Lingyunzi became so angry that he nearly threw his bowl and chopsticks. Then he remembered they had been purchased with sect funds and lowered his hand.
He sighed. He could not embarrass Chiguzi in front of Mu Yunran. However strange the man was, he was still her master and deserved at least that much respect.
Besides, Lingyunzi did not believe Chiguzi would truly send Mu Yunran to farm. It was bad enough that his junior martial brother neglected his own proper work. Delaying the child’s progress would be unacceptable.
“Your master has invited you to eat, so go ahead. Consider this your home. You needn’t feel restrained.”
Lingyunzi sat on a wooden stool, ladled broth from the pot into a bowl, and handed it to Mu Yunran.
She thanked him and sat down. Only after both Lingyunzi and Chiguzi took their first bites did she lift her chopsticks.
The three ate around the enormous pot, and the atmosphere quickly improved.
Lingyunzi swallowed a mouthful and looked at Chiguzi, who was eating with great enthusiasm.
“Junior Brother, this child is now your first disciple. You must teach her carefully.”
Chiguzi glanced at him. “Is this work the sacred tree assigned me?”
His careless attitude made Lingyunzi frown.
“Junior Brother, you should show the sacred tree greater respect.”
Chiguzi ignored the warning. He washed the corn kernels he had shelled and added them to the pot, then took a bamboo tube from his storage pouch and passed it to Mu Yunran.
“I made this sweet corn drink. Try it.”
Mu Yunran thanked him and took a sip.
“Good, isn’t it? I knew a child your age would like it.” Chiguzi turned to Lingyunzi. “Senior Brother, I didn’t want a disciple, but I cannot defy the sacred tree’s arrangement. The girl can stay here. I’ll teach her useful things.”
With a few sentences, Chiguzi left Lingyunzi with no reply.
Mu Yunran remained silent and secretly observed the martial brothers.
Chiguzi produced a plate of braised bones and was about to share them when barking came from outside.
A huge black-and-white dog, taller than Mu Yunran when it stood upright, suddenly appeared. A golden dog raced behind it in pursuit.
The black-and-white dog charged forward, snatched the bones from Chiguzi’s hand in one bite, and ran aside to eat.
Unable to stop it, the golden dog barked several times. When the thief ignored the scolding, the golden dog stormed over and slapped its face with one paw.
“Awoo…”
The black-and-white dog’s injured whine reached the diners.
Mu Yunran put down her chopsticks and drank some water. Another shocking but hilarious scene might occur at any moment. If she spat out her food, it would be terribly undignified.
Lingyunzi pressed his fingers to his temple. His head ached badly.
“Chiguzi, control your spirit pets!”
Chiguzi set down the remaining bones and approached the dogs. First, he petted the golden one.
“Don’t be angry, Dahuang. Wuchang has always behaved like this. He’s too wild. Even I can’t control him.”
Dahuang gave a happy bark and wagged his tail.
“Wuchang, how many times have I told you? You’re a well-raised spirit pet. How can you steal your master’s food? Look at you! Anyone would think you hadn’t eaten in days. You’re not even as well behaved as the ordinary dogs in the villages below!”
Chiguzi pretended to smack Wuchang twice, then smiled apologetically at Lingyunzi.
“Senior Brother, Wuchang understands his mistake. Let’s keep eating. There are plenty of bones left, so don’t be shy.”
Lingyunzi gave the plate a disgusted look. His appetite had vanished.
“Who knows whether Wuchang drooled on them? Eat them yourself. I delivered the child, and you know what comes next. I still have many Sword Intent Hall matters to handle, so I’m leaving.”
He gave Mu Yunran several instructions. She was to cultivate diligently. If Chiguzi refused to teach her properly, she should take the jade token Lingyunzi gave her and find him in the inner grounds.
Chiguzi watched Lingyunzi depart, then divided all the braised bones among his spirit pets.
“I believe we need a master-acceptance ceremony. New disciples attend a group ceremony conducted by the sect leader, where they receive jade identity tokens. In addition to that ceremony, each disciple must formally bow before their own master.”
Mu Yunran watched Chiguzi solemnly read from a booklet while occasionally eating another bite. She was speechless.
Her master was not a serious man. Ordinary rules could not be used to understand anything he did. She understood that now.
“After a disciple performs the ceremony, the master must present at least one gift. Let me think. What fine object can I give you?”
Chiguzi rose and circled his vegetable garden several times.
“I don’t own many treasures. I’ll choose something simple. Come to the back courtyard with me. There’s nothing there, so it’s cleaner.”
Mu Yunran followed him.
As promised, the rear courtyard looked empty. Not a speck of dust marked the ground. Stone walls enclosed it, and a fruit tree in one corner was heavy with red fruit.
“I have two brick houses here. I live in the larger one, and you may have the smaller. My spirit pets stay in the back courtyard. They’re all friendly little creatures that like people, so you don’t need to fear an attack.”
Chiguzi pointed at one corner and released pale-green light from his fingertip.
The courtyard transformed.
