“Alright, chop chop.” standing in front of the front gate of Xianshi Inn, Jianmen rushed his students and Josephine Wong’s at the same time: “Time to go back to school, boys and girls!”
“Alright Boss, I’m ready now.” Caroline did a final check on her weapons, her clothes and her light luggage, then stepped into the purple SUV, driven by the same driver that once drove them to the Grant Academy - Garret Peyton.
“When will Ms. Wong meet us at the Grant Academy?” Thomas asked as he double checked the newly reforged handguns then put them back to the holsters.
“Her meeting’s running long, there's no way to tell. But she will come to the academy first thing after the meeting.” Jianmen sighed, pointing at four small boxes made of red wood: “Now, before we leave, these are for you, some basics Josephine and I prepared for you for getting back to the academy - some sigils, some general purpose sustenance, medicine and antidote in case someone tried to pull something dirty, and some other things. All things are labeled, so be sure to get familiar with everything when you get a chance.”
“So is that - like a common thing in the Division?” when the SUV started driving, Caroline asked Jianmen: “That doesn’t sound so… well, efficient.”
“Unfortunately, bureaucracy can still be found and is quite common, yes. But it depends on what you do, who you work with and work for, there’s the good work, there’s the busy work, and there’s the work no one should be doing but some people are doing anyway.” Jianmen shrugged and looked out the window from the bar-like interior space in the back of the purple SUV: “And - I think Josephine Wong should have told you this before - if you want to have some interesting dealings or do some work with decent pay, you can try becoming a Division contractor.”
“Hmm… I see...” Caroline nodded and started thinking in silence.
“Listen, Caroline.” Jianmen smiled: “I think I know what you’re thinking - joining the Division, or just being a contractor, it’s not the most glamorous choice in the world, but it’s not a bad one either. And I’d trust that if you joined the right team and were among the right people, such as a group like Josephine’s team, you would get to make a lot of contributions and make a real difference in this world.”
“Something tells me, Mr. Yu, that you are the type - I mean you are not a fan of the authorities.” Thomas chuckled and said: “And that explains why not many people know about you.”
“Yeah, fame is not really my thing. Believe it or not, I don’t think it’s Josephine’s thing either - she just happens to be in those positions because of different reasons.”
“But she’s literally an action movie star?” Aimee shrugged.
“It’s called the Trial of Red Dust, something you will need to try one day.” Jianmen picked up a bottle of wine from the mini fridge beside him and took out a glass: “It’s something I really recommend, it could tame your heart and temper your will, and at the same time deepen your understanding of the world. Wine?”
“I’d love some, thanks!” Jason raised his hand, and when he took a half filled glass from Jianmen, he asked Caroline: “So, you’re really already thinking about your career options?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” Caroline also took a glass from Jianmen: “No offense, Boss, but being a student and occasional keeper of your inn is not really what I want to do for the next few decades - ”
“Nono, I completely understand.” Jianmen shook his head with a smile: “And I wasn’t exactly expecting you to work in the inn forever. You’re welcome to, but you know our agreements don’t include anything about how your careers are gonna be. You can open an inn right next to mine, even. Have you thought about this, Jason? What do you wanna do when you grow up in cultivator years?”
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“Woah Boss, putting me on the spot there.” Jason leaned back while the others chuckled and laughed: “I - I don’t know yet. But I kinda want to become a weaponsmith - it’s kinda cliche for someone with metal and earth power, but it’s kinda what I’m into right now.”
“Okay.” Jianman laid back and sipped his wine: “That I can teach you. You’re gonna learn some basics anyways, as cultivators you will be maintaining your own weapons in the future, but yeah, I can include some advanced material in the curriculum.”
“What about you, detectives?” Jason looked at Aimee and Thomas: “You’re technically more adult than us - well, at least me. I don’t even know how old Caroline is - she could be a hundred.” After what he said, he immediately jumped to the side to avoid getting hit by Caroline.
“Well, we still have that promise we have to Ms. Wong - so we will be joining her forces to serve for a while.” Aimee nodded and said: “Not that I’m complaining - it’s definitely going to be a lot of detective work and action - I just hope we’ll be ready as soon as possible.”
“Don’t rush it - the grasp of magic could not be rushed, and it takes time, effort, and in your cases, a lot of reading and inspiration as well.” Jianmen smiled.
“We’re close to the jump point.” Garret Peyton said to everyone : “We should be into the tunneling space very soon, ETA twenty minutes.”
“So, twenty minutes.” Jianmen finished his glass of wine: “You know all the things you can and cannot talk about, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you all know what you’ll need to do?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s just relax, and get back to school for a quick test.” Jianmen smiled and started looking out the window.
“It’s nothing, it’s just a quick final, right?” Aimee let out a long exhale and asked: “Since they just decided to pull this all of a sudden, it’s not gonna be that hard, right?”
“Sis, stop worrying - you’re the nerd of the family, you’ve remembered crap that’s not even on the list of potential subjects.” Thomas laughed out loud: “And you can always retake it, it’s not like any professor is gonna give you a hard time after everything that happened.”
“Yeah, no pressure.” Garret Peyton said from the driver’s room: “If you are to fail, you would’ve failed a long time ago during the semester. Most of the time finals are just formality tests about the basics. The important thing is to basically shut the hell up about the codex and everything, I believe there’s a similar concept in civilian society.”
“Yes there is.” Aimee chuckled nervously: “Believe me, WE are fully aware.”