In Skyblue, incense smoke curled through the Founders' Hall, lending it an air of solemnity.
Xu Fayan bowed low, kneeling before the rows of blue-black spirit tablets to pay his respects and formally enter the sect.
Xu Xuan watched from the side, with Wen Si'an standing beside him in a plain white silk dress.
After paying homage to the founders, Xu Fayan turned around and respectfully performed a disciple's salute to Xu Xuan.
Xu Fayan had now changed into black Daoist robes, but his face was dark and thin, his brow ridge prominent, his eyebrows sharp and narrow. The whites showed on three sides of his eyes, their imperial-yellow irises half hidden, lending him a somewhat uncanny appearance.
Once the ceremony was over, Xu Xuan summoned Liu Xiaowen, who had been waiting outside, and had him take this newly accepted disciple to Frostreturn Peak to find a place to live.
Only Xu Xuan and Wen Si'an remained in the hall. Several golden incense sticks burned vigorously on the altar, their ethereal smoke gathering without dispersing, billowing like clouds and unfurling in wisps.
"Why does it feel as though the incense is burning more strongly?"
Before Xu Xuan could voice his wonder, Wen Si'an turned, gently brushed the hair at her temple, and looked at her senior brother with a decidedly unfriendly gaze.
Her stare made Xu Xuan's skin crawl. He could only give an awkward chuckle and speak first.
"Si'an, what do you think of my new disciple?"
"His aptitude is probably the best we've seen in the temple in years. You said he came from an ordinary mortal family in White Ridge, senior brother, but I find that rather hard to believe."
A faint smile touched Wen Si'an's lips. She leaned forward slightly, tilting her head up to look