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62.73% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 202: Chapter Two - Our promise to Sun

Chapter 202: Chapter Two - Our promise to Sun

Technically speaking, Jin Li did not live in the little courtyard house that was built for Leon and the latter had been most surprised by the addition of the large, curtained bed.  Clearly, when all of the accommodation, with the exception of some guest rooms and Teacher facilities, had single beds and as many as four to a room, his new bed looked out of place.  And that is only when you consider the size.  Most other student rooms were not blessed with draft-excluding curtains!

So, although Jin Li accepted this privilege as if they were entitled, his actual room could be found in the inner school, in the first years block.  His bed was one of those unadorned, single beds, (though its general comfort was still on par with Leon's new one) and his was not the only bed in the room.  Inner school accommodations for students was two to a room and therefore the other bed naturally had an owner.  The owner of the bed was named Sun, self-proclaimed best friend of Jin Li and bubbly, energetic, albeit diminutive Martial Arts student.

Sun was the same age as Jin Li, both were seventeen, though Jin Li claimed to be turning eighteen mid Winter, thus senior by a four ten-days than the other.  It was his excuse to boss him about when he felt like it anyway.  The youth had a length of brown hair that he usually wore up, bright eyes and a smattering of freckles upon his nose.  He had a background of affluence meaning that he occasionally couldn't see others of lesser background as being equal to him, but much of that snobbiness had been broken down and been swept away as had his habit of idol worship.  After all, idols were better off worshiped afar, less said idols ruin the glorious image one held of them by normal or annoying habits.  Such as insisting on carrying a person princess style when one's legs collapsed from exhaustion... that sort of thing.

The slightly more mellowed youth that was Sun, who had once clung to Jin Li as a golden thigh and the protagonist of a story that no one had read, banged upon the front door of Leon's courtyard home once more.  "Jin Li! Jin Li! Open up!"  Finally the lock clicked and the boy sighed with relief before his beaming smile returned and he entered the little house as if there had been no obstacles barring his way in the first place.  "Yay! You are up! Are you ready to go?"

Leon glanced at him as he placed the porridge on the table and served Jin Li a bowl of it as well as a cup of tea.  "N-not yet," Leon admitted and then blushed furiously as he recalled just why they were so tardy this morning.

Perhaps Jin Li knew what his small alchemist was thinking because his face was quite smug as he picked up his spoon and began to devour the simple breakfast.  "There's no meat," he complained, but this was in between mouthfuls.

"We're ab-bout to leave f-for a while," Leon reminded him, his habit of being frugal came from his last life, but knowing what he did about his forgotten past in this life, he likely would have retained this habit regardless.  It seemed destiny would have him be born to poverty and hardships compared to others.  That said, in his last life, things could still be considered comfortable compared to that which his diaries claimed he lived like before he came to the school.  A villager, with just a grandfather for company and the man's earnings as a creator of blank books from purchased parchment.  When food was scarce, he'd had to forage for wild herbs and vegetables, too weak to hunt or fish.  However, it was this learning about herbs and his basic skills in reading, that helped him pursue the alchemist path in the end.

Jin Li clicked his tongue, but still did not hesitate to move his spoon.  In the end, the rest of the pot of congee was consumed by him as well.  Sun had already eaten, so just drank tea while he waited impatiently, while Leon pottered around, cleaning up their dishes and folding his and Jin Li's things ready to pack.  "Oh, I should see to Li Ming and Wu Ye!" Leon suddenly announced and scampered out of the door.

Sun watched him leave then turned to Jin Li who was pouring himself a second cup of tea.  "Aren't you done yet?" Sun complained.

"No."

A chill breeze drifted across the courtyard, teasing the boy who stepped out into it from his warm home and he shivered and began thinking of his warm, snow foxbear pelt coat indoors.  However, his scent had caught the attention of those in a sheltered stable nearby and loud yowls excitedly sounded from it.  Leon's lips curved as he braved the wind and quickly covered the short distance to the stable.  Out of the wind, it was a bit warmer and four bright, feline eyes flashed towards him as he entered.  Those belonged to Li Ming and Wu Ye.

