My Disciple Is Crazy!

[Aisoo_Star]

"MASTER!"

The scream tore through the silence, sharp as a blade. It didn't just wake Xu Kai, it yanked him from a profound, empty blackness, flooding his senses with a jolt of pure sound. His ears rang.

A frantic voice sobbed near his head.

"Master! Please don't die and leave me alone! No one understands me! If you die, I won't last a week in this world, I swear I won't! I'll be good, I promise, just please, please be alive!"

He jerked, his body moving before his mind could follow. His head swam as he turned toward the noise.

A face hovered inches from his own, a girl, young, maybe eighteen. Her plain grey robes were rumpled. Her eyes, red-rimmed and overflowing, were now wide as saucers, locked onto him with a shock so complete it was like she stared at a ghost.

"M-Master… you're… alive?"

'Master?'

His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drum in the sudden quiet. A cold, unfamiliar panic seeped into his veins.

'Where is this? Who am I?'

Nothing felt right. The air smelled different, like dried herbs and sun-warmed fabric. The light was wrong. This wasn't his room, his city, his life.

A terrible, quiet certainty settled in his gut. He hadn't just fallen asleep. The man he used to be… was gone. This wasn't a dream. The sensations were too sharp, the panic too real.

'So. This is another world.'

The immediate questions, cold and practical, rose above the panic.

'Whose body is this? And who is this crying girl?'

He forced his breathing to slow and dragged his gaze away from her. He was lying on a low cot inside what looked like a large tent. Sunlight pressed against the heavy canvas walls, painting the interior a soft, glowing gold. It was bright, yet curiously cool. A strange, clever design.

For a moment, he just watched dust motes dance in a sunbeam, clinging to the quiet detail to steady his spinning thoughts.

The girl hadn't moved. She was still frozen, a statue of shock and tear-streaked relief.

He cleared his throat, the sound rough.

"Uh. Are you okay?"

She blinked. Then nodded, a quick, jerky motion. She seemed dazed.

He pushed himself up slowly onto his elbows, every movement feeling new and uncoordinated.

"If you don't mind," he began, choosing his words with care, "could you explain… what happened?"

The question snapped her out of her daze. She leaned forward, her brows knitting together.

"You don't know, Master?"

"I don't really remember," he said, tapping his temple. "Everything's a mess in here. It might come back."

He added the 'might' quietly. He was counting on no such thing.

The girl sat back on her heels and let out a long, shaky sigh. She muttered under her breath, almost to herself.

"Well. That makes sense. It's a miracle you're breathing at all. A knock like that… it's to be expected, I guess."

Xu Kai went very still.

'A miracle to be breathing? A knock?' he thought. 'Was this body supposed to be dead? Did I just… climb into a corpse?'

The morbid thought sent a fresh chill down his spine. It didn't fully compute, but the girl's demeanor, the lingering terror behind her relief, told him it was close to the truth.

She was his only source of answers. He needed to tread carefully.

The girl looked at him again, and her expression shifted. The shock melted into something more accusatory, a hint of her normal self breaking through the crisis.

"You scared me half to death," she said, swiping at her cheeks with her sleeve. "First, I thought you were gone. Then you wake up, and I'm so happy I could cry, which I did, obviously. And then you ask 'what happened?' and my heart just plunges. I thought your brains were scrambled for good!" She puffed out her cheeks. "Do you get some kind of joy out of watching me worry myself sick?"

'Two heart attacks in five minutes,' he thought wryly. 'This 'master' must mean a great deal to her.'

It was obvious from the title, from her desperate pleas for his survival. 'I won't survive long in this world.' The words echoed.

'Was it just drama? Or was it a clue?'

His eyes traced her figure again. The plain robes, the youthful face now smudged with dust and tears. She didn't look like a fugitive. She looked… comfortable. Or she would, if not for the current panic. There was a languid slope to her shoulders even now that suggested a personality prone to taking the easiest path.

'Don't judge a book by its cover,' he reminded himself.

In a new world, in a stolen body, assumptions were a luxury he couldn't afford.

Seeing the genuine confusion on her master's face, the furrowed brow, the distant look in his eyes, the girl, took a steadying breath. He needed to know. She began to recount the events, her voice low.

Her master, Xu Kai, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had reached the very peak of that realm. For days, he had been sequestered in this tent, gathering his energy, preparing to ascend to the coveted Core Formation stage.

The process of forging a Golden Core was a delicate, all-consuming trial. It was the condensation of one's entire life force and spiritual power into a single, radiant orb within the body. He had been so close. The energy had been coalescing, on the verge of solidifying.

Then, without warning, his mind had shattered.

His concentration, the absolute focus required to guide the terrifying power, vanished like a snapped thread. The ascension failed catastrophically. A violent backlash of uncontrolled spiritual energy should have erupted from within, tearing his meridians apart, extinguishing his life instantly. There were no exceptions. A disruption during core formation meant death.

He should be dead. And yet, he was breathing. The body lived, but the man who inhabited it… he was gone. In his place was someone else, a soul from a distant world, now clinging to this fleshly vessel. That was the only explanation for the survival. A possession. A miracle and a tragedy woven into one.

As she spoke, fragmented concepts brushed against Xu Kai's new consciousness.

'Foundation Establishment. Core Formation.'

The terms felt alien, yet they landed with a strange, heavy weight. On Earth, he'd skimmed a few cultivation stories, fantastical tales of immortal ascension. He'd found them entertaining in passing, but never delved deep. Now, stranded in the very reality of those tales, a sharp regret pricked him.

'I should have paid more attention.'

"So that's how I ended up here," Xu Kai muttered, more to himself than to her. The words were a feeble attempt to anchor the surreal truth.

"...Yes," she replied. Her voice was quiet, but her gaze was not. She was watching him, really watching him, with an intensity that hadn't been there before.

Xu Kai finally noticed the scrutiny. It felt like a physical pressure.

"What?" he asked, the defensiveness in his voice surprising even him.

She didn't answer immediately. She just looked, her head tilted slightly, her eyes searching his face for something familiar. The silence stretched, growing thick and uncomfortable. It was too long. Long enough for Xu Kai's palms to feel damp.

Finally, she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a near-whisper.

"Master… you've really lost your memories, haven't you?"

Xu Kai's throat tightened. He swallowed, the sound audible in the quiet tent.

'What do I say?'

Panic, cold and slick, coiled in his stomach. The truth, 'I'm not him', was a door he could not open. It led to two terrifying paths: either she'd believe her master's mind was simply blank, a hollow shell… or she'd uncover the terrifying reality of a soul from another world. Both possibilities risked everything.

His mind raced, discarding lies, weighing risks. She knew the original Xu Kai. She'd been with him for a long time, she'd said. Any act, any false mannerism, would be a glaring signal. Denying the memory loss would be a foolish gamble he'd likely lose.

But admitting it… that offered a path forward. It was a shield, a reason for his ignorance, a way to ask the questions he desperately needed answered without raising immediate alarm. It was his only viable foothold in this impossible situation.

He met her expectant gaze. The tension in the air was a taut wire.

"Well," he said, forcing his voice into a tone of weary resignation. "It seems that's the case now."

He held his breath, waiting for her reaction.

She cocked her head to the side, a flicker of understanding in her eyes.

"I knew it. Your behavior is off. The way you look at me… the way you speak. It's different."

Xu Kai's internal guess was confirmed. She knew the original man intimately.

Then, unexpectedly, her face lit up. She flung her hands wide, a wide, almost giddy smile replacing her suspicion.

"Master, if that's the case, I'll help you! We can start small, jogging a few memories. Maybe if we pull one thread, the rest will follow. It just needs a lead, right?"

"Maybe," Xu Kai answered, his voice quiet with surprise.

He had braced for drama, tears, anger, accusations. He'd prepared for the worst. This… this cheerful determination was disarming. It was far better than anything he'd imagined.

Her hands were still raised in enthusiasm. The smile stayed plastered on her face as she leaned in, her voice dipping into a playful, testing tone.

"But, Master… you at least still remember my name, right?"

Xu Kai paused.

"I don't remember."

The effect was immediate and comical. She froze mid-motion, her smile stiffening. To Xu Kai, it looked as if she had literally turned to stone and then cracked. Her arms dropped to her sides. She leaned forward, the cheerful expression vaporized, replaced by utter, genuine shock.

"You don't remember?" Her voice rose an octave. "How could you forget your own honorable disciple's name!"

The retort came to him smoothly, almost on instinct.

"If I don't remember the important things, how do you expect me to remember your name?"

For a split second, she just stared. He sounded exactly like the old master just then, she thought, the familiarity throwing her off balance.

She straightened her posture abruptly, pointing a finger at him.

"Master! Is this a prank? Did you really lose your memories, or do you just hate me so much you're playing with my feelings?"

"I told you, I don't remember anything," Xu Kai replied, keeping his voice level. He was building a narrative now. "The failed ascension… it must have damaged my mind, probably not my cultivation. What do you want me to do to prove it?"

"I want you to remember my name! At least that!" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"And how can I do that," he countered, "when I don't even remember how I got here?"

It was the truth, strategically framed. If she hadn't mentioned his own name earlier, he wouldn't have known that either.

She gritted her teeth, a visible struggle playing out on her face. She looked like she was holding back a torrent of words. Finally, it burst out.

