Night of the Broken Gliph

Chui Yim hummed and scanned the boy up and down. The boy was covered with dirt and his hair was all over the place. His shirt and backpack were ridden with holes. Chui Yim could even see a massive pot in his bag.   

Yes, a cooking pot. 

Does he think that he’s moving house? Why’d anyone bring a cooking pot with them?   

“Hah… whatever, I’ll just take it that I’m unlucky.” Chui Yim laid on his bed lazily. “Unpack yourself; I’m exhausted, so don’t disturb me.” 

“Oh…” The boy blinked and peeked at Chui Yim through his hair. His action made him look just like a cub. 

“Erm… What’s your name, big bro? I'll be under you from today onwards.”

His words nearly made Chui Yim vomit blood. What the heck are you talking about? Do you think that I’m a gang leader? What do you mean by being under me? 

Receiving no reply, the boy became more daring. “I’m Lam Ming,” he said and stared at Chui Yim.  “Just leave all the odd jobs to me in the future!” 

Chui Yim huffed and ignored him. Learning the basics of medicine was incredibly draining. Not much later, Chui Yim drifted off into dreamland. 

Chui Yim woke up abruptly the next day. 

Just like what Chui Yim previously mentioned, he had been leading the life of a young master for the past six years. Back at his village, it was always tranquil at night, which resulted in him needing a good sleeping environment. He’d wake up at even the slightest noise. 

That’s right. A loud noise was what woke him up. 

Chui Yim opened his eyes angrily to look for the source of the noise, only to realise that a bunch of junk was surrounding him. 

He looked around the room to find his room filled with pots, jars, torn clothes and many other items. There wasn’t even any space left to walk on, not to mention the pungent stench in the room. 

Lam Ming was busy tidying up. When he saw Chui Yim sit up, he turned to him immediately. “Big bro, you’re awake? You don’t have to mind me. I’ll tidy all of this up.” 

Chui Yim’s eyes twitched as he hurried through the junk towards the window. He opened up the window to take a deep breath. Luckily my soul survived this foul smell. He sighed before turning back to Lam Ming. “What on earth are you doing?” 

However, Chui Yim’s actions scared Lam Ming. He shuddered, and tears welled up in his eyes. 

Looking at the small, tearful Lam Ming, Chui Yim let out a heavy sigh. He was so badly affected that he wasn’t in  the mood to train anymore. “When I return from class later today, I want everything gone, alright?” 

The bald boy left the room restlessly in dismay. 

After washing up, Chui Yim headed straight for class. 

He really didn’t want to return to the room anymore. 

Chui Yim entered the class sulkily. Seeing that he wasn’t in a good mood, all his classmates avoided him, afraid they would be the target of his wrath. 

As soon as Chui Yim sat down, he placed his head on the table to take a short nap before class started. But in no time, a voice rang across the class. “Big bro! We’re in the same class!” 

Chui Yim froze. He looked up, unable to believe his ears. Lam Ming was occupying the seat that was empty for the past week. He was wearing an old, white robe with patches all over it. 

“Nice to see you, big brother.” 

Chui Yim let out a wail and turned to him. “You’re definitely a jinx.” 

Just then, Chor Shing Chit arrived. Being a simple and straightforward man, greetings were a waste of time to him.  

He glanced at Lam Ming sitting next to Chui Yim and continued, “Oh, right. The last student of our class is here. He’s called Lam Ming. Now, let’s not waste any more time. We have much to do today.” 

After a week of lessons, the grade one students already knew what their teacher was like, so they only looked at Lam Ming curiously for a second before turning their attention back to Chor Shing Chit. 

“Today, we will be doing a chambercheck.” Chor Shing Chit went into the subject immediately. 

The class gasped upon hearing what they’d be doing today. Some were obviously anxious, while only Chan Ngou Tin had his nose in the air. 

“To all of you, this is an important process, as it will determine your aptitude for cultivation,” Chor Shing Chit continued, ignoring the students. 

“All of you, come with me.” With that, Chor Shing Chit left the room first.  

He was immediately followed by Chui Yim and Lam Ming, who were looking around anxiously. Chan Ngou Tin stood up next and sneered. “Follow me.” 

The followers of Chan Ngou Tin followed after him, and the rest of the students slowly gathered themselves and followed after Chor Shing Chit. 

After a few turns, Chor Shing Chit arrived at a huge plaza. There was an oval, pitch-black rock that was about four or five meters tall standing in the middle of the plaza. 

It was a shiny rock that looked like a giant black mirror. 

“This is a chamber check rock that every institution has. It’s able to check your chambers, and from the size of the rock, you can tell where an institution stands compared to the others,” Chan Ngou Tin explained to his followers, showing off his knowledge. He side-eyed Chui Yim from time to time, as if ridiculing his ignorance. 

“Yeah, thank you for your explanation.” Chor Shing Chit glared at Chan Ngou Tin coldly before turning to the class. 

“This is our academy’s chamber check plaza, and this is the chamber check rock. 

“Chamber check will let you know which chambers are more suitable for you to cultivate. Everyone has their own strengths, and in fact, everyone can cultivate. It’s only a matter of how far they can go. 

“There might be sayings that gliphers are the strongest being in the world, but that’s in fact referring to two-chamber gliphers. One-chamber gliphers are technically not considered actual gliphers, but there are many special careers they can take up.”