“Cough, cough.”
“You two, do you understand what you did wrong?”
At the foot of Qingyun Sect’s mountain gate, Senior Sister Qiao scolded the two girls who were chatting recklessly. Although her voice was soft and gentle, it held little intimidation.
Shen Yuer pouted, clearly still unaware of her mistake.
Lin Nan, on the other hand, furrowed her brow and promptly answered, “Yes, I understand!”
Although, those jade-green eyes of hers were clearly screaming, I’m not wrong at all.
Senior Brother’s palm of golden light gradually dimmed. He sighed again and looked toward Lin Nan. “I didn’t ask you to stay for anything else. I lost a bet with Junior Sister Qiao, so I promised to grant you one request. You can make it now or later. That’s all.”
“Oh, got it,” Lin Nan nodded, accepting this matter surprisingly smoothly.
Senior Brother snorted, formed a hand seal, and suddenly disappeared.
Only then did Junior Sister Qiao exhale and roll her eyes at Lin Nan. “Lin Junior Sister, your mouth really can drive people mad.”
“But I’m speaking the truth,” Lin Nan brushed a strand of white hair aside, her gentle eyes quiet yet filled with firm resolve.
Junior Sister Qiao smiled helplessly. She looked toward the distant sky where a streak of rapidly fleeing golden light trembled slightly.
“I don’t even know if having you join Qingyun Sect is a blessing or a curse,” Junior Sister Qiao greeted the two. “But you did get one thing wrong.”
“The initiation ceremony doesn’t cause obvious differences in resource allocation, but the ranking within the ceremony does affect all aspects of your life after entering Qingyun Sect.”
“You both performed well in these two trials. We’ve also investigated your bone qualities from the stone steps. Shen Yuer, you come from the Shen Family and practice the Long Breath Song. Your innate talent in water techniques is excellent, but controlling beasts and objects limits you. It would be better to look further ahead and strive to apprentice under Elder Zhuolian, she can teach you a lot.”
“As for Lin Nan…” Junior Sister Qiao’s expression flickered for a moment. “You should know your own talents better than I do.”
Lin Nan’s expression froze for a moment before suddenly understanding.
Clearly, the strange phenomenon that occurred in the Jianyao Mirror had some basis. Or rather, Junior Sister Qiao had already seen through her Half-Demon identity.
But if Junior Sister Qiao could see it, wouldn’t that mean the entire Qingyun Sect and even the whole cultivation world could have people who would notice?
“Your talent is a double-edged sword,” Junior Sister Qiao gathered her thoughts and spoke slowly, “Your aptitude suits every cultivation method, but the effort and time you must invest increase exponentially.”
“Fortunately, you’re not short on time, are you?”
Lin Nan felt a little uncomfortable. This Junior Sister seemed to know many things that shouldn’t be common knowledge like the talents of a Half-Demon, and their lifespan.
“No current elder on any peak of Qingyun Sect, not even the sect leader, can truly teach you. But… I do know someone who might.”
Lin Nan’s brows rose slightly, her curiosity piqued.
Since Junior Sister Qiao knew so much about her Half-Demon nature, what answer would she give?
Her white high ponytail flicked lightly behind her, those gentle jade-green eyes like the calm surface of a deep pool brushed by the breeze quiet and mysterious.
Truly a perfect match…
Junior Sister Qiao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If Lin Junior Sister and that person were placed together, they would be a perfect pair.
“There are a few Grand Elders in Qingyun Sect. Among them, Elder Xunlin might be the one best suited for you.”
“A Grand Elder? How am I supposed to find her?”
“There’s a tomb for officials beneath the Reflection Cliff. Go there, and you’ll find her.”
Lin Nan understood immediately. She clasped her fists and said softly, “Thank you, Junior Sister Qiao.”
“No need. This is what a senior sister should do.”
With that, Junior Sister Qiao formed a hand seal and vanished in a flash of light.
That felt amazing!
Once away from the two, Qiao Lu couldn’t help but clench her fists and cheer herself on. The thought of never having to deliver meals to that godforsaken Reflection Cliff again made the corners of her mouth twitch uncontrollably.
That fake nun was just too difficult to deal with, even the master feared her.
She hoped Lin Junior Sister’s departure would be smooth and uneventful.
Amitabha.
After Qiao Lu left, Lin Nan and Shen Yuer went to visit their own cave dwellings.
Simple and clean, just right for cultivators devoted to the Dao.
