Teacher by day, Farmer by passion - Chapter 119

Chapter 119: Is Junior Brother Dead?
“What’s got you so lost that you didn’t sense me coming in?” Ace asked, amusement lacing his voice.

Shan Yifeng jolted upright, flustered. “Ah! Haha… uh, well, actually…” He scratched his head.

Ace crossed his arms. “Don’t worry. Just spit it out. Who knows? Your master here might be of some use.”

Shan Yifeng looked at Ace, he hesitated for a moment before finally admitting, “I’m trying to come up with a way to block Liu Mei from reading my mind.”

Ace’s eyes lit up with interest. “Oh? And you’re attempting to do that with a formation?”

“Yes, Master!” Shan Yifeng nodded firmly. “I believe formations are omnipotent—they can become anything we want them to be.”

Ace didn’t question his disciple’s belief.

Instead, he leaned forward slightly and said, “Alright then, Yifeng. Look at me. Tell me—what makes a formation stand?”

“The foundation,” Shan Yifeng answered immediately.

“And, honestly speaking, what does a foundation do aside from being useless?”

Shan Yifeng blinked in confusion. “Uh… they aren’t really useless, right?”

“Wrong.” Ace smirked. “Foundations are useless. A formation would be much stronger if it had no foundation at all.”

Shan Yifeng’s expression stiffened.

Something about that statement made him deeply uncomfortable—like being told that a person should stop living just because they would die eventually.

Well, the analogy was far off, but the feeling was the same for him.

“You’re joking… right, Master?” he asked hesitantly.

Ace didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out, grabbed Shan Yifeng’s wrist, and in the next instant, they vanished.

When they reappeared, the system space stretched before them—vast, luminous, and filled with an *infinite* aura.

Shan Yifeng’s jaw dropped.

“Master… what is this place?” he whispered in awe.

Ace smirked. “Welcome to my personal domain.”

But before he could explain further—

“AHHHHHHH!”

The piercing scream shattered the moment.

The sheer intensity of the cry made him flinch. “Uh… Master, was that—”

Ace didn’t even blink. “Nope. We’re not investigating.”

Ace clapped a hand on Yifeng’s shoulder, nodding sagely. “Fortunately, our destination is in the opposite direction. What a blessing.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked off, dragging Yifeng along before curiosity could get the better of him..

With that, he led Shan Yifeng toward where four bald figures sat together in discussion.

From a distance, their smooth, shiny heads reflected the light.

Akha, Khani, Kathum, and Mati.

All four turned when they noticed Ace approaching. Their eyes then drifted toward the young boy beside him, their expressions were mixed but mostly a puzzlement.

Ace gestured toward Shan Yifeng. “Alright, listen up. This is my second disciple. He wants to learn formations.”

Akha nodded in understanding, while Khani and Kathum just looked utterly confused.

Meanwhile, Mati leaned in, her voice as low as ever.

“…Is he your son?”

Ace blinked. “No.”

Silence.

“…Then again, sort of.” Ace glanced at Shan Yifeng, then shrugged. “Yeah. He’s mine.”

The four baldies perked up immediately.

“Leave him to us,” Akha declared with a suspicious glint in her eyes. “We’ll take good care of him.”

Yifeng stiffened. Something about the way they said that sent a shiver down his spine.

Ace, however, wasn’t concerned. He knew they couldn’t do anything too harmful. None of them had reached the Dark Gold realm, after all.

He patted Shan Yifeng’s shoulder. “You’ll be staying here for a while. Learn properly.”

“B-But… Master, they’re alchemists.”

Ace raised a brow. “So?”

“What does that have to do with your whole ‘formation foundations are useless’ speech?!”

Ace smirked. “Master is always right.”

Shan Yifeng opened his mouth… then closed it.

Leaving the boy in the hands of the four bald humans, Ace sighed and turned away.

One down.

As he stepped out of the system space, his thoughts drifted toward his other disciple. He should probably check on Liu Mei next.

The moment he did, he stopped in his tracks.

Liu Mei was curled up in the corner, her small frame trembling.

When he stepped closer, she instinctively hugged her knees tighter, making herself as small as possible.

“Liu Mei,” Ace called out, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Y-Yeah, Master?” Her voice was shaky, uncertain.

Ace paused. What the hell happened in the short time he took Shan Yifeng away?

His voice softened, but his tone remained firm. “Look at me. What happened?”

She opened her mouth, but the moment he took another step forward, she flinched and let out a sudden scream.

“Don’t come closer! Please don’t!”

Ace froze.

His confusion only deepened. What the hell had gotten into her?

After a moment of thought, he decided to test something.

“Stand still,” he ordered. “Look at me. Tell me what happened.”

Liu Mei trembled, but she obeyed. Then, her voice came out in a near-whisper.

“Brother… you took Junior Brother Yifeng and… and merged him into your body, right?”

“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” Ace said, exasperated.

Liu Mei blinked at him, still hugging her knees. “I did?”

“Yes, you did. Did you really think I would do anything to harm you two?”

“Uh… yes, Master.”

Ace stood there, absolutely speechless.

“Hey,” he finally said, rubbing his temples, “I promised you two I wouldn’t beat you anymore. How many times do I have to say that?”

“B-But Master,” Liu Mei stammered, her voice small but filled with grievances, “Even back then, you always called us over… You swore you wouldn’t hit us… and then you still did.”

Ace’s eye twitched.

Damn it, Xiao Zhi! Even when you’re not here, you’re still screwing me over!

He sighed. How did my disciples end up more traumatized by me than their enemies?

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Liu Mei and stretched out his hand. “Come here.”

She hesitated, but eventually, she moved closer. Her steps were slow, hesitant, but she obeyed.

As she got near, she muttered under her breath.

“Back then…” Her voice wavered. “I believed you. Every single time.”

Her fingers curled into the fabric of her robe. “You’d smile and say, ‘Come here, Liu Mei. I won’t hit you.'”

She let out a weak laugh,. “And then you did.”

Her lips trembled slightly, her face full of sorrow.

“Now that I’ve gained intelligence… I still trust you… and I’m coming closer…”

Ace looked speechless at this over exaggerating performance from his little girl.

It was as if she was narrating the tragic tale of a fool who had been scammed one too many times.