Disturbing him?
Oh, no, no, not at all!
Shu Li could not have been happier!
Who would turn away a private tutor who came right to their door?
Naturally, he had to throw the door wide open and welcome him in with enthusiasm!
“Please... come in.” Shu Li invited Kumandi inside with particular solemnity.
Because Fairies could fly, their houses were generally built quite tall. The cub dormitories were standard residences that could be occupied all the way into adulthood. However, to make them more comfortable for the cubs, the furniture was made one size smaller and would be replaced with appropriately sized furnishings as they grew.
After entering, Kumandi quietly surveyed Shu Li’s home.
The formerly plain room now contained many new things, all arranged with great care by its owner.
Two floral wall paintings hung on the walls, and a soft rug covered the floor. Four adorable wooden dolls stood on the bedside cabinet. The desk held even more: a tea set, a water bottle, a pen holder, notebooks, a kettle... and a small stove containing a fire-element magic stone.
A hundred-day-old cub had already learned how to arrange his own home.
Sperien was clever.
Far cleverer than an ordinary cub.
So why was he so bad at learning Elven?
Kumandi walked over to the desk and looked down at the open notebook lying on it.
The tiny notebook was filled with strange symbols. They were square in shape, similar in size, neat and flowing, with an indescribable beauty to them.
That afternoon, while Kumandi had taken the cubs around the commercial district and helped them communicate with the shopkeepers, Sperien had pulled a notebook from the small pouch at his waist whenever he stumbled over his words. He would quickly flip through it, find what he needed, then continue speaking.
So these symbols served as reminders?
It was a strange method of studying. Although somewhat useful, it was not very efficient.
Because Sperien was still a cub, the people speaking with him would patiently wait. Once he grew up, however, they might not have the patience to stand there while he searched through a notebook.
When Shu Li noticed Kumandi staring at his notebook, his heart skipped a beat.
Oh no.
He had been so excited that he had rushed to open the door and forgotten the notebook was still lying open on the desk. Now the top student had seen everything.
What was he supposed to say if Kumandi asked what he had written?
After struggling internally for a moment, Shu Li decided to strike first.
Pretending to remain calm, he casually closed the notebook and stacked it with the other four in the corner of the desk. Then he picked up the kettle and stammered, “I... boil water... make tea for you!”
He had a guest, so naturally he needed to serve tea.
Without waiting for Kumandi to respond, he scooped water from the large wooden barrel and poured it into the kettle. Then he placed the kettle on the little stove and recited the incantation to the fire-element magic stone, just as the general store owner had taught him.
“Great... Fire God Amafa Puches... I am Sperien... of the Faerie Forest... please grant me... a spark...”
After haltingly finishing the incantation, Shu Li stared intently at the stove.
Nothing happened.
The fire-element magic stone showed no reaction whatsoever.
Puzzled, Shu Li sprawled across the desk and peered hard at the stove, then cautiously reached out to touch the magic stone inside.
Strange.
Why was it not responding?
The general store owner had clearly said that even Fairies who had never studied magic could use this type of stove. All they had to do was recite the incantation. Once the mighty Fire God heard a believer’s plea, he would bestow divine power and ignite the magic stone.
But Shu Li had finished the incantation, and the Fire God had completely ignored him.
He should have bought the simple kind of stove that used flint.
Or could they not have designed it like a lamp, where you simply twisted something and it turned on?
Reciting an incantation was such a nuisance. It was a huge, ridiculously long passage! Wasn’t that far too much to ask of someone hopeless at languages?
After waiting for quite a while, the magic stone still did nothing. Shu Li could only give up and look at Kumandi in embarrassment.
Kumandi met his gaze, a trace of helplessness passing through his purple eyes.
“Um...” Shu Li wanted to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere, but his limited vocabulary left him unable to express himself.
Kumandi raised a hand to stop him.
Then a melodious voice, as beautiful as sung poetry, rang out.
“Great Fire God Afama Cheeps, I am Kumandi of the Faerie Forest, your faithful believer. Please grant me the flame that will ignite this stove. I shall thank and praise you every day.”
As soon as the incantation ended, the fire-element magic stone inside the stove ignited with a soft whoosh.
Shu Li stared in stunned silence.
Was it too late to find a hole and crawl into it?
Kumandi had recited such a long incantation perfectly, while Shu Li had mangled it beyond recognition.
More importantly, he had even pronounced the Fire God’s true name incorrectly.
The Fire God was called Afama Cheeps, not Amafa Puches.
Shu Li began to despair.
He could not even pronounce a tiny fire-starting incantation. How was he ever supposed to learn more complicated and much longer magical spells?
He was exhausted. He had lost all will to live. He might as well die. Waaaah—
The little cub’s ears drooped. His shoulders hunched, his wings folded tightly against his back, and mist gathered in his eyes. He looked so dejected that he was on the verge of tears.
Kumandi’s gaze softened.
He gently placed a hand on the cub’s head.
