Another year

In the still of the night, Jing Jiu's little courtyard received its first visitor other than Liu S sui.

He knew the visitor would come and had stood in the courtyard ahead of time to wait.

It was not a sign of respect, but because he was not accustomed to others entering his cave abode, though the cave chamber he now occupied fell far short of being one.

Master Lü knew none of this and felt rather gratified by his intelligence and manners.

"The answers you gave your fellow disciples this morning were all correct."

Master Lü took a sheet of paper from his sleeve and said, "But you got this last question wrong."

Jing Jiu was puzzled. How could I possibly be wrong? He took the paper and looked it over before more or less understanding what had happened.

"An answer comes after understanding. You failed to understand this passage in the Method Formula. This passage is a new interpretation of the original text."

Master Lü looked at him gently and said, "Of course, this is not your fault. In fact, the Green Mountain Sect's understanding of the original text was wrong for many years."

"No," Jing Jiu said. "The sect's earlier understanding was not wrong. This interpretation is wrong."

Master Lü smiled. "This new interpretation was made by our Grandmaster Uncle himself back then. How could it possibly be wrong?"

The Green Mountain Sect's current introductory Method Formula had two revisions compared with the version back then, both made by Jingyang.

Jing Jiu naturally knew this, and knew even better that one of those revisions was wrong.

"Anyone can make mistakes, whether he is an Outer-Sect Disciple or the Grandmaster Uncle."

Jing Jiu said.

Master Lü's expression shifted slightly. What an absurd thing to say.

He recalled how, that morning, Jing Jiu had said the sect's method of teaching Outer-Sect Disciples was wrong and that the rules ought to change...

"Your comprehension and talent are indeed exceptional, and your thinking is especially meticulous, but that gives you no reason to act so insolently on the strength of your gifts."

Master Lü looked at him and said gravely, "Remember, disciples of our Green Mountain Sword Sect must have proud bones, but must never have an arrogant spirit."

An arrogant spirit?

Thinking of those two revisions to the introductory Method Formula, Jing Jiu felt somewhat wistful.

The Jingyang of those days had indeed been the most arrogant person in the world, which was why he had made mistakes of one kind and another.

Seeing his silence, Master Lü thought his words had sunk in and said earnestly, "A tree that rises above the forest is sure to be battered by the wind; a sword leaving the nine peaks must face the cutting gales. If you wish to travel farther along the great path of cultivation, you must learn to rein in your pride. Even if you wish to help your fellow disciples, there are other ways. You cannot break the rules."

"But this rule really is stupid," Jing Jiu said. "The one on Qingrong Peak came from the Southern Stronghold and could not read the imperial script. When she was in the outer sect, she could not understand the introductory Method Formula at all. If no one had taught her to read, wouldn't the Green Mountain Sect have missed out on this genius?"

Master Lü was deeply annoyed by his first remark and was about to rebuke him, but the words that followed took him aback.

"How did you know that?"

The story concerned the current master of Qingrong Peak. It was no secret, merely an anecdote, but Jing Jiu was only an Outer-Sect Disciple. Where could he have heard it?

Must I tell you that I watched that girl painstakingly practice her characters every night? Jing Jiu thought.

Could this boy, like Zhuo Rusui and those young fellow disciples on Twofold Forgetting Peak, be a piece the sect placed in advance? Master Lü wondered.

Which peak's senior or junior uncle had placed this piece?

Time flowed like water.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Once again, spring was deepening.

Liu S sui left the Sword Hall and followed the stone path into the depths of the woods.

The dozens of Outer-Sect Disciples on the cliff terrace had grown used to this sight. They knew where he was going and thought nothing of it, greeting him one after another.

Liu S sui nodded and smiled in return.

He was twelve now and, in a sense, ought to be called a youth.

He still looked as simple and approachable as ever, but his gaze was calmer. His bearing had changed the most: he walked with a smile, entirely at ease.

Watching Liu S sui enter that little courtyard, the disciples gathered and began discussing him again.

As someone the Green Mountain Sect was focusing on nurturing, Liu S sui drew attention with his every move.

In just one night, everyone had learned that he had applied for the inner sect examination.

