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75.15% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 242: Chapter Forty Two - I am reunited with Maimai

Chapter 242: Chapter Forty Two - I am reunited with Maimai

It snowed once more in the middle of the night, but beneath the sheltering trees dotted over the slope of the mountain, only a few patches could be found here and there upon the ground. One such was within the centre and near surroundings of Leon's courtyard home. Of course, this came of little surprise as there was no evergreen canopy to protect his home in its open glade from the crystal offering of the sky, so after quickly refreshing his face after waking, he knew he would need to sweep the tiles outside his door today.

Breakfast was simple, just porridge and hot water; there was no Jin Li to impress and his cupboards were quite empty of those little extras such as meat, fresh vegetables and honey. But there were two hungry souls waiting for at least one of those three things in their own abode attached to his home that he also had to keep in mind. So after he ate his fill and swept away a mass of fluffy snow to create a path from him to them, he tried to ignore the four large, hopeful eyes as he pondered on what best to do. Have to mention that Wu Ye was a lot less disobedient and contradictory than when his master was about.

In the end, he let them out, deciding to take them to the stables and make a request for supplies for them. Actually, this had originally been the suggestion of Teacher Volun when the man had insisted that the two Coeurl be placed with himself and Jin Li after both beasts took a liking to their masters (or rather, Li Ming claimed Leon, while Wu Ye decided that Jin Li had no choice but to take care of itself). However, Wu Ye and Jin Li favoured improving their abilities while hunting for their supper, so apart from when the house was being built, the two Coeurl had never eaten with the other mounts and tamed beasts in the stables located on the alchemy slope.

Li Ming was still too small to be ridden, while Wu Ye would only suffer to carry a rider when pressed into doing so by Jin Li and therefore had no obligation to Leon otherwise, so the alchemist could only trudge over the frozen grounds as they made their way to the school and beyond. In the end, Wu Ye grew impatient and nudged the alchemist before lowering its body a bit to indicate Leon should actually ride him. It would allow it this time. Leon did receive the hint, but he was a bit too short to climb upon Wu Ye's back and the beast snorted before squatting lower, offering a feline sneer as it did so.

Finally, the two beasts ran more freely, with Li Ming yowling happily as it attempted to roar, but could only produce cute meowing sounds instead. Wu Ye was ever the silent type and simply enjoyed stretching its lithe limbs. Leon could only grasp about its neck for it had no mane to grasp and there was no saddle to stabilise him. Fortunately, Wu Ye's scales were smooth and linked together without obvious gaps, so his coat was not scuffed and his skin remained unscathed.

The beasts slowed down once they reached the path leading through the domiciles, but they did receive a few wide eyed glares from students running to and from the Food and Lecture Hall.

Things in most schools did not change too much from day to day, despite the season being at its coldest, for most schools, though the beast taming school did have to prepare places for natural hibernators late autumn as well as ensure good stocks of food for winter as the griffins did not like to fly through heavy rain nor any snow.  But as many herbs would not be as available in the winter and many of the fields would be fallow, an alchemist's routine would be effected.  Without certain herbs, many common pills let alone rare ones, could not be refined, so once the stocks were emptied, Students were encouraged to do other things; cultivate, visit the library or attend more lectures that did not involve refining pills.  There would be quite a few in the inner school at least, who would consume a fasting pill and lock their doors for several weeks to solely cultivate, while in the outer school, they more often attended lectures just to grab some extra warmth from the Fire crystals within.

Fire crystals, Leon had learned, were not as easily obtained as he hoped.  The initial crystal was not cheap and then had to be recharged by a fire Mage every few tendays.  Stygar was a man who built connections and had become the middleman between a fire Mage and Hue, this giant who made high quality, valuable pills.  Therefore, he not only had access to the crystals but could have them recharged whenever he wanted.  What did Hue gain from this?  Well, naturally as the two men lived together, he was not hard done by in this deal, but also because Stygar raised rare herbs no matter the season, he could also obtain many ingredients that others could not.

As Leon passed the girls' domiciles, he attracted the attention of a different sort.

"Leon, long time no see!" An exuberant, feminine voice called out, causing Leon's lips to curve in a genuinely happy smile.  Dressed in a thick fur coat, Maimai stepped out of her small home with her curls still in a mess a top her head and her cheeks reddened by the chill in the air.  "Wu Ye is looking the fine Coeurl as always!  Where is Li Ming?  Has he lost the rest of his baby fur as yet?"

Maimai loved beasts, but unfortunately, they didn't necessarily share her enthusiasm.  The flattery was accepted, but Wu Ye always felt it wasn't worth mentioning; it knew it was a fine creature.  Li Ming felt that being teased due to retaining its fur was mean, so looked tearily eyed at its Master for sympathy and ignored the girl, who actually meant no harm.

