“The Five Spirits Line, it connects to the heavens above, grounds to the earth below, and runs through the Five Spirits…”
Yan Qingxi was showing the disciples the Five Spirits Line. Wen Qianshu stood behind them, her eyes half-closed, hands behind her back. On the surface, she looked like an immortal with profound daoist bearing, but in reality, she was so sleepy her head ached.
These past few days, she had to help her Master with various matters and also follow her Martial Uncle to supervise the new disciples. During the day, she was too busy to even drink water, and at night, she had to copy texts as punishment until her head was muddled and dizzy. She also had to squeeze in time for cultivation to avoid being exposed—of course, avoiding exposure was just an excuse for 2333. Wen Qianshu was now more afraid of copying texts.
Wen Qianshu: “If I die from pulling all-nighters, will it be considered a work-related injury?”
2333: “Don’t worry, we generally maintain the repairers’ physical condition. Never mind a few all-nighters, you’d be fine even if you stayed up for several years.”
Wen Qianshu was worried.
Wen Qianshu began to wonder if she could get some extra sleep by fainting on the spot right now.
Yan Qingxi: “Have you all clearly remembered the Five Spirits Art I taught you before?”
Wen Qianshu jolted and averted her gaze, avoiding looking at Yan Qingxi. 2333 suspected that her student experiences from her past life had probably taught her one thing—whenever a teacher asked a question, you must never make eye contact with them.
The moment your eyes met, you might be called on the next second.
The disciples below all said, “We’ve remembered it clearly.”
Wen Qianshu breathed a sigh of relief.
2333: “So promising.”
Wen Qianshu: “Being promising won’t save me from copying texts.”
2333 had a headache. 2333 gave up. 2333 changed the subject: “Have you thought about how to deal with Yan Han next?”
Wen Qianshu: “How to deal with her?”
She said with an innocent face, “I was waiting for you to give me some suggestions.”
2333: “…”
2333: “Wen Qianshu!”
Wen Qianshu was unmoved: “You really don’t have any suggestions?”
2333: “If I knew what to do, why would I need you?”
Wen Qianshu smiled inwardly and said with a hint of regret, “Is that so? Then I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
2333 gritted its teeth: “Host—”
Beside them, Yan Qingxi said, “Alright, then come up one by one, invoke the Five Spirits Art, and strike this line.”
Wen Qianshu’s eyelids were lowered, but her gaze shifted, watching Yan Han in her peripheral vision. The young girl was in the ordinary disciple’s attire. People around her were in twos and threes, whispering among themselves, but she stood alone, silent.
A slender waist like a water snake, long, narrow eyes, and a hint of a demon’s allure at the ends of her brows. Not far behind her, Fuliu Boat was scattering willow branches. When the wind blew, the willow branches were slender and graceful. It was hard to tell if the person was like a willow, or if the willow was learning from the person.
The new disciples went up one by one, recited the incantation, raised their palms, and tentatively struck the Five Spirits Line. The Five Spirits Line buzzed, emitting different sounds. Yan Qingxi listened attentively, correcting their incantations one by one. Some learned quickly, getting it right after one or two tries; others were slow, practicing over and over. But with this kind of thing, the more someone watched, the more flustered one became, and the more flustered, the more mistakes one made.
The one before Yan Han was just like that, also a young girl from Yan Family Village. She just couldn’t get the incantation right, and the Five Spirits Line didn’t move at all, making her break out in a sweat. Yan Qingxi gave her a few pointers, then fell silent, just watching her with a pair of eyes like cold springs, until her forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat.
After a moment, she still couldn’t get it right. Yan Qingxi said, “Think again, and work harder.”
So she came down, trembling with fear, and Yan Han went up next. She raised her palm and pressed it on the Five Spirits Line. The line moved, and the sound was clear and bright, like a gurgling stream, or pearls falling on stone.
Yan Qingxi lowered his eyes and actually gave a slight nod, saying, “Not bad.”
Yan Han bowed and retreated, and another new disciple went up.
On Mingfeng Terrace, a long wind howled, passing through willows to seek the sky. Ashen clouds clustered around the sun, shedding cold white light that reflected on Yan Qingxi, on Yan Han, on the chaotic willow branches, and on the sea below, in the distance, stretching endlessly out of sight.