Wu Ye, meaning midnight, had grown into its pre-adult form simpler and not yet of the mass of a full adult. Still, its line of sight easily met Leon's as it stood on its four strong, scaled legs.  All of its baby fur had now been lost and it was coated in pitch black scales that while tough were smooth to the touch.  Light did not reflect off of its skin; it would have been the perfect nocturnal predator had it not been wounded as an adolescent and rescued by the beast taming school.  It shook his feline head at Leon's appreciating gaze and turned its head aside, arrogantly.  It was quite the match for its chosen rider.

Li Ming was younger than Wu Ye and formally was the runt of its litter, thus only currently reached Leon's waist.  Its eyes were an azure blue and its rounded ears and much of his neck and long, thick tail still retained the fluff he was born with.  It yowled for attention, nuzzling at Leon's body as the youth entered, still very much unaware of its own strength as it knocked the boy to the ground.  Leon chuckled, unhurt and stroked the soft striped fur of black and white at the coeurl's neck.  Coeurls were magical beasts, large felines, but (with the exception of cubs) had no fur, instead a coat of scales and a thick lizard like tail.  They did not have whiskers per say, but two long tendrils that sprouted from their cheeks and stretched down the length of their bodies, wavering in the air.

Li Ming's tendrils were short, only reached to the nape of its neck, but Leon thought them cute.  Its fur and scales were patterned in long stripes and it had once reminded Jin Li, its rescuer, of the small alchemist, who later became its chosen master.  Li Ming, which meant dawn, was not big enough for Leon to ride, but the youth did not tend to leave it nor Wu Ye behind when they went away on their trip. 

Leon fed them a portion of the prey that Wu Ye and Jin Li had hunted last weekend (a four day period in which the students need not attend lectures or school duties), before hurrying back to finish packing.  He was really looking forward to this trip!


Chapter 203: Chapter Three - We leave for Cenapar City

In Leon's current memory, he had not really left the confines of the Institute much although he had made visits to other schools within the Institute; the outer beast taming school, the inner alchemist school and both martial arts schools... he did once end up in the Healers Hall, but that was a different story.  The only place he'd been outside of the Institute was Julip town, which could be found at the base of the Ascending Mountain Institute.

This time, they would be travelling from New Julip Town's griffin nests to a city some distance south and west.  The city was named Cenapar and according to the information that Leon had read about it, it was the second largest city in East Xulaphrey.  It majored in trade as it was at a central point of several large river routes, one of which was directly connected to the ocean and a massive port that had been erected there.  It also boasted picturesque scenery and major tourist destination and was home to several palaces belonging to the three eastern Kings and their families, though its borders were its own and it remained neutral in any regal conflict. 

It was also where Sun's ancestral home was located.

Sun actually did not have much of an attachment to his home; it was the place where his shortcomings were most obvious and it was also the residence of all of his annoying relatives.  So he would have preferred to have remained at school during Winter break, had he not received a summons to return home from his father.  That had ended all thoughts of rebellion and 'there's no way I'm going back to that place! Not in a million years! Not for all the Celestial Pearl Grains in the west!

He couldn't even use his Master-Teacher Corvus and his strict, overbearing training regime as an excuse; that man had left with his own older brother Teacher Corne on some secret mission or other... actually it was far less glamorous, just hunting slime ghouls from the Cascading Fungus Swamps.  The swamps were home to numerous types of fungus, some quite odious and unpleasant, sticky and pungent and the ghouls even more so.  The ghouls weren't even a challenging type of undead, just bred like rabbits... because they often were formed of the corpses of rabbits that drowned in the murky muds!  But he wasn't about to admit this to his cute student...

So with Sun's crumbling resolve, he could only try to improve his pitiful situation and drag Jin Li and Leon with him.

"Please!"

"No."

"Pretty please!  I'll do anything!  I don't want to go back alone!"

"This Lord has no intention of leaving one's alchemist alone in school," Jin Li had declared.  His small lover was a walking target for rogues and thieves, no doubt he'd be bullied the moment he, Jin Li, was not in the vicinity.  He refused to give them the opportunity.  Only he was allowed to bully his lover.  His mind had wandered as he recalled the numerous times he'd tossed his alchemist to the point of tears and a satisfied expression appeared upon his face.

