Chapter Six: Wan’er’s Father

The news of Ding Yushan leaving in a huff after failing to make trouble for Xu Wen quickly spread among the many registered disciples, carrying with it a host of rumors in various versions. Many believed that Xu Wen and Ding Yushan must have had some kind of conflict, but Ding Yushan had come away empty-handed. Others suspected that Xu Wen had the backing of an elder from the Seventh Alchemy Peak, so he was unafraid of Ding Yushan—hence their unpleasant parting. Whatever the truth, it was a fact that Xu Wen continued to cultivate in the same chamber as Mu Wan’er, and the strongest among the registered disciples, Ding Yushan, had not troubled him again. That alone hinted at something significant.

To the registered disciples, there was no doubt that Xu Wen had some powerful support. This only made him more mysterious in their eyes and strengthened their conviction that he was already a shoo-in for promotion to the inner sect. As a result, everyone trained with renewed determination, vying for the last two slots as inner disciples.

Ironically, the three assigned to observe, including Mixue, and the central figure in this latest disturbance, Mu Wan’er herself, remained entirely oblivious to all of it.

“Senior brother, you seem to be progressing even faster with your cultivation. Just a few days ago, I reached the seventh stage, and now you’re nearly at the ninth.” In the training chamber, Mu Wan’er pursed her lips as she watched her senior brother deftly switch between the mid-level one-star spells “Fiery Hand” and “Flame Blade.” Her eyes held a trace of aggrieved longing.

No wonder she felt this way.

For twenty days, she had trained diligently, striving to close the gap with Xu Wen, always keeping their difference within a single stage. Yet recently, she noticed his cultivation speed had increased yet again. Normally, as one ascended in rank, the difference in training speed should shrink, but just a few days ago, she realized Xu Wen had once more pulled ahead by more than a stage, and the gap was still widening.

At this rate, Mu Wan’er knew she would only fall farther and farther behind.

Despite her meticulous effort during cultivation, she could not determine the cause of this disparity. After several days, she could restrain her curiosity no longer and finally voiced her question.

Xu Wen had anticipated that she would ask.

A lazy smile curled at the corners of his mouth. With a flick of his crimson right arm, the fire element clinging to it warped suddenly, shooting forth from his hand in a blazing arc that condensed into a flame blade nearly a foot long.

Whoosh!

The flame blade sliced through the air, much faster than a fireball, and in the blink of an eye buried itself in the battered stone target, carving a deep groove nearly two inches deep.

Surveying the shattered, misshapen target, Xu Wen shook his head and sighed. “Time to change the target again.”

“Senior brother…” Mu Wan’er sat on the floor, pouting as she glared up at him.

Xu Wen chuckled, then reached behind his neck and produced a piece of jewelry—a pendant strung with a purple jade medallion. Under Wan’er’s startled and embarrassed gaze, he fastened it gently around her swan-white neck, raising a faint blush on her delicate skin.

“I borrowed this from Ding Yushan. It helps you recover your energy more quickly, and it also lets you sense fire elements faster than usual. Wear it for a few days and you’ll catch up again.”

“Thank you, senior brother.” Joyfully, Wan’er stroked the purple jade pendant now resting against her chest. She didn’t know why the proud, unapproachable Ding Yushan would have lent something so precious to Xu Wen, but she could sense the focused aura it radiated and knew its value.

Now that her senior brother had entrusted it to her, she felt a warm glow in her heart.

“Senior brother, when I’ve caught up to you, I’ll return the pendant, all right? Then we can take turns wearing it.”

“No need. I don’t need it anymore. From today on, you’ll wear it and train on your own…”

“Why?” Wan’er didn’t quite understand, fiddling with the pendant for a long moment before looking up in confusion.

Xu Wen hesitated. “Don’t worry about it. Within a month, you must reach two-star. After that, I’ll come back and teach you alchemy.” When Xu Wen repeated himself, he saw Wan’er’s expression darken. She lowered her head, her body trembling slightly as she summoned all her strength to stand, then forced the pendant back into Xu Wen’s hand. Without saying a word, she fixed him with a stubborn gaze, her beautiful, wounded eyes brimming with tears.

“Wan’er…” Xu Wen was startled. He looked at the pendant in his hand, then at Wan’er, her lower lip quivering as she fought back tears, and felt at a loss.

