An Junlie’s master had been gone for a week, and An Junlie’s expression hadn't been good since. Lan Li vaguely sensed that if it weren’t for his injuries still needing time to heal, An Junlie would have already rushed off to follow his master.
He seemed to have sensed Lan Li's dependency.
Consequently, Lan Li was terribly afraid An Junlie would also leave, so he clung to him, talking constantly.
He noticed An Junlie possessed an exceptionally strong compassion for the weak. Forced into a corner, he could only make a sacrifice of his own dignity, pretending to be weak—or at least appear very frail—just to delay An Junlie’s intention to depart.
Of course, during this time, he also discovered that every time An Junlie went out, he never actually left; instead, he was practicing his daily drills high up in the canopy, grabbing food on the way down during his morning run.
Since the hut had a roof, he couldn't see An Junlie in the treetops, so Lan Li stealthily slipped to the doorway and witnessed the entirety of An Junlie descending from the tree.
He watched as An Junlie pulled a fine strand of silk from his pocket, a hook attached to the end, which he snagged onto a branch before leaping down.
The silk unfurled, and with a swing, he was propelled dozens of meters away in mere seconds.
It was practically like being an aerial acrobat.
It was one thing for An Junlie’s master to be formidable; after all, he had lived for so many years. But An Junlie, being of nearly the same age, was already this terrifyingly capable.
Young Master Lan Li suddenly felt that all the training he’d endured since the age of three was utterly trash.
“Little Junjun, I’m so bored, won’t you chat with me?”
Lan Li mimicked the refined tone of a noble lady, and the moment the words left his mouth, he was jolted by his own speech. He recalled a saying: If a man wants to become effeminate, he should replace 'I' with 'this one' (); if a lady wants to become rough, she should replace 'I' with 'this old one' ().
Ahem, wrong track.
Not long after, An Junlie entered the room. “What is it?”
“I just missed you! Little Junjun, don’t you miss me at all?” Hearing Lan Li’s affected coyness, An Junlie’s temples throbbed. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times before restraining himself from kissing Lan Li’s face—a face so fair that even women would envy its handsomeness.
“Speak plainly!” An Junlie said expressionlessly.
He still had many daily tasks, even though his teacher was gone. An Junlie would not forget the instructions left behind.
He would find his master.
Because that was his final assessment!
Lan Li ignored his stern demeanor and tried to placate him. “When will my injuries heal? If I lie here any longer, my bones will fall apart.”
A month without bathing—even a deity couldn’t withstand it.
Every day, smelling the strange odor emanating from himself, he thought, ‘How can this be me? How can this be the smell of the great Young Master of the Lan Clan?’
“Your injuries?” An Junlie drew out the word, seeing the eager look on Lan Li’s face. A flash of amusement crossed his eyes, so fast that Lan Li failed to catch it.
“How are my injuries?” Lan Li urged him impatiently for an answer.
“Your injuries healed days ago!” An Junlie replied with mock seriousness.
“Huh?” Lan Li looked at his body, still so tightly wrapped that he could only crawl like a vegetable grub, momentarily unable to process the fact.
An Junlie had enjoyed watching Lan Li’s foolishness long enough. He slipped away before Lan Li could regain his senses.
His master was gone, and he was unhappy; on top of that, the oblivious Lan Li kept pestering him, so he deliberately hid the truth for two days.
Hmph. An Junlie never held grudges for long. If he had a grievance, he exacted revenge immediately.
Come fight me if you disagree!
“An Junlie, you tricked me!” Not long after An Junlie left, Lan Li bolted out of the small hut where he’d been confined for over a month, stopping abruptly at the threshold, nearly tumbling onto the ground—how dangerous.
His roar startled the birds and insects throughout the boundless forest. They squawked loudly, as if mocking his absurdity.
Indeed, Lan Li was now clad only in tattered strips of cloth.
Beneath the rags, the skin from his full-body burns had fully recovered, looking pristine and luminous.
Recalling the thick, foul-smelling ointment An Junlie had applied daily, Lan Li felt a flicker of gratitude. He had assumed this skin was lost forever, necessitating a return to space for skin grafting at an interstellar hospital. He hadn't expected those medicaments to be so effective.
Not a single scar remained.
An Junlie’s master was truly a master.
Alas, he had no destiny with him.
Lan Li pondered this while gazing out from the doorway. Even if fate allowed it, the Lan Clan wouldn't permit such recklessness.
Why not just not go home? Why not follow An Junlie and become a wanderer?
That way, his goals could be achieved just as easily.
When An Junlie returned after hunting—or perhaps, fleeing Lan Li’s immediate anger—he found Lan Li crouched near the hut entrance, almost naked, waiting for him like a puppy awaiting its master.
Seeing An Junlie, Lan Li fiercely lunged, but An Junlie blocked him with the prey he’d brought back, embedding Lan Li directly into the carcass of the animal, giving him an unintended bath in blood.
Lan Li: “...Heavens, I want to go home. I can’t live with this person anymore!”
That evening, An Junlie tossed a carved beast-hide tunic in front of Lan Li. “Here, put this on!”