"How could you forget 'Chen Xi'!" she nearly shouted, revealing her name. "I thought I was important to you! This is a betrayal!"

'That escalated quickly,' Xu Kai thought, unable to formulate a reply. 'I'm supposed to be the master. Why does it feel like the roles are reversed?'

With a sound of pure frustration, she stomped away, grumbling under her breath. Xu Kai caught only fragments, something about "ungrateful" and "all those errands." He was just glad he couldn't hear the rest.

How had she expected him to know? He'd known her for less than an hour. But one thing was becoming crystal clear.

'She is completely crazy.'

 

[Aisoo_Star]

A few minutes after Chen Xi's dramatic exit, Xu Kai pushed himself up from the bed. Every muscle protested. The cot was deceptively comfortable, and a heavy exhaustion clung to him, whispering for him to just lie back down and let sleep claim him again.

'No. Not this time.'

He had been given a second life, however bizarre. Lazing around wasn't an option.

He swung his legs over the side and stood, his new body feeling strangely both sturdy and unfamiliar. He walked out of the room, his steps tentative on the floor.

The space beyond surprised him. It was far larger than he'd imagined from inside the room. The walls were taut canvas, yes, but the structure itself felt solid, permanent, more like a proper building cleverly disguised as a tent. Sunlight filtered through the high, translucent peaks, illuminating a main living area sparsely furnished with a low table and a few chairs. The design was ingenious. Simple, but cool.

He glanced around. No sign of Chen Xi.

His eyes landed on the only other door. That had to be her room. He approached slowly. Barging in felt wrong, a violation of a boundary he didn't yet understand. He raised his hand and knocked.

Silence.

He waited, then knocked again, firmer this time. The only answer was the quiet of the tent.

'Is she that mad? Or is she even in there?'

He couldn't fathom her logic. He'd literally died and come back amnesiac, and she was hung up on a name? This type of woman was a complete mystery.

"Hey," he called out, his voice flat against the door. "If you don't answer, I might just come in."

It was a bluff. He had no real reason to see her, but leaving her stewing in there felt like a mistake. She was his only link to this world, offended or not.

"No! I don't want to see you!" Her voice was muffled but sharp through the fabric.

"Why?" he asked, playing dumb.

"Master, don't act like you don't know!"

"Is it because I didn't remember your name? Are we seriously still on this?" He couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice.

"Yes."

He leaned his forehead against the cool canvas.

"Didn't you hear me? I've forgotten everything. I didn't even know my own name. My memory is totally gone. Don't you have even a little pity?"

A pause. Her voice was quieter when it came.

"I do… But it's still unacceptable."

Unacceptable. The word hung in the air. She had no rational ground to stand on, yet she stood there anyway. Was this a ploy? Was she trying to make him stand out here, twisting a knife of guilt he didn't even feel?

'Am I walking into a trap?'

The suspicion swirled briefly, but he dismissed it.

'What evil could this dramatic girl possibly be planning?'

He sighed, a long, weary sound.

'Fine. I would play along, if that would get her out.'

"Okay, I understand," he said, layering his voice with a contrition he didn't feel. "If I offended you, then I apologize."

The words were empty, just sounds meant to lure. He'd done nothing wrong. The fault lay with the fall, the failure, the transmigration, not with him.

Silence answered him. Thick and complete.

'So that didn't work.'

He stood there for another moment, listening to the nothingness from the other side of the door. The bait was ignored. With a final shake of his head, he turned. Let her sulk. She'd come out when she was ready.

At that moment, the door flew open.

Chen Xi stood there, her earlier anger gone. Her expression was one of serious, wide-eyed surprise.

"Master… are you okay?" she asked, her voice hushed.

"Do I look like I am?" he countered, too tired to play along.

Her eyes searched his face.

"Did you… just apologize to me?"

'Master never apologizes,' she thought, the realization dawning. 'Even if I'm throwing a fit, he just ignores me or tells me to be quiet. If I annoy him, he'll say 'sorry' but it's empty, just to make me go away. He only means it if it's truly, completely his fault…'

"What did it sound like?" Xu Kai replied, deflecting again.

He was answering every question with another question, a frustrating habit that was somehow familiar.

'…But he just did it. He apologized, without me even demanding it.' she thought.

The concept was foreign.

"Master, but… how?" she stammered, taking a half-step forward. "You rarely apologize to me so sincerely. You've changed."

'Who said it was sincere?' he thought inwardly, keeping his face neutral.

"I lost my memory," he said with a shrug. "What did you expect?"

Chen Xi shook her head, as if clearing it. The way he'd been talking to her, the blunt replies, the lack of his usual stern posture… it clicked.

'No,' she corrected herself. 'He hasn't changed. He's just… clueless.'

A slow, thoughtful smile spread across her face. She put a finger to her chin, adopting a pose of deep consideration.

"Well," she began, drawing the word out. "If you really want me to forgive you… I suppose I can…"

"Oka—"

"…But," she cut him off, her grin turning mischievous, "you'll have to do something for me first."

She finished her sentence with a look of pure, mysterious delight.

Xu Kai stared, momentarily lost.

'Do something for her? Like what?'

The thought was daunting. He was useless here. He knew nothing, could do nothing. He was a blank page in a master's robes. She was the disciple, and clearly someone the original Xu Kai had trusted. He had no grounds to refuse outright, but blindly agreeing felt like stepping off a cliff.

He needed to know the price first. He had a feeling that with Chen Xi, once you agreed, there was no backing out.

"What?" he finally asked, his voice flat.

She paused, her smile faltering into a frown. She hadn't expected that.

"I thought I told you about—" The words died on her lips. Her brows shot up in sudden, genuine recollection.

"Oh! I apologize, Master," she said, offering a quick, perfunctory bow. "I almost forgot. You lost your memories."

"I understand," Xu Kai replied, and he meant it.

He completely understood her whiplash-inducing forgetfulness. It was perfectly in character. How could someone who'd just been furious he'd forgotten her name, remember that he'd also forgotten every other instruction she'd ever given him?

'It was,' he realized, 'perfectly, impossibly normal for her.'

Suddenly, she grinned even wider, a flash of pure, uncontained glee.

"Follow me," she chirped, spinning on her heel. She didn't just walk outside, she practically hopped, her steps light and bouncy.

Xu Kai tilted his head, watching her. The sudden shift from sulking to sunshine was suspicious, but he had little choice. He followed.

She led him to the edge of the clearing where a massive, flat-topped boulder sat, half-buried in the earth. She paused before it for a second, then turned back to him with a silly, expectant smile.

"Master, stay right here for a moment. I forgot something!" she announced, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

'Is she always this forgetful?' Xu Kai thought, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I'll be super quick!" she promised, already dashing back toward the tent settlement in a blur of grey robes.

'Probably forgot because she got too excited,' he mused, left alone in the quiet clearing. 'But what's there to be excited about?'

He couldn't fathom her logic.

True to her word, she returned in a flash. In her hands was a small, plain wooden bowl. Inside it was a dollop of a thick, vivid green paste.

Chen Xi bounded up to the boulder. Without breaking stride, she planted a foot and pushed off. Her body rose effortlessly, a clean, graceful arc that landed her squarely on top of the massive stone. It was a casual display of impossible strength.

Xu Kai's eyes widened. He knew, intellectually, that cultivators could do such things. But knowing and seeing were worlds apart. The casual defiance of gravity right before his eyes… it hit different. A thrill, sharp and real, shot through him.

Then, a more practical thought surfaced.

'She didn't even offer to help me up.'

She settled cross-legged on the rock, placing the bowl carefully in front of her. She beamed down at him, her smile bright in the sunlight.

"Master, come!" she called, waving him up.

'Does this girl have a conscience?' he wondered, a flicker of genuine annoyance cutting through his awe. 'You leave an amnesiac at the foot of a cliff and just expect him to float?'

But the annoyance was fleeting. Underneath it was a spark of keen anticipation. Ever since waking up in this world, a part of him had itched to try it, to see if the cool, fantastical abilities were really his to command. This was his first real chance.

He took a deep, steadying breath, pushing Chen Xi's thoughtlessness aside. He scoured his mind for every helpful scrap from the cultivation novels he'd skimmed in his past life. Focus. Intent. Qi.

He willed himself upward.

For a heart-stopping second, nothing happened. Then, a strange, buoyant sensation filled his legs. He felt lighter. He looked down. The ground was slowly, steadily falling away. He was levitating.

A giddy shock washed over him. He was flying. Not on a machine, but under his own power. The air whispered past him, ruffling his robes with a gentle, thrilling touch. He rose smoothly, the world tilting as the top of the boulder drew nearer.

A moment later, his feet touched down on the sun-warmed stone. The landing was soft, controlled, even graceful.

Xu Kai stood there for a moment, a private victory buzzing under his skin. It was a small stunt, but the rush was real, a pure, uncomplicated joy he hadn't felt since waking up here.

It lasted about three seconds.

"Master! Stop zoning out!" Chen Xi's voice cut through his reverie like a knife.

His happy moment shattered. He froze, closing his eyes. His hands tightened into fists at his sides, all his focus going into not snapping at her.

'Does this girl have any sense of atmosphere at all?'

He opened his eyes. And smiled.

It wasn't a warm smile. Seeing it, Chen Xi felt the air around them grow inexplicably, unnaturally hot. A primal instinct blared in the back of her mind. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong. A single bead of sweat traced a path down her temple.

