Four immortal cultivators from Mount Wufang arrived together. The minor demons on the ship were so frightened that they revealed their true forms, with mountain cats and rats scurrying all over the deck. But surrounded by the vast ocean, there was nowhere for them to escape.
“All of you, huddle together and stay put!” Shen Zui commanded. The demons obediently gathered in a tight cluster. He continued, “Return to whatever tasks you were doing on the ship and take these children back to Linhai City. If you make good time, I’ll spare your lives. If you’re slow… I happen to be short of some ingredients for my wine…” Before he could finish, the demons all transformed back into human form and hurried to their respective duties.
The other three immortals were all highly respected figures from Mount Wufang. Among them was Chen Ru’s grandmaster Ji Wu, who possessed the deepest cultivation among those present today.
Ji Wu approached the children and gave them a stern lecture, essentially telling them to inform their parents that Mount Wufang never accepts disciples in exchange for gold or silver, and would not be recruiting any new disciples for the next decade. He warned them not to fall for such schemes again.
Er Sheng, clutching the Yilin Sword, hung her head upon hearing these words.
“Well, this is just great,” she thought to herself. “Mount Wufang isn’t accepting disciples, and my demon master has fled. Where am I supposed to learn cloud-riding and person-seeking techniques now?”
Chen Ru, noticing Er Sheng’s expression, wore an almost punch-worthy smile. However, he respectfully approached his grandmother and spoke a few words while glancing repeatedly at Er Sheng.
The immortals, hearing Chen Ru’s words, all looked at Er Sheng with surprise. Ji Wu walked to Er Sheng’s side and observed the Evil Spirit Pearl lying quietly on the deck. He channeled spiritual energy to lift the two semicircular stones that had been cut in half, weighing them in his hand. After looking Er Sheng up and down, he asked, “Where did you get this sword? And how did you cultivate your spiritual power?”
“The sword was given to me by my husband, and what you call power was mostly taught by him as well.”
Ji Wu was slightly startled. “Husband?”
Er Sheng nodded. Ji Wu pondered for a moment before speaking: “I see you possess remarkable talent and a rare affinity for immortal cultivation. I had thought to bring you back to Mount Wufang for my master to evaluate, perhaps making an exception to accept you as a disciple. However, since you’re already married…”
Er Sheng’s eyes had brightened at the first part of his words, only to dim again at the end.
“Hey,” Shen Zui suddenly interjected. He stood lazily against the railing with his arms crossed, smiling at Er Sheng. “Since Senior Brother won’t take this girl, why don’t I accept her as my disciple?”
Ji Wu frowned upon hearing this. “If her husband could gift her such a sword, his cultivation must surpass both of ours. How could we presume to teach her?”
Er Sheng quickly jumped in: “My husband can’t teach me anymore. I don’t know where he’s gone, and I’m pursuing immortal cultivation precisely to find him.”
Shen Zui spread his hands. “Then it seems I can teach her after all.”
Ji Wu glared at Shen Zui. “Brother, you shouldn’t jest. How can she join Mount Wufang when she’s already married?”
“Why not?” Shen Zui had a peculiar habit of becoming drowsy whenever he spoke with his fellow disciples. He yawned and said, “Even monks sometimes have marriages before taking their vows. She could simply divorce.”
Ji Wu grew angry. “You—!”
“No way!” Unexpectedly, Er Sheng jumped up first. “If Chang Yuan has to divorce me, then I won’t become your disciple!”
Shen Zui blinked, clearing the moisture that had gathered in his eyes from yawning, and scratched his head in confusion. “Why are you getting so worked up? I was just making a comparison. Little girl, without involving your husband in divorce, would you be willing to become my disciple?”
Er Sheng dropped to her knees with a thud and kowtowed deeply. “Master, please accept your disciple’s respect!” She proceeded to perform three clear and proper kowtows in rapid succession.
Er Sheng had previously learned all the proper etiquette for accepting a master from the old beggar—how to act, what to say, and in what tone. Her three kowtows were executed so properly and quickly that none of those present had time to react.
After Er Sheng had gazed expectantly at Shen Zui for a long while, he finally burst into laughter. “Good disciple, good disciple!”
One of the two immortals standing behind stepped forward and said, “Brother, this may not be appropriate. First, this girl’s background is unclear, and her energy signature is quite strange. Second, regarding Master…”
“I will explain everything to Master myself.” As they continued to persuade him, Shen Zui suddenly put on an expression of deep sorrow. “For many years, I’ve had only Ji Ling as my disciple, and she’s nothing but an emotionless ice block who not only gives me attitude but occasionally even speaks disrespectfully to me. My fellow brothers…” He yawned again before continuing, “You don’t know this, but I’ve long wished to take another disciple. Unfortunately, there are too many people at Mount Wufang who are prejudiced against me, and the younger generation doesn’t take to me well, so this wish has remained unfulfilled. Now that I’ve finally found a disciple I like, what are you trying to do by opposing this?”
