"Man is born endowed with the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth, forming spirit and body; receiving the qi of primordial unity, forming fluids and essence. When Heaven's qi is depleted, the spirit will scatter; when Earth's qi is depleted, the body will fall ill; when primordial qi is depleted, life will be exhausted..."
At dusk, the sound of reading drifted from a small courtyard near the mountaintop amid Shushan's Geli Peaks.
Luo Bei, dressed in a blue cloth robe, was reading intently by the oil lamp on the table.
"Junior Brother Luo Bei is so diligent."
Suddenly, Luo Bei heard such a voice in his ear. "Junior Brother Luo Bei, may we disturb you for a moment?" Scattered footsteps came to a stop outside the courtyard gate.
"Who is it?" Although he had already been at Shushan for three days, during those three days it had always been Xiao Xiao—the middle-aged scholar among the two who had taken him to see Yu Ruochen and Yan Jingxie that day—teaching him how to read and write here. Luo Bei still knew virtually nothing about Shushan, nor had he met anyone else, so he had no idea who had come to visit now.
Somewhat stunned, Luo Bei opened the half-closed courtyard gate and found two youths standing outside. They wore the same blue robes as he did and appeared about his age.
The one on the left was handsome and broad-shouldered, a full half head taller than Luo Bei. The youth on the right had beautiful black hair tied behind his head with a strip of silk. His smile was brilliant, and he looked quite refined. "Junior Brother Luo Bei." Seeing Luo Bei standing before them in slight confusion, the refined youth cheerfully pointed to himself and the tall youth beside him. "My name is Zi Gu Xuan, and he is Ling Dong Shan. Like you, we are disciples of Geli Peak. We entered the sect a few days before you. Would it be too presumptuous for us to call you Junior Brother?"
"Th-then... of course." Hearing Zi Gu Xuan say that, Luo Bei immediately nodded. Yet he was still bewildered by these unexpected visitors, and since he knew nothing of social pleasantries, he stood stiffly at the gate after answering, unsure what to say.
"Then we'll shamelessly call you Junior Brother Luo Bei." Zi Gu Xuan smiled. "Junior Brother Luo Bei, have you had dinner?"
"No."
"Then that works out perfectly. We haven't eaten either. Dong Shan happened to prepare some food. Would Junior Brother Luo Bei invite us in for a chat? We can eat together, get acquainted, and grow closer."
"...All right." Only then did Luo Bei notice the basket in Ling Dong Shan's hand, covered with blue cloth. Over the past three days, all his meals had been delivered by Lin Hang, the limping, stuttering youth. Seeing the sky darken, Lin Hang would soon be bringing food over again. But Zi Gu Xuan and Ling Dong Shan were so warm and welcoming that Luo Bei, unfamiliar with pleasantries and worldly ways, hesitated briefly before deciding it would be rude to refuse. He invited them inside.
Ling Dong Shan took out a bowl of salted peanuts, several roasted rabbit legs, a plate of cured fish, a few side dishes, and some purple wild fruits Luo Bei had never seen before. White rice sat in wooden boxes, still giving off a gentle steam.
"I wonder where Old Zhao Nan is now, and what he is doing." At the sight of the slightly yellowed cured fish, Luo Bei could not help thinking of the person it reminded him of: Old Zhao Nan, who had made excellent cured meat on that nameless mountain peak in Luofu.
"Junior Brother Luo Bei, don't stand on ceremony. We have to recite scriptures during the day, so we had no time to prepare much. These are just a few side dishes we picked up from the kitchen. But these fruits only grow in Shushan. They were freshly picked and are quite fresh. Since you've only just arrived at Shushan, you may not have eaten them before. Have more and give them a try."
"Mm." Luo Bei put away his thoughts, accepted the bowl of rice Ling Dong Shan handed him, picked up a piece of cured fish with his chopsticks, and chewed it carefully. "Senior Brother Zi Gu Xuan, where do you and Senior Brother Ling Dong Shan live? Is it far from here?"
"Not far. We're on Tianyu Peak opposite us. If we walk quickly, a round trip only takes one or two hours." Zi Gu Xuan pointed out the window. "It's dark now, and the clouds and mist block the view. Otherwise, you could see where we live."
"How long have you been at Shushan? Do all of you live together?"
"Our batch only entered Shushan last month, just one month before you." Zi Xuangu smiled, though an almost imperceptible strange look flashed through his eyes. "The newly admitted disciples of Geli Peaks all live on Tianyu Peak. Only Junior Brother Luo Bei has such treatment because your aptitude is exceptional."
"Among the new disciples, I'm the only one treated this way?"
"That's right. The other disciples all share rooms, six to a room. And martial uncle Xiao Xiao personally teaches you reading and writing. Not only has this never happened on Geli Peak, it has never happened in all of Shushan."
"..."
Luo Bei ate slowly and spoke with Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan, while a thousand flavors gradually mingled in his heart.
Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan had entered Shushan only a month before Luo Bei, yet both were clearly already familiar with many matters of Shushan. From what they told him, Luo Bei gradually learned that Shushan had several thousand disciples. Its sect leader was named Tian Xiyue, but he had entered seclusion ten years ago. The current Acting Sect Leader was Yu Ruochen, whom Luo Bei had already met. Shushan was now divided into three branches: Geli Peaks, Tianzhu Peaks, and Jingshen Peaks, overseen respectively by Yan Jingxie, Zong Leyu, and Bing Zhujun.
