Before my fifth sister could exchange more than a few words with her, a group of people walked into the courtyard, laughing and chatting. Every young elite I knew—and many I didn’t—seemed to be gathered there. Leading them was Liu Qingwu, who laughed and said, "Little Wei, why did you vanish so quickly? You’re like a hawk chasing a rabbit!"
The crowd’s eyes were warm and bright with smiles; it was clear they were eager to be close to her. She truly had to return to the sect. With the Tianshan Meet offering a chance for fame, even if she were willing to let it pass, how could the sect allow a twenty-three-year-old genius at Late-Stage Perfection to slip away? Moreover, without her, the number of Late-Stage Perfection disciples would be overshadowed by the Tianjun Sect, and the elders of the Wujing Sect would lose face.
Wei Qingming gave a faint smile. "I came to see an old friend, so naturally, I was in a hurry."
Dantai Ye, Feng Baili, and the others were all there. They had already greeted her at the mountain gate, so they merely offered me friendly nods, as we had only met once before. One beautiful female cultivator laughed and asked, "Why isn't my brother here? He’s the closest to Qingming."
Hardly had she spoken when a figure suddenly appeared before the hall, forcefully hurling a long spear toward Wei Qingming from a distance. Wei Qingming casually raised her left hand and exerted a sudden burst of strength. With a crisp, clean *crack*, the formidable spear was swatted back into the newcomer's hand. This move appeared ordinary, but it required immense precision; the spear shaft was heavy and long, and any uneven force would have sent it off course. Even a slight rotation could have easily injured a bystander.
The man shouted, "Wei the Third, you rascal, you’ve reached Late-Stage Perfection too!"
Wei Qingming didn't even look at him. She first whispered "pardon me" to Lu Kaifeng, gave the rest of us a loose cupped-fist salute, and then stood up to walk away with the man.
As it turned out, this was the other Late-Stage Perfection disciple, Yan Mingqiu. He was a tall young man with a rugged, boisterous temperament, possessing the air of a military general. I had heard the storytellers in the teahouses mention him; he was the descendant of the famous general Yan Zheng. In terms of family status, the Yan family and the Wei family were both ducal houses. Yan Zheng and Wei Tangshan were the two most distinguished generals during the founding of the dynasty. However, the Yan family had remained in the military for generations, while Wei Tangshan, who had married the founding emperor’s favorite daughter, Princess Yongqing, was a scholar-general who eventually left the battlefield. From then on, the Wei family transitioned from the martial to the civil path. Yan Mingqiu’s younger sister was named Yan Xiangjun, ranked as one of the "Four Beauties" of the sect. Seeing her today, I didn't find her breathtakingly divine, but she was certainly more outstanding than most. Perhaps her title owed something to the influence of her brother and her clan.
Wei Qingming stood with them, conversing in small groups. Yan Mingqiu draped an arm over her shoulder, and Yan Xiangjun smiled and teased her with constant attention. They were families with generations of friendship and had been fellow students; their bond was naturally deep. I rubbed the teacup in my hand. I truly wished for her to be well, but seeing her doing so well without me made me wish, perhaps, that she wasn't quite *that* well.
The group arrived like a flock of sparrows and dispersed just as quickly. When Wei Qingming left, she didn't even look back, her head tilted slightly as she focused on Yan Xiangjun’s words. She likely had many social obligations after that, for I did not see her again. I spent the next few days busy helping my fourth brother and fifth sister familiarize themselves with the sect.
The snow stopped the following day. Despite the diligent maintenance of the cleaning disciples, the snow piled along the roads gradually grew soiled from the heavy foot traffic. Chief Lü personally sent word to receive us, even keeping Lu Kaifeng behind to discuss the relationship between Taoist scriptures, Buddhist sutras, and illusion arts. During my brief glimpse when I bowed, I heard only a few words, but I realized this Chief was truly a scholarly gentleman. As a senior of three hundred years, he didn't need to be so polite to us given his status. His disciple led me out with a smile, pointing to a pavilion not far away. "Look, Junior Sister, that is the Lingxian Pavilion. Master Lu won't be out for a while; when Master starts lecturing on the Dao, he won't let anyone go for at least an hour or two. If you're bored, why not go take a look inside?"