"Uh," she managed, her bravado vanishing.

"Chen Xi?" Xu Kai finally said. His voice was calm, but the single moment of silence before he spoke had felt like an eternity to her.

"Ye-Yes, Master?!" she squeaked, sitting up straighter. "Is something the matter?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to her with slow, deliberate steps. He stopped right in front of her crouched form.

"Mas— Ow!"

Before she could finish, his finger shot out, flicking her squarely on the forehead with a soft thok.

Chen Xi yelped, her hands flying to the spot.

"It hurts!"

"It wouldn't have if you'd held your tongue," Xu Kai said flatly.

"But what did I even say?!" she wailed, rubbing the reddening spot.

Xu Kai ignored her, turning his attention to their surroundings. He was standing atop a giant rock in the middle of what could only be described as a vast forest. Trees stretched in every direction, a sea of green so dense it swallowed the horizon. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and growing things, incredibly rich and cool in his lungs. It was oddly comforting.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Xi pouting, shooting him a glare that was more wounded puppy than actual threat. The expression was so genuinely, comically upset that his irritation evaporated. His heart did a funny little flip.

'Why does she have to be both completely crazy and disarmingly cute at the same time?'

He shook his head slightly, as if trying to dislodge the contradiction.

His gaze finally landed on the wooden bowl between them. The vivid green paste glistened ominously.

"And what," he asked, pointing a skeptical finger, "is this ridiculous green stuff?"

He had a strong feeling that anything presented by this particular disciple had a high probability of being utterly absurd.

"Master, be serious! Ridiculous? It is not ridiculous!" she huffed, her indignation momentarily overriding her pout. "Why do you always call it that? Are you looking down on my alchemical capabilities?"

'Yes,' Xu Kai replied inwardly. He wisely kept the thought to himself.

"What is it…" he asked again, carefully omitting the 'green thing' this time.

Pleased he hadn't insulted it, Chen Xi's expression brightened.

"This," she announced proudly, "is Swan Poison."

The word 'poison' hit Xu Kai like a physical blow. He took an involuntary step back, putting more distance between himself and the bowl. He had no intention of dying a second time, especially not before this new life had even properly begun.

Noticing his retreat, Chen Xi's smile widened into a grin.

"Don't worry, Master! In its current, mixed state, it's not poisonous to us cultivators."

Xu Kai relaxed a fraction, but one word stuck.

"Yet?"

"Yes, yet," she confirmed, nodding. "At this unfinished stage, it would only affect normal mortals and animals. A cultivator would just get… a very bad stomachache." She shrugged. "Diarrhea, mostly."

Xu Kai nodded slowly, the puzzle piece clicking into place. He finally understood the 'yet'.

Xu Kai eyed the green paste with wary curiosity. In this second life, no knowledge felt wasted.

"I'm getting curious about this poison," he admitted.

Chen Xi's face lit up.

"Very well, Master! Before the mixture, it was a leaf, a Swan Leaf. It's a vivid green, uniquely patterned. You can't miss it among ordinary leaves; it gives off a faint, detectable energy."

"Is the energy… poisonous?" Xu Kai asked, unable to keep the wariness from his voice.

Chen Xi chuckled, then leaned forward with a smug grin.

"Master, are you scared?"

"Why should I be?!" he shot back, too quickly.

"Because you usually are," she said, pouting dramatically. "Not about everything, but you've always been wary. Especially of anything your lovely disciple does."

'Even the original me was afraid of her?' Xu Kai thought, a slight shiver running down his spine. 'What in the world has this girl been doing?'

"But really," she continued, waving a dismissive hand, "you don't have to fear the leaf. Like I said, it's only dangerous to mortals right now. Not to us. Not until a cultivator finishes the process."

Xu Kai nodded, but the tension in his shoulders didn't fully ease.

"Is it finished?"

"No, not yet."

"Can you finish it?"

"I can, Master. That's why I still have it," she said with a shrug. "But it's very difficult. Herbalism isn't my strongest skill. I'm trying my best, though! Making progress!"

"Good job," Xu Kai said, the praise automatic.

"Thanks, Master!" Chen Xi beamed, her whole posture lifting at the simple words.

"So where did you find it? You didn't just stumble upon it and randomly decide to turn it into poison, did you?" The suspicion was back in his tone.

"Master! Do you still distrust everything I do? I'm a grown lady!" She added a loud 'hmph' for emphasis. "For your information, I couldn't afford a prepared leaf, so I searched the forest for one. I read the preparation method from a scroll I bought in a city main market."

With a flick of her wrist, a weathered scroll materialized in her hand, summoned from her Bag Of Withholding, Xu Kai presumed. She handed it to him.

He took it, eyeing the parchment as if it might bite.

"Are you sure this source is trustworthy? The main market has scammers too. They might get banned eventually, but that doesn't mean everyone there is honest."

He scanned the scroll briefly, dense script and crude diagrams of leaves and cauldrons, then handed it back. It vanished back into her Bag Of Withholding.

"I know, Master. But the seller was an old lady who specialized in this. She was quite famous for her herbal knowledge in her youth. I've bought lots of learning materials from her. You have, too. All of them were good. That's why I trusted her with this."

"If that's the case, then she must know her craft," Xu Kai conceded, the last of his doubt fading.

"She does!" Chen Xi chirped. "And she's really nice! She even gave me a discount!"

Xu Kai took a deep breath, the rich forest air filling his lungs. Time to cut to the chase.

"So, back to the main point. You didn't call me out here just to show me this. There's something else."

Chen Xi's playful expression melted away. Her face grew serious, all traces of the grinning girl gone.

"Yes, Master," she said, her voice dropping. "I actually want your support."

Xu Kai tilted his head.

"For what?"

She smiled then. But it wasn't her usual bright, silly grin. This was darker, sharper, a smile of pure, sinister intent. The smile of someone plotting something very dangerous.

Xu Kai didn't like it. Not one bit.

"In slaying a beast, of course."

 

[trashtaker]

Is the disciple retarded? Like is she genuinely asking an amnesiac to fight just like that?

 

[Aisoo_Star]

"A beast?!" Xu Kai repeated, the word hanging in the air between them.

Chen Xi gave a single nod.

He watched her face, searching for any hint of a joke. He found none. Her expression was deadly serious. Of all the things he'd braced for in this new life, being drafted into a monster hunt within the first hour was not on the list. Especially with a brain empty of practical knowledge.

"What beast are you planning to slay?" he asked, keeping his voice steady.

"A wolf."

"A wolf?" He almost laughed. The tension in his shoulders eased a fraction.

"Yes. A monstrous, deadly one," she clarified, her tone grave.

Xu Kai let out a quiet breath. His reply was laced with a nonchalance he didn't fully feel.

"It's just a wild animal. I'm certain you could kill it with your eyes closed and your limbs tied. So why do you need my help?"

He had a point. In his old world, a wolf was a genuine threat. Here, from cultivation fictions he'd read, ordinary wildlife was trivial to cultivators. Even the lowest among them could dispatch such creatures without breaking a sweat. It wouldn't be a fight; it would be pest control.

"No, Master. You're getting it wrong," Chen Xi said, shaking her head slowly. "It isn't a wild animal."

"Wrong?" he repeated, the ease fading. "It isn't?"

"No." Her eyes met his, unwavering. "It's a True Beast."

Xu Kai's brows lifted.

"A True Beast?" The term meant nothing to him, but her dismissal of 'wild animal' spoke volumes. This was something else. Something stronger. Dangerous enough that she hadn't tackled it alone. Dangerous enough to require his, or rather, her master's help. "What's that?"

"True Beasts," Chen Xi began, her voice dropping into a lecturing tone, "are exactly what the name suggests. They are the actual definition of 'beast.' Their capabilities are unmatched by any ordinary animal."

She leaned in, emphasizing her point.

"Just like cultivators overpower mortals in every way, True Beasts overpower ordinary beasts in every way. They start as animals, but prolonged exposure to dense spiritual energy changes them. They become… uh…"

"Superanimal," Xu Kai chimed in without thinking.

'Superanimal. Like a superhuman,'

The concept from his old world somehow fit oddly well here.

"Yes," Chen Xi accepted the term with a small shrug. "A Superanimal."

He wasn't sure if she grasped the exact meaning, but it didn't matter. The word was for him.

At that moment, Chen Xi's gaze drifted away, growing distant. It was the look of someone remembering something fond, something unrelated. She sighed, a soft, nostalgic sound.

"I remember that play you used to take me to watch when I was younger. It was about a—"

Xu Kai cut her off. He didn't know the story, and more importantly, he didn't care. It had nothing to do with the wolf or survival.

"Hey. Back to the point."

"Ah, yes. Sorry, Master," Chen Xi then folded her arms across her chest, a pout forming. "But you could have let me finish. It's a good story."

"Tell it when I have time to waste," he said flatly. "Right now, I don't."

He meant it. Time felt precious. Waking up in this world had ignited a sharp, greedy hunger for knowledge in him. He wanted to understand everything, the rules, the dangers, the power. Sitting here listening to childhood anecdotes wasn't on the agenda.

"Hmph. Serious as always," she rolled her eyes. "If you keep cutting off ladies like that, Master, you'll definitely end up dying single."

'Ack!'

The words were a physical blow. Xu Kai's breath left him in a quiet rush. He slowly brought a hand to his chest, feeling a phantom, piercing pain right over his heart.

