Looking at the lake, Ye Jiao followed behind Zhan Jing as they circled the shore. It didn't take long before she could see a small house with a man and several children around Lu Wan's age around him. The old man looked at Zhan Jing with arched eyebrows.
"You were just here last year. What is it this year?" the old man asked.
Zhan Jing pushed Ye Jiao forward. "I have accepted another disciple. I'll have to trouble you to take care of her, old pal."
The old man scanned Ye Jiao before he stood up abruptly. He walked straight to Zhan Jing. "You lucky b*stard, where did you get another fine disciple? No, where in the world did you find this little monster?"
Looking at Ye Jiao, it was easy for him to conclude that she must have the talent above purple. Otherwise, it was impossible for children to form their core below the age of 10. This kind of talent was extremely hard to find.
Even finding one in the entire four kingdoms in this area was already considered very lucky. The thought of seeing one this talented in this lifetime alone was something this old man longed for. And his friend actually managed to pull the child to be his disciple.
The pain…
Was simply too big.
Zhan Jing shrugged. "I just have several lucky encounters. I need your help to take her to the island."
The old man furrowed his brows. "Are you sure you want to send her there? You know that among 100 children, only one will survive, right?"
Ye Jiao shuddered when she heard the low survival rate. Even though Lu Wan had warned her that it wouldn't be easy, she didn't think that it would be this much. In the next second, she calmed down instantly.
She didn't have any place in this kingdom anymore. If she was spotted alive, she was sure that the imperial family and Wei Family would never let her off. She had seen how Lu Wan was able to fight so well despite only being a rank 1, so she believed that this island would be her chance to get stronger faster.
"She's the one who decided it," Zhan Jing patted Ye Jiao's shoulder.
The old man looked at Ye Jiao before sighing. "If you say so, old pal. I won't disturb you from taking a great disciple. Just a little warning. Even though she's a bit special, there'll be no one who will take care of her."
"There's no need for that. You just have to make sure that everything is as fair as possible."
"Got it."
The old man beckoned Ye Jiao to come closer as he inspected the girl's body. He clicked his tongue when he realized how large her core was considering that she had just formed it. Not only that, her muscle strength was far stronger than most people. Even if she was lacking in years, it didn't seem that she would have much problems surviving as long as she had the will.
"Wait here with the other children. The ship will arrive soon."
"Okay," Ye Jiao's clear voice sounded.
The old man sighed to himself as he watched the girl sit down. He turned his head to Zhan Jing. "I don't know what kind of luck you have to be able to find her, but you wouldn't want her existence to be known to the other two. Do you want me to forge her name and age?"
Zhan Jing arched his eyebrows. He stepped forward and crouched before Ye Jiao. "Kid, what's your name that you want to use as an assassin?"
"Name?"
"Yeah, you can choose any name that you want."
Hearing that, Ye Jiao pondered for a moment. Her eyes flickered for a second before she smiled again.
"Ai Jiao."
Zhan Jing's eyes widened for a second before he nodded his head. "You heard her. She's Ai Jiao."
"Got it."
"How old are you, Ai Jiao?" Zhan Jing asked again.
Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. She had heard their conversation just know and knew how rare it was for a nine-year-old kid to appear.
"10 years old."
"You're pretty small for a 10-year-old," Lu Wan chuckled. It was pretty obvious from Ye Jiao's appearance that she must be very young, but he wouldn't leak it out. "Have fun, Junior Sister Ai."
"Take care of yourself, Senior Brother," Ye Jiao replied back.
Lu Wan nodded his head. "Oh right, I forgot to tell you," Lu Wan inched closer. "My name is Yu Shui."
"Rainwater*?" Ye Jiao looked at Lu Wan in surprise.
"Compared to your name that means love**," Lu Wan grinned.
Ye Jiao glared at her senior brother. "The pronunciation is different, Senior Brother Yu, so it has a different meaning. You need to start learning lessons again."
"Uh no, I have had enough."
The thought of the lesson that his father had enforced him made his face pale. Lu Wan would never want to go through that anymore after he was given freedom. It would be better to just focus on his training as a martial artist.
At this time, Ye Jiao sensed that the air flow started to move. Her head was tilted towards the lake as she saw a large ship approaching them. The large sail was visible even from a long distance, earning awe from the group of children.
"It seems that your transportation has arrived," Lu Wan commented. "See you later, Junior Sister Ai."
"See you in a few months, Senior Brother Yu."
Ye Jiao walked to the front along with the other children. They were following behind the old man, who was waiting patiently for the ship to arrive by the dock. Several men appeared from the ship, wearing dark brown robes. They glanced at the children behind the old man.
"How many children this time?" he asked.
"There are only 14," the old man replied. "The lowest is still light blue color talent. Here's the list."
The man accepted it as he beckoned for the children to get inside. "Are they all orphans?"
"Most of them. One of them is Zhan Jing's disciple and the other one is that person's disciple."
"Oh, you have another disciple?" The man turned his head to Zhan Jing. "I wish you luck. It seems that the two disciples might clash."
He knew how these leaders sometimes would pick talented children to be their disciple. Of course, the precaution was that the children needed to have purple talent. Usually, these children would perform much better.
Zhan Jing shrugged. "We shall see who will have the last laugh."
"I see. Time to depart!"
The two of them watched as the man got inside and pulled back the plank. Lu Wan turned his head to his master as the ship started to embark.
"Master, do you think Junior Sister will be alright?"
"She'll be fine," Zhan Jing answered lightly. "I always pick the freak to be my disciple. How can she be ordinary?"
Lu Wan smiled bitterly. Most people just paid attention to the talent, but Zhan Jing always seeks the most peculiar disciple. He placed both of his hands behind his back. "Now, what's my training, Master?"
"Come with me."
"Yes!"
...
A/N:
*Yu Shui (both with third tone) means rainwater
** Ai Jiao (second tone on first and first tone at the second character) meant love