Chapter 008

Chapter 8: The Freebie Junior Sister

Heavenly One Sect sat in the south, and Supreme Sect sat in the north. The two were very far apart.

Bai Jian used Sword Flight to carry three people and one beast. They flew for three days and three nights. At last they crossed the Qinling Mountains and reached Heavenly One Sect’s lands. Back on their own turf, Bai Jian and Fang He An both looked much more relaxed.

They rested for a night up in a tree so Bai Jian could recover her spiritual power. For that, Fang He An pulled out one hundred flatbreads and said: “Senior Sister, eat.”

Bai Jian finished them within an hour.

At first light the next day, Bai Jian led the three of them through Heavenly One Sect’s Barrier and shot straight toward the sect proper. A chain of mountains filled their view. The peaks were spectacular. Unlike the graceful peaks of Supreme Sect, Heavenly One Sect’s mountains were grand and overwhelming. Their summits were white with snow. In this season there was no green, only gray and white, but the color did not lessen their height or danger.

Before they even reached the main peak, an angry roar rolled down: “Who stole my herbs? Who!”

Hearing that, Fang He An thought: [Not good. I left in a rush before and dug up herbs from Senior Uncle Xun Yin’s medicine field to trade for travel money. I forgot to say so.]

Bai Jian looked at him and said: “You are done.”

Fang He An launched forward on his sword and yelled: “Senior Uncle, it was me!”

From the high peak came the sounds of chaos, faint in the wind. Looking down from the sword, Ye Wan Wan saw endless mountains where spirit qi flowed and earth qi drifted. Yet the peaks were a bare red. It was not the bright red of fire. It was the red of poverty.

Li Wan Zhi was badly shaken and said, half to himself: “If they catch us, you and I are doomed even in our next lives.”

Ye Wan Wan looked at him, her eyes asking: [What do you mean?]

Li Wan Zhi knew from one look that she did not know anything. He asked: “You know Heavenly One Sect?”

Ye Wan Wan answered: “I know.”

He asked: “Then do you know what they are famous for?”

She said: “Geniuses.”

He said: “No, for being poor.”

Ye Wan Wan fell silent: “…”

Holding his chest like it hurt, Li Wan Zhi said with deep pain: “I have never seen a sect this poor in my life. So poor that even eating is a problem.”

He went on: “How can anyone stay in a sect like this?”

Lowering his voice, Li Wan Zhi whispered to Ye Wan Wan: “When you get a chance later, run if you can. Do not stay.”

Ye Wan Wan said nothing. She had not planned to stay anyway. But with someone like Li Wan Zhi, would he really know how to train someone with Five Spiritual Roots? She doubted it. Maybe she had come too early.

Bai Jian flew in front. In a moment the sword flashed like running light, bringing the two of them down on the main peak. They had flown so fast that after landing, Li Wan Zhi still spun several times and then threw up for a quarter of an hour. Ye Wan Wan’s face did not change at all.

Ye Wan Wan thought: […] and felt even more doubtful.

Bai Jian said in a plain tone, though the words cut Li Wan Zhi to pieces: “You are both at the Qi Refining Stage. Your rank is higher than hers, so why are you so weak?”

Gritting his teeth, Li Wan Zhi turned and asked Ye Wan Wan: “What level of Qi Refining?”

Ye Wan Wan said: “First layer.”

Li Wan Zhi was speechless: “…”

He could not understand how someone at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage could use a Repair Talisman. Ye Wan Wan’s face stayed calm, as if she had not seen his doubt. She thought: [So what if it is the first layer. A talisman still works.]

Bai Jian suddenly tilted her head, as if hearing a voice transmission. After listening, she told the two of them: “Come with me. Sect Master wants to see you.”

Ye Wan Wan paused and asked: “Can I not go?”

Bai Jian said: “No.”

Ye Wan Wan could only follow, while Bai Jian dragged Li Wan Zhi along.

They thought they would enter the main hall, but Bai Jian changed direction and headed for a house on a side peak. Soon the smell of food drifted out.

Ye Wan Wan guessed: “The kitchen?”

Bai Jian answered boldly: “Yes. This is the dining area for disciples. Anyone below the Core Formation Stage has not learned to live without food yet, so Heavenly One Sect also has a cafeteria.”

Ye Wan Wan understood. Still, seeing the Sect Master in the cafeteria felt strange.

Bai Jian added: “It is just the right time for breakfast. Eldest Senior Brother is on duty today.”

She stepped inside, and a voice came from the back: “Li Yan went out. I am covering his shift today.” A cold-faced man came out from the kitchen holding a basin piled high with white rice. There were no dishes.

