In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
During that month, Su Yan began to notice a pattern.
Xiao Wu came to drag him off to play far less often than before.
He did not particularly mind. The change left him with more time to train, and he still saw Xiao Wu during their late-night snacking. Even so, it felt odd.
It did not take him long to figure out why.
More than once, he caught Tang San intercepting Xiao Wu before she could come looking for him or simply accompanying her whenever she wandered off to play.
Over the past month, Tang San had been spending far more time around her than before, almost as though he were deliberately filling the space before Su Yan could.
It had reached the point where even Tang San's own training time seemed to have declined.
Su Yan was still fine with all of it. It genuinely did not bother him.
That changed one day when another work-study student from a different dorm walked up to him.
The boy kept his head lowered, one hand clutching his opposite arm at his side as he stopped in front of Su Yan.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, then said nothing.
Su Yan raised a brow.
"Can I help you?"
The boy jolted at the sound of Su Yan's voice.
"Er… yes, the Grandmaster sent me to assign you a task," he blurted out.
Su Yan stared at him for a long moment, long enough for the boy to start shifting under the silence.
"The Grandmaster sent you to assign me a task specifically?"
The boy was visibly sweating now.
"…Yes?"
Su Yan jumped down from his seat, making the boy back up a step.
With a quiet sigh, Su Yan asked, "So what needs doing?"
"The Grandmaster said the old gardener needs help digging and tilling a few plots for vegetables."
"Alright. Anything else?"
"Nope, that was everything. I'll go report back to the Grandmaster now!"
The boy ran off as fast as he could.
Am I really that scary? Su Yan thought to himself.
Shaking off the thought, he made his way to the vegetable plots. There, he found the old gardener already hard at work, digging, pulling out old roots, and loosening the soil.
The old man looked up, spotted Su Yan, and waved.
"Ho there, lad. Are you the help Xiaogang was sending?" he called out with an easy smile.
Walking over, Su Yan answered, "Apparently so. How can I help, sir?"
The gardener waved him off.
"Ah, no need to be so formal with me, lad. Just call me Old Feng."
"As for what needs doing, you see those plots over there?"
He pointed to several other empty plots.
"They all need the soil dug up and loosened. Any old roots or weeds need to be pulled out and dumped in that cart over there."
"I'd have done it all myself, but when Xiaogang said he'd send help, I took it. Nice to see him be useful around here for once."
Su Yan grabbed a shovel and moved to the indicated plots without another word.
The morning and afternoon passed in a blur.
By the time the last plot was finished, Su Yan simply sat down where he was.
He was not particularly winded, but he was a little tired, and the work had reminded him that he had neglected a rather important part of his training.
Body refinement.
He was going to have to put some work into that.
Old Feng walked over and held out a cup of tea.
"Here, lad. Drink up. You've earned it."
Su Yan took the cup and greedily drained it dry.
"Is there anything else you need help with, Old Feng?"
"No, lad, you've done more than enough. This old body would've needed a good couple of days to finish all that alone. To think we got it done in half a day."
"I'll handle the rest myself. It's just spreading the fertilizer, and you youngsters usually aren't too fond of the smell," he said with a small laugh.
Su Yan quickly got to his feet, brushed the dust from his clothes, bade Old Feng goodbye, and wasted no time making his way off to get cleaned up.
The old man's cheerful laughter followed him the whole way out.
The next day, the pattern repeated.
The same boy came to find him, wearing the same nervous look, with another task Su Yan had somehow been volunteered for.
Su Yan let it pass.
Then the third day came, and it happened again.
The fourth day was no different.
By that point, it was more than clear this was no coincidence. Xiaogang was targeting him.
Su Yan wondered whether this was Xiaogang taking revenge on behalf of his disciple, or if something else was at play.
He let it continue for now. A week would be more than enough to confirm a deliberate pattern.
On the seventh day, the boy came to him carrying a thick stack of pages.
"Su Yan, the Grandmaster has another task for you."
Letting out a quiet sigh to remind himself to stay calm, Su Yan asked, "What is it this time?"
The boy thrust the stack of pages into his arms.
"The librarian is cataloguing all the books in the library. You're to go help sort them. The Grandmaster said it's an easy enough task."
Su Yan looked down at the stack, then back at the boy, his patience slipping a little.
"Can I refuse? This would likely take me all day."
"The Grandmaster said you may, but it would be frowned upon. As a work-study student, you are expected to do your share."
"Fine," Su Yan spat out.
A small smile tugged at the boy's lips.
"I'll let the Grandmaster know."
Su Yan sighed and sat back down on the bench, setting the thick stack beside him and staring at it for a long moment.
"Su Yan?"
A soft voice came from his left.
Looking up, he found Xiao Wu peering at him with open curiosity.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Lamenting my life choices…"
Su Yan let out a humourless chuckle.
Confusion crept onto Xiao Wu's face.
"What?"
