Chapter 31
Not far from the door, at the base of the wall, a boy was squatting on the ground with his back to the door, sobbing with his head down and wiping away tears with both hands.
Like the male disciples behind him, this boy was covered in yellow mud and filthy. Yin Qiu glanced at his back and asked softly, "Are you alright? Don't cry."
Perhaps hearing the girl's voice, the boy paused, but still said impatiently, "It's none of your business!"
Yin Qiu said, "The Master sent us to fetch you. No one means us any harm. Please come in with us."
"I'm not going in!"
"It's so cold outside, you can't just stay outside all the time, can you?"
"I'd love to!"
Yin Qiu was about to say a few more words of comfort when a male disciple behind her grabbed her and said angrily, "Look, I told you to ignore him! He's so stubborn and doesn't appreciate kindness!"
The remaining male disciples also looked disgusted and kept muttering.
"I don't know what's going on in his head, let's just leave him alone!"
"Exactly! I didn't even mind how shabby he was dressed, and how effeminate he looked, but he still managed to hit me!"
"I was just asking if your parents are in good health, why are you getting so angry!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, the boy stood up abruptly, turned around, and gritted his teeth, saying, "If you dare mention my parents again, believe me, I'll..."
"What are you going to do to me!" A male disciple stepped out the door, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Let me tell you, with your skinny little body, I can beat you to a pulp with one punch. What are you so arrogant about?"
The boy clenched his fists tightly, a ferocious sneer on his face: "Crying for your parents? Fine... you asked for it!"
After saying this, he rushed forward and grabbed the male disciple, throwing him into the mud pit. The male disciple, who had also practiced martial arts in the palace and felt that he had not mistreated him in any way, was filled with anger and immediately punched the boy, making him bleed from the nose.
The two of them instantly became entangled and fought fiercely.
Yin Qiu had no choice but to shout, "Stop fighting!"
However, the two of them wouldn't listen to anyone else and were determined to beat each other into submission. Neither of them would give up, so Yin Qiu had no choice but to reach out and try to break up the fight with the other male disciples.
"Don't pull me!" The boy pushed away Yin Qiu's outstretched hand. "Who asked you to meddle in my business!"
Yin Qiu stumbled and almost fell. She was about to say something when she saw the boy stop moving, as if he had been frightened by something, and stand frozen in place.
The male disciples, covered in mud and in a terrible mood, came over and pulled Yin Qiu, saying, "Let's just leave him be! Let's go! Let's go tell the Master!"
The boy's face was covered in yellow mud, so dirty that his features were almost unrecognizable. When Yin Qiu saw him staring intently at her with a fierce look in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel scared, afraid that he might lose his temper and hit her too. So she followed several male disciples into the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she took a step, the boy suddenly screamed and rushed towards Yin Qiu, shoving her against the wall.
Yin Qiu was caught off guard and crashed into the wall with a thud, causing half of her body to go numb.
"You jinx! You jinx!" the boy screamed hoarsely, pressing Yin Qiu firmly to the ground. "You murderer, I'll kill you!"
In the midst of the chaos, Yin Qiu heard what he was saying and was shocked. She quickly raised her hand to protect herself.
"You bastard, you even hit girls!" the male disciple cursed. "Is there no justice in this world?! Beat him up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the male disciples aggressively pulled Yin Qiu up and shielded him behind them. At the same time, they surrounded the boy in the center and beat him mercilessly.
Yin Qiu clutched her arm and huddled behind them, sweating profusely from the pain, too weak to even speak.
·
"Who's fighting here!"
Perhaps the commotion was too great, attracting the attention of a group of disciples, and several teachers also rushed over after receiving the news.
"Fighting among fellow disciples is strictly forbidden in the palace! What are you doing!"
Upon hearing the teacher's angry shouts, the male disciples quickly stopped what they were doing and stood aside, pointing at the boy and saying, "He started it! Hitting us is one thing, but he also hit Yin Qiu! We can't stand by and watch a grown man bully a girl!"
Several female disciples quickly came over and helped Yin Qiu up steadily, offering words of concern. Yin Qiu stared blankly at the boy, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Previously, because his face was covered in mud and his features were obscured, Yin Qiu hadn't paid much attention to him. But when she heard those familiar "jinxes," Yin Qiu realized that this boy was actually Meng Jing, whom she hadn't seen in a long time!