Seeing him, Bai Jian greeted him like it was nothing and said: “Senior Uncle Yan Ju.”

Li Wan Zhi might be wild, but in front of this cold-faced man he straightened up and gave a proper salute. He said: “Sei… Senior Uncle.”

Ye Wan Wan was not a member of Heavenly One Sect, but she was young. She followed Bai Jian and gave a junior’s bow: “Junior Ye Wan Wan greets Senior.”

At her voice, Yan Ju stared at Ye Wan Wan. His eyes flashed and he said: “This little girl… newly accepted?”

Bai Jian said: “Yes.”

Ye Wan Wan thought: [Huh?]

With a burning gaze, Yan Ju asked: “Has she chosen her master yet?”

Bai Jian said: “Not yet. I just brought her back.”

“Oh? Not yet.” Yan Ju set down the basin of rice and began to stare at Ye Wan Wan.

Ye Wan Wan said nothing. His gaze was so sharp it felt like it could see through everything. She frowned and looked back. Bai Jian stepped in front of her and blocked Yan Ju’s stare, saying: “Senior Uncle, you are scaring her.”

Yan Ju snorted, but he relaxed a little and said: “Sit.”

The three sat down. Li Wan Zhi gave in to fate, took a bowl, started scooping rice, and even handed Ye Wan Wan a bowl as he warned: “Eat now. If you wait, there will be none left.”

Ye Wan Wan looked at the rice and had no appetite.

Bai Jian also scooped a bowl and set it aside. Then, with a clang, she lifted the whole basin to herself. Seeing Ye Wan Wan looking at her, Bai Jian asked: “Do you want more?” She kindly pressed a full ladle into Ye Wan Wan’s bowl, packing it down so hard that half the rice spilled over the rim. Then she kept the entire basin in front of herself, like a person guarding all her possessions.

Ye Wan Wan thought: “…”

Yan Ju and Li Wan Zhi were used to it. Since not everyone had arrived, none of the three started eating. The bowl Bai Jian had served was clearly for Fang He An. As for the bowl Yan Ju had left out, no one knew who it was for.

A cheerful voice came from the kitchen: “Little Bai, you are back.”

Bai Jian answered with a nod: “Master.”

Sect Master Li Ming De walked in carrying two big plates of meat and set them in front of Bai Jian and the others. Seeing Li Wan Zhi, he said with a friendly smile: “You completed your task well.”

Li Wan Zhi drooped.

The Sect Master told him: “Little one, do not hang your head. If you stay with Heavenly One Sect, you will not suffer and you will not be cheated.”

Li Wan Zhi said through gritted teeth: “Yeah, right.”

He had been in the sect one month and had lost count of how many times he had suffered.

The Sect Master’s gaze moved past Li Wan Zhi and fell on Ye Wan Wan with a hint of surprise. He asked: “And this is…”

Bai Jian said: “Junior Sister.”

All four at the table went still. Only Yan Ju kept studying Ye Wan Wan, thoughtful, and he did not deny it.

Bai Jian said, clear and simple: “I brought her back. Junior Sister.”

Ye Wan Wan could not help speaking up: “Senior Sister Bai, I…” She had followed to take a look. She only wanted to figure out what that omen meant. How did she become a Junior Sister?

Bai Jian tilted her head and asked: “Do you not like me?”

Ye Wan Wan answered: “No.”

Bai Jian asked again: “Do you not like Heavenly One Sect?”

Ye Wan Wan said: “That is not it.”

Bai Jian concluded: “Good. Master, she agrees to stay.”

The four at the table fell silent: “…”

This neat, no-nonsense exchange made Li Ming De laugh. He said: “Good. Then stay.”

Ye Wan Wan thought: [Wait. Did any of you ask me?] But the master and disciple settled the matter with a few words. She had no chance to speak.

Fang He An rushed back and said: “I did not miss mealtime, right? Uh, Senior Uncle Xun Yin punished me to replant the herbs I took. I will be busy starting tomorrow.” Seeing the two elders at the table, he straightened at once and said: “Sect Master, Senior Uncle Yan Ju, I request to help Senior Uncle plant herbs every day.”

Sect Master Li Ming De smiled and said: “Xiao An, come meet your Junior Sister.”

“Huh?” Fang He An looked from Li Wan Zhi to Ye Wan Wan and asked: “Junior Sister? Since when?”

Bai Jian and Yan Ju answered together: “Now.”

Fang He An stood there, blank: “…” He had only been gone a short time. What in the world had happened?