"Is this the seedlin ye said ye want me to take under mah wings?" Aodhfionn asked after they hugged their longings out and sat on a sofa inside the house.
After the bear hug, they were invited in by Aodhfionn. The inside of the house was simple. Single sofa, double couch across, a table with a single chair, and lots of weapon and shield racks. It wasn't that hard to guess the daily life of this man. Living single and smithing like crazy.
"Yes. Introduce yourself to him, Ezio." Abbot pointed to Aodhfionn with a nod.
"Hello, Mr. Aodhfionn. I am Ezio. I was raised by Abbot, and I am in debt to him with my life." Ezio said in a docile manner. He was surprised to know that he was gonna be left behind with this man, but he already knew why they came to the capital. So he didn't take it that hard.
"Hmm. Nice piece of iron. Iron shouldn be hard, or it can ne'er be hammered to a nice sword." Aodhfionn said with a satisfied nod.
"You will not regret it, old friend. Ezio is a prodigy. He will be able to inherit your art even." Abbot said excitedly.
"Ye know dat is impossible, old mukker," Aodhfionn said downcastly. He flat out believed there wasn't anyone who could inherit him. It wasn't that the legacy he had was hard to comprehend or anything, it was impossible to learn because of the requirements it had.
Ezio, on the other hand, was beaming with anticipation when he heard about the hard-to-learn legacy. From experience, the harder it was to learn something, the higher its quality was.
"Anyway, les grab somethin to feed on," Aodhfionn said and jumped from his seat. He was agile for his form.
Ezio and Abbot followed him on the streets of the capital. Ezio was curious about the details. He wanted to see the capital, women, legacy Aodhfionn could offer, and many more. He was always a greedy man, and he was never ashamed to accept this fact. He was greedy to women, to money, to power, to everything, but most of all to knowledge.
Now that I am in the capital, I can finally lay my eyes on the famous princess of the Kingdom. Princess Moon. I heard that the day she was born, the moon was the brightest. And after midnight, just after she was born the moon was ashamed by the newborn's beauty and hid away, and darkness swallowed the world. Later when it was found out she had a gift, it was advocated as a blessing of the Moon God.
The rumor then started to spread. The reason why the moon was shiniest that night was that the Moon God graced the world with her presence. And when later moonlight faded it was when they gifted their power to the Princess Moon.
A princess that is more beautiful than the moon. I really want to see her.
It didn't take long for the group to reach where they would dine. It was a two-story restaurant. The entrance floor was crowded with people. At the end of the first floor there stood the stairs with the red carpet. It was still the same way of greeting important guests. Aodhfionn started to walk to the stairs unhesitatingly. The duo followed behind with lots of envious gazes piercing through them.
A beautiful lady smiled at them as they approached. "So, Master Aodhfionn graced us. Would you like the regular?"
"Nah. Ah have dear friends wit me today, so Ah will have yer special cuisine of the day for three." Aodhfionn said as he started to navigate them. The smile of the woman, on the other hand, left Ezio dumbfounded.
So beautiful. Is she the princess moon? No, she is more beautiful than the moon itself.
The second floor of the restaurant was quiet, unlike the entrance floor. There were hardly any customers. The rooms were private. It didn't take long before the food arrived. Just the smell of the food was enough to drive Ezio crazy. As an "eater" in his past life, living in the Buddhist Sect drove him almost crazy. After all, they were only eating spiritual fruits and morning dews to prevent any impurities from entering their bodies. But now, in front of him, there were at least 10 different kinds of meat and other supporting vegetables that made him drool.
"Ezio! Mind your manners." Abbot scolded him harshly.
"Let the lad be. If ye raised him as ye were, I bet he doesn even know the taste of the meat." Aodhfionn said. "But look at him drool over the food. Bwahaha."
I really know the taste of meat. That is the problem. I am craving meat over here, so stop talking and let's start!
When Ezio put the first bite into his mouth, he was assaulted by condensed Qi. Qi circulated inside his body and he almost broke through the bottleneck to the next Realm. To his surprise, Aodhfionn laughed as he hit the table with his palm making it shake, and spilling some food over the table.
"So, it really is yer first-time eatin the meat of a Demonic Beast. Hoow was it, lad? The Qi accumulated inside of the beast for a decade, cooked in a special way and when you eat it, the Qi will circulate inside yer body. Just by eatin here daily, ye can break through to the Qi Crystallization Realm by the age of 30. How unfair the world is, right?"
"I almost broke through. It really is special. Thank you, Master." Ezio said cutely.
"Hahaha, Ah started to like ye already. Ah will let ye eat treasures way more precious than these punny demonic beasts. But before this Master n Disciple thing starts, ye have to show me yer worth. Ah will give ye a simple forging task, and ye have to fulfill it and be able to smith me a dagger or Ah will pack ye back to yer Abbot without mercy. Doesn matter how prodigy ye are in cultivation, what Ah care is if ye can forge or not." Aodhfionn said bluntly.
"I understand." Ezio accepted. He wasn't sure if he was talented in forging, but he was willing to take the challenge, for he could not return to the Cleansing Buddhist Sect.
"I was wondering which esteemed guest made so much bluster in this place, but it turned out it was Master Aodhfionn. I am honored to be in your presence." A voice came as they were enjoying their food.
***
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