Liang Fei and Xieren walked down the hall, one after the other. Xieren was still abuzz with joy. His head felt all full of cotton and his face a bit hot but neither was an unpleasant feeling.

His head pat was... really nice~

It wasn't like before, when Shizun would run his fingers through his hair but that gentle pressure, strong but light, was one he'd missed. He'd used to get them all the time when Shizun was Brother Tankian but now it was just a slight pat.

Xieren was greedy and wanted more.

As Xieren tried to come up with ways to get his beloved, proper head pat, Liang Fei was kicking himself for having done such a thing.

Xieren hadn't said a word but from the intense stare he'd been getting since they left, Liang Fei knew he was not pleased. Had he not made it clear that he disliked Liang Fei touching him yet he dared to do so so blatantly.

How terrible~

But how could he help it? It was unconscious, just a reflex from his time spent with his sister. She too was often reluctant to do the proper thing so to make her feel less sour about it, he'd always pet her gently. It never failed to sooth her ego and make her happy.

Part of his wondered when Xieren had gotten so dear to him that he started treating him like family. Of all his students, Xieren was the only one that had him forgetting who he was with and acting as if he was home.

It wasn't a bad feeling but he couldn't forget what his goals were.

While he greatly enjoyed his time as Shao Liang Fei, he didn't forget who he really was. That he, at some point in time, would have to go back home to his family. He'd have to make amends to his sister, who was probably crying like a baby. His Aunt and Uncle would be tired from work and need help around the house. His friend would berate him for scaring them while denying he was in that group.

He'd be back.

Then his thoughts drifted toward those he'd met while living as this villainous man. The other masters, who initially disliked him, were people who came to him despite his cold exterior. They didn't understand him to the level that allowed true friendship but Liang Fei enjoyed the conversations he could have.

His students, old and young alike, he loved them all. They were precious to him, bringing him jo he'd only dreamed about before. They were hard to deal with sometimes, most of them being rowdy and stubborn but as soon as they saw him, they'd smile and call out to him.

Shizun! Shizun! Shizun!

Every time they called out to him, their eyes filled with trust and admiration, Liang Fei felt just a bit more love for them. If it was possible, he'd be beaming from ear to ear all day long.

Then there was Xieren, who challenged him at all hours of the day, striving to best him for whatever reason yet always eager to listen to him vent his small concerns on him. Sometimes, they'd just sit around and relax, not saying a word. Just content to be around one another.

Those were his favorite times.

Liang Fei felt a bit bad for having a favorite despite going through all the trouble to avoid that. If he picked favorites, he might end up excluding the protagonist, whom he was still unsure of the identity of.

"Shizun!" The protagonist who followed close on his heels called out. "Shizun, about before, I-"

"I didn't mean to touch you, Xieren I just happened to rest my hand on your head." He interrupted, guessing what was about to said, Surely he was angry about being touched. "I couldn't help but notice though that you have taken better care of yourself recently. Good."

Liang Fei had been getting concerned. Xieren was always surrounded by girls yet never took very good care of himself. He was clean and no longer had to go days without a bath but the young man never brushed his hair so it was usually a mess.

When they were together, Liang Fei had gotten into the habit of brushing out his hair, to make him more presentable. While it was not the best, it was an improvement.

Especially since Xieren had grown into such a handsome young man. It was easy to see why girls flocked to his side and fawned over him. While Liang Fei was never close enough to hear their words, seeing the boy interacting with the opposite sex made him happy, wanting the child to meet others and possibly fall in love.

Whoever he chose would be lucky to have ended up with such a handsome young man. Who knew what he might look like as an adult. Anymore good looking and he might topple a nation or two.

Liang Fei looked forward to cheering him on.

"T-thank you, Shizun." Xieren mumbled, his hand unconsciously touching his now smooth hair. He'd been using the oil Xinyi had made him but even after all the admiring looks he'd gotten, Shizun's single word had him clutching his chest, trying to contain the feeling of pure joy. "A-Yi made it for me."

"Ah, I'm glad you are getting along with her still." He replied, nodding sagely. He already knew how close the two were. As far as he knew, Xinyi was the girl he'd met on his first day and was the only girl he saw Xieren with consistently.

She was also Zhihao's apprentice. He knew this since he'd often sneak in his office to borrow stuff and had to hide from the young girl himself. She really was a sweet child, working so hard.

(AN: Now I'm just imagining ninja LF hiding behind a conveniently shaped lamp.)

