Chapter 58: TO BE A DISCIPLE TO A MAD MAN

Li Yan felt a little prideful at the compliment.

He walked toward the mirror and gently adjusted the hairpin, making sure it was sitting properly before touching the token hanging from his belt.

The hairpin Hu Bai had given him was still in his hair, and he had taken care to keep it secure. He then checked his sect token once more to make sure it was properly fastened.

Everything he needed was ready.

His manuals and notes had already been organized, and he had eaten enough to keep himself comfortable through the morning lesson.

Li Yan glanced toward the room; Xiaoxiao would remain in the space while he was away.

So there was no need to bid her goodbye when she would still be with him.

He took one final look at himself before turning toward the courtyard entrance.

"I am off. I hope I learn a lot in this class..."

The beautiful first day of class that Li Yan had been expecting did not arrive. Instead, when he reached the Apothecary department, he found himself standing in an empty classroom with not a single disciple in sight.

Li Yan checked his token once more to make sure he had not mistaken the location. The address recorded on the token matched the place Xiaoxiao had directed him toward, and there was nothing about the classroom that suggested it belonged to another department. The desks had already been arranged, and the room itself appeared ready for lessons, yet neither the teacher nor the other disciples had arrived.

He chose a seat and patiently waited.

After a while, Li Yan began wondering if the teacher had simply been delayed. He remained in his seat and continued waiting, occasionally glancing toward the entrance whenever he heard movement outside, only to find that another disciple had passed by without entering the classroom.

An incense stick burned, followed by another, but the situation remained unchanged. The classroom was still empty, and the teacher had yet to appear.

Several hours later, Li Yan finally let out a long sigh.

"Was Apothecary not a noteworthy department? Where is everyone?"

He had expected his first class to be filled with other new disciples, especially since he had arrived early and made an effort to prepare himself. Instead, he had spent the entire morning sitting alone in a classroom that seemed to have been forgotten.

Li Yan eventually accepted his fate.

There was little point in continuing to sit there when nobody appeared, so he gathered his things and decided to explore the department instead. At the very least, becoming familiar with his surroundings would be useful, especially if he would be spending a considerable amount of time there in the future.

The environment was surprisingly pleasant.

A gentle flow of spiritual Qi permeated the area, and unlike the concentrated Qi found on the higher sections of Purple Mountain, the spiritual energy here felt mild and soothing. The scenery was also remarkably green, with medicinal grass and various herbs growing throughout the department alongside numerous trees that provided shade along the paths.

Li Yan found the atmosphere peaceful enough that he gradually stopped thinking about his missing classmates.

Several paths led deeper into the department, and Li Yan followed one of them without any particular destination in mind. Whenever he encountered a medicinal plant he recognized from his beginner manuals, he would slow down and examine it from a short distance, comparing its appearance with what he had seen in the illustrations.

He did not touch any of them, remembering Xiaoxiao’s warning that he should first learn how to identify medicinal herbs properly before attempting to handle unfamiliar ingredients.

After a while, the path became quieter, and the carefully maintained gardens gradually gave way to a less cultivated part of the department. The trees became denser, and the medicinal herbs were no longer arranged in neat sections, although the area remained peaceful.

It was several paths down that Li Yan noticed something that seemed completely out of place.

A dilapidated pagoda stood among the greenery.

Li Yan stopped and looked at the structure with some surprise. Everything he had passed on the way there had been carefully maintained, from the medicinal gardens to the trees and paths, yet this pagoda looked as though nobody had bothered with it for years.

Parts of the exterior had deteriorated, and the once-impressive structure now looked worn and neglected. Its condition was so different from the surrounding scenery that Li Yan could not help wondering why it had been left there instead of being repaired or removed.

Curiosity eventually got the better of him, and he walked toward the pagoda.

There was no sign warning disciples to stay away, so Li Yan stepped inside and looked around. The interior was just as rough as the exterior, with an old and somewhat neglected appearance that made the place feel strangely disconnected from the peaceful surroundings outside.

That was when he noticed the man sitting inside.

The man’s appearance was no better than the pagoda itself. His clothes were worn and somewhat dirty, his hair was disheveled, and his overall appearance was so rough that if Li Yan did not know better, he would have assumed the man was a beggar who had somehow wandered into the Apothecary department.

However, when Li Yan looked into the man’s eyes, that impression disappeared.

There was nothing confused or dull about them.

The man’s eyes were clear and calm, carrying the composure of someone who was perfectly aware of his surroundings.

Li Yan hesitated briefly before deciding to ask him for directions.

"Mister, can you tell me where the class for the new disciples is?"

The man looked at him for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.

"Are you looking for a master, young lad? I will happily teach you everything I know..."

Li Yan laughed when he heard the man’s absurd offer, finding it rather ridiculous that someone who looked like a beggar would suddenly claim that he could teach him everything he knew.

He had not expected to encounter someone like this after wandering away from the classroom, and the man’s sudden declaration that he would teach him everything he knew was simply too ridiculous to take seriously.

"Become a disciple to a madman? If I really did that, would I not be accepting that I am mad as well?"

He did not take the man’s offer seriously. For all he knew, the strange man could simply be another eccentric cultivator who had been living in this forgotten pagoda for years.

Li Yan was about to turn around and continue looking for the actual class when Xiaoxiao’s voice sounded in his mind.

"Do not judge someone by their appearance, Li Yan. You are better than that."