Climbing the Mountain

For some reason, Qi Xianqing had actually caught a trace of familiarity in Yan Jue just now.

The way Yan Jue had crouched by her legs looked a little like a baby fox.

Even those clear amber eyes were exactly the same.

Qi Xianqing only hesitated for a moment before tossing her two sandbags. “Tie these to your legs and climb to the top of Qiwu Peak.”

Yan Jue hugged the two sandbags and froze slightly. “What about you?”

With her hands behind her back, Qi Xianqing strolled after her at an unhurried pace. “This is your first time climbing a mountain. Of course I’m coming with you.”

“Let me make this clear first: although you’ve already taken me as your master, if you don’t obey the Five Dragons Sect’s rules of respect, I can still quit at any time.”

Yan Jue was so excited she didn’t know what to say.

Heaven knew how long she had been craving Qi Xianqing’s martial arts.

Yan Jue : “Senior Sister, what are you talking about? Since I’m learning from you now, of course I won’t break the Five Dragons Sect’s rules. Don’t worry!”

At first, Yan Jue thought Qi Xianqing was making a mountain out of a molehill.

It was just climbing a mountain. Why did she have to follow her?

By the end, Yan Jue deeply realized her mistake.

The sun blazed overhead.

Yan Jue climbed slowly up the mountain.

The two sandbags Qi Xianqing had given her were tied tightly around her legs, heavy as mountains; no matter how hard she tried, she could barely lift her feet.

And Yan Jue suspected that the sandbags weren’t filled with sand at all, but with an extremely dense concentration of spiritual power.

It seemed that every time she went uphill, the sandbags grew heavier.

Going downhill, they grew lighter.

“..."

Yan Jue clenched her teeth and soon worked herself into a sweat. Her legs trembled nonstop.

So tired...

She couldn’t go on...

Qi Xianqing carried her long sword in her arms and followed leisurely behind. With a crisp smack, she tapped Yan Jue’s leg with the sword. “You’re too slow. Faster.”

Yan Jue let out an embarrassed sound and lifted her head in grievance. “I’m too tired... Can I rest for a bit?”

Qi Xianqing’s cool expression didn’t change at all. “Rest once, and you’ll go back down and start over.”

“..."

Yan Jue had no choice but to grit her teeth and take another step.

The mountain path that usually felt so easy had suddenly become a mountain of knives and a sea of fire.

The sun fell on her body like scorching flames.

Another stick of incense later, the two of them finally reached the suspension bridge.

Yan Jue gradually felt that she seemed to have found the pattern in the light-footwork Qi Xianqing had taught her; she started moving faster and faster.

First dry step... then charge...

Yan Jue silently ran through the footwork again and was feeling rather pleased with herself.

Then something hard suddenly rammed viciously into the small of her back.

All the strength left Yan Jue’s body. She couldn’t hold back and slapped both hands to the ground as she fell.

Qi Xianqing walked over and crouched in front of her, looking at her seriously. “Junior Sister, did you forget the footwork form I just taught you?”

Yan Jue : “What are you doing? Why do you keep hitting me—”

Qi Xianqing glanced toward the distance. “If you do it wrong, you deserve punishment.”

Yan Jue thought of the light-footwork steps she had clearly remembered so well just now; the soreness and numbness in the backs of her legs surged up in waves, and for a moment she gritted her teeth in fury. “I don’t accept this! Are you messing with me?”

Qi Xianqing stared at her for a long while, then said slowly, “I originally intended to let Junior Sister climb a mountain today, then teach you the art of light-footwork. I didn’t expect Junior Sister’s bones to be so hard..."

Yan Jue was both wronged and angry. “I remember it clearly!”

Qi Xianqing flicked her sleeve. “Junior Sister Yan, please seek instruction elsewhere. You’re not someone I can teach.”

With that, she left.

Yan Jue: “?”

She was really leaving...? Wait...