Several small earthen shelters appeared in the previously empty space. More than ten spirit beasts emerged. Some still held food in their mouths as they studied Mu Yunran with curiosity.
Mu Yunran had believed Chiguzi kept only four spirit pets.
She said nothing.
Unlike other cultivators’ spirit pets, his did not appear mighty or capable of fighting. They looked no different from ordinary pets, poultry, and livestock.
For a moment, Mu Yunran wondered whether she had entered the Clearcloud Sect or a countryside guest farm.
“I don’t like fierce spirit beasts,” Chiguzi explained, “so I keep only those that resemble ordinary animals.”
Then he muttered, “Actually, the sect leader forbade me from keeping violent ones with great fighting strength.”
“Master, what did you say?” Mu Yunran asked.
Chiguzi smiled. “Nothing. Come greet them. They’re all my good companions. Before you arrived, their leader was that tiger cat. But now that you’re here, I declare you their new leader!”
He slipped both hands beneath Mu Yunran’s arms and lifted the bewildered girl overhead.
“Companions, cheer for your new leader!”
The spirit beasts gave Chiguzi face. They howled and cried together to welcome their new leader.
Chiguzi lowered Mu Yunran and took an object wrapped in red cloth from his storage pouch.
“Child, what was your name again?”
“Master, my name is Mu Yunran.”
Chiguzi nodded. “In all my years, you are my only disciple. This is my first time as a master, and there are many things I don’t understand. I can only do my best to teach you and fulfill the role. If I do something wrong, say so, and I will consider changing it.
“Unlike Senior Brother Lingyunzi, I have neither high cultivation nor high status. I cannot give a disciple as much as other masters can. They may not know the things I know, but I also don’t know what they know. Here, you will need to understand most cultivation matters by yourself. I can teach only the basic methods.
“I can teach you many things that are mostly useless for cultivation, such as farming and raising spirit pets. My way of teaching will certainly be unusual. Knowing all this, do you still wish to be my disciple?”
Chiguzi was serious for once. Mu Yunran matched his attitude and considered carefully. Then she knelt on one knee and bowed.
“This disciple, Mu Yunran, pays respects to her master!”
Chiguzi laughed and tossed the wrapped object into the air.
Pale-green light surrounded it. The red cloth fell away, and a brand-new jade hoe dropped into Mu Yunran’s raised hands.
“This jade hoe has no elemental attribute and has not recognized a master. It can absorb its user’s spiritual energy, and in an emergency, you can cast spells through it. I give it to you in the hope that you will use it well.”
Mu Yunran’s brief surge of excitement drained away. Bewilderment filled her eyes.
Use it? For what?
Chiguzi swept his hand, opening the gate to the front courtyard.
“To farm with your master, of course! Together, we will double the harvest from the spirit fields!”
With the spirit beasts as witnesses, Mu Yunran formally entered Chiguzi’s tutelage and became his first and senior disciple.
Ahua did not like Chiguzi’s triumphant expression. The spirit piglet grunted, jumped, and began battering his face.
…
Sword light flashed through another courtyard, carving marks into the ground.
The Frost-Touched Sword gave a mournful cry. Its blade trembled as it tried to stop Lu Qingran from practicing any longer.
Cold sweat covered her body. Her lips were pale, and the hand holding the sword shook uncontrollably. At last, her grip failed, and the Frost-Touched Sword struck the ground with a clang.
As it fell, Lu Qingran’s strength abandoned her. She collapsed into a sitting position, one hand gripping her arm while her teeth pressed against her lip to keep any sound from escaping.
The scar left by the talisman cultivator three years earlier burned beneath her skin.
This had happened at intervals ever since. Whenever the scar grew hot, faces appeared before her eyes. Some belonged to people close to her. Others were only acquaintances.
Without exception, the faces of those who had treated her kindly became twisted during an attack. Benevolent smiles turned vicious and terrifying.
The most distorted face belonged to the young woman Lu Qingran had rescued more than a year ago.
The woman, now twisted beyond recognition, approached with a sword. She drove it easily into Lu Qingran’s chest, leaving an ugly wound. As if that were not enough, she turned the hilt with force, twisting the blade inside Lu Qingran and bringing even greater agony.
Lu Qingran knew it was an illusion. Her master had already destroyed that woman’s cultivation and expelled her from the Clearcloud Sect. She could never appear before Lu Qingran again.
Only the talisman poison allowed Lu Qingran to see her now.
The pain in her chest was false, but the burning was real. The heat finally pulled her back to awareness. As the illusion disappeared, she released a breath and drew out her burning jade pendant.
It was half of a pendant carved with a feather. Her master had told her that it was already around her neck when he found her. She had worn it against her skin ever since.
Whenever danger approached, the pendant heated to warn her.
Since the talisman poisoning, it became almost scalding whenever hallucinations came, burning fiercely enough to wake her.
“It is fortunate I have you.”
Lu Qingran closed her eyes. The poison’s influence was growing stronger.
One more face had appeared in today’s hallucination.
Mu Yunran’s.
Oh this is good