Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

Liu Mei soon returned from the pond alone, her footsteps light as she landed gracefully back inside the restaurant. Her golden eyes immediately zeroed in on Shan Yifeng, who was crouched down, focused intently on the ground. He was drawing intricate circles, strange symbols forming beneath his fingertips before disappearing as soon as they were completed. Sweat dripped down his forehead, his breath coming in quiet but steady puffs. Liu Mei tilted her head, watching with amusement. "Junior Brother, don't you ever consider the fact that your cultivation progress is slow because you're wasting time learning formations?" she teased, folding her arms. Shan Yifeng didn't even spare her a glance. "Don't disturb me," he thought instead of saying aloud, too exhausted to speak. Liu Mei grinned. "You should know by now that thinking it doesn't mean I would not hear it, right?" Still, Shan Yifeng remained silent, pressing forward with his work. After completing another series of symbols, he reached into his storage pouch and retrieved a handful of materials—several red stones, glowing spirit stones, and pieces of jade. Liu Mei's eyes flickered with recognition. "You stole those from Master," she accused, crouching beside him with an amused smirk. Shan Yifeng snorted internally. Master does not need them, and it is not stealing if I am going to be returning them later. "That is still definitely thievery," Liu Mei shot back. "No doubt about it. I'm telling Master, and you will be in big trouble. Big." Shan Yifeng rolled his eyes, still not speaking aloud. *Tch*, do you really think Master will eveb care? He doesn't even need anything. He owns everything. So what if a few stones are missing. Liu Mei frowned slightly. "You are not making any sense, junior brother." It is not me. It is Master who is not making any sense at all. Shan Yifeng thought bitterly, his hands never stopping as he carefully arranged the stones in precise locations. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Phew… Finally done," he muttered under his breath. Liu Mei immediately leaned closer, eyes shining with curiosity. "Junior Brother, Junior Brother! What did you do?" she asked excitedly. Shan Yifeng smirked slightly, the usual exhaustion in his gaze replaced with something more confident. "You will see tomorrow," he said cryptically. "Let's get going." Liu Mei pouted but decided not to press further. Without another word, the two silently exited the restaurant, their movements swift and fluid. Despite their casual demeanor, they remained cautious, avoiding the gaze of any late-night passersby as they made their way back to the Hua family mansion. Once they reached the outskirts of the estate, the two stopped for a brief moment, glancing around. The mansion's guards were still patrolling, though they were far too relaxed—clearly not expecting any disturbances at this hour. Liu Mei and Shan Yifeng exchanged a look. In perfect synchrony, they both jumped, their bodies light as feathers as they scaled the mansion walls with ease. Their silhouettes flickered through the night, moving like shadows as they reached their room's window. With one final, effortless leap, they slipped inside, landing silently on the floor. The room was just as they had left it—neat and orderly, the only evidence of their absence being the faint scent of the outside air that clung to their clothes. Shan Yifeng let out a quiet sigh, stretching his stiff limbs. Liu Mei, on the other hand, was still brimming with energy. She plopped down onto her bed, crossing her legs and grinning mischievously. "So, Junior Brother… are you going to tell me what that formation is for, or do I have to wait until morning to find out?" Shan Yifeng shot her a look. "Wait." Liu Mei huffed. "Fine, fine. But if it turns out to be something boring, I'm going to be very disappointed!" Shan Yifeng ignored her, flopping onto his bed with an exhausted groan. Liu Mei chuckled, watching him for a moment before finally lying down herself. Soon, the room fell into silence. Early the next morning, Ace made his way to the two kids' room. *Knock* *Knock* A sleepy voice answered from inside. "Yes, Master?" Liu Mei mumbled groggily. "Get dressed. It's already noon," Ace said flatly. "That late?!" she jolted awake, eyes widening in shock. "Yes." Liu Mei turned towards Shan Yifeng, still fast asleep. She nudged him lightly although he showed no reaction, or intention to wake up. "Yifeng, Yifeng, wake up," she called. Still nothing,no response. Then without hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face. *Smack!* "Junior Brother, wake up, or I'll slap you again!" Shan Yifeng's eyes snapped open, bloodshot and furious. He glared at her, his expression filled with pure betrayal. "You should have woken up when I was being kind," Liu Mei said smugly. "What the—" Shan Yifeng groaned, rubbing his cheek. Ace, completely unfazed, crossed his arms. "Alright, you two, get dressed. We are having lunch at a restaurant." At that, Shan Yifeng's ears instantly perked up. "W-Which r-r-restaurant, Master?" he stammered. "Blue Sea Restaurant. One of the best in the city," Ace replied casually. But Shan Yifeng barely registered the words. His mind had already spiraled into full-blown panic. Master knows. His breath hitched as he turned to Liu Mei, sending her a message through his thoughts. Master already knows what we were up to last night! Liu Mei's body stiffened. Ace had strictly warned them not to go out at night. Shit. Her heart pounded as she immediately tried to read his thoughts. *Nothing* She frowned, focusing harder. *Nothing?!* Sweat trickled down her forehead as Ace's gaze landed directly on her. For the first time in a long while, she felt… vulnerable. Ever since she had started soaring in cultivation, she had never felt this powerless. The cultivation technique Master had given her was unique—deeply tied to illusions, deception, and manipulation of perception. Her first breakthrough had been Phantom Dodge, an ability that gave her opponents the illusion that they could hit her—when in reality, they never could. At first, she believed she was simply fast, evading attacks on instinct. Then, as she ranked up, she achieved Mirage Steps—an ability that made her appear slower than she truly was. In reality, she was very fast, but her enemies couldn't accurately judge her speed due to the illusion she created. And upon reaching Dark Gold, she unlocked Mind Reading. Last night had been the first time she used it. Reading her opponent's mind was like opening a book—they couldn't hide anything from her. It was overpowered. Terrifyingly so. Her next step, according to the manual, was the ability to feed lies directly into others' minds, but she hadn't figured out how to comprehend that part of the text yet. It was as if the words were mosaiced, unreadable to her. Still, Mind Reading alone was already an absurd ability. And yet… She could not read her Master's mind! Ace's gaze remained on her, unreadable as ever. Then, finally, he spoke. "So… you can read minds now, huh?" Liu Mei felt a chill crawl down her spine. (A/N: Is it bribe if I say I'll upload 4 chapters a day for the rest of the month if you send a castle?)