Bringing a stop to those thoughts that were perhaps a bit biased, she looked on to the slightly frailer boy who was keeping his head bowed and his hands clenched in front of his stomach, standing behind the protagonist. There was no magnificence or splendour in his name. As a matter of fact, it paled in comparison to those of the other disciples who were looking on from their places on the edges of the pavilion.

-Shi XinNian, servant to the Liang household –

She arched her eyebrows as she studied that name, that figure. She was saddened by the thought that that small and frail boy would become one of the most terrible and unlucky villains of the story. At her prolonged silence some people started glancing at her, and even Shi XinNian imperceptibly lifted his gaze, meeting her own.

Those eyes were not unlike those of the Original Zhang YueLiang. Both had incredibly dark irises, but while hers harboured the immortal pride of a heroine, in his there was only loneliness and, she noticed then, a healthy dose of wildness, as if she were studying a nervous snake that was preparing to strike if only she moved too suddenly.

Shi XinNian tilted his head as he looked on at the Mistress who was staring at him. It appeared as though something worried her, and that concern was directed at him. He bit his lip, unable to look away, all the while remembering how she had ignored him the first time they had met. He clenched his fingers in anger. Why was she staring? Immortal or not she was just an unworthy woman.

At that moment Zhang YueLiang looked away hurriedly and focused on Liang HaoHan, unaware that a barely contained hatred already inhabited those dark eyes she felt pity towards, his fangs were already bared.

“And we are honoured to count such a disciple among our numbers.”

She lifted her head at the same time Liang HaoHan did and she smiled welcomingly. He truly was distractingly handsome, and in spite of her earlier thoughts she had rooted for him as she was reading since to tell the truth he had not had much more luck than Shi XinNian. Then she sneered in annoyance. Perhaps that had been true at the beginning, but in the end his had been the ascension of a god when compared to the journey of a small Demon destined to defeat. It was then that Liang HaoHan bent to the ground prostrating himself thrice, as was the tradition in every Xianxia book containing an element of teaching. The famous kowtow.

“Please accept me as your disciple.” He said, touching his forehead to the ground.

She wriggled her nose.

“Of course, now get up.” She said distractedly as she smoked her pipe.

The young man raised himself and stood still. Slowly, the chatter around them ceased and she glanced at her brother. He was already looking at her in amusement and he smiled as he leaned towards her to whisper behind his fan.

“You have to test his spiritual power. Sure, in his case it is but a formality, since he’s from Mount Wei. But the paperwork must be filled out.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

She blushed. How could she have forgotten? She sighed and nodded.

“Of course, I was… gathering my power.” She mumbled waving her pipe.

She gestured at a disciple who came forward with a small dish onto which she emptied her pipe. Luckily, she vaguely remembered what she was meant to do, despite the number of times she had considered not finishing that novel. She threw the pipe in the air and she opened her hand, the object started floating above it as her spiritual energy flowed around them.

The Great Master had taken a step back, as had all of Liang’s retinue. She absentmindedly glanced at Shi XinNian and sighed. It was probably best he kept his distance; it would not have been such a straightforward process if she were measuring his spiritual energy. She focused on the protagonist once more and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She wrinkled her eyebrows as she felt her energy levels sink as if it were a raft caught in a storm so soon after that first strong wave that had even moved the foliage in the trees around them.

What was that? How could it be like this?

She had vaguely detected her brother’s energy but was only becoming aware of it at that moment because she was fully immersed in it, and it had become evident when the use of her own had underlined its presence. But what of that of the Mistress? It was but a breath in what could only be referred to as the ocean of Zhang YouDao’s power.

Am I that weak?

She swallowed self-consciously before opening her eyes and taking in the smoky globe created by the pipe as it swirled. She grasped the five spiritual stones offered her by a disciple and filled them with her energy. A wave of nausea hit her, and she clenched her teeth.

Her brother paled but did not move, it was a Master’s duty to assess a prospective disciple’s spiritual power. He had been able to fill in for her in that task, but it was necessary for her to assess Liang HaoHan’s seeing how he came from outside the school. He distractedly waved his fan as he was overcome with worry.

On the other hand, the woman breathed in deeply and created an energy circle in which the stones turned.

“Enter. The stones will call your power forward.” She asserted.

The boy stepped forward to enter the circle and was enveloped by a light coat of energy that appeared as a bright and water-like azure. It pulsed weakly the first time, and then seemed to gather strength as it pulsed more brightly.

“Now dip your hand in the smoke.” She instructed him, moving a hand and causing the strange claws she wore as jewels to glint.

