What?!" I screamed upon seeing the name on my paper.
"What's wrong? Who are you serving under?" asked Fei Fei and Mimi as they both walked closer to me to see the name, concerned about the reason for my shout.
"It's Senior Disciple Zhang Han, the best disciple of Master Taiyuan," exclaimed Mimi happily.
"You're so lucky. You are serving under the senior disciple of Master Taiyuan," said Fei Fei as she hugged me tightly.
"Is this supposed to be a blessing or a curse? Why am I serving under the person who made me come here in the first place? The person I hate so much, that bastard," I thought, my face fuming in anger.
"Are you not happy?" asked Fei Fei, bringing me back from my thoughts, her face covered with a thousand questions.
"Why should I be happy? I might just be arrested for murdering someone instead of passing a trial. What if I stab him while performing my duties? That Zhang Han is a pompous fellow. What if he annoys me and I poison him out of annoyance?" I thought, still fuming in anger.
"Hua! What are you thinking about?" yelled Fei Fei.
"It's nothing. I'm just too happy," I said, forcing out a smile.
Mimi is serving under Senior Disciple Wang Lei too, while Muyang is serving under Senior Disciple Qui Kong.
Every other participant keeps serving under one of these masters. Why am I the only one serving under that Zhang Han? There must be a mistake somewhere, I thought, my face full of confusion.
"Everyone is serving under either Senior Disciple Wang Lei or Qui Kong. Why am I the only one serving under that... senior disciple Zhang Han?" I asked, with my hands raised in the air, almost making a mistake of calling him a bastard.
"That child hasn't changed till now," exclaimed the Master of the Swords with a face full of worries.
"He's always doing this every time," said the Master of Earth with a deep sigh.
"The three senior disciples are the ones responsible for the three trials. The first trial was planned by Wang Lei, the second was planned by Qui Kong, and the third was planned by Zhang Han. Zhang Han never accepts two disciples to serve under him, since he's the one in charge. We, the three masters, had no say," explained the sect leader.
"So you mean every trial was conducted by the three senior disciples," exclaimed Fei Fei.
Are they really kidding me? Why am I the unlucky one who has to choose Zhang Han? I thought, anger filling me.
"But the box contains names of the three senior disciples. Are you saying that there's only one paper that has Senior Disciple Zhang Han's name written on it?" asked Mimi.
"Yes! Zhang Han never writes his name more than once in the box. Congratulations to you all," explained the Master of Swords as she congratulated the participants on their chosen senior.
"Damn! This is crazy. Is this supposed to be a play about two enemies living together?" I thought, but was soon distracted by the sect leader's voice.
"Bring in the robes of the participants," instructed the sect leader, and soon there were people dressed in orange carrying a tray. On the tray was a purple robe placed neatly. We were all given the robes and a plate which had our names written on it.
"Congratulations to you all once again," said the sect leader
.
"You'll all go with the servants now. They'll show you the quarters of the senior disciple you'll be serving," said the Master of Swords.
"Remember, this trial is to test your patience. You're free to walk out if you're no longer interested," reminded the Master of Earth.
"The plate given to you isn't valid yet as you're not yet a disciple, but you must always carry it along with you. If you lose it, you're disqualified."
"What? I thought this is a trial to quit or stay by ourselves," said one of the participants.
"How can we be disqualified based on losing a plate which is not even valid yet?" asked another participant in anger.
"Lose it and leave the sect and never return," said the Master of Earth with a serious tone, making everyone keep quiet.
"Escort the participants to their senior disciple quarters," said the Master of Swords to the servants, who replied with a bow.
"Let us meet up after knowing our quarters," said Fei Fei, giving me a big hug before departing.
I was escorted by a young lady who was carrying my tray of clothes and name plate gently close to her chest. Why would such a beautiful young lady be a maid? It's heartbreaking. I'm also a maid now, for now though...
"Senior Disciple Zhang Han is the most respected and talented disciple in all of Mount Hua," said the lady, trying to strike a conversation with me.
"He's handsome, kind, hardworking, but not popular with girls," said the young lady, now with a sad face
.
"You must be kidding me. He's the most popular with girls. He can't do away with anything under a skirt," I thought, bursting into laughter.
"What's wrong, young lady?" asked the girl with a face full of worries.
"Nothing. What's your name?" I asked, still laughing.
"Peiyang," she said with a smile.
"I know you won't believe me concerning the fact that he's not popular with girls. All the disciples under Sect Leader Taiyuan aren't popular with girls."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.
"You don't know, and you want to serve under Senior Disciple Zhang Han?" exclaimed Peiyang, with her hands covering her mouth in surprise.
"What am I supposed to know?" I asked, looking all confused.
"What do you think I mean when I say all the disciples under Master Taiyuan aren't popular with girls? They all take chaste herb tea, of course," she said, taking a step closer to me as she whispered into my ears.
"Herb tea? What's that?" I asked, looking confused.
"They take the herb to cut down their libido. Although not all of them take it, but most, and Senior Disciple Zhang Han is part of them," she explained.
"I still don't understand. What do you mean?" I asked.
"Their sexual desire. They won't feel any sexual desire as long as they take that tea," she explained, with her brows raised at me, as I gazed at her in shock.