Senior, do you enjoy worrying about other people's romantic fates?

Zhu Lianqing did not stand beneath the tree. She stood some distance away, watching A Man kneel before it to fulfill the wish she and Wei Mingchi had never fulfilled in his lifetime.

When Song Wensheng and Jiang Tingxue began arguing, her attention was drawn to them.

Jiang Tingxue pushed Song Wensheng out. "You go out first. Wait until I've left before you come back in."

Song Wensheng looked unconcerned. "How could it be that uncanny? There are so many people standing under this tree. How could it possibly know who's paired with whom? It's nothing but a beautiful lie."

The old man's smiling eyes suddenly turned stern.

"Young man, you mustn't talk nonsense."

Zhu Lianqing smiled. Fated opportunities or whatever else they might be, she did not believe in them, but she still held them in the highest respect.

After all, ordinary men and women came here to pray for their wishes. Faith mattered above all else.

Yan Qing stood beneath the tree, palms pressed together and eyes devoutly closed.

Shen Ji waited until he had finished making his wishes, then teased him with a smile. "Little junior brother, you're so devout. Is there a girl you like? Don't worry, I won't tell Master."

Yan Qing blushed and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no! Eldest senior brother, I just thought sincerity makes prayers work. Maybe making other wishes would work too."

"Oh? What did you wish for? May your senior brother hear?"

Yan Qing counted them off on his fingers. "I wished I could eat pork knuckles every day, that one day I could become as strong as eldest senior brother, and that senior brother and senior sister would stop arguing."

At that, Shen Ji patted his head. "I'm afraid making that last wish will keep the first two from coming true as well."

Yan Qing looked at his senior brother and senior sister causing a chicken-flying, dog-leaping commotion in the distance, and his mouth drooped. "Boo-hoo."

Zhu Lianqing withdrew her gaze from them, only for it to fall inadvertently on Xie Lingchuan, a few steps ahead to her right.

He had not gone beneath the flowering tree either. With his sword on his back and his figure straight, he stood where the petals were sparse, gazing absently at the tree, his thoughts unknown.

The youth stood all alone, out of place among the men and women beneath the flowering tree.

Zhu Lianqing walked over to him. "A ten-thousand-year-old spirit tree, and such a fine opportunity. Aren't you going to pray for yourself, Young Hero Xie?"

Xie Lingchuan shifted his gaze from the flowering tree to Zhu Lianqing, his tone calm and unruffled.

"Senior, do you enjoy worrying about other people's romantic fates?"

Zhu Lianqing shook her head. "Not really. It just suits the occasion. Besides, it doesn't have to be romance. Finding a kindred spirit to travel with would be better than being alone."

Whenever she saw her little disciple all by himself, she could never bear it.

"I have nothing to pray for. If there's something I want, I'll strive for it myself, rather than entrust it to some illusory fated opportunity."

Those words surprised Zhu Lianqing. She had thought a disciple so uninterested in socializing would be reserved about his feelings. She had not expected him to be so direct and proactive.

She nodded appreciatively. "Striving for it yourself is good. You can only rest easy when you hold matters like these firmly in your own hands. As your senior, I wish you the best fortune soon, and may you get what you wish for."

Xie Lingchuan looked at Zhu Lianqing. Beneath his lowered lashes, his eyes were veiled in clouds and mist, impossible to discern. Slowly, he said, "Then I'll gladly accept your auspicious words, Senior."

Zhu Lianqing smiled. "You're welcome, you're welcome."

So my little disciple is interested in this sort of thing after all. I thought he'd stay a loner until he grew old alone.

Then she could rest easy.

Just then, a breeze rose, sending the Falling Mountain Snow petals on the branches fluttering down in flurries. Even Zhu Lianqing and Xie Lingchuan, standing farther away, were enveloped in snowlike petals.

Fallen blossoms covered the hair and shoulders of the couples beneath the tree, truly making it look as though their hair had turned white together.

Some took the opportunity to make devout wishes amid this beautiful scene.

As A Man watched the Falling Mountain Snow fluttering through the sky, she could not help reaching out to catch the falling blossoms.

"Mingchi, Falling Mountain Snow is beautiful."

Shen Ji watched his junior brother and junior sister with a gentle smile in his eyes. Yan Qing was making wishes again, while Jiang Tingxue and Song Wensheng were busy brushing fallen blossoms from their heads and shoulders.

