Gale had been sleeping in peace after a long time. His mental fatigue and frustration were relieved in those few hours of sleep. Even the drowsiness the alcohol provided spelt away by a large portion as his mind cleared up.
Although Gale was feeling heavy and worn out at the post-hangover exhaustion, he knew it was about time he should wake up. Gold rankers' fights were nothing to scoff at, considering the place they were in. Even though they fought for only a little and much of the ramifications hadn't left the boundary of the Han family, it should have created a pensive atmosphere in the surrounding areas.
Not to mention rumours like these tend to grow faster.
Unwittingly, his brows wrinkled as Gale felt the caressing on his face. It wasn't as gentle as Sumei, though. Hoping to find out what it was, Gale jerked awake from his sleep to find the big boy on top of him, licking his face in affection.
Gale looked at his buddy with confusion in his eyes.
"Woof!" Vale replied, finding him awake.
Gale smiled softly, estimating he wasn't dreaming. He wrapped his arms around Vale and hugged him quietly. They stayed there like that for a while until Gale found his disciple just next to him with an apprehensive expression on her face.
Xiaolin was not in her cultivation clothes, though in a similar light blue attire with full sleeves instead of the sleeveless training clothes. She had a robe on top of it as the atmosphere was rather on the colder side, especially for her.
"Master," Xiaolin called, unsure what to say next. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yes," Gale said and sat up, Vale still on his lap.
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ This was really unbecoming of him to let her see him like this. Thankfully, she hadn't seen much.
Gale drew his sights around the surroundings, scanning to find the general direction. He didn't remember getting here, but he did remember the woman who let him rest on her lap.
Gale sighed wistfully.
He was in a large farmhouse that was used as a storehouse now with nothing too extraordinary to take note of. Bulks of dry wood, packs of fertilisers, and crops arranged in rows around him. There was no artificial light source lit up in the room, giving it a rather eerie vibe.
'That girl certainly didn't have an idea what a romantic place should be like. . .' he mused.
Gale didn't find Sumei—the girl that had taken him here—anywhere near, or even a sign left behind by her. Considering the state he was in, Gale needed to thank that girl for this, not to mention the first peaceful sleep he had after so many days.
"Master. . ." Xiaolin's voice trailed off as she threw him a comprehensive look.
"Yes," Gale said. "Linlin, when did you two get here?"
"Not long," his disciple answered. "It took Vale some time to find you, but we only arrived here a few minutes ago."
Gale nodded, caressing Vale's white fur. "Let's get out of here first."
It was almost evening outside as the sunset on the mountain range in the south quietly. It looked breathtaking, though they couldn't take much of the site from there. Chilly winds started to grow as they found themselves in the middle of a Wheatfield.
They moved further as Gale unconsciously looked around, unsure where he fell. He turned to find his disciple was embarrassed, too. Apparently, she just followed Vale on the way here, unconcerned about where she was going.
"No worries," Gale said, "Vale knows the way."
"Woof!" The dog affirmed.
"Care to sit here for some time?" Gale asked as he gestured to a higher slope where they could see the sunset better.
Xiaolin nodded as he moved towards the higher slope. Vale was the first one to reach, followed by the two of them.
"It seems you have some questions in your mind," Gale said as they sat under the naked sky. One of the half-moons peeked though the stray clouds. It was too early for stars to twinkle.
"Master, what happened?"
"Nothing too serious," Gale said. "That boy--the one used to harass you, he tried to harm the farm and us again. So I decided to pay him a visit. There I had a little argument with his dad and that was about it."
"Argument?" Xiaolin blinked as realisation dawned on her. She scanned her master with a worried look in her eyes. "Master, are you injured?"
"Do I look like I'm injured?" Gale laughed. "No, nothing from that hypocritical fool. You should have seen his face though. It was just like when you seize a toy from a kid."
"Master, will this create trouble for you?"
"Nothing that I can't handle," Gale smiled. "It isn't finished, though. I would need to sit with them under the provision of the local authorities, which would be hella annoying."
