Chapter 7 — Taking a Master

The moment Tian Buhui left, before anyone else could speak, the little girl Tian Lingsu had already darted in front of Zhang Qingyue and was studying him closely. Zhang Qingyue saw that lovely, lotus-like face bobbing before his eyes—young as she was, she was already a budding beauty. In Liumiao Village he had never seen a girl his own age so pretty, and he could not help blushing.

"Ha!" Tian Lingsu pointed at him as though she had found a rare treasure and crowed, "Senior brothers, look—he blushes when he sees me!"

The hall erupted in laughter, and Zhang Qingyue's face burned redder still. Su Wan came over and scolded with a smile, "Linger, don't bully your junior brother."

Tian Lingsu made a face, not taking her mother's words to heart in the least. She straightened up and said to Zhang Qingyue, "Hey, hurry up and call me Senior Sister."

Zhang Qingyue felt a flash of anger, but looking at Tian Lingsu before him—bright eyes, white teeth, a figure already so striking—he grew flustered, and could not help blurting, "Senior Sister."

On Dazhu Peak, Tian Lingsu had always ranked last. Now at last she had a junior brother younger than herself, and she was delighted. She promptly put on a pompous air and said, "Good boy, little junior brother. From now on you must obey your senior sister, all right?"

Zhang Qingyue mumbled an answer. "Yes."

Su Wan pulled her daughter away. "No more nonsense." Then to Song Dayi she said, "Daren, the little junior brother is still young, and the lessons may be a strain for him. Look after him a little more."

Song Dayi said respectfully, "Yes."

The other five disciples stood together nearby, chattering and giggling, darting glances this way and that, looking thoroughly pleased at another's misfortune.

Just then Su Wan suddenly did something very strange—she rolled her head around as though loosening her muscles, utterly at odds with the dignified air she had worn until now. In an instant the laughter of the Dazhu Peak disciples died away, and every one of them stood gaping, wearing the look of people on the brink of disaster.

Su Wan cleared her throat. "You…"

"Mistress!" It was Song Dayi who cried out, sweat already on his brow.

Su Wan frowned. "What is it?"

The other five junior brothers shouted as one, "Eldest Senior Brother, what are you doing?"

Song Dayi said urgently, "Mistress, the little junior brother has only just entered the sect. Your disciple has been ordered by Master to teach him the rules and the entry lessons—so I must go and attend to that."

Su Wan considered a moment, then nodded. "That's true enough. Off you go."

"What?" the five remaining junior brothers cried in unison.

Song Dayi gave a dry laugh, said nothing more, scooped Zhang Qingyue up, and before the boy could ask a single question hurried out of the hall, saying as he went, "Little junior brother, let your senior brother find a quiet spot and teach you the sect rules first…"

Tian Lingsu followed, laughing, greatly amused. Behind them someone shouted angrily, "Eldest Senior Brother, you have no shame!"

"Coward!"

…

Zhang Qingyue heard it all and was utterly baffled. Why should his eldest senior brother be called a coward for teaching him the sect rules?

As he puzzled over it, Su Wan's sharp voice cut in—cool and clear as ice splitting snow: "Silence."

The hall fell instantly quiet.

Su Wan said, "You worthless lot—the moment you see me about to test your cultivation, you turn into this. Five years from now comes the Canglan Sect's once-in-sixty-years 'Seven Peaks Martial Trial.' Last time you shamed your master and me half to death. If you don't work hard this time, how are we two to face our fellow sect members? Come—all five of you, at once…"

Song Dayi ran faster and faster, striding like a meteor. Once out of the hall he headed straight for the rear mountain. Zhang Qingyue clung to his shoulder as trees whistled past on either side, retreating at tremendous speed. Behind them, Tian Lingsu had at some point summoned a crimson jade silk—translucent, faintly amber in hue, scattering rays of red light—clearly an immortal's treasure. She stood upon it at her ease, made a casual hand sign, and the crimson silk bore her up into the air, following close behind Song Dayi.

Zhang Qingyue had never in his life seen such wonders. Beyond his amazement, he saw Tian Lingsu riding the wind, incomparably graceful, and his eyes at once shone with boundless envy.

Tian Lingsu saw his expression and was immensely proud. She urged the silk forward to draw alongside him and said, "Well? I'm pretty impressive, aren't I?"

Zhang Qingyue nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, yes, yes—Senior Sister, you're amazing! You can actually stand on a red cloth strip and run that fast!"

Tian Lingsu was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant by "red cloth strip." She spat out a "Pah!" in annoyance, yet could not help laughing. "You idiot!"

Zhang Qingyue was baffled, until Song Dayi's laugh came from ahead. "Little junior brother, what nonsense are you talking? That is the Amber Crimson Silk—the famous treasure Mistress cultivated in her youth. Its uses are endless and its power immense. Even within our Canglan Sect it is a renowned immortal's treasure. How is it some 'red cloth strip'?" And he roared with laughter.

Zhang Qingyue's face went crimson. He stole a glance at Tian Lingsu and saw her watching him with a grin, two little dimples showing at the corners of her cheeks.

They went on a while longer until the three of them came to a small hillside behind the mountain, where Song Dayi stopped and set Zhang Qingyue down. Tian Lingsu alighted too and withdrew her hand sign; the Amber Crimson Silk, as though alive, coiled itself up and wound about her waist, looking like a pretty red sash.

The hillside was covered with bamboo, thick and thin, growing in dense groves, very lush. But on closer look, the bamboo here was unlike the ordinary kind—every joint was black.

Pointing at the grove, Song Dayi said to Zhang Qingyue, "Little junior brother, by the rule of our Dazhu Peak line, new disciples must come here every day to cut bamboo. You're still young, so for the first three months, cut just one stalk a day. As for how thick, suit yourself."

When Zhang Qingyue first heard of the entry lessons, and that Su Wan had asked Song Dayi to look after him, he had imagined some terrible task. To his surprise it was ordinary woodcutting. He had been born in Liumiao Village to a farming family, had gone up the mountain with the grown-ups a few times and cut firewood before, and at once his heart eased and he broke into a smile. "Eldest Senior Brother, I've cut firewood before—no need to worry."

Song Dayi looked at him, seemed about to say something, then checked himself and smiled. "That's good, then. We'll walk back slowly. I'll point out the path so you can come by yourself later, and I'll tell you the sect rules along the way."

Tian Lingsu laughed from the side. "Eldest Senior Brother, why did you run all the way out here just to say a few idle words, and now you want to walk back slowly—are you afraid my mother will hit you?"

Song Dayi's face reddened. He ignored her and said only to Zhang Qingyue, "Little junior brother, remember this well: the first rule of our sect is to honor the master…"