“Elder sister,” Zhou Qin stared at Changling with some wariness and took two steps back. “May I first ask what your relationship is with that old grandpa?”

Changling fixed her gaze on her for a moment and said, “It seems you really do know where he is.”

“I, I don’t know…” Zhou Qin shook her head repeatedly. “I just, seeing that you… keep asking me about that old grandpa’s whereabouts, I was curious, that’s all…”

The girl’s lies were too obvious, leaving Changling in a dilemma—she didn’t know whether to take a soft or hard approach with her.

“Then I’ll go to class first…” Seeing Changling’s moment of distraction, Zhou Qin made as if to run. Changling’s feet moved, executing an even faster, purer set of Pingzong Steps. Like a cool breeze floating by, she swept before Zhou Qin. Zhou Qin looked rather dumbfounded. “Elder sister, you, you also know Pingzong Steps? Did the old master also, also teach you martial arts?”

Changling didn’t want to reveal her identity, but if she kept things too tight, she feared she wouldn’t be able to pry open this girl’s mouth. So she had no choice but to “show off” this little skill, then raised an eyebrow arrogantly. “Can you tell the truth now?”

Zhou Qin seemed not to have recovered her senses yet. She looked Changling up and down. “Your dharma name is… Congling?”

Changling’s heart skipped: Although she wasn’t a formally ordained Buddhist disciple, her master had indeed given her this Buddhist name when she was young. How did this young girl know about it?

“Could it be… that old master also took you as his disciple?”

Hearing the word “also,” Zhou Qin’s eyes instantly widened in shock. “You, you really are… are…”

Having reached this point, there was no meaning in concealing anything further. Changling said impatiently, “Why do you have so much nonsense? Do I need to demonstrate a set of Mantis Arm Fist for you to…”

Before she could finish the word “see,” Zhou Qin dropped to her knees with a thud. “So elder sister, you’re my master…”

Changling: “…”

What kind of mess was this?

Zhou Qin was beside herself with excitement. “That old grandpa, oh, that’s Grand Master, he taught me martial arts for five days, but he wouldn’t take me as his disciple. He said that in his lifetime he had only taken one female disciple, who was also his final disciple, with the dharma name Congling… Later, Grand Master saw my earnest desire for a teacher and said, ‘My disciple is gifted and intelligent, but alas, has lived a solitary life and her whereabouts are unknown. With her temperament, she likely has no companions and no disciples. Very well, I shall make this decision for her and take you as her disciple. Remember, from today forward, your master is Congling. No matter what opportunities or achievements you may have in the future, you must never forget—'”

Listening to her halting recitation, Changling seemed to hear her master’s soft murmuring voice in her ears. Thinking that the old man, already a hundred years old, still worried about such an unworthy disciple as herself, she couldn’t help but sigh with mixed emotions.

Changling looked with some distress at this petite, innocent young girl. If she remembered correctly, she didn’t even know lightness skills. Apart from being somewhat strong, her martial arts foundation was essentially zero—she feared even that waste Fu Second Young Master could fight better than her.

Master Jiaye… had truly “taken in a good disciple” for her.

“Get up first and speak. I have some questions for you.”

Zhou Qin obediently stood and followed Changling toward the open lakeside. She heard Changling ask, “First tell me, who are your parents? Under what circumstances did you meet my master? And why did he teach you martial arts?”

This time she didn’t hide anything and quickly recounted the whole story.

Actually, this young girl’s fate had been quite tragic. Her family originally ran a craftsman’s shop. When she was five, her mother died of plague. At such a young age, she helped her father in the shop, and the two depended on each other, barely managing to get by. Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. Half a year ago, mountain bandits passed through the village, burning, killing, and plundering along the way. Her father died under the bandits’ blades while trying to save several children from the same village.

“That day I had just returned from chopping firewood and saw dead people everywhere in the village. I cried and shouted looking for my father. Later, when I found him, it was already too late…” Zhou Qin wiped away tears with her sleeve at this point. “But those mountain bandits hadn’t left yet. They saw me and wanted to take me away. I was originally planning to perish together with them, but then suddenly someone floated down from the sky. With just a wave of his hand, he stirred up a great wind that blew all twenty-some bandits off their horses, leaving them with broken heads and bleeding, unable to even stand up.”

Changling looked back at her. “It was Master?”

Zhou Qin nodded.

Master Jiaye was only passing through and hadn’t planned to linger in the village, but seeing that Zhou Qin’s father had died saving others, he was moved by his heroic spirit. Seeing Zhou Qin alone and helpless, he stayed to teach her martial arts for three days, but never agreed to take her as his disciple. On the third day, he had already bid farewell to Zhou Qin, yet that very night he returned.

Changling asked, “You’re saying… he came back to find you?”