'She has no idea,' he thought, the truth of it echoing bitterly.

He had died single in his previous life. To have the same fate casually prophesied for this one… it hit harder than any punch. The words themselves were the pain.

Chen Xi watched him from the corner of her eye and gulped. Her master's face had gone pale. His eyes were wide, staring into the middle distance as if witnessing his own bleak future flash before him.

Seeing the situation spiraling toward potential punishment, she steeled herself. She lifted her chin and plowed ahead, her tone forcibly bright, as if she'd said nothing more controversial than commenting on the weather.

"So, Master! As I was saying, because of the spiritual energy, they become Superanimals. Far more powerful, intelligent, and dangerous than ordinary beasts."

Xu Kai's head turned slowly. He fixed her with a glare so intense it could have scorched stone.

Chen Xi immediately looked straight ahead, avoiding his gaze as if avoiding a death ray. Which, in a way, she was.

With a monumental effort, Xu Kai let it go. Dragging that particular subject any further would only twist the knife. He forced his mind back to her explanation.

From what she'd said, a True Beast was just an ordinary animal's "I'm better" version. But not just a little better. A far better version. They absorbed spiritual energy, and it enhanced everything, strength, speed, senses, maybe even cunning.

But something still felt crucial to clarify.

"Can they… perform energy blasts? Or something like that?" Xu Kai asked.

From her description, it didn't seem likely, she probably would have mentioned it to him, but Xu Kai saw no harm in checking. The last thing he needed, fresh into this new life, was to face a wolf that could pulverize steel and fire off Ki-blasts like a certain anime character.

Chen Xi, oblivious to his internal dread, shook her head.

"No, they can't."

'Good.'

True Beasts couldn't hurl energy projectiles. Their threat was physical, enhanced muscle, speed, ferocity. That was manageable. Or at least, it felt less cosmically terrifying to Xu Kai.

Xu Kai sat back, his gaze sweeping the dense, endless green around them.

"What is this place, anyway?"

Chen Xi hesitated. A beat too long.

"Uh… this place is called Lud Forest, Master."

"A forest?" he repeated, the word flat.

She gave a reluctant nod, unable to meet his eyes.

"So we're in a forest," he said, his voice carefully controlled. "Where monsters are literally our neighbors. Are we lost?"

"No! Not at all!" she waved her hands in a frantic, dismissive gesture. "We're not lost."

"Then why are we here?"

"Uh…"

A single bead of sweat traced a path down Chen Xi's temple. Her face flushed a deep, brilliant red. She looked anywhere but at him, her eyes darting to the trees, the sky, the rock beneath them.

In that moment, a vivid, cringe-inducing flashback assaulted her. She saw herself, pleading, begging, wailing. She'd desperately wanted to leave their peaceful, safe home for the thrill and resources of the forest. Her master had refused. Over and over.

No amount of crying had worked. Not the flattery, not the, flimsy, logical arguments, not the constant shadowing, not the outright refusal to do her chores, not even the times she'd physically latched onto his leg like a stubborn toddler, refusing to let go until he agreed.

He'd always given the same calm, firm answer: The forest is too dangerous. The threats are unpredictable. We are not yet strong enough.

But she'd been dead set. Obsessed.

The campaigns had grown more desperate, more outrageous. And finally, worn down by the relentless siege, her master had sighed. He'd looked at the sky as if asking for strength.

And he had given in.

"Are you okay?" Xu Kai asked, watching her sudden transformation into a flustered, tomato-red statue.

"Y-Yes! I'm perfectly fine, Master!" Chen Xi's voice was an octave too high. She let out a nervous laugh, her eyes still firmly locked on a particularly interesting knot in the wood grain of the rock.

The embarrassment was bad, but confessing the whole, ridiculous story would be infinitely worse.

'What should I say?'

The idea to lie flickered through her mind. She lied to her master sometimes, when she had no other choice. But he always knew. He could read her like a simple children's scroll, and getting caught always came with a special package: punishment.

Now was different, though. He'd lost his memories. That sharp, knowing gaze might be gone. He might not see through a lie now.

The temptation was sweet. But she pushed it away.

'Not worth it. Betting weeks of punishment-free existence on a single fib? Over something this silly? No. Even amnesiac, he was still him.'

Xu Kai stared, dumbfounded, waiting for an answer to a perfectly reasonable question.

"We-well," she stammered, drawing out the word. "How we ended up here is… a veeery long story."

'Please don't like long stories. Please don't like long stories,' she prayed silently, squeezing her eyes shut for a second.

The original Xu Kai hated long stories, especially from her. He only demanded detailed explanations when she'd caused a disaster. Otherwise, he preferred brevity.

But this Xu Kai was different. She didn't know how different, but losing all your memories had to change a person. All she could do was hope the aversion to rambling had survived the memory wipe.

Xu Kai didn't answer right away. He just watched her, the fidgeting, the avoidance, the sheer depth of her awkwardness. Pushing further on this clearly felt like poking a beehive. The question wasn't that important anyway. Whatever had happened, it had reduced his formidable disciple to a stammering mess. He should probably let it go.

He should.

But then, a tiny, mischievous impulse stirred. A bad idea, pure and simple, surfaced.

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips.

He leaned forward, closing the space between them.

"Well, you're in luck," he voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone. "Because I like long stories." He paused for effect. "Very long stories."

He was going to push. Just to see what happened.

At that moment, Chen Xi froze. All the blood seemed to drain from her face, leaving her pale.

The sight satisfied the little spark of mischief in Xu Kai. For Chen Xi, however, it was a disaster.

His reply short-circuited her brain. A terrifying thought dawned.

'Is he teasing me?'

That was… unusual. Most of the time, she was the one doing the teasing. On the rare occasions the roles reversed, her master's teasing was a surgical strike, precise, effective, and deeply unsettling.

'No,' she told herself desperately. 'He can't be. If he were teasing, he'd be wearing that devilish grin.'

But—

She realized she hadn't actually looked at his face. Slowly, dread pooling in her stomach, she turned her head.

'No.'

He was grinning. It was a small, smug, utterly wicked thing. And in that moment, she knew the heavens had abandoned her.

That grin was a signature. A declaration of war. He didn't go out of his way to find ammo against her, but when life handed him a situation, especially one of her own making, he would weaponize it. It was his preferred method of payback for all the chaos she'd ever caused.

"M-Ma-Master?!" she stammered, her voice a thin squeak.

"What's the matter?" Xu Kai replied. His tone was calm, perfectly innocent.

But he wasn't innocent. He knew she was sitting on something deeply embarrassing, and he was going to dig it out. His inner imp was thoroughly enjoying her squirming. She was so easy to fluster. For now, the power was his.

Some deeper, wiser part of him whispered that this would likely come back to bite him. Hard. But he pushed the thought aside.

He'd savor this victory first. Regret could come later.

"N-Nothing… Master," she managed, looking everywhere but at him.

"That's a relief," Xu Kai said, his voice dripping with faux concern. "Your sudden change scared me for a moment."

"Th-There's no need to worry."

"Good. So, now that's settled," he said, leaning in again, his grin widening just a fraction. "Back to the question."

Chen Xi stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. The set of his jaw, the glint in his eye, it was a wall. There was no escape.

The heavens had truly, utterly betrayed her.

"Well…" Chen Xi began, the word dragging out miserably. "Master… it was my idea to come here."

Xu Kai's brows lifted.

"Your idea?"

"Yes. I… convinced you for us to move here."

He nodded slowly, a thought clicking into place.

'Expected. Who else is crazy enough to choose a monster-infested forest as a home?'

"And I accepted?" he finally asked.

"…Ye-yes. You did," she mumbled, studying a crack in the rock.

"Why?" His voice was flat. "Staying in a forest like this, with beasts that rival cultivators, seems to have more risks than rewards."

Chen Xi shook her head, a flicker of defensiveness returning.

"I convinced you, Master. With reasonable proof. That's why you agreed."

It was a half-truth. She'd provided some reasons, but the real persuasion had been a sustained campaign of sheer, relentless nagging.

"So you're saying living here has more advantages?" Xu Kai pressed, skepticism dripping from every word.

She gave a firm nod.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well, Master," she started, shifting her posture. "If you don't remember… you spent more time on crafting, alchemy and other things than on actual cultivation." Her expression darkened for a fleeting second. "That was due to reasons you never told me. I had my suspicions, but I could never be sure. Whenever I asked, you'd just… lie to me."

"How did you know I was lying?"

Chen Xi threw her hands up.

"Master, seriously? I've been with you since I was a little girl! You practically raised me. Of course I'd know when you were lying!"

"Ah. Makes sense," he conceded. "So there's no way for you to find out what you were curious about?"

She shook her head, the frustration evident in the slump of her shoulders.

"No. No way. And now… now all hope of learning about it is gone. Because you don't remember any of it either."

 

[Xcell]

Hmmm is this story supposed to be some sort of comedy? As that's the impression I get from the intro but there's no tag for it. Also felt the story premise was one of the more tame ideas for an xianxia and most of the other story ideas were really weird or the titles made them sound like retarded power fantasies with no real substance. Also the intro kind of made the story sound boring as it just feels like a dozen other xianxia novels I've seen. Personally I find the more unique ideas more interesting as long as they're not too crazy or weird. As I was kind of hoping to find some kind of tinker or tech uplift xianxia. But I was thinking about reading this though if it was supposed to be comedic.

