For the two days immediately following the banquet, Wu Ling spent much of his time with his mother learning more about the Dark Half of the Bamboo Silk House.
"Since you've decided to invite Su Yao to tour the sect, there are some things that you should look out for during the recruitment process," Wu Ningli told her son over breakfast. While her own mentors in the sect would never have been as relaxed and informal as she was with her 'direct disciple', Wu Ningling had rapidly come to value the time she spent with Wu Ling discussing cultivation and the sect.
For the past several years, while Wu Ling had always been a dedicated child working to care for her, the burden of doing so and the secrets he kept had increased the distance between mother and child. Now that he'd awakened and joined the sect, the two spent more time together each day than they had in years.
"What do you have in mind, mother?" Wu Ling asked, refilling her tea and setting out several of her favorite rice cakes to nibble on as they talked.
"During a recruitment, you'll meet with a Florist, they're people in the sect who are very skilled at assessing talent and matching them to the different paths available in the sect," Wu Ningli explained. "While I trust in the Florists of the sect to find a suitable cultivation manual for Su Yao, I want you to be on the lookout for specific talents. If she possesses them, then I would like to take her on as a disciple myself."
"You intend to train her as an assassin?" Wu Ling said in surprise. "Are there cultivation methods that can turn calligraphy into a tool of assassination?"
"No, not directly," Wu Ningli said with a shake of her head. "However, if she is able to become an Understudy within a few years, there are some restricted manuals that I would be willing to tutor her in, assuming that she not only manages to become an Understudy within five years but also manages to awaken a second path as a Mystic," Wu Ningli explained. "Let me tell you about a few of the hidden arts of the sect…"
The two spoke for hours and Wu Ling left several times to boil fresh water for more tea but much like his mother, he treasured the time they spent together much more than the information he gained about cultivation within the sect. While discussing viable paths for Su Yao gave him a few ideas for his own calligraphy, he felt that he was already on a path and that the calligraphy methods practiced in the sect would, at most, offer a few supplemental techniques more than anything he needed to dedicate substantial time to.
One bright bit of news was that there were some merits to be earned from recruiting capable disciples to the sect. Wu Ningli emphasized that the rewards for doing so weren't very impressive but that they could be useful at his stage of cultivation. The most important thing, for him, was to use the sect for the two things he had the least access to - information and high-quality supplies for his art. Neither Wu Ningli nor her son expected him to be able to obtain information about the remaining materials needed to cure her, not yet at least. But if Su Yao accepted the invitation to join the sect and if her talents were sufficient, perhaps Wu Ling wouldn't need to be as conservative in his use of expensive pigments and inks for his painting and calligraphy. That alone would make it easier for him to work his way toward the information they needed.
All of this made Wu Ling more excited than he expected to be when he returned to his makeup table to once again don the guise of a female member of the Bamboo Silk House. Thankfully, Huang Yeyan had provided him with not only elegant male attire trimmed in the fur of the Burning Yang Sun Bear but a few elegant dresses as well, including the midnight blue and gold one that he'd selected today.
"Senior Sister Wu," the acrobat Jieyan called from the entrance to his room. "Your friend Su Yao has arrived. Do you truly intend to bring her into the sect?"
"I do," Wu Ling said softly, adjusting his mannerisms to fit the guise he wore. "Sister Su Yao is more talented at calligraphy than I am and my mother thinks she'll be well suited for a few mystic arts if she can advance her cultivation quickly enough."
"So you intend to bring her into the Dark Half of the House?" Jieyan said, somewhat surprised by Wu Ling's decision. She knew that he'd been pressed into serving the Dark Half with a Dark Mission from the Hall Master herself. Given that, she expected him to keep his friends away from their shadowed world rather than bring them into it.
"I don't want her to be a helpless flower in a greenhouse," Wu Ling said. "In the other half of the house, she might have a place to further her cultivation but she'll never gain power to keep herself safe from the people who would prey upon her. As beautiful as she is, bringing her into the Light Half of the House would only amount to a stay of execution before someone attempted to buy out her contract. The Dark Half may be more dangerous but in the long run, it's a better place for someone as talented as she is," he concluded.
"You truly think highly of her," his junior sister said in surprise. "Since that's the case, I won't keep you waiting."
Outside, Wu Ling found Su Yao waiting in the courtyard, dressed in an elegant green outfit that showcased her supple curves and blossoming femininity. She might be a year younger than Wu Ling but it was already clear to anyone with eyes that she would be an extraordinary beauty when she came of age in two years.
"Bro, er, Sister Wu," Su Yao said, blushing slightly as she stumbled. "After the banquet, it's strange to see you dressed up like this again."
"Hall Master requires it every time I visit the sect," Wu Ling explained. "Are you ready for your visit?"
"I am," Su Yao answered with an excited grin. "You really grew up in the sect? What's it like?"
"You'll see for yourself after a short walk," he said, leading her to the main road.
"Junior Sister Wu!" a frantic feminine voice called moments after Wu Ling and Su Yao had turned onto the main road through the ward. "Please, I need your help," Yao Meifeng called, hurrying to catch up to them. "Someone's hunting me."