"Come in and have a seat," Fu Hua said, seeing the two standing at the door. She made way for them, inviting them into the martial arts school.
There was a stone table and stools in the inner courtyard. After arranging for the two and Li Sushang to sit there, Fu Hua turned and went into the house. "I'll get a pot of hot tea."
Watching Fu Hua's back as she went inside, Durandal suddenly leaned down. Li Sushang, at the same time, leaned over the table. The two huddled together and began to discuss in low voices.
"Sushang, tell me the truth. Are you cultivating immortality?" Durandal asked in a hushed voice. "That move of yours that can make things float in mid-air, is that the legendary immortal art?"
Li Sushang's expression instantly twisted.
But Durandal wasn't finished. She quietly pointed to the room Fu Hua had entered. "Your Shifu is an immortal, isn't she? The kind of immortal who has cultivated to the point of returning to youth?
"Or is your Shifu actually eternally youthful, never aging for thousands of years?"
Durandal was genuinely curious and excited.
In her eyes, this was the only explanation that made sense!
Rita, leaning forward slightly, also looked at Li Sushang. Although what Durandal said was rather amusing, she couldn't deny that it did make sense.
If Fu Hua was some kind of immortal who had remained eternally youthful for thousands of years, then it was possible for her to hold the title of Shifu and teach such incredible techniques.
...Alright, that itself was the most impossible thing.
Li Sushang's expression twisted for a good while before she finally spoke. "Sister Durandal, have you been reading some strange novels?"
Durandal's face turned red. She looked up, her gaze shifting away guiltily. "No... how could... what strange... uh..."
It seems Lady Durandal's biggest difficulty at the moment is learning how to lie...
"How could it be like that..." Even Li Sushang could see something was off with Durandal. She couldn't help but sigh. "If that were the case... Shifu would be so pitiful..."
"Pitiful?" Li Sushang's words stunned both of them. They looked at her in confusion.
"Becoming an immortal, is that pitiful?" Durandal didn't understand. Although she hadn't read many books, in the novels she had read, becoming an immortal was something everyone yearned for.
Because becoming an immortal meant being very powerful, living a long life... these things... could they make someone pitiful?
"Yes, it is very pitiful." Li Sushang's expression turned a little downcast, as if she had thought of something.
"No matter how powerful an immortal is, they can't make everyone around them become an immortal, right? If everyone were an immortal, wouldn't that be the same as no one being an immortal?"
Durandal nodded, listening intently to Li Sushang's explanation.
"An immortal can live for so long, but the people around them can't. So the immortal will watch them grow from very, very young to very, very old, while they themselves don't change at all...
"In that case, wouldn't the immortal have to watch the people around them constantly leave?"
Durandal's eyes suddenly widened. Li Sushang was still continuing.
"Everyone leaves, and the immortal can't keep anyone... so what's the use of having such great power? They must be very sad, right?"
Durandal nodded subconsciously, and Rita also narrowed her eyes.
"So an immortal will not, and should not, be sad about these things..." Rita finished Li Sushang's sentence. "And it is precisely such an immortal that, in our 'human' eyes, is the most pitiful..."
Without realizing it, Durandal had sat up straight, silent.
"But what a true immortal would think, we don't know," Rita quickly added, seeing the atmosphere beginning to drop. "And we are not immortals, and no one has such power, right?"
Li Sushang nodded in deep agreement. "Exactly... my ability to make things float isn't some kind of cultivation, but something I can do with this Divine Key."
Rita fell silent. She looked at Li Sushang with a smile, the image of a wise-beyond-her-years child she had just built up instantly crumbling.
To reveal her secrets so proactively... is it a lack of vigilance, or is Li Sushang's relationship with Lady Durandal really that good?
As expected, children should still go to school. Otherwise, when they go out to gain experience, they might be tricked and run in circles by some yellow-haired person in strange clothes who can't even speak properly, has some weird tricks, and is related to 'burials' or something.
"It seems you've had a good chat." Fu Hua returned with a pot of hot water, a tea set, and tea leaves in her other hand.
"Sorry, I don't know what you like to drink." Fu Hua quickly went through the steps of cleaning the cups, brewing the tea, rinsing, and straining. Her movements were methodical, yet they dazzled Durandal.
It wasn't until the clear tea was placed in front of everyone that Durandal came back to her senses.
This was also the first time Rita hadn't had to wait long for her tea, so she was quite interested in this cup.
After the tea had cooled a little, she silently brought the cup to her lips. It was bitter but not astringent. Rita opened her eyes and took another look at the clear color.
"Indeed, only such good tea is worthy of Senior Fu Hua's brewing technique," Rita said with a smile, putting down the cup. "I wonder if I could learn some tea-brewing techniques from Senior Fu Hua?"
Rita's request was sincere. She was more skilled at brewing black tea, and the process for black tea was somewhat different from green tea.
"Senior..." Fu Hua also sat down. Hearing Rita call her that made her look a little troubled.
After a slight sigh, Fu Hua nodded. "Of course, if it's just to exchange tea-brewing techniques. I would also like to learn how to brew black tea..."
Rita's movements paused slightly, then she nodded naturally. "Of course. Rita will teach you everything I know."
This was the second time... Rita had seen that sword, but she was sure she had never seen Fu Hua or Li Sushang before.
"Regarding the city exploration team, Lord Overseer Otto will make the arrangements. We can start our operations from tomorrow," Fu Hua said to the two of them.
"I have a question... what problem are you all talking about?" Durandal put down her teacup, unable to suppress the doubt in her heart any longer.
"This..." Rita smiled, looking at Durandal as if joking. "Lady Durandal, are you confident in making the 'Immortal Blades' the strongest city exploration team in the MOTH?"
Durandal: "Huh?"