After Alex carried the girl into the house, the oldest disciple, Lin Mei, poked her head into the kitchen, hopeful. She rummaged through every cupboard and shelf, but there was nothing. Not even a grain of rice or a dried herb to be found. Just empty shelves and cold ashes in the fire pit.
Alex didn't say anything. He just handed Lin Mei a small pouch of medicinal herbs he'd been saving. It wasn't much just a handful of dried roots and some crumbled leaves his mother once taught him to use for healing. He set a few on the girl's wounds and put a cool, damp cloth on her forehead. The girl didn't stir, her face pale and body still, while the little slime creature curled up beside her, pulsing gently like a tiny heartbeat.
Once the girl was settled, Alex slipped away to his room. He moved quietly, almost wishing he could disappear. As soon as he closed the door, he let himself collapse face-first onto the bed. He pressed his face into the scratchy fabric, heart racing. The pressure of everything disciples, expectations, the System felt like it was squeezing the air out of him.
He hated being watched. He hated feeling responsible. He hated the feeling that he was about to be found out as a fraud.
But the world didn't give him a break.
Footsteps came down the hall. Lin Mei was right behind him.
"I'm just a disciple, Master," she called through the door, her voice soft and a little unsure. "I only want to ask you something."
She pushed the door open slowly and peeked inside. The room was dim, lit only by a little lantern he'd cobbled together. Unfinished furniture, tools, and driftwood cluttered the corners.
But the bed looked surprisingly inviting. Just a plain straw mattress with patched linens, but it smelled faintly of pine and herbs. Lin Mei hesitated at the threshold, her mind wandering.
What if I just see what Master's bed is like? she thought. I'm not being weird. I'm just curious. Maybe there are bugs. Better they bite me than him. He's too cute for bug bites.
She tiptoed closer, cheeks burning, and sat hesitantly on the edge of the bed.
Then boom.
A muffled yelp came from under the covers. She froze.
"Master!? Are you here!?"
From beneath the sheets, Alex's panicked voice squeaked, "N-no, I'm not!"
Lin Mei leaped backwards, but her knees sank into the mattress and she flailed, stuck.
"No no no I didn't mean to jump on you!" she blurted, waving her arms. "I didn't know you were there! It's just the bed looked comfortable and I thought it was a bug, really, just a big bug!"
Alex was practically sweating through the sheets, eyes wide, limbs locked in terror.
Why isn't she moving? She's way too close. I'm going to die.
And then, just to make things worse, the System's mechanical voice chimed in his head:
Master and disciple dual cultivation detected.
Twenty sect points obtained.
The sect shop has been unlocked.
You can now purchase weapons, upgrade equipment, and acquire cultivation books.
Food is now available for purchase.
Current disciples: one out of two.
Days remaining before punishment: two.
Goal: recruit two disciples.
Note: many skills are currently locked.
Alex barely glanced at the words. He just wanted a distraction, something anything else. His hands shook as he fumbled through the invisible shop menu and bought the first thing labeled "Food." He didn't even look at the description.
A moment later, a loud thud sounded from outside the house.
Lin Mei scrambled off the bed, startled. Her heart pounded in her chest. As she backed up, she felt a sudden surge of energy flow through her warm, tingling, almost electric. She put a hand to her chest, breathing hard.
What was that?
She hurried out, chasing the noise.
Outside, just off the porch, a woven basket sat on the ground, filled with steaming food. Lin Mei stared, wide-eyed. The smell was incredible fresh buns, preserved meats, sparkling fruit that seemed to glow in the moonlight. But more than the aroma, she felt something else: an unmistakable, vibrant spiritual energy radiating from the food, buzzing in her limbs.
If she ate this, she knew she'd break through to the next stage of cultivation. Just like that.
She looked back at the house, her mind reeling. Master did this come from him? He hadn't given a speech, hadn't bragged or even told her about it. He'd just done it.
Lin Mei stood there for a long moment, hands trembling. Then, clutching the basket to her chest, she went back inside.
Meanwhile, Alex was still curled up on the bed, face buried in his arms.
I can't do this, he whispered. She's going to realize I'm not a cultivator. I'm just a guy with a rundown sect and a fake manual.
The door creaked open again. He flinched.
"Master," Lin Mei said softly. "That food did you buy it from the shop?"
He nodded, barely lifting his head.
She gripped the doorframe, voice shy but grateful. "It's incredible. I've never felt energy like this. Thank you."
Alex stayed quiet.
She looked down, then back at him. "I'll share it with her the girl with the slime. She needs it more than I do. But maybe I can keep just one bun?"
He nodded again, a little smile creeping onto his lips.
She hesitated, then added, voice barely above a whisper, "Master, I want to stay. Even if you're not the strongest, you're the kindest. And I think… I think I can get stronger here."
Alex buried his face in the pillow, voice muffled but honest. "Thank you."
Outside, the night was deep and peaceful. Crickets sang, the breeze rustled the trees, and the girl with the slime rested quietly, watched over by her gentle, blinking companion. The training dummy in the yard still bore the old carving: Wing Chun Master Don Yen Ip Man Style though nobody in the house really knew what it meant.
But something was changing in the air around the Black Something Sect. Energy had returned. Hope had started to grow.
And now, with two disciples one unconscious, one unexpectedly loyal the shy sect master had taken his first real step toward shaping his own destiny.
Even if his heart still pounded like a war drum whenever a girl looked him in the eye.