"Leon can come, of course Leon is invited!" With large, hopeful eyes, Sun had poured his attention upon Leon who had been watering the herbs in the courtyard at the time.  Leon's garden had somewhat become fallow, with only the hardiest herbs still lingering in the beds.  Had he stayed, he might have tried raise some common winter herbs, but at this point it had only just crossed his mind to do so.

"Huh?" Leon had chuckled nervously, his eyes flicking from Sun to Jin Li, wondering what it was he was supposed to say. "I thought you d-didn't like m-me so m-much."

"What are you saying?!" Sun had suddenly couldn't meet his eyes as he scratched his cheek with a finger. Actually, he'd had stupidly high expectations once arriving at the school, about adventure and heroes and said heroes' followers and harem... a little commoner like Leon had marred his previous fantastic image was all.  But that little commoner had proved that one really couldn't assume that class and image were that which made a man.  Having connections with Leon was a good thing, just as were those connections he fought for to proudly stand beside Jin Li! 

Even the fact that this pairs' relationship blew away his three views was now a distant memory buried at the back of his mind. 

So in the end, Sun's imitation of a puppy on its rear paws with front paws curled up in a pleading manner had softened Leon into agreeing to visit the boy's household with him.  Jin Li, therefore had no choice but to tag along.

*****

The plan was to travel to New Julip town at take the overnight griffin to Cenapar city.  Clothes, snacks, tea and greeting gifts were packed away in interspacial bags as well as meat for Li Ming and Wu Ye. 

Taking the two adolescent Coeurl aboard a griffin was not as strange as it sounded.  For one thing, the griffin in question was not a young buck that would ordinarily fly with less than a handful of passengers upon the cradle on its back over short distances.  And it was not like the mother griffin in school, whose size ensured that she could carry around twenty passengers in the same way. This griffin was a middle-aged Beast, proud and certain of its impressiveness. It was greater still than the biggest griffin Leon had seen by at least twice and held a carriage strapped to its belly as well as the one upon its back.

The upper carriage held twenty good sized rooms, which could be reserved by people at a decent price, while the lower carriage held many more rooms, much smaller and which held narrow cots for the most part, with the exception of the large room that acted as a stable. One paid per bed, this was an overnight trip after all, and it was first come first serve.

Sun was sent to reserve three cots while Jin Li and Leon ensured the comfort of the coeurl's in the stable. They were noticed by a man of middling years, with small eyes and a weathered face. Grey hair tinged the lengths of red tied neatly upon his head and even were it not for his servant, the cut of his cloth announced that he was someone with wealth.  He was currently inspecting his equine mount in the stables when he found interest in the handsome, young coal-black Coeurl and the unusual yin yang striped adolescent stabled by two youths.

"I'm somewhat interested in your beasts," he declared, haughtily. "Name your price!" His tone was cast in the arrogance of a man used to getting what he wanted and he had no doubt that the same would occur now.

The coal-Black Coeurl flattened its pointed ears against its head and growled angrily, before nudging Jin Li with its thick paw. "What?" Jin Li raised a brow in question. He'd been thinking on how to wheedle those snacks from Leon's belt, not listening to outsiders babble on.

"Sorry, our b-beasts are n-not for sale," Leon stuttered, as Jin Li retained his questioning look. With a flash of understanding, Jin Li looked over at the arrogant rich man, before his eyes fell back upon Wu Ye, with contemplation. As if Wu Ye couldn't understand what its human was about and it glared back, daring him.

Jin Li sighed and repeated Leon's words to the disbelieving Noble man. "Want our things? You cannot afford," Jin Li sneered and an equal look of disdain seemed etched upon the coal-black Coeurl's face. The wealthy man looked infuriated and cried out;

"How dare you speak to me this way!" He blustered as the servant behind him lifted his chin in reflected arrogance. "Do you even know who I am?!"

"No," came the blunt response and an arm fell about Leon's nervous shoulders and tugged at him to leave. But not before Jin Li glanced at the coal-Black Coeurl. "You have permission. But do try to not to make too much trouble."

As if I need your permission to protect myself and Li Ming, the Coeurl thought with a snort, as the two humans left them to their own devices. The Coeurl sent one more threatening look the way of the person that smelled like shiny metal, before nipping gently at the yin yang adolescent's ear. Blue eyes looked up innocently.

What's going on?

Don't worry about it. Just sleep.


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