The lunch banquet indeed lived up to the promise of that earlier pastry platter - perfectly proper yet utterly devoid of warmth. Cai Zhao filled her stomach with disappointment while Cai Xiaohan, anticipating months of vegetarian fare ahead, gorged himself until he collapsed before the crystal-braised pork knuckle ceramic pot, sighing at the remaining delicacy. Cai Zhao had to summon servants for tangerine peel soup to aid his digestion.
Even after massaging Xiao Han's belly until his discomfort eased, the siblings still hadn't seen their parents return. Fan Xingjia rushed in from the main hall, sweating profusely, and immediately attacked a freshly served bowl of rice, devouring the leftover dishes like a whirlwind. Cai Zhao gallantly scooped the untouched pork knuckle into Fan's bowl, making Chang Ning frown deeply.
"...Thank you, Junior Sister Cai," Fan said between mouthfuls, his cheeks bulging so much they nearly erased his dimples. "Haven't had bite since dawn - more exhausting than martial training! Lucky Master sent me to fetch you for respite. Poor Senior Brother Fan still can't rest." He continued eating while explaining, "Don't wait for Valley Master Cai. With Fallen Blossom Valley absent for years, many seniors want to catch up with your parents. They might not return even by evening."
When Cai Zhao asked what they should do, Fan replied, "With the chaotic crowds of disciples from various sects moving about, and you knowing few people, Senior Brother suggests you stay in Dusk Micro Palace's side chamber guest rooms temporarily. After the ceremony, you can move to the Camellia Longevity Abode prepared for you."
Nodding eagerly, Cai Zhao prepared to drag her silly brother for a nap to recover from the morning's ordeal when Chang Ning tugged her sleeve. "What now?" she asked, puzzled.
Chang Ning demanded, "What about me?"
"I promised to protect you, didn't I?" Cai Zhao felt this demonstrated her impeccable honor.
Chang Ning remained stern: "You go to guest rooms while I return to the medicine hut? What if they come harassing me? Even if you later boil their bones for soup, I'd still have suffered. So your promise wasn't protection but vengeance for my spirit tablet?"
Cai Zhao's eyes rounded at this perceived exaggeration. Chang Ning glared back unflinchingly, insisting the danger was real.
Finally Cai Zhao surrendered: "Fine, fine! Let's go together. Senior Brother Fan, can Chang Ning stay in the room next to mine?"
Fan Xingjia flinched under Chang Ning's cold gaze. Though the boy appeared frail without martial skills, Fan felt like a rabbit pinned by a viper's stare and hastily agreed.
The oddly matched group followed Fan to Dusk Micro Palace's side chambers. Recognizing neither the new junior sister nor the "poisonous sore" junior brother were peacekeeping types, Fan carefully avoided crowds, successfully delivering them unscathed.
Seeing two clean, connecting guest rooms, Cai Zhao expressed sincere gratitude: "We appreciate your efforts, Senior Brother Fan. Was securing adjacent rooms difficult with so many guests?"
"Not at all," Fan smiled. "Actually these palace rooms stay quiet these days. Senior Brother arranged for visiting disciples to stay in separate courtyards to prevent... to prevent...""To avoid any 'misunderstandings'," Chang Ning finished for him, his eyes crinkling with a pleasant smile. "In the martial world, 'misunderstandings' are all too common. Senior Brother and Brother Fan have indeed thought this through carefully."
Fan Xingjia wiped his sweat awkwardly and quickly instructed the servants to fetch the personal belongings of Cai Zhao, her brother, and Chang Ning.
While Fan Xingjia busied himself directing the arrangement of guest rooms, Cai Zhao sidled up to Chang Ning and whispered, "Can you stop being so provoking? Harmony brings wealth—haven’t you heard? It wasn’t Brother Fan who had a 'misunderstanding' with you. Why needle him?"
Chang Ning turned to her in surprise, his clear gaze seemingly wounded. "You’ve known Brother Fan for barely half an hour, yet you’ve known me for an hour and a half! And now you’re scolding me for him?!" With that, he angrily flicked his sleeve and strode into the room.
