An adorable looking little girl around five to six years old of age was looking at Zuo ZhouLei with red-rimmed eyes.
Her large round eyes and chubby cheeks looked especially endearing and one could not help but want to spoil her and ease her grievances when looking at her current pitiful expression.
She was wearing pretty peach-colored robes, fit for a Princess. In fact, she was indeed one of the many princesses of the dynasty, born from one of the Emperor's half-blood brothers. Although Emperor Zuo was not her father, having a blood tie to the Zuo lineage gave her enough status and wealth from the moment she was born for her whole lifetime, if she chose to stay within the confines of the Dynasty and abide by the monarch's rule.
But at this time, the girl was obviously too young to think about what the future held. She continued to sniffle back a sob as she tightly gripped her handkerchief, looking at the indifferent looking young boy in front of her.
Zuo ZhouLei was currently over six years of age.
Even before his birthday, Lady Shuan had sent one of her maids to Wu Shan sect, imploring her shibo to fetch Zuo ZhouLei to be admitted to the sect after his sixth birthday.
Although it was not implicitly said, everyone saw that Lady Shuan's already weakening countenance grew even worse for the past couple of years. The adults of the Imperial Family could see that she most probably wished for her son to not witness her death, hence she wanted Sage Shen Zheng to take her son away. Nevertheless, none of the many older Princes and Princesses interfered. In the Imperial Palace, it was every man and woman for themselves. How would they have the time to worry or pay more attention than necessary to a concubine and her son?
It did not matter that Shuan Bing was an Enlightened; in the harem, only Emperor Zuo's words were absolute. Ever since Prince Zuo ZhouLei was born, Emperor Zuo JinLong was hot and cold with Lady Shuan as well, despite them being shijie and shidi of the same sect in the past. It seemed that Lady Shuan had lost the Emperor's favour.
That day, was the day that Zuo ZhouLei was to leave the Palace. His distant cousin, Princess Zuo Shan'er was truly heartbroken. She cried silently until she was wrecked with hiccups.
Zuo ZhouLei just glanced at her with a tired expression,
"Shan'er, this is just me leaving the Palace, not dying!"
Although ZhouLei had never thought much of Zuo Shan'er, she was one of very few people that showed genuine affection and friendship towards him.
"But, who knows when I will ever see you again." Shan'er sobbed, "Normally royal princes that embark in the cultivation path do not return. And the ones that return, will vie for the throne. The winner will have a lot of women."
"Where do I stand then? I am born without an ounce of cultivation talent. Where will I be in your future?"
Zuo ZhouLei could not help but to shiver at her words. They were almost the same age; in fact, he was only half-a-year older than her.
Although he was not completely naïve, these sort of words were completely inappropriate for a girl as young as Shan'er, and even more inappropriate for him to take it to heart.
As ZhouLei pondered on how to get away from this good-hearted but annoying distant cousin, fortunately, his saviour came.
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Shen Wei was already a handsome youth in his mid-teens. With his well-defined straight tall body, his youthful flawless face and calm demeanour, he had attracted a lot of young princesses' eyes as soon as he set foot in the Imperial Palace along with his shifu.
The blue attired youth was already a highest-ranked Martial-Artist, merely a feather away from breaking-through to be an Enlightened. If Sage Shen Zheng did not tell him that he intended to go to Zuo Imperial Palace to fetch Zuo ZhouLei, Shen Wei would probably already be in a closed-door meditation and would break through in a few months time.
However, obviously nothing was as important as his shidi. What was another few months of waiting to break-through? Shen Wei definitely had to make sure his new shidi would not bear any grievance or sadness as the latter parted from Lady Shuan. Breaking-through, this matter, could just be attended to when ZhouLei shidi arrived safe and sound, and settle down at Wu Shan sect.
In fact, this was not the first time Shen Wei had visited Zuo Imperial Palace since ZhouLei was born. The Martial-Artist had always treated the Palace as a mandatory place of visit every time he had run errands on behalf of the sect.
He was proud to say that his effort definitely paid off – ZhouLei was closer to Shen Wei than to any Princes and children inside the Palace.
Perhaps it was ZhouLei's keen interest in the cultivation world; he always greedily absorbed the knowledge that Shen Wei imparted to him during every visit. Shen Wei did not mind at all; after witnessing ZhouLei's talent, he was convinced that the child was definitely blessed by the heavens, hence the curious phenomenon the sky had displayed during his birth.
This shidi of his, would definitely be someone who would shake the cultivation world.
"Shixiong." ZhouLei decisively left the still sobbing Shan'er who furrowed her brows due to his sudden neglect. He walked towards Shen Wei, then bowed in greeting.
Shen Wei cast a glance at the girl, who hesitated for a few moments, then finally sighed and left with her maid. Shen Wei laughed inwardly before shifting his attention once more to ZhouLei.
"Shidi. It is almost time for us to go. Shifu asked me to fetch you, and we shall wait for him by the gate. Do you need to say your final goodbye to your Mother?