I gazed at the magnificent pavilion, which still held traces of snow. It consisted of seven three-story buildings arranged in the pattern of the Seven Stars. There were no rainbow bridges connecting them; instead, small jade platforms floated in the air, transporting disciples back and forth. From a distance, they looked like delicate, intricate mechanical toys. I smiled and asked, "With our status, is it alright to enter? Are there any taboos?"
"Of course it's alright," the disciple replied helpfully. "You are an honored guest here for the Canon Exchange; you're supposed to frequent the Lingxian Pavilion during these six months. Except for the third floor of each building, which is temporarily off-limits, you can go anywhere else. It’s the same for our own disciples."
I thanked him with a smile and gave him a gift from the Dream-Inlet. He accepted it naturally and graciously, escorting me to the base of the Lingxian Pavilion.
The area around the pavilion was adorned with lush trees and beautiful rockeries. I stood quietly for a moment to admire the scenery before pulling out the guide manual provided upon entering the sect to see the significance of the seven buildings. I guessed they were categorized collections of texts, and I was right. From Tianshu to Tianquan, the four buildings housed the sect’s internal techniques, external techniques, formations, and martial skills, respectively. Kaiyang, Yuheng, and Yaoguang primarily held rare scriptures, general knowledge, and miscellaneous arts. I hesitated between Kaiyang and Yaoguang for a moment. I estimated that our Gomeng Mountain illusion arts would be stored in Kaiyang, while the books in Yaoguang—containing poetry, painting, and music—would be the most fresh and unique. Ultimately, I decided to prioritize business and head to Kaiyang.
The disciple on duty verified my token and led me inside, bowing respectfully to a person behind the central desk. "Martial Aunt Wei, a guest from Gomeng Mountain has come to borrow some texts. I trouble you to guide her."
I thought to myself: *Of course, the very thing I feared would happen.* Instead of shrinking away, I chose to stare at her openly. Wei Qingming stopped writing and replied, "Mm, please come in." She looked up, saw me, and smiled. "What texts are you looking for?"
"Just browsing. I'll trouble you, Senior Brother Wei."
She let out a soft "hmmm," her voice carrying a hint of a smile but also a touch of coldness, like the northern sunlight that couldn't penetrate the room. "By the rules of the sect, it would be more appropriate for you to call me Martial Aunt."
Her meaning was clear: Feng Baili and the others were direct disciples of the Patriarch, giving them a higher status than their peers. Although she had no specific master, she associated with them as equals, which placed her a generation above me. A nameless, frustrated fire rose in my heart. She certainly knew how to keep her distance. This one sentence was both a kind instruction and a clear boundary. To be too intimate would lack etiquette and grace; to be deliberately distant would make past tenderness seem fake, or suggest she was still brooding. It was this precise calibration—not a fraction too close, not a fraction too far—that proved she was still that Envoy Wei, an expert at manipulating hearts and provoking emotions.
"Martial Aunt Wei..." I used a tone reserved for strangers, deliberately provoking her. "Why are you here? Does a Martial Aunt also need to pull guard duty?"
"Indeed." Unfazed, she adopted a warmer expression, speaking as if chatting about domestic trifles. "I haven't completed enough sect missions this year, so I sought out this quiet task." Having said that, she waved someone over and commanded, "A-Wan, lead Disciple-Niece Su to see the texts."
A slender, tall, and beautiful woman stepped forward and said with a smile, "Miss Su, this way please."
I was even more astonished. This was her demon slave... the demon slave wearing her family's crest around her neck.
Wei Qingming had already picked up her brush to continue writing. She was likely translating a precious ancient spirit-race document; several sheets of paper were scattered nearby, all containing her handwritten introductions and annotations. It seemed she wasn't just translating, but compiling commentaries. She sat there quietly, her face like polished jade, her long, slender fingers gripping the brush. With the scrolls and stationery scattered around her, she looked like a figure from a painting—truly elegant and refined. But she had, after all... changed.
I forced myself to look away from her writing and her person, turning to follow the girl named A-Wan.
