The three entered Fuyun Temple, where incense smoke curled gently inside the Taoist temple, creating an atmosphere of solemn dignity. Fu Hua led Shun and Seele through the main hall to a wing room in the backyard.
"This is an empty room in the temple; you two can rest here." Fu Hua pushed open the door. The room was simply furnished, yet it exuded a sense of tranquil harmony.
To be honest, though Fuyun Temple wasn't small in area, it was quite impressive that Fu Hua managed it all so orderly by herself. It was hard to imagine how she had lived here over the years rising at dawn and resting at dusk in such solitude.
No wonder she found St. Freya, that paradise of girls, so addictive; she must have been terribly lonely on her own.
"What's wrong with you?" Fu Hua noticed Shun suddenly looking melancholic and felt a bit unsure. What was wrong with him now?
"Fu Hua-jie, don't worry. Big brother sometimes has these intermittent moments of mental irregularity; you'll get used to it." Seeing Fu Hua's bewildered expression, Seele kindly reminded her.
"Is that so...?" So the one disciple she finally accepted had mental issues. Could humanity really overcome Honkai? Combining Shun's background of "having important things taken by Honkai in the past," Fu Hua classified it as post-war PTSD.
"Master, rest assured. Just endure a few more years, and everything will be fine." Shun directly patted Fu Hua's shoulder. And who knows, you might even have a big chubby girl someday, @Herrscher of Sentience.
To be honest, the existence of the Herrscher of Sentience was definitely a good thing for an elderly person like Fu Hua. With such a lively treasure around, Fu Hua surely wouldn't develop dementia. Back when the Cangxuan Book was still around, Fu Hua was pretty normal; after little Cangxuan ran out of battery, she inevitably became a bit unhinged.
But the conditions for the Herrscher of Sentience's birth... Would he have to perform a "Master, I didn't lie"?
Or would he have to question Otto, understand Otto, and then become Otto? No way that kind of thing couldn't happen until at least ten years after Otto's death!
"What are you talking about?" Fu Hua pried Shun's hand off and continued, "I'm going to buy groceries. You and Seele rest here first. We'll talk about teaching you tomorrow."
From Shun's energy and spirit, it was clear he hadn't slept in quite a while. Shun wasn't a human-shaped Honkai beast like the Kaslanas; his body really couldn't take it anymore. Even with his strong physique, he was still human. That Kaslana bunch had organelles different from normal humans.
"Okay, okay." After receiving Fu Hua's tacit approval, Shun said nothing more. He took off his shoes, collapsed onto the bed covered with a bamboo mat, and soon his breathing steadied. A faint murmur came from his mouth.
Youth really was great he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Fu Hua was speechless at the sight. Such good sleep quality? Sleeping face-down could compress the heart, though. No, she had to make him turn over and sleep properly. This was the stubbornness of the older generation.
Just as Fu Hua was about to flip Shun over, Seele walked up, turned him onto his side, then curled up beside him and closed her eyes too.
Come on, in that previous situation, how could Seele bear to sleep if Shun wasn't sleeping? Her stamina was far inferior to Shun's, and she was exhausted beyond measure. Not to mention Seele was only 14 still a growing child.
This little girl had quite the possessiveness. Fu Hua watched the two lying side by side and couldn't help shaking her head. She closed the doors and windows, picked up her basket, got on her bicycle, and headed out.
When Shun opened his eyes again, night had fallen. The moon hung high in the sky, stars twinkling faintly. Moonlight spilled down, illuminating the surroundings in serene peace. Distant mountains looked especially majestic under the moonlight, as if connected to the starry sky. A gentle breeze brought cool, fresh air. Leaves rustled, seemingly telling the night's stories.
Shun pushed open the door. Since Seele was still asleep on the bed, he didn't disturb her. Walking through Fuyun Temple at night felt like stepping into the world of ancient poetry.
But Fu Hua wasn't an ancient from poetry, so besides the traditional wooden architecture, Fuyun Temple even had LED lights installed. The artificial mountains and water features in the courtyard had colorful ambient lights too.
"You're awake." Shun, who had just woken up and wandered the courtyard for a bit, was immediately caught by Fu Hua. "How did you sleep? Is Seele awake yet?"
"Pretty good. Seele's still out probably exhausted from rushing these past few days, plus not sleeping for two days straight. By the way, Master, when do we start learning Taixu Sword Qi?"
"I see. You two really had it rough. And you, this rebellious disciple, aren't even pretending anymore, huh?" Fu Hua knocked Shun on the head with a chestnut flick at his later words, though without much force Shun only felt a slight pain.
"Hasn't Master already acknowledged me as your disciple? I haven't done anything treacherous like betraying my master or destroying the sect. Would Master really expel me?" Shun looked utterly shameless, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"Fair enough." Fu Hua nodded helplessly and continued, "Since I've accepted you as my disciple, Taixu Sword Qi will definitely be taught. But it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Go check when Seele's waking up we'll eat then."
"Yes! Master." After wandering the courtyard a bit more and feeling that this tech-heavy, hardcore Fuyun Temple wasn't the ancient-style Taoist sanctuary he'd imagined, Shun lost interest, hitched up his pants, and returned to the room.
Another hour or two passed before Seele finally woke. Shun then led her to the front hall where Fu Hua said they'd eat. The food looked prepared long ago yet still steamed hot Shun had no idea how Fu Hua managed it.
"It's Honkai energy. I added Honkai energy." Fu Hua said without any reservation. After all, everyone present one MANTIS, one Stigmata holder, and one non-Stigmata holder but with Honkai adaptability even more broken than a Herrscher could basically eat Honkai energy crystals as food. This was nothing.
"Can Honkai energy really explain everything?" Shun was somewhat speechless. When playing the game, he'd always wondered what Honkai energy could even be used for, only to find that aside from its erosion property, it was practically omnipotent.
Look at that Fu Hua even used Honkai energy to keep her food warm.
"By the way, Master..." Shun started to speak.
"Do not speak while eating, do not talk while sleeping." Fu Hua mercilessly interrupted the incantation.
"Oh..."