"Teach you?""Yes."
"You want to learn from little old me?"
"Very much so."
"My. I"m flattered. But…"
Oba Chan stared off into the distance for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Hei.
"I"ll have to think about it."
"Take all the time you need. I understand If it"s something you"re unwilling to share with a stranger." He bowed. "Thank you for the ice cream, Oba Chan. How much do I owe you?"
Oba Chan waved her hand.
"For you, It"s on the house."
"That won"t do."
"It"s quite alright. I"m just glad that you enjoyed it."
Hei shook his head. "We must exchange something of equivalent value."
"You"re a stubborn one, aren"t you?"
"On this issue, I"m afraid so."
"That may be difficult. I don"t find much worth in material goods."
"Hm…"
That really was difficult. Hei was confident in being able to give her whatever price she named as long as she was staying in the realm of the reasonable, but if she, like him, didn"t value money all that much, then it would be more difficult to complete the trade.
In the end, he could only think of one solution.
"I can"t say it"ll change your life, but I too have a bit of a speciality."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Bread."
"You"re a baker?"
"An apprentice of sorts."
"I"ll bite."
"Do you mind if I use your kitchen?"
"Go ahead. I"m curious to see what you can do."
***
In an unusual twist of fate, Oba Chan was now a customer in her own store.
She sat on a seat behind the counter and waited for her meal. And while she was there, she listened to the sounds and smelled the aromas.
"… He seems to be well-practised."
Unlike herself who had become… slightly rusty with time, the boy seemed to have had plenty of practice in his craft. She decided not to look in on his process, but she could tell that he was doing everything smoothly and meticulously by the sounds she could hear. Even his pouring of flour was calm and controlled. She could imagine the look of concentration on his face.
Soon, the smell of freshly baked bread permeated the air. It was almost calming in its nature. Oba Chan closed her eyes and pictured the various smells as colours flowing through the air. There were blues and reds and purples, and every now and then, there was a tinge of gold.
"He"s learning from a master."
She could tell. This aroma profile wasn"t something that could be found in someone who was baking for the fun of it. There was also the fact that he called himself an apprentice. She was impressed two-fold. There was an apprentice who could pick it up at such a young age, and there was a master who could teach such an apprentice.
"If I want to teach him, I"ll have to polish up my own-"
She caught herself accepting him as an apprentice in her heart, feeling the responsibilities that come with teaching such a gifted disciple. But, of course, nothing had been decided yet.
"Though…" She smiled. "Maybe it wouldn"t be so bad having an apprentice."
She opened her eyes again when she heard footsteps coming towards her. What she saw was a plate of three bread rolls. That was it. There was nothing else there. But those three little rolls weren"t shy at all. Their aroma dominated the room and their golden crusts demanded attention.
Hei placed the plate gently in front of Oba Chan with his now exposed hands, then stepped back so he could get a better view.
"This particular bread has no name as of yet. You are the first to try it."
"Don"t mind if I do."
Oba Chan took a roll with both hands and cracked it open. She could feel the warmth of the bread transferring into her fingertips, and as she revealed the fluffy white interior, the fragrance intensified. The bread was crunchy on the outside but soft and supple on the inside.
She placed the piece she tore into her mouth and chewed it slowly, savouring the experience with her eyes closed. After swallowing, she opened her eyes and looked at Hei.
"This is very good."
"You flatter me."
She took another piece and ate it.
"No. This is really quite good. Surprisingly so. Your talent aside, your teacher must be a renowned master."
"I learn from a father and daughter pair. They aren"t well-known, but their dedication to the craft is at a level I can never hope to match. What you have experienced here is only a fraction of what they are capable of."
"So, after reaching the pinnacle, they decided to pa.s.s down their craft to you?"
"No. I can"t speak in certainties, but it seems to me they have never seen themselves as those who have reached the top. The daughter looks up to the father and seeks to reach his level, and the father sees himself as a novice who has only just started on his path. Both are constantly seeking to improve themselves. I am merely a beneficiary of their guidance."
