"I can't believe it. This is exactly the grass I've been searching for!" Cang Ren exclaimed, carefully holding the grass presented to him.
"Damu Lan was the one who gave me this grass before. I didn't expect you to actually succeed."
"How? Where did you find it?" Asked Cang Ren.
Lu Ye replied, "Somewhere on the peak."
"Where exactly?"
There was a moment of silence before Lu Ye asked back, "Did my master tell you?"
Cang Ren shook his head, noting the opposite.
"I believe there's a reason why he didn't want to tell. So I would appreciate it if you respect his wish for it to remain unknown."
Cang Ren chuckled. "You two are truly different, but you bear a resemblance to him. It really brings back some dumb and shitty memories I wanted to forget." He then stood up and walked over to the mirror.
Cang ren's unbound hair reached below his knees. Even though half of his face was covered with his hair, his form still stood gracefully beautiful as if he was an angel descending the heaven—if only his spoken words were as exquisite.
"Thank you, though," He said.
Lu Ye cupped his fist and bowed before leaving the remedial chamber.
Cang Ren took the grass and boiled it. After a while, he mixed it with a few other medicines. Once finished, he poured the concoction into a small bowl and seated himself in front of the mirror.
Carefully, he took a pin and began pulling his hair away from his face, revealing a sight he had been hiding for centuries—a scar crossing his eye. It's like the symbol "X" but without the /. The slice was really thin and clean. His eye could function normally, though the color differed from the other.
"It has been 1000 years. Why does it still sting?" Cang Ren muttered to himself, his hand gently applying the medicine to the scar. Despite the scar looking old, apparently, it continued to give him the same pain as when it did the first time. The grass was the only rare ingredient that works wonders to subside the pain. Though, it had its limits, and its effectiveness could only go so far.
After he finished, he just sat still, looking at his reflection within the mirror. In that moment, a cascade of memories surged forth, transporting him back to the moment when he was just an eighteen years old youth, still brimming with dreams and goals to accomplish. It was back at the time when he was still gracefully dancing with the sword.
It was back at the time when Bai Chang had yet to reveal himself to the world.
Cang Ren had caught sight of Damu Lan and someone walking beside him while he and his group were busy mocking Damu Lan's talent.
"What good does that Damu Lan bring that the sect leader prefers him over the other?"
"Who knows? Talk about that, I saw him coming out of master Huang's room after dawn before." Cang Ren spoke, come along a laughter burst from fellow disciples.
Cang Ren harbored a dislike for Damu Lan. To tell the truth, Cang Ren thought of Damu Lan as a hypocrite, who acted virtuously around Huang JunJie, the second sect leader and his master, but hated getting along with the others.
Suddenly, a fist struck on his cheek, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Mo Yun, you shithead! What do you think you're doing?!" Cang Ren shouted.
Mo Yun—or rather, Bai Chang was disguising himself as a youthful figure. Even though he appeared younger than his actual age, it was indeed his own body and image, unaltered and unmasked. Yet, it was his inherent nature that evoked a sense of awe, as if it were a challenge to break through the barrier of coldness that surrounded him.
"I dare you to talk about him like that," Bai Chang retorted.
"Hah! What do you think you can do to me?" Cang Ren provoked.
Yet Bai Chang remained silent, simply walking away. Well, the punch was enough to serve as a lesson—or so he thought.
"Could it be... it's true that he became a 'night maiden'?"
As Cang Ren sneered, the rest of the disciples laughed at that remark. Their laughter was not confined to their own circle. Damu Lan was around, listening.
Unexpectedly, a strike dawned upon Cang Ren's face, that marked the moment the scar first inflicted.
"ArghhhhH!!!" Cang Ren cried out, he screamed as he covered the searing pain with both his hands, crumpled to the ground.
It was as if he was kneeling, so Bai Chang placed his foot on Cang Ren's head, preventing him from standing up.
"Just because your appearance sets you apart doesn't make you superior," Bai Chang declared.
