Apprenticeship

A few nights later, a young man walked into the Taoist temple in the snow.

At that moment, Xiao Wan'er was having dinner with Liuyun in the main hall. He walked in, removed his cloak, revealing a round-necked purple brocade robe underneath. Unlike Liuyun, he had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a serious expression, and meticulous attention to detail, from his hat to his boots.

After putting the cloak away, he saluted Liuyun and then looked at Xiao Wan'er.

"Disciple greets Master. Master, who is this?"

"This is the new disciple I've accepted during my travels. Her name is Xiao Wan'er, and she'll be your junior sister from now on," Liu Yun introduced the two disciples. "Wan'er, this is your senior brother, Pei Yingguan, who just came of age."

Xiao Wan'er saluted him in the same way Pei Yingguan saluted.

"Wan'er meets Senior Brother."

Pei Yingguan did not respond, but just stared at her with a frown. Xiao Wan'er didn't know what to do, and the atmosphere was silent for a while.

It was Liuyun who stepped forward to help: "Don't just stand there, come and have dinner."

A bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetable soup were placed on the table in front of the previously empty stool. Pei Yingguan withdrew his gaze and sat down at the table, while Xiao Wan'er continued to eat.

After the three of them finished their meal quietly, Liuyun began to ask Pei Yingguan about what he had seen and heard during his trip down the mountain.

"Tell me about the current situation in the Divine Capital," he looked at Pei Yingguan and then at Xiao Wan'er, and said soothingly, "It's okay to tell me, your junior sister is one of us too."

Pei Yingguan paused for a moment and began to recount his experiences along the way: "Before the false emperor ascended the throne, the Li clan had already suffered persecution, and loyal officials and generals had been scattered. Therefore, there was no effective opposition to the establishment of the false Zhou Dynasty. Even if there were those who expressed dissatisfaction, they were all eliminated by cruel officials."

Pei Yingguan uttered words that Xiao Wan'er didn't understand. She looked at Pei Yingguan curiously, and Pei Yingguan was unable to continue speaking for a while.

After taking a deep breath and adjusting his state, Pei Yingguan continued, "Ever since the false emperor was preparing to ascend the throne, he has been praising Buddhism and disparaging Taoism. Now he has reached a mad level. Those Taoist friends who are unable to practice are now having a hard time."

After finishing his report, Pei Yingguan was about to return to his residence when he heard Liuyun say, "Now that you're back, I can prepare for your junior sister's apprenticeship ceremony. Tomorrow at noon, come to the main hall and your junior sister will officially become my apprentice."

Pei Yingguan nodded and strode away.

"Master, does Senior Brother dislike me?" Xiao Wan'er asked Liu Yun after Pei Yingguan left. Children are very sensitive to malice, and Pei Yingguan's dislike was too obvious.

"Your senior brother is not very normal. It doesn't matter. He will be fine after you have been in the sect for a while." Liuyun comforted him.

"Then, Master, what does the pseudo-emperor mean?"

Liuyun thought for a moment before carefully explaining, "The false emperor your senior brother is referring to is the recently ascended Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. She was previously the Empress and Empress Dowager of the Li Tang Dynasty, but later sidelined her son and completely seized power. Not long ago, she officially proclaimed herself Emperor and changed the country's name to Zhou."

"Oh, I get it. Senior brother is talking about Empress Wu. But my mother said that Empress Wu is the Queen of Heaven, the most powerful person in the world. If she is really the most powerful person in the world, why can't she be the emperor?" Xiao Wan'er's thoughts were beautiful and had not been poisoned by the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues.

Liu Yun hadn't expected to hear such words. He patted Xiao Wan'er's head and said, "You'll understand when you grow up, but don't say these words in front of your senior brother."

"Okay." Xiao Wan'er tilted her head. So what does it mean to grow up?

That night, Xiao Wan'er fell asleep on the Hu bed in her little room, holding the small wooden sword given by her master. Liuyun waited until she fell asleep before returning to the main hall. Not surprisingly, he saw Pei Yingguan waiting at the door.

"Master." Pei Yingguan saluted.

"Come in and talk."