 

[Aisoo_Star]

Hmmm is this story supposed to be some sort of comedy? As that's the impression I get from the intro but there's no tag for it. Also felt the story premise was one of the more tame ideas for an xianxia and most of the other story ideas were really weird or the titles made them sound like retarded power fantasies with no real substance. Also the intro kind of made the story sound boring as it just feels like a dozen other xianxia novels I've seen. Personally I find the more unique ideas more interesting as long as they're not too crazy or weird. As I was kind of hoping to find some kind of tinker or tech uplift xianxia. But I was thinking about reading this though if it was supposed to be comedic.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for trying it out (^^)

And yes it's comedy, I just didn't put the tag.

 

[Aisoo_Star]

The silence stretched between them, growing thick and uncomfortable. At least for Xu Kai. Chen Xi seemed lost in her own world, staring into the middle distance as if trying to solve a puzzle that had haunted her for years.

Which Xu Kai knew would be impossible, because whatever secret the original Xu Kai had carried, she had probably been chasing about since childhood. And she'd never cracked it.

He cleared his throat.

"So. How does me spending more time on things other than cultivation relate to living in a forest?"

Chen Xi snapped back to the present, blinking.

"For resources!" she said, as if the answer were written in the sky.

"Resources?" He wasn't following.

"Yes, resources." She sat up straighter, gaining confidence. "The forest is one of the best, easiest places to find materials for whatever you want to make."

She raised a hand, ticking off points.

"Special forests, especially. And Lud Forest is a prime example. It's packed with useful things."

"It's not like gathering in a forest is automatically easier," Xu Kai countered.

"But it is! I found my Swan Leaf deep in the forest, and on the way, I barely faced any threats." She leaned forward, warming to her topic. "Lud Forest is massive. The opportunities are huge, which means a lot of good materials. And did I mention it's Qi abundant?"

Xu Kai raised an eyebrow.

"With all that," she continued, "it's one of the easiest options. Well, it depends on what you're after. If you want to play it safe, you stick to the basics."

Xu Kai nodded slowly.

"That's just called being basic. And trust me, nobody wants to settle for basic things their whole life."

"I know, Master." Her voice shifted, gaining an edge he couldn't quite place. "But you have to consider the risk. Some cultivators pursue power to live forever. Not to die forever."

Xu Kai just stared at her.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't shocked.

For the first time since waking up in this body, his disciple had said something that made perfect sense. Logical. Practical. Even wise.

His hand moved to his chin as he studied her.

'This development is way too fast.'

And for someone like her, someone who forgot his amnesia two seconds after being reminded, who threw tantrums over forgotten names, who dragged them to a monster forest for reasons she couldn't explain—

'This level of insight was… utterly impossible.'

Xu Kai's light-hearted thoughts were a sharp contrast to the storm brewing behind Chen Xi's eyes.

Since she'd known him, probably even before he found her, her master rarely caught a break. Almost every waking moment, he was working on things her little brain couldn't comprehend. He was like someone trying everything, excelling at everything. She was certain there wasn't a single craft or skill he hadn't mastered.

And yes, he seemed to enjoy it. But she still wished he'd rest. Just once.

He'd embark on journeys to collect materials, and those journeys were anything but safe. Sometimes she'd get furious at him for attempting such dangerous missions, for not prioritizing his own safety.

Each time, he'd simply say he had to do it for his own good. She never understood what that meant. And he never explained, just told her, every time she asked, that it wasn't yet time to share.

She hated that. Hated that he kept things from her, handled everything alone. If he'd just let her in, maybe she could help. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, she was the only person he had, and she knew he trusted her completely. But for reasons she couldn't fathom, he believed some things were better left unsaid. Especially to someone important.

Her master focused on everything but cultivation. It might have looked like he'd given up, but Chen Xi knew better. He hadn't given up. He was doing what needed to be done for his cultivation. He just refused to explain why.

He always warned her not to follow his path. Focus on cultivating, he'd say. Focus on your own goals. He'd handle the rest. And he did, he supported her completely.

But Chen Xi was Chen Xi. She didn't listen. She couldn't help admiring him, the man who was practically like her father, and the incredible, flashy things he created. Sometimes she'd steal his learning materials, desperate to be like him.

It was always a spectacular failure. Chen Xi was too dumb for complex things like that.

But she never gave up. She kept searching for easier methods.

Her attempts often felt pointless, because her master simply gave her most of what he made anyway. And that was the core of it. That was why her chest tightened every time she remembered.

He risked his life for rare, dangerous materials. And then he'd turn around and craft something for her out of them. Almost every single time.

Whenever she tried to protest, he'd shut her off with a simple word: 'You're important to me. Why wouldn't I do it?'

Chen Xi's expression shifted. She'd been talking nonstop, but now, silence.

She wasn't okay

He knew she wasn't. But he didn't pry. Asking someone what they were thinking felt... rude. Intrusive. Whatever was going on in that head of hers, the worry etched into her features was plain enough.

He should do something. Calm her down. Except he had no idea how. He knew nothing about her, nothing about their history, nothing about what caused that look.

So he stopped thinking. His hand rose, almost on its own, and settled gently on top of her head. He stroked her hair, slow and steady.

Chen Xi blinked. The distant fog in her eyes cleared. She looked at him, and smiled.

Xu Kai breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She wasn't upset. She wasn't pulling away. Whatever he'd done, it had worked.

'Didn't know I had it in me,' he thought, a flicker of pride warming his chest.

Then he noticed something else. Her hair was impossibly soft. Silky smooth beneath his fingers. The kind of soft that made you want to keep touching it forever.

For a moment, he seriously considered abandoning his plans to extract information from her. Just sitting here, stroking her hair, seemed like a perfectly valid way to spend the rest of the day.

'No. Priorities.' He reluctantly reminded himself there were things he needed to learn. Important things.

'But... maybe just a little longer.'

He closed his eyes, savoring the moment. The warmth of the sun, the cool forest air, the absurd softness of his disciple's hair—

A sound. Close. Familiar... A snore!

His eyes snapped open.

Chen Xi was... asleep!

Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and even, her head tilted slightly to the side. She looked peaceful. Completely, utterly unconscious.

Xu Kai stared, dumbfounded.

He was the one who'd nearly died. The one who'd woken up in a stranger's body. The one drowning in confusion and danger and a disciple who defied all logic.

He was the one who needed sleep. Not her.

Xu Kai exhaled slowly, watching his disciple's peaceful sleeping face. He should wake her. Kindly.

He considered ruffling her hair, a gentle shake to bring her back. But his hand stopped mid-motion.

'I can't. Not this hair,' he thought. 'It was too soft. Too perfect. Ruffling it would be a crime against nature itself.'

Then a different method occurred to him. A much kinder one.

'I'm sorry,' he apologized inwardly.

He withdrew his hand from her head. His finger moved to her forehead. And flicked.

"Snore—Aww!"

Chen Xi jolted awake with a yelp like a dying goat, both hands flying to the reddening spot on her forehead. Her eyes snapped open, shooting daggers at him.

"Master—!"

Before she could form a full protest, Xu Kai raised a hand, cutting her off.

"Sleeping while having a discussion with your master is disrespectful, disciple. Don't you know that?"

Chen Xi's mouth opened to retort, but he cut her off again with a raised palm.

"However. I'll let this slide. Just this once." His voice dropped, taking on a grave tone. "Do it again, and I'll assign you a serious punishment."

The daggers in her eyes vanished. In their place, pure terror.

A flashback hit her like a wave, countless punishments over the years. Too many to count. Each one worse than the last.

She looked away quickly, her gaze dropping to the rock beneath them.

Xu Kai allowed himself a small, internal smirk. The nonsense he'd just pulled from thin air had actually worked.

Then he heard it. Low. Almost imperceptible.

"I'll get my revenge."

Xu Kai laughed inwardly, brushing it off.

'What could she possibly do? Throw a tantrum? Withhold information? Please.'

Then he saw it.

A slow, creeping grin spreading across Chen Xi's face. Devilish. Wicked. Full of intent.

His internal laugh died.

'Maybe I should just apologize.'

The grin widened. Whatever was brewing in that chaotic mind of hers had clearly passed the point of no return.

Xu Kai watched in growing alarm as she seemed to descend deeper into her own scheming. If he let this continue, she might achieve some kind of dark enlightenment.

He needed to act. Now.

"So this True Beast," he began, steering the conversation back to practical matters. "Why do you want to kill it?"

He'd read enough cultivation stories in his past life to know the usual reasons. Resources. Materials. Breakthroughs. Territory. Subjugation. Vengeance. Specialized paths. The list went on.

"Revenge," Chen Xi said. Her voice was flat, her expression serious.

"R-Revenge?!" Xu Kai blinked, certain he'd misheard.

She nodded.

'Is this girl's middle name revenge?' His internal voice was spiraling. 'Why is she so fixated on getting even with everything?'

Chen Xi didn't just get revenge, she got worse. If someone wronged her, she returned the favor tenfold. And now she wanted to apply that philosophy to a wolf.

Xu Kai needed context.

"Why revenge on the wolf?"

At his question, her head dropped slightly. Her expression darkened, jaw tightening. She gritted her teeth.