With a firm grip on Cang Ren's hair, Bai Chang forced their eyes to meet. "Just because someone says your face fitting for a 'night maiden,' doesn't mean you have the right to deem someone the same way." At this point, Bai Chang's expression grew darker. His face remained emotionless, except for his widened eyes.
Cang Ren only stared back at Bai Chang's glare. It was the truth. He entered the sect and cultivated his path to immortality to escape his doomed life as a prostitute wherein he overheard the conversation his family had. This fact was widely known among those acquainted with him.
"You should watch your mouth. Next time, slicing your face won't be the only thing I'll do."
"Mo Yun! Stop it" Damu Lan had intended to intervene, but Bai Chang was too quick for him to prevent the attack in time.
Worry etched on Damu Lan's face as he rushed to help Cang Ren to get back on his two feet. However, Cang Ren pushed him away, still clutching his bleeding face.
"You piss me off." Cang Ren uttered, yet that did not stop Damu Lan. He then forcefully lifted Cang Ren, disregarding his resistance, and insisted on bringing him to the remedial chamber.
"Greetings, Sect Leader!" The disciples bowed.
Huang JunJie made his appearance. He was a man in his fifties, with much gray hair. The man had yet to reach immortality.
He knew exactly what the situation at the hand was so he simply approached Bai Chang as he walked, and in a moment, he whispered, "Were it not for Damu Lan, I would never welcome a troublemaker like you here." before walking off to Damu Lan who was still carrying Cang Ren.
Cang Ren casted a glance at Bai Chang, satisfied that the sect leader held animosity towards the one who caused him pain, but such thought surged up back to his mind as he saw the expression on Bai Chang's face. It was a ferocious glare, intended towards Huang JunJie. An ominous black steam and an icy aura emanated from him. But, then Damu Lan turned his head towards Bai Chang and shouted with a determined tone that carried across the distance.
"Mo Yun, I'll see you in the evening!"
And right away, in response, Bai Chang simply smiled, a genuine smile that took Cang Ren by surprise. It was that easy to return his mood?
They made their way to the remedial chamber where the medicinal master attended to Cang Ren's scar, expertly stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wound, while also applying ointment to his cheek, which had been punched by Bai Chang.
"I'm sorry…this happens because of me," Damu Lan apologized.
Cang Ren avoided their eye contact, he had deliberately mocked Damu Lan, so why was Damu Lan the one apologizing?
"You see, that kind of rumor wouldn't work well for me. I simply went to my master's room so he could help me enhance my spiritual qi with proper guidance. Moreover, Mo Yun was also there with me, he just left a short while before dawn. Nothing improper," Damu Lan explained.
"I'm sorry if I somehow did something to make you dislike me, but I truly hope to get along well with everyone."
Cang Ren turned his head towards Damu Lan and began shouting, "To hell with you! It's because of that bastard Mo Yun that my face has become like this! So I don't want to hear anything from your crappy mouth!"
"I'm sorry!" Damu Lan pleaded, impulsively standing from his chair.
"Mo Yun was just trying to protect me! Mo Yun isn't like what you think he is!"
"I'll do my best to help ease the pain and possibly get rid of the scar! So if you want someone to blame feel free to blame me!"
Cang Ren was taken aback. Just how much of a devotee Damu Lan was?
"You're covering for him so much. Do you worship him or something? How stupid."
"Mo Yun is…he is my first proper friend… he would go as far as to hurt others for my sake. It's natural I would cover for him," Damu Lan said.
Cang Ren sighed, "If you promise to do something about this scar, then I'll let this slide."
"I will! I promise I will!" Damu Lan exclaimed joyfully.
After a while, Zhang XiYi entered the remedial chamber as well. He had just come from the training hall after a duel with Bai Chang.
"Damu Lan," he called.
"I want to apologize for always speaking ill of you."
"I realized that losing to you is much better than losing to that bastard Mo Yun, so I want to apologize and thank you for always putting up with my ways," Zhang XiYi pleaded.
