Chapter 5: One Word, One Rumor – Because he fell in love with his master, Empress Hengluan…
"I choose Master Pei."
After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment.
Unexpected yet expected.
But Pei Yuan frowned.
"What does Immortal Master Pei think?" Emperor Yuanguang asked gently.
Emperor Lingzhen and Emperor Dongxuan also looked over, thinking that if he refused, they could take him under their wing.
Everyone was watching him.
Pei Yuan: "...Okay, but I'll only accept one."
Too many people, too much noise.
The purple-robed youth's heart shattered.
Seeing that neither side had any objections, Emperor Lingzhen and Emperor Dongxuan had nothing more to say. After all, they were from the same sect, and it was an honor to be associated with them. Moreover, they had also noticed that Bai Yuheng was indeed more talented in magic.
Everyone had settled down, and even the previously calm purple-robed youth was now bewildered: "Your Majesty, what about this junior? What am I to do?"
The dogs, on the verge of tears, looked at the emperor on the throne, and they too were at a loss.
Bai Yuheng lit incense in her heart for the sect leader, then went into seclusion and her junior brothers and sisters forgot about him.
Bai Yuheng couldn't help but remind him, "Isn't there also the sect leader? I just saw that this brother's ability to decipher spells and formations is also first-rate. Spells and formations are originally one family, complementing each other. I suppose studying formations is also excellent for him."
This time, the three of them finally remembered their senior brother, the sect leader, who was in seclusion.
Emperor Lingzhen suddenly realized and clasped his hands together, nodding in agreement: "That is indeed the case. Swordsmanship also contains elements of formations. Each school is rooted in the same lineage, with elements of each other within each other."
Emperor Dongxuan nodded in agreement.
Emperor Yuanguang smiled and said, "Then would you be willing to become the sect leader's disciple?"
The purple-robed youth's eyes lit up with delight, and he exclaimed, "This junior is willing!"
“Alright, I’ll take you to find a master later. But…” He paused, “the sect leader is still in seclusion, and you’ll need a temporary master to guide you during this time.”
As he spoke, his eyes turned to the silent Pei Yuan: "I wonder if Immortal Master Pei would be willing? Just now, this young man in purple robes..." He seized the opportunity to introduce himself, "Junior Cui Mingcan, Ming as in brightness, Can as in brilliance!"
Emperor Yuanguang nodded with a smile and said, "Considering his eagerness to join Immortal Master Pei's sect just now, why not take him under our wing for a few months? That would also fulfill his wish."
Pei Yuan: "..."
His gaze swept over Dongxuan and Lingzhen Emperor.
The two hurriedly said in unison, "We also brought two new disciples, so that's two for each of us."
Pei Yuan looked at Emperor Yuanguang, who smiled slightly: "Although I have only taken one in, I still need to refine pills for the sect leader and go out to learn from other sects. I can only trouble you."
The implication is that he is the most idle person.
Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to accept it.
One person came quietly, while another person returned noisily with two others.
Pei Yuan: "..."
I always felt that going to Chongguang Hall was like falling into a trap set by that old fox Yuanguang.
Returning to Wangxian Mountain, Bai Yuheng felt as if she had been transported to another world.
Every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, feels just like yesterday; nothing has changed.
Her gaze involuntarily swept over the man leading the way, and she was filled with mixed feelings. It turned out that a hundred years was neither a long nor a short time.
It can be long enough to erase all traces of a person, to turn a naive boy into a mature and steady adult, yet it is so short that it is only a blink of an eye for her.
"Wow!" Cui Mingcan exclaimed in amazement at the magnificent scenery of Wangxian Mountain, and also marveled at how the view truly matched the immortals' abode he had read about in mythological stories.
What is that?
"That's a crane."
What is that?
“...That’s a tree spirit.”
What is a tree spirit?
“Every living thing in the world has a spirit. After attaining enlightenment, it will absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. After absorbing this spiritual energy, a spiritual body will be born. Once it has magical power, it becomes a spirit. Of course, there are good spirits and bad spirits, just like demons and monsters.”
"Oh~ then what is that!?"
“That’s the spirit beast raised by Emperor Lingzhen, the Silver Dragon.” Bai Yuheng looked up at the giant dragon, hundreds of meters long, slowly gliding away from the clouds, and explained, “Don’t provoke it. Although it won’t attack people unless provoked, it can kill you.” After saying that, she bared her teeth and threatened him, “Just like this, I can scare you half to death!”