"That darn wolf!" Her fist clenched, knuckles whitening. Then her voice softened, cracking at the edges. Her eyes glistened. "It... It ate my friend."

Xu Kai's eyes widened.

'It ate her friend.'

All his assumptions crumbled. He'd thought she was chasing resources or glory, some reckless impulse that put them both at risk. But this...

He understood now. If someone, something, killed someone you cared about, devoured them like prey... revenge wasn't just an option. It was a necessity.

His expression hardened.

The wolf deserved what was coming. Some things couldn't be forgiven. Some things couldn't be forgotten.

Xu Kai watched Chen Xi, her face drawn with a sadness that looked years old. He waited, then asked quietly.

"So how did you lose your friend?"

She was silent for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was distant.

"He was with me when it happened." She swallowed. "One moment we were together. I went inside to get something. When I came back..." Her hands gripped her robes. "He was already halfway down the wolf's throat."

'Halfway swallowed. Just like that,' Xu Kai's stomach turned. 'The wolf must be enormous. Big enough to treat a person like a bite-sized snack.'

A sudden image flashed through his mind, massive jaws, rows of teeth, a single gulp. He pushed it away.

'Maybe we should reconsider this.'

He'd never encountered anything capable of eating a human whole. The thought of facing such a creature made his newly acquired cultivation feel very, very small. He wasn't eager to share his predecessor's fate, or his disciple's friend's.

The sensible part of his brain screamed at him to speak up. To tell Chen Xi that rushing into revenge now was a mistake. That they needed time. Preparation. That walking into that wolf's territory right now was a great way to become morning snacks.

The words sat on his tongue, ready. But they wouldn't come out.

'How do you tell someone to wait, to be patient, when their friend was eaten?'

He wasn't saying never. Just not yet. Just give him time to figure out his body, to learn to fight, to actually be useful. He was technically stronger than the beast, but technically meant nothing when he doesn't even know how to use spells, or cultivate.

'But did Chen Xi have that kind of patience?'

She'd clearly been holding onto this for a while. Telling her to wait longer felt cruel. Insulting, even. Like her friend's memory didn't matter enough to act now.

But another life is at stake here. His. Hers.

Xu Kai exhaled slowly, the weight of it settling on his shoulders.

He'd have to find the right moment, and the right words to tell her soon.

Xu Kai studied her for a moment, then asked softly.

"So what was your friend's name?"

"Skinny!" Chen Xi's answer came instantly, bright despite the circumstances.

"Ah. Skinny." Xu Kai nodded, forming a mental picture. "Must have been a really thin person to earn that name."

"Yeah, he's super skinny!" Chen Xi agreed. Then her eyes lit up with recollection. "Actually, I think I have an image of Skinny in my Bag of Withholdings."

She plunged her hand into her storage treasure, rummaging with the focus of someone searching for buried treasure. After a moment of serious digging, she produced a small photograph and held it out proudly.

Xu Kai took it.

He looked at the image. He looked at Chen Xi. He looked at the image again.

Then he laughed.

"Funny," he said, still chuckling, handing it back. "You gave me the wrong photo."

Chen Xi didn't take it. She just stared at him, then at the photo, then back at him.

"I didn't."

Xu Kai's smile faltered. He frowned, bringing the image closer to his face, as if sheer proximity would transform it into something else.

It didn't.

"This isn't the right image," he said slowly. "This is... something else."

Chen Xi shook her head firmly.

"No. That's Skinny. It's the right photo."

Xu Kai looked again, then he laughed. But this time, the laughter turned strange. His eyes began to water. Tears formed, then fell.

'I've lost my mind. That's it. I've officially, completely, utterly lost my mind.'

"Skinny," he choked out, voice cracking, "is a chicken?!"

 

[Aisoo_Star]

Xu Kai stared at the image. What stared back wasn't a person. Wasn't a common pet. Wasn't even a jade beauty, like he'd somehow expected.

It was a chicken.

But not just any chicken. This was a chicken that made you question reality.

The bird was quite tall, and thin. So thin. Skinny, true to its name. Its bones pressed against red skin like it hadn't eaten in months. And most disturbing of all? It was completely featherless.

'Eating this wouldn't feel like a sin,' Xu Kai thought, horrified. 'It would BE a sin.'

Even the most heartless person on earth would take one look at this creature and order a salad.

Chen Xi tilted her head, confused by his reaction.

"Yes? I thought I mentioned that."

"Such a hideous monster!" Xu Kai laughed, though the laughter was unsteady. He couldn't stop staring.

'What had this chicken done to deserve this existence?'

"Master, it's not a monster. It's a chicken. Like you said."

Xu Kai pointed a shaking finger at the photograph.

"This is a chicken? I take it back. Chickens are edible. But this?" His voice rose. "Heavens! Such a poor, unfortunate soul! What did you feed it? Weeds?!"

"Oh, that." Chen Xi's face cleared with understanding. He wasn't questioning whether it was a chicken. He was questioning the lack of... everything. "I actually feed it properly. The feathers, though... that was something else."

Xu Kai latched onto the words.

"Something else?" His eyes narrowed. "You mean this was caused by something you did? This is chicken abuse!"

'I never thought I'd witness chicken abuse in my lifetime,' he thought, taking a small shift back. He eyed Chen Xi like she might be contagious. 'Even a demon wouldn't do this.'

Chen Xi shifted uncomfortably. She had the distinct feeling her master was mentally categorizing her as some kind of crazy demon.

He was. But that wasn't all.

Xu Kai was also genuinely worried for his own safety. If she could do that to a chicken, reduce it to a featherless, skeletal nightmare, what might she do to him?

He imagined himself bald. Skin stretched over bone. A walking skeleton with no hair.

He shuddered.

"Wait, Master! I can explain!" Chen Xi threw her hands up defensively.

It didn't help. If anything, it made him more suspicious. How could anyone explain this?

"I actually feed it more than I'm supposed to!" she insisted.

"More?" Xu Kai's voice dripped with skepticism. "And it still looks like that? Are you feeding a black hole?"

"Master, I'm serious! You even told me to give it less so it wouldn't die of obesity!" Her voice pitched higher, desperate. "As for why Skinny isn't fat and has no feathers..." She hesitated, her eyes darting away. "I... did it accidentally. It's not exactly my fault. It just... happened."

Xu Kai stared at her.

"Just happened? Like that?"

"Not exactly like that." She paused, chewing her lip. "It was caused by what I... gave it."

"Weed?" Xu Kai offered flatly.

"No! No, not that." She shook her head vigorously. "It was... something else."

Xu Kai's patience snapped.

"Spit it out! What was it?"

Chen Xi took a breath. Then another. The story tumbled out in a rush.

"It started as a normal chicken. Like any other. Had all its feathers. Not too fat, but it would've made a decent meal." She glanced at him, then away. "Initially, it was bought to deal with the loneliness in my stomach. But since you banned me from cooking, I had to wait for you. You weren't home."

Xu Kai nodded slowly, waiting.

"I got bored. Really bored. So I wandered around, looking for something to do. And I found this pill you'd thrown away. Looked like a failed project. Or something you forgot. I don't know." She shrugged helplessly. "I was curious. Thought about eating it, but my instincts screamed no. So I needed something else to test it on."

Her voice grew smaller.

"I considered finding something in the forest. But that would take time. Finding it. Subduing it. And... why bother when I had a perfectly good test subject right there?"

Xu Kai's jaw tightened.

"I gave it the pill. Waited. Nothing happened. After a while, I gave up and went inside for a snack." She swallowed hard. "When I came back out, there was a featherless, skinny chicken where mine used to be. At first I thought it was a stray. It looked so pitiful I shared my snack with it. Then I realized, it was in the exact same spot. And I'd given it that pill right before I left."

She finally met his eyes.

"There were no other chickens around. It couldn't have survived a minute in the forest. So... yeah. That's how it happened."

Xu Kai didn't react as Chen Xi spoke. Didn't move. Didn't blink. Just listened until the very end.

She finished. Waited. Let the silence stretch while he processed her very long, very unbelievable explanation.

"So that's what happened," Xu Kai finally said.

"Yep!" Chen Xi nodded, bright and unbothered.

"So Skinny's condition was caused by a pill I made and threw away."

She nodded again.

Xu Kai sat with that for a moment. His suspicion shifted, redistributing itself. At first, he'd placed all the blame on Chen Xi. But now? Now he saw it differently.

Half the fault was hers. The other half belonged to the original Xu Kai.

He should have disposed of that pill properly. Especially knowing he had an adventurous disciple who poked her nose into everything. That pill could have hurt her. Could have killed her. Instead, it turned a chicken into a featherless skeleton.

But Chen Xi's part in this? Taking an unknown pill, a discarded one at that, and feeding it to a living creature? That was dangerously stupid.

What if the effect had been worse? What if she'd touched it and it dissolved into her skin? What if she'd swallowed it by accident?

The thought made his stomach turn.

"Chen." His voice was firm. "Next time, don't touch anything you don't understand. Got it?"

Chen Xi's bright expression dimmed slightly at the sudden lecture, but she nodded.

"If you'd taken that pill yourself, or if it had a weak outer layer and burst on contact, you could have ended up just like Skinny." He let that sink in. "Or worse."

She nodded again. Didn't argue. Didn't deflect.

The truth was, the original Xu Kai had already scolded her for this. Right after the Skinny incident, apparently. So his words weren't new. The message was the same, even if the delivery differed.