On their way down after seeing Falling Mountain Snow, the women in colorful clothes who had gone up earlier happened to be descending as well. They looked as though they had finished their business and were returning to their sect.

Zhu Lianqing walked beside A Man. She could clearly sense that A Man was weighed down by worries throughout the journey, her gaze repeatedly turning toward the people from Seven Splendors Mountain.

As though she knew what was on her mind, Zhu Lianqing asked outright, "Do you want to join Seven Splendors Mountain?"

A Man startled, then blushed. "Someone like me probably doesn't have any aptitude for cultivation. I just envy them. Though they're all women, they've carved out a place for themselves in the cultivation world. After my blood relatives passed away, I gave up on myself for a time."

Had Zhu Lianqing not sealed her own spiritual meridians, she could have examined A Man's spiritual roots now. As it was, she could not judge them, but she still encouraged her. "There's no harm in trying. Even if you're not fated to cultivate, at least you won't leave any regrets. Otherwise, when you think back on today, you might regret not having asked."

Zhu Lianqing's words put A Man considerably more at ease.

Just moments earlier, she had felt inexplicably ashamed of her own thoughts-a mortal as destitute as herself actually dreaming of entering the cultivation world.

Zhu Lianqing was the most understanding woman she had ever met. Her words always gave her so much courage.

Seeing that she seemed about to make up her mind, Zhu Lianqing thought for a moment, then offered an honest warning. "Still, Seven Splendors Mountain doesn't have a very good reputation in the cultivation world. If you don't mind that, all the better."

A Man was surprised. "A sect filled with heroines like that actually has a bad reputation?" She had thought they ought to inspire admiration instead.

Zhu Lianqing sighed. "Rumors stretch on and on, and spare no one." She motioned for A Man to listen carefully to what the people around them were saying.

Amid the noisy conversations, A Man heard several remarks about Seven Splendors Mountain.

"They cultivate by dual cultivating with men. Who are they putting on that lofty, pure act for all day, when they do something so low?"

"Exactly. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were so impressive!"

"No matter how high and mighty you act, I still look down on you!"

Zhu Lianqing turned her head languidly, looking the speaker up and down as though inspecting something filthy. "Oh? I thought you were some lofty expert. Turns out you're just a dog looking down on people. Ah, sorry. That was an insult to dogs."

The man flushed scarlet with anger and jumped up to curse, only to somehow lose his footing and fall straight to his knees before Zhu Lianqing and A Man.

Zhu Lianqing gave him a disgusted glance. "Stop kneeling. I'm not taking disciples, and I'm not short of watchdogs at the moment either."

The onlookers burst into laughter. Some who did not know what had happened assumed this man, ignorant of the heights of heaven and the depths of earth, wanted to become a disciple and cultivate. They mocked him. "As I see it, cultivators at least need to look presentable. You're not even as tall as her sword, and you want to become her disciple? A toad dreaming of eating swan flesh."

"Wasn't he the one saying he looked down on Seven Splendors Mountain just now? Doesn't he see what he looks like? He looks down on them? He should piss himself a puddle and take a look at his reflection."

The man on the ground raised his head. The strange, mocking looks and flying spittle around him nearly drowned him. No matter how he explained that he was not trying to become a disciple, it was useless.

Zhu Lianqing gave a cold laugh. Looking down through lowered lashes at the man suffering in the mire of rumor, she said nothing and turned to leave.

"Dao Lord, when you said Seven Splendors Mountain had a bad reputation, was this what you meant?"

Zhu Lianqing nodded. "These are only some of the milder remarks. If you really join Seven Splendors Mountain, you'll be a target of wagging tongues too. Aren't you afraid?"

A Man shook her head. "So that's how it is. I think it's all made up out of jealousy by people who can't get into Seven Splendors Mountain. I won't believe it, so I'm not afraid."

Zhu Lianqing smiled. "Then there's nothing to fear. Go give it a try."

A Man looked at Zhu Lianqing and swallowed nervously. "Then I'll... I'll go."

"Don't be afraid. The disciples of Seven Splendors Mountain are all very friendly. If you succeed, everyone will be happy. If you don't, it's no great matter. Just treat it as a chat."

A Man nodded and hurried forward a few steps.