Aimless Ascension

"Girl, aren't you a fast one?" Wang Li said.

Xiaolin jerked awake from her stupor and skidded off Gale's embrace to maintain a distance. That only earned a chuckle from Wang Li.

"Elder sister, what are you talking about?"

Gale had already noticed Wang Li from the air, but that didn't stop him from landing there. Well, it was better than dropping in front of the Inn.

Vale ran out of the other side to come to the garden. He woofed smugly as if telling him he won the race.

"So where have you two, Master and Disciple, been?" Wang Li asked again.

"We weren't alone," Xiaolin came to defence almost instantly. "Vale was with us."

"Sure," Wang Li said with a meaningful smile. "I can already see that."

"Elder sister!"

Gale let out a breath. "Linlin, go make a cup of tea for me."

Xiaolin left at once, getting an excuse.

Wang Li snorted and drew her attention towards the tall man. "Tell me truthfully. Are you spoiling her too much?"

"Not really," Gale said. "I had been training her with an iron hand, though I went a bit soft after her injury."

Wang Li nodded thoughtfully. She clearly wanted to say something, but refrained, probably thinking it wasn't her place to talk about it.

"Speak freely," Gale advised.

"I don't think you should treat her any better than most masters do with their disciples," Wang Li said at last. "Of course, I know little about all this business, but it's too easy to take things for granted if you get everything in your hand reach. Honestly, I can't see Xiaolin going on that road, however, with a case like how she got injured, it was too easy to imagine her doing something like this again."

"You're right," Gale said, contemplative. He had almost no experience in teaching or even discipling someone else. Of course, he would make a mistake. He certainly had mistaken to assume the amount of frustration Xiaolin had which got her to train excessively.

Of course, there was a gender difference. Xiaolin couldn't talk about everything with him, nor anything else less regarded with spirit arts. She had loosened up that personality after her injury as she had nothing to do these past few days.

"Thankfully, I plan to get a maid to look after her all the time," Gale added.

"Maid?" Wang Li raised an eyebrow. "You sure she would listen to a maid when she literally went against your advice?"

"That's why I'm planning to get someone far stronger than Linlin, Iron or copper rank, at the least."

"Iron ranker for a maid?" Wang Li had a comical expression on her face. "You'll certainly have a better time looking for a groom for her than to find a maid for her."

"Really? Well, I guess that's the problem with lower-cultivated places. However, I think with enough remuneration and perks, most copper and iron rankers could be tempted to take the job."

"What kind of remuneration and perks are you talking about?" Wang Li asked, interested.

"Pay in gold marks and probably some useful advice in spirit arts," Gale answered. He already thought about the answer long ago. Of course, only the gold marks would have sufficed in most places to get a good maid, but considering the place Gale was in, he thought it was necessary to tempt someone good.

"Gold marks? Advice in spirit arts?" Wang Li's eyes widened, and she shook her head, remembering Gale's means of doing stuff. "I can already see dozens of girls throwing themselves at you, learning gold marks are involved. As for practitioners, they would be too, though I think mostly for the advice; advice from a master of all people, that shouldn't come cheap."

"Of course, it wasn't normal maid-work the maid would have to do. I'm looking for someone who had a good foundation in spirit arts and can help Xiaolin practise. The gap between us two is too large for her to have a reasonable perspective."

"Still, I can see girls going crazy over your offer," Wang Li said with a laugh. "Even I feel tempted. If only I didn't have things of my own to take care of."

Of course, she was joking, but the smile was genuine. That didn't mean she got over her breakup with her husband. Gale had been in her place too many times for too many reasons to understand that easily.

"Though I must admit," he added as he turned his head to the garden, "you probably are the best person to keep Xiaolin steady on things."

Wang Li clearly wanted to say something at hearing that, but she pursed her lips.

"I see you're pressing the Reverse Cycling technique," he said. "Anyway, I got the script construct that I promised to keep your garden from going barren. Let's lay them in place. It'll only take a quarter of an hour at best."

"Do you need my help with something?"

"Yes," Gale said as he brought out his scribing tool bag along with various parchment he already scribed in. "Help me lay them."

The two of them got to work after that. Wang Li clearly had no idea what Master Scriber would need in laying the constructs, but after a little direction from him, she managed fine. However, the most formidable job for her had been covering some spirit glue-type thing on the barricade around the trees and garden.

After a couple of minutes, Xiaolin joined and helped too, as they finished the job in about ten minutes.

"This would protect the trees for a hundred of years if nothing went wrong with the scripts," the master scriber said, inspecting his work.

"Master, I don't think most of these trees live even a tenth of that."

"Very good, Linlin, now go warm the tea for me."

Xiaolin pouted. "Master, you can do that easily using just a little bit of Qi."

"What? You want your master to work for himself?" Gale asked in the pretence of rage. "Why did I take you as my disciple then, if not for making you work in my stead?"

"Because I'm too pretty to be left on my own," saying that Xiaolin immediately ran with the cup of tea.