Doctor Mo
After a while longer, Han Li felt a grip tighten around his waist. His body grew light, and he suddenly rose into the air.
Han Li turned and saw that the senior brother who had been right behind him had one arm around him and was nimbly climbing with his other hand and both legs. Han Li also noticed that the sun hung high in the middle of the sky.
In the end, he had failed to complete the climb. Han Li felt a little dejected. He had tried so desperately hard, so why had he still fallen short of the others?
In the blink of an eye, they reached the top of the cliff. Only six children were sitting cross-legged to one side, resting. Wu Yan was speaking with a stout, wealthy-looking old man in his fifties, who wore a dark blue gentleman's robe and held his hands behind his back. Hall Master Yue and Protector Wang stood beside him, with several others nearby. Together, they waited for the young senior brothers to bring the slower children up the mountain one by one.
After a short wait, all the children had been brought up. Hall Master Yue stepped forward and faced them solemnly.
"Seven have qualified this time. Six of you will enter the Hundred Tempering Hall and formally become inner disciples of our sect," he said slowly.
"The other, Wu Yan, was the first to reach the cliff top and showed outstanding performance. He will be recommended directly to the Seven Ultimates Hall to learn our sect's ultimate techniques." Hall Master Yue glanced back at the old man in the gentleman's robe, who stroked his beard and nodded at him in satisfaction.
"As for the others..." Hall Master Yue looked the remaining children over, gently rubbed his chin with his right hand, and pondered briefly before speaking.
"Zhang Tie, Han Li, although you two did not reach the cliff top in time, you performed outstandingly and appear capable of enduring the hardships of martial training. You will first build your foundations under several of our sect's instructors. In half a year, you will be tested again. If you pass, you will formally become inner disciples. If you fail, you will be sent to the outer sect as outer disciples."
Han Li glanced at the other boy who had stepped forward at the same time, the one called Zhang Tie. He was the boy who had been right behind him on the rope and had nearly reached the cliff top.
"Protector Wang, give each of those remaining some silver and send them all home." Hall Master Yue looked coldly at the last of the children.
"As you command!"
Protector Wang stepped forward, bowed to accept the order, and led the children who had failed down the cliff.
"Zhang Jun, Wu Mingrui, take those who passed to our hall and turn them over to Vice Hall Master Gu and Instructor Li, respectively."
Two more young men stepped forward to accept the order, divided Han Li and the others into two groups, and headed down the cliff. One of them was the cold senior brother. As they were leaving, Han Li could not resist glancing at Wu Yan. He saw that Wu Yan was still talking to the old man in blue, showing no sign of leaving.
"He's different from you. He's a core disciple being sent to the Seven Ultimates Hall. Once he completes his training and comes out, he'll be a protector at the very least." The other senior brother, who had a long, thin face, seemed to have seen the question in Han Li's mind and took it upon himself to answer. Yet his words seemed to carry a trace of indescribable envy and jealousy.
"Isn't he just relying on his cousin's husband being a vice sect leader? If his older female cousin hadn't married Vice Sect Leader Ma as his second wife, then with what he's got! He's already older than the sect's entry requirements allow, and he could still get into the Seven Ultimates Hall?" The cold senior brother's words made everyone feel a chill rising up their backs.
"Zhang Jun, do you have a death wish? Is the vice sect leader someone we can gossip about? If other sect members heard you, neither of us would escape being punished with wall-facing repentance!" The long-faced senior brother was startled by the cold senior brother's words. He hurriedly looked around and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one else around apart from the children.
The cold senior brother gave a cold snort. He seemed to have some misgivings himself, and said no more. Only then did Han Li learn that his name was Zhang Jun. Han Li only half understood what they had said, but he vaguely realized that Wu Yan had not entered the Seven Ultimates Hall through genuine talent and learning. Rather, he had been able to enter without any effort because he had a vice sect leader in the sect as a relative and backer.
As they walked along the mountain path, both senior brothers recalled some disheartening matters in the sect and were no longer in the mood to speak. They simply led the children forward in silence. Han Li and the others were even less inclined to talk among themselves. Perhaps they had all vaguely realized that the Seven Mysteries Sect was different from home in certain ways.
As they passed a dense forest, an old man slowly emerged from among the trees. He was over sixty, tall and thin, with a sallow face and a head of white hair that reached his shoulders. He walked hunched over, coughing incessantly. Judging by how hard he coughed, he seemed liable to collapse at any moment, which was very worrying.
Yet when Zhang Jun and the other senior brother saw him, they showed no concern at all. Instead, they hurried forward and bowed deeply and respectfully to him.
"Doctor Mo, greetings. Is there anything you would like your disciple to do?" Zhang Jun's usual cold expression had completely changed, his face full of respect. To him, this old man deserved more respect than the hall master, or even the vice sect leader.
"Oh, are these the new disciples who just came up the mountain?" The old man finally stopped coughing and asked slowly in a hoarse voice.
"Yes. Among them are six formal disciples and two registered disciples," Zhang Jun answered carefully.
"I'm short of hands at the moment. I still need a boy to refine medicine and a disciple to gather herbs. These two will come with me." Doctor Mo pointed casually, indicating Han Li and the other registered disciple. His tone brooked no doubt.
"As you command. These two are registered disciples. It is their good fortune to have caught your eye, Doctor Mo. Come over and pay your respects to Elder Mo. If you can learn a trick or two of his medical skills, it will be the good fortune of your lives!" The two senior brothers showed no sign of objecting. Wu Mingrui, the one with the long, thin face, even began to lavish flattery on the old man.
Seeing that the two senior brothers had no objections, Han Li and Zhang Tie naturally had no right to object either. They followed the old man into the forest.
The old man led them slowly along a path through the woods, turning this way and that. Suddenly, the view before them brightened, and a lush, verdant little mountain valley full of life appeared before their eyes.
On the left side of the valley was a large cultivated plot, filled with the rich fragrance of medicinal herbs. Many of the herbs growing there were ones Han Li could not name. On the right stood more than a dozen houses of various sizes, joined together. Looking around, he saw that apart from the entrance they had come through, there appeared to be no other way out.
"This is Divine Hand Valley. Apart from the disciples in the valley, outsiders generally don't come here unless they're sick or injured. You two will live here from now on. Go rest first, and come see me in the main hall tonight. I have something to tell you." The old man stood in front of several houses joined together and pointed to one of the smaller rooms.
"You can call me Elder Mo from now on." The old man paused, then added:
"Doctor Mo is fine too."
With that, Doctor Mo paid them no more attention and walked, coughing with every step, into another, more imposing house.
Han Li was already utterly exhausted. Paying no attention to the other boy, Zhang Tie, he plunged onto a wooden bed in the room and drifted into a deep sleep. As far as he was concerned, no matter what, he could already be considered half a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect.