Warning: gory descriptions
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Anxiety was amuck in his heart and Yuan Xuelan cursed himself for following Nan Chang in the first place.
But he had already come this far and didn't want his efforts to go to waste. Now he had no other choice but to trust his trouble-making friend.
"Okay, you hide for a bit. I'm going to make them leave." Nan Chang said in a hurry and before Yuan Xuelan even had the chance to protest, she slid into her dorm room.
Yuan Xuelan wanted to scream. He looked around desperately. Just where could he even hide!? His heart was thumping in his ear as fear consumed him. If he was caught wandering alone in the woman's dormitory…! Forget about the punishment, he wouldn't be able to live through the shame that would come with rumors.
Much to his chagrin, there really wasn't much for Yuan Xuelan to use to his advantage. The walls were decorated with colorful hanging silks and little flags. Yuan Xuelan couldn't tell if they were placed there because of female sensibility or because of the upcoming New Years' celebrations. There was also a large decorative vase in the corner of the hall that had some sad-looking malnourished plant sprouting from it. If he curled up in a fetal position behind the vase…it would be barely big enough to cover his entire body! For the first time, Yuan Xuelan lamented over his recent growth.
But there wasn't much time to dawdle over his misfortune. Because soon a set of footprints approached from around the corner. Yuan Xuelan, left without a choice, moved on instinct. He grabbed one of the hanging strings of silk and jumped behind the vase.
Wait! Was this even a good idea!? Could he even hide like this!? He draped the silk over his head and face but he really wasn't hiding from anyone!
And his worst nightmare came true when the female Elder rounded the corner and beelined straight to his pathetic hiding spot. "What in the world are you doing?"
Yuan Xuelan didn't dare look up as nausea took over. "Uh…um…" he said in a pitiful falsetto voice, "I was just…"
Quick Xuelan! Think! Just think of something! He glared a hole into the dirt within the vase, "I dropped…my earrings…! I-In here…I can't find them…" He coughed a few times, hoping it would mask the masculine tones of his voice. He only realized after those words left his mouth that his ears weren't even pierced! So he pulled the sheer silk even tighter in hopes that the Elder won't see through his bluff.
"..." She was quiet and scrutinized Yuan Xuelan further. Please just go away! He chanted in his heart. But the Elder was suspicious and not easily fooled, "Who are you again?"
Who…! Yuan Xuelan was going dizzy. He didn't know any of the female disciples aside from Nan Chang and had no clue about names or faces that he could impersonate. But he kept his head bowed and wrecked his mind for a common name. Surely he could think of something basic and make up excuses… "E-Erm…It's me… Xiao…xiao!"
Never mind! He should just bite off his own tongue because what kind of name was Xiaoxiao!? How could even make up a believable backstory for a name as ridiculous as this!
Just as he thought his charade was caught and a beating was about to descend upon him, the Elder stroked her sleeve and said, "Oh, Xiaoxiao? I didn't recognize you. What happened to your voice? Did you catch a cold?"
"..."
"..."
Yuan Xuelan forced out a few more coughs. "Eh…yes."
"I see. Well, don't squat around for too long, you look like a beggar. Make sure you remember to show up to your evening class on time."
"...Yes."
"...I can't help but feel like you look rather big. Did you get fat?"
What the heck!? Yuan Xuelan wanted to yell at this Elder, just move on already! And who the heck was this pathetic Xiaoxiao, having such a dumb name and a face so unrecognizable that the Elder couldn't even call his bluff right away? No, wait! Yuan Xuelan shouldn't be thinking about that! Instead, he had to figure out what to say next. "Uh…I…ate a little too much…"
"I understand the food in the Ascending Dawn mansion is good but don't get carried away."
Okay, was she done scolding now? Please leave!
But she only glared at him some more, "By the way…"
With a stroke of fortune, Nan Chang's dorm room burst open and a stream of excited girls left in a stream. The Elder quickly swerved around, "Where are you monkeys going!?"
One of the girl with bright cheeks and loose hair grinned at the Elder, "Oh! We heard that the famous singer Ku Taleng is performing for Sect Leader Chen!"
"Where did you hear this nonsense!?" The Elder shrilled, chasing after the herd of squealing girls.
"..."
And Yuan Xuelan was left in that hallway alone, his mouth hung open at the absurdity of the string events he just experienced.
"Xuelan! What are you doing standing around like that?" Nan Chang giggled as she poked her head out of the room. "Hurry up inside!"
He sighed deeply. "This is all your fault!" He shouted at her but in the end, still followed. Whatever treasure she felt like showing him better be worth it!
The girl's dorm was a lot more cramped and cluttered than he expected. He always imagined a woman's living space to be neat and spotless like his Shijie's tidy space. But then he remembered that his own mother was a woman too so perhaps it wasn't that much of a surprise. Makeup products were thrown about, brushes, and ointment scattered everywhere. Some of the beds were made up neater than others but there were books on the ground and one of the beds even had a pile melon seed shells on it. Yuan Xuelan resisted the urge to go clean it up.
"Ah now…where did I put it?" Nan Chang hummed as she rushed to the bed in the farthest corner. First, she searched a chest on the right of the bed and then began looking underneath the bed.
"What the heck, Nan-jie!" Yuan Xuelan stomped and crossed his arms impatiently, "You ought to find it soon! The faster we get out of here, the better." He was still anxious about his stay. He wanted to get out of the women's dorms as quickly as possible!
"I know, I know. Just give me a moment." Nan Chang muttered as she continued to fumble about.
With anxiety rippling within him, Yuan Xuelan began to pace around the room. His eyes swept through the dorm, trying to pick out random details to serve as a distraction from the nervousness that nagged at his mind.
