Li Xiaomei had given a grade one pill bottle of ten bone mending pills. There weren't any issues, she didn't even ask for the reason. After one pill and one day of rest, Zhang Wuji was feeling much better. Though his condition was not good enough to start training, his injuries didn't cause him any problems in daily life. After all it was a grade one pill intended for qi condensation realm cultivators whose body had abundance of qi. If they need a pill, the problem must be something that couldn't be solved by the qi in their body.
After a day of rest his life went back to normal. Well, he couldn't cultivate, and there's the new apprenticeship, except for that, everything else was normal. He wasn't assigned Li Xiaomei as his mentor. Apparently she had just become a grade one alchemist and wasn't experienced enough to become a mentor. He was assigned to a inner sect disciple Wan Huan, who had been a grade one alchemist for close to a decade. He had been stuck at the third level of qi condensation for many years before he had decided to pursue alchemy instead of wasting his life away at just the third level. He was now in his late thirties. He had no interest in mentoring and just asked Zhang Wuji to read some books on his own. He was given access to parts of the Pill House library. He had to help the guy out for a few hours everyday in exchange.
In reality he was given the access automatically the moment he became an apprentice, but grade one alchemist has much higher status and this is how it works in the sect usually. Rarely is any mentoring done. He usually has to grind some ingredients and prepare them, what he had been learning over the past six months. He does this from two to three hours depending on what Wan Huan decides to concoct that day. Sometimes he has no work to do and has extra time which he usually spends learning alchemy from Li Xiaomei. She had already delivered her end of the deal when he got apprenticeship but she welcomed being called teacher.
It's been three days since the incident. Zhang Wuji had changed his meal timings to early morning. He anyway didn't have anything to do for now. He was eating in his usual position by the window. He was staring out the window when he heard someone call out to him.
"Oye!" He looked up to see Qiang Dahan's grinning face.
"I've been searching for you for three days, so you started eating early huh?" He took a piece of meat from Zhang Wuji's plate and bit it in an exaggerated way. "Oh I understand, you can't cultivate with the injuries so you thought you could fill your stomach in the free time. Aren't you lucky, you have such leisure."
Zhang Wuji clenched his fist under the table and stayed silent. Qiang Dahan took another piece "You look much better than I thought, almost healed. You must be loaded."
"I have a friend." He didn't like where this was going.
"Oh? Why don't you introduce us?" He took the whole plate and started munching on the meat.
Zhang Wuji instantly realized his mistake. He couldn't pull them into this. He couldn't come up with a good excuse and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind "I lied. I spent all I had to buy a bone mending pill."
"You don't want to introduce this friend to me?" He suddenly dropped the grin. Then he smiled "Is it a lady friend?"
"No really there is no friend I don't know why I said that I think I-I injured my head in the fight." He found it difficult to control his urge to wipe that smile off his face.
"Why lie? Do you think I'm a thief and will take your money? Do I look that lowly to you?"
"Not at all. I must have hurt my head in the fight. I can't think straight nowadays." He was finding it difficult to keep a straight face.
Qiang Dahan smiled "Alright I believe you. Sigh, junior brother I have a confession to make. The other day I shouldn't have beaten you. The past three days have been real difficult for me, the guilt has been eating me from within. You had already apologized, I should have let the matter end there."
Zhang Wuji went on full alert. There was no way he would believe that.
"Why don't we have a friendly spar? I could teach some of my experiences as an apology. It will help me relieve my guilt and you'll also learn something out of it."
"There's no need senior brother, as you already know I'm still healing and can't participate in a spar. We'll definitely do it some other time. As for guilt and apology, I was in the wrong not you. I was the one that delivered the first punch."
"No no how can you say that, you were peacefully having your meal and I had offended you. What you did was nothing wrong. Junior brother help me clear my conscience. How about this, you give me the remaining bone mending pills as a symbol of acceptance of my apology and our friendship from here onwards and I'll be able to sleep peacefully today. It will also help you clear your conscience, after all you initiated the fight."
"I don't.."
"Junior brother if you do not accept my apology, just say so. The sect doesn't sell single pills and you couldn't have gobbled up all five grade one pills. If you have a source that provides single pills, why don't you share that with me? Young master Wang will be happy too, maybe he'll take you under his wing."