"M-Maimai, how was your b-break?" He asked, though he was unable to dismount from Wu Ye, who padded the floor impatiently before glaring at the girl who'd blocked them in its opinion.  Actually, it didn't need to stand around and wait... did it... Maimai was forced to catch up as Wu Ye suddenly moved forward despite Leon's protests.

The girl didn't seem bothered by it though and began chatting about a few things that happened back at her Sect.  "Mother is trying to settle Merylin's engagement, but my sister is not willing," she gossiped as she walked beside the large Coeurl, while the littler one ran at his other side. 

"D-does she still like J-Jin Li?" Leon couldn't help but ask.  He wasn't worried anymore that Jin Li would leave him for the girl having finally learned a bit more about Dao Companion's from his stubborn lover's mouth (at a price), but he kind of felt sorry that she had this unrequited love for him.  After all, loving someone who did not love you back was uncomfortable at best, but painful to those who could not move on.

Maimai thought about it for a moment then shook her head.  "I don't think she's not interested, but she's finally accepted that he is not, I think," she replied to his question.  She felt that her stubborn sister still did not understand where Jin Li's heart lie, but that her imagination had led her into considering that Jin Li was just unattainable.  Perhaps he had an engagement he could not get out of or perhaps his eyes were still too focused on the path of cultivation to see her waiting.  Merylin had decided that as 'star-crossed' they had no fate at this point, she would reserve a place in her heart for him, but not wait any longer.  Maimai thought she read too many of the wrong sort of romance book.  Seriously, even trying to ship two shou was an impossible thought let alone a man who sought chrysanthemums being shipped with a peach blossom.

"What ab-bout you?" Leon teased, thinking that the sisters were not much of an age apart.  Merylin had been born of the legal wife, while Maimai was just a few tendays younger and born of a favoured concubine.  The woman Maimai called mother was actually Merylin's mother, not the woman who shared her blood.  But however complicated such inner courtyards could be, the girls and their three little sisters were actually all equally doted on by their overbearing father, who often skived off of his duties just to visit the older girls or play with his younger ones.  In comparison, his few sons were all tossed to the bottom of the mountain when of a certain age, to prove themselves on the climb back up with the rest of the young ones seeking to strive for placement in the Sect.

"Until Merylin becomes engaged," she smiled happily, "I don't need to worry!  Such is the fate of the eldest, hee hee!  The longer she holds out, the better off I will be, so I'm not worried."  She'd previously planned to runaway the moment mother brought up the matter of marital relationships for herself anyway, however, as her sister was steadily becoming more prominent as a talent in alchemy such things would likely be pushed back for a long while yet.

Soon, they arrived at the stables, where Leon sought out a beast tamer student working there, while Maimai went and visited her chubby Baku stabled there.


Chapter 243: Chapter Forty Three - Pike comes to propose

Wu Ye and Li Ming tucked into a bowl of thick meat porridge, the steam pouring off of the concoction fed to the predators of the stables before dissipating into the air, while Leon talked to the beast taming senior about getting a supply of meat and oats in order to feed the pair for the next few weeks.  They also discussed the best care for the growing pair for while Leon knew somethings, this subject really wasn't his forte. 

Coeurl did not tend to hibernate through winter, though it's not that they don't hibernate at all, for like Cultivators and other spiritual beasts, they had moments they needed to hide from the external world in order to lick their wounds or securely birth their cubs or even evolve.  They were not very active creatures unless hunting or defending their territories and then they would pour all of their energies into the task.  As tamed Coeurl often did not need to hunt or fight, they needed bursts of exercise in other ways.  However, Wu Ye had had the best of both worlds; it hunted with Jin Li and was expected to defend their territory, so Leon hadn't bothered about these things for it before. 

As for Li Ming, the Coeurl was honestly turning into a pet and needed its lazy habits broken or it would not make a useful companion for Leon in the future.  If this world was as peaceful as his previous one could be, this would not be an issue, but Leon could not afford Li Ming to be an overgrown, fat and overly indulged kitten here.

Just look at Maimai's Piku.  It was a beast of burden that couldn't travel far for its owner nor carry heavy loads.  It was fortunate that Maimai rarely travelled far and did not weigh much at all.

The senior left Leon alone to think about what to do about training Li Ming and helping Wu Ye stay healthy and Maimai returned after (over) feeding her beloved Baku.  Li Ming had filled its small stomach and yawned drowsily, while Wu Ye licked its muzzle before running its long tongue over Li Ming's face and shaping its remnant fur into a Mohawk.  The adolescent beast yowled angrily before extending its clawed paws in protest.  Wu Ye simply got up and headed out of the stables.

"Wait!" Leon yelled after it, lifting the tied together small sacks, one containing mixed grain and the other chunks of miscellaneous meat.  They didn't appear to be large, as they were actually really cheap interspatial bags, but their capacity was only as much as the purse upon his belt and the overall weight was only so much reduced.  Wu Ye expressed his disdain, but aware that these were for itself and the little one, it allowed its Human's mate to drape the sacks over its neck.  It was not going to allow the youth to ride upon it anymore, though.

