16.2. Relationships and Seclusion

Faust and Ho Jinyou walked through the market together. Morning had passed and it was bright out as Faust snacked on some skewers he resigned himself to for breakfast. It was really too heavy for an early morning meal.

People moved around in various robes. The Outer Sect robes were surprisingly thin, with peripheral disciple and merchant robes occupying the majority, with a healthy mix of clan cultivators mixed in.

Scanning the market, at first, Faust thought this senior brother was just being dramatic, showing off how handsome and popular he was.

But…

Faust counted at least 14 people trying to secretly trail Jinyou.

“I see… You weren’t joking.”

“I know!” Ho Jinyou lamented, throwing his hands into the air as the two stopped at a stall with bright orange decor and a wooden sign with various fruits on it.

“This isn’t normal. You’re not even that handsome. Is it some kind of physique that attracts women?” Faust asked.

“Pure Yang physique.” Jinyou responded, distracting himself by looking through the fruits and snack bags being offered by the stall.

Faust mulled it over. There were countless bloodlines and physiques. But the names were generally quite literal. There was an attraction between yin and yang energies. However it tended to be balanced because there was always a bit of yin in the yang and yang in the yin.

Faust guessed that the Pure Yang physique meant there was no supplemental yin for Jinyou’s yang energy, causing an intense attraction to strong yin energies.

“I see… Is there not a way to supplement the yang with some yin?” Faust asked.

“…” Ho Jinyou’s eyes twitched and he looked at Faust.

“Do you… Know what you just said?” He asked, his eyes twitching, somewhere between irritation and concern.

Faust looked at Jinyou for a moment in confusion, before mentally reciting what he had said.

Supplementing Yang with Yin…. Ah… Faust widened his eyes in realization. But the thought only brought up another question according to his knowledge of various energies and Qi.

“But then, why not accept some advances to solve your physique?” Faust asked.

“You think I haven’t tried? If it just needed to be done once I would have solved the physique decades ago. The problem is that pure yin or yang doesn’t stay pure naturally, the physique purifies itself constantly. Only yin from a pure yin physique can solve it.”

“…I see… Sounds… Complex…” Faust looked away, looking at the scowl on Jinyou’s face, he guessed he shouldn’t have said anything.

Faust tapped his chin as the conversation lulled for a moment, finally picking up several bags of melon seeds and trading a silver coin with the stall merchant, stowing the bags in his spatial pouch one by one.

“Whats your physique?” Jinyou asked as the two left the stall.

“I don’t have one.”

“Really? Don’t most people have at least some sort of minor physique?”

“Most do. Yes.” Faust agreed, opening one of the melon seed bags and throwing a few in his mouth. He was still unsatisfied by his interrupted breakfast.

“…” Ho Jinyou’s eyes lingered on Faust for a few moments before he shrugged.

“Speaking of. Are you planning to pick up swordsmanship?” Jinyou asked.

“Hmm?” Faust hummed. Swordsmanship? He knew the basics, but he preferred spells and techniques. He looked at Jinyou strangely, who returned the stare slightly bemused. “Why do you ask?”

Ho Jinyou looked away, facing forward at the parting crowd. “I think you’ll need it.”

“…” Faust looked at him, then followed his gaze forward, letting the thought churn around in his head. Why would he need swordsmanship? Spells worked plenty well.

“Forget it. Let’s talk about something else.” Ho Jinyou sighed.

Faust nodded along. He wasn’t going to force this senior brother, who should be making final preparations for Golden Core, to elaborate if he didn’t want to.

The two walked through the market together for a while.

“You asked why I haven’t tried supplementing yang with yin. Have you done anything with that pink haired junior sister?” Ho Jinyou asked.

“Pfft!! Akc! HACK!” Faust choked on the bunch of melon seeds he had just thrown down his throat.

“So… That’s a yes?” Jinyou grinned.

“Ack— No!” Faust responded in a hurry after recovering. “What would make you ask such a thing?”

Jinyou raised an eyebrow. “Well, for one, she invites you to dinner while walking with you in the moonlight alone. I saw you some time ago while I was sneaking back to my manor in the night. Then, when I was in disguise yesterday, I saw you both watching the sunset together. Is this not a relationship?”

Faust eye twitched. “She’s a Spiritual Chef, who hasn’t she invited for a meal? The sunset was a one time thing after we discussed some heavy topics. You’re reading too much into it.”

“No-no. I think you’re not reading enough into it.” Jinyou continued.

“Haaah.” Faust exhaled exasperatedly, then gave Jinyou a step by step list of things he had compiled about dealing with romantic relationships, to which Jinyou just smiled and laughed, mocking each dot point.

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Faust walked home by himself. Ho Jinyou had mocked his careful notes on relationships relentlessly, so he had left him to the ambush of a few young women who wanted to invite him for morning tea.

The sun was still rising, approaching its peak. Faust found a simple stall filled with caged chickens and chooks. He purchased a basket of eggs before moving on.

Pulling out a list, Faust looked through everything He’d already crossed off. The only things remaining were some materials and tools to help Sirius dismantle the framework of her Inner Palace. More technically, she needed to dissolve the anchors she’d made that connected the physical and spiritual body more closely.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Faust looked around for tools. He found one stall, a small temporary one set up by a ragged looking outer sect disciple.

“I found these in an abandoned village while on a ghost subduing mission.” The disciple claimed under a lime green tarp raised over a thin wooden bench, holding the container up for Faust to see.

Faust took one of the golden needles out of the container, turning it in his hand and gently bending the tip. There was a bit of flex, but it returned to being ramrod straight the moment he let it go. Definitely not ordinary gold.

Faust returned the needle to the wooden case. There were tiny ruby pieces embedded into the handles of the needles, which resembled dragons. It was definitely not ordinary.

“How much?” Faust asked.

“…Th-Five gold!” The disciple stuttered.

Faust put a hand to his chin, considering. He could barter and he probably could get it cheaper, but he felt bad for cheating a junior who definitely didn’t realise these were at least 2nd level artifacts.

With a sigh, Faust pulled out 10 coins. “The appraisal hall may have long lines most of the time, but you should really take everything you find for inspection, even if it takes hours.” He left the disciple with that bit of advice, taking the case of needles with him.