Evening.
Shatuo and Reilo arrived at Master Gubo's home. They seemed nervous about the good news they were about to report to their mentor, sitting stiffly and uneasily in their chairs.
Master Gubo still hadn't returned. Wushuang was away for a long time, and Bailing hadn't yet returned from collecting specimens. Their senior sister Lianyi brought over a plate of unusual fruit and set it in front of them.
Seeing how awkward they looked, Lianyi's expression softened.
"You two look so nervous. Your mentor isn't a Magical Beast. Is he going to eat you?"
The fruit on the plate was an unusual variety called Thunderlip Fruit.
Lianyi peeled a Thunderlip Fruit, cut it into small pieces with a fruit knife, speared each one with a toothpick, and placed them on the plate before handing it to the two.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
Shatuo took the plate and gestured to Reilo. "Junior Brother, you've never tried Thunderlip Fruit, have you? It only grows in Bloodwolf Valley, deep in the Thorn Forest, during winter. The snow wolves nearby quickly fight over every last one, so each fruit is worth a fortune. A few years ago, the Royal Academy of Sciences went to great lengths to successfully transplant a single tree. That's how the academy is able to give each mentor a few fruits every year!"
"Oh?"
Hearing that this fruit he'd never seen before was so precious, Reilo's curiosity was piqued. He picked up a toothpick.
As Lianyi and Shatuo watched with smiles, Reilo gazed at the milky-white flesh on the toothpick and gently put it in his mouth.
Crackle!
The moment the Thunderlip Fruit touched his lips, a sudden, paralyzing sensation struck him like a bolt of lightning and swiftly spread through every cell in his body. Reilo instantly felt his whole body tremble with indescribable pain and pleasure, his teeth chattering.
"Brr..."
He sucked in a sharp breath.
Though it lasted only an instant, it felt as if several days had passed. The Thunderlip Fruit's effects faded, and its fragrant juice slid down his throat. Reilo felt suddenly light, refreshed beyond words.
"Junior Brother, how does it feel?"
Shatuo, by contrast, could already withstand the Thunderlip Fruit's effects without batting an eye.
"This... This is incredible! Who knew such an amazing fruit existed? The evolution of life in nature is truly wondrous. No wonder the academy went to such lengths to transplant a tree!"
Reilo had already learned how scholars praised things.
Lianyi smiled gracefully. "Keep working hard. Your mentor has plenty of good things. They'll all be yours someday."
At Lianyi's words, Reilo imagined telling his mentor the good news soon—that he had completed the basic initiation. He pictured his mentor's praise and approval, and excitement welled up inside him. It felt even better than the Thunderlip Fruit.
His mentor would never guess that he'd managed to complete his basic initiation in just one month!
Reilo couldn't help feeling a little smug.
Creak.
Suddenly, the sound of the courtyard gate opening came from outside.
Shatuo and Reilo stood up from their wooden chairs at the same time, as if struck by lightning, and looked respectfully toward the door.
Seeing them act like mice that had spotted a cat, Lianyi shook her head with a smile. "All right, your mentor's back."
Lianyi opened the door. Seeing Gubo looking preoccupied, she said gently, "Shatuo and Reilo are here."
Gubo looked up at the two standing stiffly in the hall. He said nothing beyond a quiet "Mm," then went straight into his study.
Shatuo and Reilo followed their mentor to the study, hardly daring to breathe.
"What is it?"
As soon as Gubo entered the study, he turned his back to them and searched the shelves for something, asking without looking around.
Reilo and Shatuo exchanged glances. Reilo pressed his lips together and stayed silent. Shatuo spoke respectfully, one word at a time. "Mentor, Junior Brother has completed his initiation course. He can now study the basic academic curriculum alongside the teaching mentor and this year's new students."
Reilo kept his head bowed, his ears and the back of his neck bright red with shyness.
It seemed that being praised by Master Gubo was the most potent exhilarant in the world to Reilo!
Gubo paused briefly in his search, then continued rummaging through the shelves. Still without looking back, he said flatly, "He's developed academic awareness?"
"Yes," Shatuo replied earnestly.
"Mm. I understand. Come back tomorrow morning."
Gubo's voice was perfectly calm, as if this were only to be expected. It held not a trace of emotion.