Why did he suddenly come to Yunhua Palace?
"You're all quite the hero!" the Master roared. "It takes two to tango. You must have done something to offend him. There's always a reason for everything. You should always examine yourselves first to see if you've made any mistakes. Instead, you're quick to shirk responsibility. Is this how I've always taught you?!"
The male disciples were reprimanded, but dared not speak out in anger, and could only suppress their rage and keep quiet.
"And you!" The teacher then looked at Meng Jing. "You've already attacked your senior brother before even officially entering the palace! Don't you know the rules? Even if they really did something wrong, you shouldn't have acted like this. You could have simply reported the situation to someone and explained what happened. How much ability do you have to resort to violence?"
Facing the unfamiliar gazes, Meng Jing felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he were being targeted again because he was new to the place. He raised his chin and said angrily, "Who told them to mention my parents!"
The Master said, "So what if I mention your parents? What kind of important people are they that you can't even ask them a question!"
"You absolutely can't mention it!" Meng Jing glared at Yin Qiu, her eyes red. "My parents were killed by this jinx! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have come here. Who would care!"
None of the people present knew Meng Jing's background or that he had known Yin Qiu before. They were all shocked when they heard him say that his parents had been killed by Yin Qiu.
Upon hearing this, the Master frowned, about to question him about the matter, when suddenly a voice came from behind the crowd: "Meng Jing, the death of your parents was the work of the Ziwei Sect, and has nothing to do with Junior Sister. Senior Sister Lu took such good care of you in Qingluo City and explained the principles to you countless times. How can you still be so stubborn?"
Upon hearing this, the disciples automatically dispersed, and a young girl slowly walked forward. She first bowed to the Master, and then stood beside Yin Qiu, saying, "You have nowhere to go. Senior Sister Lu took pity on you, so she brought you to the palace. Right now, Senior Sister Lu is seriously injured and in a dangerous situation. If she finds out that you are causing trouble in the palace, what do you think she will think?"
Meng Jing was stunned for a moment, his expression softening slightly, but he still stared at Yin Qiu and said, "I will always remember Senior Sister Lu's kindness, but that's a different matter. She caused my parents to die tragically, so why can't I cause her trouble!"
"Don't forget what you promised Uncle Man in Qingluo City," the girl said gently, but her attitude was unquestionable. "If it weren't for that, Uncle Man wouldn't have allowed you to enter the palace. Since you made a promise beforehand and you were willing to come with Senior Sister Lu, you must remember Uncle Man's teachings and never bully your fellow disciples or break the rules of the palace."
Hearing in Qingluo City that Yin Qiu was dying, Meng Jing was extremely anxious and wished he could fly to Yunhua Palace immediately to seek revenge on her before she died. However, Lu Huaiwei had repeatedly warned him not to make things difficult for Yin Qiu. Yet, when the two actually met, Meng Jing still couldn't let go of his resentment. He couldn't forgive and forget about his parents' deaths.
Meng Jing was filled with hatred, but he was powerless and had no one to stand up for him. He was also worried that Lu Huaiwei would be disappointed in him when she woke up and found out. He was filled with shame and indignation, and his body trembled with anger. He had no power to refute her.
"Alright, alright, stop watching the show!" The teacher waved his hand, his beard bristling with anger. "You lot, get into the classroom now and kneel as punishment!"
The disciples took their leave as instructed. The few male disciples were still indignant, but after hearing what the master said, they had no choice but to obediently enter the courtyard and accept their punishment.
Yin Qiu stood by the wall, tears welling in her eyes, not daring to look at anyone else.
"What are you standing there for? You have to kneel too!" the teacher shouted at Meng Jing. "You've just arrived and you're already causing trouble. I won't let you off!"
Meng Jing snorted coldly, seemingly unconcerned about any punishment, and followed the teacher into the hall as if no one else was there.
"How are you? Does it hurt a lot?" The girl from before leaned closer to Yin Qiu and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Yin Qiu never expected to meet Meng Jing, which would lead to such a farce. Previously, Meng Jing accused her of murder, and the way the disciples around her looked at her inevitably changed. Yin Qiu was speechless and didn't know how to explain herself. Fortunately, this girl came out in time to save her from the predicament, otherwise Yin Qiu really wouldn't know what to do.
"Thank you, senior sister, I'm fine." Yin Qiu wiped away her tears with her sleeve and lowered her head.