Instead of looking down, Chen Xi smiled.

'Even with no memories,' she thought, 'he still cares. He's still worried about me.'

That warmth spread through her chest, pushing aside the lecture.

"Don't worry, Master!" She beamed, sitting up straight. "I, Chen Xi, will obey your words!"

Xu Kai blinked.

For some reason, some inexplicable, instinctive reason, a chill ran down his spine.

He didn't know why.

Xu Kai opened his mouth to continue the lecture, but Chen Xi held up a hand.

"But, uh, Master. I just remembered something." She scratched her cheek. "The pill wasn't exactly trashed. It was planned to be trashed. Since you deemed it useless. But you wanted to see it complete first, so you left it out for some time."

Xu Kai frowned.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You told me after. It was a pill that needed sunlight to finish. Had to stay outside." She shrugged.

Xu Kai sighed. That made sense. But still, the original Xu Kai bore some responsibility. He could have shielded it. Could have warned his disciple.

"Still," Xu Kai said, "it was exposed without protection or instruction. That doesn't change anything."

Chen Xi tilted her head, confused.

"Uh, Master. You did protect it. You just didn't tell me."

Xu Kai blinked.

"Huh?!"

"Well..." Chen Xi shifted, suddenly interested in a loose thread on her sleeve. "You set up a protection spell around it. But..."

"But what?" Xu Kai pressed, a bad feeling creeping up his spine.

"The defensive spell was weird." She peeked at him through her lashes. "So I kind of... misunderstood it."

Xu Kai stared.

"Huh?!"

"It shot needles at anyone who tried to touch it. Except you, obviously." She rubbed the back of her neck, voice dropping to a mumble. "And I... sort of thought that was a challenge. Like, to prove I was worthy of the pill."

Xu Kai's mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

He opened it again.

Still nothing.

All this time, he'd blamed the original Xu Kai. Assumed he'd been careless. Reckless. But the man had done everything right. Protection spell. Clear intent to finish the experiment safely.

And his disciple had looked at a needle-shooting defense mechanism and thought, 'Ooh, a challenge.'

Xu Kai closed his eyes.

'I'm sorry,' he apologized silently to the man whose body he now occupied. 'I misjudged you.'

When he opened his eyes, Chen Xi was watching him nervously, like a cat waiting to see if it would be scolded or fed.

He had no words left.

None at all.

Xu Kai pressed his palm to his forehead. The headache was building, spreading from behind his eyes to wrap around his skull like a vice.

He stood slowly. If he stayed here any longer, he might actually die. For real this time.

"I'm leaving. Going to get some rest." His voice was flat, drained.

"Master!" Chen Xi's eyes went wide. "But what about getting revenge on the vile wolf that ate Skinny?"

'Vile wolf?' Xu Kai repeated inwardly. 'Well. The wolf was vile. Eating a chicken like that? Did it have no standards?'

"That can be discussed another time..." He let the sentence trail off.

'...Because if I keep talking to you, you might lose your master again.'

Chen Xi's expression shifted. Her eyes narrowed with determination.

"No!"

Before Xu Kai could react, she lunged. Her arms wrapped around his leg just as he prepared to descend from the rock.

"Chen Xi!" He wobbled, arms flailing for balance. "Let go! I can barely stand, I might fall!"

"No, Master! We have to discuss this now!"

"I refuse!" He shook his leg, trying to dislodge her. She clung tighter, a human barnacle.

"I refuse your refusal!"

Xu Kai stopped moving. He stared down at her, at the ridiculous sight of his disciple wrapped around his calf like a desperate toddler.

He sighed.

'This is going nowhere.'

"Fine." The word barely left his mouth before Chen Xi's face lit up. "But on certain conditions."

Her brightness dimmed.

"What conditions, Master?"

He held up one finger.

"First: we don't fight it now. Not too late, but not too soon. We need time to prepare. Especially me." A second finger rose. "Second: you need to get stronger first. The wolf is on your level, not higher. Am I right?"

Chen Xi nodded slowly.

"It's higher." She paused, then added, "I'm a rank seven Qi Condensation cultivator. The wolf is a rank ten True Beast. The last rank."

Xu Kai stared at her.

'Are you insane?'

The words nearly escaped. He bit them back.

Rank seven against rank ten. Three whole ranks above her. That wasn't a fight, that was suicide.

'No wonder she needs help.'

"Master." Chen Xi's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "When you say 'we'... you don't actually mean we're both fighting it together, right?"

Xu Kai frowned.

"That's exactly what I mean. Isn't that what you meant by needing my 'support'?"

Chen Xi chuckled. It was a light sound, almost embarrassed.

"Master, I think you misunderstood. Sorry if I wasn't clear." She loosened her grip on his leg but didn't let go entirely. "I didn't mean for you to fight with me. That would be overkill. Bullying, actually." She grinned. "I meant your support as in... watching. Evaluating my performance. Making sure your lovely disciple doesn't meet the afterlife too early. You know, help if things get out of hand."

'She wants to fight it herself. She just wants me there as backup,' Xu Kai processed. 'This girl is beyond insane!'

"So you want revenge. Yourself. And you need me to watch so you don't die young."

Chen Xi nodded, beaming.

Xu Kai looked at her, at the earnest hope in her eyes, the stubborn set of her jaw, the way she still clung to his leg like he might float away.

He exhaled.

"Fine."

Xu Kai didn't bother trying to talk her out of it. He knew Chen Xi was dead set on fighting the wolf herself.

But that didn't stop him from using another approach.

A slight grin tugged at his lips, barely noticeable.

"That just strengthens my second condition." He held up two fingers. "You are to reach rank nine or ten in three months. If you can't? No revenge. I won't allow it. Understood?"

It was the best method he could think of. Also the stupidest. But it might work.

'At the very least, she'll hesitate. Or quit. Or complain. And then I hit her with the final move.'

He'd done the math. Chen Xi was probably under twenty. In all those years, she'd only reached rank seven. Cultivation here wasn't easy. It was slow. Grinding.

Telling her to jump three ranks in three months? Impossible.

If she disagreed, he'd already made it clear: no fight.

Either way, she was trapped. No suicidal wolf battle. He had to save her. By any means necessary.

He knew it sounded heartless. The chicken was her friend. This would hurt.

But his plan wasn't to let the wolf go free. If he succeeded in making her give up, he'd spend whatever time needed mastering this body. Its powers. Its limits. Then he'd kill the wolf himself. Without her knowing. Or maybe let her watch, if that helped.

Not that he understood revenge. It wouldn't bring the dead back. But Chen Xi wanted it. So he'd help.

Besides. The wolf was a monster. Leaving it alive meant future threat. To them. To others.

"I understand," Chen Xi said. No hesitation.

Xu Kai blinked.

"Exactly now you—what?!"

'She agreed?'

'That wasn't part of the plan. Impossible things were supposed to be... impossible.'

"I said I agree to your conditions, Master." Her voice was steady.

"Are you sure?" He leaned forward, searching her face for the catch.

"Yes." Determination burned in her eyes. No wavering. No trick.

Xu Kai nodded slowly.

He didn't know if she agreed because she could actually do it. Or because she just thought she could.

Either way, it wasn't his problem now.

Simple math. If she made it? She fights. If she doesn't? She doesn't. The choice was hers.

He glanced down at her arms and legs still wrapped around his calf.

"So since you agree..." He raised an eyebrow. "Can I go now?"

"Ah!" Chen Xi looked down at herself. Her face flushed deep red. She released him immediately, scrambling back. "Yes, Master! Sorry!"

Xu Kai stepped free, rolling his shoulder.

"Thanks."

He didn't look back as he descended from the rock.

Behind him, Chen Xi sat in embarrassed silence, already calculating how to do the impossible.


------
A/N: Guess what? We're now on Royal Road!

I'm so pumped to share this story with a new audience, and I'd love for you to be a part of that. If you have a moment, please pop over to Royal Road and give the story a follow or a rating. It's the best way to support me as a writer and helps other readers discover the adventure.

My Disciple Is Crazy | Royal Road

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[Aisoo_Star]

The aroma curled through the air like smoke from a sacred fire, rich, savory, impossible to resist. It wrapped around Chen Xi's senses, pulling her forward before she even realized her feet were moving.

She stood frozen for a moment, captivated by the feast laid out before her. Steam rose from each dish in lazy spirals, carrying promises of flavors she could almost taste just by breathing them in.

Her throat tightened. Her mouth watered.

'This,' she thought, 'this is what heaven must smell like.'

She walked toward the table as if pulled by invisible strings. When she reached it, she sank onto the seat, her eyes wide and shining, like she'd stumbled upon the only beautiful thing life had ever bothered to offer her.

Chen Xi closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

The scent flooded her lungs, rich and warm, and she felt her cheeks flush. Her mind went blissfully blank for a moment, no thoughts, no worries, just the pure, simple pleasure of wanting.

When she opened her eyes again, she smiled.

Her hand moved toward the chopsticks, fingers trembling with anticipation. She could wait no longer. The food sat there, waiting, and she—

She reached out—

"CHEN XI!"

Her eyes flew open.

White. Nothing but white stretched above her. The ceiling, or what passed for one in their home. Their home, which was really just a tent. An abnormal tent, sure, but still. A tent.

She blinked once. Twice.