The three senior immortals, aggravated by his rebuke, maintained sour expressions for a long while before finally saying, “Do as you wish,” and departed on their clouds, taking Chen Ru with them.
Before leaving, Chen Ru still seemed somewhat dazed. Er Sheng, quick to react, shouted after him: “Remember to call me Junior Master from now on!” She recalled that this was how he addressed Ji Ling.
Shen Zui casually waved goodbye to his fellow disciples: “I’ll return to Mount Wufang after sending these children back.”
Once their figures had disappeared in the sky, Er Sheng turned her attention back to gaze obediently at Shen Zui.
“Little girl,” Shen Zui continued staring at where the sky met the sea as he asked, “What’s your name?”
“Er Sheng.”
“Hmm, nice name.”
Er Sheng waited for a moment, and seeing no further response, asked curiously, “Master, aren’t you going to give me a Dharma name?”
“Dharma name?” Shen Zui looked at Er Sheng with amusement before saying, “Names are just forms of address, it doesn’t matter what they are. But since you’re looking at me with such hopeful eyes, I’ll grant your wish and give you a Dharma name.” He thought for a moment. “Hmm, ‘Little Ears’ sounds good. You must remember to always listen to what I say, understand?”
Er Sheng nodded seriously. “I understand!”
“Just make sure you don’t end up like your senior sister,” Shen Zui mused thoughtfully.
Er Sheng continued nodding obediently.
“Little Ears,” Shen Zui suddenly asked in a serious tone, “if you’re pursuing immortal cultivation just to find your husband, what will you do if one day you discover that even with profound cultivation, you still can’t achieve what you hope for?”
“You mean I might not be able to find Chang Yuan even after learning magical arts?” Er Sheng pondered before responding, “Then I’ll find other ways. I’m going to find him in this lifetime no matter what.”
Shen Zui let out a light laugh tinged with mockery: “You are a child. Life rarely goes exactly as we wish. Perhaps only the Fate Star-Lord in the Ninth Heaven above can live entirely according to their desires.”
Er Sheng tilted her head in thought, feeling that her master’s words seemed somehow completely wrong…
When the ship reached Linhai City and the children had returned to their homes, Shen Zui swept his hand and trapped all the demons from the ship inside the wine gourd at his waist.
Er Sheng was shocked: “Master, didn’t you say you would spare them?”
“Hmm, I found the ship’s journey too slow. I could have made the round trip in one day on my sword, yet they took so long. They truly disappointed your master.”
Er Sheng opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say, only sighing at the demons’ bad luck…
After capturing the demons, Shen Zui took his wine gourd and went to find more wine. Er Sheng wanted to bid farewell to the old beggar, so they agreed on a meeting place before she went to search for him. She looked everywhere the old beggar might have gone to beg but couldn’t find him, concluding that he must have wandered off when she didn’t return.
Not finding him left Er Sheng feeling somewhat dejected. Now that she had taken a master and wouldn’t have to worry about food and shelter anymore, she had wanted to at least return the copper coins the old beggar had given her…
Er Sheng sighed and turned to leave, only to see a familiar figure standing behind her, eyes narrowed, studying her intently. Er Sheng froze for a moment before obediently saying, “Senior Sister.”
It was the cold-faced Ji Ling. Her hair was slightly disheveled as if she had rushed here in haste. Hearing Er Sheng’s address, she raised an eyebrow, her expression showing both disbelief and disapproval as she echoed, “Junior Sister?” The words carried a hint of mockery.
But Er Sheng was oblivious to such subtle emotions. She broke into a wide smile and responded cheerfully, “Yes! Immortal Senior Sister, what a coincidence that we ended up having the same master!”
Ji Ling’s mouth twitched as she suppressed her emotions: “Indeed, I never expected this.” She paused, “Where is Master?”
“He went to buy wine.”
“Take me to him.” Her tone had grown frighteningly cold.
Er Sheng wasn’t stupid. Seeing Ji Ling’s expression, she guessed that her cold-faced senior sister wasn’t happy about having a junior sister. Though she didn’t know why and didn’t dare to ask, she simply agreed and led the way.
At that moment, Shen Zui was contentedly drinking in a tavern. He glanced outside and saw Er Sheng approaching, waving her over. Suddenly spotting who followed behind her, his expression changed drastically. He looked around but found nowhere to hide. Gritting his teeth, he threw back the last of his wine and was about to hide the wine jar when a slender hand reached over and took it away.
Ji Ling stood there, coldly looking down at Shen Zui. “Master.”
