Chapter 1307
Ayu
Chapter 1307 Ayu
Antonio is a Westerner and has never been used to the practice of kneeling at the drop of a hat.
Every time he saw someone kneeling like that, he felt fortunate to have gone to the Youye Sect with Yue Zheng Yuanqing.
There are many demonic cultivators there, who are naturally unrestrained and dislike being bound by rules.
Consequently, the cultivators of the Youye Sect wouldn't kneel down as readily as those of other sects. Antonio was quite comfortable there.
He had assumed that all the so-called cultivation sects had a similar atmosphere, until he met the group of hypocrites from Taixu Palace who practically held their chins to the sky.
He secretly felt fortunate for Lin Fan.
If they had chosen Taixu Palace back then, given their arrogant and self-important attitude, the newly initiated disciples would have been subjected to at least three prostrations, if not torment.
Whether Lin Fan can tolerate Antonio is unknown, but he certainly can't.
Who knows, on the very first day of training, there might be a major battle against the Taixu Palace, causing utter chaos...
So, was Yue Zhengyuan keeping him under control to prevent him from acting recklessly and disrupting the situation in the world of Perle, thus affecting Lin Fan's actions?
Antonio suddenly had a flash of inspiration and fell into deep thought.
"Get up," Lin Fan said, looking at A Yu, who was trembling uncontrollably as if he wanted to bury his head in the bricks. "Don't pay attention to his nonsense."
Ayu glanced cautiously at Antonio, and seeing that he showed no sign of punishing her, she obediently stood up: "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Lin Fan still remembers when he first met A Yu. He was very thin and always hunched over. His eyes were hidden under his bangs. Although his hair and clothes were neatly arranged, they still gave people a sense of being untidy and disheveled.
He was about the same height as the twelve-year-old Golden Boy, but couldn't say his own age.
Judging from his hoarse voice, Lin Fan estimated that he was probably thirteen or fourteen years old.
After Lin Fan brought them to Yinyuewu, the two children's living conditions improved, and their health visibly improved as well.
Jin Tong grew increasingly plump and fair-skinned, and became even more lively. In the secular world, she could easily be mistaken for the daughter of a wealthy family.
As always, Ayu remained silent, barely noticeable, and simply did the tasks assigned to him.
At Su Ze's request, his bangs were swept to one side, revealing a pair of bright, large eyes. His clothes and hair were no longer disheveled, and he looked like a thin, timid young boy.
A year later, the boy grew as tall as a willow tree, and was no longer the skin and bones he once was. His voice was no longer hoarse, and his words were clear and crisp, like the clinking of jade stones.
The only thing that remained unchanged was his head, which he always kept bowed and dared not raise, and his timid nature.
This personality is the complete opposite of the showy Golden Boy.
As a result, in Lin Fan's mind, A Yu was unconsciously faded to the margins, and even the gatekeeper who only greeted her a few times when entering and leaving had a greater presence than him.
Lin Fan had always known that A Yu's true nature was not what she appeared to be, but she was busy with her studies and couldn't afford to waste her time on an outer disciple.
As a servant, Ayu never showed any abnormality, probably because Suze managed him well. Over time, this potential problem was gradually forgotten.
Until Lin Fan suddenly returned last time and caught the child secretly reading "The Scheme".
It was a book that deeply analyzed how to win through intelligence, emphasizing both strategy and wisdom. The entire text was written in classical Chinese, making it difficult to understand.
Lin Fan tried to read it with great concentration, but he had only read less than a quarter of it and found it extremely mentally taxing. It was the kind of book that would make an average person want to fall asleep and would simply toss aside.
But Ayu had already read half of it and seemed to be enjoying it.
It's not that Lin Fan himself doesn't like to use his brain, but that means he won't allow others to understand. It's just that, given A Yu's situation as an outer disciple at the time, his primary focus should have been on improving his cultivation level.
Books like "Strategic Attacks" are certainly useful, but without sufficient strength, even the best strategies are castles in the air, with nowhere to be implemented. This applies to both immortals and mortals.
Lin Fan had to look at it because he needed to study the sequence of events in order to learn how to arrange the array.
Why is Ah Yu doing this? Is it really just out of pure interest?
