To cut a long story short.
The apprenticeship ceremony began.
Following the customary rules, Xie Ruomei presented her apprenticeship petition to Xu Tian in the seat of honor, then offered tea and paid her respects before everyone's eyes.
On the wall behind Xu Tian hung a portrait as tall as a person. Its paper had yellowed, and it depicted an old man carrying a great spear on his shoulder, with round eyes, thick brows, and a sparse beard. Ink had captured him turning to look back, his body in profile. The spear on his shoulder was extraordinarily long, stretching diagonally across almost the entire sheet. It looked peculiar, yet its air was sublime, its likeness remarkably vivid.
Beside the portrait, three characters could just be made out in the bold, flowing calligraphy.
"Li Tongchen!"
The little girl was still somewhat intimidated. With that dense crowd all staring at her, her expression remained tense, until she met one gaze among all those eyes. Only then did she straighten up and gather her courage.
"Who's this Li Tongchen?"
Sitting off to the side, Lian Youming looked around as Xie Ruomei offered tea to her master. But when his eyes passed over the portrait, he immediately felt there was something extraordinary about the man in it. That backward glance resembled a gaunt tiger in its twilight years. Yet though his frame was thin, his presence was magnificent.
"You don't even know that? That's Li Shuwen, the famous Divine Spear."
He had only just muttered his question when a head suddenly squeezed over beside him. It belonged to a round-headed girl with short hair, holding half a piece of sesame candy. Lian Youming turned and couldn't help grinning. Wasn't this the girl from the Swallow Sect, the one who had given him the knockout