The summer rain always carried an unreasonable fierceness.
One moment, the scorching sun was baking the bluestone until it was hot to the touch; the next, dark clouds churned up from the depths of the sea of clouds, and raindrops the size of beans pelted the pines and cypresses of Thoughtful Cliff, crackling on impact.
Lin Nan knelt on the makeshift altar erected for the apprenticeship ceremony.
The cold jade brick’s chill climbed up from her knees, soaking through her disciple robes.
She lowered her gaze toward the charred wooden plaque before the Clothing Tomb.
The cracks held red silk that had long since faded, the edges frayed and weathered by wind and rain.
That was the one she had tied on herself the year Shu Ying came of age.
No matter how carefully Shu Ying had protected it, as a mere mortal thing, it could not withstand the erosion of time.
Lin Nan tightened her robes, relieved that the Talisman of Cold Protection drawn by Shen Yuer was still tucked inside her bosom otherwise, she wouldn’t have felt so warm.
Today was the belated apprenticeship ceremony.
The martial contest and the ceremony, which were supposed to follow the path-seeking rites, had been interrupted by the incident involving Shen Qingmei.
After much deliberation, the Sect Leader and the Elders decided it was inappropriate to postpone the rites any further and held this ceremony for the disciples today.
But Thoughtful Cliff was after all not one of the Seven Great Peaks; there was no gilded incense burner of Qingyun Hall, no high-pitched singing of the ceremonial disciples, and not even a single spectator.
Only the howling wind, the torrential rain, and Shu Ying standing with her back to the Clothing Tomb beneath the cliff.
Shu Ying still wore the same blue-gray Taoist robe; the hem flapped wildly in the wind.
In her arms, she held an empty sword scabbard.
Only the old wooden hairpin engraved with the character “Lin” nestled in her hair swayed gently in the breeze.
“Kneel.”
Lin Nan bent forward, pressing her forehead to the cold jade.
The instant her brow touched the jade brick, memories of a past life surged into her mind:
At that time, a small Shu Ying had clutched her sleeve and sobbed, “Teacher, will the Tiger Demons come after us?”
She had ruffled the girl’s hair and smiled softly, “What’s there to fear? If the sky falls, I will bear it for you.”
She lifted her head just in time to see a droplet of water fall from Shu Ying’s cheek.
Was it a tear?
Then more rain struck her, running down her cheeks.
It was rain.
Lin Nan looked at her silently, not quite understanding why Shu Ying had suddenly scattered her true energy and let the rain batter her like that, like a bell tolling in the storm.
“Kneel again.”
The second thud echoed dully.
Suddenly, Shu Ying snapped her fingers, releasing a pale cyan energy arrow that grazed Lin Nan’s ankle and struck the jade brick, shattering into sparkling fragments.
The demon energy within Lin Nan surged wildly, causing her to grunt softly; in the depths of her jade-green eyes, a flash of molten gold suddenly blazed.
“Why did you choose me?” Shu Ying abruptly turned, her gaze fixed on Lin Nan. “Among the Seven Peaks of Qingyun, which one can’t accommodate you?”
Lin Nan kept her bowed posture, white hair brushing the cold jade brick. “I’m foolish and clumsy. I’m only fit to serve the Elders their meals.”
“Serve meals?” Shu Ying’s sword scabbard slammed to the ground, denting the earth beneath. “What do you think Qingyun Sect is? An inn or a tavern?!”
“Then what do you think I am?” Lin Nan raised her head; her jade eyes had now turned vertical pupils as she met Shu Ying’s abyssal gaze. “A half-demon who must prove her identity with her own hands?”
The air suddenly stiffened.
The wind swept rain against the pines and cypresses, creating a sorrowful moan.
Shu Ying clenched her fists, a suppressed breath rolling from her throat. She suddenly said, “You are a demon.”
“I’m not a demon.”
“You are human.”
A lie.
Even Shu Ying didn’t believe it.
So the girl smiled brightly, “Nor are you human.”
“Hold out your hand.”
Shu Ying produced a jade ring from her bosom.
Within the deep jade shimmer danced a thread of golden flame.
“This is the Locking Soul Ring.”
