Zhi Ruo and Tiān Dì stared at each other, Tiān Dì was more or less starting to get annoyed at Zhi Ruo's veil. While Zhi Ruo was starting to get impatient at Tiān Dì's stupid assistant. She swears the assistant was dragging the retrieval of the artifact on purpose.
Tiān Dì sighed, finally relenting at staring. Finding it bothersome and unfair that all he can glare at, is Zhi Ruo's veil.
"Look, overestimating yourself is never a good thing." He started crossing his arms and leaning back at the table, solemnly looking at Zhi Ruo's figure as he tried to explain where he was coming from. "It's alright to ask for help, being prideful won't help." He said, watching attentively for any signs of emotions on Zhi Ruo.
Zhi Ruo resisted the urge to pinch her nose in an attempt on staying calm. "If I can prove to you, that I can read with just a few glances, at the materials that one teaches how to read. Would let me go in this whole charade and let me take the test?" Zhi Ruo harrumphed. "I know you told your assistant to take his time finding the artifact so that you can nag me on this somehow."
Tiān Dì curled his lips up in a semi sneer when he heard what Zhi Ruo said. "Bold of you to assume that I would simply hand you the materials."
"Bold of you to assume that I just can't get the materials by myself." Zhi Ruo copied Tiān Dì's body language.
"Fine." With a curl of his fingers and the clear resignation of his voice. A book flew to Zhi Ruo's hands from the corner of the room. "But if you make a mistake, I'm going to inform the Patriarch on you actions."
Zhi Ruo face may be covered, but it could not hide her smug aura as she took a glance at the book in her hands. "Try me." She couldn't care less at Tiān Dì's annoyed huff when she rapidly flipped through the pages.
Thirty seconds passed by, and Zhi Ruo shut the book with a dull thud. "I'm done." Zhi Ruo threw the book to Tiān Dì who caught it with a click of his the tongue.
Suddenly very aware that Zhi Ruo was becoming more and more, less of the kind of person he thought she was. "I don't like you. I hope you know that." He said, as he took up a brush and started to write something on a piece of scroll.
"The feeling is mutual." Zhi Ruo replied.
Tiān Dì swore on his self control that he would not roll his eyes. "All you have to do is read aloud everything that I wrote in this scroll. The characters and the level of difficulty should be at the level of the book that you have 'glanced' at so it should be easy and hard at the same time."
And while Tiān Dì was already preparing on writing a letter to the Patriarch regarding with Zhi Ruo's behavior. Never once did he consider that Zhi Ruo will succeed. In the first place, he was just humoring the young miss in front of him.
"If I succeed," Zhi Ruo began. "Will I get a reward?" She asked fiddling the scroll on her hands, their was a teasing glint on her voice that even Tiān Dì can notice.
"Just start." Came in Tiān Dì's annoyed huff.
And so she did, her voice flowed out with a teasing lilt ever once in a while. While the poem that Tiān Dì wrote was akin to proclaiming how good the scenery was. With Zhi Ruo's teasing perspective, the whole point of view of the poem turned into something else.
Tiān Dì paused, and even his scowl fell as he listened to Zhi Ruo. Finding it hard to identify that he was the one who actually wrote the words.
The poem somehow turned into Zhi Ruo's poem, little by little, Zhi Ruo was stamping her persona on these simple words. Zhi Ruo dictated the words, and Tiān Dì could not— for the love of everything good, dare to interrupt as she spoke.
And as the last character was uttered, it was only after a few beats of silence did Tiān Dì snap out of it. A few beats to few, as the rapid knock on the door beats him from speaking.
Both shared the mutual understanding that they should open the door first. So Zhi Ruo handed the scroll back without much of a fuss. Silently, Tiān Dì opened the door, and came in the person that Zhi Ruo met when she was touring the Sighted Valley.
It was Tiān Dì's assistant. Who was a pretty lady, who anyone could see, was distinctively attractive, and very infuriated by the person that she was assisting. Namely, Tiān Dì.
Said pretty lady was looking at Tiān Dì without a doubt forgetting that Zhi Ruo was in the room with them. In her hands was the artifact.
It wasn't some old crystal ball that Zhi Ruo had expected, instead, it was a scepter. An admittedly old looking scepter, with a really blank transparent crystal on the top that she had to tilt her head a little to see if it was really their or not.
"Brother Tiān, I brought the artifact within the time limit you have requested." The assistant said as she handed the scepter to Tiān Dì, she swept her hair to the side as their hands ghosted each other's skin.
If anything, Zhi Ruo would've thought that it was a cute albeit a little preppy action from the assistant if not for Tiān Dì's all knowing scowl on his face. If Zhi Ruo did not know any better, she would've thought that he was ready to take a handkerchief from god knows where and wipe his hands clean.
