Wu Yong shuffled towards the small pavilion in the large main courtyard, very against the idea of wearing the uniform of Xue Sect. Nonetheless, there he was, walking across the bridge to reach the pavilion where a table had been set in the uniform of Xue Sect. Wu Yong avoided the three sets of eyes watching him approach their sacred table.
"I invited him to eat with us because I thought he could entertain us with his knowledge. I'm not sure why he keeps refusing his high level of cultivation, but I'd like you two to become familiar with him." The head of Xue Sect pat the cushion of an empty chair until the powerful man took his seat. "Who knows, maybe you can become my second adopted child if you're good enough. Liang's other brother died, you know this."
"Him, your son?" Xue Weifeng set her chopsticks beside her rice bowl, heaving with laughter. She laughed until she turned pink and until her headdress chimed. "You are too kind to call that wretched boy your son. It was about time that lump of dirt drowned, I may have done it myself if I was wise enough."
"Mother! Do not say such things in front of this guest from nowhere. We cannot know if he was sent here as a spy from the other sects, Righteous Council, or worse, the Demons." Xue Liang whispered to his parents, sensing the dark man was more than he looked. Even when the man stared at them, Xue Liang continued to warn his father. "We must not let outsiders know that we tried to kill a man for eleven whole years. This man may go out running his mouth."
"I know, but my judgement tells me that he is a dumb man. After all, he is supposedly a strong cultivator, but mere mountain thieves stole all his possessions? If he truly is weak, he would never dare to speak ill against a large sect like us." The female phoenix glanced over at the stranger, blushing when he dipped his head politely. "We should keep him away from the girls."
"And the boys," Xue Liang added right after his mother. The phoenixes raise an eyebrow, clearly confused by his words. "The boys will not think he is pretty, but they would fight him whenever there is a chance. Yesterday, I heard that one particular boy was planning to fight the next powerful cultivator to catch the attention of a girl. Father, do you want to see his power?"
"If he has any, I would like to. The Righteous Council had been breathing down my neck, asking for new cultivators to send into their army. The Demon King had been slayed, but a new Demon King will arrive shortly after. We, the ones on the right path must protect the world from the rise of a worse menace!" The patriarch of Xue Sect set down his cup of green tea with a bang, ending his short speech with a well, a bang. He leaned forward to look at the odd man in the eye. "I will make you fit for the right path."
Wu Yong blinked slowly, raising his own cup of tea to his mouth. He was trying to hide the sinister grin on his face, and his actions did work as no one reacted to his face. "I will be more than willing to join the most honorable people in the world. I do know some fighting techniques, but they are probably not as refined as what you three know."
"Yes, we have the best sword techniques in the world. Not every student in our sect can learn half of the moves my ancestors created through seven generations. You are blessed for I know more than half, and I will be your mentor!" Xue Liang holds up his sword, the same sword his father had used years ago. The same sword was the first blade Wu Yong ever touched, but he never picked it up like the older boy had. "Father says I am ready to take in an apprentice."
"Oh, I am honored. I do not mean to offend you, but I do not think I will need a mentor. I have heard of the son of the Xue family, I know you are very capable of teaching another. That being said, you should find a better student. Perhaps someone who will always be a member of the sect." The shadowy man twirled a chopstick in his hand as the family conversed between bites of vegetable dumplings, stir fried noodles, marinated duck and eggs soaked in fish sauce.
"No, no, I am sure I can convince you to stay and become my apprentice. I would take one of the others but I have fought all of them on many occasions. Teaching regular students of the sect will not be as fun as teaching an outsider." The prideful son tilted his head upwards as he tried to become a mentor. He saw that the stranger did not look interested. "I will be your mentor whether you like it or not. I will protect you from the jealous boys."
Wu Yong hid his laugh behind a hand, laughing at the ironic situation. Xue Liang would protect him? An outsider now, his former dog? The shadowy man glanced up from the green pool of tea, smiling darkly. The evil smirk vanished as soon as the phoenixes looked his way, replaced by something more angelic. Wu Yong thanked the sect master for such a great opportunity.
Was he excited to learn techniques from the Xue Sect? Of course not! Whatever wondrous sword moves this family knew would not compare to the craft of the Demon Sect, the sect they fear the most, the sect he will make his home after having fun with this sect. Wu Yong would stay here to study the sect under his new disguise.
"Young man, I do not think we have gotten your name. Please be honest with us and tell us your true name." Xue Weifeng moved her jeweled hands as an invitation to eat with her. If truth be told, she did not care whether the outsider ate or not. He could enjoy the finest pork and fish or he could watch the family enjoy the finest foods.
"My name is Su Yong. I was a child of He Cheng*, the town on the river, famous for its fish. My nickname was Wu Yong, the same name as your deceased son." Wu Yong feigned shock at his words and held a hand to his mouth. He could hear a pair of chopsticks fall to the floor. "I apologize, I should not have reminded you of him. It is just that I did not have interest in fishing so I was useless to the village."
Xue Weifeng called a servant to her side to retrieve the pair of utensils, shouting at the young girl to not point the dirty things at her but provide her with new sticks. The woman suddenly forgot a guest sat across from her and she yelled without filtering her words. The female phoenix chuckled to her family as the poor girl scurried away, clutching the chopsticks like daggers.
Wu Yong should not have been surprised but he had never seen his mother abuse servants, he thought only he was worthy enough to experience her wrath. He looked around the table to see both men were red from embarrassment. The disguised man nervously laughed with them, understanding their thoughts. It was obvious Xue Weifeng treats others harshly in private but no one would have guessed she would lash out in the presence of a newcomer.
