Liang Fei frowned, curious about the noise. He had wanted to get his bearings before interacting with anyone in this world but turns out that won’t be happening. He sighed, standing up. He felt a bit dizzy, probably a side effect of dying before hand but he ignored it, moving with a grace he’d never had as a normal man. Despite not knowing much about the world, ‘his’ body remembered how the move.

As he moved closer to the noise, he noted that he was in on some property though much bigger than anything he’d ever seen before. The few walls he saw seemingly went on forever, becoming a mere dot in the distance. It was by one of theses walls that he spotted the source of the noise.

He spotted a group of child- no, young men surrounding another youth. It was hard to tell but those were clearly teens. One of the youths had pinned another against the wall, shouting at him.

“Just admit it, you waste!” One demanded, looking close to violence. “Lin'er said she saw you near her room so give it back!”

“B-but I never went near-” A soft sweet voice tried to speak but was interrupted by a loud slap as the youth struck. Feeling annoyed, Liang Fei revealed himself, speaking clearly and with strength.

“What do you boys think you’re doing?!” He demanded, surprised by the sound of his new voice. It was definitely different from his old one. It was like music, bringing a lightness to one's heart. He stored this away for later study, instead focusing on the youths before him.

All of them wore the same clothes, which meant they had to be connected somehow. He just wasn’t sure how yet. Still, since he was older (he assumed) he must take disciplinary actions or else they may go down the wrong path.

“Are you bullying your fellow companion? How dishonorable.” He chastised, his monotone taking on a slight tinge of disgust. “If you have something to say, don’t use cowardly methods and corner your opponent. Worse yet you outnumber him.”

“E-Elder Shao!?” One cried, looking panicked before calming down a little. Liang Fei had no clue why he did so but chose to stay quiet to see how they’d plead.

“Elder Shao, please forgive us disciples.” Another said as all four of the bullies bowed respectfully toward him. “We humble disciples did not mean to bring shame upon you and are honored to have you as an elder. Please forgive us.”

“What was going on before I stepped in?” He asked, still a bit pissed at the shameless attempt at flattery. Even more so, he was curious as to what was going on.

“As you wish, Elder Shao.” The one from before spoke again, apparently the leader of the group. “Our fellow disciple, Linyi, had suffered from a burglary last night and swear she saw someone from our section. After asking around, this waste,” He glared at the youth behind him. “Was found to have been in the area at the time of the incident. Embarrassed and not wishing to cause a fuss, she chose not to pursue it. That’s why we chose to take on the task of investigating ourselves. We confronted him about it and demanded he return her property but he continues to shamelessly deny that he did any such act.” He explained, looking proud of himself. Liang Fei cocked a brow at their explanation. He had many questions.

How’d they learn of this incident if this girl chose not to pursue it? Was just one of many.

Liang Fei looked over each of them, taking note of each of their faces. They looked very sincere but who could tell with young people. He also noticed they all had long hair like him. It must be a thing here. He concluded, wanting to roll his eyes. As he committed them to memory, he spotted the bullied party leaning against the wall.

The youth in the center was the one who caught his attention. Smooth and clear skin as pure as jade and blue-black hair that covered the right side of his face. Large watery eyes gazed up at him from beneath his long bangs, pleading for something as he shivered. His robes were much the same as the others except considerably more dirty and slightly torn. A single thought ran through Liang Fei’s mind.

So cute!!!!!

Liang Fei, despite his stone face and near monotone, adored cute things. Circumstance made it hard for him to indulge in his passion for cute things but within his heart, he’d shower any cute item or person with heaps of praise. On the outside, his gaze would intensify to the point where most assumed he was glaring at them. This was his way of burning the memory into his heart for later admiration.

Not realizing he was doing this at that moment, the disciples flinched at the sudden glare of their elder, wondering what they’d done wrong to earn his ire. Only one of them thought otherwise.

Why does he looked so pleased? Xieren wondered, frowning as Liang Fei gaze intensified. Seeing the other disciples shiver with fear, he chose to stay silent.

“And you?” Clear and melodious, Liang Fei spoke, surprising himself at his voice. It was nothing like his old voice, dull and listless as he was often described as. It sounded so different before when he was upset at the bullies but now? This voice was like music to even his ears. This magic was also noted by the disciples before him, who shivered in delight at the sound of his voice.

“Elder Shao, there is no need to waste your breath on this trash. We can-”

“I did not address you.” He clarified, choosing to ignore the rudeness of his statement. He could have pursued it but he wanted to know the truth more than anything. “I wish to hear from you.” He stated, pointing to Xieren, who flinched as he was subject to glares from from his bullies. Still, he was confused. What did Shizun want from him?

“M-me?” He stammered, looking up at his master from beneath his bangs. He hadn’t spoken to Shizun in months. Why was he…

“Did I stutter? I want to hear what happened from your mouth.” He explained. “Now speak.” Xieren frowned at the phrase. He understood the words and its meaning but it didn’t sound right…

“I-I was in the area but it wasn’t to steal anything.” He insisted, lifting himself off the ground. He was slightly shorter than the other boys. “I probably passed by and was spotted by that girl, though I doubt it since it would be strange for a girl to be out that late. Perhaps it was someone else who spotted me and needed a scapegoat” He said brazenly, giving a hard look toward his bullies, who immediately picked up his implication.

“You dare imply we were the ones lurking about?!” The leader growled, stepping forward to do something. Whatever he would have done was stopped by Liang Fei, who stepped between them. Everyone were shocked by his actions, including Liang Fei himself. He didn’t know he could move like that.

Muscle memory is an amazing thing. He thought with amusement.

The leader frowned at his Elder master, wondering why he was giving such preference toward this waste. Usually, he just turned a blind eye to their taunting and harassment of this waste and yet here he was. Was the man sick?

Xieren felt the same. Since he’d been accepted into the sect, Shizun had ignored him and treated him like air. They never spoke before this, the most being him greeting his master when necessary. Xieren was fine with this. He very much wished just to focus on increasing his strength and prove himself to everyone, including Elder Shao Liang Fei.

While everyone was dazed by Liang Fei’s action, the person himself took the opportunity to check on Xieren. While he’d protected him this time, he knew the youth had been struck before.

Moreover, I want to see how cute he is up close. He thought, clutching his passionate cute loving heart with his mind. Grabbing his chin, Liang Fei lifted Xieren’s face until they were eye to eye. He(LF) had to bend over a bit to get a better look at the youth and marveled at the sight.

His eyes were gold, though his hair covered the right side of his face. Looking him over, he saw that his left cheek was still pale and clear. Carefully, he reached out to push Xieren’s hair away from his face to see if he was injured there.

Liang’s Fei’s hand had just brushed the youths bottom lip when awareness returned to said boy. Panic filled his heart at his master’s actions and instinct took over.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!!” He snarled, slapping Liang Fei’s hand away, quickly using his own hand to keep his hair in place.