After a jubilant Xiao Xiangyi bounced back to Yunju Pavilion, Qi Mushan had already returned. Seeing Li Xiangyi covered in sweat, Qi Mushan reacted with practiced indifference, craning his neck to see what game his young apprentice had brought home today, only to be surprised to find he was carrying nothing at all.
Qi Mushan was rather astonished instead, and could not help asking, "Xiangyi, how is it you didn't manage to bag a single thing all day?"
Xiao Xiangyi wiped the sweat from his face, thinking to himself that he needed to train even harder in martial arts so that he could reach the level of being impervious to cold and heat sooner.
There was not a trace of disappointment on Xiao Xiangyi's face for failing to catch any game; instead, he looked quite delighted. "Master, hunting isn't important. Let me tell you, today I ran into a..." Xiao Xiangyi was just about to blurt out the existence of Sesshomaru, but as his lips parted and moved, no sound came out.
He could not help freezing for a moment, then tried again to open his mouth in front of his master to utter Sesshomaru's name, only to find that still no sound would come.
Seeing this, Qi Mushan instantly grew anxious, channeling his inner energy through Xiao Xiangyi's body, yet he sensed nothing unusual.
Xiao Xiangyi pondered for a flash, and trying not to say Sesshomaru, simply called out to Qi Mushan, "Master..." This time the voice came out normally.
Seeing his apprentice speaking normally, Qi Mushan let out a sigh of relief while looking suspiciously at the boy. "You little brat, are you playing tricks on your master again!"
Xiao Xiangyi curled his lip, and tried once more to speak of the "person" he had met today, but the moment he opened his mouth, no sound came out again. Pondering this, he tentatively called out "Master..." once more. Sure enough, this time he could speak again. With Li Xiangyi's cleverness, he knew there must be some sort of magical restriction on him that prevented him from speaking of Sesshomaru's existence.
Once the eight-year-old Li Xiangyi figured it out, he felt not a shred of fear, only great excitement and wonder.
However, the moment Xiao Xiangyi looked up, he caught the increasingly suspicious look in his master's eyes. He rubbed his nose—well, who told him to pull so many pranks usually? After falling for them so many times, now that his master couldn't find anything wrong with him, how could he not suspect that the boy was up to mischief once again?
Sigh~ It seemed this secret could only be known by himself alone. As expected, I, Li Xiangyi, am the most special one!
At this thought, Xiao Xiangyi stopped trying to talk about Sesshomaru and simply let out a couple of "hehe" chuckles. "Master, I wasn't making fun of you. It's just that your apprentice is the chosen one, and there are some things the heavens only allow me to know by myself, not to be told to you..."
The more Qi Mushan listened, the more he felt this brat had cooked up yet another way to tease him today, and now he even heard him solemnly claim to be the chosen one. Qi Mushan's mouth twitched involuntarily, and his hands began to itch...
The moment he finished speaking, Xiao Xiangyi saw his master's face grow darker and darker as he rolled up his sleeves. His body reacted faster than his brain, and in a flash, he bolted three zhang away.
Qi Mushan let out a "ha!", roused his lightness kung fu, and gave chase, shouting as he ran, "You little brat, you didn't catch any game, and on top of that you have the nerve to call yourself the chosen one just to tease your master? Don't run! Let master teach you a lesson and see whether your master is the chosen one or you little brat is!"
Xiao Xiangyi darted extremely fast, yet he still couldn't outpace his master. Within a breath, he was hauled back by the back collar of his robe, lifted right off the ground by Qi Mushan.
Carrying him by the collar, Qi Mushan thought of how this brat had just bolted toward Qin Niang's peak—at a single glance, it was obvious he meant to run off and tell tales to the mistress. The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. Pulling the smelly apprentice up, he asked with a stern face, "You little brat, were you just trying to run off to your mistress's place? Were you planning to go and tell tales again?"
Xiao Xiangyi let out a couple of "hehe"s, his face the picture of innocence. "How could that be, Master? Your apprentice saw that you went out on business, and thought you'd be worried sick about whether your apprentice had eaten... So I was just going to check if Mistress had finished cooking, and if she had, to have a bite over at Mistress's place..."
Qi Mushan gave a dry "heh." "Do you think your master is so easily fooled? You little brat, get out to the courtyard, balance a bowl of water on your head, and practice horse stance as punishment!"
Xiao Xiangyi let out a long sigh, and amidst his master's renewed sleeve-rolling motion, he obediently walked toward the courtyard. Yet right before taking his punishment, he still raised his voice and yelled to his master, "Master, I smell meat! Are we having meat for dinner tonight? Master, cook a bit more, I want to eat plenty..."
Qi Mushan let out a "hmph" and ignored the brat, tilting his head back to take an appreciative sip of fine wine before strolling toward the kitchen. Fortunately, he had bought pork ribs today; otherwise, since this brat was right in the middle of a growth spurt, without meat tomorrow he wouldn't have any strength for martial arts training. But... the boy was acting genuinely strange today, so tomorrow it looked like he would have to secretly spy on what the brat was up to.