Shen Zui sighed, picking at his ear: “Here we go again. Don’t start lecturing, I don’t want to hear it.”
Ji Ling stood there for a moment, her eyes lowering slightly, her disheveled hair making her appear somewhat haggard. After a pause, she said, “This disciple has something to say.”
Shen Zui nodded: “I know, I know. No drinking, return to Mount Wufang, fine, we’re going. Take your junior sister with you, she can’t fly on a sword yet.”
Even someone as obtuse as Er Sheng noticed Ji Ling’s stiffening posture. She scratched her head, thinking that her senior sister seemed to dislike hearing the words “junior sister” from their master’s mouth. But she hadn’t done anything wrong, and Er Sheng remembered that when she first met Ji Ling, although her face had been cold then too, she hadn’t shown such antipathy.
What had upset Senior Sister?
“Why did you accept her as a disciple?” While Er Sheng was lost in thought, Ji Ling suddenly questioned Shen Zui. Though her tone wasn’t harsh, it was deeply serious.
Shen Zui smiled: “Your junior sister has extraordinary talent and immeasurable future potential. Unfortunately, your uncles and aunts in the sect are all rather narrow-minded. I accepted her out of appreciation for talent—is there something wrong with that?” His gentle tone carried an underlying force.
Ji Ling’s breath deepened: “This unworthy disciple once met this woman’s husband during the zombie incident. He is someone who conceals great power. This woman’s background is unclear—how can Master so casually bring her back to Mount Wufang?”
Shen Zui gazed steadily at Ji Ling: “Have you forgotten? I brought you back to Mount Wufang in the same way.”
Ji Ling’s face suddenly turned pale, and she fell silent. She gripped the wine jar tightly, her knuckles turning white, and after a long while, a single word escaped her tightly pressed lips: “Fine.” With that, she turned and left.
Shen Zui ignored her completely, waving over to the tavern waiter to order another jar of wine.
Er Sheng looked at Ji Ling’s retreating figure, then back at her master drinking bowl after bowl, before finally gathering her courage and running after Ji Ling: “Immortal Ji Ling! Ji Ling…”
No one saw Shen Zui wipe the wine from his lips with his sleeve, his dark eyes growing deeper.
“Senior Sister!” After turning down an alley, Er Sheng saw Ji Ling carelessly toss her wine jar to a nearby beggar. She hurried to grab Ji Ling’s sleeve, panting heavily.
Ji Ling turned to look at her: “What is it?”
“Why… why do you dislike me?” Er Sheng caught her breath and asked directly, looking at Ji Ling. “You weren’t like this when we met before.”
In Er Sheng’s heart, she still remembered clearly how Ji Ling first appeared before her, saving her from the zombie’s mouth—powerful and proud, every movement filled with admirable beauty. Er Sheng had respected her, even admired her. So much so that even when Ji Ling had been subtly hostile earlier, she had remained quiet.
Ji Ling shook off her hand: “I never said I disliked you.”
“Then why don’t you want me to become Master’s disciple?”
Ji Ling opened her mouth but found herself speechless for a moment. Finally, she said, “I am merely concerned for Mount Wufang…”
“My background isn’t unclear,” Er Sheng’s eyes were clear as she stared directly at Ji Ling while explaining. “The village where you saved me last time is my hometown. I’ve lived there all my life.”
“Your husband…”
Er Sheng pondered for a moment before nodding: “Chang Yuan’s background is indeed mysterious, but I’m the one joining Mount Wufang, not him, so what does it matter? Besides, Chang Yuan is gone now, and I’m becoming a disciple precisely to find him. Senior Sister, please rest assured, I absolutely won’t do anything to harm Mount Wufang.”
Ji Ling was rendered speechless by this outburst, only managing a light cough before continuing to walk forward. Er Sheng followed close behind like a tail.
After a few steps, Ji Ling stopped and looked back at Er Sheng, who blinked back at her. Ji Ling turned and continued walking, with footsteps following closely behind. Ji Ling looked back at Er Sheng several more times, and each time Er Sheng patiently continued following.
Never having been followed like this before, Ji Ling felt somewhat uncomfortable. She frowned and gave Er Sheng a stern glare, but Er Sheng just continued blinking at her.
After a few more steps, Ji Ling swallowed and finally couldn’t help but ask: “Why are you following me?”
Er Sheng responded with even more confusion: “Didn’t Master tell you to take me with you?” She said matter-of-factly, “I can’t fly on a sword, so you’ll have to carry me.”
Ji Ling’s eyes narrowed subtly.
Er Sheng scratched her head: “You won’t carry me? Then I’ll go back to Master.”
“Stop.” Ji Ling’s voice turned stern, then she bent down and said, “Get on.”