Lan Li snorted, disdainfully picking up the hide still heavy with the smell of fresh blood. An Junlie challenged him, “What? You want to run around naked?”
Lan Li’s face fell, but he dutifully dressed himself.
An Junlie watched the sulking Lan Li and felt a bizarre sense of familiarity. Wasn't this exactly how he used to act when pestering his master for attention?
An Junlie shuddered slightly.
He definitely didn't want Lan Li as an apprentice.
Lan Li seemed to realize the immaturity of his tantrum and proactively changed tack. “Little Junjun, what are your plans now?”
An Junlie frowned briefly upon hearing Lan Li deliberately call him ‘Little Junjun’ as retaliation. “First, I cultivate. Once my strength is sufficient, I will seek him out.”
Lan Li responded with blatant disdain: “Can you have some ambition? Don’t you ever want to live your own life?”
An Junlie paused. “Yes, cultivating.”
Lan Li felt an urge to explode. “Hey, that’s not living; that’s surviving! What is the ultimate goal of your life?”
An Junlie thought but offered no reply.
Lan Li felt exasperated. “Look at this forest. The small animals eventually have to leave the nest to survive alone. You’ve completed your apprenticeship; do you plan to follow your master’s heels forever?”
The response he received was: “Let’s go down.”
An Junlie grabbed his arm. An Junlie’s strength was terrifyingly immense. After gripping his arm, he swiftly deployed the thin silk, hooking it onto a branch. With a whoosh, Lan Li cried out, “Ah—!”
Before his scream had fully faded, he landed on the ground.
Lan Li: “……”
Could you give a warning before engaging in such a thrilling maneuver?
An Junlie set him down. “There are many man-eating flora and fauna in this forest. Be careful.”
Lan Li looked up at the hut where he’d lived for over a month. It was perched so high on a tree so massive that dozens of people couldn't encircle its base.
If people had to live in the trees, the dangers on the ground must be unimaginable.
Lan Li was already preparing for a massive confrontation with An Junlie!
However, An Junlie simply intended to teach him how to barbecue.
He had even prepared the beast meat.
Lan Li: “……” Do I look that weak? He won’t even let me join the hunt.
That entire day, An Junlie was preoccupied contemplating the purpose of his life, completely ignoring Lan Li’s hopeful gazes that demanded some kind of reaction.
After spending a night on the ground together, Lan Li woke up to find An Junlie utterly transformed.
If An Junlie had been a fledging chick who lost its parent bird the day before, today he radiated the glow of a mature raptor.
The light in his eyes made Lan Li feel as if he were witnessing a historic moment.
“Lan Li, let’s prepare. We are leaving.”
Lan Li froze. “Leaving where?”
An Junlie’s gaze was filled with resolve. “We are stepping off this planet.”
Lan Li let out a huge breath.
He had been worried An Junlie would choose to follow his master. That master was clearly an unreliable sort; following him would probably mean becoming a planetary scientist, biologist, or geologist—titles that sounded lofty but were actually useless.
Once the direction was set, the next problem was how to leave the planet.
The first obstacle: no mode of transport.
The master had a mecha, and An Junlie also had a mecha.
But before leaving, the master had taken his mecha away. Lan Li nearly exploded in frustration.
His master was doing this on purpose, wasn't he?
“Sigh!” Lan Li deflated like a burst balloon, complaining gloomily, “Your master is so bizarre. He wants you to be independent, yet he keeps you confined here. What is his meaning?”
An Junlie smiled. “If I had a mecha, I’d catch up to him too quickly. Where would the fun in my apprenticeship be then? Now that I’m finished, I must prove my true abilities. Even my master doesn't have an obligation to be responsible for me, nor do you. Stop complaining. If you want to live, you must rely on your own hands.”
Nothing falls from the sky, brother.
Lan Li flushed scarlet at An Junlie’s words.
Having lived in the Lan Clan for so many years, he was indeed tired of the life where food and clothes were handed to him. However, his habits were deeply ingrained, and achieving self-sufficiency would take a long while yet.
An Junlie had completed his training, while he was still spinning in place.
Lan Li felt too embarrassed to press An Junlie further and began to contemplate seriously.
While preparing breakfast, An Junlie said, “There is a military knife and a gun in the room. Go up and retrieve them.”
Lan Li’s eyes lit up, then dimmed again. Even with those, they could only hunt; escaping this place seemed impossible.
“Ah! Are we doomed to live on this planet forever?” Lan Li fretted, pacing anxiously.
“Breakfast is ready.” An Junlie took his own portion and reminded Lan Li.
An Junlie was a master of cuisine; even the most ordinary ingredients he would prepare with utmost dedication. Upon hearing there was food, Lan Li forgot all his worries, gobbling down his meal while asking breathlessly, “Nu zu ma yo qi du pu tang xi!?”
“???”
Gulp. Lan Li swallowed his food down his long throat before repeating, “Why aren’t you worried about not getting out at all!?”
An Junlie was unconcerned. “Why worry? People from various factions descend here to explore every day. We can just rob a ship and leave.”