"No. It's fine, really! I'm always happy whenever you ask me for a duel. It's like you're initiating an approach to me. I'm glad you don't find me dislikeable!" Damu Lan replied.
It seemed Zhang XiYi had learned his lesson after losing to Bai Chang publicly during their sparring session.
"Hah! How funny to see the great Senior Disciple Zhang bow his head before another fellow disciple," Cang Ren scoffed.
"I don't want to hear that from a one-eyed person like you who couldn't even strike him back," Zhang XiYi refused to back down.
And so, the remedial chamber became a huge wreck after that, yet Damu Lan, Cang Ren, and Zhang XiYi became friends shortly after that incident.
Damu Lan did not know much about how to interact with people his age. He considered himself fortunate to have befriended Jin An, though Zhang XiYi would always meddle in between them. Damu Lan lost his parents at an early age and was entrusted to the sect leader by his uncle, who decided to pursue his own career. As a pure-hearted youth who saw the kindness in everyone, Damu Lan may not know how to act around Cang Ren who utter many unkind words. It seemed to be the reason why Cang Ren regarded him as petty and hypocritical.
Cang Ren combed his hair, bringing his thoughts back to the present. He managed to diligently crawl his path to immortality despite having only one functional eye. The grasses that Damu Lan had brought to him could only heal his eyesight and temporarily ease the pain on the scar. Yet, the stubborn scar remained, though found it sufficient for his vision to improve.
The reason why he started studying medicines and illnesses was mainly because of Damu Lan.
Damu Lan's mental state had become unstable five years after Mo Yun—Bai Chang's death. Cang Ren was the only one aware of this fact because he was the one who witnessed Damu Lan in his worst state. But as Cang Ren was about to recall the scene, someone knocked on his door.
"Come in."
It was Zhang XiYi.
"Xi Yi, what brings you here?"
Suddenly, Zhang XiYi unexpectedly poured a cup of water from beside Cang Ren onto his head, which caught him off guard.
"WHAT. THE. SHIT. ARE YOU DOING, XI YI, YOU BASTARD!" Cang Ren lost control, unsheathing his sword and launching it at Zhang XiYi who managed to block his attack.
"Damned Cang Ren! You sent away my disciples without my knowledge!"
Though he mentioned 'disciples', Cang Ren was certain that he became this furious because he sent Hua Ran away.
"So what? Sometimes he needs to go on a mission without guidance! Look at Damu Lan! He doesn't even bother!"
A swift smack landed on his head as Zhang XiYi smirked with anger "I. AM. NOT. HIM!"
Cang Ren was not the one to back down easily, since he couldn't match Zhang XiYi's sword skill, he aimlessly began throwing things at him, causing his stuff to crash. But it was fine; Zhang XiYi would pay for it all.
The crashing sound could be heard as they exchanged screams. The disciples who were nearby couldn't even bother to intervene. It was a normal occasion to them.
After a while, they both caught their breath.
"I'm surprised you didn't break my door today."
"Your door is way too exquisite. I don't want to bother the one in charge of repairing it." Zhang XiYi retorted.
"Anyway, what did you ask them to do?"
"Why didn't you ask that favored disciple of yours?"
"He was tired," Zhang XiYi replied curtly.
Cang Ren was sure Hua Ran would explain if he asked. So Cang Ren assumed that Zhang XiYi didn't ask Hua Ran because he actually wanted to know about Damu Lan and his disciple.
"I told them to find the grass that Damu Lan brought for me before. It's a very rare one so I didn't expect his disciple to fetch it for me."
"That is a disciple of him, Lu Ye? What makes you think he wouldn't tell him the whereabouts?"
"You talk as if you don't know Damu Lan. I doubt Damu Lan even told him."
"It must be fate."
"You're being dramatic again." Zhang XiYi sneered.
To be honest, Cang Ren was curious why they wouldn't tell him the whereabouts. But he decided not to dwell too much on the matter. After all, if he wanted to use the grass again, he could just ask the two of them, Damu Lan and his disciple to fetch it for him. No less of energy!