She had barely finished speaking when she didn't notice the person leading the way suddenly turn around and look at her.
"That--"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Cui Mingcan asked questions like a curious child, showing great curiosity about everything here, whether it breathes or not, whether it flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water. Even Bai Yuheng couldn't withstand his onslaught and called for a stop in time.
"The headmasters will explain these issues to us once classes officially begin." The only concern is that you might not enjoy listening to them then.
After all, some of the headmasters' lectures are indeed very boring.
"I see." Cui Mingcan exclaimed, suppressing his excitement, his eyes sparkling. "Hehe, you know so much."
Noticing that besides Cui Mingcan's gaze, there was another gaze fixed on her, Bai Yuheng suddenly felt a warning bell ring in her mind. She chuckled twice and said, "Isn't this homework I'm doing to get into the Tianyan Sect? As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.' It's always good to know more."
Cui Mingcan said admiringly, "Then I want to learn from you!"
"This young man is teachable." Bai Yuheng nodded and patted his shoulder to encourage him.
"Since you know so much about it, then you may do as you please." The person who had been silent for a long time spoke coldly, glanced at her who claimed to know the Tianyan Sect very well, and turned to leave.
Bai Yuheng only breathed a sigh of relief after the people in front of her had gone far away.
Cui Mingcan grumbled, "How could this person be like this! Where are we supposed to stay? He didn't even tell us which way to go!"
"Don't worry, I'll take you there." Bai Yuheng reassured him. Since nothing had changed much on Wangxian Mountain, she naturally knew where to stay.
Bai Yuheng pulled Cui Mingcan towards the disciples' quarters, feeling a surge of emotion. She hadn't expected that after so many years, this young man would still be as perceptive as ever. She also felt a pang of embarrassment, realizing she should be more careful about what she said in front of him in the future.
Because what she just said was exactly the same as what she said when she picked him up back then.
"That is the spirit beast raised by Emperor Lingzhen, the Silver Flood Dragon."
"Don't mess with it. It won't attack people unless provoked, but it can kill you."
"Scaring you like this would scare you half to death!"
The woman, who appeared cold and dignified, suddenly bared her teeth and grinned at him when he wasn't looking, secretly making a hand gesture to spin him around and hang him upside down, having a great time.
"I'll even try to swallow you whole, taste you, and then spit you out." Seeing his stunned expression, the woman chuckled smugly, "Does this cycle repeat itself? Aren't you scared?"
"Hmm? Are you scared?"
"I'm afraid," Pei Yuan murmured softly, gazing at the distant mountains shrouded in mist.
The distant mountains seemed to echo with familiar sounds. The woman seemed to hear his reply, and laughed heartily. Her composed and dignified demeanor vanished, and she embraced him tightly.
"What are you afraid of? Your master will protect you!"
So, when will Master come back to protect him?
Pei Yuan lowered his eyes, standing like a stone statue on the edge of a cliff. The wind blew his clothes and he drifted away to a great distance.
*
When new disciples join the sect, a special opportunity is held for them to get to know their fellow disciples. This is not formally organized by the sect elders, but rather spontaneously organized by some immortal masters and immortals, and it has continued to this day.
At the meeting, elders will share their lives of cultivation and study in the sect, and will also talk about some harmless anecdotes about the elders.
Bai Yuheng, who stole the show on her very first day of joining the sect, became famous throughout the entire Tianyan Sect. Everyone in the sect knew that a cultivation prodigy had arrived this year. Although many people had never seen her in person, it did not stop them from discussing her.
"I've heard that woman is incredibly strong and robust; her taut muscles are as big as a human face, and her clenched fist could kill a bull!"
"Wow!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of exclamations erupted.
Unable to resist joining in the fun, Bai Yuheng was caught off guard and heard: "..."
"Pfft, hahahahaha..." Cui Mingcan, who was watching the commotion with her, couldn't help but laugh. He patted her shoulder affectionately and said, "Throughout this journey, I've heard you go from a beggar holding a rare cultivation manual, to an old woman with white hair who had painstakingly cultivated and opened her Ren and Du meridians, to a mountain monster with a blue face and fangs... and now you've suddenly become a burly and strong man who can split a bull in two? Every word you utter is a rumor, you're really good at making things up!"
"..." Bai Yuheng's lips twitched, and the veins on her forehead throbbed uncontrollably. She was speechless.