"Constant self-improvement, is it? No wonder they"re able to teach an apprentice like you."
Oba Chan finished off the last piece of bread.
"Thank you for the meal. You can consider us even."
"You"re welcome."
Hei put his gloves and mask back on and walked out from behind the counter.
"I should get going now."
"It was a pleasure meeting you."
"The feeling is mutual."
Hei walked up to the door and opened it, triggering the jingling sound from earlier. He turned back to Oba Chan before leaving.
"Today, I lacked the ability, but one day, I"ll bring you a meal that will change your life."
"Ohoho. Is that so?"
"Mm."
"Then I"ll look forward to it."
"Farewell, Oba Chan."
"Mm."
Hei walked out of the store and closed the door behind him before making his way back to the hotel. Before he exited the alleyway, he gave one last look to Oba Chan"s.
"Hm?"
But it was nowhere to be found.
***
Ju Li woke up to the bright light of the sun shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows in an unfamiliar environment.
She had no idea where she was, and when she walked past the flowing veils obscuring the balcony, she spotted her brother, seated on a golden chair at a marble table with a teacup in his hand and plate of food in front of him.
Next to the table, there was a man dressed in a black suit, who had a neatly trimmed moustache and a monocle over one eye.
When Honghuo heard her footsteps, he turned around with a serene smile on his face. But there was something out of place there as well.
"Ah, Ju Li, dearest sister of mine. Did you have a good rest? Of course you did. Now, do you care for a spot of tea? Maybe some breakfast? It comes with the room, you know."
"Uh…"
Ju Li walked up to the table, where the man in black pulled out a chair for her and signalled her to sit. After she sat, he unfolded a piece of cloth and placed it on her lap before scooting her chair in slightly. He then handed her a menu, stating he would prepare anything she wanted.
Before deciding on anything, Ju Li looked past the balcony to a beautiful view of the local landscape at sunrise. She then looked around at the balcony itself which was adorned with an a.s.sortment of flowers, and at the end, she could even see a pool of emerald green water.
Confused, she turned to her brother, who still had that strange expression.
"Brother. Why are you crying? Where are we?"
"Crying?" Sniff. "Nonsense. These are tears of joy. For you see, my dear sister, we are in a penthouse suite at the Guh-" Sniff. "The Guh-"
"The Grand Lotus, sir," said the man in black as he handed Honghuo a handkerchief.
"Ah yes. Thank you, Jeeves. The Grand Lotus."
Ju Li"s eyes opened wide.
"The Grand Lotus? And a penthouse suite at that? How can we afford that?"
"Nothing is too good for my little sister. I wanted you to have the best night"s rest possible."
"... It was the masked one, wasn"t it?"
Honghuo opened and closed his mouth. He then brought the teacup to his mouth and took a sip with his eyes closed. When he peeped through one to scout the situation, he saw that his sister was still looking at him.
He awkwardly placed the cup down and exhaled.
"That it was."
***
"Are you sure you don"t want anything? Not even some tea or a snack?"
"No thank you."
Sophie was perturbed. This was the first time she had been confronted with this situation.
It wasn"t the metal mask or the black clothing covering every inch of skin that got to her. It was the fact that this customer who had purchased a penthouse suite wasn"t in need of any of their services. He just sat on the balcony working on some doodles or whatever. How was she supposed to explain this to the management?
"Is it something I said? I apologise from the bottom of my heart."
"You didn"t offend me. I just don"t want anything. I"ll be fine on my own."
"But that"s not…"
This wasn"t part of her training!
She pulled out the other chair at the table and took a seat.
"Do you mind if I take a seat?"
"… I guess not."
She leaned in.
"Sir. This is my first day working the penthouse, and if you don"t order anything, it reflects poorly on me."
Her fingers were tapping the desk and her legs were fidgeting in a similar manner.
