xue asked with a frown.

"You advanced too fast, why are you in a hurry?" Ru Meng asked back, "Use the time until Wu Qing's arrival to relax your mind and body."

Wu Xue sighed and didn't try to change her mind, he knew she was as stubborn as him.

"What are you painting?" he asked curiously.

"A scene from my past," Ru Meng smiled with narrowed eyes, "So you want to see? Come here."

Wu Xue approached and saw what it was, it was the scene of a little girl robbing food from a stall, she was full of bruises and her clothes were in tatters.

"It's me," Ru Meng didn't wait for him to ask, "It has been a long time since then, but the memories of the early years are the most difficult to forget."

"So that's how you were as a child!" Wu Xue found it amusing, "You were just like a tomboy."

Ru Meng flicked her finger on his forehead and snorted, "Don't try to provoke me, you little bastard."

"Kekeke," Wu Xue covered the red spot on his forehead and laughed dumbly.

"Aren't you surprised I was once a homeless child?" Ru Meng asked.

"It's interesting to know more about your past," Wu Xue knitted his brows, "But it's indeed unexpected for a little thief tomboyish girl to transform into a scholarly beautiful woman."

"Are you praising or mocking me?" Ru Meng twitched the corners of her mouth, "Forget about it, I was expecting too much from you."

Wu Xue began to smile treacherously, "Are you perhaps hoping for your beloved disciple to sincerely praise you for being a thief when younger?"

Ru Meng's face darkened and she slapped him hard on his right cheek, sending him flying away, "I'm not that easy to disrespect, brat!"

"Hahaha!" Wu Xue simply laughed after landing, "I'm sorry for making you angry!" Despite his apology, he continued laughing.

Ru Meng frowned and simply used her power to send him outside her courtyard.

Unexpectedly, just after being sent outiside, Xu Ling made him appear inside her own courtyard, she was leisurely drinking tea beside a cherry tree, it was a very beautiful scene.

She had been watching everything from afar.

"You provoke her too much!" she cast him a dangerous glance, "She might teach you an unforgettable lesson!"

Wu Xue ignored the warning and asked, "What about you, master Xu Ling? I want to know more about your past too!"

"There's too much to be said," Xu Ling shook her head.

"Bah!" Wu Xue dissolutely spat on the ground, "Playing mysterious, master?"

Xu Ling felt the urge to hit him but held back, "There was nothing special about my past, I was born in a good, privileged family and grew up in my current position without much drama. I have no exciting past you might be expecting."

"That by itself is interesting, though," Wu Xue giggled, "Don't you think? How likely is it for someone to reach your current level without dramatic and exciting tales?"

Xu Ling smiled lightly and said, "You see beauty where there's none."

"But that's how it works!" Wu Xue approached her and began to massage her shoulders, "Humans decide what is beautiful by themselves, consciously or not."

"Indeed..." Xu Ling relaxed with the message, "Where did you learn it?"

"My brother taught me," Wu Xue answered

"For what reason did he teach you this?"

"He said mother liked to be massaged like this."

"It was probably a lie," Xu Ling snorted.

"Huh?" Wu Xue tilted his head in confusion.

"Doesn't matter, go out," Xu Ling sighed and sent him out with a wave of her hand.

"What the...?" Wu Xue caressed the back of his head but didn't think too much.

He spent his days just as his master suggested, not cultivating and spending more time with his family.

He would play with Wan'er the most, they were almost glued together. There was always something interesting for both of them to do.

He would then try his best to ease the relationship between his mother and Wu Yan.

Time flew quite fast with his somewhat repetitive routine.

It was just a few days after he turned thirteen years old that Wu Qing returned to the clan along with her parents.

There wasn't a party prepared for them since they didn't want it, but many people received them with big smiles.

Wu Qing grew up to be a beautiful young woman, she had long pitch-black hair tied into a bun and sparkling blue eyes. Her face was sharp and heroic, and she had the aura of someone who lived at the limit. She was wearing a plain martial cyan robe suitable for fighting and had a sword hanging from her waist.

At first glance, she looked just like an honest hero from fairy tales.

Wu Xue glanced at her from afar and suddenly remembered a young girl beating his elder brother long before. She was usually well-behaved but had very heavy fists. He once vowed to pursue revenge because she bullied his brother.

Wu Xue wasn't in a hurry and waited for most of the people to have greeted her before walking towards her.

"It has been a long while, cousin," he bowed lightly to her, "I hope you have been well."

Wu Qing looked at him with confusion and asked, "Sorry if I sound impolite, but who might you be?"

Wu Xue didn't care if she remembered him or not and explained with a smile, "I'm Wu Xue. If you don't remember my name, you surely remember my elder brother, Wu Tian, you were great sparring partners back then."

He was ironic about the last part since Wu Qing simply massacred his brother every time they fought.

Wu Qing suddenly giggled, "I was joking, of course, I remember you! The little boy who vowed revenge for his elder brother."

Wu Xue caressed his nose with his finger, "Please ignore that event, I was just a naive baby back then. I bear no resentment towards you."

"Oh, is that so?" Wu Qing sighed in disappointment, "I was looking forward to our battle."