Only upon reaching completion in the Embracing Spirit Realm could one resonate with a sword embryo and qualify to enter the inner sect.

The problem was that Liu S sui had joined the Green Mountain Sect only a year ago.

Over countless years, only the Grandmaster Uncle who was said to have already ascended had entered the inner sect in a mere six months.

Zhuo Rusui was the Green Mountain Sect master's Closed-Door Disciple and was now in seclusion on Heavenly Light Peak. Back then, it had taken him a year and a half to enter the inner sect from Northern Crane Pavilion.

Even a genius like Zhao Layue had taken a full year.

No one thought Liu S sui could pass this inner sect examination. Though he too was an innate Dao Seed, one in ten thousand, in the disciples' eyes he could never quite measure up to their senior sister.

One view was that, had Liu S sui not been so distracted by other matters, his chances of success might have been much greater.

Those other matters were, naturally, the things in Jing Jiu's courtyard.

Because of these things, many people were deeply displeased with Jing Jiu. They felt he had held back Liu S sui's cultivation and had no sense of what mattered. Some even thought he was jealous of Liu S sui and was doing it deliberately.

Of course, some did not see it that way and were grateful to Jing Jiu, because he had not followed Master Lü's advice and still occasionally helped those disciples resolve their difficulties.

Master Lü, too, gradually stopped paying attention to Jing Jiu and no longer thought he was a disciple some important figure on one of the peaks had chosen in advance.

Because Jing Jiu really was too lazy.

He had never joined the Outer-Sect Disciples' routine patrols around the outskirts of Green Mountain. He could not even be bothered to find an excuse to ask for leave, and had to trouble Liu S sui to plead for him every time.

Nor had anyone ever seen him temper his body or cultivate.

Someone like that, however vast his learning or outstanding his comprehension, would ultimately amount to little.

Entering the courtyard and seeing Jing Jiu on the bamboo recliner, Liu S sui's composed smile became a helpless, wry one.

Over the past year, he had tried to persuade Jing Jiu many times, but Jing Jiu would not listen and still lay on the bamboo chair every day, basking in the sun and staring into space.

At some point, though, a porcelain dish had appeared beside the bamboo chair, with some clean grains of sand in it.

Liu S sui had observed it carefully. The grains of sand in the porcelain dish had grown more and more numerous, and now covered a third of its surface.

He did not know what the porcelain dish and grains of sand were for. Jing Jiu had never explained, but it was clear that he attached great importance to the thing and would not let even Shisui touch it.

"Young master, I went to speak with Master Lü last night... I'm planning to take the inner sect examination."

Liu S sui looked at Jing Jiu and said rather nervously, "I only went to tell him because I really felt I was ready."

Jing Jiu glanced at him. "It's been over a year. If you still weren't ready, that would be a problem."

Liu S sui came to his senses. Back in the village, the young master had already taught him breathing exercises, which meant he had begun cultivating before entering the Green Mountain Sect. He felt vaguely disappointed: even if he passed the inner sect examination, he would not be the fastest. But then he brightened again, feeling much more confident.

"You're both innate Dao Seeds," Jing Jiu said. "You mustn't fall behind that... whoever."

"Senior Sister Zhao Layue," Liu S sui said helplessly.

"Oh," Jing Jiu said.

The little courtyard suddenly fell silent.

Not because the conversation had run its course, but because Liu S sui had thought of many other things.

He had been at the Green Mountain Sect for a year now and had encountered many people and things he could never have imagined in his mountain village. He was growing at an unimaginable pace.

The more he understood, the more uneasy he became.

Both the breathing exercises in the mountain village and many things that had happened afterward indicated that Jing Jiu had many secrets.

Would those secrets be a problem? Would they be a problem only for the two of them, or for the Green Mountain Sect?

After a silence of unknown length, Liu S sui finally asked quietly, "Young master, are you a spy from another sect?"

(My backlog is running out, so there'll only be one chapter today. As for why it's running out so quickly, that's a very long story. I'll give everyone a proper report in a few days. Also, I'll try to start writing as soon as possible and keep the backlog alive~)