That evening, Qi Mushan indeed cooked a generous portion of braised pork ribs. With a very sweet tongue, Xiao Xiangyi praised his master's culinary skills for getting better and better, coaxing the master into a wide grin while munching on the fragrant meat, all the while thinking that tomorrow he would have to find a way to set aside a portion of food to send over to Sesshomaru.
The next day, Xiao Xiangyi rose as usual at the Mao hour for morning practice. After running through all the sword forms his master had taught him, the Chen hour arrived. At this time, after finishing his morning meal, Xiao Xiangyi would look over the various sword manuals, boxing manuals, palm techniques, and movement arts his master had given him, pondering how to synthesize them all and create his own sword and movement techniques. Before he knew it, the Si hour arrived. This was Xiao Xiangyi's study time, during which he would read the Confucian classics his master had given him, such as the Four Books and Five Classics. Although he was not taking the imperial examinations, Qi Mushan did not require him to read them cover-to-cover and memorize them thoroughly, only to read widely and explain the principles contained within.
A young lad always grew hungry terribly fast, and morning sword practice consumed a great deal of physical energy, so without waiting past noon, Qi Mushan would prepare the midday meal, intentionally cooking a little extra so his apprentice wouldn't be left with nothing to eat if he grew hungry in the afternoon.
Normally, Xiao Xiangyi could eat three large bowls of rice at midday. Aside from fine wine, Qi Mushan did not consume much food; generally, once he finished eating, he would sit nearby sipping wine while watching his apprentice tuck in with gusto.
Today, wondering how Sesshomaru was doing, Xiao Xiangyi shoveled his rice down at lightning speed. The moment his master put down his chopsticks, he finished his own food as well, swiftly gathered and washed the bowls and chopsticks, and wiped the table clean. Only then did he stealthily pack the leftover midday food into a large bowl, tucked a pair of chopsticks into his tunic, and scurried off toward the mountain forest with a furtive air. Once he was clear of Yunju Pavilion, he called out loudly to report to his master, "Master, I'm going for a stroll on the mountain..."
Seeing his apprentice dash off with a speed that put a rabbit to shame, Qi Mushan tilted his head back to take a sip of wine, his eyes narrowing slightly. He always felt this apprentice of his was acting abnormal. After a moment of thought, he quietly followed behind him.
When Xiao Xiangyi arrived at the spot where Sesshomaru was, Sesshomaru was still lingering in the exact same place as yesterday without having moved, except that he looked much more relaxed overall.
Sesshomaru's right leg was slightly bent, half-leaning against the tree trunk, as he raised his gaze to watch Li Xiangyi come running up.
Reaching his side, Xiao Xiangyi was pleasantly surprised to find that the food he had left here yesterday had been eaten, and a broad smile instantly bloomed across his face. Seeing the child's expression, Sesshomaru remained expressionless, yet he turned his head away slightly and his ears twitched involuntarily... The spiritual Qi in this place was far too scarce, and his Demonic Power was recovering slowly; he needed to extract energy from food to accelerate the healing of his wounds.
Xiao Xiangyi sat down cross-legged and handed the food he had protected inside his tunic to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru glanced at it, feeling a bit awkward inside, and did not take it.
Xiao Xiangyi suddenly remembered the injury on Sesshomaru's left hand and wondered whether he should feed him. Yet thinking of his temperament, he felt that someone who looked so powerful and proud would certainly dislike him doing such a thing. With this thought, Xiao Xiangyi placed the food down beside Sesshomaru, stood up to fill his waterskin with mountain spring water, and then used gestures to tell Sesshomaru that he was leaving for a moment to hunt.
Only after watching him run into the distance did Sesshomaru lift his gaze toward the upper canopy of the forest. Following the direction of his gaze, Qi Mushan felt in an instant as if he had been locked onto by some powerful, ferocious beast, and his entire body trembled beyond his control...
Qi Mushan mustered every ounce of strength in his body to suppress the involuntary terror deep within his heart, forcing himself to look toward the spot that made him feel threatened, only to find it completely empty, with nothing there except the food and waterskin Xiangyi had left behind.
Having followed his apprentice here, Qi Mushan had seen Xiangyi seemingly talking to something he couldn't see, yet he couldn't hear a single word of what was said. Afterward, his apprentice gestured toward that empty space, which made him suspect whether there was something weird or sinister about this place. Thinking of his beloved apprentice, he forcibly suppressed the rising tide of fear in his heart and stepped forward to investigate.
As Qi Mushan shouldered the immense pressure and walked to within a single zhang of Sesshomaru, Tenseiga stirred slightly, slowly unfurling a barrier as spiritual energy rippled outward like waves...
Qi Mushan only felt something gently wash over his entire body. His thoughts stalled, his gaze went blank, and then he turned around and vanished into the distance with a few bounds.
After Qi Mushan left, Tenseiga returned to stillness. Sesshomaru withdrew his gaze, picked up the food on the ground with his right hand, and popped a mouthful into his mouth. Instantly, his eyes widened slightly—this food was a delicacy he had never tasted before...
Sesshomaru finished the food bite by bite, then converted the energy within the food to gather the few wisps of Demonic Power inside his body, slowly repairing the injuries on his person.
