Chapter 35
"Sister Sanyue, Sister Sanyue!"
Hu Lan called out to Qin Sanyue cheerfully, her twin pigtails bobbing on her head.
Qin Sanyue was still rather shy, and that side of her became even more apparent when she faced a lively, playful child like Hu Lan. She instinctively tried to cover the scar that ran across her eye socket. She was afraid Hu Lan would ask about it.
Hu Lan was clever and considerate. Though she had seen Sister Sanyue's scar and was curious about why it ran the way it did, she did not ask. "Sister Sanyue, your hairstyle is so pretty! Could you do mine like that too?"
Qin Sanyue froze for a moment. She hurriedly waved her hands, intending to say that Teacher Ye had done her hair, but then she saw Ye Fu smiling and shaking his head at her.
Ye Fu said softly, "Sanyue, you can do it, right?"
Qin Sanyue's fine brows relaxed. She pressed her lips together for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Hu Lan took Qin Sanyue's hand and skipped along as she led her away to do her hair.
Only Qu Hongxiao and Ye Fu remained in the courtyard.
After the two girls left, Qu Hongxiao sat up and came before Ye Fu. Her voice was as calm as water and as cool as snow. "Teacher, when will our lesson begin?"
Ye Fu's brows lifted as he smiled. "Your lesson has already begun."
"Hm?" Qu Hongxiao parted her lips slightly. She wanted to ask, but did not know where to begin. She stood there for a long time, gazing into the distant sky, and only after quite a while did her furrowed brows relax.
"Thank you, Teacher," she said.
"Hongxiao, I have an assignment for you."
"Please instruct me, Teacher."
"For the next seven days, cultivate beneath this pear tree-"
Qu Hongxiao's heart jolted. "Teacher, you know I'm-"
Ye Fu smiled and shook his head. "No more talking, no more questions, no more guesses."
Qu Hongxiao pressed her lips together and nodded.
"I know you've always been proud of possessing a Mind of a Clear Mirror, but it shattered the day before yesterday. Can't you understand why?"
Qu Hongxiao's heart filled with shock, and it showed in her furrowed brows. "Teacher, you know about that too?"
Ye Fu said no more about it. Instead, he smiled and said, "I don't care who you really are, nor do I care who any of you really are. But since you've become my student, I'll make sure you learn as much as you can, and learn the best. You thought you were cultivating a Mind of a Clear Mirror, but how could a Mind of a Clear Mirror shatter because of a few words?"
"I don't understand." Qu Hongxiao lowered her chin. At that moment, she knew that perhaps, here at the Three Flavors Study, she had far more to learn than she had imagined.
"Do you understand what a Mind of a Clear Mirror truly is?"
Qu Hongxiao softly gave her answer. "It is to be free of dirt and dust, with a mind undistracted, seeking whatever the heart desires."
"Yes, you're right, and I know you achieved that. But there's a question you never considered: what should your Mind of a Clear Mirror do when it encounters distractions, when it encounters dirt and dust? Just like a clear mirror, what should it do when a gust of wind blows dust over it?"
Qu Hongxiao stood in silence. Because she possessed a Mind of a Clear Mirror, she had never considered that question.
As she stood there in silence, Qu Hongxiao finally realized she had been heading in the wrong direction all along. She had assumed everything to be as she thought, yet never considered anything else.
"Back where I come from, we call that a poor ability to handle pressure." Ye Fu smiled and shook his head, then looked at the pear tree. "In some ways, you can't even compare to this pear tree. So, Hongxiao, you still have a great deal to learn."
Qu Hongxiao stood there alone, her white robes fluttering, making her look somewhat thin and frail.
"Qu Hongxiao!" Ye Fu suddenly called out in a booming voice.
Qu Hongxiao gave a shudder. In that instant, she felt Vast Righteous Qi surging all around her teacher. A gentle breeze blew across her face, lifting the dark hair on her forehead. "Your student is here!"
"You are a student of the Three Flavors Study, and I am a teacher of the Three Flavors Study. Where your learning falls short, I shall teach you to read books that set your conduct upright and clarify your mind. I told you to contemplate beside this pear tree. Seven days from now, tell me how to set your conduct upright and how to clarify your mind!"
"I, your student Qu Hongxiao, shall take this as a clear mirror." Qu Hongxiao bowed her head slightly, speaking each word distinctly.
She turned and walked forward, the breeze lifting her white robes, whiter than snow.
She sat upright beneath the pear tree, closing her eyes and falling silent.
The pear tree's trunk swayed gently, and a pear blossom fell, landing on Qu Hongxiao's dark hair and giving off a faint glow.
Sitting on a stone stool and watching Qu Hongxiao, Ye Fu murmured to himself, Qu Hongxiao, how much you can learn will depend on what you achieve in seven days. I hope you, my first student, can give your teacher a different perspective.
He knew that because Qu Hongxiao's Mind of a Clear Mirror had shattered, she was burdened with shackles, and little remained of her once Nascent Soul Realm cultivation. He did not know much about what a twenty-four-year-old Nascent Soul Cultivator meant in this world of immortal cultivation, but he was certain that a cultivator with such aptitude and Qi would not be a Rogue Cultivator. Ye Fu did not look into her origins, mostly out of respect for her.
But now, she had to start over.
Not long afterward, Hu Lan came skipping out of Qin Sanyue's room. As expected, Qin Sanyue had given her the same hairstyle as her own. Though a few details were lacking, it looked quite good overall. After all, she could not compare with Ye Fu, whose handicraft skill was at the maximum level.
Watching the two girls, one older and one younger, come out smiling, brimming with youth and childlike innocence, Ye Fu could not help lamenting that he had grown old.
Ye Fu beckoned Hu Lan over.
"What do you need, Teacher?" Having experienced what made Ye Fu different, young Hu Lan held him in great respect.
"Your father said you've read all the books in Black Stone City. Is that true?"
"Yes. I might have missed some, but I read everything I could." Hu Lan's eyes were clear as she spoke, which was probably another sign of her intelligence.
Ye Fu chuckled. "Where I come from, you'd be called a little genius."
The normally cheerful Hu Lan grew shy instead. "I used to think so myself, but after you enlightened me just now, Teacher, I realized I'm far from worthy of being called a genius."