The more Li Chenyuan settled into the sect, the more questions Qiu Yunru had.
He didn't dare pester this noble kid and ask him all of them, but he slid in a few during their trainings and at mealtimes:
"Li-shidi, aren't you the heir to the Eight Purple Winds Sect? What brought you to the Jade Clouds Sect?"
This was a big question. After all, sects often stayed in the family. Each sect had their own traditions and secret techniques, and each sect took pride in this. Even though it was true that the Eight Purple Winds Sect had fallen into deep disarray and was essentially "out of business" ever since Li Guiren's murder, wouldn't staying within the sect techniques still hold some importance for Li Chenyuan?
Li Chenyuan took a bite of his food with a sour expression. "How am I supposed to revive a dead sect? When my father was killed, many of his secret texts were destroyed. It's not as if I remember him or his tenets at all. There isn't a sect left to recreate."
Qiu Yunru sweated a little, feeling very guilty.
He should have thought of that!
If the sect had been lifeless for so long, how could a seventeen-year-old who had just come into his noble title revive it with his bare hands and no instructions to go off? It had been a stupid question from the start.
There was something else Qiu Yunru noticed also.
He Yongliang truly seemed to have taken a great liking to Li Chenyuan. It was subtle, but surely noticeable. Their Shizun was a graceful and quiet man, so seeing him pat Li Chenyuan on the head and look at him with sparkling eyes was truly shocking!
For his part, Li Chenyuan barely even seemed to notice.
He would always bow respectfully to their Shizun, using his typical short and sharp words and moving on without a second glance.
Qiu Yunru couldn't help but wonder at the strangeness of the this situation, and felt he was going to have to sit down and draw a character tree at some point:
Li Chenyuan's father = Li Guiren
Li Guiren's murderer = His sworn brother
Li Guiren's sworn brother = He Yongliang, their Shizun!
He couldn't help but ask a little about this as they made their way to martial training early one morning.
"Li-shidi...have you heard of our Shizun before joining the sect?"
Li Chenyuan's face remained impassive. "...Of course. He yong--Shizun is renowned across the cultivation world, and fought in the Battle of Peaks two hundred years ago."
So it seemed that, either Li Chenyuan had no idea it was their Shizun who had killed his father--or if he knew, he simply didn't care!
Then, there was the matter of whether Li Chenyuan knew what kind of person his father was.
That was, the kind of person who manipulated, tortured, murdered, and tore people apart with a smile on his face!
This question wasn't something Qiu Yunru dared to ask, however. Li Chenyuan had already made it abundantly clear that he remembered nothing of his father at all. There wasn't too much information on his father in any texts available in the library, either, so it was unlikely he would stumble upon something and be shocked.
One thing gave Qiu Yunru comfort in these days of beginning to mentor Li Chenyuan:
Since this kid was already almost at his own level of cultivation training, he wouldn't have to wait so long to get a golden core after all!
In fact, if he mentored this kid closely, he could make his original deadlines of reaching Core Formation by the end of this year! From there, he would be sent out on more missions, would train to reach Nascent Soul status, and finally be on his way to a truly peaceful life of solitude.
He really should start researching some good mountains to hang out on as an immortal. The goal was to become the sort of mythical immortal that people were both in awe of and feared. This way, only a few people would ever seek him out, and he could also enjoy a good reputation.
After a month had passed, things had settled quite well.
Despite his harsh and sharp demeanor and his unwillingness to listen well to anyone else, Li Chenyuan would obediently follow anything Qiu Yunru said. He trained well, ate well, and rested well, all according to Qiu Yunru's requests.
However, the one thing Qiu Yunru really couldn't get him to do was get along with the others.
Fang Hai, who normally had a good relationship with everyone, seemed to boil with rage whenever he saw this kid. Qiu Yunru was utterly bewildered. He couldn't see Li Chenyuan doing anything wrong in front of their shixiong.
However, every time he turned his head away, Li Chenyuan would stare daggers at Fang Hai and sneer as though he was looking at a cockroach.
When Qiu Yunru turned his head back, he would only see Li Chenyuan's eyes downcast, his expression cold, but not abrasive.
Who wouldn't get enraged at such outrageous behavior?!
Li Chenyuan also seemed to have a major problem with even that puppy-dog kid, Pan Fa! Who could possibly have a problem with Pan Fa?
Now that Li Chenyuan was following around Qiu Yunru day and night as his mentee, anytime Pan Fa approached to cling to Qiu Yunru's sleeve, Li Chenyuan would grow icy and start to behave strangely. Being a little taller than both Qiu Yunru and Pan Fa, he would loom over Pan Fa with ice-cold eyes.
"I've heard Pan-shixiong is falling behind a little. Shouldn't he go practice?"
Pan Fa's face went white, then red with rage.
Qiu Yunru was aghast. Ever since that day at their recruiting tournament, he had never, ever seen Pan Fa with a look of such rage on his face!
"Li-shidi! What are you saying? Let's go, let's go!" Qiu Yunru would have to drag Li Chenyuan away hurriedly, while all the while the two shidi stared daggers at each other.