"I will be massacred if I fight you," Wu Xue laughed and called Wan Wan'er.

"This little girl here is my half-sister by the part of my father, Wu Wan'er, she is my dearest person!" he said with a grin and then explained to Wan'er, "She is Wu Qing, a member of the clan and a distant cousin of ours, she left the clan before you arrived."

"Hello!" Wu Wan'er greeted her with a big smile, "I'm brother's future wife!"

"Pfft!" Wu Qing laughed and caressed her small head, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Little girl, don't spout nonsense so suddenly," Wu Xue smiled bitterly but didn't care too much.

"I actually have something to tell you," Wu Xue suddenly remembered an important matter, "I hope you pardon me if it causes you incovenience."

"Go ahead and speak freely," Wu Qing blinked.

"Unfortunately, my masters oaid great attention to the fact I promised to fight you, and now they want me to fight you for their so-called reasons," Wu Xue coughed embarrassedly and explained, "I hope you have mercy on me if they force this matter."

"Is that true?" Wu Qing was greatly surprised, "Anyway, I suddenly remembered you had a famous and powerful person as your master, there's another now?"

"Yes, her name is Ru Meng," Wu Xue nodded, "She mainly teaches and guides me in the literary path."

"You are following the literary path!?" Wu Qing was surprised again, "It's quite a rare choice, not many have the talent necessary to do this.

"Oh! I once heard about a mighty existence called Ru Meng, it is said she is at the same level as Xu Ling," Wu Qing looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, "I wonder how talented you truly are to have them both as your masters."

Wu Xue easily accepted the praise, rather than saying it was just luck, "I thank you for your praise."

"Brother, let's go play," Wan'er suddenly pulled his hand and seemed restless and looked warily at Wu Qing, afraid her big brother would be stolen.

"Hahaha, what a cute little girl," Wu Qing found that scene amusing, "Alright, let's take our time to talk more later, your little sister seems quite uncomfortable with me by your side."

"I'm sorry," Wu Xue smiled bitterly and knocked Wan'er's head lightly, "Don't act so spoiled."

Wu Wan'er pouted cutely, "I don't like her."

"I like you, though," Wu Qing suddenly bend her knees and kissed Wan'er forehead.

Just like a scared cat, Wan'er ran away and disapeared in the horizon, not giving time for Wu Xue to react.

"...Sometimes she is more unpredictable than me," Wu Xue sighed, "Since ahe is gone, why not talk more?"

"Let's find a nice place to drink tea," Wu Wing suggested, "I love our clan's exclusive cloudy tea."

"It has been in short suppy because of a lack of suitable nutrients, so I don't have much in my stock," Wu Xue said cautiously, he was afraid of ending up without any tea leaves left.

"Don't worry, I was gifted quite a lot when I arrived," Wu Qing giggled and pointed to a tall pagoda, "Let's go to that place, I always loved the top floor and the broa view it gave me."

"Okay," Wi Xue nodded and then asked, "I noticed a few new faces, are they from the your sect?"

"They are my senior brother and senior sister, both are disciples from my master," Wu Qing explained, "They are quite easy to get along, I plan to invite them to come with us too, is there a problem?"

"No way, call them if you wish," Wu Xue giggled, "It has been a while since I met new people from outside the clan, it's always an interesting experience."

They then went to the top floor of the pagoda and apreciated the broad view of the clan's land while drinking tea.

Wu Qing's fellow disciples were somewhat lacking in utterances, but they didn't look unconfortable.

Wu Xue and Wu Qing talked about many random things while the others basically listened. Wu Xue talked about the changes in the clan and the departure of Wu Tian, while Wu Qing talked about many of her experiences in her sect.

The more he listened, the more Wu Xue got excited about the outside world. Despite being from a prestigious and powerful clan and being a core member of a powerful sect, Wu Qing experienced about a dozen dangerous events and almost tasted death in one of them, being saved by her senior brother and senior sister.

It wa said that the outside world could be both safe and dangerous depending on a person's situation and desires. Because Wu Qing wanted more resources for her cultivation, she often had to compete against other disciples and even fight powerful demonic beasts.

She actually gained enough resources for her cultivation without the need of risking her life, but she wanted more to advance more quickly, and that's how she put herself in danger many times.

Wu Xue didn't ask her about her motivation to seek oportunities in dangerous enviroments, since he wasn't very close to her, but praised her for her bravery.

When Wu Qing asked him about his cultivation, he pondered for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, but it's incovenient for me to say it without my master's permission."

He wasn't lying, his masters did forbid him to talk about his cultivation to outsiders. If it was just Wu Qing, he wouldn't hesitate too much to tell her, but there was two people he knew nothing about.

"I see," Wu Qing didn't feel unfonfortable because of that and simply moved on to other topic.

They spent many hours talking on that pagoda, until the full moon was hanging high above.

When Wu Xue felt it was getting late, he bid farewell and returned to his cave abode, he felt quite satisfied with his encounter with Wu Qing, he learned lots of interesting things.

"So, are you ready to fight her?" Xu Ling's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, it was a long distance voice transmission, "I will personaly arrange the fight."

Wu Xue almost cried out of helplesness.