The air in the cave was thick with spiritual energy. Even though Lin Nan hadn’t yet refined true Qi, she could feel the great comfort as her pores greedily absorbed the essence.
“Yuer, you really are from a prominent family.”
As they approached Shen Yuer’s cave, Lin Nan noticed a letter lying outside and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Huh?”
It was common to see letters left outside new disciples’ caves. Most were from family or fellow clan members waiting at the mountain base, or congratulatory and thank-you notes from afar.
Not to mention, the Senior Brother mentioned Huo Yuanyao before. She seemed to come from a certain Sword Sect and had admired Qingyun Sect’s Qingyun Sword Formation for a long time, coming specifically to apprentice here.
Her cave was piled high with envelopes.
Although Huo Yuanyao hadn’t even glanced at them she would just slash them to pieces with her sword.
Shen Yuer’s mind twisted in several turns before she finally understood what Lin Nan was pointing at. She leaned forward and handed the letter to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan smoothly took it, cleared her throat, and read aloud:
“Dear Yu, I hope this letter finds you well. When you see this…”
Scratch—
Suddenly a blue light flashed, the girl’s face flushed red. She slapped the letter in half, her embarrassment turning her cheeks almost dripping with shame. She looked at Lin Nan with an accusing, pitiful gaze.
“Xiao Lin, I know this isn’t what the letter actually says.”
Lin Nan smiled, hiding her teasing. “Looks like you know who wrote it.”
“One guess is enough. Who else but my sister?”
Lin Nan looked at the half-written signature: three delicate characters—“Shen Qingmei.”
The girl furrowed her brows and suddenly realized, “Her handwriting really looks a lot like yours.”
Shen Yuer spread her hands helplessly. “She’s the one responsible for me being abandoned.”
Lin Nan brushed a stray lock of hair and asked, “Let me guess, it’s not that she purposely copied your handwriting, is it?”
“You guessed right,” Shen Yuer shrugged with resigned relief. “It’s the most cliché story ever.”
“Qingmei and I are both daughters born of concubines.”
“The Prime Minister’s Residence only planned to choose one of us as a concubine.”
“…”
Lin Nan pulled Shen Yuer inside the cave and made her a cup of tea.
She stared at the letter’s blatantly provocative and blatantly crude words, her expression darkening. She wondered what thoughts stirred within.
Though both were born of concubines, Shen Yuer had grown up in the Shen Family, unlike Shen Qingmei, who was a late-arriving illegitimate daughter.
Like the melodramatic stories widely told among common folk, Shen Qingmei deliberately imitated Shen Yuer in every way, playing the weak girl and self-victimizing in front of the entire family only to pin all the blame on Shen Yuer.
Perhaps out of guilt toward this illegitimate daughter, the head of the Shen Family never doubted Qingmei’s words and grew increasingly hostile toward Shen Yuer.
But all this was just a series of minor conflicts stacking up until…
An elder from Qingyun Sect, repaying a favor to the head of the Shen Family, personally came to the residence to test the veins of the Shen children. Afterwards, he pointed at Shen Yuer and said, “This girl has good talent and should come study at Qingyun Sect.”
Lin Nan rested her chin on her hand and suddenly said, “Obviously, that beautiful ending never came to be.”
The tea boiled in the pot, steam swirling softly, masking the faces of the two girls in a dance of light and shadow.
Lin Nan watched Shen Yuer’s face flicker in and out of focus through the mist.
“Shen Qingmei took my name to join Qingyun Sect, and I was selected to become a concubine at the Prime Minister’s Residence,” Shen Yuer suddenly smiled brightly, though her eyes held hints of unwillingness and anger. “But now there’s another Shen Yuer who has joined Qingyun Sect—it’s truly ridiculous.”
Lin Nan placed the tea before Shen Yuer, snorted, and said, “Don’t be afraid, just pull her hair! If you can’t, I’ll help you.”
Now knowing the full story,
Lin Nan finally understood why, besides the Righteous Six Sects, there were so many sects perfect for hiding identities and evading the Prime Minister’s Residence’s pursuit why Shen Yuer insisted on choosing Qingyun Sect so far away.
She looked at the signature “Shen Qingmei” and suddenly sneered.
“I’m reminded of a saying.”
“Huh?”
The girl smiled teasingly, “The true ascetic laments on Mount Luojia, the fake Monkey King transcribes at the Water Curtain Cave.”