Cai Zhao stood rooted to the spot: "..." Was there really such a big difference between half an hour and an hour and a half?
Chang Ning approached Fan Xingjia and bowed deeply, startling the latter, who hurriedly said, "Junior Brother Chang Ning, what’s this about? There’s no need for such formalities!"
Chang Ning straightened up. "Brother Fan, I don’t mind for myself, but Junior Sister Cai is new here. Any offense to Senior Sister Qi is entirely my fault. Please ensure that the food and drink sent to us don’t lead to any 'misunderstandings'."
Cai Zhao’s ears perked up, and she quickly caught up. "Brother Fan, did those who bullied Senior Brother Chang tamper with his meals before?"
Fan Xingjia hesitated. "Well, yes, a couple of times—but Master immediately punished the culprits severely! Since then, there haven’t been any... uh, 'misunderstandings'."
Chang Ning shot her a glance and frowned. "And the medicinal decoctions. I need to drink them several times a day, and they’ve meddled with those too."
Cai Zhao turned back sharply. "Brother Fan, are they insane? They dared to tamper with medicine meant to heal and detoxify?!"
Fan Xingjia waved his hands frantically. "No, no, not poison! Just... unsavory additions, like, uh..."
"Like grasshoppers and bugs," Chang Ning supplied with a smile.
Cai Zhao’s expression darkened. "Brother Fan, that’s going too far."
Fan Xingjia sighed. "It only happened once or twice. Master punished them even more severely afterward. Now, Junior Brother Chang Ning’s medicine is prepared and delivered by Uncle Lei’s pharmacy. Nothing like that will happen again."
Chang Ning seemed pleased and pressed on. "At night, they’ve thrown scorpions and snakes into my bed..."
"Outrageous!" Cai Zhao slammed the table and stood up, cutting Fan Xingjia off before he could speak. "Brother Fan, don’t tell me Master punished them again. As long as the ringleader remains, those minions will keep coming!"
Fan Xingjia forced a smile. "Master did crack down hard, but Senior Brother Chang always managed to avoid harm. So, the mistress stopped Master from punishing them too severely, saying it was just childish mischief..."
Cai Zhao disagreed vehemently. "Brother Fan, that’s not right! Failing to harm someone isn’t the same as not trying to harm them at all! Does the Azure Tower Sect have no sense of justice?"
Fan Xingjia glanced between Chang Ning and Cai Zhao before lowering his voice. "Over these matters, Master and the mistress have argued fiercely. Now... now they live in separate courtyards."
Cai Zhao was speechless.She finally understood why her mother always had a dislike for Qi Yunke. Her future master was undoubtedly a good man, but he clearly lacked decisiveness and authority, often constrained by face-saving and personal feelings, which made her blood boil.
"The sect master's wife said the child is mischievous, right? Fine." Cai Zhao narrowed her eyes and enunciated each word, "Mischievous it is then. After I join the sect, I'll be the youngest disciple. I suppose even if I act up, I won't be severely punished."
Fan Xingjia caught her drift and said uneasily, "...Let's not harm the harmony among fellow disciples."
Cai Zhao smiled sweetly, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Fan. The bond between siblings grows stronger through bickering." Though she preferred ease and simplicity, her years under Cai Pingshu's influence hadn't been entirely wasted—she still retained the basic chivalrous spirit of protecting the weak and opposing evil.
Fan Xingjia wiped sweat from his forehead with a nervous chuckle.
Having heard from Zeng Dalou about Cai Zhao's display of skill before the crowd earlier, and knowing she had Qi Yunke's protection, he figured Qi Lingbo would likely come off worse if a conflict arose. But if Qi Lingbo suffered, the sect mistress would never let it go, and the sect would be in for endless turmoil.
Born into wealth and a harmonious family, he had developed an optimistic and cheerful disposition.
