Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the senior brother’s promised initiation ceremony had finally arrived.
Last night, a heavy rain had fallen.
The main peak square of the Qingyun Sect was washed clear by the morning mist. The nine-zhang tall white jade platform rose against the mountain, its steps adorned with freshly picked dewgrass. Water droplets slid down the layered petals, refracting rainbow halos in the morning sun like scattered fragments of stars.
Atop the platform, a bronze cauldron burned forget-worry incense, its smoke curling upward, intertwining with the distant Mist Sea. Even the wind carried a trace of solemnity.
Early in the morning, Shen Yuer slipped into Lin Nan’s cave dwelling. After tidying Lin Nan’s collar, she thoughtfully helped her style a beautiful hairstyle.
“Let’s go. We still have to be questioned at the initiation ceremony. We should head there early,” the girl said, picking up Not-Seeing-Green and casually tucking a sword flower into her hair before pushing the door open.
Hmm?
Lin Nan’s eyes sharpened, and Not-Seeing-Green suddenly slid from her hand. Holding the sword single-handedly, Lin Nan frowned at the Gray-Furred Spirit Mouse split in two before her.
“Isn’t Shen Qingmei locked in the Disciplinary Hall? How did a Gray-Furred Spirit Mouse suddenly appear here?” Shen Yuer was still forming hand seals; if any further disturbance arose, her Water Thorn would appear at once.
The girl raised her sword, and the blue Qi circled over the bloodstains, thoroughly evaporating the blood Qi before she sheathed the blade.
The two stood quietly, waiting a moment. Only after confirming there were no more attackers did they finally relax.
“It’s nothing,” Shen Yuer raised her eyes, the cyan glow spreading in them, mesmerizing the young girl. “She can’t stir up any trouble anymore.”
“All right then, let’s go~”
With a flick of her hand, a stream of water rushed over, washing away the Gray-Furred Spirit Mouse and the bloodstains.
…
…
Qingyun Sect’s Sect Leader Xuanchenzi wore his Dao robe and sat solemnly in the agarwood chair at the center of the platform. Seven Peak Masters flanked him on both sides.
Since the last exchange meeting had ended, disciples from the Danxia Sect had also stayed behind, invited to observe the ceremony and see how this year’s new Qingyun Sect disciples fared.
The Sword Peak Master leaned against the desk holding his sword, eyes closed in meditation; the Beast-Taming Peak Master occasionally stroked the string of beast teeth on his wrist; Elder Zhuolian of the Five Arts Peak toyed with a half-open lotus on the table…
The most eye-catching was the figure at the front left, clad in a blue-gray Dao robe.
Black hair, black eyes, her expression cold as melting snow, her hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin carved with the tiny character “Lin” at the end.
Her eyelids lowered, fingers twisting a string of Purple Sandalwood Prayer Beads, each bead polished smooth and glossy, clicking softly—“ta”—mingling with the incense fog, more effective at calming hearts than a bell’s chime.
Some said she was Supreme Elder Xunlin, but except for the Sect Leader, no one dared to speak to her directly. They only watched from a distance, noticing how the breeze lifted her sleeve just enough to reveal the plain white inner garment.
On the square, the new disciples formed a line according to their order of entry. The uniform blue-gray robes fluttered in the wind.
Lin Nan stood at the end of the line. The silver hairpin in her hair was dampened by morning dew, reflecting a cold light. The tiny ring at the hairpin’s tip caught a stray white strand of hair. She lifted her hand to brush it aside but was gently tugged on the sleeve from behind.
It was Shen Yuer.
The young girl wore freshly washed disciple robes, collar crisp. She secretly glanced up at the white jade platform, her eyelashes dotted with dew, like a layer of fine snow.
When Lin Nan turned back, she blinked quickly and mouthed, “Elder Zhuolian’s lotus is really beautiful.”
Lin Nan curved her lips to respond when the voice of a steward disciple pierced the square:
“The auspicious hour has arrived—”
The voice carried Qi, causing the copper bells at the eaves to jingle.
Xuanchenzi raised his hand, the incense smoke suddenly stilled. He spoke loudly, “Three months into initiation, the Dao heart begins to form. Today’s questioning will test your cultivation.”
As his voice fell, the mountain breeze swept through the square, carrying the scent of dewgrass, brushing over every disciple’s robe. Those who had previously undergone initiation bowed in unison, their hems brushing the blue stone tiles. The new disciples followed suit, bowing respectfully.
The initiation ceremony proceeded quietly, bringing a peaceful serenity like wind rippling through wheat fields.
The questioning began.
“Huo Yuanyao, you first.”
The Sword Peak Master spoke first, his gaze landing on the purple-robed girl at the front of the line.