That was when he saw a curious little sculpture sitting on a little drawer next to one of the beds. Though the wood it was made out of did appear to be very high quality, the sculpture itself was spectacular in its detail. It was of some deity that he couldn't quite recognize, with a feathered fan in one hand and a tiny bell in the other.
Yuan Xuelan inched closer, curious as to how such delicate details could even be carved into wood. It was so meticulously made that at first, he thought it couldn't be real. Yuan Xuelan reached for the small sculpture but before he could pick it up to inspect it further, Nan Chang's voice startled him out of his trance, "I found it!"
He was quick to abandon the trinket and rushed to Nan Chang's side, eager to inspect the item she talked about so energetically. She held out a long wooden box. Judging by its shape, he could tell that it was probably made to hold a sword. The wood was exquisitely carved with little twisting dragons that ran along the edges.
With the help of Nan Chang's small, delicate fingers, the box clicked over, reveling a shattered blade that rested upon fine golden silk. Yuan Xuelan's eyes widened. "This is…!"
Nan Chang grinned, "Interesting right? The merchant didn't want it anymore because he said he had no use for a broken blade! But I can tell at first glance it was no ordinary sword!"
Indeed, it was not ordinary. Even shattered, each shard shimmered with power. The ore that was used to forge this blade must have been special and Yuan Xuelan was already itching to have it under his grasps and inspect it in greater detail. He grabbed Nan Chang by the shoulders, "You're a genius!"
She glowed under his praise, "Aren't I?"
The two were so caught up in their excitement that neither noticed the door sliding open.
"What is going on in here!?"
Shocked, the two of them flinched and saw the Elder Yuan Xuelan had encountered earlier looming over them, face red with anger. She started with Nan Chang, "Causing trouble as always, Nan Chang!" And slowly she turned her gaze to Yuan Xuelan. He shrunk under the raging fire in her eyes. He had a feeling he wasn't getting out of this one, "And you. Xiaoxiao, huh?"
"Uh."
"I can explain…please listen!" Nan Chang knelt like a beggar.
But the Elder showed no mercy and raised her hand, "I don't want to hear any of your excuses!" Her anger was ear-shattering and promised punishment.
…
That night, when Yuan Xuelan crawled into bed, his body was sore from head to toe. Nan Chang had somehow got away with only copying some ancient text fifty times. Yuan Xuelan grumbled in his bed, groaning over the injustice and his inability to charm the Elders to go easy on him.
But even in his beaten state, he was still excited about the shattered sword that came into his possession thanks to Nan Chang. He really would have to find a way to thank her later. Yuan Xuelan fell asleep to thoughts and plans about the broken sword and the Tiger Heart Amethyst.
But if he thought that coming home to Reling would free him from Liu Sumeng then he was terribly wrong.
This dream began with an ugly scene. He was holding up long locks of black. The sword he held in his hand, the sword that Sect Leader Chen had given to him was dull beyond belief and was proving little use at hacking away flesh and bones. Yuan Xuelan, possessed, swung down as though he was using a dao(*). One, two, ten, twelve swings, and finally the tigress demon's head came loose, her body thudded against the muddy ground and her head was light in Yuan Xuelan's hand.
It was an ugly head, and he didn't like the crying visage that her final moments had molded. Yuan Xuelan wondered why the heck he even bothered to decapitate her in the first place. He tossed aside the offending thing and scowled at it then threw away his useless dull sword. It was all so useless.
"Are you done yet?"
Of course, there was Liu Sumeng's voice close by to accompany him. This Liu Sumeng, the fake one, was glaring at him. Judgemental and aloof, something about his gaze made Yuan Xuelan's maddened mind twist in rage.
The Ivory Sword Saint didn't look so 'ivory' anymore. His clothes were dark with only a few white accents embroidered as details along his sleeves. His dream self provided him with the understanding that Sumeng had changed out of his trademark white robes in favor of darker colors because they did not dirty as easily in battle.
"Xuelan?" His voice, unkind, was full of impatience. In what odd fantasy did he conjure up such a Liu Sumeng? One that was so different than the man that he knew. "Hurry up."
Yuan Xuelan scoffed, "Stop nagging. You're being annoying."
This Liu Sumeng was without affection and simply responded, "Don't waste time." A powerful desire to throw this haughty Ivory Sword Saint down flared through his chest.
Somehow, the Yuan Xuelan in the dream held his cool and silently strode next to Liu Sumeng. There was carnage all around them. There was often carnage featured in these dreams. Yuan Xuelan wondered if it was a reflection of a terrible monster that lurked in his soul.
He knew that he was glaring but Liu Sumeng was unflappable and only sighed a little. "Your hand."
Yuan Xuelan momentarily snapped out of his rage and blinked at the Ivory Sword Saint in confusion. He held out his hand. A large gem was dropped in his palm, its unrefined power danced with little flickers of lightning.
Yuan Xuelan stared dumbly at the unrefined Tiger Heart Amethyst.
"You came for that. Did you forget?"
"Huh?" He had forgotten. "No, I--" His fingers curled around the gem. "Right. The Tiger Heart. Thanks, Sumeng."
The Ivory Sword Saint was looking at him weirdly. "Don't thank me."
Yuan Xuelan's mind was a mess and couldn't separate one thought from another. "Hm. I suppose it's about time to head back," he said as if he wasn't being nagged to do the very same thing just moments ago.
But Liu Sumeng did not complain. He nodded and followed Yuan Xuelan to a place to two of them knew as home.
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(*) a dao is a single-edged Chinese sword used slashing and chopping. I know I've been pretty lazy and just called everything 'swords' up to now but I've imagined them using jians for the most part, which are double-edged straight swords.