"Why would Master accept a female disciple?" After entering the main hall, Pei Yingguan clearly expressed his disapproval.

"Why can't I accept a female disciple? Your sister was destined to be an outsider, and she's dying of a strange disease. I brought her back so she could be saved. Do I have to watch her die just because she's a girl?"

"Master, you can just let her enter an ordinary Taoist temple after she recovers from her illness. Why let her join the Biyun Temple?" Pei Yingguan still disagreed.

Liuyun looked at him with sharp eyes, making him feel that he had nowhere to hide.

"Then why are you so determined not to let her join the Biyun Monastery? Wu had your entire family implicated and exiled, so you're going to exclude all women in the world? Even if she's just a five-year-old child?"

"I just don't want another evil woman like Wu to appear in my master's sect. If all women in the world could be gentle, respectful and abide by their duties, how could the Pseudo-Zhou Rebellion occur?" Pei Yingguan retorted confidently.

"Yingguan, I accepted you as my disciple only because you are a descendant of an old friend of mine, not because I oppose the Wu family. I accepted your junior sister as my disciple only because I couldn't bear to see her die like this, and I felt that she and I were truly destined to be master and disciple. Whatever you think and what path you take are your own business. I became a secluded person as early as ten years after Daye, and now I don't want to get involved in worldly affairs. But," Liuyun finally displayed the aura of a master of a sect, and the pressure of the strongest person in the cultivation world poured out, "No matter what you think in your heart, you must not harm your fellow disciples, otherwise I will personally eliminate the sect. Do you understand?"

"Disciple understands." Pei Yingguan sweated profusely under the overwhelming pressure. Only after Liuyun withdrew his pressure did he finally manage to speak. He then bowed and left, the conversation between master and disciple ending on a sour note.

No matter what Pei Yingguan thought, the sun would rise as usual. At noon the next day, Liuyun held a ceremony for Xiao Wan'er to become his disciple.

When Pei Yingguan entered the main hall, Liuyun and Xiao Wan'er were already there. He bowed to Liuyun and then walked to the side to watch the apprenticeship ceremony.

"Xiao Wan'er wore a lotus crown and a round-necked robe, looking like a little Taoist child. She knelt on the ground and offered the teacup in her hand to Liuyun, who took it and drank it all in one gulp. Afterwards, Xiao Wan'er bowed and respectfully called Liuyun "Master". Liuyun also called her "Disciple". He spoke words of encouragement to her and explained the rules that disciples should abide by. Then he gave her a gift of apprenticeship. Then, in the main hall, under the witness of Taishang Laojun, he recorded Xiao Wan'er's name in the list of disciples of Biyun Temple. With this ceremony, Xiao Wan'er became a disciple of Biyun Temple from then on.

After the ceremony, Xiao Wan'er walked up to Pei Yingguan and bowed properly.

"Wan'er greets senior brother." She was indifferent to this senior brother who obviously disliked her, and had no intention of getting close to him.

"I hope that my junior sister will abide by the sect rules, observe the virtues of a woman, and don't do anything that will bring shame to the sect." Pei Yingguan had to accept it even if he didn't want Xiao Wan'er to join the sect. He could only adopt a lecturing attitude here.

Xiao Wan'er listened to these words, quickly bowed, and left. Liu Yun, standing nearby, pinched his brows in worry.

"Your junior sister is only five years old, why are you saying all this? Okay, the apprenticeship is over, you can go back." If he doesn't drive her away, there will probably be more trouble.

Pei Yingguan left with a cold face. From beginning to end, he did not show a single trace of gentle expression.

"I'm sorry, your senior brother has been a bit paranoid in the past, and he has caused you trouble." Liuyun was quite troubled by the behavior of his eldest disciple.

"It's okay, I'll just stay away from you from now on."

Listening to his young disciple's words, Liuyun felt even more troubled. His eldest disciple was already over 50, so how could he not be as sensible as a five-year-old?

Regardless, Xiao Wan'er had officially entered the Biyun Temple and become a disciple of Liuyun. Now that she was a Taoist disciple, she had to begin her Taoist practice.