"So please order something. Even if you don"t want it. I"ll eat it for you, okay?"
"…"
"Please!"
"…" Hei flashed her a glance before looking back down to his schematics. "What do you recommend?"
"Great!"
Sophie took out a pen and a pad and scribbled down some notes.
The customer stared deeply into my eyes and asked for my recommendation.
***
Hei waited for Honghuo and his sister outside of the hotel. They had agreed to meet at mid-day, but the two were a few minutes late.
"Did someone go after them in the end?"
It was strange because he had been able to see them during breakfast before they went to explore the rest of the hotel.
As he was contemplating whether to go up and check, he heard a familiar voice. Though, it sounded slightly different than usual.
"Thanks, Jeeves. You"re a saint. Don"t let anyone tell you otherwise."
The voice came with a series of thudding sounds.
When Hei turned to see what was happening, he saw two walking bubbles, one big and one small, and a man dressed in a black suit. The man in the suit stopped at the entrance and waved goodbye to the two humanoid balloons.
When the two got close to him, Hei could see the warped forms of Honghuo and his sister.
"…"
There was silence all around as Hei led the way. Honghuo and Ju Li waddled behind him.
***
After seeing the customers off, the next item on Jeeves" itinerary was to report to the management.
As he turned around, his eyes caught a glimpse of something. It seemed to be a large balloon wearing a maid outfit.
Curious, he walked up to it, and upon closer inspection, he was able to discern the features of his new colleague.
"Sophie?"
"Oh. Hey, Jeeves."
Jeeves raised a brow and tilted his head slightly.
Sophie slowly nodded.
Jeeves widened his eyes and blinked a few times.
Sophie pursed her lips as she continued to nod her head.
There was silence.
"Okay then."
Jeeves promptly left the scene.
***
"There it is. That"s the Shimmering Sword Sect."
The three were soaring through the sky on a black phoenix when Honghuo spotted a sword-shaped mountain in the distance.
"You"re going to want to land soon. They don"t like foreign ent.i.ties in their air-s.p.a.ce."
"Then we"ll land here."
Hei brought the phoenix down and absorbed it back into his storage s.p.a.ce, continuing the rest of the way on foot.
"Things are a little heated at the sect right now."
"Oh?"
"We just got a new hotshot disciple who thinks he"s all that because his cultivation level is a little higher than the other newbies. He was in the same batch as me."
"And this new disciple is causing a disturbance?"
"Yeah. It started when he cheated during the entrance exam, shamelessly taking one of the better abodes for himself. And as if that wasn"t enough, he didn"t understand the concept of knowing when to advance and when to retreat. On his first day as an official disciple, he had the nerve to challenge a senior to a duel."
"I see."
"But to be honest, the reason I don"t like him is that-"
"Hehehe. Hahaha. HAHAHAHA!"
"Uh… what?"
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Honghuo looked to the masked one, who transformed his black clothes into purple robes adorned with golden floral patterns. After doing that, he raised his hand to hook his fingers around the side his mask then pulled at it with tremendous difficulty, causing a black mist to pour out.
The mask started to warp, and soon after, it started to speak.
"No! Don"t do this! You need me!"
"I don"t need to borrow your power any more. I can stand on my own two feet."
"Think about this, Hei! This world… This world will corrupt you! I can keep you safe from it all!"
The mask started to crack as it buckled under the strain. Hei pulled even harder, using all of his strength the rend the mask off of his face.
"This is the end, Sleepwalker!"
"Noooooooooooooooo!"
The mask let out a ghastly yell as it shattered.
As the scattered pieces flew off into the wind, a quiet voice could be heard
"Mark my words, Shao Hei. This isn"t the last you"ve seen of me."
Honghuo and Ju Li could only stare with blank expressions. This was all far too weird.
Ignoring them, Hei raised his hands and looked at his palms. He clenched his fists twice before stretching his upper body then looked out to the sword mountain and smiled.
"I"m back."