This unexpected event pulled Lin Fan back from her fading daily routine. Unfortunately, her training was imminent, so she could only ask Su Ze to keep an eye on what A Yu truly wanted.
Sure enough, not long after, when she arrived at the Changtianmen office in Jinyang Prefecture, she received news from Su Ze that had been circulating for some time: A Yu had broken through to the Qi Refining stage and become an inner disciple.
Jin Tong was spurred on by this news and diligently cultivated for a while longer. However, her perseverance was never long-lasting, and her enthusiasm quickly waned before she saw any positive results.
According to Su Ze's message, after A Yu was discovered, he never went to her study to secretly read books again.
Going to the main peak for a large lecture or privately exchanging supplies with the logistics department is no different from that of an ordinary disciple, and there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it.
Since Lin Fan returned this time, because of the Golden Boy incident, the servants in Yinyuewu were specially ordered by Su Ze to avoid going in front of Lin Fan as much as possible.
She is capable of taking care of herself; her daily necessities are prepared in advance and left for her to use as she pleases.
Jin Tong used to do all of this, and that girl liked to get close to Lin Fan and try to impress him.
At this juncture, no one else dared to fill the vacancy left by Jin Tong. Fearing that the sight would trigger unpleasant memories for Lin Fan, they all kept their distance.
They just didn't expect Antonio to stick to them.
Senior Sister Lin ignored him, but the other party didn't get angry.
However, from Changtianmen's perspective, Yinyuewu could not be disrespectful to the guests of Youye Sect, especially since this was a distinguished guest who had come to cleanse Sister Lin of her poison.
So Su Ze arranged for his servants to be on duty—only one person would stand nearby at a time, and leave immediately after the guest left.
After their initial sighs at the news of Jin Tong's passing, the servants remained largely unmoved. However, the news that Lin Fan's poisoning might leave lasting damage and make recovery difficult left them with mixed feelings and a chilling silence.
So when Antonio talked and laughed loudly and freely, his servants were also delighted.
It wasn't that they particularly enjoyed listening to gossip, but rather that Antonio's arrival injected an irresistible vibrancy and joy into Yinyuewu—Lin Fan, though ignoring them, didn't refuse either, and his mood seemed much better than they had imagined.
It was for these reasons that Ayu appeared for the first time several days after Lin Fan returned.
Sure enough, the moment Lin Fan saw him, he thought of Jin Tong.
Then I thought back to that time I caught him in the study.
Even though he's already an inner disciple in the Qi Refining stage, he seems no different from before—his chin is practically touching his collarbone, and his gaze is fleeting, as if afraid of attracting attention.
Lin Fan tapped his index finger twice on the table and looked at the boy: "Are you afraid of me?"
Ayu bent his knees, about to kneel down again, but was stopped by an invisible force and could not bend down.
“Speak properly,” Antonio said, raising a hand with a helpless expression. “Stop kneeling all the time. Or have you done something to offend her that makes kneeling unavoidable?”
"This disciple dares not, this disciple..." A-Yu's face flushed red as he tried to argue, but then he heard Lin Fan say.
"Don't lie. Your whole body screams resistance. If it's not fear, is it hatred?" Lin Fan turned slightly. "I don't remember having any deep-seated grudge against you."
Ayu's mind raced, regretting that his plan had fallen through. He quickly came up with another excuse: "Senior sister, please forgive me, I just... I was really scared."
"Why?" Antonio asked curiously, resting his chin on his hand and pointing at Lin Fan with the other. "Even though she always has a cold face, she wouldn't be so cruel as to destroy you two, would she?"
"If you can't speak properly, then don't speak." Lin Fan rolled his eyes at Antonio's occasional lapses in language.
"Yes, yes..." Ayu stammered for a while, and seeing that neither of the two people at the head of the table responded, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. He clenched his fists and said in one breath, "I'm afraid that one day I will end up like Jintong!"
Su Ze had been keeping watch behind the wall in the distance, not daring to leave. Hearing A Yu's words, he wished he could rush out and drag the man back.
But then Antonio suddenly laughed.
"Oh? What happened to that Golden Boy? I don't know at all. Why don't you tell me?"