Yan Jue was so frightened her soul nearly flew out of her body. She hurriedly stood and called after her, “Senior Sister...”

“..."

Seeing Qi Xianqing’s back, Yan Jue dashed forward in a few quick steps and wrapped herself around her leg. “Senior Sister! I was wrong!”

Qi Xianqing stopped and looked down at her.

The girl wore a loose Daoist robe; her fair face had been burned bright red by the sun, sweat covered her forehead, and those beautiful phoenix eyes were half-lidded, with a faint sheen of moisture in her clear amber irises. Her hands were clamped tightly around Qi Xianqing’s leg.

Qi Xianqing asked, “What did you do wrong?”

Yan Jue was so angry steam practically came out of her head. She ground out, “I shouldn’t have talked back to Senior Sister. Please demonstrate the Five Dragons light-footwork again. I didn’t remember it clearly..."

So Qi Xianqing patiently demonstrated it again, and Yan Jue realized she really had remembered it wrong.

“..."

Speechless.

Qi Xianqing’s temper, when teaching someone, was every bit as stubborn.

Yan Jue didn’t know how she had managed to endure it. She walked in front, while Qi Xianqing followed behind, sometimes tapping her with the sword, sometimes pressing the sword against her.

And somehow Qi Xianqing’s sword seemed to have eyes; every time, it went straight for her acupuncture points.

“Your footwork is wrong again, Junior Sister Yan.”

“Junior Sister has already walked this far; surely you don’t want to go back down and start over, do you?”

“Your steps are too slow. Speed up.”

“The second form of the light-footwork requires you to memorize the mental incantation first before practicing it. Have you memorized the incantation yet, Junior Sister?”

Yan Jue had to endure the aching numbness all over her body while also forcing herself to keep shouting, “Senior Sister taught me well!” “Senior Sister, teach me more!” and so on, all because she was afraid Qi Xianqing would get annoyed and leave again.

The scene was utterly indecent.

After that, there was no more sound along the entire road, only Yan Jue’s ragged panting.

Yan Jue noticed that Qi Xianqing had stopped speaking for a long time, and she began to feel uneasy again.

“Senior Sister, did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why aren’t you talking?”

Qi Xianqing’s lips curved. “Ah, what else do you want me to say? Scold you?”

Yan Jue really did cry.

When Qi Xianqing spoke, she found her annoying. When Qi Xianqing stayed silent, she was afraid Qi Xianqing wasn’t teaching seriously. When Qi Xianqing pointed out her mistakes, pain and joy tangled together in her heart.

Why did she have to torment her like this!

Forget it; wasn’t there a sage who said that when he was studying and his teacher reprimanded him, he only became more respectful, more proper in his manners?

If this was what it took to learn from Qi Xianqing, then being a little tired didn’t matter!

...

In the end, she climbed Qiwu Peak within two hours.

Yan Jue had never been to the top of Qiwu Peak before.

The afterglow of the setting sun scattered over the verdant mountain ranges, and a breeze blew by, bringing a cool, refreshing feeling.

Yan Jue raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then braced her knees and panted.

Qi Xianqing stood beside Yan Jue, her robes fluttering in the wind.

She held a Capture-Shadow Box in her hand; with a click, the magnificent scene before them was recorded inside.

Seeing her, Yan Jue grew annoyed again, but she still forced a smile and asked, “Senior Sister, what are we doing tomorrow?”

Qi Xianqing : “Tomorrow, you come here by yourself. You must climb to the summit within two hours, then come find me at Thunderflame Sect.”

Yan Jue : “You’re not coming with me?”

She truly found it amazing. Qiwu Peak was already a very tall mountain, yet she had actually managed to climb it within two hours.

Aside from her feet hurting a little, she didn’t feel very tired.

Qi Xianqing : “Come by yourself tomorrow; after you finish climbing the mountain, just come straight to Thunderflame Sect to find me.”