In the evening, Wen Qianshu reported the situation of the past few days to Yan Chengquan. Just as she was about to leave, Yan Chengquan suddenly stopped her and handed her a letter, saying, “That’s right. If you have time in the coming days, make a trip to Yanyun Sky for me. Head Yun has something to discuss.”
Wen Qianshu took the envelope, and Yan Chengquan added, “If you can handle it, then help him; if you can’t, don’t force yourself.”
Wen Qianshu agreed, bowed, and took her leave.
The night was deep, and the surrounding lights were faint and dim.
Scattered points of light flickered, half-leaning in lamp holders formed from flowing water.
Wen Qianshu lowered her eyes and glanced at the letter. She unfolded it and was about to read it when she suddenly clenched it in her fist and turned her head, asking, “Who’s there?”
A disciple walked out from not far away, saying, “Senior Sister.”
Wen Qianshu recognized him. He was one of her martial uncle’s disciples and had also been helping to look after the new initiates these past few days.
Wen Qianshu: “What is it?”
The disciple was a bit reserved and shook his head, “Nothing, I was just passing by.”
Wen Qianshu: “Did something happen?”
The disciple forced a smile and said dryly, “It’s nothing major, no need to trouble Senior Sister—”
Seeing Wen Qianshu turn to walk towards the new disciples’ residence, he hurriedly followed, “Hey, hey—Senior Sister, it’s really not a big deal, it’s just—it’s just that two new disciples almost got into a fight. Luckily, we found out in time and stopped them.”
“Senior Sister, I’m begging you, please don’t tell Martial Uncle.”
Wen Qianshu: “Of course not—”
2333: “Ahem!”
Wen Qianshu: “Of course I won’t.”
The disciple: “That’s great.”
Wen Qianshu: “Go on, what is it really?”
The fight was already stopped, so why run out in such a hurry? There must be something else.
The disciple: “…”
“It’s—”
Wen Qianshu never would have expected it, never in a million years.
She stood in a room in the disciples’ residence, surrounded by several junior brothers. In the middle stood Yan Han, a half-grown boy, and a little girl.
The ones who fought were Yan Han and the boy, but the one who stumped this group of disciples was the little girl. Her head was lowered, her eyes were red, and tears streamed down like a broken string of beads—it was the one from daytime who couldn’t use the Five Spirits Art.
2333: “…”
This? Just this?
Wen Qianshu looked around. A group of junior brothers had stern faces, but most of their ears were red—they claimed they had “tried their very best to comfort her,” but the more they comforted her, the harder she cried. Out of desperation, they had sent one of them out to ask for a senior sister from Fuliu Boat, the reason being, “Wood qi is gentle and pleasant, so it’s naturally more effective than our ice.”
“So, Senior Sister, please don’t tell Martial Uncle.” That disciple sent a secret voice transmission, “If, if Martial Uncle finds out about this—”
He covered his face and forced an explanation: “Martial Uncle doesn’t like it when people cry. If he finds out, it won’t be good for our junior sister.”
2333: “…”
You just think it’s too embarrassing, don’t you?
The boy who fought was named Yan Shenxing. His face was bruised and swollen, with a cut at the corner of his eye. He was glaring at Yan Han: “It was you who bullied Yan Yan!”
Yan Yan—the little girl—hurriedly said, “No, it wasn’t—”
Yan Han also had injuries on half her face. She looked coldly at Yan Shenxing without saying a word.
“Stop,” Wen Qianshu said. “You two, treat your injuries.”
She then turned to look at Yan Yan, “You, come with me.”
The little girl was crying so hard she was hiccuping, her small face tear-stained like a pear blossom in the rain.
Wen Qianshu had also heard the story. Apparently, Yan Shenxing’s family were neighbors with Yan Yan’s family, so Yan Shenxing felt it was his duty to look after Yan Yan. When he came looking for her today, he found Yan Yan crying by her bed. He also saw her roommate, Yan Han, sitting to the side, lighting a candle and reading a book, practicing her cultivation arts. This “Shenxing” didn’t say another word and concluded that Yan Han had bullied Yan Yan. After a few sharp exchanges, they started fighting.
Wen Qianshu said to 2333, “Well, this is certainly being ‘cautious in action’.”
Arriving in another room, Wen Qianshu closed the door and had Yan Yan sit down.