“Take your time. You’ll learn eventually.”
Shu Li raised his head in surprise and stared blankly at the black-haired Fairy standing close before him.
Without realizing it, he superimposed Kumandi’s image over that of his eldest brother as a teenager.
When Shu Li was young, he had been mocked by his classmates for being terrible at English. He had gone home, flung himself onto the sofa, and sobbed until he could barely breathe.
His eldest brother, who had still been in high school at the time, had crouched in front of him, patted his head, and said, “Take your time. You’ll learn eventually. Our Little Treasure is the cleverest of all.”
With his eyes blurred by tears, Shu Li had choked out, “R-Really?”
His eldest brother had nodded with absolute certainty, then pulled a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to him.
Shu Li had accepted the lollipop and smiled happily, completely believing his brother’s words.
And yet...
Even by his final year of high school, his English had remained an utter disaster.
Now someone was saying the exact same thing his brother had once said, looking at him with the same gentle encouragement.
Shu Li sniffed and nodded firmly.
“Okay!”
This time, he would overcome his difficulties and defeat his own weakness.
This time, he would make the words Take your time. You’ll learn eventually come true.
“I’ll start by teaching you spoken Elven.” Kumandi was a man of action. He glanced at the chair, which was only suitable for a cub, then sat cross-legged on Shu Li’s newly laid rug. From his storage bag, he took out three or four yellowed notebooks. “Where is the notebook I gave you this morning?”
Shu Li had not yet recovered from his emotions when Quiet Top Student abruptly entered top-student mode.
“It’s... on the bed.”
He hurried over to the bed, picked up the notebook from the bedside, and copied Kumandi by sitting cross-legged on the rug.
Kumandi accepted the notebook and opened it to the first page.
Shu Li nervously poked his fingers together.
While napping at noon, he had slept so deeply that he had accidentally drooled on the notebook. Although he had wiped it dry, a faint mark could still be seen if one looked carefully.
Hopefully Quiet Top Student would not notice.
While Shu Li was worrying, Kumandi’s voice sounded beside his ear.
“Look at these pictures and say each word aloud.”
Shu Li collected himself, lowered his gaze to the picture Kumandi was pointing at, and recited in Elven, “Tree, flower, grass, insect, bird...”
These were simple.
He knew all of them.
Kumandi pointed to more than a dozen pictures in succession. Shu Li answered each one without stumbling.
His ears twitched proudly as he mentally gave himself a thumbs-up.
“None of your pronunciations are accurate,” Kumandi said, mercilessly crushing his confidence.
“Huh?”
Shu Li stared at him in disbelief.
How could they be inaccurate?
He had specifically searched for Chinese characters that sounded exactly the same. There was no possible way he could be wrong!
“Watch my mouth.”
Kumandi slowly pronounced the Elven word for “tree,” allowing Shu Li to see the shape of his mouth and the position of his tongue clearly.
Shu Li observed him carefully, then was shocked to discover that his own pronunciation truly was inaccurate.
He had taken a shortcut and learned only the superficial resemblance. He had captured the sound but not the form, missing the essence entirely, yet he had still been smugly proud of himself.
The cub’s expression turned solemn.
He corrected his pronunciation again and again until he finally got it right.
Kumandi was exceedingly patient. He taught Shu Li one word at a time. Once the cub had learned them all, he flipped back to the first page, pointed at the pictures, and tested him on the spot.
Shu Li’s throat grew dry, and his mouth and tongue were almost numb, but he was genuinely happy.
None of the highly paid private tutors his father had hired in the past had ever taught him as carefully and thoroughly as Kumandi.
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—”
The water had boiled, and steam pushed the kettle lid upward, making it rattle.
“Ah!”
Shu Li jumped in fright, sprang to his feet, and rushed toward the desk in a fluster to turn off the stove.
However, the water was boiling violently, splashing out scalding droplets. He could not get close enough to touch the stove.
“Don’t move.”
At some point, Kumandi had appeared beside him.
He deftly turned a knob on the stove. An air-isolation plate sprang out, extinguishing the flame, and the magic stone returned to its original state.
Shu Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Asking a pampered young master like him to do housework was simply too much. Earlier, while hanging the wall paintings, he had nearly smashed his finger with the hammer.
Kumandi moved the kettle onto the desk, then turned his head toward the little cub.
“Pour it into the water bottle?”
“Make... make tea!”
Shu Li went around to the other side of the desk, set out the tea set he had bought that day, and picked up an intricately carved wooden canister.
The canister contained tea leaves.
According to the general store owner, the tea came from a mysterious eastern empire. A Fairy who had traveled outside the forest for training had brought it back and placed it in the store on consignment.
The moment Shu Li heard the words “mysterious eastern empire,” he had instantly become energized and bombarded the shopkeeper with questions.
The shopkeeper had given him a puzzled look before explaining everything in detail.
