Shortly after arriving, the two young cultivators joined Su Jixin and Zou Suyin in a small garden with a view of the setting sun. As a mortal servant set out tea and small snacks, both of Su Yao's parents looked at her with growing apprehension when she chose to sit next to Wu Ling rather than with either of them. Su Jixin's expression looked particularly dark as he regarded Wu Ling, as though he'd swallowed something he'd rather spit out and only restrained himself to be polite.
"Yao'er," her mother began gently, taking in the changes in her daughter's demeanor. "When you left this morning, you were excited, eager, like a teapot fit to boil over. Now that I look at you that eagerness has become a fierce determination. There's something under that determination though," she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the many changes in her daughter's temperament.
"There's something prickly there and something wounded," she said, concern wrinkling her brow. "You feel like you've been through quite a bit during your visit to the Bamboo Silk House. I expected that if your visit went well, you would return even more eager than when you left but it doesn't seem so simple. Tell us what happened."
"The disadvantage of having an Artist parent," Wu Ling said softly to Su Yao. "They notice everything. My mother is the same. Go on, you can tell her," he added, reaching out and giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Mother, Father," Su Yao began slowly, biting her lower lip and hesitating. For two long breaths, she thought back the way she'd imagined them reacting during the carriage ride home before reminding herself of Wu Ling's advice. She just needed to make sure they understood that this would make her happy and let her live a good life.
"I've become a disciple of the Bamboo Silk House," she finally said directly. "The sect was very impressed with my talents and they're providing me with a beautiful place to stay and resources to guide my cultivation," she explained. "I'll be staying with Senior Sister Yao Meifeng, she's another graduate from the Pure Virtue Musician's Hall," she added, beginning to ramble a bit as she tried to think of everything she could to reassure her parents that she would be living a good life in the sect.
"I have until the new moon to settle my things outside the sect and then I'll be moving to the sect, at least for a time. I promise I'll still visit as often as I'm able," she finished in a rush, hoping they wouldn't scold her too severely.
"Yao'er, you," Zou Suyin began only to cut off when her husband spoke over her.
"Yao'er, I want you to be very clear with your words for me," the novice scholar said sharply, gathering what power of the Three-Eyed Sapphire Serpent he possessed into his eyes as he regarded his daughter sharply. "You have already become a disciple or you have accepted their offer and will soon become a disciple?"
"I've become a disciple," Su Yao said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a dark identity jade to set on the table. "My name now hangs in the halls of the sect," she told them, carefully not mentioning which hall held her name jade. She doubted it would mean anything to either of them but she couldn't count on her parents to not dig deeper into anything she told them and she didn't feel like matters of the Dark Half of the sect were things that she should discuss with them.
A storm of butterflies swirled in her stomach and her hands clenched tightly at her skirt when she withheld that information from them. It had been years since she told even a mild falsehood to her father and now, having his glowing sapphire gaze turned on her, her whole body shook with the effort of keeping things to herself.
"Junior Sister Su truly does have extraordinary talents," Wu Ling said, coming to the distressed young woman's rescue. "So extraordinary, in fact, that Hall Master Bian herself remarked on it. If she does well in the next few years, one of the Elders has offered to take her as a direct disciple," Wu Ling added, choosing his words with care lest he reveal more than he intended to.
After so many years growing up alongside Su Xiang, he was long accustomed to the perceptiveness of the Su family but the ability to see falsehood didn't mean the ability to read minds. He just needed to focus them on the most relevant parts and let them fill in the rest with assumptions that may not be entirely accurate but wouldn't be detrimental. Knowing that his mother was the Elder who offered to take Su Yao in as a disciple would only create more tension in a moment that already felt deeply strained.
"Wu Ling, we only gave you permission to take her on a tour of the sect," So Jixin all but growled when he turned his attention to the young Artist. "You should have brought her home to discuss matters with us before allowing her to become a disciple. I thought we had an understanding," he said, his sapphire eyes flashing.
"I told you all when I extended the invitation," Wu Ling said, adding a bit of firmness to his voice. "Ultimately, it's Junior Sister Su's choice whether she joins the sect or not. I promise you, I concealed nothing from her," he added.
"I even took her to restricted areas of the sect so she could see with her own eyes what things looked like in parts of the sect that outsiders never see. You can rest assured that she made a careful and informed decision," he told the glaring Scholar.
Su Jixin's use of his bloodline's ability might pale in comparison to Su Xiang's but his superior cultivation should give him enough strength to see the simple truth in Wu Ling's words. While there were many things left unsaid, the pure truth was that Wu Ling hadn't done anything he felt breached the Su family's trust. Ultimately, this was a good thing for Su Yao and his belief in that should also be apparent to the older man.
"Father, please, don't blame Senior Brother for my decision. Sister Yao Meifeng and I were both hesitant at several points but we had a chance to see a very good life that we could lead in the sect," Su Yao said forcefully.
Wu Ling hadn't hidden anything from her, hadn't tricked her, and in the end, she was the one who made the decision. Looking at her father focusing his gaze on Wu Ling, rather than on her… she felt hollow like she'd vanished from her father's sight while he vented anger that should have been directed at her on someone else.
"I made this choice and, and I stand by it!" Su Yao said, her voice ringing with determination.