Apprenticing Under Tian Buyi

It's unclear how much time passed before Ye Yun slowly woke up. He stared at the roof tiles for a long time before slowly sitting up. Memories flooded his mind like a tide. Thinking of his parents, whose whereabouts were unknown, his eyes couldn't help but dim slightly.

"You're awake. That's good," a voice suddenly came from the doorway as someone walked in.

Ye Yun looked up and recognized Song Daren, whom he had seen on Tongtian Peak. Seeing the tall, rough-looking Song Daren, Ye Yun was slightly stunned. "How did I end up on Great Bamboo Peak? Did I take Zhang Xiaofan's place?"

With his mind full of questions, Ye Yun spoke, "Brother Song, where are Xiaofan and the others?"

Although Song Daren was a burly man, he was also thoughtful. He walked to the bedside, reached out to feel Ye Yun's forehead, and said gently, "Junior Brother, don't worry. Xiaofan is next door. Jingyu is now a disciple of Dragon Head Peak. You and Xiaofan are disciples of our Great Bamboo Peak. From now on, we are all family."

Ye Yun froze for a moment. He couldn't understand how he had become Tian Buyi's disciple on Great Bamboo Peak after just one sleep. However, he soon felt at ease. He had finally become a disciple of the Qingyun Sect as he wished. Moreover, Great Bamboo Peak had fewer disciples and fewer rules, which was undoubtedly very suitable for him. So, he opened his mouth and called out, "Senior Brother Song."

Song Daren smiled and nodded. "Good, good. Junior Brother, you slept for a whole day and night. You must be hungry, right?"

Ye Yun was still growing and got hungry easily. As soon as Song Daren mentioned it, a strong sense of hunger instantly struck him, and his stomach rumbled, forcing him to abandon his thought of asking about what had happened.

Song Daren chuckled, "Come, Junior Brother, let's go eat something first. When Xiaofan wakes up, I'll tell you about our sect, and then we'll go together to pay our respects to Master and Mistress, and meet the other Senior Brothers."

Although Ye Yun had read the original novel and knew that the architecture of Great Bamboo Peak was no different from other peaks except for being a bit larger, the thought that he might live here for more than ten or even decades made him unable to resist looking carefully at his surroundings.

Ye Yun, Zhang Xiaofan, and the others had all fallen unconscious due to Dao Xuan's "Spirit Calming Pearl." Therefore, just as Song Daren was about to take him to the kitchen to eat, Zhang Xiaofan in the next room also woke up.

When Ye Yun followed Song Daren to Zhang Xiaofan's room, he saw Zhang Xiaofan sitting blankly on the bed. Song Daren walked up and felt his forehead. A very similar scene unfolded before Ye Yun's eyes. However, Song Daren called Zhang Xiaofan "Seventh Junior Brother" (Tian Ling'er was not included in the ranking), which meant he should be ranked eighth, the youngest junior brother of Great Bamboo Peak. But there was no other way; he was the youngest.

On the way to the kitchen with Zhang Xiaofan and Song Daren, Song Daren introduced the situation on Great Bamboo Peak. Although Ye Yun knew some things, he had forgotten some due to the long time that had passed. Besides, people generally didn't bother to remember such details. Therefore, Ye Yun listened very attentively.

Similar to the original novel, Tian Buyi's previous six disciples were named according to the order of Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin, and Shu. The first five had the character "Da" (Great) added before their names. As for Shu, adding "Da" made it sound ambiguous, so their Mistress, Su Ru, named him Du Bishu, meaning "gambling is bound to lose," as a warning to dissuade him from indulging in gambling.

Ye Yun, having read the original novel, knew that Song Daren was deliberately saying this to alleviate Zhang Xiaofan's sadness. It seemed to be effective now; the bitterness on Zhang Xiaofan's face had faded considerably. As for Ye Yun, he had no reason to be sad, so he naturally wasn't frowning.

Ye Yun had initially held high hopes for the food in this world, but when he arrived at the kitchen, he was completely disappointed. Pickled vegetables, steamed buns, and millet porridge were their meals. Although the taste was good, the variety was extremely limited. However, it was understandable. After all, although these cultivators lived much longer than ordinary people, they spent their lives studying the Dao. Where would they find the time to research the variety of dishes!

Perhaps it was the friendship forged by catching sparrows and roasting them in Cao Miao Village, Zhang Xiaofan was particularly close to Ye Yun. He even wanted to sit with Ye Yun while eating, which made Ye Yun very happy. As long as he was with Zhang Xiaofan, he wasn't afraid of not having good things.

After eating in the kitchen, Ye Yun followed Song Daren and Zhang Xiaofan to the main hall of Great Bamboo Peak, "Shou Jing Hall."

Similar to what was described in the original novel, all the members of the Qingyun Sect's Great Bamboo Peak lineage were gathered in Shou Jing Hall. The floor was paved with red bricks, and there were red tiles and stone pillars. A large "Tai Chi" symbol was carved on the floor in the hall. Overall, it was very simple. However, perhaps due to the constant nourishment of spiritual energy, even the red bricks on the ground looked a bit more crystalline and a bit less rough.

Two chairs were placed in front of the hall, occupied by two people. The short and stout one was Tian Buyi. The other, who looked to be in her thirties, was a graceful and dignified beautiful woman, who must be their Mistress, Su Ru. Standing beside Su Ru was a little girl with delicate features and a pair of bright, watery eyes that were extremely lively and endearing. It must be Senior Sister Tian Ling'er, who caused Zhang Xiaofan so much grief in the original novel.

As for the other five male disciples, they stood in a line below, some tall, some short, some stout, some thin. At this moment, their gazes were all fixed on Ye Yun and Zhang Xiaofan.

Song Daren walked to the front of the hall and said respectfully, "Master, Mistress, this disciple has brought the Junior Brothers."

Tian Buyi nodded upon hearing this. His gaze fell on Ye Yun, his eyes filled with relief. His gaze towards Zhang Xiaofan was also full of gentleness. This puzzled Ye Yun greatly because Ye Yun remembered that in the original novel, Tian Buyi was very dissatisfied with Zhang Xiaofan. When he first took him as a disciple, he was extremely critical, and only later, after interacting more, did he gradually accept him due to his kind nature.

As Tian Buyi was happily appraising his two disciples, Su Ru, beside him, after glancing at Zhang Xiaofan a few times, said softly, "Daren, they have both slept for a day and a night. They must be hungry. Take them to eat something first."

Song Daren replied, "Reporting to Mistress, I have already taken the Junior Brothers to the kitchen to eat."

Su Ru nodded, glanced at Tian Buyi, and said no more. Tian Buyi nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Let's begin."

Zhang Xiaofan stood there blankly, not understanding what was happening. Ye Yun knew, but he was only a child of five or six years old now. It wouldn't be good to appear too extraordinary, so he didn't make a move. Just then, Song Daren whispered from behind, "Junior Brothers, quickly kneel and kowtow to formally become disciples."

Upon hearing this, Ye Yun knelt down and performed nine kowtows without any perfuncton. Although the sound of each kowtow was not loud, it truly made a sound. Ye Yun performed these nine kowtows willingly, without the slightest resistance. It wasn't just that a man's knees are made of gold; respecting one's teacher is a traditional virtue of the people of Huaxia. Not to mention that this was the key to whether he could return home, just the fact that Tian Buyi was his master meant he deserved these nine kowtows.