When sometime later Yu Qingyu finished his tea and decided to go to the training field, he found Han Yanwu and Liu Wei engaged in an intense fight.
At first, he didn't think much of it. It wasn't anything unusual. As his strongest disciples, they tended to spar with each other all the time, since the rest were not skilled enough to have a chance against them. So, Yu Qingyu just cast them a passing glance, and took a seat in the shade nearby.
Only after a longer observation, did he notice that something seemed a bit off about the situation. To be precise, the mood was quite different. Especially when it came to Han Yanwu, who had a deep frown on his face, and fire burning in his eyes.
Moreover, usually the rest of his disciples just carried on with their own activities, ignoring the two. But this time, they were all perched on the side, observing the fight and whispering among themselves.
"Did something happen?" he couldn't help but ask one of his disciples, who was sitting nearby.
"Ah, Shizun. They are fighting for who will get to go on the mission with Shizun this time."
"What." Yu Qingyu's eyes opened wide, as he looked at Liu Wei, horrified.
Should he stop the fight? There was no way he could agree to such a switch! How could he possibly go on a mission with Liu Wei? That would be seeking death! Or at least, he would risk his identity being discovered. So far, Liu Wei didn't seem to have figured him out… And he wanted to keep it that way. As long as possible.
But before he could decide what to do, it was already too late. Han Yanwu was down on the ground, heaving, crushed completely. His eyes were out of focus, as he exhausted all of his energy. Liu Wei, on the other hand, was still standing steadily, although also panting heavily, sweat trickling down his forehead.
He smiled satisfied, straightened his back, and turned around toward Yu Qingyu. "Shizun! Let me go on the mission with you!"
Yu Qingyu gulped loudly, his hands, resting on his tights, curling into fists.
There was hostility hidden in Liu Wei's eyes, that wasn't there when he looked at Yu Qingyu before. He tried to conceal it, but Yu Qingyu could still tell.
'He knows it, doesn't he.'
[It would appear so.]
Yu Qingyu took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and cleared up his expression. "I have chosen Han Yanwu for this mission," he answered simply.
"But Shizun…" Liu Wei walked slowly toward Yu Qingyu, leaving Han Yanwu behind, sprawled on the ground. "You have chosen Yanwu-shixiong because you needed someone strong who would be able to support Weixin-shixiong on the mission, right? Then am I not an even better choice?"
"Yanwu also deserves such a training opportunity," Yu Qingyu said in response, trying hard to maintain his calm.
"But Yanwu-shixiong agreed to this!" Liu Wei protested.
Yu Qingyu bit his lip, observing Liu Wei in silence. '520, any idea what should I do? Can you come up with any reasonable argument that would end the discussion?'
[Considering how they competed for the spot, there is no valid reason for Host to refuse. Of course, Host can still simply say that those are his orders, but Gu Huiji wouldn't have done that.]
Yu Qingyu let out a sigh, feeling defeated. Was he really going to go on a mission with Liu Wei, who was his biggest, and only, enemy? The mere thought made him feel as if he was about to faint…
But alas, he just had to brace himself and carry on.
He slowly got up, and turned around to walk away. "We are leaving in two days. Prepare yourself," he spoke up as he left, with his back turned to Liu Wei.
He wanted to keep him at a distance… But if he couldn't do that, then maybe he could at least misguide him in regard to his mission. Come up with a fake one, make Liu Wei believe that it was what he had to achieve in this world, and secretly train Zhao Weixin along the way…
Was his acting good enough to pull it off? Yu Qingyu didn't know. If it was a school play, then perhaps. But when faced with Liu Wei, whose presence made his heart race because of the sense of the looming danger, he wasn't so sure. His confidence was practically crawling on the ground.
***
The first rays of the sun were shyly slipping above the mountain peaks as two disciples were getting ready to leave for the mission. They were waiting for their Shizun, who arrived a bit late, because he struggled to drag himself out of bed. Partially because he was not a morning bird, and throughout the past month he got way too used to sleeping in, so that getting up with the sunrise became a challenge. But mostly because he truly did not want to go, and had a strong desire to run away instead.
But if he did so, soon he'd be on track to fail the mission. So he braced himself, and went to meet up with his disciples.
Liu Wei lifted his eyebrows, seeing him arrive so late, but he fixed his expression immediately after, replacing it with a cheerful smile. He had to play the role of a filial disciple, at least until he was able to discover his enemy's mission. Moreover, with the identity he had in this world, he was in a disadvantageous position. He needed to carefully plan his actions.
He was unaware, however, that his identity was already discovered a long time ago. Although his impersonation of Xue Molin was nearly flawless, the shadows under his eyes betrayed him on the second day in this world.
Yu Qingyu, on the other hand, was fairly content with the situation after thinking things through. Although having Liu Wei nearby was nerve-wracking, it was still better than in the previous world, when he just kicked him out of the team, and Yu Qingyu could not contact him at all…
'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'
Keeping this in mind, Yu Qingyu raised the corners of his mouth, forcing himself to smile, and nodded at his disciples. "Are you ready? Let's not waste time then."
The town was some distance away, and he wanted to do some serious investigation today, before nightfall. To get there quickly, they were going to fly on their swords.
Yu Qingyu stared at the sword hovering in the air in front of him and gulped. He tried flying on the sword before… But only in his room. The perspective of soaring through the skies just on a piece of metal seemed truly terrifying!
But what could he do? He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and got on.
His anxiousness did not escape Liu Wei's eyes. Seeing the queasy expression on Yu Qingyu's face, he couldn't help but smirk.