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Michelle stared at the man with gray hair standing in front of her. As a longtime core disciple of the Moon Lotus Sect, she had completed more than ninety-seven missions. The things she had seen were more than enough to fill up several mortal lifetimes. Yet, on a simple mission like defending a mine, she still encountered something new. A core disciple of the Moon Lotus Sect who wasn’t in the golden-core stage, and a male one at that. “You’re here to replace me?”
Grandpa Vremya gestured behind him. Azalea stepped forward and handed Michelle an identity token along with a sect order. Michelle read through the order before placing it down. “Like all the previous supervisors of the mine, I’ve left behind a logbook which includes everything you need to know.” She pointed at a book laying on top of a cabinet before reaching into her pouch. She pulled out an identity plate and passed it to Grandpa Vremya, but Azalea was the one who received it instead. “With this, the responsibility of the mine is in your hands.” She glanced at Grandpa Vremya’s empty hands. Well, it was symbolically in his hands now.
Grandpa Vremya tapped on his necklace, and a suit of blue and green armor appeared next to him. More and more sets of armor, dull, unadorned ones, appeared behind the first set of armor like soldiers standing in formation behind a commander. He had created seventy-two golems, and if it weren’t for the size limit of his interspacial necklace, he would’ve made more.
Michelle stared at the sight with a blank expression. Since when did any disciple of the Moon Lotus Sect study golem creation? It was commonly known to be an obsolete path. There had never been a nascent-soul cultivator who had trained in the art of golem creation, and every nascent-soul cultivator who had used a golem found it lackluster. Suddenly, Michelle no longer felt the urge to leave so soon. She sat on the couch and folded her hands across her lap.
Azalea glanced over to the side and frowned. “Was there something else?” she asked Michelle. “The transfer of responsibilities has been completed. You’re free to go.”
Michelle’s face remained expressionless. “I’m also free to stay. A core disciple is allowed access to nearly every place within the sect, and the mines count as a part of the sect.”
Azalea’s brow furrowed, but they smoothed over a second later. “Are you curious about Vre—Senior Brother Vremya?” A small smirk appeared on her face. “If that’s the case, why don’t you say hi?”
Michelle nodded. She climbed to her feet and approached Grandpa Vremya, who was doing something to the golems’ heads. “Greetings, Junior Brother Vremya,” she said. “You’re the only male in the Moon Lotus Sect, yet it seems like I haven’t heard much about it. Why is that?” When she saw Grandpa Vremya had no intentions of answering her, she stepped even closer to him. “You can call me Big Sister Michelle. Although I haven’t heard of you, I’m sure you’ve heard about me.”
Grandpa Vremya continued to work on the golems, completely ignoring the beautiful woman standing next to him. Michelle blinked before stepping away from him. She turned her gaze onto Azalea. “Did something go wrong during his emotion-severing process? It seems like he’s taken it to the extreme and even severed his respect and awe. It’s quite difficult to survive in society without them.”
Azalea’s face contorted. She wanted to break out into a grin, but at the same time, she was doing her best to be respectful. After a moment, her face returned to a neutral expression. “Senior Brother Vremya is a male; he can’t cultivate the Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique. There isn’t any need for him to sever his emotions.”
Michelle raised an eyebrow, the first time she showed any emotion on her face in the past seven years. A moment later, her countenance returned back to normal. “Is there something wrong with his hearing? Injuries affecting the senses are quite difficult to repair before reaching creating a golden core.”
“That’s not it either,” Azalea said. “Oftentimes, the simplest explanation is the right one.”
Michelle glanced at Grandpa Vremya. “You’re saying … he’s ignoring me?”
“That’s right, Big Sister Michelle,” Azalea said, her eyes twinkling. Although it wasn’t much, seeing Grandpa Vremya ignore people, especially beautiful women, made her day. Grandpa Vremya might ignore her too at times, but he still generally gave her his attention. It just went to show how high of a place she was in his heart.
Michelle nodded. “He’s quite lucky to have joined the Moon Lotus Sect. All of us have severed our emotions. In any other sect, he’d certainly be beaten to death for being so impudent.” She stared at Azalea. “Does he ignore the elders too?”
“Mostly,” Azalea said and nodded.
“Interesting.” Michelle circled around Grandpa Vremya. As the core disciple of the Moon Lotus Sect, what kind of flirtatious techniques hadn’t she seen before? There were times when other cultivators would pretend to be uninterested in her to attract her attention. She could tell Grandpa Vremya wasn’t putting on an act. In his eyes, as long as she didn’t bother him, she was equivalent to a chunk of ice. So, what would happen if she bothered him? As Grandpa Vremya was about to place his hand on a suit of armor’s helmet, she grabbed the armor and pulled it to the side, causing his hand to miss.
Grandpa Vremya turned his head to look Michelle in the eyes. He stared at her in silence. Michelle stared back. Grandpa Vremya reached for the golem, and Michelle pulled it back while maintaining eye contact. Contrary to Michelle’s expectations, Grandpa Vremya gave up and tapped his interspacial necklace instead. A familiar book appeared in his hand, and he opened it up. “Sect Rule 1,429: Bullying fellow sect members is not allowed.” He raised his head and turned the book outwards, letting Michelle read it as well.
Michelle released the golem and took a step back. “Junior Brother Vremya,” she said. “People will find you unapproachable if you can’t handle a joke.” When she saw that Grandpa Vremya had gone back to adjusting his golems, she shook her head and placed a hand on Azalea’s shoulder. “Junior Sister, you have your work cut out for you if you’re trying to be his companion.”
Azalea’s face flushed red, and she glanced at Grandpa Vremya. He wasn’t looking their way, and it seemed like he hadn’t heard Michelle’s comments, but what kind of foundation-establishment cultivator would he be if he couldn’t hear her words? “W-what—”
“Here,” Michelle said and placed a jade slip into Azalea’s protesting hands. “On one of my missions, I found a dual-cultivation technique. As you know, we’re forbidden from dual cultivating with people outside of our sect, but there aren’t any rules about dual cultivating with people inside of our sect. I was curious, but this junior brother has helped me see the light. Dual cultivation isn’t for me, so I’ll hand this technique to you.”
Azalea was frozen with a stiff expression on her face, a jade slip with a dual-cultivation technique clutched in one hand. Michelle waved goodbye and left the room, not caring she didn’t receive a response from either of her fellow sect members. It was only when Michelle’s footsteps faded away that Azalea came back to life. She swallowed and glanced at the jade slip in her hand. Then, her eyes shifted towards Grandpa Vremya. Her face flushed an even brighter shade of red. “H-hey.”
“Let’s go,” Grandpa Vremya said, turning around. “I’ve completed all the adjustments. The golems should have no issue navigating the mines now.”
“Ah? I mean—! Yes!” Azalea shoved the jade slip into her robes and bobbed her head up and down. What was she thinking? No, what was Michelle thinking? Regardless, since Grandpa Vremya wasn’t going to bring up the jade slip, then she wouldn’t either. Maybe when the atmosphere was better, and Grandpa Vremya had something to drink…. It was a shame he never ate or drank anything, not even his own wine—which didn’t make any sense to Azalea. How could he not drink his own wine to test out the flavor?