Each of these three branches sent people out to select suitable disciples and bring them back to Shushan. Aside from Luofu and Chile, Shushan was recognized among the orthodox mystic sects of the realm as the greatest sect second only to Kunlun in might and prestige. With a heritage spanning a thousand years, Shushan's teaching of scriptures and the Dao did not follow a fierce, aggressive path, but rather one that was unhurried and orderly, advancing step by step.
After disciples selected for the three branches entered Shushan, they first learned to read and write, gaining an understanding of many principles. The Qi Nourishing Chapter Luo Bei had just been reading, for instance, taught how a person could have abundant vital essence and qi, and how illness arose. Shushan did this so that one understood principles before cultivating the Dao—not merely knowing how to cultivate, but also why one cultivated that way and what would bring harm.
Yet within the Geli Peaks branch, even later-arriving disciples all lived on Tianyu Peak and slowly studied reading and writing together. There had never been anyone like Luo Bei, personally taught by someone like Xiao Xiao—a second-generation disciple of contemporary Shushan—in order to catch up on his studies. Without saying more, it was already clear just how highly the Geli branch valued Luo Bei.
At present, Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan still did not understand why Shushan was divided into three branches, nor did they know the precise differences among them. They had only heard that disciples of Geli Peaks had the most opportunities to go out and gain experience. Though they had been fortunate enough to enter the Shushan that ordinary people admired and cultivate the Dao, they were still young at heart and could not help secretly rejoicing over this. Yet when they thought this, they overlooked another point: just as ordinary sects had outer and inner divisions, Shushan also distinguished between entry disciples and inner-chamber disciples. Those who failed to pass the trials would remain ordinary entry disciples forever. People like Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan called Xiao Xiao and the others martial uncle. Only by passing the trials and becoming one person's inner-chamber disciple could one receive powerful arts and techniques passed down directly by a teacher. Otherwise, the chance of roaming the world upon sword-light as they had imagined was vanishingly small.
"How did you two enter Shushan?" Luo Bei asked again.
"I am from Luoyang in Central Province. Martial uncle Ao Huang happened to take a liking to me while training there, so he brought me back to Shushan," Ling Dong Shan said.
"My father is the Sect Master of Ziyun Sect and knows martial uncle Xiao Xiao, so he recommended me to Shushan," Zi Xuangu said.
"Ziyun Sect?"
"It is five hundred li from here and counts as an outer branch of Shushan." A trace of pride flashed through Zi Xuangu's eyes.
Though Ziyun Sect was far too insignificant compared with Shushan, Zi Xuangu already had a foundation in cultivation. Moreover, his father had some friendship with Xiao Xiao and the others, so compared to the other disciples, his background was far superior.
"I heard senior brother Ming Zhe say that once martial uncle Xiao Xiao has brought your lessons more or less up to speed, you'll cultivate with us as well. Then we'll have even more chances to grow close."
"Junior Brother Luo Bei, all of Shushan now knows that our Geli branch has gained a disciple of exceptional aptitude like you... I heard your aptitude is the best Shushan has seen in decades. Your future accomplishments will surely be beyond measure."
"That's right. If there's anything you don't understand or anything you need help with, just come find us. Perhaps in the future, when we don't understand something in cultivation, we'll have to ask you instead."
"..."
As Ling Dong Shan and Zi Xuangu spoke, Zi Xuangu suddenly took out more than a dozen green talismans and handed them to Luo Bei.
"What are these?" Luo Bei asked, looking at the dozen or so green talismans Zi Xuangu was offering him.
"These are Divine Speed Talismans refined by my father. Stick one to your feet, and for two hours you can travel several times faster than usual. With these Divine Speed Talismans, you can come to Tianyu Peak opposite and visit us whenever you like. By the way, did martial uncle Xiao Xiao tell you that you must not leave this place?"
"He didn't say that..."
Luo Bei looked at the dozen or so Divine Speed Talismans in Zi Xuangu's hand, unsure whether he should accept them. "J-Junior Brother Luo Bei." At that moment, a stuttering voice sounded from the doorway. Lin Hang, who delivered Luo Bei's meals, had arrived.
"Y-your... food."
Seeing Ling Dong Shan and Zi Xuangu there, and seeing the three of them eating, Lin Hang, carrying a basket, clearly wanted to ask Luo Bei whether he no longer needed the meal Lin Hang had brought, or whether it should still be left there. But Lin Hang already stuttered, and he had not expected Ling Dong Shan and Zi Xuangu to be present. The sudden appearance of these two seemed to make him nervous, and for a moment he could not get the words out.
"E-eat? Eat what?" A look of contempt immediately appeared on Zi Xuangu's refined face. "Can't you see we're already eating?"
"N-no, I... I..."
"Stop with the 'I, I, I.' You can't even speak a sentence clearly. No wonder everyone looks down on you." Zi Xuangu gave a disdainful snort.
"Forget it. Stop talking and leave." Ling Dong Shan also waved Lin Hang away, then said to Luo Bei, "Don't mind him. I heard he has been at Shushan for two years already, yet he still can't match a disciple who entered the sect three months ago. At his level of cultivation, it's impossible for him to become an inner-chamber disciple."
Though Ling Dong Shan did not speak loudly, the room was small, and Lin Hang had clearly heard him. He could not help lowering his head, making his whole person seem even more humble and small.
Before you continue