22 To Parry and Subdue the Fealty Jade Sword (1/2)

Lao Mei scratched irritably at his head, his face filled with awkwardness.

His young master who had barely seen the passing of nineteen summers had just called him, an aged man, naive! It was preposterous and laughable.

Nonetheless, Lao Mei could clearly feel it; if he were to compare himself to his young master, he did seem to lack wisdom and knowledge of the world’s workings. He had not noticed it in his earlier years. He was aware that his young master was mysterious at times and worked hard at keeping his martial arts skills concealed. Whenever they were together, Yun Yang somehow always managed to look idle and indolent. His master would frequently vanish as well, his disappearances lasting for months on end.

However, since he had returned home a year ago, he had never left again.

Lao Mei’s instincts as a martial artist were sufficiently sensitive to inform him that his young master had borne serious injuries, and had lost his cultivation base as well. Those wounds were grievous enough to threaten his life, yet his young master didn’t seem to mind them at all.

Even now, he still appeared to be listless and lethargic. It was only during the late hours of the night that Lao Mei could see his young master sitting alone from afar, and catch sight of the despair and loneliness he carried within him, reflected in the desolate glow of his eyes. He knew then that the young master carried the burden of secrecy in his heart. Lao Mei did not dare to ask about it; even if he did, he was certain that he would glean nothing from his young master.

Despite all appearances, a mighty force seemed to swirl around Yun Yang, and it had been gathering force. It was a raging, murderous aura that would set the world ablaze, and of late, it had only gotten stronger.

In a sudden flash of comprehension, Lao Mei saw that his young master’s prescience had been accurate beyond his wildest imaginations. It seemed that there was nothing that he did not foresee, and no dilemma he could not solve, just like a game of chess.

A chess player who was able to predict the next three or four turns would be considered a formidable opponent, but his young master was able to see an additional dozen steps ahead, and that too wasn’t sufficient for him. In the year that had passed since his master had returned, there were many underlying motives behind his actions, but Lao Mei was unable to decipher any of them.

Young master says that I’m naïve… Perhaps, I really am?

I wonder what sort of ploy would my young master use to compel this man, now lying injured in the east side room?

…

“These five cats…” Lao Mei looked at the five snowy kittens trailing behind Yu Yang and coughed as his hand reached for his beard.

He had taken only a day off and the residence had turned into a zoo overnight.

“Just consider them as… Lightning Cats.” Yun Yang said, “They’re rather adorable.”

“Adorable…” The word seemed odd coming from the young master whom he had deemed ‘scheming’ in his heart; Lao Mei suddenly felt that his perspective and views on life, values, and the world had turned upside down. The Thousand Illusion Monkey was sitting on Yun Yang’s shoulder. The little simian had been practically glued to him for the past few days but had grown a little less lively as well.

Furthermore, as long as the four kittens were below him, the Thousand Illusion Monkey refused to get down from its perch. Its eyes were alert; if it were not for the monkey’s reluctance to leave Yun Yang, it would have run away ages ago.

The friction arising from the level difference. Even though it was only a single level, it had made the Thousand Illusion Monkey feel threatened, a fact that escaped the attention of everyone present.

Yun Yang had examined the four Eclipse Panthers, one of them was already in the fourth level while another two were in the third level; the weakest one had also managed to achieve the second level.

These little felines were clearly Blood Masked. It was the greatest act of love a high-level mystical beast could perform for its offspring – using its blood to obscure their true nature, making them appear to be weak, insignificant mystical beasts in the eyes of others. It was a mechanism that would guarantee their safety, and ensure that no harm came to them before they had achieved maturity.

However, Blood Mask could only be cast by ninth level mystical beasts – Yun Yang was certain of this. In this aspect, he was of a similar mindset with the parents of the brood, both reluctant to remove the Blood Mask. Once the Blood Mask had dissipated, it would be obvious to anyone with eyes that there were four ninth level mystical beast infants railing behind Yun Yang like lost ducklings. With his abilities still pathetically absent, he wasn’t sure if he could even survive out there for two hours.

“For your own longevity, you fellows can continue to be cats.” Yun Yang stroked the four Eclipse Panthers’ heads, four tiny pink tongues flicking out to chase after his palm.

The real Lightning Cat mewled anxiously as it had not fully recovered and could only curl up on its side, unable to catch Yun Yang’s attention.

Yun Yang chuckled, “Right, there’s still one more here.” He stroked the Lightning Cat’s head as well, the kitten purring in contentment as it showed its snow-white belly. As usual, flows of the air of vitality permeated the air; the ground was soon filled with snow-white balls rolling around in joy. The Thousand Illusion Monkey made impatient noises on his shoulder; Yun Yang could only direct another flow over to it, stopping quickly when he realized the pitiful amount left of his Endless Divine spiritual Qi. Despite the minute amount, the Thousand Illusion Monkey was content. It hopped off his shoulder and fled towards Ji Ling’s room.

Yun Yang suddenly felt a sharp gaze train on him. As he turned, he saw a head popping up at the window of the east side room; a pair of eyes staring daggers in his direction.

Yun Yang laughed and turned to begin his walk to the injured man.

…

The man had already sat up and was leaning against the bed. He forced a smile when he saw Yun yang entering the room.