The instant the ring clasped around Lin Nan’s wrist bone, the golden flames burst into countless needles that stabbed along her meridians, penetrating her limbs and bones!
Lin Nan’s back stiffened sharply as the Locking Soul Ring suddenly constricted.
The searing pain from the golden flames burning her tendons and veins darkened her vision.
The demon energy inside her wildly collided but was firmly suppressed by the talisman inscribed on the ring, not even the tips of her fingers showing a trace of blackness.
“Don’t move!”
Shu Ying leaned in close, her breath cold with rainwater and a faint scent of sandalwood brushing Lin Nan’s ear. “If you recklessly use your demon energy again… it will burn your blood dry.”
Her words were hot with threat, yet her touch on Lin Nan’s wrist was tender and greedy.
The wind and rain tangled Lin Nan’s loose white hair around Shu Ying’s sword tassel at her waist.
“You can loosen your grip now, right? Teacher.”
The girl bit back the pain, emphasizing the words “Teacher” heavily.
Shu Ying was stunned and hurriedly released her hold; the obsessed look on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy coldness.
“The third kneel, the ceremony is complete.”
Shu Ying’s voice wavered.
She should have said, “The apprenticeship is complete,” but the word “teacher” stuck in her throat like a poisoned thorn.
Lin Nan raised her head, her jade eyes reflecting Shu Ying’s pale face. “Won’t you grant the Qingyun Token, Teacher?”
“Snap!”
Shu Ying suddenly stretched out her hand and pinched two inches in front of Lin Nan’s neck.
She lowered her gaze, her voice deepening, “Who allowed you to address me like that?”
Lin Nan looked at her, seeing her own reflection in Shu Ying’s black pupils.
She seemed unaware of the hand near her throat and spoke plainly, “According to Qingyun Sect Rules, once the apprenticeship ceremony is complete, master and disciple.”
Shu Ying stiffened instantly.
Right this was their apprenticeship.
She had been the one to call the ceremony complete.
Lin Nan calling her “Teacher” was only natural.
So why did her heart feel as if gripped by an invisible hand, pain so sharp she could barely breathe?
Shu Ying abruptly withdrew her hand, the fingertips pinching a deep crescent in her sleeve.
She stared at the calm white-haired girl looking back at her, and a sudden flicker of fear arose in her heart.
Her voice trembled as she whispered, afraid, “I’m sorry.”
The girl suddenly smiled.
Her emerald eyes swayed in the storm as she said, “It’s alright.”
She silently added in her heart: It’s alright, I’ve long since gotten used to it.
That was just Shu Ying.
She could suddenly go mad, suddenly cruel, and after wiping out the entire clan of the Grand Preceptor, would hold his memorial plaque and cry all night.
That Demon Emperor, who ruled life and death and wreaked havoc across the world, was her true self.
Before, with Lin Nan watching, she could restrain herself a little; after Lin Nan left, no one could suppress her anymore.
Not even praying.
Faint light cast two shadows on the ground: one kneeling, one standing, three zhang apart but as if a millennium stood between them.
Lin Nan stroked the residual warmth on the Locking Soul Ring, the golden flames within flickering with her heartbeat.
“I understand.”
The girl slowly rose, methodically circulating true energy to brush away the mud and water from her robes.
“Understand what?” Shu Ying was taken aback.
“Besides serving meals, I can help you with other things,” Lin Nan lifted her head; raindrops dripped from her hair tips onto the jade ring. “If you lose control again, Teacher, I can chant sutras for you.”
Shu Ying’s eyes widened sharply, an incredulous light flashing in her black pupils. She tentatively asked, “You can chant sutras…?”
Lin Nan shook her head, “I can learn.”
The high hopes raised suddenly fell crashing down.
Shu Ying’s face instantly turned cold as frost.
With a wave of her sleeve, she turned and left.
Lin Nan watched her retreating figure, hugging the invisible emptiness, expressionless.
“A late wind and rain have come, washing away the summer blaze.”
“Laughing softly with Tan Lang, tonight the gauze curtain and bamboo mat are cool.”
The rain still fell, but no longer as fierce.
Lin Nan looked up.
Oh, it was still just as fierce.