Chapter 4: Severe

Despite the appearance of the scholar, the red-robed male's expression was not one of shock or surprise. All that could be found was a trace of wariness that lingered in his eyes when they happened to cross the scholar's figure.

 

Oblivious to all of this, the blue-robed child turned his curious gaze toward the scholar. He had never seen a Confucian scholar before. His father was an affluent merchant and interacted with many people, but that did not mean that he would meet with them. Some officials of the Imperial Court wore scholarly robes to express their adherence to Confucian virtues, but they were always modified into obscurity. His eyes roamed the scholar's outfit until he found something that hung on the scholar's waist. There was a loop of cloth on the right side of the scholar's robe at the waist area. Some simple string held a wooden seal onto the cloth loop as it hung loosely to the side of the scholar, lightly swaying in the air with every step.

 

Although it seemed ordinary in every way, the child couldn't help but find his gaze attracted to the wooden seal. Engraved on it, was the character "厉" or "Li". The engraving was rough and carved with a knife, unlike the rest of the seal which was smooth and painstakingly carved by a master craftsman. It seemed otherworldly if not for the Li character carved into it.

 

"Severe?"

 

The blue-robed child stared curiously at the plaque. Seeing the child's cute and focused look, the Confucian scholar smiled and provided an explanation.

 

"Yes, severe. I have a past with the Chi Emperor… I recommend you not mention me to him if you want to avoid trouble. If he knows I'm here, he'll chase me down. It'd be quite annoying."

 

With a serious look, the child nodded and started patting down his robes.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

Both the red-robed male and the Confucian scholar both asked at the same time. The red-robed male looked at the Confucian scholar with annoyance while the scholar responded with a genial smile. When the child finished patting down his robes, he asked both of them a question with an extremely serious look.

 

"Master… or esteemed Senior… do you have a brush, ink, and paper?"

 

The corner of both the red-robed male and Confucian scholar twitched imperceptibly. Both of them had the same train of thought.

 

'What makes you think I'd have an ink block, brush, and paper on me when we're in the middle of nowhere?!'

 

"It's fine if you don't remember it. I can remind you next time we meet."

 

The Confucian scholar assured the child. A little confused and suspicious, the child responded with another question.

 

"What if we don't meet again?"

 

"We will. But, for now, I must leave. Your master is starting to get a bit annoyed with my presence. I can feel his eyes boring into my head. It was nice meeting you, Ye Fan."

 

The child's face lit up with surprise at the scholar's response.

 

"How do you know my name?"

 

Smiling, the scholar gave a mysterious reply.

 

"There is little that I do not know. Although your master may know many things, there are things that I know that he doesn't. But, there are also things that he knows that I don't."

 

Having said his part, the scholar waved farewell to the child and walked towards the woods. The breeze started to pick up and the scholar disappeared in front of the child's eyes.

 

Ye Fan turned toward his master and asked a question.

 

"Will we meet him again, Master?"

 

An annoyed look passed through the red-robed male's eyes as he responded.

 

"It's hard to get rid of him. That scholar is like a parasite, always hanging around me even if I don't like it."

 

After saying so, the red-robed male held his hands behind his back and looked off into the distance. Minutes passed by with the red-robed male still staring off into space. At this point, Ye Fan started working. Not liking the silence, the child spoke up.

 

"So…?"

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Hearing Ye Fan's voice, the red-robed male snapped out of his stupor. Turning his head towards Ye Fan, the red-robed male replied with a cross expression.

 

"What did I tell you about asking for permission?"

 

The child wrinkled his brows. He was extremely confused so he voiced his doubts.

 

"But… you didn't criticize me when I was talking to that venerable scholar?"

 

The red-robed male snapped at the child.

 

"A parasite deserves no respect! Yes… he might be senior to you, but he deserves no respect."

 

Ye Fan was startled but immediately started nodding his head at the words of his master.

 

"Anyways, to answer your question, he can be useful. So, yes. You will meet him again."

 

Ye Fan nodded slowly and then proceeded to speak up once more.

 

"Master, should we keep going?"

 

The red-robed male replied curtly.

 

"En."

 

The master-disciple pair headed towards an opening in the forest with Ye Fan leading the way. The forest wasn't extremely dense with vegetation. Composed mostly of fir trees, the forest stretched as far as the eye could see. The pair were able to comfortably walk side by side as they navigated a dirt path used by foragers and hunters. Holding a plain-looking compass with a constantly moving needle, Ye Fan was focused on navigating the forest. Walking along the winding path, the two eventually exited the path and encountered a river.

 

In front of them was a landing with a small riverboat anchored, light snoring could be heard as Ye Fan walked up to the boat.

 

"Hello! Uncle! Wake up!"

 

Ye Fan started to shout as he held onto the side of the riverboat and peeked into it. A startled snort sounded from the cabin. There was a sound of a blanket rustling followed by the sound of someone staggering around. Coming into view, the boatman held himself up against the door frame with one hand and his head in the other. He was wearing a brown tunic with a drool stain on his right shoulder and his eyelids struggled to open barely parting for an instant before closing once more.

 

"I'm up! I'm up. Little Fan, what took you so long?"

 

The boatman groggily responded to Ye Fan's exclamations. Ye Fan promptly replied.

 

"Oh, we met a scholar on the way back! On the way to the mountain, I didn't know how to use the compass so I had to mess around with it. I got lost for a bit, but eventually, I figured it out. Luckily a wild beast guided me back to the path and I figured out how it worked. Also, on the mountain-"

 

The boatman stood up straight and forced his drowsy eyes open while interrupting the enthusiastic child.

 

"Wait. We? Did you say we?"

 

Ye Fan smiled brightly and pointed excitedly at the red-robed male.

 

"Yep! Master is with me! He wants to come for a visit. That's fine, right? Father said I should do whatever Master says."

 

"M-Master?"

 

Stammering, the boatman quickly scrambled to make himself presentable. The boatman stared at the floating male with a nervous and flattering look. Getting on his knees, the boatman kowtowed toward the red-robed male.

 

"This lowly boatman greets the great Immortal."

 

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