Xieren was also happy to have a sister like Xinyi. She was annoying most of the time but she could actually be useful at times like this. Her nagging about his hair had lead to him getting a head pat.

Perhaps he should show some kindness and reward her. Maybe by listening to one of her lectures on alchemy or something.

Later on, when he was suffering through one of her lengthy lectures, he'd think back to this moment and curse himself for putting his future self through this hell.

More importantly though, he still hadn't said what he wished to.

"Shizun, was that Elder Zi before in your study?" He asked, his tone soft though sharp to anyone else's ears. Xieren was very upset, seeing someone in Shizun's room. Disciples were fine, since he could compete with them if he trained hard enough but elders? He was not yet at that level.

How could he prove himself to be better if they were Elders? That would take too long!

"Oh, yes, Elder Shuren comes by everyone once in a while." He replied, not really thinking much about it. In his mind, he was just happy to see the young man take an interest in an adult other than him. He loved being relied on but sometimes, this master needed a break.

"Truly?" Xiren grumbled, disliking the casual tone his master used. He visited often? How come? For how long? What did they do when together? All these questions burned his tongue, so eager to ask but instead, all that came out was, "So you... like spending time with him?"

"It is pleasant to talk with adults." Liang Fei replied with a nod.

"Shizun doesn't like talking to us disciples?" Xieren's scowled deepened. Was he not adult enough to talk to Shizun anymore?

"Shizun adores his disciples." He assured, a bit confused but willing to continue. "You are all precious to me."

"But not to talk to?"

Liang Fei thought about his discussion with Shuren and grimaced a bit. The subject they spoke about was classified, meant to only stay between the three of them to ensure there were not leaks.

While Liang Fei didn't think there was any spies in their sect, assuming such thing was a quick way to get duped so it as decided they'd keep quiet about the specifics. It was also why the two protested so heavily his decision to take along a disciple as he went to investigate. It was selfish of him to endanger someone but he felt he'd need someone by his side.

Liang Fei, absent minded as he was, saw nothing strange about this thought of his. While he knew not why he felt this way, he knew he absolutely couldn't go on this mission alone. Someone had to come with him.

This was forefront in his mind when he came up with the reward for winning the Sunjin Conference.

Once again, the plot affected all those who dared enter it's domain.

Despite all that, Liang Fei knew better than to speak of such things with his students. There were things that children must not know and must not be spoken about.

"Talking with disciples in the way I speak with Elder Zi is... inappropriate." He replied, thinking it might be the right way to put it. Surely, Xieren would understand.

He did not.

With fists clenched, Xieren glared at the ground. Elder Zi was someone Shizun preferred to talk to? Did that mean that the things Shizun had spoken about with him had also been said to that man?

Xieren absolutely did not want that.

"We disciples are shameful to talk to?" He bit out, keeping his voice low. "... Are we so worthless?"

Liang Fei stopped to look at Xieren. He really was confused. Why was he so upset now? He wanted to end the conversation but from the look on the boys face, he was clearly in need of a response.

He didn't want his student to think he was viewed as worthless.

"No! It's not like that." He tried to reassure, a bit awkward since he wasn't even sure what was happening. How did he get worthless from all that he'd said? "It's just... there are things that only adults can discuss."

"Only adults?" At this, Xieren looked up, his eyes bright with confusion. Seeing the child a bit less upset, Liang Fei continued forward.

"En." He nodded, a bit relieved to have cleared things up. "Those matters can't be discussed around children, no matter what, because they are not appropriate."

Xieren said nothing, frowning as he thought to himself. Thinking the matter concluded, Liang Fei relaxed, eager to get out of the house. Just then, they reached the courtyard, which was filled with disciples.

There weren't as many as Liang Fei expected but it would make picking the best of them easier.

All the while, Xieren walked into the crowd, his mind plagued with just one question.

What are adult matters?

***

"Xuejie." Xieren ran up to his friend, seeing him some distance from the others. This wasn't anything new though. Despite how friendly the young man was, he rarely interacted with other disciples save for Xieren and Xinyi.

When asked, he'd just say something about 'knowing who and who not to know'.

Xieren didn't question it since he could understand the principal. Xuejie was a wary person, much like him it seemed.

"Yo, bro." He smiled in greeting. "I see you found Shizun. What were you guys talking about?"

"...Adult matters?" He replied, still a bit confused. Xuejie mirrored that confusion.