But she guessed that he pretended too much to be nice, to actually do as she visioned him to do. Suddenly Zhi Ruo felt old watching the girl try her shot at the playboy looking brother over there that was holding the scepter.
"Good." Tiān Dì nodded his head, confirming his assistant's words. Ultimately ignoring how the girl was shooting glances at Zhi Ruo. If anything, one could say that he was just uninterested by their interactions.
"We will now measure the Young miss's realm. Please hold this scepter, and focus your Qi on the tip." Tiān Dì passed the artifact to Zhi Ruo after checking it. "Just a little will do." He added as Zhi Ruo took the scepter away from his hands.
The assistant, knowing her role, stood by the side as she glanced at Zhi Ruo. Albeit she was showing a bit of her discontentment by the fact that she did not even greet Zhi Ruo properly. Not that she Young miss minds, far too ignorant by the olden ways to notice that it was a rude thing to do.
Following her senior brother's instructions, she held the scepter and focused. The familiar warmth in her veins made Zhi Ruo smile a little. It didn't take long for the transparent crystal to light up. It showed four glowing orbs, as the orbs flickered every once in a while, so did their colors.
This made Tiān Dì and his assistant raise a brow in vague surprise.
"Are you sure you did not have the opportunity to cultivate back in the Liu Fu?" Tiān Dì asked offhandedly as he took the scepter away from Zhi Ruo's hands. "It seems like you have reached quite a bit in your realm in your age dispite how far behind you are."
"I'm sure Senior brother knows my situation better than anyone. Why do I need to lie about my realm and how I cultivated?" They could hear the frown on Zhi Ruo's voice as she replied. "I merely observed the Sighted Valley's people on my free time and copied some of their moves. And before I knew it, I was cultivating. It should be quite normal is it not?"
This made Tiān Dì bitterly smile, "As a matter of fact. It is not." He crossed his arms and took the scroll from his assistant's hands. He waved and she left the room with unwillingness in her eyes.
"Surprisingly, you must have good talents in terms of cultivation if what you said was true. Raising one's realm in a matter of just a day is not something one considers as normal." Tiān Dì's face showed how serious he was when telling Zhi Ruo this. "I know you said that you think this is normal, but you should've thought, or have gotten suspicious of your realm rasing that easily. As one should know that cultivation is a very hard thing to practice."
"It's hard being suspicious of my realm when I don't have anyone to compare with. How would I know if these people around me practiced twice as hard as me but still ends up as the same realm as this miss?" Zhi Ruo said. "How could I know, when I don't even talk to them about these stuff?"
"Just how isolated are you to actually be this dense?" Tiān Dì shook his head, never once did he trust Zhi Ruo's words except for what her situation was back in the Liu Fu.
Because if he did, even if he admitted it in his heart, it would be no less than him admitting that Zhi Ruo was a talent. A very rare talent.
Currently, his pride had already taken a large blow when Zhi Ruo had proven him wrong not too long ago. I mean, how could one just know how to read just by glancing at the materials handed to them? This was already quite something out of someone's fantasy.
He was petty, and he wasn't sure if he was glad or wary when Zhi Ruo still have not mentioned how she proved him wrong. It's like, Zhi Ruo was just silently laughing at him and his plight.
If he could not redeem himself in front of Zhi Ruo right now, then he won't have any face in looking at the Patriarch in the face.
"Please watch your mouth senior brother Tiān." Zhi Ruo paused upon hearing Tiān Dì. "I'm not in the mood to accommodate whatever you have on your mind right now." She said lightly.
"Right. I apologize, that was rude of me." Tiān Dì monotonously apologized. "Alright, you have been listed to join the tournament next week." He said, while motioning to the scroll that has her name plastered on it.
Zhi Ruo turned her head to the scroll, showing that she was listening. Tiān Dì might not have seen it in her face, but he can most definitely feel how Zhi Ruo was smirking at him.
"Please cultivate hard until then." He said as a curtsey. "I will inform Yu Zhúlín, senior sister Qing or senior brother Kohaku. Or would you rather have any of your servants inform you when the time comes on?" Tiān Dì asked as he sat back down on his seat, his body facing Zhi Ruo who was standing.
"A servant of mine will inform me. No need to bother the others in this trival matters." Zhi Ruo instantly recalled Ravel. She stayed silent for a few seconds before she continued. "I hope senior brother Tiān is satisfied with my performance." Languidly, she commented.
Tiān Dì cupped his chin with his hand, as his other rested on the armchair. His lips were set in a straight line. His eyes peirced through Zhi Ruo.
"Not yet." He said. "I'm not yet satisfied, but it'll do for now."
Zhi Ruo lets out a hum, pleased at how Tiān Dì was reacting. "Good." She uttered. "Please stay tuned then. I won't disappoint." By then, she did not wait for Tiān Dì's reply as she went out of the room in her own accord.