"No need for thanks, it was Uncle-Master Man who sent me here," the girl said.
"Uncle-Master?" Yin Qiu looked up.
“My martial aunt has told me everything about you and Meng Jing,” the girl said as she helped Yin Qiu back to the courtyard. “You don’t know, a lot happened in the palace this morning. First, Senior Sister Lu was seriously injured by the Ziwei Sect, and then a spy from the Ziwei Sect died. My martial aunt was too busy to come see you. She predicted that Meng Jing might clash with you after he came, so she specifically asked me to make a trip. I didn’t expect that my martial aunt would actually guess right.”
Yin Qiu remained silent.
The girl patted her back to comfort her and said, "Don't be afraid. I will tell the Master everything. You don't need to worry about the other disciples either. I will have someone explain things clearly. No one will dislike you because of this. But don't be afraid of Meng Jing either. If he dares to bully you again, just say it. You can't tolerate anything, understand?"
Yin Qiu nodded: "Understood, thank you for your help, Senior Sister."
“No need for that,” the girl said with a smile. “If you want to thank someone, thank your martial uncle. I’ve been in the palace for many years, but I’ve never seen your martial uncle care about anyone like this before. There’s a martial arts test tomorrow, so you must be in good spirits and get a good ranking so that you can live up to your martial uncle’s kindness.”
Yin Qiu felt a lump in her throat and, fighting back tears, grabbed the girl and said, "Senior sister, could you do me a favor?"
The girl glanced at Yin Qiu's pleading expression and guessed, "Are you trying to tell me not to tell Uncle Meng Jing that he's making things difficult for you?"
Yin Qiu said, "As my senior sister just said, my uncle is busy, so let's not let her know. I'm afraid she'll worry."
The girl said, "This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one. Even if I don't say anything, Master will definitely report it to the Sect Leader. Those junior brothers are still resentful, so there will inevitably be rumors. Even if I want to keep it a secret for you, Uncle will eventually find out."
Yin Qiu hesitated, and the girl said again, "Alright, don't overthink it. How many people would be willing to have their martial uncle's concern?"
Yin Qiu had no choice but to agree.
·
There was still a martial arts class in the afternoon. After what happened with Meng Jing, Yin Qiu was inevitably in a complicated mood. She was distracted during class and did not perform well, so she was scolded by the instructor. Fortunately, the other disciples knew why she was upset and spoke up for her, which prevented the instructor from whipping her.
Yin Qiu wanted to confide in Fu Xiang, but she hadn't seen her all day. When she asked the other disciples, they all said they didn't know where she had gone. It wasn't until nightfall, when Yin Qiu came out of the hot spring room after taking a bath, that Fu Xiang appeared in the courtyard looking exhausted.
"Good Xiao Qiu, quickly give me a shoulder massage." Fu Xiang looked as if she had been through some kind of torture, and collapsed onto Yin Qiu as soon as they met.
"Where have you been? Why are you so tired?" Yin Qiu helped Fu Xiang up and rubbed her shoulders and back.
“Where else could it be?” Fu Xiang said dejectedly. “I was called to Tianyin Peak right after finishing the monthly exam.”
"Was it Senior Sister Ding's idea again?" Yin Qiu frowned.
"No way," Fu Xiang said with a bitter face, "I spent the whole afternoon practicing swordsmanship with her in the bamboo grove. My back and waist are aching, and it's even more annoying than martial arts class! And you know what, her swordsmanship is pretty good. She beat me so badly that I couldn't fight back at all. I felt like she was bullying me, which aroused my competitive spirit, so I wanted to get a few moves back, but how could I possibly beat her? It really made me so angry!"
The two walked back to their room hand in hand. Yin Qiu lit the lamp, fetched hot water for Fu Xiang to wash up, and said, "This can't go on like this. Why don't you talk to Senior Sister Ye?"
“I did say that,” Fu Xiang said, “but every time Senior Sister Ding comes to me, she uses serious business as a shield. Senior Sister Ye tells me to practice more and not just think about slacking off. So what can I say? I can’t just tell her that Senior Sister Ding has ulterior motives towards me. Who would believe that?”
Yin Qiu thought for a moment: "Then what about the thing you asked me to help you with last time..."
