He hangs on his every word. Children are so easily influenced. He smiles at him, though a little embarrassed. Someone as good as him? No, he's far from being a role model. What about honor, no matter what? Sacrifice? Why doesn't he scream in outrage at such words? A protagonist doesn't run away to save his life, that's well known. Will he really follow these precepts?
Shoi-Ming just wanted to make sure that before you became the disciple of a somewhat difficult master, a master who was a little too prejudiced or who had gone astray, you wouldn't follow in his footsteps. Clenching his fist for a moment, he stands up and goes to his desk to write on a sheet of paper with his finest pen.
– Remain humble, but know your own worth.
– Protect the weak and needy.
– Don't hesitate to flee; your life is as valuable as anyone else's.
– Don't give up.
– Remain true to yourself and your principles.
Just that, so he would remember. He blew on the ink to make it dry faster and waited a moment, turning his attention to him with a slightly vague look, as if he were thinking to himself while talking to him.
"Sakeru, when you have to choose a master to teach you how to fight, to master your Qi and everything else there is to learn, I would like you to choose not the one who seems the most pleasant, but the one who is best able to teach you and help you reach your potential. Contrary to what my Shixiong thinks, I am not one of those people. You will quickly realize, like the others, that I am the weakest in the sect."
Yeah... of all the sects combined, rather.
Turning his gaze back to the desk, he folds the paper again to form a crane. With a satisfied smile, he returns to him with it, takes his hand tenderly, and places it in his palm.
"Keep it safe. I've written down what I told you on it. When our discussion seems far away from you, it will be there to remind you."
[ Key item "Crane of Remembrance" has been given to the protagonist. ]
Sakeru gratefully accepts the crane, holding it delicately in his small hands.
Key item?
He didn't think he could turn a simple object into a quest item or special item. Did he cause his own downfall? The protagonist's piercing gaze fell upon him and scrutinized his slender figure.
While others might have seen features distorted by the cunning and treachery Shoi-Ming was capable of, this child saw only almond-shaped eyes and a smile full of mischief and intelligence. Sometimes the smile softened, sometimes it became more distant, as if loneliness were his only companion.
"Thank you very much, daozhang. I will always keep it with me," he whispers, clutching the crane to his heart, his eyes shining with gratitude and soon with tears. He looks so fragile—he has to toughen up or he won't survive! But not too much, he mustn't lose his sensitivity and become cold-hearted.
Warm, so warm. Even the snowy branches drawn across the shoulders of this grown-up's hanfu seems to lighten with the last rays of sunshine of the day. His branches, so beautiful and sad at the same time, devoid of leaves, as if holding on in the winter. Waiting for spring to come one day.
"I will do my best to become strong. For the sect, for the weak, to find my mother, and for myself. But I want to do it by your side. Your words are those of the best teacher I could have. If I take someone else, I fear I will accumulate shortcomings that even this crane cannot fill—"
"Xiao-Sakeru," Shoi-Ming interrupted him, gravely. "I am the one with huge gaps in my knowledge, and it's not with me that you will fill them. Everything you saw today is part of the basics of what you need to know. Basics that I don't have."
Please don't ask me what I'm doing here, please don't ask me what I'm doing here.
"My words are probably beautiful, but that's all they are: words. They won't help you reach a satisfactory level; at best, they're just a guideline to follow. Please think about it. It's important that you have a good teacher."
Shoi-Ming put his hand on the child's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.
Damn it, you're the protagonist. Don't choose him just because he was the first to come and comfort you. If you're so easily fooled, let's just say by young women who are willing to snuggle up to you for company, I wouldn't bet on you!
Sakeru seems determined, despite Shoi-Ming's warnings. He grips his mentor's sleeve firmly, his eyes filled with resolve and touching confidence.
"Daozhang, I know you say you have gaps in your knowledge, but I also know you have something special, something the others don't have. Your words, your kindness, your ability to see the potential in me—that's what I need. I know I won't be able to learn everything I need from you, but I'm willing to fill in those missing pieces by observing others! This child is your shidi as long as you don't push him away."
Oh no... this little chick has taken a liking to the first person he saw.
Despite his confident tone, his slightly quavering voice betrays a certain vulnerability. As if he fears his desire will not be accepted. For him, Shoi-Ming represents much more than just a teacher; he embodies a divine figure, a source of comfort and guidance in a world full of uncertainty and danger.
If Shoi-Ming weren't panicking, he would have burst out laughing. The protagonist and this loser? It was ridiculous! Was he going to cause the protagonist's future death? Had he ruined the script? What should he do? Reject the protagonist by being cruel? Was he going to fall into the stereotype of the good mother who makes the protagonist's life hell and gets killed in the end?
He was already imagining various scenarios where the child was mocked or violently rejected with comments like, "You are not worthy of being my disciple," and "Who would want you?" "I was only kind to you out of pity, don't get too big for your boots."
No, he can't do that, it's too much... he'll break the child's little heart.
Damn it, why?
He's doing this for your own good! Why won't you listen to him?
Staring intently at him, he realizes that the child is determined and won't listen to his pleas. Why are the protagonists so stubborn! He would have watched over you from a distance, isn't that the same thing?!
Closing his troubled eyes, he takes a deep breath, and turns his back on him. He wants to tear his hair out! What should he do? What must he do? Part of him would love to accept, after all, having a child with such potential, in the end, he would be the one learning alongside him, but... he mustn't be selfish, he has to think about his future.
Well, since he believes in him for now...
"All right, you will be my disciple," he said firmly, turning back to him again.
"Sakeru-shidi, you will soon realize that I am not the right fit for you when I have you participate in the other masters' exercises tomorrow. You'll regret your choice."
Didn't that sound like a threat?