Xiaolin nodded as she bit her lips, probably thinking all this mess was because of her.
"What are you thinking, Sweetpie?" Gale stroked her hair softly. "You don't need to worry about that. Till I'm standing, nobody can come after you with rigged complaints or harass you. Although I don't have access to all the power that I used to have before, I can still deal with most problems this little town can throw at us.
"If you're still worried, then let me remind you, my senior brother is a Gemheart rank expert. As for my master. . . Although he moves around all over the place and doesn't have time, if push comes to shove you can expect him to show up. Also, he's a Grandmaster, do you know what that means?"
Xiaolin shook her head.
"Grandmasters are just a step away from becoming a Sage or a Sovereign," Gale said, "and you know what the other two roles entail."
Of course, most grandmasters never managed to become either Sage or Sovereign, but the Oldman was different. Well, his master wasn't really an Oldman by this world's standard, but he was still five times older than Gale--and that made him old, ancient, in Gale's standard.
"If I say it like this, I kind of appear like the only black sheep under his tutelage," Gale considered out loud.
"Master, you mentioned something about not having access to your full power?" Xiaolin asked with a frown. Clearly, she wasn't sure if it was something she should ask or delve into, but since Gale never really rebuked her for questioning, she asked at last.
Gale sighed, unconsciously hiding his left ankle. "It is complicated," he said at last. "You won't understand it fully, just consider I was heavily injured some time ago and still in recovery."
"You're getting better, right?" Xiaolin asked, her voice wishful.
"I hope so," Gale caressed her hair softly. The rest was good, and it made him feel a lot better. "Anyway, enough about me, poppet. How's your recovery going?"
"Master, I'm not a child," Xiaolin said, pouting.
"True," Gale agreed, fondling her cheek. "But you have an adorable baby face."
Gale could feel his frustration driving away just by doing that. He smiled as Linlin looked away, pouting. "So how's your recovery?" Did you go through the acupuncture therapy yet?"
"I'm almost fully recovered," his disciple said, holding her wrist up, where the bracelet still clung to her hand. "But I'm still abiding by your. . .teachings. As for the therapy, I was supposed to go through that tomorrow."
"Well, then perhaps I'll be able to take you back with me," Gale said as a complicated expression appeared on Xiaolin's face. "Is something wrong?"
Xiaolin nodded curtly. "Master, will there be a problem if I stay here for a few more days?"
"What's wrong?" Gale's brows knitted together.
"Nothing with me," Xiaolin said. "It's about Elder Sister. Her marriage broke. . ."
The knit in his brows formed a frown as Gale considered. "When did this happen?"
"Yesterday," Xiaolin said, biting her lower lip. "I found elder sister completely broken up when I got there. Everything she had been working on turned to dust with just some argument. Worst of all, none of this was her fault."
"How did it come to this?" The frown hadn't disappeared from his brows.
"Apparently, her husband. . . former husband now doesn't really support her in spirit arts."
"Isn't this how the tear started in their relationship in the first place?" Gale asked. "Or am I missing something?"
"No, you're right, master." Xiaolin sighed, thinking how stupid the whole thing had been. "They grew apart as both started to stray into two different worlds. There were communication problems too, but apparently, it was more insidious than you think.
"Supposedly, Gu Dong wanted to get resources from Grandma to make his advancement into Silver, however, after spending so much in buying elder sister the fate lock, Grandma was short on wealth, not to mention silver advancement is never meant to be cheap. She advised him to wait another year and better care of his family, which started the argument."
'So isn't this my fault?' Gale mused. It was him who they bought the fate lock from. Gale had been encouraging himself that he had done a good job, but never ever in his wildest dream had he seen it coming.
Then he remembered the wrong advice, he gave Wang Li. 'I needed to apologise to her for all this, even though I'd worked on goodwill.'
"It has nothing to do with you, master," Linlin said, reading his expression. "It is all Gu Dong's fault. He single-handedly damaged their relationship and hurt his elder sister. I'll never forgive him for this."
Gale nodded with a sigh. "So how's your elder sister now?"
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