Reilo couldn't believe it. His eager excitement was quickly replaced by confusion, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, dousing every spark of expectation. He raised his head and looked at his mentor searching the shelves. His longing gaze was completely swallowed by hurt and disappointment.
After all his hard work, this was all the response he got.
At last, Gubo found a yellowed animal-hide scroll on the shelf and carefully took it down.
"Spirit Summoning Sacrifice. The limbs and organs of human albinos are spirit-summoning offerings for high-level Witchers. Several murders targeting albinos have occurred at the academy in recent days. It seems another Witcher has infiltrated..." Gubo muttered grimly. "Damn rats. Do you think this is still the Dark Age, when you could openly fight the Church?"
Muttering to himself, Gubo seemed to have completely forgotten that his two disciples were standing there. He sat in his chair and began reading the animal-hide scroll intently.
Reilo looked up at Master Gubo, who was now completely absorbed in the scroll at his desk.
When he felt his second senior brother tug gently at his sleeve, Reilo turned to look. His senior brother pressed his lips together and gave a slight shake of his head, signaling that Reilo should leave the room with him and stop disturbing their mentor.
Shatuo understood Reilo's hurt all too well. He felt the same pain himself.
He had wanted to share the good news and make their mentor happy. Their mentor's happiness was his greatest joy. He hadn't expected such a cold response.
It wasn't just Reilo. It was the same for him!
All these years, no matter how hard he tried, he had never been able to earn his mentor's approval. Wushuang, meanwhile, could simply go through the motions and still do everything better than him, making their mentor proud. Shatuo was forever a side character in Wushuang's shadow, a shadow he could never surpass, suffering disappointment and despair again and again.
Their mentor's heart had been completely occupied by Wushuang.
As long as any achievement fell short of Wushuang's, all he ever got from their mentor was indifference and criticism, no matter how hard he had worked.
Shatuo gently closed the study door, treating it as carefully as if it were the most beautiful woman in the world, afraid to disturb his mentor's thoughts. He lightly tugged Reilo by the sleeve, and the two left quietly.
"Eh? Shatuo, Reilo, why are you leaving so soon? Stay for dinner!"
Lianyi, who was making dinner, came out of the kitchen.
"Uh, no, Senior Sister! Junior Brother still hasn't understood an important concept. We just asked the mentor about it, so I should go home and teach it to him before I forget too. Heh heh."
Shatuo smiled sheepishly.
Lianyi saw Reilo keeping his head down, unable to meet her gaze. Quick-witted and perceptive, she immediately understood what had happened and shot Shatuo a glare for lying to her.
Shatuo's sheepish smile faded. He slowly lowered his head and said nothing more.
"Ah... All right. Studying is important. When Bailing gets back in a couple of days, I'll invite you both over again."
Lianyi sighed, patted Shatuo and Reilo on the shoulders, and gently hugged them like a mother, comforting them as she watched them leave.
Once Reilo and Shatuo were well out of sight, Lianyi's sympathetic sigh turned to anger. She pushed open the wooden door to Gubo's study, startling him as he read the notes on animal hide.
"What's wrong?"
Lianyi said, "Shatuo has been your disciple for almost twenty years. Do you have any idea how much he's suffered? What has he done wrong? Is it really a fault not to be as good as Wushuang? And now there's Reilo too. Is Wushuang the only one in your heart?"
Gubo snorted and tossed the animal-hide scroll onto the table.
"I'm not just their mentor. I'm also the academy's dean of studies and the founder of the field of Ancestral Cloning Academic research! They've only made a little progress. Do you expect me to act like a nanny, constantly praising and encouraging them? Isn't this something a capable scholar should be able to accomplish?"
Gubo said angrily, "The path to exploring Evolution's Profound Meaning has always been one you have to walk yourself. You don't get there by relying on others to encourage you! If your specimens haven't piled up into a mountain of corpses, if the Dissection Table hasn't run with blood, if your laboratory isn't built over a wasteland of bones, and you don't have the courage to break through every obstacle, then you'll always be a third-rate scholar, a Gnome who never grew up!"
"You!"
Lianyi didn't know what else to say. She could only stare at Gubo. The room fell utterly silent, with only the sound of their hearts beating: thump, thump.
After a while.
"Ah... Hahahaha! We've been married for ages. Don't be angry. All right, I understand. I'll be more careful in the future," Gubo said with an awkward laugh after a moment of silence.