Huo Yuanyao stepped forward three paces, clasped her fists, and bowed, “In three months, I have grasped four words: ‘Sword Heart Clear.’ I have listened day and night to sword lessons by Sword Peak, practicing only one sword technique, understanding that ‘haste makes waste.’ Even if sword moves are fast, without a calm heart, it is all in vain. I have finally broken through to eighth rank.”
“Not bad,” the Sword Peak Master nodded, lightly tapping the sword sheath with his fingertips. “Come to my peak tomorrow to receive the Qingyun Heart Sutra.”
Huo Yuanyao’s heart leapt with joy as she bowed deeply.
She knew the Sword Peak Master’s words meant accepting her as a disciple, even studying swordsmanship under him.
Next came the disciple focusing on Beast-Taming, who declared that without relying on cultivation methods, she could soothe the fiery horses in the entire stable; then the disciple practicing arts spoke of the insight “intention precedes brush” when drawing Spirit Talismans…
One round of questions and answers after another, the sun rose higher, incense smoke dissipated, revealing the mountain peaks beneath the Mist Sea, resembling beasts crouched on the ground.
“Shen Yuer,” Elder Zhuolian’s voice was as gentle as spring water. She looked toward Shen Yuer with warm eyes full of admiration.
Shen Yuer took a deep breath and stepped forward, her skirt sweeping over the dewgrass on the steps, bringing a fresh scent. “In three months of water cultivation, I have used the Water Classics Supplementary Notes to grasp from the Long Breath Song that the softness of water is not weakness but following the momentum.”
She condensed a fine thread of water at her fingertips, drawing a flowing arc in midair. “Water bends around stones, slips through cracks; seemingly drifting with the flow, but in fact has direction. I have realized the ‘Piercing Technique’ and the ‘Entangling Technique.’ Combining the two, I can condense water into chains capable of easily restraining a Nine-rank Spirit Mouse.”
Elder Zhuolian’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Well understood. The pinnacle of water cultivation is to shape oneself according to external forms. The Water Classics Supplementary Notes do not provide a fixed method; it is meant to be understood through external principles. A water technique acquired in this way is truly your own. Very good, very good!”
Elder Zhuolian repeated several approving words, pursing her lips, solidifying her intention to take Shen Yuer as her disciple.
The line shortened gradually. When a steward disciple called out, “Next, Shen Qingmei,” two Disciplinary Hall disciples escorted Shen Qingmei forward, under the scrutiny of everyone present, step by step into the center of the crowd.
The Beast-Taming Peak Master sighed heavily upon seeing Shen Qingmei.
“Shen Yangfeng, you’ve really caused me a lot of trouble…” The Beast-Taming Peak Master turned his head, unwilling to look more at this unruly, foolish woman.
Her prison robes were stained with still-wet blood, her hair disheveled and stuck to her cheeks. As she passed the line, many disciples instinctively stepped back.
Over these three months, her impersonation of “Shen Yuer” and enjoyment of privileges at Beast-Taming Peak had long been no secret.
Now the real Shen Yuer diligently cultivated, displaying extraordinary talent on the path of water arts, earning great recognition from Elder Zhuolian of the Five Arts Peak.
Compared to this pitiful, disgraceful fake “Shen Yuer”…
One was heaven; the other, earth.
So tragic, so pitiful.
“Shen Qingmei,” Xuanchenzi’s voice grew heavy. The tea cup on the table shook slightly. “You impersonated a fellow disciple, deceived your superiors, and took her place in the sect. Do you plead guilty?”
Suddenly, Shen Qingmei laughed wildly. Her sharp laughter scraped the blue stone like fingernails, startling the sparrows on the nearby pine trees.
“Guilty?” She violently broke free from the disciple’s grip and lunged onto the white jade steps, the prison robe’s sleeve worn through by the stone, revealing bloodied arms. “What crime have I committed? Fine, since you want to question my Dao, I’ll tell you all what my Dao truly is…”
“My Dao is this: Qingyun Sect above all. For these three months, I have done only one thing—to cover the Sect’s shame!!”
The crowd erupted.
Whispers filled the air. Even the seven Peak Masters frowned.
Elder Zhuolian’s expression darkened. She glanced at the Beast-Taming Peak Master beside her and chuckled lightly, “Brother Luo, your Beast-Taming Peak’s chosen disciple truly has great audacity…”
The Beast-Taming Peak Master’s face turned ashen, about to scold her but was stopped by Xuanchenzi raising his hand.
“Speak. What shame does our Qingyun Sect have? And what shame have you covered?” Sect Leader Xuanchenzi’s voice carried across the square with Qi, silencing all murmurs.
Shen Qingmei suddenly lifted her head. Under the tangled strands of hair, her eyes gleamed like poisoned daggers, fixating fiercely on Lin Nan at the back of the line.
“The shame of your blindness for inviting a demon into the Sect!”