Unexpectedly, instead of refusing, Guai Zuoren gave the straw hat to the other, his face still anxious for whatever reason. The straw hat... seemed fine. A paper-like object suddenly brushed onto the male’s hand. Shen ZhaoChun flinched as he saw a dummy paper doll crawling onto his hand. So... the spiritual energy was coming from the doll. Shen ZhaoChun was dumbfounded, confused, his brows began to furrow into a frown. His glare shot through Guai Zuoren’s satisfied visage as he, the wanderer, laughed and grinned.

  “You-” Shen ZhaoChun’s voice wasn’t calm, but not loud either.

  “Aiya, so you found out about my little companion. Meet Bao!” Guai Zuoren laughed cheekily.

  Bao tried to stand up on Shen ZhaoChun’s hand, but his paper body couldn’t resist the faint wind blowing against his back. He found the paper doll pretty funny-looking. Its silhouette was chubby. The paper was thin, like normal paper, except it was a talisman rich in color, yellowish, with some red markings on its stomach. Such abnormal characters for a simple trick like moving paper dolls. But Shen ZhaoChun coudn’t care less about what the markings mean.
“You can do it Bao! Fight against the wind!” Guai Zuoren encouraged his friend.

  “What are you- a kid? Stop fooling around.” Although he was berating Guai Zuoren, he found himself smiling at the situation. Shen ZhaoChun let out a loud sigh then shoved Bao into the shallow depression of the straw hat, then gave it back to Guai Zuoren.

  “Didi, we’ve been walking for quite some time now but why haven’t you told me your name?” Guai Zuoren whined, his feet feeling sore as they walked.

  “Insolence!”

  “Ah right, the Lord’s Right-Hand Man, what is your name?” Guai Zuoren teased.

  “Let’s depart-”

  “Wha- Don’t leave me behind! I still wanted to hang around.” Guai Zuoren yelled, his voice was dramatic. The cultivator slowly felt annoyed at the other’s enthusiasm. When they’ve just met, the wanderer was fearful of his demeanor, now the tables turned, and he regretted coming after this lunatic.

  As Guai Zuoran chuckled, something familiar sparked again, his tone, and his smile. Shen ZhaoChun had seen them before. Somehow, the image of that person that he’d seen so vividly before like it was just yesterday blurred out, but the smile and the laugh was kept clear, although still hazy, but how could he ever forget such a smile that was so heart-warming it put all minds at ease. As the image flickered away, Shen ZhaoChun could feel his eyes begin to moisten, zoning out as his hand slightly moved, as if he wanted to reach for the person.

  His thought was interrupted by the yelling from the hill nearby the road. The hill was far away, but he could still see the top of the hill. From afar, he could see some disciples from different Sects running up and down the hill with some of the disciples from his Sect.

  Some of them were retreating while others dared to unsheathe their swords and weapons to clash against the provoked ghosts.

  “Ooh! They looked like they’re having so much fun over there, I’m going to join them.” Guai Zuoren clowned, but still held true to his words and ran towards the students, and the ghosts that were chasing them ferociously.

  “Such incompetent disciples…” Shen ZhaoChun stared at the group. Their skills were so dull, even an intermediate talisman could be effective enough to handle ghosts. It was not arrogance that made him say that. It was scorn. Having such privileges to be able to study in the Heavenly Pavilion, but these specific disciples were failing their classes. Hence why their teacher is forced to take them on a hunt for once. If they can’t even fight back ghosts, they can’t call themselves cultivators. The scene was getting embarrassing for Shen ZhaoChun to watch. The students were getting older, but they’re certainly not growing up for even the slightest bit.

  For Shen ZhaoChun, nothing is more painful than having to stand there and watch them making a joke out of themselves. He decided to end this at once, running toward the group. As he began to get closer to the group, Guai Zuoren was faster. He quickly got rid of all the ghosts with his flying talismans before Shen ZhaoChun was able to unsheathe his sword. There’s no need for backup from him now. Although the students didn’t do that much work, they were exhausted, probably from just running around all day without being able to land a hit. Shen ZhaoChun was so mad that he could summon his whip and give them all a beating that they will never forget. The disciples could feel his anger, and they were very lucky that he was not their Master, or else they would not survive his whipping. But disciplining wasn’t his job.

  “Ah, so you’re on your way to the Bailing Pond too.” A voice spoke up from behind.

  “Master.” Shen ZhaoChun clasped his hands together, lowering his head to a bow, facing the Master.

  “There’s no need for that.” The Master brought with him a lot of disciples, including those who had passing grades.

  “And the disciples from the Training Ground, aren’t they supposed to stay there for another month?” Shen ZhaoChun questioned. The Training Ground is not easily accessible, only those with special skills and potential are welcomed. Although the majority of them left the Training Ground later on because they couldn’t handle the pressure, they were still praised for giving it a try. But then people will later forget about them, no matter how much meritorious deeds they’ve done, because cultivators who went through the Training Ground are most likely going to be recommended to the people more.

  “The First Lady of the Jiang Clan wanted to try out a new teaching system in a new location, where those who passed their training sessions could help those who struggled.” The Master paused for a brief moment before continuing. “And you’re still burning incense for her?”

  Without answering, Shen ZhaoChun nodded, he no longer felt the heat of his frustration. He came to Bailing Pond to burn incense for his mother from time to time. The owner of the pond was his uncle, so he built a small shrine dedicated to his mother.

  “And those ghosts, they were from you, weren’t they?”

  “I was merely testing them,” The Master sighed before he finished up his sentence. “At this rate, they won’t be able to become cultivators.”

  “Who let them enter the Heavenly Pavilion anyway? They aren’t fit to be cultivators. Just because they’re born with Ignition Cores by bloodlines, it doesn’t make them natural born cult-” Shen ZhaoChun heated up again. The disciples can hear him, but they’re in no postion to be talking back to him. After all, he’s right.

  “That’s enough.” Guai Zuoren interrupted Shen ZhaoChun. “Let’s go.” He bowed to the Master once, then dragged Shen ZhaoChun with him.