Xue Xian Tou tapped her arm to warn her, glancing at the man in the sect uniform. He cleared his plate and throat, rising above the three cultivators. Looking directly at Wu Yong the powerful man attempted to give a light smile. When his wife stopped grumbling he spoke to his son and the new member of his sect. He was excited to see his son build another cultivator, just as he had multiple times.
"Su Yong, I am honored you are willing to help my son and believe me when I say we are a family. Although He Cheng is known for fish, we are known for something greater: cultivation. They threw you away so we will reform you, make you new and better than trash." His scowl convinced Wu Yong otherwise. "Xue Liang, have you finished eating?"
The son of the Phoenix Couple sat straight in his seat and folded his hands on the table, nodding enthusiastically. His eyes widen when his father gave him a look. Xue Liang bounced in his seat even before Xue Xian Tou could utter a word. He looked to his mother who also could not contain her feelings of pride and excitement.
"Son, bring your student to the weaponry hall and help him choose a sword. If he truly wishes to become a cultivator, should he not find himself a good friend made of metal?" The patriarch laughed loudly but the people around him could not see the humor in what he said. The scowl returned and Xue Xian Tou waved the two young men away.
Xue Liang pulled Wu Yong, calling the man by the name he gave them. Like a child pulling his parents to a shop full of sweets, the new teacher dragged his student to a hall full of legendary and ordinary swords stacked on golden racks. The son of Xue family slid the door closed and ushered his student to the center of the dark hall.
Thousands of candles suddenly lit themselves, allowing the blades to shine into their eyes. Wu Yong glanced around nervously, vaguely remembering the hall and the events following his rejection of swords. He saw hundreds of eyes stare at him from the portraits hanging above the racks. Scrawled in golden lettering was two names and two dates.
The first name was the name of the cultivator depicted in the painting. The second was the name of the sword they have used until their death. The first date, of course, is their birth date. Naturally, the second date was the day they died. The day their swords returned to the hall for the hands of the next cultivator.
"Come, do not be shy in front of these paintings. Every cultivator of every sect must choose a sword from the halls of blades and if you have a weapon we are unaware of, you may use it but outside of our house." Xue Liang pushed the flabbergasted man towards a random rack and pointed to a crimson sword whose tip was gold. "This is Red Dragon. It was the sword I would have chosen if it was not for Father. Do you want it?"
Wu Yong did not wish to reply but he touched the sword as if planning to hold the sword. As soon as his fingertips touched the hilt a large burst of energy whipped his hair away from his face. The sword would not let him touch it. Wu Yong turned to Xue Liang who looked shocked and they both shook their heads. He heard his brother mutter about how the sword never harmed people.
"It seems that Red Dragon is too powerful for you so this rack is off limits. Red Dragon is the least powerful here. Let us go to a slightly lower level, over here!" Xue Liang tapped a rack full of blue and green swords which all had watery names. About four swords were missing which meant a few students have chosen swords of the water element.
"These swords were all crafted by water mages and each one has the properties of water." Xue Liang reached beneath the rack to take out a wooden bowl and he removed one long sword from the rack. Just as his father did for him, he demonstrated the unique qualities of this particular group of blades. "Watch as the sword becomes water when I push it into this bowl, it is amazing. Then, grab inside and pull out. The sword reforms into a solid. Great for hiding weapons."
"I think not, water magic does not seem to fit you. People who wield the water element are bubbly and carefree but you are stagnant and serious. No," Xue Liang actively searched the room for a suitable rack for his student, eager to accomplish his first task as teacher but he knew to be thorough. A sword is everything for someone planning to cultivate and choosing a sword is probably the most important part of the journey. "You are dark, solemn and quiet like the shadows. We have a section for the darker swords but my father does not like students holding dark magic swords."
Dark magic in his terms was not the powerful magic Demons cultivate but it was magic that slowly consumed the user. His father had collected swords containing evil spirits and only Mian Biaoqing would choose one of them. She had picked the sword that housed her brother but his spirit is long gone. Xue Liang believed his new student would match with one dark magic sword.
He explained the risks that came with using dark swords but he was interested to see if he could guide the shadowy man. Xue Liang thought of his father who would be impressed if he managed to raise a powerful cultivator who can control dark magic. Yes, he would find a dark sword for the student. "Here, the dark swords. Choose one."
Wu Yong looked up to see no paintings hung above the rack, most likely because no one knew who used to hold the sword. Besides that it would be sinful to hang portraits of Demons in a Righteous Sect. He approached the rack and as soon as he saw one sword it flew straight at his head. Instinctively, he held out his hands to protect his face but the sword hovered in front of him without meaning to do harm.
Xue Liang held his breath as he watched the man stare at the sword emitting dark shadows. He did not know who the sword belonged to but he was shocked to find more than one spirit was trapped inside the black sword. He was more stunned when the sword moved to lie horizontally, as if waiting for outstretched hands to grasp its body. Like a king bestowing a decree to his subject.
"Dark King Sword?" Xue Liang read the blazing engravings on the dark blade, shuddering after uttering its name. The sword was a recent addition to the rack and the cultivator did not like the sinking feeling in his stomach. That sword was dangerous, especially for a beginner. Xue Liang reached to snatch the sword and place it back on the racks where it belonged, but it moved away on its own. "It wants to be your sword? How odd!"
***
He Cheng: The town on the river, which means houses are built on a river. Think of the overwater bungalow huts in the Carribean. Hé chéng (河城), translates to 'river city'. Self-explanatory, He Cheng is a city on the river where fishing thrives and children play in water all day. -Google Translate (Chinese, Simplified)