B2 - Chapter 16: Mentor Lan

B2 - Chapter 16: Mentor Lan

“Young Master, what was Elder Yu going to reveal if you didn’t pass the written test?”

William’s eye twitched in irritation, not in the mood to be reminded of that. Nor did he ever intend to answer that question. He would take the name ‘Fury of the Five Heavenly Dragons’ to the grave.

“Not the time, Sister Lingxi,” William scowled.

“There’s nothing else to do other than talk,” Mei Lingxi countered, and she was right.

Apparently, they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the Teleportation Hall until his assigned mentor arrived to receive them. The core formation realm cultivators guarding the hall refused to say anything else, which led them to this predicament.

It wasn’t the welcome to the Inner Court that William had been expecting. The only good thing was that Ren Bo wouldn’t find out about it after, something he was thankful about after his impromptu failed bragging. It would make him want to avoid the kid for years from the embarrassment.

“Alright then, let’s talk about Prince Yuan.”

Mei Lingxi’s expression, normally in some combination of teasing and happiness, turned frighteningly blank.

“I’m afraid that’s the one thing I can’t speak of, Young Master.”The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.

William winced at his stupidity. There was no teasing tone in her voice this time, not even a hint.

“Sorry... the contract?” It had only been mentioned once, and after he found that it worked like an employment contract instead of anything resembling servitude, he had promptly forgotten about it.

Mei Lingxi nodded, “Yes, I’m barred from speaking of my time working for Prince Yuan.”

“So, like a non-disclosure agreement,” William said to himself.

“It’s exactly that,” Mei Lingxi replied with surprise, “Have you been researching contracts, Young Master?”

“Er, yes,” William chuckled awkwardly, “Just a little.”

He hadn’t really, but this might be one of the things that Sophia had brought over from Earth, though it seemed that an NDA in this world seemed to have much harsher penalties than a lawsuit or a fine.

“Forget I ever mentioned that, Sister Lingxi. Would it be fine if I ask about your past, other than the prince?” William asked cautiously.

“I knew what she was trying to do, Young Master. I just couldn’t be bothered dealing with the jealous pig that happened to be my cousin. I had bigger plans for my future than marrying the magistrate's son and becoming a wealthy housewife, lording over some weak mortals. She can have that life. I am meant for greater things.”

William stared at Mei Lingxi for a different reason this time. She may be flaky, but she was terrifying in her own way.

“Have you contacted your family since then?”

“Why would I?” Mei Lingo asked, confused such a question was directed at her.

The definition of flightiness, but ruthlessly decisive in her own way. So perhaps it wasn’t the issue of her abandoning him whenever it benefitted her that should worry him, but stabbing him in the back when it best suited her.

William needed to have a talk with Elder Yu and take a close look at the contract. After Zheng Tao, he was out of trust. If Mei Lingxi turned out to be steadfastly loyal toward him, then this can just be a practice to keep exercising caution.

“You have had an interesting path, Sister Lingxi,” William smiled, “The Grand Elder was right when he said your decisions were fascinating.”

Mei Lingxi shrugged, “That wasn’t what the Grand Elder meant, but close enough, Young Master.”

The talk about the Grand Master reminded him of the teahouse. He wanted to bring up her promise of treating him to another cup of tea, mainly to lighten the atmosphere from talking about her past. However, soft murmurs stopped all of that.

The core formation guards posted outside never spoke with each other, so they were talking to someone who just arrived. William couldn’t hear anything clearly, but he was trying to see if the new voice was feminine, which would confirm his suspicion that Lan Yin was his mentor.

“Young Master, didn’t you say Sentinel Lan would be your mentor?”

“No, but I said I strongly suspected it,” William replied, still trying to eavesdrop on the conversation outside.

“You’re right, but it’s still not the person you were thinking of.”

He turned to Mei Lingxi, who had a full-blown smirk on her face. That didn’t bode well for him.

The door to the Teleportation Hall opened.

“I apologize for making you wait, Junior Wei.”

William turned back to the entrance to meet dark green eyes. Oh. It was Lan Yang.