Nian Hong Fang finally stopped in front of a hut made out of bamboo. Well, calling it a hut seemed somehow wrong. It stood on a wooden base a few inches above the ground and looking from outside it probably consisted of several rooms. At least it was bigger than the house where he had lived with his parents back in the village.
Jing Yi turned to Nian Hong Fang. "Who else is living here?"
He got a strange gaze in response. "Nobody. This is where you'll live from now on."
"Ah?" Jing Yi looked back at the house. He was supposed to live there … alone? In such a big house?
Well, the house where he had lived with Qiu Ling in the Hei Dian Sect hadn't been much smaller and even built from stone but that had been because Elder Shan saw Qiu Ling's potential. This time … He really didn't know why he was treated this well.
Nian Hong Fang nodded and turned back. "If there is nothing else, I'll return to my Master's palace. In case you have any further questions, you can go and ask the other disciples."
"Oh. Thank you." Jing Yi cupped his fists and watched him leave.
Wu Min Huan stayed back though. When Nian Hong Fang had disappeared in the distance he cleared his throat. "Er, don't take his brusque attitude to heart. It has nothing to do with you."
Jing Yi nodded and hesitated if he should say anything else. In the end, he still asked. "If you don't mind me asking … There seemed to be some kind of argument between the two of you. Is there something I can do to help maybe? I do know senior martial brother Yu if that helps."
Wu Min Huan sighed. "I don't know if that will change anything. Nian Hong Fang has every right to be angry with me."
Jing Yi furrowed his brows. He didn't understand what this was about but he felt that this matter could be solved easily if it involved senior martial brother Yu. After all, he had always felt that he was quite easygoing after he got to know him a little better.
Jing Yi motioned at the bamboo house. "Why don't we go in, senior martial brother Wu? You can tell me everything and we can think about how to solve this matter. Well, only if you want to, that is."
Wu Min Huan smiled and nodded. "I don't think there is much we can do though." He still followed Jing Yi inside.
The house was indeed as big on the inside as it had seemed from the outside and the feeling that this place was suitable for cultivation became even stronger. Jing Yi still hadn't learned much about cultivation but from the bit, he had heard from Yu Jin in the secret realm this should be the result of some kind of array guiding spiritual energy. He really would have liked to sit down and see what kind of spiritual energy it used and how effective it was but for now, it was more important to solve Wu Min Huan's matter. After all, without him, there was no way he could have entered the Alchemy peak this easily.
The two of them sat down in a room to the front of the house that didn't seem to have any other use than to receive guests. At least there wasn't much more in it than a table with two chairs and a tea set that was displayed to the side.
Jing Yi motioned for Wu Min Huan to sit down and went to fetch some water. He glanced at the rest of the house on the way out and found that his original assumption was indeed right. The house was much bigger than it needed to be for one person. It could have easily fit another three people without them needing to squeeze in with each other. Living here … would probably be a little lonely.
Jing Yi sighed when unbidden memories of another time assaulted him and went back to the room where Wu Min Huan was waiting. He shouldn't get distracted. He needed to concentrate on his cultivation so he could find Tian again. There was no use comparing his situation now with how it had been when he and Qiu Ling were still a couple. That time wouldn't come back. It couldn't because he had already promised himself to somebody else. Regardless of how his heart fluttered when he saw Qiu Ling he couldn't betray his feelings for Tian.
Jing Yi silently brewed the tea and poured both of them a cup. It would be great if he could help Wu Min Huan. It wouldn't be bad either if this could distract him from this trouble. Since he had seen Qiu Ling again it got harder and harder to deal with this.
Jing Yi forced himself to smile. "So what actually happened?"
Wu Min Huan sighed. "Ah, it's actually not much. You know that I was Sect Master Yuchi's head disciple, right?"
"Mn." Jing Yi nodded. He had heard as much when he first entered the Yun Zou Sect. Everyone had looked up to Wu Min Huan so people couldn't help but talk about it.
"Well, a few years ago my Master took in another disciple. You also know him. It's that senior martial brother Yu Jin you spoke of. Actually, he's probably not a bad person. It's just that he is so darn talented that he overshadows everyone around him. The way Master's eyes lit up when he saw him …"
He sighed again and picked up the teacup. "I can understand it. Our sect needs talents as much as every other one does. Someone like Yu Jin is very important to us. He could have improved our ranking tremendously or at least secured our spot. I do understand all of that. It's just that I always felt a little bad seeing him. I guess it just hurt to see my Master treat somebody else so well." Wu Min Huan shook his head. He also knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn't help it. He just always felt that his life would have been so much better had Yu Jin not appeared.