บท 64: A fruitful conversation

The hanfu I bought for Guo Ning was a stark contrast to mine. While mine was light colored stuff, Guo Ning's was black. I felt like it matched him. And with that done, I bought him a mask as well. A theatrical mask was what I bought him. It looked ferocious, so it suited his build.

Now, why have I gone to this extent and bought stuff for Guo Ning, you ask? Simple. It's because I intend to take him with me for my Noncho expedition, which is not us sneaking out at night—which would've been simpler. However, I don't know how long the event over there might last, so it's better to get permission and head there. This is me preparing beforehand.

I know my parents are never gonna allow me to move alone from now on because now there are people who could "protect" me now, so if I'm to take someone to Noncho, it might as well be this guy.

Since I had decided on that, I thought of breaking this news to my parents. However, I never got the right chance to spark a conversation with them, since they were so busy trying to get stuff done.

Pops and mum were looking to renovate the sect house to accommodate over fifty people. So, while dad looked for a cheap builder with an excellent reputation, mum was single-handedly handling all the accounting section of the house, from how much one spent and how much one got as their money. It was fantastic to watch someone being so good with numbers, when I'm an actual dolt at it.

So nightfall came, and that was the only time I could have a proper chat with them. The entire day was kinda a bore. Ao was training with the bandit—brothers, screaming that he'll catch me this time around. While my dad calls it a harmless joke, my elder brethren knew exactly what Ao was screaming about.

I spent the day trying to get better at handling Qi scythe. After all, it was my only way to use Qi on attacks. I was honestly disappointed in myself. After carving an entire statue with it back in the spirit realm, I couldn't even hold a candle to it in this world. So, it was like starting from the basics.

I made one of the brothers carry a boulder, which is about my height and practised on it. Just like the scythe, my sculpting skill became trash as well. Believing in the flow did little to no help for me. Once again, I was disappointed in myself. However, I wasn't ready to give up yet. This is good practise. Even if I don't end up making masterpieces or any proper looking sculpture, I can always label it as abstract and put it into the market. Wonder how the scripture sales in this world works…

Anyway, after an entire day of practise, I felt like I had improved. It still sucked compared to my spirit realm skill, but it was way better from the time I fought Guo Ning. It's kinda weird that I'm comparing me to myself. But I guess it's better than comparing with someone else though.

So, once I got my chance to talk with my parents at dinner, I didn't waste that opportunity.

"Father, mother. I've got something to talk about." Before they could even intake a grain of the rice, I interjected.

"Hua, maybe we could do this after dinner?" Father asked.

I guess he's starving after all the running around that he did. I felt that emotion. However, if I'm to lag this discussion any further, I don't think I'll be able to convey my point. It has to be now.

"No, this is urgent." I replied.

I know I'm being an arse, but they just got a lot busy. So, once they have their food, they might just directly go to a slumber. Therefore, I gotta be an arse just for this once.

Pops sighed. "Fine, what is it?" He asked.

"Well, I would like to go to Qiu Si's residence. She has invited me over for a few days." I replied.

Obviously I can't tell him the truth about the matter. If I said to him that I intend to go to a ghost town and possibly fend off a bunch of bandits, he wouldn't believe me and even if he does, he would never allow me to go.

Modern problems require modern solutions. Wait, lying isn't that modern of a stuff though. Sometimes even I myself find it hard to make sense of my words.

"Ah, that's cool." Dad reject—wait, what?

I didn't expect him to easily accept my notion. The guy didn't even allow me to go shopping. How come he's so lenient now? Is it the Qiu Si effect?

"Huh? Dang, I didn't expect you to accept it pretty soon." I 'accidentally,' blurted out the truth to see his reaction.

"Ah, I usually would've put up a struggle as well. It's just that the renovation will start tomorrow. So, I don't think that'd be beneficial to your health. So, I guess going to your friend's house would be a delightful change of pace." He replied.

Nice! The timing of everything is almost impeccable. Perfect!

"Oh, but you gotta take one of the sect members with you though." He put forth the condition—exactly the way I wanted it to be.

It seemed like things were kinda working out for me.

"Oh, I'm fine with that. I was planning to bring Guo Ning along, anyway. So, it works." I replied.

"Is that so? Guo Ning seems reliable. His behavior isn't that bad either. He'd be the right choice. We would've picked him as well." Father agreed on my decision.

However, little did he know that Guo Ning was a notorious bandit. Well, the little he knows about it, the better. Or else he would've made Zhang Wei come with me. It's not like I have something against him, it's just that I like to travel with someone who knows my secrets.

Anyway, with that, my fruitful conversation with my parents ended in a high note and we focused on eating the food before us.