Fu Xiang's eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed Yin Qiu, saying, "I haven't forgotten! I reckon she'll come looking for me again after the martial arts exam tomorrow. Just do what we agreed on that day!"
Yin Qiu nodded: "I remember everything, don't worry. But I can't guarantee whether I can get Senior Sister Ding to let you off the hook."
"I didn't ask you to guarantee it!" Fu Xiang laughed. "With you involved, it's a sure thing!"
Yin Qiu laughed along, "How can you be so sure?"
"Well..." Fu Xiang smiled slyly, "You'll find out later!"
·
The next day at dawn, all the disciples gathered at the training ground to begin the martial arts test.
Compared to the written test, the atmosphere of the martial arts test was different. In addition, the instructor was always strict, so the disciples held their breath, stood up straight, and dared not move around.
However, for the first martial arts test, new disciples do not need to compete in pairs. They only need to practice the basic skills and sword techniques they have learned in the past month, and then the instructors will score them on the spot.
Fu Xiangping usually performed the best, so the instructor sister wanted her to get off to a good start and made her the first to go. She had been practicing swordsmanship with Ding Lianzhen these past few days and had made some progress. Her moves were much better than before, which made the instructor sister nod repeatedly with satisfaction. The disciples watching also clapped and cheered.
The disciples who came after were not so lucky. With Fu Xiang's outstanding performance as an example, many of them performed poorly. Some even made mistakes due to nervousness. Some were so frightened by their instructor that their legs trembled and they couldn't even hold their swords properly, which made the instructor's face turn ashen and her hand holding the whip twitched with urge to strike.
Yin Qiu was among the last few in line, and it was almost noon before it was finally her turn. She was also afraid of her mentor, Yin Qiu, so she tried not to look at her to avoid affecting her concentration. Once on stage, she put aside her random thoughts and performed a set of boxing techniques in an orderly manner. After that, she took out the small iron sword from her waist and began to dance with it in a very professional manner.
With guidance from Gongzi Fan and Man Jiangxue, Yin Qiu grasped the details most accurately. In addition, her slender figure and upright posture made her sword dance quite pleasing to the eye, which covered up the flaw of insufficient strength.
Man Jiangxue stood under the inconspicuous corridor, quietly watching the small, graceful figure in the center of the room, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Ye Zhilan stood beside Man Jiangxue. The two had been observing for a long time. Ye Zhilan looked at Yin Qiu and said, "Junior Sister really does resemble Uncle Shen from back then. She is so talented at such a young age, and her every move is calm and steady. If she continues to develop like this, she and Miss Fu should be able to stand out in next year's new disciple conference."
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement, offering no further comment.
Ye Zhilan continued, "However, Master only has one spot left for a closed-door disciple. If Miss Fu becomes the top scholar, Junior Sister will have to go to the elders of another peak. I see how close Junior Sister is to Uncle-Master. Is Uncle-Master really not going to make a move?"
Man Jiangxue said, "If she really wants to go to Jingyue Peak, she doesn't necessarily have to become my apprentice."
Ye Zhilan understood the meaning behind her words and smiled faintly.
The two had important matters to attend to, and had already spent quite some time just to see Yin Qiu. Fortunately, there weren't many disciples left. Upon hearing that Yin Qiu's results were in the top five, both of them showed satisfaction. Just as they were about to leave quietly, Ye Zhilan's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "Uncle-Master, please wait, what do you think..."
Man Jiangxue turned around and saw that the disciples who had finished the martial arts test had all scattered like birds and beasts, except for Yin Qiu, who was led to another place by a group of female disciples.
Among the group of female disciples, the leader was a girl of seventeen or eighteen years old. She first bent down and asked Yin Qiu a few questions, then smiled slightly, as if she was very familiar with Yin Qiu, and took Yin Qiu's hand to leave the training ground.
Yin Qiu stood awkwardly in the crowd, her expression clearly showing some panic. Before leaving, she kept looking back, as if she was looking for someone.
This scene looks rather strange no matter how you look at it.
“That’s Junior Sister Ding from Tianyin Peak,” Ye Zhilan said, gazing into the distance before turning to Man Jiangxue. “Uncle-Master, shall I go and take a look?”
A fleeting thought flashed through Man Jiangxue's mind of what Yin Qiu had said on their way back to Jingyue Peak. She frowned slightly and said, "Go and take care of Huaiwei. I'll go with you to check on her."
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