Ball of Nothing

Today was the day. Zero was determined to win, there was no room to back down from this as he stared down with Hua Tuo.

The Sage God was also full of passion as he met Zero's determined stare. The fire was almost on his brows and his nostrils flared.

"No."

"Yes."

"I said no."

Zero growled, his eyes narrowed. "You haven't allowed me to try, how would you know it wouldn't work?"

Hua Tuo grit his teeth stubbornly. It was true that he forbade the use of magic excessively. However, he didn't trust Zero when the boy claimed to be able to clean using magic. The Sage God was a medical expert, not a magic expert. If Merlin's lab was still as dirty as he remembered it to be, there was no way using magic to clean can be so convenient. Anything that is too good to be true usually is the case.

However, Zero was as stubborn as Hua Tuo if not more. He came prepared for this battle. If Hua Tuo's obstinate nature will not be moved by sheer conviction, Zero will bring in facts. As a man of medicine, Hua Tuo surely cannot deny what he sees.

"I've cleaned the lab before using gentle cleaning magic. It became soot free, you saw it too. I can do this."

Hua Tuo faltered at Zero's statement.his eyes darted from his crumbling wooden hut and back to Zero. The lab's cottage was made of stone. Naturally, it would survive harsher treatments. Hua Tuo's precious hut was made of broken wood that was barely holding itself up after Zero's first attempt to clean it with magic. Neither master nor apprentice were builders so the patchwork was shady at best. The physician wasn't having it.

"No means no." Hua Tuo was strict this time. The hut wouldn't survive Zero's cleaning.

Stubbornly, Zero followed Hua Tuo everywhere he went and continuously brought up the subject. After six long hours of persistence, Hua Tuo rolled his eyes and agreed on one condition.

"If the hut is destroyed, you will help build a new one."

Satisfied that he received permission, Zero grinned and hugged his teacher before transferring the dried medicine out. he was going to clean to his heart's content today. Hua Tuo didn't bother helping his apprentice. Instead, he started looking for a temporary place to sleep or the night. Zero was going to collapse the hut, it wasn't a question. The boy wouldn't be satisfied unless he got things done his way. Zero had a habit of needing to learn things the hard way and it made Hua Tuo worried. Sometimes, there are things that cannot be undone in life. Hopefully, his student will grow out of this habit before the time comes.

Zero spent the afternoon shifting everything out of the hut. Once everything was safely packed away, he stared at the structure full of determination. Truth be told, he had questions about the dingy building. He'd already destroyed it once and Zero knew that it was only a matter of time before this place fell apart. he already had back up plans. He wasn't just going to use magic to clean, he was also going to use magic to build.

With a huge blast of water, the hut collapsed with all the wood thoroughly soaked. The only thing standing was the well and the waterwheel behind the hut. Everything else had fallen apart from the floor to the roof. Hua Tuo didn't even bother reacting and walked away. It was a good thing he already had a tent made from some of his old clothes and a spare blanket. His apprentice would have to find his own shelter until he gets the hut fixed. he wasn't going to spoil Zero.

With a huge grin and looking very proud about his work, Zero waved a hand and absorbed all the broken pieces of wood. Hua Tuo must have been so furious that he left. Without his master around, Zero could focus on rebuilding the hut.

Firstly, the kitchen was way too old and small. Hua Tuo was always complaining about the piping issues where they had to do their cooking and washing separately. Zero decided to build the kitchen closer to the waterwheel in the new hut. This way, they could easily wash the dishes and clothes after dinner. Making noodles would be a lot easier as well.

Zero also wanted to create a partition in the hut for two more small rooms. Hua Tuo might not have a lot of belongings but having an extra room for reading and meditation would be good. His teacher always complained about Zero being too distracting in the same space, not that Zero could help it. He was a naturally active person.

Also, the medicine garage and veranda weren't big enough. Hua Tuo often had to migrate his work when experimenting with new pills. Zero decided that expanding it towards the farm would be a good idea. This way, it was easier to grab the required herbs and work on new medicines. Besides, it was closer to the kitchen at the back.

With the help of Mii and the Mind's Eye System, Zero was able to recreate stronger building materials from wood and stone that he absorbed a while ago from the mountain.

"Alright, help me out here," he told the strawcherry assistant who materialised and told Zero how to mark the areas for building out.

"We need pillars here too, don't forget. The walls can be stone but the flooring must be wood. the roof should be made from stone slabs too so that it is cooler in summer."

Zero nodded and worked quickly. He didn't need Hua Tuo interfering with his grand plan. It's a gift for his teacher after all and an apology for destroying the original hut. Zero had already perfected cleaning magic but he kept that as a secret for now. Cleaning magic wasn't hard to use. However, it was unsightly because it required ash and water. Also, it gave off a smell when it was used with wood so Zero was still in the process of figuring out how to mask that. He made some potpourris hoping that they will help but he had no idea if that would be enough.

