Chapter 97: Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
Benton met the twins the next morning at the gate. The three of them made a quick run clearing both sides of the road leading to where the Orange Vigor Spirit Wood grew and doing a sweep through and around it.
He killed many beasts, mostly rank twos, but didn’t use any of his new techniques. They required practice before being put into use, and he preferred to do such experimenting out of sight of his sect members, even the twins. Exhibiting Mastery of a skill the first time he showed it off helped build the mystique of an ancient elder that he was shooting for.
It didn’t take long before he could no longer sense any beasts within a half mile radius of the Wood, so he called the two siblings to a stop before heading back to the village. “I’ve got a whole list of things to handle this morning. We talked about you two supplementing Ye Zan’s guards here today in protecting the harvesters. I’m assuming you’re still planning on that, right? It’s a good place for cultivating, and the two of you are getting close to a breakthrough.”
Yang Xiu grimaced. “We were actually hoping we could start spear and archery lessons today, instead, Master.”
“Zi Delan’s crew and the other kids from Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town are all getting really close to minor realm three. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to do group lessons for everyone at the same time? If we wait four or five days and use the Qi Condensing Pills, in addition to getting both of you to minor realm nine, I should be able to get all of them to minor realm four. That way, we’d have a large group ready to learn weapon techniques from you at once.”
The two shared a glance. As their realm rose, the hours of sleep they needed decreased, so they typically used nighttime for cultivation. They probably didn’t like the idea of spending an entire day babysitting while not accomplishing any of their other tasks.
“How about this?” Benton said. “One of you cultivate here while the other hunts, and you switch out every few hours?”
“Yes, Master,” the two chorused.
They both accompanied him back to the gate where they met the six harvesters along with Ye Zan and a half dozen of his guards. Benton explained the plan of having just the twins accompany them today, and no one objected.
Relieved of his own babysitting duties, Benton planned his morning. He had four stops to make, one of which he was very much dreading. Unlike the previous night, he couldn’t make himself do the unpleasant one first. Instead, he went to see Wan Ai. When he got there, Zou Tian was helping her cut herbs.
“Greetings, disciples,” Benton said. “How goes it?”
Wan Ai glanced at Zou Tian, her eyes wide, and nodded her head in Benton’s direction, clearly indicating for him to take the lead in reporting to the sect leader. She had no such luck as he instead deferred to her. The boy was a really good kid, understanding that Benton was trying to get her used to taking a leadership role and urging her to do just that.