"Senior brother you misunderstood, I meant to say I don't have them with me right now. Tomorrow I'll bring the pill."
"Why tomorrow? Let's go right now."
"No, I have some work in the Pill House after which there's the classes. Tomorrow I'll definitely bring them." 'It's just four pills, I'll still have five remaining. He'll have some fun and get tired eventually, it isn't worth it to offend a Wang family young master for a vengeful lackey.'
"Pill House huh? Alright, I'll be waiting here tomorrow, same time. Take care junior brother." He got up and left whistling a tune. Zhang Wuji looked at his half empty plate with all the meat eaten and sighed. He wanted to do much more but in the end he restrained all of it into a sigh. He felt uncomfortable in the chest, constricted, but this was a disaster he brought upon himself with his anger, it would not solve anything. All he could do was wait for it to pass. He has to learn to tolerate.
The next day, he gave him the pills. A couple of days later he came again. This time his eyes were on the qi recovery pills the sect provided. Saying young master Wang needed them for his followers outside the sect and promising great returns when he would be taken under his wings, he took twenty pills. Then he started sending him on some errands. Sometimes to beat others. Sometimes massage him, for apparently his injuries from days back were still aching. He was even made to extort others using young master Wang's name.
Sometimes Zhang Wuji wanted to forget about whatever young master and beat the shit out of him. If he were to land a surprise hit he was confident in taking him out ten out of ten times. There were many opportunities too. But his reason advised him against it and he tolerated.
Every time he forcefully held himself back, he got the same constricted feeling in his chest. The only thing he got from this whole thing was that he realized a big weakness he had. He didn't know what to say and what not to. Once Qiang Dahan dug his apprenticeship out of him, it wasn't digging really, he had personally handed the information out in a silver platter. Then he had to satisfy young master's herb needs every now and then. He didn't want to be caught stealing so he bought the herbs himself. That's six gold in total. That's when he decided to stay quiet as much as possible.
After a few days, Wan Lin knocked on his door.
"You must be healed now. Let's go cultivate."
He had indeed healed but wasn't given time to cultivate. With the amount of time he had left, working for the mentor and martial arts training were all he could do. He hadn't spoken to any of his friends in a long time. He lied to Li Xiaomei and told her he had extra work to do and wouldn't be able to act for a while. It took some effort but she finally agreed.
"No need. I wasn't lying when I said I was out of gold. Brother Wan Lin, thank you for the past six months. Without your help I would've rot completely. But it's fine now, I can cultivate by myself." Zhang Wuji bowed. He meant every word he said. It only made him reinforce his resolve to not involve his friends in this shit he is in.
"Oi oi, no need for all that. You paid gold in exchange for my assistance, I didn't really help you at all. I'll tell you what, I'll train you for a lower price or for free if you need. After all what are friends for? And if you feel the need to pay in full, you could do so later, double the price, what do you say?"
"Brother Wan Lin you are not the only one that's upright. And also, I think I can do it by myself now. If I can't I'll seek your help again."
"Ok. What you doing now?"
....
After sending Wan Lin away, a sudden exhaustion hit him. He sat on the floor with his back to the door. 'Maybe I should just get some help.'
'No. Those three are just normal guys. This will get them into unnecessary trouble.'
'Teacher Li has good enough background, I could.. no, I already owe her a lot. It wouldn't be good to.. and third sister and fourth brother will think I'm using this as an opportunity to.. no, my mind is truly filled with poison. They won't think like that. But that fellow's brother is a core disciple too and then there's the Wang family. If teacher Li could ask her parents or.. no, my mind is not right. I'll think of a solution later, for now I'll get some training done.
By the end of that train if thought, he started feeling as if them helping him was obvious, their responsibility. He didn't like that one bit. Made him disgusted with himself.
That disgust stuck with him during the entire time he was training. Various thoughts ran in his mind and he finally came to a realization. He had remained indecisive and stupid in the guise of tolerance. Tomorrow whatever happens, he decided to speak directly with young master Wang. He had enough of this vengeful lackey.