The first pillars were erected and hammered into the ground. Zero had the time of his life jumping using anti-gravity magic and slamming hard onto them with gravity-enhancement magic. The process didn't take long at all but it was loud. From the forest, Hua Tuo wondered what his student was up to this time. He was foraging for dinner when he heard the loud slamming noises. That boy had better not be up to no good again.

"Phew!" Zero huffed. "That took a while. Shall we get to cutting stone slabs?"

Mii answered affirmatively and had Zero position where he wanted to put those slabs. The assistant used the system controls to reshape the huge rock chunk into manageable sized stone slabs. Zero marvelled at how neatly cut they were and how smooth they felt. Hua Tuo was going to like this.

When Zero was about halfway done with the walls, Bob reminded him not to forget windows. Zero gasped. He'd almost forgotten about them.

"We need to make the interiors later and fill it up with wood?"

"Yes. Now, focus on the walls and then we can make the roof. Wait! Leave that space open for a door..." Mii instructed and Zero worked diligently.

The stone slab laying was more time consuming and the sun was starting to set. If Zero didn't work quickly, Hua Tuo would be back.

The trio worked on the roof and added beams before sealing it up with plans and stone slabs. To make things look better, Zero added some light wisps inside before working on laying wood planks for the flooring and walls on the inside of the house. The windows and doors were given frames and Zero struggled with the hinges. In the end, to save time, the young doctor cheated and remoulded the frame structures to have some kind of hook. It held the door and windows perfectly in place like puzzle pieces and Zero scurried to work on the kitchen, extra rooms and medicine garage.

Hua Tuo returned with a basketful of wild vegetables, mushrooms and some fish. He dropped everything when he saw the new structure before him. When has his hut ever looked so fanciful? Also, the kitchen of his dreams was now facing the waterwheel. There was enough space for two stoves and a washing area that he didn't need to run very far each time he had washing to do. The medicine garage was also big enough for Hua Tuo to store his work in progress and the most striking feature was the stone walls. With stone, Hua Tuo no longer needed to fear strong winds and heavy rains. Lightning storms no longer scared him. This house would remain standing by the end of it.

"Zero?" he called out hesitantly after gathering all his fallen dinner ingredients. His student didn't respond and Hua Tuo started to worry a little. Usually, Zero would be very lively and had to be told to quiet down.

Hua Tuo noticed that his camp was missing and hurried over to the hut. Was Zero playing a prank?

Inside the new hut, Hua Tuo noticed that all his belongings were in place. The new hut was also bigger than the previous one and had two extra rooms. Was this all planned by Zero?

Although the new hut was bigger than the previous one, it was still relatively small. Hua Tuo finished his exploration in less than five minutes. Still, there was no sign of Zero. The Sage God started to panic.

As Hua Tuo walked past the washing area, a cold bucket of water fell on him. the physician didn't have to look up to know who the culprit was. that giggle only belonged to one mischievous student.

"Zero!"

The boy quickly got down and spun in a circle, waving his hands to attack his teacher with magic. The enraged physician didn't have much time to react as he was tossed into a huge water balloon and spun around. After a few good rounds to make his old bag of bones dizzy, Zero drained the water and blasted warm air all over Hua Tuo to dry the poor guy. By the time the 'washing cycle' was done, Hua Tuo's hair looked puffed up and his beard scraggly.

"Zero!" the physician yelled again and his student put on the most innocent looking face.

"But it works! This is the new cleaning magic that works for people and buildings. It didn't feel painful, right? With this amount of strength, the house wouldn't break!"

Hua Tuo's face was incredibly red and he punished Zero by throwing the boy to do clean up duty for a week, not that Zero minded when he could use magic. The Sage God certainly wasn't amused by the sudden cleaning attack but after the week of punishment, Hua Tuo didn't mind if Zero offered to clean up for both of them with his new magic.

At the price of his original hut and home of many years, Zero finally perfected cleaning magic that had a practical purpose. In return, he had a new home and would miss the boy very much after he graduated. There was nothing more convenient than having dishes clean themselves after a satisfying meal. Hua Tuo might not spoil Zero but his student had certainly spoiled him beyond redemption. There was no way the Sage God was going to get used to living the simple life and do things manually after Zero leaves.

"Zero," Hua Tuo asked one night after a heavy meal.

"Yes, master?"

"Can you teach me how to use cleaning magic?"

At that, the boy paused and looked at his teacher with wide eyes. Never in his wildest dreams would he think that Hua Tuo liked using magic. Then again, it would be a total waste if the secret art was not passed on after so many sacrifices.

"Sure!"

A wide smile bloomed on Zero's face as he demonstrated how to control water and wind bubbles.