-

Every master has their own way of teaching their disciple.

Yan Jue didn’t know how other masters taught their disciples.

She only knew that Qi Xianqing was especially ruthless with her disciple!

What’s more, they weren’t even true master and disciple in the literal sense.

Yan Jue had originally thought that after the hellish torment of the first day, climbing the mountain again on the second day wouldn’t be so exhausting.

But she quickly discovered that she had been wrong.

The sun blazed overhead.

Yan Jue panted as she climbed the mountain, the sandbags tied tightly around her legs, heavy as mountains; no matter how hard she tried, she could barely lift her feet.

Sweat slid down her cheeks.

To Yan Jue’s surprise, she had originally thought that without Qi Xianqing today, things would be easier...

Who knew it would be even more tiring.

The steep slope ahead seemed baked by the sun, with no end in sight.

“..."

Finally, after climbing half the way, Yan Jue lost her footing and nearly fell. She hurriedly grabbed the stone beside her.

The people nearby all threw her strange looks.

Yan Jue was busy dealing with the sandbags at her feet when, from the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw Duan Luxi walking toward her.

Duan Luxi came up to her and said, “Oh my god, Yan Jue, what a coincidence! I was just planning to go over to Watercloud Sect to find you.”

Sweat beaded at Yan Jue’s temples and trickled down. She looked at her irritably. “What do you need?”

Duan Luxi : “The six sleeve arrows you gave me; I’ve already inscribed the talismans.”

“Want to try them?”

Yan Jue paused and perked up a little. She took the sleeve arrows from Duan Luxi and thanked her.

She tucked the sleeve arrows into her sleeve, aimed at a tree over there with no one around, and flicked her hand sharply.

The tree over there exploded in a spectacular shower of sparks: “..."

Thick smoke billowed away, and the originally imposing tree was blown into nothing; it even burst into fierce flames.

Yan Jue and Duan Luxi hurriedly scrambled to put out the fire. After the flames were finally extinguished, Yan Jue felt that even her feet were a little unwilling to obey her anymore. “That’s way too much power.”

A magical tool with immense power couldn’t exactly be called bad.

It was just that every time it was used, one had to be extremely careful, because there was a very real chance of injuring nearby teammates or innocent passersby.

Duan Luxi : “Come on, when you’re out in the world, bigger firepower is better. Haven’t you heard that there’s a senior sister in our Muyin Sect who goes on missions by directly burying the enemy under a mountain of talismans?”

All right then.

Yan Jue’s gaze drifted to the huge bronze sword on Duan Luxi’s back, and she suddenly felt that there was nothing strange about someone like Duan Luxi being able to make such a terrifyingly powerful weapon.

She had heard of the method of burying an enemy under talismans before.

For example, there were Five Dragons disciples who, while out subduing demons, would frantically hurl talismans at the creature, blasting it to death with overwhelming explosive force without even drawing a sword.

But that was a rich girl’s exclusive method of exorcism; for someone poor like her, she really wouldn’t dare even think about it...

Duan Luxi had given her the chance to use such high-output weapons, and she couldn’t be more grateful. Yan Jue quickly clasped her hands together and bowed to Duan Luxi. “Thank you, Senior Sister Duan.”

Duan Luxi smiled. “If you call me Senior Sister again, I’ll get mad at you.”

“In truth, we’re about the same age.”

Duan Luxi soon noticed that Yan Jue was panting and had gone bright red.

She reached out and shoved her. “Are you out of shape or something? Why are you already exhausted after climbing so little?”

Yan Jue had no intention of telling Duan Luxi that she was currently learning light-footwork under Qi Xianqing’s torment. She only smiled and said, “Come on, this little bit? The mountain is steep and tall, okay!”

Duan Luxi : “...Fine. But your Watercloud Sect is all about gentler divine arts and spells, so no wonder your stamina is bad.”

