Chapter 41: Sanctuary
[Will you ever stop calling me Old Cat? I don't like it.]
Li Chen retorted. His gaze cruised her gorgeous figure—garbed in a light green robe and white inner robe.
"You'll get used to it."
Li Chen stopped behind her and their eyes met. Tilting her head, Xiu Ying turned away, "your performance was incredible."
[You asked me to win so I did.] Li Chen said it passively.
"Is that so? I could have sworn I felt your boiling desire to be a disciple." Xiu Ying chuckled softly and glimpsed at him from the corner of her left eye.
Li Chen scoffed and crossed his arms. Xiu Ying's abode was located at the highest peak of the mountain. From here, he saw clouds below them!
Below the clouds were buildings and students garbed in light green robes and white Hanfu belts, which identified them as outer disciples.
"Do you know what that is?"
Xiu Ying pointed at a grand white structure situated on a floating island.
[I don't. What is it?]
"It's called the sanctuary. Outer disciples can go in once a month, inner disciples can go in twice and core disciples have a quota of five."
[What does it do?]
"Unique techniques of great geniuses that have left our realm thousands or hundreds of years ago are there. Including their comprehension.
The structure is also built with a formation that stores a massive amount of star energy.
Xiu Ying turned to Li Chen and he turned his head toward her.
"That is the paradise of any disciple."
[I see.]
Her golden eyes gleamed as she watched him stare at the sanctuary in silence. Her eyes subconsciously trailed to his chest and after a short deliberation, she spoke.
"How did I feel?"
[How did it feel?]
"Having an arrow right through your chest."
Li Chen blinked, looked at his chest and looked back at the girl who asked a question many women wouldn't.
Didn't she think he might have been sensitive to that?
Considering her agenda, Xiu Ying certainly wasn't a soft woman. At least no man had brought out that part of her.
[It feels surreal. I felt pain yet I also felt perplexed. Sometimes I think there's an entity programming some of my emotions. I do this that I ordinarily wouldn't do without reacting badly.]
Xiu Ying's lashes swept up and she blinked. "Like what?"
[Killing. Acting like it's normal to have this mask on and not knowing why I have it on.]
"So you never had that mask before you entered the coffin?"
[I don't remember.]
"None of the elders stopped you so that means you aren't old."
[...?]
Staring fixedly at Li Chen, Xiu Ying's inner sight scanned him and her eyes suddenly dilated.
[Did you find anything?]
"I did."
[So, how old am I?]
"Just twenty-two." Xiu Ying couldn't believe the words that left her lips. If Li Chen was just twenty-two, did it mean he wasn't in that coffin for thousands of years?
And if he was actually a primal, did he achieve it in his teen years?!
She was proud of achieving the immortal Daoist level after cultivating for 13 years. Although her speed slowed down greatly for many reasons, it was still considered to be the peak in the mortal realm, but this man before her...
"I'm older than you." Disbelief colored her sharp, featured, enchanting face.
[Again!] Li Chen hissed. First was Xiao Xun. When he thought he had the advantage of age over Xing Ying, his delusions had to be shattered.
"What are you?" Xiu Ying suddenly asked.
[!!!??]
"Are you really human?"
[I'm not a daemon so I'm definitely human.]
"No, you don't get it. There are more races than humans. Although those races do not live here and have few numbers, they do exist."
[Wait, what?!] Li Chen exclaimed. He never drew any other race but that didn't mean he wasn't excited to see one.
Sighing, he turned back to viewing the sect. [Human or not. I'm here, I was brought from a coffin and became your slave.]
"It's my luck." Xiu Ying's reply made him glare at her.
"You must have been something beyond a mere prodigy for you to be locked behind a mask that disconnects you from taking from the world."
[So you're assuming I was locked in a coffin for being too talented?!]
"That's how people are, Li Chen. I'd assume you were naive like I once was. Although I managed to keep my life, you didn't end up so well."
[If that was so, I should have simply been killed.] At this moment, Li Chen pondered if that entity had also created a backstory for him like he had done for Xiu Ying.
Just like him, she wasn't normal; however, Xiu Ying didn't seem like she was going to tell him her secret anytime soon.
"You had an arrow right through you, remember? You might not be so easy to kill. You could serve as a nice shield."
Seeing Li Chen glare at her, Xiu Ying covered her mouth with one hand and chuckled.
"Old Cat."
Li Chen turned back to her. His eyes grew narrower as Xiu Ying approached. Eventually, she stood before him, stretched her slender arm and touched his mask.
"It's cold. It's like metal and at the same time, it's not. You can see and hear. Don't you think someone did this for a specific reason and not to cause you harm?"
[He could have sealed my eyes and ears.]
"Exactly."
[I would still prefer to eat once in a while, though. Star energy doesn't taste good.] Li Chen responded as her fingers grazed the spot where his lips would have been.
Suddenly, they heard a sound and turned. Tiger Yi froze by the door, staring at both of them, who were quite close to each other.
[Brother Yi! You're here. Where is Brother Yun?] Li Chen took two steps back to avoid any form of misunderstanding.
Tiger Yi sighed.
"My master said she could only give me one. She wants Pig Yun to be my determination to train harder." Xiu Ying replied and her hands went behind her.
"Old Cat, come. Let's go pick our techniques."
Li Chen clasped his hands toward Tiger Yi, who quickly waved for him to follow Xiu Ying.
On their way out of the courtyard,
"Do you really want to be a swordsman?"
[Yes.]
"Then be a great one. I admire master swordsmen and none of them were lecherous." Xiu Ying snickered.
[You can't judge me because of a little mistake.]
Xiu Ying halted. "A little mistake?! You were looking at a woman's cleavage so blatantly and not once!"
[How else was I supposed to act? I just saw someone more beautiful than any woman I've ever seen in my life. I lacked control then.]
Xiu Ying's eyes blazed and she balled her fist. "You…!"
Despite her fury, there was an undeniable pink color on her glossy cheeks.
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