Fearing she might get angry and hit someone, Cui Mingcan quickly pulled her away: "Alright, alright, they're all talking nonsense. They've never seen your heroic figure. I guarantee that once they've seen you, they'll be amazed by your celestial beauty!"
Bai Yuheng saw through his intention and said speechlessly, "I wouldn't get angry over something like that."
Hearing this, Cui Mingcan was both happy and worried that she was putting on a brave face. She thought to herself that girls of this age love to look beautiful the most, and no one would be happy to be spread such crazy rumors about her. "It's good that you're not angry. Then let's hurry up so we can catch the fireworks set off by the immortal masters!"
The two pushed through the crowd and stood by the railing, gazing at the foot of the mountain where the "starry sky" twinkled, chatting idly.
"Bai Yuheng!" a sweet female voice called out to them, "Cui Mingcan!"
The two looked back, attracting a lot of attention.
"You're all here! I'm so glad I didn't go looking for you one by one!" Cen Ying exclaimed excitedly, her cheeks flushed, as she skipped and hopped over to the two of them.
"I am Cen Ying, do you still remember me?"
"Of course I remember," Bai Yuheng said with a friendly smile.
"That's obvious!" Cui Mingcan scoffed. "I just saw it today, it's not like it's a fish, why are you so forgetful!"
Cen Ying chuckled, "Then we're friends, right?"
Before anyone could answer, Cen Ying pushed aside Cui Mingcan's hand that was around Bai Yuheng and said, "I'm sixteen this year, how old are you?"
"That's a good question," Bai Yuheng thought for a while before replying, "Sixteen."
"Oh? What month were you born in? I was born in June."
“I…I…I’m from March, you have to call me brother.” Cui Mingcan forcefully interrupted their conversation.
"Tch." Cen Ying ignored him and looked at Bai Yuheng with bright eyes. She could never stand such a gaze. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Then I'm older than all of you. I was born in the first month of the lunar calendar."
"Oh~ Sister Bai." Cen Ying called out sweetly, then retorted to Cui Mingcan, "Call me 'sister' now!"
Cui Mingcan was speechless: "It's not like you're older, why are you getting so worked up?"
"Hmph, I'm happy as long as she's older than you!"
"childish!"
The two were like a pair of bickering lovers, arguing as soon as they met.
"call out--"
"Bang!"
The fireworks exploded, silencing the two who were arguing.
The mountains were ablaze with color, dazzling and extraordinary.
After the fireworks display, everyone gathered on the spacious Luan Terrace.
A celestial master with an otherworldly appearance, who looked even older than the Eastern Xuan Emperor, used a megaphone spell to smile and say, "Welcome to the Tianyan Sect family."
After talking about a lot of random things, they started playing some games. Bai Yuheng didn't like playing these games, so she had to sneak away.
On the Luan Terrace, some people were playing and others were laughing and talking. Bai Yuheng hid in a corner and listened to the idle chatter.
"Didn't they say the Tianyan Sect has five elders? Why did I only see Emperor Dongxuan that day? Ah, I really want to see what the legendary Emperor Yuanguang, who is as gentle and refined as a banished immortal, looks like!" The little girl with her hair in two buns cupped her face and laughed.
"How could we possibly meet such powerful figures? If you were talented enough, you could personally become their disciple in the Chongguang Hall today!" The little girl with a mole on her lip couldn't help but shatter her fantasy. "Or, when we cultivate to a certain level, we can still be accepted as their personal disciples!"
"Then I'll have to work really hard!"
The two new disciples were dreaming about the future and then started gossiping.
The girl with a mole on her lip teased her, "However, if you like Emperor Yuanguang, you'll be disappointed. I've heard that Emperor Yuanguang has always been infatuated with the deceased Emperor Hengluan..."
"puff!"
Bai Yuheng, who was listening intently from the corner, was caught off guard and choked.
The two men glanced at her, then continued talking to themselves.
"What nonsense are you talking about! I don't like anyone, well, it's not the kind of liking you're talking about!" The little girl with the double buns blushed with embarrassment and slapped her.
"Hehe, I'm not talking nonsense!"
Seeing her smug look, the little girl with the double buns was not convinced and decided to tease her: "So you're so eager to join Master Pei's sect, is it because you like him? But he has stayed on Wangxian Mountain for hundreds of years because he fell in love with his master, Empress Hengluan, and is keeping a widow for her!"
"puff--"
"???"
A note from the author:
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Note:
①Shanzhang: From "Jingxiang Jinshi", it is the title for the chief lecturer of a mountain academy throughout history.
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