Path of the Lilies

73. The Lake of Beginning

Lu Wan looked at Ye Jiao. "I'll give you complete overview after you finish your training and come to my residence."

Wait, what?

"Senior Lu, are you telling me that I'll be living in your residence?" Ye Jiao asked with incredulous expression. She could not believe what she had just heard.

"Yep," Lu Wan nodded his head. "You can't possibly follow master forever. He has his own dangerous missions that he has to fulfill. There's no time for him to care for a young girl that didn't have the capabilities to protect herself."

Ye Jiao: "..." that hurt.

She knew that Lu Wan was blunt, but the word he uttered still struck her deeply. At the same time, this reminded her that her ability was much lower than this young man, making her rather weak in his eyes. She should train much more so that she could become stronger.

Zhan Jing stopped in his step. "Lu Wan, there's a large cat ahead. Kill it for our meal tonight."

"Yes, Master," Lu Wan's eyes glimmered. He turned his head to Ye Jiao. "Watch and learn. You'll see that your senior brother is amazing!"

Ye Jiao rolled her eyes at her senior brother's shameless remark. However, her eyes still followed the boy's silhouette. After Mu Xin, Lu Wan was the only friend she had that was close to her age. It was rare for her to interact with other children.

As she followed her gaze to Lu Wan, she was surprised to see the young man directly advanced to the large cat. His speed was far faster than her, albeit still far slower if she compared with the adults. Within seconds, Lu Wan had appeared near the cat.

The cat reacted when Lu Wan reached several meters away. She jumped back and hissed while Lu Wan changed his direction to the side. His movement, albeit rushed, seemed to be very smooth. It was as if he had done this countless time.

Lu Wan took out a small dagger as he rushed to the cat. As the cat attacked again, Lu Wan evaded to the side and his hand sliced the cat from the side, inflicting long wound. Blood spurted out, but Lu Wan knew that it was not deep enough to finish the cat off.

"The cat is going to attack him again," Ye Jiao furrowed her brows.

Zhan Jing watched the two of them in silence. He was trying to know each of them better.

The cat spun its body before it pounced straight to Lu Wan. Seeing the incoming attack, Lu Wan made a circular movement with one of his feet as the pivot. He evaded the attack once more agilely as his left hand, the one without the dagger, punched forward.

Punch!

The punch hit straight to the cat's stomach. As it was still in midair, there was nothing to hold her down. The punch sent her straight to the back as Lu Wan dashed straight to her and raised his hand upward. The dagger went down and cut off the cat's stomach directly as blood splattered everywhere.

The cat struggled with kick, but Lu Wan swiftly moved to the cat's neck and stabbed once more, killing the cat.

"Done," Lu Wan grinned as he waved his blood-soaked dagger. "It's not as hard as I imagine it to be."

Zhan Jing shook his head. "Come over here, Lu Wan."

"Yes, Master."

Flick!

"Ouch! It's harder that usual, Master!" Lu Wan whined. His master always made sure that the pain was not too much, but this time, his master didn't even hold back.

Zhan Jing crossed his arm. "If you think that this kind of performance satisfies me, you're terribly wrong. First of all, do you know the danger of alerting enemies too early? Just because you've grown stronger, it doesn't mean you can look down on your opponent. Secondly, what kind of attack is that? You...."

Ye Jiao listened as Zhan Jing listed out numerous points in front of Lu Wan. The poor boy was forced to listen to the explanation until his ear was hurt. Well, he wanted to show off, but he overestimated his own power, so Zhan Jing scolded him terribly.

It took a long time before Zhan Jing finished and they kept the cat. Afterward, the three of them continued their journey.

"I feel that my ear is almost fell," Lu Wan complained as he sighed to himself.

"Well, Master has his point," Ye Jiao consoled.

Lu Wan nodded. He knew that he still needed a lot of practice if he wanted to become better. "Anyway, I'm surprised you're fine in front of blood. I believe you don't see it often, right."

Ye Jiao noticed that her senior brother was twirling his blood-soaked blade and hand. It was still dirty as he didn't bother cleaning them up. Without any water nearby, he didn't have any intention to clean up.

"I have seen it before when I follow my father to hunt," Ye Jiao replied honestly.

Hearing her answer, Lu Wan was speechless. He recalled his own experience of seeing the battle with beast and his struggle as he sighed. He should have expected that this little girl was not normal at all. The experience she had was completely different than what normal children should have.

Ye Jiao turned her head to the front. Her keen smell sensed that there was something different near them. "Are we near our destination?"

"Yes."

"Am I going there alone?"

"Yes," Lu Wan replied. "Neither one of us can go there. Besides, I believe that you can do well by yourself."

"I do hope so," Ye Jiao said back.

Before long, the three of them arrived before a majestic lake. The surface was blue in color with massive fog filled the entire area. If one should say, they couldn't see more than several meters forward because of the thick fog covering the entire area.

Ye Jiao's eyes scanned her surroundings as she recalled that this was one of the lakes in the wilderness in this country. It was avoided because no one could know what was inside. Never would she expect that they have to go here.

Zhan Jing pointed to the front. "Your destination is over there."

"I understand, Master."