A gentle morning breeze drifted by, swaying the shadows of the trees.
Inside the open door, Clara Heart knelt at a low table, carefully writing something.
Before long, Aiden Chen came in from the courtyard, a small shoulder bag slung over his arm.
He carefully took off his cloth shoes, caked with mud and sand, and held them in his hand. After wiping his sweat, he stepped onto the polished corridor. As he passed Clara’s door, he deliberately slowed his pace, tiptoeing so as not to be noticed by her.
"Stop right there."
Aiden shrank his neck, helpless, and had no choice but to turn and stand still.
Clara, still in the room, continued writing carefully, not even lifting her head.
"What did you learn today?"
Asked so suddenly, Aiden pursed his lips, looked up at the sky, then turned to glance at the leaves in the courtyard, looking shy and hesitant.
"I'm asking you a question."
Seeing he couldn’t avoid it, Aiden took a deep breath and answered, "Master, um... Senior Brother Eugene taught the 'Qianchen Xie Emperor Sutra' today."
"Did you understand it?"
Aiden replied haltingly, "Not... not really."
"Is it 'not really,' or 'not at all'?"
After hesitating for a long while, Aiden finally braced himself and said, "Not at all."
As soon as he said it, he quickly lowered his head.
Clara’s pen paused. She straightened slightly, glanced back at Aiden, and said, "It's normal not to understand."
"Really?"
Lowering her head, Clara resumed writing and said offhandedly, "Yes. So, copy the parts you didn’t understand a hundred times and memorize them."
As soon as she said this, the smile that had just appeared on Aiden’s face froze, and he pursed his lips again.
"Master... can I copy them later?"
"Why do you want to wait before copying them?"
Aiden scratched his head and said, "I've been in class all morning, and I didn't understand a single sentence. I feel dizzy and sleepy. I think... I'm about to fall asleep."
Seeing Aiden’s aggrieved expression, Clara paused, slightly surprised.
Ever since arriving at Crescent Star Cave, Aiden had been diligent—at least much more so than the other disciples at the temple. But after all, he was only six years old. Besides, not everyone can be as stubborn and driven as Monkey was back then.
With a helpless sigh, Clara said lightly, "Alright, if you're tired, you may rest for a while."
"Thank you, Master!"
With the biggest threat gone, Aiden cheered immediately. He put his cloth shoes under the steps, spun around, and slipped into Clara’s room.
After running back and forth for a bit, Aiden sprawled across Clara’s desk, watching and peeking curiously.
"Master, what are you writing?"
"Scriptures I’m preparing for you. For someone on the Traveler’s Path, it’s better to blend in some Sage’s Path material. By the way, weren’t you about to go back to your room just now?"
"I'm not going back."
"Then what do you plan to do now?"
"Nothing at all."
"Nothing at all?" Clara glanced at Aiden.
"Yeah, doing nothing is the most comfortable. If only every day could be like this."
Hearing this, Clara laughed. "Alright, once you’ve finished your training, I’ll let you do nothing every day."
With that, Clara reached out and patted Aiden’s head.
"Thank you, Master!"
Suddenly, Clara’s expression froze.