The Apprenticeship Ceremony

Inside Mountain Moving Hall, an apprenticeship ceremony that seemed elaborate but had actually involved very little was drawing to a close.

The Patriarch of the temple was Mountain Moving Daoist.

Lin Jue and the young woman knelt on cushions before the Patriarch's Divine Statue, their expressions solemn.

A Colorful Civet lay languidly at the Patriarch's feet, watching their proceedings with curiosity while finding them dull. It had already started yawning.

Cloud Crane Taoist stood at the very front.

"From today onward, you are the twelfth-generation disciples of Floating Hill Temple. Though I met Qing Yao first, you are only becoming my disciples at this very moment. As for who has the deeper connection with me, Lin Jue came first. So the two of you will be ranked by age: Lin Jue is the senior brother, and Qing Yao is the junior sister."

"This disciple understands."

Lin Jue answered calmly.

"This disciple understands."

The young woman behind him followed his example.

Seven Daoists were seated on either side of them.

At first glance, the seven seemed fairly normal. But the middle-aged Daoist seated first on the left—the Senior Brother—had mud all over his feet, as if he had just returned from digging. One man was nodding off, another reeked of wine, and yet another was tilting his head as he played with the tail of an orange cat beside him. From his expression, he seemed even more bored than the Cat by the altar.

Only Cloud Crane Taoist looked truly solemn.

"Our temple cultivates the Yin Yang Spiritual Law and follows the Great Way of Yin Yang. In addition, the Patriarch left seven arts at our temple: alchemy, Bean Soldiers, Beast Gathering and Bird Taming, medicine, Spirit Writing, Performance Art, and the Method of Crushing Stone.

"Later, as our temple's disciples traveled the world and made connections, the arts practiced here grew far beyond those seven. Even so, we have kept to tradition and made those seven our main arts.

"For that reason, throughout the generations, our temple has usually taken only eight disciples per generation. The first disciple, who will one day inherit Floating Hill Temple, must learn all seven arts. Each of the other seven disciples must choose one to specialize in, and must learn it.

"This time was an exception. I went down the mountain intending to take one last disciple, but unexpectedly, I met the two of you."

The old Daoist's gaze swept over them.

"Though we have broken with precedent, we must still observe the traditions left by the Patriarch. As it happens, I am advanced in years, and my health is failing. I might not have the energy to teach both of you at once. So one of you will take up the last art, the Method of Crushing Stone, and receive my personal instruction. The other may learn whatever they like. They can ask any of their senior brothers, come to me, or learn the Method of Crushing Stone from me as well.

"Would either of you volunteer?"

The old Daoist asked them.

The ceremony had finally reached the point where they were allowed to make a decision.

Anyone would know that personal instruction from their master was sure to be better. So volunteering here did not mean volunteering to study under him, but volunteering to give the opportunity to the other.

The young woman lowered her head in silence.

Yet Lin Jue thought he saw her sneaking a glance at him.

"..."

Lin Jue couldn't help finding it amusing.

No wonder the girl had been so diligent and unwilling to fall behind throughout their journey, competing with him to do every hard or tiring task. She had met their master a few days before Lin Jue did, so she had probably already learned or guessed what was at stake. Perhaps she had been trying to prove herself against him, her "senior brother," from the very start.

It was only natural.

Perhaps she thought that Lin Jue had gathered firewood, lit fires, fetched water, and asked for directions along the way for much the same reason she had.

And then the two of them had ended up competing.

Thinking back on how she had often sized him up on the road, how she had gritted her teeth and kept up with him as he climbed without stopping, how she had looked astonished when he moved the boulders that summer rains had washed onto the path, then gritted her teeth and strained with all her might to shift another boulder herself, often exhausting herself in the process, Lin Jue suddenly found it amusing.

What a clever little girl.

But how could he possibly compete with her for this?

"Master, my junior sister is younger. Let her have this art and the chance to study under you personally."

"Have you made up your mind?"

Cloud Crane Taoist's voice came from the front.

"I have."

Lin Jue couldn't help looking to the side.

Just then, he met the little girl's astonished gaze.

She seemed utterly unable to believe it.

Seeing her, Lin Jue couldn't help wondering—

What is the little girl thinking now? Does she think I'm pretending to give way so I can gain the upper hand? Or is she wondering why I competed with her all along the way if I was going to do this?

"Good! That's the spirit of Floating Hill Temple!" Cloud Crane Taoist said. "Since that's settled, choose any other one of these seven arts—or something else, if you prefer. But you must learn at least one of the seven. Once you've chosen, go to the senior brother who specializes in it. If anything confuses you, come ask me. That said, though I'm older and have practiced for a few more years, I've studied rather haphazardly. I can't say I'm necessarily more accomplished in any one art than your senior brothers."

"This disciple understands."

"Good lad," one of the senior brothers said. He was the one who reeked of wine, as if he hadn't yet recovered from a hangover. "My Bean Soldiers can Scatter Beans to Soldiers. If you want to learn that, come see me tomorrow afternoon. You can come drink with me, too. Don't come in the morning. I won't be awake yet."

"If you want to learn alchemy, you can come to me."

The senior brothers seemed quite welcoming, and they all chimed in.

"Thank you, senior brothers."

Lin Jue thanked them sincerely.

"By tradition, those who enter the Daoist faith are given a Daoist name. Usually, if your name has two characters, one character is added in the middle; if it has three, the middle character is changed. We belong to the Spiritual Law School. To the Talisman School and the Pill Cauldron School, we might seem like an unorthodox sect. Our rules aren't as strict, but we still take Daoist names."