Originally just idling in the outer sect, planning to bask in the prestige of the world's top sect for a few years before returning home to live leisurely as a wealthy man, he unexpectedly discovered a talent for medicine-making and qi refinement. Before he knew it, he was admitted into the inner sect—oh ancestors of the three teachings, boundless longevity Buddha, please don't let their future clashes harm innocent bystanders!
Finally, when the servants had the two guest rooms ready, Fan Xingjia muttered a few polite words and hastily made his escape.
Once alone, Cai Zhao dropped her smile and turned to Chang Ning with a serious expression. "I've thought of the third rule of our three-point agreement: from now on, you're not allowed to provoke anyone who means no harm. Harmony brings prosperity, understand? Otherwise, you'll offend everyone!"
Chang Ning: "Then why don't you show me harmony and prosperity? You're always scowling at me."
"Even if I ran a shop, you wouldn't be my customer. What harmony? What prosperity?"
"Then what am I?"
"A debt collector."
...
After rolling her little brother Cai Xiaohan around in the dry, soft bedding three or four times, the pink-cheeked child fell asleep.
Chang Ning, satisfied, went to take his nap as well. With his wish fulfilled, he immediately became all smiles—even the poisonous sores on his face seemed somewhat charming—and reminded Cai Zhao not to forget to call him for dinner before dozing off.
The side hall was quiet. Holding a fist-sized night-shining pearl, Cai Zhao looked up at the high dome outside the room. Ancient, silent beams coiled with intricate patterns of mythical beasts—ferocious in appearance and demeanor, yet universally regarded as auspicious.
Whether they were auspicious or monstrous depended solely on popular belief. In the end, those who survived were the winners, with good and evil defined by words alone.
The faint, elegant scent of incense filled the air, and the winding corridors of the hall blocked out all the clamor from the main chamber. Cai Zhao slowly returned to her room, tucked her little brother in, then sat alone at the table, lost in thought.
Among the Big Dipper Six Sects, the Azure Tower Sect of Nine Conch Mountain stood at the top, followed by Vast Heaven Gate, Jade Pendant Mountain Manor, Four Stallions Gate, Grand Beginning Temple, and lastly, Fallen Blossom Valley.Over two centuries of tumultuous changes in the world, each of the Big Dipper Six Sects had produced outstanding talents, with no shortage of exceptionally gifted individuals. Yet the Azure Tower Sect maintained its position as the leader among them by promoting talent without rigid conventions. While other sects might pass leadership from father to son or uncle to nephew, the Azure Tower Sect always selected its next leader by publicly choosing the most outstanding in both martial arts and strategy.
For this reason, even if the former sect master Yin Dai had personal biases, when the obscure outer disciple Qi Yunke broke through the constraints of the "Heavenly Fire Dragon" meridian and emerged as a talent, he had no choice but to make an exception and accept him as a closed-door disciple.
—Though according to Ning Xiaofeng, Qi Yunke's meteoric rise to sect leadership owed much to the Demonic Cult's troublemaking. As the saying goes, "In times of crisis, loyal ministers emerge." Without great peril, Qi Yunke's capabilities might never have been revealed.
Beyond the six sects, the martial arts world was not without its heroes—foremost among them were the Evergreen Temple of Qingxi Hollow and the Hanging Temple of Hidden Beauty Gorge.
The former was built 160 years ago, precisely when the first-generation enchantress of Fallen Blossom Valley caused earth-shaking havoc in the martial world. It was said that the six sects had gathered their forces to purge the heretic, but the first abbot of Evergreen Temple, Master Lingtai, mediated the conflict until it dissolved into nothingness.
From then on, Fallen Blossom Valley and Evergreen Temple forged a deep bond. Legend has it that the eighteen oldest and mightiest pine trees in the temple today were planted with the valley's help, known as the Eighteen Arhat Pines.
The Hanging Temple was built a few years later and, from its founding, remained reclusive, avoiding martial conflicts. That was until 120 years ago, when the Demonic Cult produced a prodigious leader—one who, in his teens, subdued the cult's elders effortlessly, and by twenty, erupted like spring thunder with six dragons soaring, overpowering all martial masters without equal, killing without restraint, unstoppable.