After Duan Luxi left, Yan Jue clenched her back teeth and continued up the mountain step by step.

“..."

It had originally been said that she only needed to climb within two hours; Yan Jue ended up climbing for five hours.

It was probably already near shen hour, with the sun slanting westward, before Yan Jue finally made it back.

Qi Xianqing was not at the Cold Pool on Qiwu Peak, but at Thunderflame Sect.

Only then did Yan Jue realize that Qi Xianqing wanted her to carry the sandbags all the way across Qiwu Peak and climb to Thunderflame Sect.

She really felt like rolling her eyes back.

Yan Jue lay on the ground and rested for a moment, then crawled toward Thunderflame Sect again.

As she walked, she silently recited the Calming Mind Incantation, trying her best to let the restless energy in her heart gradually settle.

By about dusk, Yan Jue finally reached Thunderflame Sect.

The soles of her shoes were nearly worn through; her calves trembled nonstop as she wound through several turns and twists before finally reaching the place Qi Xianqing had mentioned.

The dormitories of the inner disciples.

Sure enough, the inner disciples’ lodgings of Thunderflame Sect were very different from those of the outer disciples.

Every disciple lived in a quaint little wooden house, each with a small courtyard.

Some courtyards grew lingzhi, others fragrant herbs; pale pink petals drifted lazily down from the sky, filling the whole courtyard with fragrance.

When Yan Jue reached Qi Xianqing’s room, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Qi Xianqing’s room was as plain and tidy as she was.

There was a small window, a bed, and a blue gauze canopy hanging down.

Beneath the window stood a desk with a few books and an oil lamp on it.

Sunlight shone over a censer; smoke curled everywhere.

In the center of the room was a round dining table, and against the wall stood a qin. But it was obvious Qi Xianqing never touched it, because Yan Jue could see a faint barrier surrounding the instrument, as if keeping people from coming near.

It seemed that aside from sword practice, Qi Xianqing had no hobbies like music, chess, calligraphy, or painting.

Qi Xianqing was seated at the table.

A girl sat beside her.

Zhou Leng was holding a huge long-haired dog; the thin leash trailed along the floor, while the dog sat obediently beside Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing leaned over and gently stroked its head.

Zhou Leng : “Senior Sister, let me have it perform for you.”

“Sit!”

The long-haired dog sat down, stuck out its long tongue, and wagged its tail furiously.

A faint smile curved Qi Xianqing’s lips as she sat beside the chair, propping her chin on one hand, lost in thought.

Then Qi Xianqing suddenly held out her hand. “Shake.”

The long-haired dog seemed to have been injected with chicken blood; it instantly became excited and rapidly extended a paw to shake Qi Xianqing’s hand.

Zhou Leng : “Senior Sister, I spent 100 top-grade Spirit Stones sending Xiao Wang to the Beast Taming Pavilion for lessons. It can already barely understand human conversation.”

Qi Xianqing extended her fair hand and slowly stroked Xiao Wang’s fluffy head. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the little fox deep in the mountains of Qiwu Peak.

Compared to that, Xiao Wang, though specially trained, didn’t seem smarter than the baby fox.

100 top-grade Spirit Stones was already a steep price; why waste the money?

Wouldn’t it be better to just send Xiao Wang to stay on Qiwu Peak for a year or two? Wouldn’t that work better than sending it to the Beast Taming Pavilion?

Yan Jue stood outside and watched for a long while before she couldn’t help coughing.

Zhou Leng looked up and was startled to see Yan Jue standing by the window. Then she gave Qi Xianqing a strange look.

What was this person doing here... Could she be here to cause trouble for Senior Sister over Chu Fu?

Zhou Leng had just moved her lips to speak when Qi Xianqing calmly introduced her. “A junior sister from Watercloud Sect. She came to see me about something.”

Zhou Leng: You think I don’t know she’s a junior sister from Watercloud Sect, hey!

