Zheng Fa entered Seventh Young Master's study carrying a stack of drawings covered in Talisman Diagrams.
In the morning light, Seventh Young Master sat by his desk with his hair hanging loose and his face full of exhaustion. He had not even washed up, and his head kept bobbing as he dozed off.
Compared to the refined appearance Zheng Fa had seen the first time they met, Seventh Young Master was utterly disheveled now.
Hearing Zheng Fa's footsteps at the door, Seventh Young Master did not react at all. He continued sleeping soundly, a trickle of drool at the corner of his mouth nearly dripping onto an unfolded Talisman Diagram on the desk.
Zheng Fa set the drawings in his arms on the desk before him.
Seventh Young Master startled awake, slowly raised his head, glanced at Zheng Fa, then looked at the new drawings Zheng Fa had brought.
"What are these?"
"Today's assignment." Zheng Fa smiled kindly.
Seventh Young Master shakily stretched out his hand, spread his thumb and forefinger, and measured the thickness of the stack. Then he discovered that his hand simply was not big enough.
His eyes flew wide. "How is this stack even taller than the ones from the past few days?"
"A few days ago, Young Master, you had only just begun learning this secret art, so I reduced the workload and let you ease into it." Zheng Fa made a great show of being considerate. "But now, formal training can begin."
"Ease into it?" Seventh Young Master's voice brimmed with incomprehension at the very phrase. "For the past few days, I've only slept two hours a day! The moment I open my eyes, it's Talisman Diagrams, Talisman Diagrams, Talisman Diagrams! And you call that easing into it? I'm about to die here!"
Zheng