As Leon took the care to make sure Wu Ye's neck was not chafed by the rope between the sacks, a muscular young man with unusually short hair, appeared hurriedly in front of them.  His eyes were brimming with a strange glee and not a small amount of smugness.  "Leon, I finally found you!"  His eyes darted about, before a grin stretched upon his face.  "Has anyone asked you to join their team for the Interschool exchange?"  The alchemist frowned slightly, but shook his head.  "Great!  Then join my team!"

"Wha-what?" Leon starred at Pike open mouthed.  He was just a small alchemist of the outer school who created mostly common pills, why would the senior Martial Artist ask him?  Actually, he had thought that there were so many talents in the inner school that he and his schoolmates were unlikely to be asked.

Maimai squealed cheerfully as she squeezed his arm, expressing her happiness for him.  While this wasn't a serious event, it was still great to be asked, it meant that you had been acknowledged for your craft by the top students in school.  She was a first year, couldn't join in, but she knew that a few of the Sect still in the Institute looked forward to this event every year.

Suddenly, there was a rush of air as Bowyer appeared from the trees, running towards them as quickly as Pike had.  "Dammit!" Bowyer cursed as he noticed Pike happened to be here, before he glanced at the bewildered alchemist.  "You haven't said yes yet right?"

"Wh-What?"

"What's it to you?" Pike crossed his arms about his broad chest as he glared at the other man.  "The deal was whoever found Leon first had the right to ask him to join their team first, not that the other could cut in and try steal him away!"

"But you cheated!" Bowyer accused him.  "You told Pria where to find me and had the girl block me before you darted away!"

"I was just helping you discover spring," Pike grinned with a sly smile.  Bowyer's cheeks reddened from more than exertion, while Maimai tilted her small head, her almond eyes narrowing in thought.  The curls from her hair cascaded down the side of her face as they came lose of her pins. 

"What spring?  I need no spring!" Bowyer flung his arms outwards, but the thin cuffs of his arms lacked the impact of his looser robes.  "Worry about your own spring in future!"

Leon sneezed.

The two young men stopped their arguing to realising that the small alchemist had not the strength of body to resist the persistent cold of the air and apologised, asking him if he was alright.  He nodded; "I'm okay.  J-just cold."

"I think that we should go back to Leon's and boil water for tea," Maimai suggested, "talk about things there." She curled her arm about her bestfriend's while not taking her eyes off of the potential she saw before her.  Could it be a muscular shou with a tough exterior and soft heart versus a tall, flexible gong with a straightforward, persistent nature or a dominant gong versus a hot-headed shou that could easily be brought to tears.  It was a good job it was winter and cold enough to cool her blood or she wouldn't have enough silk handkerchiefs to endure!

Pike agreed to tea, while Bowyer stalled, uncomfortable beneath the pretty girl's stare.  Neither had actually met Maimai before, their paths just had not the fate to cross before, but thanks to Sun's description, they could figure out who she was.  They made their way back towards Leon's home, guided by the two alchemists, but soon began to bicker once more. 

"Since you have Leon on your team," Bowyer pointed out, "You should let me ask Cynus first!"

"Oh good luck with that," Pike gave him a knowing look and smirk, making the other narrow his eyes in response.

"What do you know?" Bowyer questioned him, then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Wait, you've managed to get him onto your team?" Pike shook his head in denial, allowing Bowyer to exhale in relief. However, that was premature.

"He'll be joining Mute's team," Pike had predicted this some time ago. "He is a Cygnus after all." This gave Bowyer pause.

"He is? But isn't he a scholar?"

"I'm curious," Maimai piped up from in front, glancing over her shoulder. Her honest inquisitiveness made Bowyer wonder if the intensely calculating expression of hers before was his illusion. "Who are these seniors? The Cygnus is a clan which focuses on magic isn't it?"

Pike gave her a small smile and nodded, unsurprised by her general knowledge. She was the daughter of a sect leader after all, it would be ignorant of her if she did not know the large clans and sects in their continent. "Mute is the number one Mage of the inner school of Magery. As such, she has to form her own team for the exchange, but it's tradition for clans to chose their own above others first. There are a few Mage from the clan to pick from, but I predict she'll chose Tundras, who is currently sixtieth in the Standings. Cynus is a rare non-Mage in the clan, but his talent is really high in the inner scholar school. There is no way she'll let him join some other team considering their relationship."

"I'm still going to ask," Bowyer insisted.

"Stubborn," Pike shaking his head due to his friend's poor luck this time. As for Leon, he knew the small alchemist wouldn't be able say no to joining his team. He'd concluded already that Leon would be expected to take part as a direct student if asked and not only that, the youth was a core student like himself. His refusal or avoidance wouldn't be allowed by anyone this year.


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