Still Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Chapter Thirteen - I hit a girl!

The guest courtyard, that became available to them that afternoon, was not large. It was comparable with the basic courtyard home that the pair shared in the Ascending Mountain Institute.  Just that the side rooms were meant for close servants or young children and there was no small kitchen.  The contents of the room were far more luxurious than their own home, even though they were generally simple in terms of ornamentation.  The curtains were made of brocade, the sheets upon the beds were silk with heavier blankets placed on top that had been embroidered with simple, but elegant patterns.  The chest and vanity tables were not ornate, but made of high quality wood and finished superbly.

They'd been guided by servants to separate bedrooms within the building, to which Leon was too shy to amend and Jin Li was too lazy.  They reunited in the common room located inbetween the two bedrooms, where Jin Li requested a servant to bring a kettle of hot water.  This servant and several others had been assigned to serve them during their stay, but they also found that these unusual masters did not want their close attentions; meaning their usual aid during grooming, nightly duties nor even the simple matter of pouring tea.  Some of these duties actually fell upon the smaller youth's shoulders, which confused them for even though he was a commoner, his manner was not actually like a servant, born in house or otherwise!  Not even a favoured servant would dare bicker so openly with their Master nor would a favoured servant be given their own bedroom in the main living area, but rather still be shown a side room.  Plus... there was something ambiguous about their relationship...

They couldn't evaluate it overly for they were shooed out of the courtyard with the exception of just two, who were told just to remain in the servants rooms in the front of the courtyard until they were needed, as 'cultivation required an environment that was unhindered by external factors.'  What did mortals understand that while this sentence was actually true, they were simply considered nuisances by a certain Martial Artist who didn't want his small alchemist worried that their interactions would be heard by servants guarding their bedroom doors waiting to attend them at immediate notice.

That done and tea consumed, Jin Li tugged his small alchemist's wrist, the heat in his eyes no longer hidden.  Leon blushed and made some excuses about cleaning up before coming to his room tonight then fled to his own room.  There, Leon washed his face and took care of a little personal business before slipping into his night robes.  Feeling a little more settled, he didn't delay any longer less his impatient gong decide to come seeking him, however he had barely made a move towards the door when he heard a feminine scream, the source of which was down the hall of this courtyard!

Rushing into his lover's bedroom, he came upon an unexpected scene; a girl of about sixteen years crumpled upon the floor with the silk sheet of Jin Li's bed wrapped about her otherwise naked form.  Tears streamed down the girl's face, while Jin Li stood a few paces away, looking down at her with sparks of angry lightning in his black eyes.  Leon could only stand and stare, his mind a blanket of nothing due to shock.  Less than half a minute later and the two servants that had been allowed to stay in the guest courtyard arrived and stood behind Leon, surprise also evident upon their faces.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Jin Li's crisp tone was heavy with anger as he pointed at the girl who had crawled into his bed.  It was not as if he hadn't experienced this sort of thing before; his Uncle had tried once to gift him with a tong fang (bed servant) and there had been a couple of servant girls with their heads more in the clouds wishing to experience the dreams of a Phoenix, however that sort of thing had been nipped in the bud in an extremely swift and once bloody manner.  None had bothered to attempt to actually climb into his bed since he was fourteen, too fearful of his and the Madam's (his mother's) reactions.  Definitely wasn't expecting that sort of thing to occur in the guest courtyard of someone else's palace!