The old Daoist continued. With a casual wave, he knocked the Colorful Civet off the Mountain Moving Patriarch's Divine Statue.

"This year, the character is Fang.

"Your name is Lin Jue, so your Daoist name will be Lin Fangjue.

"Qing Yao's Daoist name will be Liu Fangyao.

"Just remember them. No one will usually call you by those names, and we don't write memorials to the heavens, so they won't come in handy.

"As for your Daoist titles, you'll choose those yourselves. When you're older, have made progress in your cultivation, and can see clearly what you've done, what's in your hearts, and what you've accomplished, then choose titles based on those things."

The old Daoist waved his hand.

"That's the end of the apprenticeship ceremony. There are two rooms; each of you can pick one. We'll have robes made by a tailor down the mountain in a few days. There are two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Just listen for the bell. Also, before dawn each day, you must come to Mountain Moving Hall for morning lessons and scripture recitation. If there's anything else to do, or if you need to learn a technique or receive instruction, I'll come find you. Your Senior Brother will tell you about the rest."

"Understood."

"Understood!"

The young woman still followed Lin Jue's lead, though she was more respectful in her manner.

The old Daoist turned and walked farther inside.

The senior brothers didn't leave. Instead, they stood and gathered around them, looking over the two new disciples as if they were curiosities.

"Do you remember my name?"

"How old are you?"

"How did Master meet you and take you on as disciples?"

"Enough, enough. Don't frighten our junior brother and junior sister." Senior Brother Lu Wu wore a gentle expression as he spoke to them. "Don't mind them. Come with me first and choose your rooms."

Floating Hill Temple had more meditation rooms than guest rooms, all situated on either side of the temple. The senior brothers had just cleaned two of them.

One was a proper meditation room. As the old Daoist had said, Floating Hill Temple had always kept to tradition: each generation had one master and eight disciples, so the number of meditation rooms was fixed. This room was clearly more refined. Besides a bed, it had a wardrobe, bookshelves, a desk and chairs, and hooks for hanging clothes. It should be quite comfortable to live in.

The other seemed to have been converted from a guest room. It had only a bed and an Eight Immortals table that looked as if it had been put there temporarily.

"Choose for yourselves."

The Senior Brother left the choice to them.

But what was there to choose?

The junior sister looked at Lin Jue, eyes wide. She parted her lips, just about to offer the better room to her senior brother, when Lin Jue had already walked into the second room with his book box on his back.

"All right, you can stay in this one. But there's no need to rush. If you need any furniture, ask your Sixth Senior Brother. He can make it for you on the spot, and it might even be better than what we have in our rooms." The Senior Brother continued, "Don't be afraid of troubling him. He loves joinery and carpentry, and he takes pleasure in it."

"Just come to me."

A Daoist who looked to be in his twenties spoke up.

"Thank you."

Before the apprenticeship ceremony, the old Daoist had told them each of their senior brothers' names.

The Sixth Senior Brother was called Huang Shiyu, it seemed, and specialized in Spirit Writing.

The Second Senior Brother was Yan Xuanyi. He seemed quiet and specialized in alchemy. The Third Senior Brother was Li Miaolin, reeked of wine, and specialized in Bean Soldiers. The Fourth Senior Brother was Hu Mengjin, who specialized in the Method of Gathering and Taming Beasts. Apparently, the Cloud Leopard asleep in the temple today was his friend.

The Fifth Senior Brother, Jing Qi, studied medicine. Lin Jue wondered how it differed from the medicine practiced by ordinary doctors down the mountain. The Seventh Senior Brother was called Le You and specialized in Performance Art.

"We're all senior and junior brothers. No need to be so polite."

The Senior Brother went over some other things they needed to know about the temple and the Spiritual Law School. He explained where the dining hall and kitchen were, how to address and greet pilgrims and other Daoists they met outside, and what they were expected to do each day. He didn't say much, but he explained it all in detail.

The other senior brothers didn't leave either. They watched from nearby, and the temple's atmosphere didn't seem cold at all.

Lin Jue felt calm and collected, and naturally remembered everything.

The little girl, like anyone her age in a strange new place, felt uneasy, nervous, and apprehensive. Of course, she couldn't remember a thing, but pretended she had.

"You two should get some rest."

"Remember, the evening bell means it's time to eat."

Only then did the senior brothers gradually disperse.

Lin Jue exchanged a glance with his junior sister and smiled faintly before returning to his room.

He set his book box by the wall and looked around. He took out several books, including the Ancient Book, and placed them beneath his pillow. Then he put his Firewood Knife and whistle-stick by the wall, took out his clothes and folded them beside his pillow, and placed the last of his dry rations on the Eight Immortals table. With a few belongings—some things that were his—scattered around the room, even the humble space began to feel comforting.

What was there not to like about living here?

It was much roomier than his room back in Shu Village.

Lin Jue simply lay down on the bed.

Yet he couldn't help thinking.

Cultivation didn't sound easy. Practicing in a Daoist temple meant having all sorts of chores to do as well, but it was still far better than anxiously struggling alone to find a path to cultivation, drifting across the world without roots or support.

But according to the master he had just taken, the old man had only a few years left to live. And Floating Hill Temple's tradition was that when the master died, the other disciples had to go down the mountain. No one knew what paths they would take. Only the eldest disciple could stay on the mountain, inherit the temple, become its head, and take on disciples to pass down Floating Hill Temple's arts.

By that reckoning, Lin Jue could stay on the mountain for a few years.

"Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it."

Lin Jue made up his mind to learn Floating Hill Temple's cultivation methods and arts over the next few years.