Zhou Leng stood and cupped her hands toward Qi Xianqing. “Then I won’t disturb you.”

Qi Xianqing : “Mm.”

Zhou Leng then led the long-haired dog outside. When she passed Yan Jue, she looked at her with an odd expression.

The long-haired dog passed Yan Jue as well, sniffed curiously, and wagged its tail.

Qi Xianqing lifted her eyes slightly and saw Yan Jue standing at the door, looking utterly miserable.

“..."

Yan Jue hadn’t expected the price of having Qi Xianqing teach her to be so high.

She didn’t just have a sprained ankle now; the soles of her feet might also have been rubbed raw with blisters, and she could barely walk straight.

This body the original host had inherited had been pampered and spoiled all the time, and indeed still wasn’t very well adapted to life in cultivation.

Maybe she should talk to Qi Xianqing now and come back after she’d rested her injuries for a few days.

The words had just reached Yan Jue’s lips when she began, “I—”

“You were three hours late.”

Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes at her for a long moment, then let out a faint sigh. “I didn’t expect Junior Sister Yan to be so lacking. You’ve only climbed this little way, and you’re already like this...”

Yan Jue: ????

“I had thought that with Junior Sister Yan’s aptitude, you at least could withstand the most basic training volume of Thunderflame Sect’s inner disciples. It seems I was mistaken.” Qi Xianqing turned away, tapped her lip with her fingertip, and seemed to be thinking. “Tomorrow I’ll reduce the training volume. Junior Sister won’t need to wear sandbags while climbing the mountain; you’ll only need to walk one lap around Qiwu Peak’s Cold Pool.”

“You don’t need to heal your injuries either. Continue training tomorrow.

“As for light-footwork, there’s no need to reach for the moon. I’ll just teach you some formulas for strengthening the body.”

Yan Jue’s head heated up. “...But that’s way too casual! You said you were going to teach me until I learned light-footwork!”

She stared straight at Qi Xianqing; in those amber eyes, the message was unmistakable: I only want to learn light-footwork.

Qi Xianqing : “Junior Sister, what are you talking about? I’m only thinking of your health.”

Yan Jue : “I can do it! Senior Sister doesn’t need to worry about me!”

“Tomorrow at mealtime, I’ll finish climbing the mountain and come find you on time.”

Qi Xianqing paused.

Those dark peach-blossom eyes of hers flashed with a trace of barely perceptible amusement. “All right. If it truly doesn’t work, then I’ll lighten your training.”

Yan Jue : “Mm-hmm, thank you, Senior Sister—”

Only after saying it did Yan Jue belatedly realize she had fallen into the woman’s trap.

“..."

A moment ago, she had wanted to sleep in tomorrow.

With just a few words from Qi Xianqing, she not only no longer wanted to sleep in, she was even burning with determination to prove herself.

Damn it. This woman...

Was she trying to toy with her, or teach her properly?

This was also Yan Jue’s own doing, and Yan Jue accepted it. She turned and walked outside.

Then she suddenly heard a voice from behind her. “Junior Sister Yan.”

Yan Jue mentally cursed Qi Xianqing, that wicked woman, a thousand times over, then kept smiling as she turned back around. “May I ask if there’s anything, Senior Sister?”

Something flew toward her.

Yan Jue instinctively reached out and caught it. Looking down, she saw that it was a round wooden box.

Yan Jue froze. “What does Senior Sister mean by this?”

Qi Xianqing gave her a faint look, then lifted her chin toward Yan Jue’s limping leg.

“It’s an ointment.”

Yan Jue raised her eyes and met Qi Xianqing’s deep peach-blossom gaze.

For a fleeting instant, she felt that Qi Xianqing probably wasn’t really as cold-hearted as she seemed.

Her heart softened.

Yan Jue smiled and, imitating Zhou Leng from before, cupped her hands. Her amber eyes lifted slightly as she said, “Thank you, Senior Sister.”