The dream evaporated like morning mist, leaving behind nothing but the cold, dull gray of reality.

Chen Xi let her gaze drift across her room. The same walls. The same mattress beneath her. The same everything she'd looked at a thousand times before, each object so familiar it had become invisible.

Her eyes finally settled back on the ceiling.

"So it was all a dream," she whispered.

The words hung in the air, flat and hollow.

For a long moment, she didn't move. Didn't breathe. She just lay there, feeling the phantom taste of that imagined food still clinging to her tongue, and the absence of it settling like a stone in her chest.

Then, very quietly, she felt the urge to commit murder.

She turned her head toward the door, her glare sharp enough to cut through it if she'd had the ability. Her master stood somewhere beyond it, she could sense him there, the cause of her waking, the thief who had stolen her feast.

'Why,' she thought, her jaw tightening, 'why is Master here?'

It wasn't as though this was the first time. He'd woken her before. Sometimes she was the one waking him when he overslept. That was how things worked between them, an unspoken balance, give and take.

But this time? This time was different.

She lay still, replaying the dream in her mind. The steam. The scent. The way her heart had raced with such simple, pure anticipation. She'd been right there, chopsticks in hand, about to taste—

Her fingers curled into fists against the blanket.

She had never, never, ruined one of his beautiful sleeps the way he had just ruined hers.

Never.

Chen Xi wiped the drool from her mouth with her sleeve, her frown deepening.

"This is absurd!" she grumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. "It should be illegal."

She sat up slowly, her movements stiff with resentment. She pushed the blanket aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor.

Somewhere beyond her room, she heard the faint sounds of movement, her master, probably, waiting for her to emerge. Oblivious. Innocent. Alive.

She glared at the door.

If looks could kill, her master would have dropped dead three times over by now.

She could hear her own heartbeat now, slow and steady, but beneath it simmered something hotter. Something that made her want to march out there and demand to know why. Why this morning. Why this dream. Why now.

But she already knew the answer, didn't she?

There was no reason. Just bad timing. Just her master's voice cutting through her sleep at the worst possible moment, with no way for him to know what he was stealing.

'It was just a dream,' she reminded herself.

But the ache in her chest didn't care what was real and what wasn't.

She pushed off the bed, her legs unsteady beneath her, and stalked toward the door. Each step felt heavier than the last, weighted by the dream still clinging to her bones, by the phantom taste of a feast she'd never get to eat.

"Chen—!"

She yanked the door open before he could finish.

There he stood, hand raised, mouth half-open, ready to call her name again. Her master. The thief of dreams. Looking entirely too casual for someone who had committed such a crime.

"Master." Her voice came out flat. Forced. "Good morning."

She tucked her hands behind her back, fingers interlacing tight enough to turn her knuckles white.

"Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No." Xu Kai shrugged, the word dropping from his lips like it meant nothing.

Chen Xi's eye twitched.

"No?" she repeated, the syllable climbing higher than she intended. "You mean, you woke me up just for nothing?"

"Something like that."

Her jaw went slack.

She stared at him, this man who had ripped her from a dream so beautiful it hurt, who had stolen the closest thing to happiness she'd had in weeks, all for nothing.

Something like that, she mimicked in her head. Something like that.

Her fingers curled into claws behind her back.

She wanted to pounce. She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he understood what he'd done. She wanted, absurdly, irrationally, to bite his hair off.

She controlled herself.

Barely.

But Xu Kai must have seen something in her face, the twitch of her eye, the set of her jaw, the way her breath came a little too fast, because his brow lifted.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She turned her face away sharply, her hair swinging with the motion.

"Then what?"

"Nothing."

He studied her for a long moment. She could feel his gaze on her profile, patient and curious, and she refused to meet it. Refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how deeply his thoughtlessness had cut.

Then he sighed.

"Alright." He started to turn. "If that's true, then come and eat—"

"Really? You just call me out to—" She stopped. Blinked. Her brain scrambled to catch up with her ears. "Huh? Master, did you just say eat?"

Xu Kai paused mid-turn, one brow arched.

"Were you saying something before?"

"No." Chen Xi waved her hand so fast it was almost a blur. "No, I wasn't saying anything. Nothing at all." She swallowed. "But, eat? You mean food? You cooked?"

He nodded.

Chen Xi leaned closer, her earlier fury forgotten, replaced by something far more complicated. She studied his face, the casual set of his features, the easy way he held himself. Like cooking was normal. Like he'd been doing it his whole life.

"But..." Her voice dropped, almost a whisper. "How did you still know how to do that?"

Xu Kai tilted his head.

"Should I not know?"

"Yes." Chen Xi frowned. "I mean, you lost your memories, right? It would be weird if you still remembered how to cook."

He went still.

It was subtle, a flicker, no more than a heartbeat, but she caught it. His eyes widened slightly. His breath hitched. For just a moment, something passed across his face that looked almost like panic.

Then it was gone.

A smug smile slid into place, quick and practiced.

"I'm kidding." He waved a hand dismissively. "Of course I don't remember how to cook. I just picked out a random recipe from a cooking book I found in my room."

He shrugged, the motion easy, casual.

"You know, even though I said I was going to rest yesterday, I actually didn't. I used that time to move around my room, get familiar with everything." His smile widened. "And in the end, my effort proved useful."

Chen Xi blinked.

'As expected of Master.'

The explanation made sense. Of course it did. He'd always been like this, resourceful, adaptable, turning idle time into something productive while she was busy sleeping and dreaming of food she'd never taste.

"Ah." She nodded slowly. "So that's how you cooked." A pause. "Makes sense."

But even as she said it, something niggled at the back of her mind. Something about the way he'd frozen. The way his eyes had gone wide for just a fraction of a second before the smile slid into place.

She pushed the thought away.

She was probably imagining things. Still half-asleep. Still hungry. Still mourning the feast that would never be.

Xu Kai tilted his head, a curious gleam in his eye.

"So," he asked, "do you know how to cook?"

Chen Xi's posture faltered. Just for a moment. Just long enough for her to glance away, her hand coming up to scratch the back of her head.

"Kind of."

"Meaning?"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I've studied lots of cooking books. I know various dishes. I just... haven't tried cooking them myself."

"Why not?"

Chen Xi's hand froze mid-scratch. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck, settling into her cheeks.

"Well... Uh." She laughed, a small, nervous sound. "You see, Master, you actually... banned me from cooking."

Xu Kai's head turned slowly. His eyes widened just a fraction, then narrowed into something sharp. Something knowing. His gaze swept over her, from her guilty expression to her fidgeting hands to the way she suddenly found the tent floor absolutely fascinating.

She could almost hear the thoughts forming behind his eyes.

'She exploded the house. Definitely. Burned everything she ever touched. Probably tried something insane, something no sane person has ever attempted in a kitchen.'

Chen Xi opened her mouth to refute him.

Nothing came out.

Because he wasn't wrong. Not entirely. The explosion had happened, once. The burned dishes had happened, more times than she cared to count. The insane attempts? Well...

She narrowed her eyes and looked away.

The reasons were far worse than he could imagine. The scale of the disasters? Much, much larger.

Xu Kai's questioning gaze bore into her, patient and merciless.

She needed to escape. Now.

Chen Xi clapped her hands together, a sharp, sudden sound that cut through the silence.

"Okay then, Master!" Her voice came out too bright, too loud. "Please lead the way to the food."

Xu Kai rolled his eyes so hard his whole head moved with it.

But he turned.

He walked.

And Chen Xi followed, her shoulders relaxing as she put distance between herself and that line of questioning.

Her gaze drifted to her master's back. To his shoulders, broad and steady. To the easy rhythm of his steps.

'Would it be good?'

She didn't know.

Before the memory loss, her master had always been the one cooking. She'd never had to think about it, never had to wonder. The food would appear, and it would be perfect, and she would eat until she couldn't move.

Now he had no experience. No memory of the hundreds of meals he'd made before. Just a book. A random recipe. A gamble.

Would she enjoy it?

She honestly didn't know.

She'd have to taste it to find out.

But she was wrong.

She didn't need to taste anything.

The scent hit her like a wave, rich, savory, impossibly familiar. It wrapped around her, sank into her lungs, and pulled her back to a place she'd visited just moments ago.

Her pace slowed.

Her feet stopped moving entirely.

Her gaze locked onto the table, onto the plates arranged there with care, onto the steam rising in lazy spirals from dishes she recognized.

'No,' Her breath caught. 'No, that's not possible.'

"T-This—!" The words tore from her throat in a stammer, unfinished, incomplete.

She couldn't finish.

She couldn't find the words.

Because there were no words for what she was seeing.

The food right in front of her, every dish, every garnish, every curl of steam, was exactly the same.

The same food from her dream.

 

[Rockow]

"Don't worry, Master! In its current, mixed state, it's not poisonous to us cultivators."

Xu Kai relaxed a fraction, but one word stuck.

"Yet?"

"Yes, yet,"

Click to shrink...

Yet wasn't spoken yet. Needs to be added first.

 

[Aisoo_Star]

Yet wasn't spoken yet. Needs to be added first.

Click to shrink...

I don't think that's the case.

She didn't exactly say 'yet', but she said 'in it current, mixed state' which can literally be considered as 'yet'

And Xu Kai didn't repeat 'yet' with certainty, he questioned 'yet?' with '?' mark.

Meaning it was a question for her statement 'current mixed state'