“I don’t want the pendant… Senior brother, don’t leave me. I want to keep cultivating with you.” Wan’er’s voice quavered with the threat of tears, and Xu Wen felt a pang in his heart. Unconsciously, he stepped forward and gently stroked the head of the girl who, since arriving in this world, had become his closest companion. He could feel her deep attachment to him as she looked up through her tears.

“Silly girl, I’m only going to the Blackwater Mountains to train for a while. I’ll be back soon.” In truth, after these twenty days together, the pure, introverted girl had quietly taken up a considerable place in Xu Wen’s heart.

“Blackwater Mountains? I want to go too!” Wan’er’s eyes lit up.

“No.” Xu Wen’s brows knitted as he refused her outright. “Even the weakest magical beasts in the Blackwater Mountains are at least one-star, seventh stage. It’s far too dangerous for you. If I have to protect you, I’ll be distracted.”

“But I’m now a one-star, seventh-stage fire mage. I can take care of myself. Please, let me go—I won’t be a burden.” Wan’er pleaded, her eyes searching Xu Wen’s face. After twenty days of living and training together—though they’d rarely talked about themselves and spent most days in silent, competitive cultivation—she had developed a deep reliance on him. This sense of competition was something she had never experienced before; except for her mother, it was the first time she had felt the joy and care that a man could bring.

Even the father she’d met only once, despite their blood bond, did not compare in her memory to this senior brother who had taught her so much in these twenty days. In fact, her father’s stern, unfamiliar presence gave her a sense of pressure and distance, whereas being with her senior brother made her feel relaxed, happy, and safe.

Xu Wen knew the girl was attached to him, but he had underestimated just how much he meant to Wan’er. He could not bring himself to let this naive, sheltered girl follow him into the perilous Blackwater Mountains. In the face of savage magical beasts, she might not even be able to chant her spells properly. Besides, his journey to the Blackwater Mountains was not solely for training in fire magic and gaining combat experience…

“Wan’er, be good. Wait for me. Once you reach one-star, ninth stage, I’ll take you there.”

“No!” Tears welled in Wan’er’s eyes as she threw her arms around Xu Wen. “I’m not a burden. I want to go with you.”

As Xu Wen hesitated, unsure what to do, the door to their quarters suddenly sounded with a sharp knock. Startled, the two of them sprang apart; Wan’er, flustered, hastily straightened her clothes and wiped away the traces of tears.

“Who is it?” Xu Wen called, thinking it odd for someone to come knocking at this hour. If anyone saw Wan’er looking so tearful, they might get the wrong idea.

A pleasant voice answered from beyond the door. “Junior brother Xu, it’s me.”

“Senior sister Mixue?” Both of them were surprised, and Wan’er hurried toward the training room.

“No need to hide, Wan’er. Come out—senior sister has something to say to you.” Mixue called out to the retreating girl, her gaze lingering on the fourteen-year-old boy’s face with a complex, almost inscrutable look that left Xu Wen both puzzled and uneasy. For a moment, he felt as though Mixue could see right through him—a strange sensation indeed.

Wan’er stepped before Mixue, eyes still red, head bowed in embarrassment.

“Senior sister?” In the face of the beautiful, gentle Mixue—like an elder sister—no registered disciple could muster any defiance.

“Come with me. Your… father is here.” At these words, Wan’er reacted as though struck by lightning. She jerked her head up, clutching her mouth in disbelief, and unconsciously stepped back.

“Wan’er.” Xu Wen moved to steady the girl, who seemed as frightened as a startled rabbit. Twice in one day, his heart ached for her. What kind of girl reacts with such terror at the news of her father?

After a long, conflicted hesitation, Wan’er reverted to the shy demeanor she’d shown when they first met and followed Mixue to the room at the far end of the corridor.

Xu Wen longed to follow, to see what sort of man could frighten Wan’er so, but before he could take a few steps, a voice behind him called out, “Little one, don’t meddle in what doesn’t concern you.”

He turned to see the old man who had played the role of herbalist in the city—who had brought him here and then disappeared. The old man was now standing behind him, stroking his beard and gazing at the room where Mixue and Wan’er had gone, his eyes glinting with inscrutable emotions.

“You should address me as Master,” the old man said, turning his gaze to Xu Wen with a kindly smile.

“Master?” Xu Wen was momentarily taken aback. In truth, he still didn’t know the old man’s identity, only that he held a high position in the Houghtonklin family.

“You are a disciple of the Seventh Alchemy Peak, and I am its elder.” The old man’s expression was benevolent.

