The Daily Life of a Disciple

Chapter 1

The sound of ink grinding against the marble made my hands itch, my nose itch, my scalp itch, really everything has been itching for the last three hours but shizun being the great grandmaster revered by the seven seas and the four continents had already cultivated the art of silent punishment as he paid me no mind, nonchalantly painting strokes of elegant lines on the wooden tiles. It had been like this for the last three hours. He looked concentrated, so I thought to take a second break, not because I thought he wouldn't notice (when you went through hundreds and dozens of punishment carried under shizun, you'd know he knows everything) but because I thought he'd let it go by this once. I stop grinding.

"Don't slack." Shizun was like a Buddha sculpture even when he spoke, it's as if the wind was passing instead of words. Okay, not letting go.

I continued the perpetual grinding. Grind. Grind. Grind forever.

The only window in the room gave a startling shake, bounding off from its hinges and I looked to see a flying sword pass by along with the trailing hem of pure white robe wisped by the wind. Everyone in the sect knows who that sword belonged to. The revered, the respected, the genius, ranked top 10 most handsome disciples amongst all the sects in the realm for three consecutive years; First senior brother Jn. Afterall only one disciple in the sect was capable of forging a sword with that degree of finesse and it carried the overbearing aura of the owner itself, both dignified and imposing.

Jin shixiong bent to his waste to salute shizun. "Shizun. I'm back." Shizun continued stroking his brush leaving the air with an awkward long pause and only made to acknowledge the greeting when he finished writing two tiles, slowly albeit. That was probably because there were no more tiles on his desk to write on.

"Hmm." The sound came from the back of his throat like a dry hum. Senior brother stood straight once more.

"Shidi." Senior brother met my eyes and I saw the amusement in his dark orbs. I gave him a casual nod while my hands continued grinding the block of ink against the jade slab.

"Completed?" Shizun's way of asking is to never speak two words if he could manage one. It was momentary but I saw how for a split second senior brother stiffened and I was sure shizun caught it too. "Shizun had given orders, this discipline dares not follow."

Shizun looks satisfied, his complexion turned slightly better. "How many?"

"Answering shizun, this disciple had killed all one hundred fifty of them." This time shizun responded with a lighter hum, almost floaty.

"Shizun, it is this disciples fault and oversight that junior brother Ling broke the rules. Again." There was a temporary pause in senior bother's sentence. He swooped in a quick bow and said to shizun. "Shizun has many affairs to deal with, why don't shizun pass junior brother to this disciple for disciplining?"

"If your discipline had been effective he would have changed his ways long ago."

"This disciple has been lenient on shidi, this time this disciple will be harsher and not let shidi disappoint shizun's expectations again. Asking shizun for another chance."

I'd like to see Jin shixiong try.

"That's enough. Take him." It was rare that shizun would give in but he stood from his seat nonetheless and waved his long hemmed sleeves back before exiting the study. "Teach him well this time."

No sooner had shizun's shadow left the vicinity I felt a harsh tug pulling my scalp back several degrees to meet with a smirking handsome face. Ouch. Senior brother's hands are so pretty, why is it suddenly so strong when used to pull someone else's hair?