"I want a bath, Jin Li," Sun complained, tears of self pity sliding down his dusty face.
"Baths cost points," Jin Li reminded him. The school bath house was fairly large, it had to be as the school housed many students. It was also separated into sections; the first was a place to wash up, to quickly cleanse the skin of daily dirt and sweat. The second contained the baths, nothing special, but still the temptation to lie about in them and soak was there, so the school charges a handful of points for the privilege. There were also the medicinal baths and steam rooms, however as these could be considered tools in cultivation, the cost of using them were considerably higher.
"But I'm covered in bug guts!" Sun wept, the slimy innards oozing down his knives and hands onto his outer coat and trousers. It had taken them all day to clear the field within the inner alchemist school, so Sun was also sweaty and tired. Jin Li, for all the exterminating that he had performed, appeared as unruffled as when they had begun.
The number of weevils in the field had been in the tens and the beasts had also laid eggs, so the number would increase. The creatures happened to have moved in as the month preparation for the Standings began, so the inner alchemist school had struggled to attract martial arts students into helping them. Giant weevils were not really a challenge, but it was still not a pleasant task. The Teacher in charge of the fields had thought about offering pills instead of points, when two first year students had shown up.
The Teacher had been concerned, could just two first years deal with the creatures? But as he was desperate, he let them try and was happily surprised that they did not let him down. He had even doubled the points, happy he did not have to shell out his students valuable pills. Common and average pills were seldom produced in the inner school, but that did not mean common herbs were not necessary. It was lucky that the weevils had moved into this field rather than one growing uncommon and rare herbs, but it also meant that it was not worth exchanging pills or high amount of points to deal with. That would have changed if the eggs had hatched.
So Jin Li and Sun earned their first points. This amount could allow them to have standard baths for many weeks, months even, but Jin Li was feeling stingy. Why pay for a bath when he could take one at his servants' place? Granted it was not fancy and the shed was rickety and slightly open to the elements, but there was no time limit and Leon could provide him with kettles of hot water once the bath had cooled.
Thinking of this, Jin Li agreed that a bath was necessary and Sun beamed gratefully, although he would have readily spent points on one with or without his roommate in the end! Jin Li did not, however, lead them back to the martial arts school when they were transported back to the outer alchemist school. Instead, he raced through the woods in a westerly direction.
A few minutes later they arrived at a small hut that was a fair distance from the main compound. It seemed smaller than the other huts in the alchemy school, though not by much, but otherwise built the same. However, a strange metal pipe stuck out of its wall and rose upward passed the conical roof. It was surrounded by an abundant garden of fresh scented herbs and plants, something the other huts did not have at all. There was also many wooden ornaments hanging from nearby trees, including clattering pipes that whistled softly as the wind brushed passed them. While Sun was wide eyed wondering what they were doing at this strange place, Jin Li did not hesitate to walk through the dirt path of the garden to the front of the place.
There was a dusty front area, without grass nor leaves and an old shed standing to one side with a fluttering fabric as a door. The wooden door to the actual hut was open and there were voices coming from inside. Two men and a woman, from the sounds of things.
Sun saw Jin Li's jaw clench visibly as he walked into the hut without knocking. "Who are you people?" Jin Li demanded.
Sun saw a tall blond boy leaning against a wall close to a strange metal contraption, while a girl with messily pinned curls kneeled next to a narrow cot bed, her cheeks flushed pink. Sun stared at her for several moments as varied emotions flittered through him. She's so pretty! And then he noticed the person beside her, a boy with jade white skin and large black eyes, his oval face soft and clean. If it were not for his skunk striped hair, Sun would wonder who exactly this person was!
"Jin Li? Oh, I should m-make tea!" The boy looked toward them, his naked eyes unfocused as they squinted close to being shut, before attempting to rise.
"Where are your glasses?" Jin Li demanded, striding forward. He sat upon the bed beside the boy after pushing Leon back down upon it, grabbed his chin and lifted up his face.
"There was an accident," the blond boy told him.