"...What?" Taken aback, Xuejie stared at his friend confused as to how this conversation got to that subject. As usual, Xieren cared nothing for this man's stability of sanity as he continued.

"Xuejie, do you know about things like that?" He demanded, pinning him to the tree Xuejie leaned on. The atmosphere was getting a bit strange and the young man felt a weird kind of pressure on him.

"Me?!" Xuejie jumped, wanting to escape but seeing none.

Xieren was very curious about the matter, wanting to know now if his Shizun was involved in something with that horrid man. In all the time he'd lived in the sect, he could only recall seeing Zi Shuren twice. Once in passing and the first when he'd first arrived.

His memory at the time was fuzzy since he was sick at the time but he'd never forget the look as that man stared down at him from his home. Cold and distant, as if looking at a bug.

He absolutely couldn't let such a person be near his Shizun.

"You always act like you know a lot so you must know about things like this." He stated, cocking a brow. "So what are adult matters? You know about them, right?"

Xuejie relaxed, happy that this was just Xieren being curious about the subject rather than something ambiguous. Knowing Shizun, he probably didn't explain a thing to this young man.

Though considering Xieren's age, Xuejie was more confused as to how he didn't already know about things like this. Surely, he noticed the changes to his body, certain reactions to stimuli and the like. How could he not know?

Then again, if Shizun was talking about such things, perhaps this young man was a late bloomer.

Ah, his poor protagonist~

As the most mature person in the room, Xuejie felt it was his duty to enlighten the young man on the beauties of the adult world. He'd dreamed of this day.

"Adult matters are generally matters that occur between a man and a woman." He answered wisely, smirking to himself. "A unity between their bodies and hearts."

"A unity?" He echoed, confused still. "I don't understand."

Xuejie clutched his chest, wiping a tear in his heart for this pure child before him. He didn't even know of the wonders of the fairer sex or even of the rapture of his teen years.

Perhaps he hadn't even cared for himself in that regard.

Oh this poor pitiful child!

Xuejie was about to speak but was interrupted by Liang Fei calling them all together. While most of the disciples were nervous, they were confident they could do as their master wished and make him proud.

"We can talk about this later." Xuejie said, gesturing to the slowly forming crowd in front of them. "I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Xieren said, letting the young man go. With an elegant stride, Xieren glided into the crowd, unknowingly gaining the attention of some of the disciples around him. Xuejie could only light a candle for those poor students, attracted to the young man's aura and poise.

Really, have some mercy on us mere mortals, Mr good-looking. Xuejie thought, sighing with envy.

Yet even as he was admired and envied, Xieren's eyes were solely on Liang Fei, who stood proud and tall. Gazing out into the crowd, his expression stoic, he filled the air with tension as he spoke.

"Today's match is just to choose who will represent me in the conference. While you might be up against disciples much stronger than you, you should feel light of heart." He said, unknowingly adding to their concerns. "It is true that if you lose, it might reflect badly on me but I'm not concerned since you are all my students. There's no need to be nervous at all." He said, missing the sweat dripping down everyone's neck. Such a task, a role, was one that everyone wished to hold but also came with so much pressure.

The system of choosing a representative was a series of one on one matches in which the last 3 disciples standing would be sent to face the other chosen disciples from other divisions. One person from each division was to be sent to represent the sect as a whole.

This tournament style of choosing was the most efficient but also lead to some unfair pairings since it was entirely random. This was the reason for many of the disciples nerves but to hear him speak them out so bluntly was worse.

If they didn't know any better, they'd swear he was deliberately adding on their nerves as a cruel joke but looking at the light in his eyes, they could tell.

This was Shizun encouraging them.

Suddenly, all the strength left them, leaving them wondering how to overcome this man's 'pep talk' and do so with enthusiasm.

Yet the ordeal continued, as Liang Fei casually listed out all the ways things could go wrong and how hard it'd be to continue. All the while Liang Fei paced back and forth, his focus on getting his ideas out.

He had wanted his students to know how stressful things would be. To him, not telling them what to expect was a cruel act, that would leave them floundering about when things got rough. While he wasn't sure about a lot of things, he knew about stress, so he chose to save his precious students from that by laying bare all that could go wrong, from the common to the vastly unlikely but possible.

Hence he spoke for a few minute before turning back to crowd of students who'd signed up to represent him.

Yet all he was met with was a mostly deserted yard.

Eh? Where did everyone go?