“Yes, I was also very surprised. Grand Master just asked me if I wanted to go to Qingcheng Academy, if I wanted to participate in the martial examinations.”

Qingcheng Academy, martial examinations—these five words were something Zhou Qin wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

“He really said that?” Changling’s brow furrowed. Given her master’s temperament, he shouldn’t care about such things.

“I was also dumbfounded at the time, but Grand Master didn’t seem to be joking with me at all. He taught me martial arts for two more days, but unfortunately I’m dull-witted—I didn’t even learn the basics of what the old master taught me.” Zhou Qin reached into her cloth pouch and pulled out the sachet. “Then he had me bring this to Jinling and give it to Vice Academician Shu. However, Grand Master repeatedly instructed me that only after passing the martial examination should I find a way to participate in the Martial Assembly together with Academician Shu, and only at the Martial Assembly could I give this sachet to Academician Shu.”

“The Martial Assembly?” Changling took the sachet and looked it over a few times, thinking: When did Master ever care about the Central Plains’ Martial Assembly?

“Did he mention what this sachet is for?”

Zhou Qin shook her head. “After he gave me the item, he told me to keep it safe, then hurriedly left. He didn’t tell me where he was going either. However… he did mention to me… if I could bring Academician Shu to the Martial Assembly, perhaps we would have the fortune to meet again.”

Changling thought: So Master will also attend the Martial Assembly? If she could bring Ye Qi along too, with Master present, perhaps there would be a way to cure his meridian condition.

“Master wanted you to give the sachet to Academician Shu only at the Martial Assembly. Why did you go to Sanqing Hall today?” Changling asked. “Were you planning to give it early?”

At this mention, Zhou Qin scratched her head in shame. “My, my coursework is a complete mess. I can’t use weapons properly, can’t ride horses well, not to mention all that military strategy… Second Senior Brother Mo talked to me yesterday. He said if I keep failing to keep up, I won’t be able to participate in this year’s martial examination… So I, I thought…”

“Since Master emphasized it should be given after the Martial Assembly, there must be a reason for it.” Changling thrust the sachet forward, then changed her tone. “Put it away. Give it to Academician Shu at the assembly.”

Zhou Qin didn’t dare accept it. “I might not even pass the martial examination now… How could I possibly attend the Martial Assembly? It would be better if you delivered it…”

Changling raised an eyebrow and tossed the sachet directly into her arms. “Why are you being so defeatist? Since you’ve joined my tutelage, if you can’t even pass a mere martial examination, wouldn’t that be an embarrassment to me?”

Zhou Qin’s heart jumped. After finally recovering her senses, she stammered, “El-elder sister, are you acknowledging me as your disciple?”

“What did you call me?”

Zhou Qin immediately rejoiced and quickly knelt to bow. “Master, please accept this disciple’s prostration.”

She respectfully kowtowed three times. Her whole being smiled like a joyful swallow, nearly fluttering up into flight. She thought for a moment and said, “But I haven’t prepared anything now. I’ve heard people say that formal discipleship requires a discipleship gift…”

Changling waved her hand dismissively upon hearing about these empty formalities. “No need.”

“But…”

“No buts. You just listen to what I say. Get up.” As soon as she spoke, Zhou Qin immediately stood obediently. “There’s one month until the martial examination. You have no foundation, so you really must practice diligently. Starting tomorrow night, come find me after dinner. When I’m available, I’ll supervise your practice. As for literary courses, you need to pay more attention in class yourself. As for archery and riding, your instructor for that course is Academician He, correct?”

Zhou Qin nodded dumbly.

Changling said, “Then tell him to give you specialized instruction in class from now on. Say I said so.”

Zhou Qin’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”

At that moment, the sound of a bell came from the distance. Changling waved her hand. “Go to class.”

“Yes, Master.”

“In the future, don’t call me Master within Qingcheng Academy.”

“Yes, Master.”

“…”

“So that young girl has this kind of connection with Master Jiaye…”

Taking advantage of the lunch break, Changling was dragged by Ye Qi to an inconspicuous small shop near Qingcheng Academy. As soon as they sat down, the proprietress brought over a clay pot of stewed chicken soup and greeted them with a beaming smile. “Just finished simmering for the whole morning. The meat might not be tender enough yet, but it’s definitely flavorful.”

Ye Qi smiled. “Smells wonderful. Just bring two more stir-fried dishes.”

He put two chicken legs and the chicken heart into an empty bowl, ladled up the soup, and pushed it in front of Changling. “The ingredients in this soup were all sent over by Seventh Uncle and the others. Especially this thousand-year-old scrophularia—it has remarkable effects for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.”

Changling was somewhat surprised. “Didn’t you go to teach class early this morning? Where did you find time to fuss with all this?”

“Because the proprietress is Seventh Aunt. Don’t just stare—drink it while it’s hot.”