At the far eastern edge of the continent lay a powerful and prosperous country called the Serix Empire. It possessed abundant resources and a pleasant climate. Its people were hardworking and lived in peace and prosperity. Eighty percent of the continent’s tea was produced there.
However, the journey to the Serix Empire was exceptionally dangerous.
Starting from the Faerie Forest, one would have to cross numerous countries, great canyons, swamps, vast mountain ranges, and an enormous grassland. The distance was astonishingly great.
The long series of complicated place names had left Shu Li dizzy.
In summary, the Serix Empire was unimaginably far from the Faerie Forest. The Fairy who had brought back several canisters of tea from his travels had practically risked his life to do so.
After learning that, the tiny flame of hope that had ignited in Shu Li’s heart went out with a soft puff.
This was another world.
He really should not have allowed himself to hope for anything.
The tea leaves were valuable, but still not as valuable as treasures from the Fairy Nursery.
Shu Li had traded one seed to the general store owner for a large pile of things, including the tea.
He took two tea leaves from the wooden canister, placed them in the teapot, and nodded to Kumandi.
Understanding immediately, Kumandi poured hot water into the teapot.
As the leaves soaked, they gradually unfurled until they filled the entire pot.
Shu Li poured two cups of tea, one for Kumandi and one for himself.
They had studied for so long that his mouth was dry. A cup of hot tea would quench his thirst and soothe his throat.
Shu Li took a sip, his entire face radiating satisfaction.
After all this time since transmigrating, he had finally managed to drink hot water!
The dew was sweet, but it was still cold water that had never been boiled, and he had never quite grown accustomed to it.
After finishing his tea, Kumandi set down the empty cup, opened the notebook, and said, “Continue.”
Shu Li would not be allowed to sleep until they finished an entire notebook.
Under Quiet Top Student’s strict instruction, Shu Li’s learning efficiency rose to an unprecedented level.
Only when the cub’s limited stamina finally gave out and he began nodding off did Kumandi mercifully end the day’s lesson.
The instant Shu Li’s taut nerves relaxed, sleep swept through his mind like a violent gale.
He yawned repeatedly as he saw the top student out. Then he flopped face-first onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.
Author’s Note:
Shu Shu slept soundly on his stomach, his little bottom sticking up in the air.
The next chapter will be the first paid chapter! Please continue supporting me!
Let me also promote my upcoming novel. Please add it to your favorites!
After Farming, Household Schemes, and Court Politics, I Became a Demon Cultivator
Synopsis:
Ling Zeyu transmigrated into an old-fashioned cultivation novel.
In the book, the protagonist and his love interest were mortal enemies who could not stand each other. During one great battle, both were so badly injured that they lost their memories. Afterward, they fell deeply in love.
Many years later, they recovered their memories and discovered each other’s identities. From then on, they loved and fought one another, battling so fiercely that the heavens collapsed, the earth split, the sun and moon lost their light, and everyone around them suffered.
None of that had anything to do with Ling Zeyu, though.
He was only a tiny, nameless supporting character.
At first, he thought he had received a farming storyline.
Every day, he planted vegetables, cultivated fields, raised chickens and ducks, and lived a peaceful rural life with a young private-school teacher as his partner.
Then one day, a magnificent carriage entered their isolated village. A richly dressed man stepped down, suddenly knelt before the schoolteacher, and shouted, “General!”
Ling Zeyu was stunned.
After that, he packed up his belongings and accompanied his partner to the capital. They moved into a grand residence, and he began a lively life filled with household intrigue.
He thought he had entered a story of court politics and domestic schemes.
Then demons suddenly descended from the sky, slaughtering living creatures and plunging the people into misery. His wise and mighty partner swept his sword through an entire army, leaving Ling Zeyu dumbfounded.
When a group of flying cultivators descended from the heavens on spirit beasts and respectfully addressed his partner as “Grand Martial Uncle,” Ling Zeyu was left speechless in the wind.
So he had actually received a cultivation storyline?
No!
Wrong!
The cultivation storyline had nothing to do with him either, because his partner said to him—
“Thank you, Yu, for helping me overcome my trial of love. I am about to ascend. I shall give you this magical artifact, which can help you return to your original world.”
Ling Zeyu: “...”
He watched helplessly as the heartless bastard flew away on an immortal crane.
Furious, Ling Zeyu smashed the magical artifact and turned dark on the spot.
Many, many years later, Ling Zeyu carried his former husband’s magical artifact, rallied an army of a million demons, and invaded the Immortal Realm to collect the emotional debt he was owed.
The demon army battered open the gates of the Immortal Realm.
Ling Zeyu confronted his “Immortal Emperor ex-husband” and finally learned the truth—
The story had only just begun.
He was the protagonist who was destined to love and fight the enemy protagonist!
So the storyline he had received was an immortal-demon calamity!
【A laid-back Demon Sovereign forced to become an overachiever × an overachieving Immortal Emperor obsessed with cultivation】
【Please add it to your favorites! It’s a lighthearted story!】