Meanwhile, back in the trees, Qi Mushan watched his apprentice practice lightness kung fu. Xiao Xiangyi had found a pack of wolves and provoked the wolf king. Once they surrounded him, he leaped right into the center of the wolf pack's encirclement, honing his movement arts amidst a flurry of constant dodging and weaving.
Qi Mushan took a swig of wine, shook his head as he muttered "you little brat," and quietly kept watch nearby just in case. Once the brat bounded up to a high treetop and the wolf pack retreated, he turned and left with a few agile leaps.
After finishing his routine round of play with the wolf pack today, Xiao Xiangyi panted as he recovered his breath at the top of a tree, and then he started worrying about what to do regarding Sesshomaru's daily meals.
Thinking it over, since his master knew nothing of Sesshomaru's existence, he only cooked extra food at midday. Sesshomaru was injured, and by the looks of him, he certainly needed nourishment; just one meal a day was definitely not enough...
After turning it over in his mind, Xiao Xiangyi touched the slingshot at his waist and suddenly remembered that he could hunt game and roast meat for him, and even pick fruit for him as well!
The moment this thought occurred to him, Xiao Xiangyi instantly perked up, kicked off with both legs, and began scouring the mountains...
And so, around the late afternoon hour, Sesshomaru beheld the human child returning with a large armful of wild fruit and five wild rabbits dangling from his hand.
Xiao Xiangyi placed the leaves wrapped around wild raspberries and wild grapes beside Sesshomaru, then picked up the waterskin, gave it a shake, and discovered all the water inside had been drunk. He stood up, made a few agile leaps to hurry over to the stream to fetch water, washed a large leaf clean by the spring, and returned to Sesshomaru's side.
After washing the wild raspberries and wild grapes, Xiao Xiangyi placed them on the clean leaf. Seeing that Sesshomaru's head was still turned to the right and he hadn't moved, he thought for a moment, then scampered over to Sesshomaru's right side and held the items up right before his eyes to signal him to eat.
In truth, from yesterday until today, Sesshomaru had been secretly observing this human child. Strangely enough, he felt no anger toward his "presumption" of yesterday. Moreover, yesterday he had even told him his own name—though Sesshomaru told himself in his heart that it was only because, as a powerful member of the Demon Tribe, he disdained owing favors to humans, and telling him his name, Sesshomaru, was merely to show that he would grant him protection.
Yet deep down, Sesshomaru had to admit that he actually did not find this human's proximity repulsive. However, forcing himself to admit that he was lingering his gaze upon such a tiny human made him deeply uncomfortable, so he had been exercising restraint and avoiding looking at him too much.
Yet this human cub not only showed no fear of him, but of his own accord grew even more affectionate. Born a noble and powerful pure-blooded demon, in the brutally cruel demon world where the strong preyed upon the weak, kindness, pity, and affection were exceedingly rare. Ever since reaching adulthood, this was his first time facing a mortal injury, and also his first time experiencing the existence of such things.
Seeing that Sesshomaru remained silent and made no move, Xiao Xiangyi flashed a broad smile at him, reached out to pick a wild grape and a raspberry, popped them straight into his mouth and ate them, and then signaled to him once more.
Witnessing this human cub's actions and seeing the eager anticipation in his eyes, under that radiant smile, Sesshomaru finally raised his hand slowly and picked a raspberry to put into his mouth.
A little sweet... and a little sour... It was a very peculiar texture. In his four hundred years of memories, Sesshomaru seemed to remember eating this kind of food when he was still a cub. Unexpectedly, this actually stirred a bit of nostalgia within him...
At this thought, Sesshomaru raised his hand again to pick a grape, finding it had that same sweet-and-sour taste. Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed slightly of their own accord, a trace of imperceptible pleasure flashing through his gaze.
Seeing Sesshomaru take the initiative to eat, Xiao Xiangyi felt the corners of his own lips turn upward. He reached out to pick a grape for himself and ate it. With the sweet-and-sour flavor and the handsome "person" beside him, he narrowed his eyes in enjoyment, the smile on his face growing even brighter...
Watching this human cub share this food with him, Sesshomaru knew such an act was considered extremely presumptuous and disrespectful in the Dog Tribe. Aside from mates, who might do such a thing, if any other peers engaged in such behavior, they would be attacked or even killed. Yet thinking that this human had saved his life, and that the food had been caught by him anyway, Sesshomaru merely let out a cold snort in his heart and forgave the human's presumption once more.
Once the wild fruit was finished, the stimulating sourness made Xiao Xiangyi feel hungry all over again. He sprang to his feet, grabbed the hunted rabbits, and ran over to the stream to clean them before hurrying not far from Sesshomaru to start a fire. But Xiao Xiangyi had never done such things before; this being his first time ever starting a fire in his life, his little face ended up smudged pitch black...
After a good half-hour passed, the fire was finally lit, but the rabbit skewered on the sharpened wooden stick was roasted pitch-black in some spots and completely raw in others. He really didn't dare take it and offer it to Sesshomaru to eat...