I'm really not the Saviour! (我唔係救主囖!) [danmei/BL xuanhuan]

11 - This is the exposition chapter, I guess

The woman in the cave uncoiled herself lazily and stood.

She was lanky, and infinitely elegant, with her long, fine white hair elaborately looped behind her head and slinking over her shoulders, in stark contrast to her deep brown robes. Taking a drag from the narrow, ornate pipe that she held between long-nailed fingers, she slowly exhaled the smoke with a sharp-toothed grin.

She was beautiful, and very, very old.

"Old White's disciple, huh?"

"Ha!" Gou Dzing grinned too. "I knew it!"

Chan Bik's head swivelled from one person to another anxiously. "Should... I have bowed lower? Who's Lord Gaam?"

"Calm down, little one. I'll explain in a moment. Disciple of Old White, come here."

"... Divine Majesty?"

"I want to see your eyes, child."

"... I never thought the Great Empress was into that kind of thing..."

Chan Bik froze in horror at Sek Gon's words, but the Grandmaster laughed aloud, causing tremors through the cave. "The same sense of humour as Old White, very good. Come on, come here."

That was a joke? Sek Gon was joking?

The comedian rose and stood before her. They stared into each others' eyes for a few moments, silver flecks meeting caramel brown, until Sek Gon dropped his gaze.

"At the level of Sword Eyes already... Hey, brat-" She turned to her own disciple. "- you need to hurry up, this kid has you well beaten!"

"Yes, Master..." Gou Dzing groaned, more like a junior disciple than the great Jade Exorcist. He realised Chan Bik was staring at him with the intensity of someone who desperately needed a toilet. "Uh, Master, should I...?"

"Yes, let's see how much you remember."

"... Master, why do you make me sound like a bad student?"

"Because you still haven't mastered the sight arts yet, and this kid has."

"Master..."

"... I'm twenty-six."

Three disbelieving pairs of eyes turned to appraise Sek Gon.

"... what?"

At the sharpness in his voice, Gou Dzing looked away hastily, but Chan Bik continued to stare in baffled confusion.

The Grandmaster raised an eyebrow. "Huh, I thought you were nineteen, at most. I suppose at my age you can no longer judge these things. Still, Year of the Monkey makes sense..."

"How old are you, Divine Majesty?" Chan Bik blurted out.

"As the universe," the woman replied immediately.

"Oh... I asked a rude question, didn't I? I'm sor-"

"No, Lady Bik, Master is being serious."

"... what?"

The Master in question laughed. "These wrinkles aren't just for show, you know."

"But... But... I thought Masters with high cultivation always look young! And if you're as old as the universe, you must have very high cultivation, so... but then you look old so you must be old..." Chan Bik's eyes were spinning.

"Ah, we'll have to explain properly. Sit down, everyone. Sorry I have no tea to serve you here." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than her doll-like servant popped up by her side bearing a steaming teapot and four cups. "Oh, never mind. Thank you, Ah Sik."