Haoyu felt rather uncomfortable right now, but what was there that could be done about it? Edrick was a direct descendant of the Elt family. The family that subsidised and greatly supported Labyrinth Palace! As a core disciple, doing anything that might be viewed as displeasing to a scion like Anoteros was a dangerous affair- Not just individually, but potentially to the whole sect!
The large, rough, and calloused hand pressing ever so slightly against the back of Haoyu’s delicate hand was rather distracting. Still, the core disciple merely focused on the conversation, maintaining the usual poker face that had become associated with the name Haoyu over at the sect.
And one had to admit, Edrick was indeed a rather pleasant person to converse with. He seemed to know quite a few things about architecture and could also understand what Haoyu spoke of.
Architecture cultivation was a rather rare branch of cultivation, rightfully viewed as very niche. Few practised it, and not many were willing to invest in it... Without the support of the Elt family, Labyrinth Palace never would have graduated from being so pitifully small that they could hardly be called a sect at all. Back then, it was said the sect had fewer than ten members, and even then, some even said that those numbers were exaggerated.
The problem was that not only is architecture cultivation rare and complicated, but it is also rather costly. As the name implies, for one to be a proper cultivator of that group, one would need to have some knowledge of building and designing structures.
“It is a bit like being a healer: You could simply focus on cultivating a healing technique, but to be a really good healer, you would also need to be capable of performing surgery, and have a real understanding of the body, of various types of injuries, and the like… Oftentimes, those with weak talent but better technical skills become better than those with great talent but none of the technical skills” explained the core disciple. Naturally, Labyrinth Palace only kept disciples who were willing and capable of learning the theories and mundane architectural concepts.
Having such capabilities was often a prerequisite for cultivating the techniques to begin with, as it added a condition that allowed for techniques of a higher quality.
“That makes sense. What do you specialise in, exactly?” asked Edrick, his thumb brushing against her soft hand.
It seemed like Haoyu was too distracted by the conversation to notice his action, however.
“I have a soft spot for the creation of ruins, or structures that look aged or ancient. I quite enjoy the atmosphere that they give out, and with my techniques, I can fool people into believing that what was recently built is actually decades, centuries, or even a millennium old!”
“Things like old manors, ancient keeps and the like… Or even ruined castles! I love those, but I can make all sorts of things. The hardest part is creating interiors that are spatially distorted, as in, making the inside of something far larger than the outside would suggest, but if you mess up even just a little bit, everything could come crashing down. Once it is done, however, it is remarkably sturdy, and not just any spatial disturbance could shake it… The sect master is good at that, he can create what looks like separate realms, his greatest piece is the big plains inside the sect, which even has a false sun, and animals can graze upon the grass without a problem”
“Oh, would it be possible to create actual secret realms like this?”
“Theoretically? Absolutely. It’s just that, architecture cultivation, unless you are an insane prodigy or something like that, is not enough by itself to achieve it. You would need a grandmaster of arrays for the realm to have its own ambient energies, as well as an expert in wildlife, plants, soils, and more to create biomes that are sustainable by themselves- Oh, and there is the issue of separating the area from the world. Otherwise, it’s not a secret realm, it’s just a room that anyone can enter by getting through the door”
Edrick listened to Haoyu ramble. It seemed like he had managed to get the core disciple to go on and on, and indeed, as Anoteros had suspected, Haoyu was quite the interesting and talented individual, which was to be expected, after all, one does not become a core disciple by sheer luck.
Haoyu had seemed a bit unapproachable and aloof at first, but upon being engaged about architecture, that demeanour did not take too long to peel off.
The noble scion suspected that the disciple of Labyrinth Palace had spent a lot of time just learning and cultivating without interacting with other people, in isolation, leading to this outburst of words and anecdotes that had simply not found a target to be delivered to until today.
“Haoyu… You are rather young to be a core disciple. You must be exceptionally talented, right?”
“Ah… Hum… Well, I suppose you could say that” as the conversation was suddenly stirred toward something more personal, the pretty disciple seemed to become once again aware of the hand and thumb that were busy caressing the back of her hand.
“You are pretty too. Tell me, are you perhaps from Galsable?”
“Young Master Zixuan… I don’t know, I was raised here in Leynlornd… I might have been born here, I really don’t remember…”
“Your parents didn’t tell you?”
“I… Never met my parents…”
“Mmh… No parents, heh?”
“Young Master?”
“Haoyu, what do you say about elevating your status from being a disciple of a vassal sect to a member of the Elt family?”
“This is…”
“What do you say? I’ll take good care of you, that I can guarantee”
“Young Master Zixuan, I am afraid that I can’t satisfy you… I am… I am not what I seem like. I wouldn’t want to trick you”
“Oh, there is no mistake here”
“What do you mean, Young Master?”
“I am not being tricked, I know that you are a foppoof”
“Huh…? Wh- How? Why do you offer me this, then? It’s-”
“As I thought, you spend your time in seclusion, don’t you? I have no problem with foppoofs. In fact, I have one as my wife, so you could even say that I can enjoy them! So what do you say now, Haoyu?”
“This… Young Master Zixuan, can I- May I take some time to think about it? Could we perhaps meet at a later date?” asked the disciple. He was quite taken aback and prayed that Edrick would be magnanimous enough to allow him some time to think.
Because… Albeit Haoyu might do his best to appear as a woman, not wanting people to know that he was a foppoof in fear of mockery, it did not mean that he was exactly like a girl! He did not like men romantically… But for some reason, ever since the beginning, Anoteros had had that strange allure to him.
Haoyu felt inexplicably drawn to him, which was very confusing... Until now, he had only felt attraction toward women, but of course, he had never acted upon that attraction, as his disguise had to be maintained, and he much preferred delving into architecture cultivation anyway…
Right now, he felt incredibly confused and rather scared... Afraid that the Young Master would take things the wrong way.
But Edrick just smiled and shrugged, retracting his hand.
“Of course, you can think about it. I’ll visit Labyrinth Palace in the future, you can give me your answer then. What do you think?” surprisingly, the scary Young Master of the Elt bloodline--Whose family were not known for their kindness--Was rather understanding, showing not even a slight sign of anger.
“Ah… Thank you, Young Master Zixuan. I apologise for making you wait…” Haoyu cleared his throat, his adorable hazel eyes looking up at Edrick. Seeing no particular response, he scrambled to switch the subject before he died of embarrassment.
“Oh… Labyrinth Palace would also like to ask for assistance. Of course, you will also benefit, Young Master!”
The core disciple brought out a small, carved piece of stone that was thicker than someone’s wrist and about as long as a forearm.
“This is a Lodestone, a special creation from the combination of architecture cultivation and array carving. The stone required to craft it is rare and precious, and the known deposits are running dry, but we have a few in stock…”
“...You don’t have to agree, but this stone, once placed, can allow someone to teleport to it using another Lodestone, or someone with a special item similar to it… It may be unlawful, but Labyrinth Palace believes that gaining constant access to the secret realm, even when it isn’t open, would be a great boon”
Anoteros simply reached out and grabbed the stone.
“No problem, I quite like that idea of yours”
The two exchanged a few more words, and after Edrick teasingly reassured Haoyu that he would not reveal his foppoof identity, the core disciple ran off, his mission accomplished, albeit at a rather steep cost, as he did not know what he would do once Anoteros showed up, expecting a response to his rather direct proposal.
The noble scion licked his teeth.
‘I am definitely not letting you go anywhere…’