The interior of the building was exceptionally quiet. After walking dozens of paces, I saw rows of exquisitely crafted bookshelves on either side. They varied in height and style but maintained a unified aesthetic. Because of advanced spatial spells and protective formations, the books could not be touched without a formation key or token. Disciples could be seen here and there, heads bowed or standing on tiptoe to pull books from the shelves; their movements were soft and disciplined. The texts were recorded on jade slips as well as paper, and there were even papyrus, palm-leaf manuscripts, and parchment from the distant West. These precious materials required protection from wind and sun, so the hall was generally dim, lit only by special lamps. A water clock in the hall emitted the long, deep drips of an ancient relic.
A-Wan was naturally using Wei Qingming’s formation key, which must have had very high clearance. She led me into a side hall and smiled. "I'm sure you'd like to wander and look around freely, so I took the liberty of choosing this spot for you."
I nodded in thanks. It was a clever gesture, yet I couldn't help but feel a surge of misplaced resentment. Sometimes, I really wished everyone wasn't so clever.
A-Wan activated the token and generously handed it to me. "Please feel free to read, Miss. I will be just outside the door."
I took the token in my hand, feeling the intricately carved seal script characters. Turning it over, I saw the two words "Wei Qi." I couldn't help but stare. "Qingming" was surely her courtesy name, but why was her formal name different now? It was completely different from the name she used when reporting to the Emperor. "Min" and "Qi" both shared the sun radical; they seemed like names for two brothers of the same clan. After pondering for a moment, I gave a self-mocking laugh. Why did I care? Those secret agents surely had multiple aliases; she likely had different identities for the Wujing Sect and the Yingzhao Temple.
After idling away nearly an hour and a half, A-Wan stepped in quietly to deliver a message. "Your senior brother has come looking for you." I gave an affirmative sound, held up a book detailing the mechanical traps and hidden weapons of the Tang Clan, and asked, "May I borrow this?"
"Of course," A-Wan said readily. She took the token and the original book, picked up a thin jade slip, and performed a spell to create an identical copy, which she handed to me.
Holding the jade slip, I followed A-Wan out. In the main hall, Lu Kaifeng was speaking with Wei Qingming. Each held a scroll, pointing and conversing. I softly called out "Big Brother," gave Wei Qingming a slight bow, and stepped out of the building first.
Lu Kaifeng clearly understood the awkwardness of the situation. He bid a quick and polite farewell and followed me out, though he simply walked behind me, seemingly unsure of what to say. After all, he was a man and much older; in his role as an elder brother figure, discussing such emotional matters was difficult...
So, I spoke first. "Big Brother, it’s fine. For me, and for her, it’s all in the past."
He finally nodded, his tone carrying a hint of heartache. "If it’s inconvenient to stay, Ling and I can come to the Lingxian Pavilion in the future."
I chuckled. "It hasn't come to that. It’s not as if I’m afraid of her."
The Canon Exchange was not as simple as handing over copies of heart mantras and martial techniques. We had much to do. First was the sect’s history and lineage; we had to meticulously research the master-disciple connections and map them out. Second were the annotations for the scriptures; otherwise, once we left the mountain, outsiders holding the techniques would be completely bewildered, unable to even read them, let alone practice them. For some important heart mantras and martial skills, smaller sects even felt they were safer in the hands of the Wujing Sect than their own, so they handed over the original copies. Both parties would negotiate an agreement: which parts could be viewed by Wujing Sect disciples or outsiders, and whether they could be used for cultivation. Lü Hongzhen’s disciples would give us half of a pair of keys; important techniques required both parties to open them together. Furthermore, whenever someone borrowed related books, we would receive a detailed record, ensuring nothing was handled opaquely. This system had been in place for a thousand years and was naturally considered from every angle.
Of course, while the rules appeared fair, the power of different sects varied, and in practice, there was bound to be some inequality. However, Lü Hongzhen was a reliable man, and the entire process went very smoothly without us being taken advantage of.
The third task was our own sect’s plan: to revise and fill in the gaps of the martial technique inheritance for the illusionists within the Wujing Sect. This was a joint consideration of my Master and Eldest Senior Brother. In this matter, Master actually acted like a proper Master for once...
***
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