During those days, the Demonic Cult's influence was omnipresent, leaving even Hidden Beauty Gorge no room to retreat. The Hanging Temple, with no other choice, joined the righteous alliance led by the Big Dipper Six Sects.
"And then what happened?" asked ten-year-old Cai Zhao, enthralled. "Did the righteous side produce a great hero to slay this evil cult leader, just like how Auntie killed Nie Hengcheng?"
Cai Pingshu scratched her head with a wry smile. "I'm not sure about that. It seems the Demonic Cult had internal strife, giving us an opening. Ah, who remembers clearly what happened over a century ago?"
Cai Zhao still remembered her disappointment—sometimes, great villains aren't slain by great heroes but die from their own infighting and stupidity.
In the quilt, little Cai Han let out a satisfied burp, rolled over, smacked his rosy lips a few times, and drifted back into sweet slumber. Yet next door, there was no movement at all—not even a turn.
Cai Zhao slid open the partition between the rooms and stepped inside, holding the Night-Shining Pearl aloft. There, Chang Ning lay on his side beneath an indigo blanket, his pale sleeping robes revealing a snow-white neck and a jade-like curve of chest, his skin smooth and firm.
With utmost propriety, the young girl averted her gaze—storybooks warned that lechers deserved a beating.
So she set down the Night-Shining Pearl and, treating Chang Ning with the same solemn care as little Cai Han, tugged his blanket up properly. His slender form, caught between youth and manhood, breathed evenly in deep slumber, as if he hadn't slept so soundly and securely in a long time.Cai Zhao sighed softly, holding the Night-Shining Pearl as she quietly retreated.
Aside from the Big Dipper Six Sects and a few temples and nunneries, the Martial World also had scattered minor sects. Most rose briefly like meteors, only to fade just as swiftly, rarely lasting a century in glory. For instance, Cai Zhao’s maternal grandfather’s Ning Family had once been renowned for their mastery of medicine and swordsmanship. But after her grandfather’s passing, with one son entering monastic life and the daughter marrying away, the Ning Family soon faded into obscurity.
“Is reputation truly so important?” Cai Pingshu smiled warmly at the melancholy young girl. “What is the prophecy of our Fallen Blossom Valley?”
“Flowers bloom and wither in their own time. Let all things follow their course—do not force them.”
“Yes, let all things follow their course. If someone remembers you, they remember. If no one does, then so be it. What matters isn’t any of that.”
“Then what does matter?”
“That we lived in this world, that every day we lived was clear and joyful, with no shame in our hearts. The Ning Family may perish, the Cai Family may perish, but ‘we’ will never perish.”
—Cai Zhao jolted awake from her memories, glancing back at the sleeping Chang Ning before softly closing the partition door.
The Chang Family was the same.
The Wu’an Chang Clan had risen only a few decades ago. The young Chang Haosheng achieved mastery in cultivation by the age of twenty, roaming the Martial World and gradually earning a reputation as a great hero. Along the way, he befriended Cai Pingshu and a band of brothers—some reliable, some not—before eventually marrying his betrothed and starting a family.
Having witnessed the Demonic Cult’s cruelty, he had fortified the Chang Family’s stronghold in advance, sealing it tight. Yet despite evading Nie Hengcheng’s overwhelming power, the family was inexplicably massacred seventeen years later.
Cai Zhao closed her eyes, leaning against her round little brother, pretending to sleep beneath the quilt.
As drowsiness overtook her, she thought, At least I’ll protect Chang Ning until his wounds heal. With his whole family dead, it’s understandable if he’s a bit odd and temperamental. If it were me—forget my whole family—if someone had stolen the pork belly I’d been saving for New Year’s cured meat, I’d have gone on a rampage. I’d have been furious for three whole months, eyeing everyone like a thief.
So, perhaps she ought to be a little kinder to Chang Ning from now on.
On the bed in the inner room, the person who should have been sound asleep listened to Cai Zhao’s steady breathing and allowed a faint smile to curl his lips.
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