The boy lifted his hand and swallowing apprehensively brushed it against the smoky pale blue globe that floated in front of him. This now moved as though a stone had been dropped in a calm pool of water causing a thousand wave-like ripples. It wrapped around his arm and entered his body where his heart was. The young man widened his eyes in discomfort, but she tutted at him.

“Don’t move. It is not dangerous.” She whispered in a haughty manner with her arms crossed.

A few seconds passed and no one dared make a sound, the only noise being the fast and dry one of the stones that were still spinning. These dropped suddenly as a wave of energy was released from the boy. Zhang YueLiang and her brother did not move, but many of the disciples had to shield their faces with their arms. Shi XinNian stumbled slightly with widened eyes, as if caught unprepared.

“Qi harvest at level ten.” She said without betraying any emotion.

In spite of her tone, many started whispering among themselves highlighting what an incredible result that was. Of course, that was the case, even though he came from a QingLong mountain, such a high Qi was not common. It was the last level before beginning serious Cultivation, levels that normally took at least a decade to achieve. But not in his case, he had been born with it. He was a genius.

What a surprise! She thought sarcastically.

Liang HaoHan seemed to be shocked by this revelation and Shi XinNian’s eyes shone for a moment as if he too were part of his master’s achievement. Seeing that, she barely contained a grimace.

“Congratulations, Liang HaoHan. – her brother said enthusiastically. – You have unparalleled talent.”

The disciple standing next to her lifted an eyebrow.

“The Great Master and Shizun had comparable talent at a much younger age.” He commented.

She almost choked on her own saliva and turned to look at him.

-Zhang ZhaoDa, disciple of mount Xi, Zhang YueLiang’s first disciple-

Was she really in the presence of that cruel creature who would be the executioner of all her misdeeds toward the unfortunate Shi XinNian?

Zhang YouDao replied to his comment with a small laugh.

“Let us leave the past where it belongs, Shizi, for your generation Liang HaoHan is truly a marvel.”

Liang bent his head in acknowledgment.

“I thank you, Great Master. I am honoured to have the opportunity of enriching the mount with my abilities.”

Yuck, thought Zhang, taking hold of her pipe once more to smoke. Too polite for his own good, that boy.

But her problem was the small and faithful disciple standing next to her, in whose predatory eyes she could already see the request for an order to torment the two newcomers. She was certain the Original would not have hesitated to give such an order. However, she had no intention of carrying forward that terrible tradition of abuse. She sighed, shaking her head.

“Is there anything else? I am tired, and I have been ignoring my meditations.” She said distractedly as she smoked from her pipe. That pipe truly was relaxing, with it she could smother her anger towards the author and, as a consequence, Liang HaoHan and Zhang ZhaoDa.

And therefore, it is probably a drug. I should take care not to abuse it.

“Of course, Shimei, you may rest. Now that Liang HaoHan is a disciple of this peak he will live with the others. – after that Zhang YouDao stepped closer to her and whispered – Remember you were hired to teach. You will start tomorrow with a group of disciples hand-picked to introduce you to teaching.”

She turned slightly to look at the boys. She had never understood why the heroine had chosen to teach, but it had probably something to do with the resentment she had been warned about.

“Once more, who do you think I am? I am well aware of my duties. And now, with your permission, Xiong-zhang, I will retire.”

Zhang YouDao nodded and looked at her while she retreated. She did not even have the time to leave the pavilion when she saw Zhang ZhaoDa step close to Shi XinNian to hit him over the head as he said something unnecessarily violent in her opinion. And there was the reason that their first encounter would not have a positive effect. She grimaced. At least she was not a blood relation to that troublemaker, he was a distant cousin of her adoptive brother.

My friend, is this where you start digging your own grave? She asked herself, studying the angry face of the boy as he pointed towards their lodgings. Shi XinNian bent his head a couple of times before hurrying in that direction. She took a deep breath and started off in the direction of what she believed would be her own lodgings.

Probably best I keep my distance before ZhaoDa comes sniffing around again and destroys my already precarious standing with XinNian.

She wondered for a while and eventually came across the small winding path she had been looking for. With a sigh of relief, she stepped forward decisively to walk along the mountain path. She had always asked herself what Original’s accommodation would look like seeing as it was separate from the main palatial building. It was located in an upper terrace, surrounded by trees and silvery creeks that ended in a small lake which hosted rare Black Lotus flowers. These were not actually black, but were described as fleshy plants with dark petals, streaked with a bright azure, as if they were ancient mosaics crumbling to reveal the treasure hidden beneath.