The seated Disciples twiddled their thumbs. The three of them occupied one of the cabin's cushioned benches. There was just enough space for the three of them to squeeze in.
They were silent, which wasn't a habit of theirs. The Young Master had called them in, while Ui Feng watched over the Servant girl.
Three minutes have already passed. The Young Master still hasn't said a word.
"I was in there for forty days, right?" He asked suddenly.
The three raised their gazes off the ground, nodded, and went back to staring at the ground.
They nervously swallowed, scratched their hands, bit on their lips and tongue.
"How did this happen?"
None of them could muster up an answer.
They feared that the Young Master would question their loyalty. But more than fear, they felt guilty.
"During the forty days where I was gone..."
They held their breath.
"What have you been doing?"
"We..."
"Training, Young Master."
"Yes, we were training, Young Master-"
"Were you?" Zhao Laohu's words cut like daggers.
They had continued training during those forty days. And yet,
"I couldn't tell." The Young Master added coldly.
Silent seconds passed.
"How were you training?"
"How...?"
"We trained the same way we used to before, Young Master."
"We were training every day, Young Master. We apologize that it-"
"Talk me through it."
The Disciples exchanged confused looks.
"You've trained for the last forty days. Every day. Tell me about it. The average day."
"We uh... Wake up. Train with the Sect's Instructors..."
"Spend the day training then... By that time it would already be night, so we would go have drinks..."
"Then find women to keep us company. Just like we used to, Young Master."
"Though it was a lot more boring without you, Young Master."
"That's true, that's true."
"It's..."
The Disciples blabbered for a bit while Lei thought silently.
'Training every day, all day until night... Only amounts to this? They were barely stronger than those assassins. Drinking every day might get in the way of progress but... Still. Their bodies are weaker and they didn't seem to have any Techniques or whatever... Tsk. They used to do it together, so Zhao being this much stronger might just be a result of genetics. Wait... Maybe they're like me. Why did I assume that they...?'
"In that cave, there was no morning or night. I suppose... There was only night." The Young Master said.
"Well, Young Master..."
"We only saw the light of day a couple of hours every day."
"Yes. For two hours after waking up, and two hours before going to sleep. So there was only night for us too, Young Master! Haha... Ha... I apologize if..."
The Young Master's gaze moved towards the cabin's window on his left.
Cracked, a portion of the glass had fallen, allowing the cold air to seep through.
"You kept doing the same thing while I was away..." The Young Master was almost whispering, his gaze locked on the outside of the cabin. "That's why you're not good enough."
The Disciples immediately felt their hearts sink.
Confusion, sadness, and-
"No more drinking for you three. Understand?"
Their confusion grew. Zhao Laohu lay his hand on the door.
"I couldn't for the last forty days, so you'll stop from now on." The Young Master opened the door and stepped out of the cabin. "The three of you are having a competition about who drinks the most tea, right?"
The Disciples nodded, surprised by the slight smile on their Young Master's face.
"You need to be stronger. To become stronger. You're Disciples of my Sect, aren't you?"
"Yes, Young Master!" They answered in unison.
"A lot will change from now. A lot... Has changed." The Young Master stared into the distance. "Those days without night and day, without a meal, a glass, or a drink... Those days changed me. I am not the same anymore. Do you understand?"
The Disciples slowly nodded.
"Then the time has come for you to do the same. Change..." Zhao Laohu started walking away from the cabin without closing its door. "If you want to keep your place."
They remained seated, silent. Grasping at their robes in silent frustration.
It wasn't all bad though. That frustration grew, and their hearts started beating faster.
It was the first time that the Young Master whom they had been chasing after for so long talked to them this way.
It was the first time that their Young Master had truly looked at them.
"The same way as before." Zhao Laohu said as he hopped onto the wooden platform of the carriage without even turning in his direction.
"Yes... Young Zhao." Ui Feng walked towards the cabin and entered.
Multiple knots had been made to keep together the reins that had been cut.
"Young Master." Lyu bowed once she noticed Zhao Laohu take a seat at the same spot as before. "We can depart whenever you-"
"Let's go." The Young Master interrupted.
With a click of her tongue, Borara started walking, pulling the carriage's wheels across the bloodstained ground.
"Lyu." The Young Master said a minute later.
She didn't react.
"Girl."
"Yes, Young Master?"
Lei nodded internally.
'A Servant should know not to eavesdrop and listen into the conversations of her Masters... Head Servant, huh? I wonder if she trained herself to not react and to not listen except when... I wonder if she was trained instead...'
Lyu tilted her head.
"Talk to me."
"Young Master...?"
"Talk."
"Wh... I'm afraid that I would bore the Young-"
"About the Jade City, about Sects, about... Whatever."
"I... I believe Lord Feng would be more qualified to-"
"I like the sound of your voice." The Young Master's eyes remained on the forest. "Tell me about anything."
"Yes, Young Master." A slightly blushing Lyu answered as she lowered her gaze.
Inside the cabin,
"Do you think they're talking?"
"The Young Master and a Servant?"
"I didn't expect the Young Master's tastes to be..."
The three Disciples exchanged looks, before sticking their ear to the wall separating them from-
"YOU IMBECILES!!" Ui Feng shouted, they pulled back right away. "Spying on your Young Master? How dare you! After spending so long in there and having to fight now, there's only one thing that Young Zhao would want with a girl."
"Huh...?"
"You don't mean...?"
"We were...?"
"Spying on your Young Master when he must be ravishing that girl! How dare you!"
"We would never!!" The embarrassed Disciples shouted at once.
'They sure are noisy...'
Hours passed, and the carriage made it to the Jade City.