Seventh Aunt brought two bowls of rice to the table and smiled at Changling. “This is the first time the young marquis has brought a young lady here.”

Changling took a sip of soup and found the broth rich and flavorful. “I never imagined that the wife of the marquis estate’s steward would run her own shop outside Qingcheng Academy.”

“I’ve been running this shop for over twenty years. If I don’t open for a day or two, I feel restless at home instead.” Seventh Aunt smiled and returned to the kitchen. Changling glanced at Ye Qi and asked, “This place is more than just a small restaurant, isn’t it?”

“Sharp-eyed as always.” Ye Qi finished gnawing on a chicken wing. “Seventh Aunt has quite a few ‘regular customers’ here. Every so often they bring new information from the martial world. But Seventh Aunt’s cooking skills are beyond reproach. From now on, whenever you want to eat something, come anytime. I’ll cover the bill.”

Having had her stomach captured, Second Young Master Yue, seeing the young marquis being so “generous,” waved her hand even more “generously.” “Fine, treat me to a few more meals and that ten percent of true qi I gave you will be even.”

“Your math isn’t very good. Your ten percent of true qi is worth at least… fifty thousand meals.”

Changling made quick work of the two chicken legs, glanced at him sideways. “You think you have the life to treat me to fifty thousand meals?”

Ye Qi said, “If I could treat you, would you be willing to eat them?”

“Why not?”

“Good, then it’s settled! Second Young Master, once you’ve given your word, you can’t go back on it.”

Changling was baffled—what was there for the person being treated to go back on?

Ye Qi lowered his head to hide his peculiar smile—fifty thousand meals would probably require eating three meals a day together continuously for fifty years to finish.

Changling said, “You’ve changed the subject completely. You still haven’t answered my question.”

Ye Qi coughed lightly. “Oh, you mean the sachet Zhou Qin received from your master?”

“Don’t you think there’s something strange about this?”

Ye Qi thought for a moment. “In this situation, that sachet is most likely some kind of token, or related to some sort of agreement. Uncle-Master Jiaye may need Academician Shu to fulfill something at the Martial Assembly, which is why he had Zhou Qin deliver it… As for why it can’t be given early, I think Uncle-Master is worried about some unexpected development.”

Changling didn’t understand. “Unexpected development? What kind of unexpected development?”

“That’s hard to say… Perhaps there are spies around Academician Shu? Or maybe giving it before the time is right would be useless…” Ye Qi tapped the clay pot with his chopsticks. “It’s like this pot of chicken soup. Come too early and it won’t be ready until it’s simmered for a certain time. Come too late and it’s cold. Come now, and it’s just right.”

Changling asked, “What did this Academician Shu used to do? I’ve never heard Master mention him.”

Ye Qi said, “Academician Shu was once one of the Three Heroes of Maoshan. They mostly cultivated on the mountain before and rarely came down, so it’s not surprising you don’t know about him.”

“Three Heroes?”

“Right. The eldest is called Luo Zhou, the second is called Qu Yunzhen, and Shu Juan ranks third—that’s Academician Shu.” Ye Qi continued, “Back then, Shen Yao expended considerable effort to recruit Academician Shu to Qingcheng Academy. Though his fame in the martial world isn’t great, many enlightened seniors hold great respect for the Three Heroes of Maoshan. So at Qingcheng Academy, even Mo Daoyun has to show him some respect.”

“What about the other two?”

“There’s been no news of Hero Luo for many years. I’ve heard that Academician Shu has asked people to search for him for a long time, but there’s been no trace. As for Hero Qu the Second…” Ye Qi said, “He has no interest in official careers or martial world disputes. He just travels around with a few disciples and grand-disciples, sometimes saving people—sometimes even saving an entire village or town. In this respect, he’s somewhat similar to Uncle-Master Jiaye.”

Listening to these tales of remarkable people, Changling couldn’t connect them to her master’s sachet no matter what. Seeing her confused expression, Ye Qi couldn’t help but say, “Don’t overthink it. If you have any questions, just ask Uncle-Master yourself when you see him at the Martial Assembly.”

“You also think Master will attend the Martial Assembly?”

Ye Qi nodded. “At least from the current situation, he should.”

Changling said thoughtfully, “In that case, I really need to put some effort into helping Zhou Qin pass the martial examination.”

“What’s there to fear? You were even able to prop up that hopeless case Fu Yanyang. That girl Zhou is much cleverer than him.”

“Is she?”

Ye Qi nodded with a smile. Just then, Seventh Aunt brought out two more plates of stir-fried shredded pork with dried bamboo shoots. The two of them cleaned the plates and leisurely strolled back to the academy.

They had just taken a few steps past the academy gate when they saw a young instructor running toward them in a panic. Upon seeing Ye Qi, he hurriedly said, “Academician He, this is terrible! After eating lunch, the students have all been poisoned and can’t get up!”