Leon had been brought up by a single mother and a strange old granny so he was taught to be polite and mind his manners about the fairer s.e.x. He stuck to this notion despite finding out that he was gay and had no interest in girls whatsoever. So when the girls finally reached the entrance that they also were standing close to, he automatically gestured and said; "Ladies first."Despite his gentlemanly genuflection, the three girls that served as the Twin Lotuses foil giggled unkindly. Who asked this short fellow to attempt to act all manly and n.o.ble, when clearly he is a uncouth country b.u.mpkin. Dressed in silks and wearing adornments, these girls clearly compared themselves to this youth wearing plain linens with a piece of cloth as a hair tie. And look at his waist where he attempted to look more cultured with carved wooden trinkets rather than jade!
Miss Merylin and Miss Maimai lived up to their reputation and did not laugh, however this wasn"t due to the reasons their adoring fans a.s.sumed. Miss Maimai was too busy staring at the boy"s strange skunk striped hair and thick gla.s.ses to notice what he was wearing, although even then, she would be unlikely to laugh as she had never placed much attachment to clothes and jewellery. She wore the pink hair pin simply as it had been a gift from her mother and the plain silks because that was the clothing she was given by her stepmother.
Miss Merylin was not laughing as her eyes did not even see the boy, all her attention had been given to the tall, handsome and proud man, who stood out like a dragon amongst toads. His aura was mighty and fierce and his presence made her heart quicken. She sighed inwardly and reminded herself of her mother"s teachings. Stay calm, smile softly and maintain an air of elegance and n.o.bility.
Jin Li had not really bothered himself about the girls approach whatsoever, instead getting irritable that these weak boys thought to block him and prevent him... and his servant... from going about their business. But his opponent was not even looking at him now, let alone moving!
"Miss Merylin, Miss Maimai," the boy in front of him crooned. "I was just about the get the door for you!" This set the friends off into another set of giggles, but less unkind ones. The boy offering had decent height and was their senior, it would not be bad to get onto his good side.
"No need," Merylin stated in soft tones. She had caught the object of her attention looking at her and cast her eyes down, chastely, before continuing upon her path.
"Thank you anyway!" Maimai said, warmly, before stepping to her sister"s side. As they disappeared through the door, many of the boys finally dispersed, as did the tall boy blocking Leon and Jin Li"s way.
"What was that all about?" Jin Li asked.
"Um, f-from what I kn-know," Leon replied as he now moved unimpeded. "The g-girls j-just n-now are n-new, first years. They are p-p-popular amongst the students."
"And you are clearly not popular," Jin Li said, teasingly.
Leon shrugged, unfazed.
After they entered the hall, Leon glanced over where the two seniors were fawning over the girls, while taking and praising their pills and offering them the best and freshest bundles of herbs. Thinking that it maybe some time before he could swap his own pills, he turned to look over the request board to see what sort of rewards he could obtain. Jin Li shadowed him.
"This is the alchemists request board?" Jin Li asked him. His knowledge of pills could be considered so-so, he knew which ones would be beneficial for him now and which ones he had taken in the past. He also knew of others through the tutors his father had hired for his brothers and himself. However, he knew much less about herbs beyond common ones that could be found in most places.
Leon nodded an affirmative. "D-did you look at the b-b-board in the m-martial arts school?" He asked, while selecting a request from the beast taming school, which would supply him with a snow bearfox pelt and another from his own school wanting five cloudy spiritual pills in exchange for three bladed thistle bulbs. He did not know what the pelt would be like, but he was hoping it could be turned into a coat. The number of pills was not large, so he couldn"t be sure. At worst, he could use it as a rug.
The bulbs were much more tempting, though he had never made cloudy spiritual pills before as they required this uncommon plant in their making, he could ask for the leaves so he could make the pills as it was request. Then once he had grown the bulbs, he could make the pills without aid! He knew that these would be useful for Jin Li"s current level of cultivation as well.
"The requests were not worth my time," Jin Li replied.
As they were talking, neither noticed that they had garnered attention away from the two seniors manning the Herb Hall, until they heard;
"Maimai, why is your nose bleeding?"