So, Xu Wen thought, just as he’d suspected—this was Elder Xu, master of all the inner disciples of the Seventh Peak.

“But as I recall, only personal disciples are considered your true apprentices. I’m still just a registered disciple. Shouldn’t I be calling you ‘elder’?”

“Indeed. Not arrogant, not impatient—capable of restraint. Among your peers, you’re the most outstanding I’ve seen.” Elder Xu’s smile deepened, his eyes sharp with insight. “I’d thought you might make a fine alchemist, but I didn’t expect you to take such an interest in magic—or to use Focus Pills to train through the night. Most curious of all, you even know all about the effects of the purple jade pendant that Ding Yushan had. Honestly, if you didn’t live right here in Blackwater City, if your background for three generations wasn’t so easy to trace, I wouldn’t believe this was your first exposure to magic.”

Xu Wen felt his mouth go dry as Elder Xu laid everything bare.

This old man—he knew everything!

Seeing the shock on Xu Wen’s face, Elder Xu quickly caught on. This clever, far-too-composed boy had clearly deduced something. He smiled. “Normally, I wouldn’t interfere in a registered disciple’s training. But you—there’s something about you. And Wan’er, that innocent girl, spending her nights with you? Alone together, and Wan’er’s status is hardly ordinary. As her elders, how could we not keep an eye on you?”

Xu Wen shivered. In other words, Elder Xu had tacitly admitted he’d been under surveillance these days. Fortunately, he hadn’t revealed too much—fortunately, Elder Xu hadn’t shown up any later, or all his secrets would have been exposed to this ‘old spy.’

However…

“Because of Wan’er? Her elders? Then, her status…” The doubts and curiosity that had been brewing in Xu Wen’s mind rose to the surface.

Elder Xu gave him a long, searching look, his gaze drifting toward the room where Mixue and Wan’er had gone, and sighed. “Wan’er’s mother had a bitter life, and so does she. It didn’t have to be this way…”

Xu Wen rolled his eyes—such cryptic words only deepened the generational gulf between them. Elder Xu’s vague hints left him more confused than ever.

At that moment, Wan’er emerged from the distant room, accompanied by a plainly dressed but unmistakably noble and authoritative middle-aged man, who rested a hand on her shoulder.

That must be her father.

Xu Wen stared in astonishment at the timid, delicate Wan’er, then at the handsome, dignified man whose features faintly echoed hers.

Moments before, he had pictured Wan’er’s father as fierce, sullen, cold, or domineering—any number of images that might frighten a girl like Wan’er. Never had he imagined someone like this: elegantly attired, commanding in presence, yet gentle in his smile, so unlike a child-abusing villain.

“Is that Wan’er’s father?”

“It is,” Elder Xu stroked his beard and nodded.

“And his status within the Houghtonklin family…”

Xu Wen murmured, then noticed that as Wan’er walked away, she turned, tears clinging to her lashes, and looked back at him before quickly saying something to her father.

“Very high,” Elder Xu replied, as Xu Wen had expected.

The man glanced in Xu Wen’s direction, said something in a low voice, and Wan’er reached into her bosom and handed something to Mixue before reluctantly letting herself be led away by her father.

Xu Wen’s heart tightened with unease as he realized what Wan’er had just handed Mixue—it was the purple jade pendant he had “borrowed” from Ding Yushan.

“Where is he taking Wan’er?”

Elder Xu sighed. “He’s found her a better teacher—she’s going somewhere safe to train.”

“Safe?” Xu Wen’s body tensed at the subtle implication in Elder Xu’s words.

Elder Xu started, realizing he’d said too much. Regaining his composure, he turned away and strode off, his voice calm but firm as he addressed the persistent youth: “Forget her. You and she belong to different worlds. If I’m not mistaken, her departure will only speed up your own progress. Train well. In seventy days, I want to see how far you’ll go.”

“Different worlds, Master? There’s an old saying: ‘Never underestimate the youth of today.’ Do you really think I’ll remain an obscure nobody forever?” The certainty in Xu Wen’s tone made Elder Xu pause mid-step.

That night, a quiet sigh echoed through the darkness.

Then, with a solemn gravity, Elder Xu’s next words left Xu Wen frozen in place.

“Wan’er’s father is the patriarch of the Houghtonklin family!”

What kind of logic was that? The daughter of the illustrious patriarch, yet not safe to train within his own domain?

Xu Wen stood in stunned silence, unable to speak for a long time.

——

Few words now, to let them grow—please recommend this story if you enjoy it.