This person was not in the original book, perhaps she died in the demon invasion at the beginning.
Wen Qianshu looked down at her—at an age like a budding flower on a young sapling, with watery eyes, completely unaware that she had survived a great catastrophe.
Survived a great catastrophe—
Before facing life and death, one always feels that everything is difficult.
Wen Qianshu handed her a handkerchief: “If you can’t read, why didn’t you say so?”
Yan Yan was so startled that her tears stopped.
2333: “?”
Yan Yan: “I, I—”
This time, Yan Family Village wasn’t massacred, so naturally, Yan Chengquan didn’t bring back all the children from the village. Since Yan Yan managed to come, she must have some talent. How could she be unable to recite the Five Spirits Art?
It was simply because she couldn’t read. She couldn’t remember what Yan Chengquan taught her, nor could she memorize it on the spot.
Yan Yan bit her lip and said, “My father said, he said it’s not good for girls to study, so he didn’t let me.”
She raised her head and said eagerly, “It’s not that I’m not working hard, I just, I just—”
She repeated “I just” for a while before finally looking dejected and lowering her head: “I just want to study, but I don’t know how to start.”
Wen Qianshu: “Then I’ll first teach you to memorize the Five Spirits Art. In a few days, I’ll take you to learn how to read. How about that?”
Yan Yan straightened up at once, her eyes shining: “Really?”
“Really,” Wen Qianshu said. “You just need to remember, if anything happens, any troubles you have, just say it. You can find a senior brother, or you can find me.”
Yan Yan nodded hurriedly, then stood up, took a step closer, and said softly, “Then, then, Sister, please don’t tell Brother Shenxing, okay?”
Wen Qianshu raised an eyebrow and said, “Alright.”
After Yan Yan went out and repeatedly clarified that Yan Han hadn’t bullied her, Yan Shenxing lowered his head and apologized with a red face. After this mess of things was resolved, Wen Qianshu asked a junior brother for the roster and flipped through it.
The roster of Five Spirits Mountain had always been detailed and miscellaneous, as if they wanted to record every person, every day, and every event. The disciples of Five Spirits Mountain liked to call it the “Ocean Ledger,” because “running account” alone was not enough to describe its long-winded and trivial nature.
Wen Qianshu flipped to Yan Yan’s page, looked at it, and then closed the book.
2333: “What’s wrong?”
Wen Qianshu: “Her father is the private tutor in Yan Family Village, a teacher. No wonder no one noticed and sent her to learn to read when she arrived.”
So this group of people just assumed she already knew how.
2333: “Then why didn’t she say anything?”
Wen Qianshu: “The little girl worships her father and thinks being literate is very impressive; she also likes the boy next door and doesn’t want to show her shortcomings.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be afraid of Yan Shenxing finding out, but of Yan Qingxi finding out.
“She would rather be stared at by Yan Qingxi than speak up in front of Yan Shenxing.”
Wen Qianshu exclaimed in admiration, “She’s a tough one.”
2333: “How would you know? She’s just a little girl, and she’s already concerned about saving face?”
“Of course I know.” Wen Qianshu had already walked out of the disciples’ residence. In a place with no one around, she yawned and said lazily, “I was a little girl once too.”
2333: “Huh?”
“Say that again?”
Wen Qianshu smiled: “Just kidding. I was born an eccentric old lady.”
2333 was speechless.
2333 really couldn’t understand how a perfectly fine person like Wen Qianshu could have such a mouth.
Wen Qianshu clapped her hands and took out the letter again.
The Xuan paper was thin, the cloud patterns fierce. It was covered in patterns like fireworks, like tongues of flame licking the paper, winding into several lines of text. The brushstrokes were vigorous and sharp, the force penetrating the back of the paper.
Wen Qianshu suddenly thought of Yun Cai again, of the hooked crescent moon at the corner of her eye. It was also sharp at both ends, but when she smiled, it would fold, as if folding the moonlight into the bottom of her eyes. Silver radiance mixed into the inky night, with an added drop of dew. Her light-colored pupils were clear, shimmering with watery light. It was truly, truly—
Wen Qianshu sighed.
Truly too beautiful.
Author’s Notes:
OOC Skit:
2333: Assessment complete. Wen Qianshu is a lost cause.
Huge thanks to Haoyue for the support!
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