"The Grandmaster has deigned to give me his attention and again volunteered me for another task."
"And this one is likely going to take me all day…"
Su Yan said as he glared daggers at the thick pile of pages.
Realization dawned on Xiao Wu's face, and she cried out,
"Is that why you've been so tired these past few nights?!"
"Yeah. It's because of all these tasks, and this one's going to wear me out even more."
"Maybe… just maybe we should skip snack time tonight…"
Xiao Wu mumbled, full of reluctance.
Su Yan was shocked. Xiao Wu was actually willing to give up snacks?
Then Xiao Wu suddenly froze before brightening.
"Better plan! I'll help you with your task, we'll finish earlier, and we still get snack time!"
Su Yan looked at Xiao Wu as she stood there with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out, and chin tipped up in pride.
She likely would not be much help, but… she had offered.
"I will gladly take your help, Xiao Wu. Let's go."
Su Yan grabbed the stack of papers and headed for the library, Xiao Wu following along beside him.
When he pushed open the library door, he saw several stacks of books already piled across some of the tables, while the female librarian was in the middle of bringing out more.
Setting down the stack in her arms, she turned and spotted Su Yan and Xiao Wu.
"Hm, I was told there was only going to be one helper, but I'm not about to refuse two. Xiaogang sent you, right?"
Su Yan gave a small nod.
"I hadn't planned on needing help, but since you're here, we may as well make use of it."
Her gaze dropped to the stack in Su Yan's arms.
"Those must be the lists he said he would send over for me."
Taking the pile of pages from Su Yan, she quickly flipped through them.
"Everything looks right."
She split the pile in two, handing half to Su Yan and half to Xiao Wu, then pointed to a table piled high with books.
"Start with that table. Go through the lists and sort the books into stacks according to each page."
"In the meantime, I'll bring the rest of the books and return any completed stacks to their proper places."
Su Yan sat down and began working through his lists. Beside him, Xiao Wu dropped into her seat full of energy and quickly started sorting books into neat stacks.
Time slipped by as they worked.
It took only an hour for Xiao Wu to start losing steam.
By the second hour, she was still looking at the lists, but it was clear she was no longer really seeing them.
Still, each time she caught Su Yan looking her way, she immediately straightened up and picked up the pace again, only to slowly go slack once more after she thought he was no longer watching.
Deciding to give her a bit of a boost, Su Yan waited until the librarian moved out of sight before quickly manifesting a snack beneath the table.
When he pulled his hand back out, a milk candy sat in the centre of his palm.
The moment Xiao Wu saw it, she perked up immediately.
Without a word, Su Yan set it down in front of her.
Xiao Wu shot him a grateful look before quickly stuffing it into her mouth and quietly savouring the taste.
The final hour became a concentrated effort from both of them to finish the work.
At some point, the librarian decided to join them in the sorting and stacking, much to Xiao Wu's dread, as it meant there would be no more secret snacks. Still, it made the work go much faster, and returning the books was the easiest part of all.
"WE'RE FINALLY DONE!"
Xiao Wu shouted in joy.
The librarian gave her a look, then decided to let it go.
"Thank you, both of you, for helping me here. It would have taken me a good while longer otherwise."
"Now go get some food and play. You two have earned it."
Xiao Wu dashed out of the room, only to pop her head back in a moment later.
"Come on, Su Yan, let's go!!"
Su Yan stood up and cracked his back before slowly following after her.
I really need to talk to Teacher Lin about this soon.
The next morning, Su Yan went straight to find Teacher Lin.
On his way out, he already spotted Xiaogang's errand boy looking for him.
Dodging him, Su Yan made his way to Teacher Lin's home. As he reached for the gate, Teacher Lin opened it first.
"Oh, Su Yan. I wasn't expecting to see you so early."
"Yeah, I had to come early. There's some trouble at the academy."
Teacher Lin's relaxed demeanour changed instantly.
"Come in. Tell me what happened."
Walking into her home, Su Yan explained what had been happening over the past week: how every day he had been volunteered for another task that ate up his time, and his suspicions about why it was happening.
After listening, Teacher Lin's face darkened.
"I knew him being helpful all of a sudden was too good to be true, but to target a student like this… He's pettier than I thought."
"Su Yan, stay here for now. I'll go to the headmaster about this. I refuse to let it stand."
Lin Qinglan marched straight for the academy and the headmaster's office.
Knocking on the door, she heard a muffled "Come in."
Opening the door, she found a simple but neat office. A large ornate desk sat at its centre, writing utensils laid out in orderly fashion, with a small pile of documents stacked to one side. Behind it sat Nuoding Academy's headmaster, Xu Mingshan.
Lin Qinglan stepped forward, gave a small bow, and addressed him.
"Headmaster Xu, I have come to report a grievance."
Headmaster Xu gave a questioning look.
"A grievance? Against whom?"
"Yu Xiaogang."
Headmaster Xu closed his eyes for a brief moment and let out a tired sigh.