ZhouLei shook his head, "Did that." His face was still indifferent despite his actual departure getting closer by the second.
Shen Wei sighed inwardly. He could never understand Lady Shuan – his DaShijie's way of thinking. She obviously loved her son, but everytime Shen Wei got to observe the relationship between the pair of mother and soon, it was lukewarm at most.
Although ZhouLei was deprived of nothing, and was loved as well, it was just enough. Shuan Bing always seemed to keep a distance from ZhouLei.
One time, Shen Wei visited when ZhouLei was still just learning to crawl. The little prince fell off one flight of stairs, and despite how worried Shuan Bing looked when the prince cried loudly, she did not try to comfort him.
Her maids did that.
But there were a few other times that Shuan Bing gifted ZhouLei toys or things that ZhouLei wanted, and cared for him personally when he was sick.
In short, her behaviour was non-consistent. It was a pull-and-push type of affection.
In time, ZhouLei also grew to be indifferent, only giving back to his Mother what she gave to him. If she loved him for a day, he would show affection towards her for a day. If she ignored him for a day, he would also be distant for a day.
This kind of relationship, was truly baffling.
Shen Wei shook his mind off the unnecessary thoughts. Chances are, they would not see Lady Shuan again after today, therefore perhaps it was better that ZhouLei was not too attached to his Mother,
"What about your Father? Have you said goodbye?"
ZhouLei shook his head once again, a flat expression on his face,
"No need. Father Emperor does not care anyway."
Shen Wei agreed with that one. If he did not understand Lady Shuan's treatment towards her son, he more so did not understand the Emperor's treatment towards Lady Shuan and his own son. Why have a wife if he would not care for her? Why have a son if he only looked at ZhouLei like he was just another insignificant person?
Forget it, ZhouLei would be his shidi soon, and Wu Shan sect would be ZhouLei's home. This Imperial Palace could just be forgotten.
"Shixiong, sword." ZhouLei extended his hand, an expectant glint in his eyes as he saw the blade attached to Shen Wei's belt.
Shen Wei chuckled. He clearly knew what ZhouLei wanted to do. The last time he visited, for ZhouLei's sixth birthday, he had displayed his skill to fly on his sword after the younger boy requested for it. On ZhouLei's insistence, Shen Wei also gave him the knowledge on how to achieve such a feat.
Of course, one could read a book about medicines but that did not mean that person could become a doctor. Shen Wei never thought too much about it, after all knowledge was free for all. ZhouLei was not even yet inducted and formally tested for his aptitude in cultivation. Neither has he opened his Dantians nor learned how to regulate his qi properly.
All of which was necessary to learn how to fly.
He handed his sword to ZhouLei. The prince has been used to playing around with Shen Wei's sword since small, so Shen Wei was not worried he would injure himself.
"I have thought about shixiong's words a lot, about how to fly on swords. And I think I understand the gist of it." ZhouLei lightly hold the sword that was almost as long as his whole body.
"Don't be hasty." Shen Wei smiled towards the younger boy, "You will properly cultivate and learn qing-gong, and then naturally you can regulate your qi to fly on objects in the future. This is way too earl-... ."
His eyes widened and his mouth gaped in shock as he saw ZhouLei jump lightly. ShenWei had thought the boy would return swiftly to the ground, as how the law of gravity normally worked for non-cultivators.
To his surprise, short a few inches off the ground, ZhouLei hovered.
The concentration on the young boy's face was apparent as he closed his eyes and focused his qi flow inside his own body. As a Martial-Artist, Shen Wei could clearly feel how the energy inside ZhouLei's body streamed flawlessly and endlessly, working together with his blood and his physique to grant him the qing-gong skill.
The light-body skill that a novice Martial-Artist would take years to learn, let alone someone who could not even be considered an Established.
But that could not be right. Looking at ZhouLei's innate qi and how he was currently freely controlling it, ZhouLei was already at a level of a Martial-Artist, and not even a novice at that.
"This boy... is a monster! Can he even be considered human?!" Shen Wei was still dumbstruck, but there was fascination and excitement inside his heart. "He will cause surging waves in the future. Wu Shan sect is truly fortunate!"
As if suddenly reminded of this sudden thought, Shen Wei hastily looked around the courtyard they were at.
He sighed in relief. Luckily, no one was around. If one was to find out this prince possessed such frightening power, he was afraid Wu Shan sect would be pestered by a lot of Zuo's family members and their factions in the future. ZhouLei would not be able to cultivate properly either, his power would always be coveted by people who wished to take advantage of it.
It only lasted a few breaths and finally ZhouLei's feet landed on the ground. He opened his eyes, and Shen Wei could see disappointment in them. ZhouLei handed the sword back to Shen Wei,
"As expected. I am still unable to control my qi to move the sword freely. I thought I would already be able to order it to fly from my hand to under my feet."
Shen Wei, "..."
"You are disappointed?? Wait until shifu hears about this."