Liuyun let her play for more than half a day before officially starting the class the next day.

"Have you ever learned calligraphy before?" Before starting the class, it is natural to find out the students' level.

"No." Xiao Wan'er shook her head.

Liuyun sighed, picked up a pen and wrote the three big words "Xiao Wan'er" on the paper.

"Do you know these three words?"

Xiao Wan'er glanced at these three words, raised her head, blinked her big eyes and looked at Liuyun, then said, "I don't know him."

It is confirmed that this is a complete illiterate person.

So Taoist Liuyun, who had experienced three dynasties, had to become the enlightenment teacher of a five-year-old child.

The first step in learning to read is to learn your own name. Liuyun pointed to the three large characters written on the paper and taught Xiao Wan'er to recognize them one by one. Xiao Wan'er also learned quickly and memorized her name in just a few breaths.

After learning your own name, you need to learn to write it. Xiao Wan'er had no prior experience writing, so Liuyun had to teach her how to hold a pen. The child struggled to hold the pen, and Liuyun took considerable effort to correct her grip. By the end of the morning, Xiao Wan'er had finally learned to write her own name.

"His learning ability is acceptable, and he is a promising talent." Liuyun commented.

After having a lunch snack and resting, Liuyun carried Xiao Wan'er to an open area behind the Taoist temple.

"This is where my disciples of Biyun Temple practice martial arts. From today on, you must practice martial arts here every afternoon."

Xiao Wan'er looked at the empty space and nodded silently.

Just like ordinary people practicing martial arts, monks also need to practice horse stance in the early stages of their practice. Biyun Temple even requires disciples not to change their stances without permission until the master tells them to stop.

Under the afternoon sun, Xiao Wan'er's sweat dripped onto the ground. Only after realizing she had truly reached her limit did Liu Yun let her rest.

"Okay, let's take a rest first." He said, handing Xiao Wan'er a small cup of warm water.

Xiao Wan'er took the cup and drank it all. She wanted another glass of water, but there was none left. Liuyun then ordered her to do some warm-up stretches, then a jog. By the time Liuyun finally called a halt, her legs felt like they weren't her own anymore. The sun hadn't even completely set yet.

"Your physical strength is too poor. You need to exercise." Looking at his apprentice who was so tired that he looked like a skeleton, Liuyun gave him a very low evaluation.

This is not the end yet. At night, Xiao Wan'er still needs to meditate.

"Monks meditate instead of sleeping. They sit cross-legged, hands on knees, close their eyes, breathe, and feel the world. When you feel the spiritual energy between heaven and earth entering your body and flowing through your meridians, and you fall into a state of complete emptiness, where the surrounding environment can no longer affect you, you have officially entered a state of meditation. It will be difficult to enter a state of meditation the first time, so don't rush."

Xiao Wan'er followed Professor Liuyun's method and attempted to enter a state of meditation. Within a quarter of an hour, she had successfully achieved it. Liuyun, who was sitting nearby, opened his eyes wide in surprise. He walked over and stretched out his hand to fan Xiao Wan'er, but she did not respond.

"You've already achieved samadhi..." He carefully thought about how long it took him to successfully achieve samadhi for the first time, and finally concluded that Xiao Wan'er was indeed quite talented in cultivation. "Not bad, you can achieve samadhi even faster than me. I'll have to train you more in the future."

After successfully entering a state of meditation, Xiao Wan'er felt as if she had entered a mystical state. Her soul seemed to be independent of her body, quietly observing her. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth slowly entered her body, flowing along her meridians in circles, cleansing her body. When she finally emerged from the state of meditation, daybreak had already begun.

"Very good, very good. You entered into meditation faster than me for the first time, and you stayed in meditation longer than me." It was not until her master's voice rang in her ears that she noticed Liuyun was still guarding her.

Liuyun hadn't slept all night, but at this moment he was extremely energetic and even a little excited. He vowed, "My dear disciple, don't worry. I will definitely make you the strongest of the new generation of cultivators."

Looking at her excited master, Xiao Wan'er shuddered silently - she always felt that her comfortable days were about to grow wings and fly away.