"What has he done this time?"
"He has been directly targeting a student. For the past week, he has burdened him every day with long, exhausting tasks that have left him no time to continue his training."
"That is a far more serious accusation, Teacher Lin. Perhaps there has been some misunderstanding?"
"I am certain of it."
Headmaster Xu gave Lin Qinglan a hard look, searching for any trace of doubt. When he found none, he nodded.
"Please wait here, Teacher Lin. I will go get Xiaogang."
He stood and swiftly left the office, returning soon after with another man in tow.
Yu Xiaogang was a somewhat thin, average-built middle-aged man with short black hair and tired, half-lidded eyes. There was a worn, sluggish air about him that made him look far more like a weary scholar than any sort of fighter. Even so, he carried himself as though he stood above everyone else.
Headmaster Xu made his way back to his seat before gesturing to Teacher Lin.
"Xiaogang, Teacher Lin has informed me that you have been placing repeated duties on one student. That you have been burdening him with tasks day after day. Is this true?"
Yu Xiaogang remained silent.
The silence stretched until he noticed the hard stare Headmaster Xu was giving him, one that made it clear the matter would not be dropped without an explanation.
"I was only following academy rules. All work-study students should be assigned tasks, so I was merely exercising my authority as an academy teacher to do so."
Lin Qinglan cut in.
"But you chose only one student out of all the work-study students."
"For seven days straight."
Yu Xiaogang glared at Lin Qinglan.
"He was the most available and the most suited to the tasks, and as a Spirit Master he could accomplish them far more efficiently than the other work-study students."
Lin Qinglan harrumphed.
"Even so, you do not seem to have assigned tasks to any of the other work-study students. And if we are speaking of Spirit Master work-study students, is your precious disciple not one as well?"
"He is my personal disciple and possesses innate Spirit Power of ten," Yu Xiaogang retorted.
"His potential is limitless. His time is far better spent training and assisting me with my theories than being wasted on menial tasks."
"This is not about how high Tang San can soar, is it?" Lin Qinglan said calmly.
"We are here because you chose one student and buried him beneath the academy's rules simply because you could. If you really think what you are doing is right, then apply those rules evenly. Assign tasks to Tang San as well."
Yu Xiaogang's face started to go red.
"Like I said, Tang San is my personal disciple, and he should not be wasting his potential on such things."
"So he is different because he became your personal disciple?"
"Yes!"
A small smile crept onto Lin Qinglan's face.
"Good. Then I will take Su Yan as my disciple. Since personal disciples are apparently exempt from this sort of treatment, I expect you to respect that, Yu Xiaogang."
Turning to Headmaster Xu, she bowed again.
"Headmaster Xu, I will be taking my leave."
She swiftly departed the office, leaving Yu Xiaogang red-faced with anger and Headmaster Xu stern behind her.
In the office, a heavy silence descended.
Headmaster Xu looked toward Yu Xiaogang and spoke.
"Xiaogang, I am your friend."
"But that does not stop me from thinking you have gone too far this time. Why did you even do this?"
Gritting his teeth, Yu Xiaogang answered.
"He was getting in the way of my disciple's growth, distracting him from his training. I had to do something."
Headmaster Xu sighed.
"I know you meant well for your disciple, but this was not the right way to go about it."
"You will not do this again. Under no circumstances are you to repeat what you did to another student."
"The work-study program has been functioning well enough as it is. The work is being done to a satisfactory standard, and when staff need help, requests will be made."
"You will not abuse your authority again. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to strip you of it. Am I making myself clear?"
"Crystal clear," Yu Xiaogang ground out.
"Good. You may go."
Su Yan was sitting in the courtyard when Teacher Lin came back, clearly in a good mood.
"Teacher Lin, seeing you so happy, that must mean you have good news, right?"
With a smile on her face, she said,
"I do. Xiaogang should leave you alone now, but there is something you may have to do."
"What is that?"
"You'll have to accept me as your master."
Su Yan was speechless. How did this happen?
Sensing his shock, Teacher Lin quickly added,
"You do not have to call me that all the time if it makes you uncomfortable. But officially, it would be best."
"No, I was just shocked, that's all. I wasn't expecting it."
Su Yan straightened his clothes and gave a solemn bow as he said,
"Disciple Su Yan greets Master Lin."
Teacher Lin nodded approvingly.
"Mn. Your master accepts."
Su Yan looked up, still half-bowed.
"So what now, Master Lin?"
"Well, first, you stop calling me Master. It makes me sound so old. I think we should stick to Teacher when we're in private. What do you say?"
Su Yan looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
"Then Teacher Lin in private. Master in public."
Lin Qinglan smiled, pleased.
"That sounds fine."
Su Yan bowed his head once more, not as formally as before, but no less sincerely.
"Thank you."
Su Yan certainly had not expected to gain a master when he woke that morning, but honestly, it did not feel bad at all.