Shen Wei coughed, "Never mind that. Naturally, you will be able to do that in the future. Besides, it is not necessarily your lack of skill. My sword has been imbued with my qi. Naturally it is much harder for other people to control it, let alone someone below my current rank of cultivation. You will later find out that Sages' swords are practically impossible to be used by anyone else."
"When you have your own sword and instill it with your own qi, naturally it will adhere to your wish. Any object that has been instilled by a cultivator's qi is almost akin to their own limb. Don't forget that."
ZhouLei's eyes flashed with understanding and Shen Wei laughed, his charming face full of pride. They continued to walk side by side.
"Oh that's right, shidi." Shen Wei tilted his head, "Who is that girl who spoke to you earlier?"
Before ZhouLei got the chance to reply, he trailed on, "She does not look bad. In the future, she will definitely be a beauty. But alas, I could not sense an ounce of qi in her. She will never be a cultivator. I can see that she is interested in you. But shidi, you have to carefully choose your Dao partner in the future. Anyone who is less than worthy will not do. You are an individual with an outstanding talent and a disciple of Wu Shan sect. There will be plenty of women who want to be your Dao partner. But you have to -."
Shen Wei paused abruptly as ZhouLei held his right palm up and looked up to him with an incredulous expression.
"Shixiong." ZhouLei's eyebrows were knitted slightly, his voice carried a slight of helplessness, "How old am I?"
Shen Wei blinked, "Six years, six months, fourty-seven days."
ZhouLei's eyes twitched at his reply, and then he sighed,
"That is right. I. Am. Six. Years. Old."
Then he walked ahead, not willing to spare another glance at his mother-hen shixiong.
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Sage Shen Zheng was looking at the moon while sipping his tea from his room's small porch. The inn he was at was located at the town of Jiang, the trio were on their way back to Wu Shan sect. It was basic, but it was adequate for a good night's sleep.
He was reminded of his meeting with Shuan Bing that morning. Although he knew that it would be the last time he would ever see his shizhi, he could not help but to be irked with her personality.
He had heard about Shuan Bing's lukewarm treatment towards ZhouLei from Shen Wei for the past years. And he got to see it with his own eyes during his visit. Shuan Bing definitely kept her distance, only giving ZhouLei idle perfunctory farewell advices when they talked.
"I don't want him to get sad or miss me too much." Shuan Bing had confessed to Shen Zheng about the reasoning behind her actions.
Although Shen Zheng was definitely someone who had seen a lot in the world, he was still somewhat annoyed with Shuan Bing's half-hearted decisions.
She loved Zuo JinLong, hence she left Wu Shan sect years ago to be with him.
She came to hate Zuo JinLong, but she did not want to extricate herself from the situation.
She hated Zuo JinLong, yet she still chose to carry the child in her belly, bringing a new soul into the world.
She loved Zuo ZhouLei, but her affection towards her son was on and off, like a flickering candle.
Shen Zheng lamented at the sky and muttered,
"Shixiong... . perhaps it is best that you are no longer in this world. I can just imagine your heartbreak if you were to see Bing-er like this. Forget it. I hope the both of you, father and daughter, can reconcile in the afterlife."
He just turned his body and was about to retreat back inside his room when he saw a familiar figure at the balcony two doors to his left.
Shen Wei and ZhouLei had just gotten out of their room, presumably to also catch some fresh air. Sage Shen Zheng noticed the two conversing in low voices and was about to call out to remind them to not sleep too late.
Then his voice was caught in his throat as he saw ZhouLei climbed over the wooden railing and jumped.
Their room was on the second floor!
An adult might only suffer some broken bones, but ZhouLei was just a small child.
"Has this boy gone crazy from suddenly missing his Mother?" Shen Zheng was about to jump as well to catch the boy before he completely hit the ground. After all, Shen Zheng's qing-gong was exceptional and he was confident he would be quick enough to reach ZhouLei.
He had just prepped his jump, then he saw ZhouLei happily display a flawless qing-gong skills in front of Shen Wei. The boy's face was radiant as his body agilely flew from the porch's railing to the nearby tree, then back again, and again. Not the slightest fatigue could be seen from him, his breaths were steady, his qi flowed strong.
Until he finally noticed Shen Zheng standing a few feet to his right side. The old Sage had his jaw opened wide.
ZhouLei flew back towards Shen Wei, who by this time also noticed their shifu's astonished expression.
They bowed simultaneously, greeting him, "Shifu!"
Shen Zheng blinked a few times. He was not sure what to think.
Although Shuan Bing and Zuo JinLong were two talented Enlighteneds, their speed of cultivation in their younger years were only slightly better than normal. They only attained qing-qong when they were mid-tier Martial-Artists.
"This child ... is truly... ." Sage Shen Zheng whispered to himself. He could not find the right term to describe what he had just witnessed and his heart beat wildly. He definitely could not let this treasure be known by the treacherous Zuo Imperial Family. After Shuan Bing, there would be no more disciple of Wu Shan sect that would fall prey to the power play in the Palace.
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----------Runexi's notes---------
Yay timeskip! Otherwise this story will span over hundreds of chapters *irresponsible author detected*