No Deference

No Deference

After Gao Yuan left, Seventh Young Master's gaze at Zheng Fa turned icy.

"Playing brotherly devotion in front of me? Do you take this young master for a fool? Those two Origin Talismans were understood by you alone, weren't they?"

"Origin Talismans?" Zheng Fa's attention was slightly off.

"Yes. You don't understand anything, no wonder you were willing to say the two of you understood them together." Seventh Young Master laughed in anger, pointing at the book before him. "Gao Yuan should have told you that the patterns in it are Immortal Sect talismans."

"He did."

Zheng Fa nodded.

"What he said wasn't accurate. I'll tell you the truth: these things aren't Immortal Sect talismans at all, nor do they possess any power. In fact, they're called Talisman Diagrams. Only by comprehending Origin Talismans from them can one prove he has talent in the Talisman Dao."

"No wonder Zhao Residence doesn't pursue the matter of these things spreading around." Zheng Fa suddenly understood.

He had suspected it before.

If they really were Immortal Sect talismans, and even Gao Yuan's father could get hold of them, they were far too worthless.

It seemed his earlier guess had been correct.

Seventh Young Master—or rather, Zhao Residence—had deliberately allowed these Talisman Diagrams to spread among the servants.

"There was a deliberate element to it." Seventh Young Master seemed to see what he was thinking. "If someone in our Zhao Family has talent in the Talisman Dao and can comprehend Origin Talismans from these diagrams, that isn't a bad thing for us either."

"The two patterns I drew were Origin Talismans?"

"That's right!" Seventh Young Master said with a smile. "What you deciphered were the two simplest Origin Talismans. The minimum requirement to become a Talisman Master is mastering at least one hundred and eight Origin Talismans."

Zheng Fa looked at Seventh Young Master and hesitated slightly before asking, "Seventh Young Master, were you studying this book because you also wanted to become a Talisman Master?"

Seventh Young Master nodded and did not hide it from Zheng Fa. "It is difficult to enter the Immortal Sect, and it places extremely high demands on one's Spirit Root aptitude. But if one can comprehend one hundred and eight, or even more, Origin Talismans—if one can become a Talisman Master—then it becomes much easier."

Zheng Fa understood. The Spirit Root Seventh Young Master spoke of was the aptitude the Immortal Sect valued most. It was somewhat like how universities in another world valued College Entrance Exam scores most during the College Entrance Exam.

But comprehending Origin Talismans and possessing talent in the Talisman Dao was somewhat like being a specially talented student, able to gain admission with lower scores.

"So now you understand? If your talent in the Talisman Dao is good enough, you may become a Talisman Master and even enter the Immortal Sect! By then, you will no longer be a servant of my Zhao Family, but an immortal standing high above all others!"

Seventh Young Master looked at Zheng Fa, his face full of mockery. "Will you still say that you and Gao Yuan understood this together?"

"...But if I say we researched it together, my talent in the Talisman Dao won't become any worse." Zheng Fa sounded puzzled.

"..."

Seventh Young Master was rather at a loss for words. That was... perfectly true.

He looked at Zheng Fa, as if trying to discern something from that slightly dark, handsome face.

Zheng Fa's expression remained calm as he frankly met Seventh Young Master's scrutiny.

After a long while, Seventh Young Master suddenly shook his head and sneered. "So you said that because you wanted to keep him? And why keep him? For Gao Yuan? No... not for Gao Yuan. It's because you're angry. You are angry, and you should be angry. From the day you came to Zhao Residence, Gao Yuan fetched your meals every day. Whatever he ate, you ate."

"...Actually, he knew long ago that perhaps neither of us would be kept, or perhaps only one of us could remain. But in the beginning, he truly had been willing to be friends with me." Zheng Fa finally spoke.

"So what?" Seventh Young Master continued to sneer.

"I've been wondering what made him become jealous."

Zheng Fa raised his head, his eyes shining as he looked back at Seventh Young Master.

"So I wasn't wrong. You're angry at me. You're angry because I said I wanted only one pageboy."

Seventh Young Master pointed a finger at Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa said slowly, "His jealousy was only because he feared losing the pageboy position, because he feared returning home to bear his parents' disappointment. If it were me, I would be jealous too. I might even be more jealous... because if I lost the pageboy position, what I might have to endure would be even greater bullying from the people in the manor than before, and an even harder life for my mother and younger sister."

Seventh Young Master suddenly laughed. "When you two first came, I could already tell. Gao Yuan was properly dressed and seemed well-off, yet he held reverence and fear toward me in his heart. But you, clad in coarse clothes, had eyes that were... utterly without deference!"

Zheng Fa did not refute him.

Gao Yuan's change was not because he was truly narrow-minded. It was because people like Seventh Young Master, standing high above them, had deliberately made them compete and grow jealous.

It was because, as servants, even a tiny position as a pageboy could turn two people into enemies.

Rather than saying he cared so much about his friendship with Gao Yuan, Zheng Fa knew that he simply did not want even his relationships with others to be manipulated by those standing above him.

Though he had been born into this world, after five years in the modern era, he was spiritually more aligned with modern ideas.

That was why he had never been able to be a deferential servant.

As time passed, he actually talked more in the modern era, becoming more like a youth.

Yet in this world, he grew increasingly taciturn.

"So, you want to keep Gao Yuan not because you care so much about him. You merely... want to resist."

Zheng Fa said nothing more.

Because both he and Seventh Young Master knew that Seventh Young Master was right.

After a long time, Seventh Young Master suddenly smiled. "You are very talented. As far as I know, you could spot the Origin Talismans within those Talisman Diagrams at a glance. With talent like that, even if my mother came, she would have to give you respect and cultivate you."

"So I agree to keep Gao Yuan."

Zheng Fa gave Seventh Young Master a light bow.

Outside the door, Gao Yuan's footsteps slowly drew near.

Zheng Fa suddenly spoke. "Young Master, why?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you agree to let Gao Yuan stay?"

"I said it already. You are very talented, and I cherish talent."

Seventh Young Master looked at Zheng Fa strangely, wondering whether he had gone deaf just now.

"No. The moment Young Master saw me, you knew I was not a qualified servant. And the moment I saw Young Master, I also knew you shared the same anger as me. So..." Amid Gao Yuan's knock on the door, Zheng Fa's question sounded especially soft. "Young Master, what is it that you want to resist?"

Seventh Young Master froze.

Gao Yuan pushed open the door and carried in the meal box, saying carefully, "Young Master, the meal is here!"

Several maidservants preparing to attend Seventh Young Master during his meal followed behind him.

Seventh Young Master suddenly said something that no one but Zheng Fa could understand. "Above your head are me and the Zhao Family. Above mine is the Immortal Sect..."

Having said that, he seemed to lose all interest. He waved a hand and told Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan to leave.

Gao Yuan followed Zheng Fa out of the study and asked in confusion, "What did Young Master mean just now?"

"He meant that both of us can stay."

"Really?" Gao Yuan cried in delight. "Why?"

"Because we deciphered those diagrams."

"Young Master really believed we deciphered them together? He didn't see that you were lying? Is he... stupid?" Gao Yuan lowered his voice.

"All right, he actually saw through it. He kept you because he's actually a good person." Zheng Fa voiced his truest thought.

"Then I'd rather believe he's stupid." Gao Yuan lowered his voice even further.

Zheng Fa looked at him strangely. "...Young man, that way of thinking is dangerous to keep."

He silently told himself, Who in this world is born deferential?

(End of chapter)