Most of the disciples had ducked for cover from the tribulation, but the further Li Hanlan and Wu Lianlei went from Vermillion Peak, the more people they met on the way. As core disciples, the duo outranked many of Skyedge Sect's common ranks, so multiple greetings were exchanged on the way.

"S-senior Brother Li, Senior Sister Lianlei, good afternoon!"

"S...senior brother, I've just picked some fresh mulberries, would you like some?"

"Senior brother's looking as fine as ever today, haha!"

"Senior brother, um, I was wondering--I had a few questions about my cultivation that I hope you could answer--"

Of course, 9 out of every 10 person with extra things to say directed them at Li Hanlan, most of them stuttering. Wu Lianlei ate her lychees and watched as the man expertly navigated his hive of admirers, leaving sighs and blushes in his wake. Strange as his popularity was, it certainly saved her the trouble of chasing off unwanted fans.

"What are you staring at?" Li Hanlan asked during a lull in the crowd. 

"A big fat chicken thigh," Wu Lianlei replied with a straight face, her eyes fixated on his face. All those people looked ready to gobble you up.

Li Hanlan simply smiled. "Does little junior sister still hunger for the pleasures of the flesh?"

Wu Lianlei threw him a disgusted look. "Your phrasing is terrible."

"I'm following the fine example of your awful analogy."

A fresh wave of annoyance rose up in her head before Wu Lianlei glared at him. "Li Hanlan, do you have a grudge against me?"

"I am an upstanding cultivator, free from the temptations of the mortal coil--"

"Really? You've been spending a whole lot of time trading insults with yours truly!"

"Don't flatter yourself, I've got plenty else to keep me occupied." An errant emotion flickered past Li Hanlan's eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for Wu Lianlei to see. "You're simply too much of an idiot to be left alone, that's all."

Indignation replaced annoyance as Wu Lianlei gaped at him. You have a grudge, don't you? You've turned downright venomous!

Three months ago when she transmigrated here, she'd received the old Wu Lianlei's memories as well. The white lotus had pestered Li Hanlan just like all of his other admirers, but he hadn't pushed her away. In fact, she was sure he even reciprocated some of her advances. Wu Lianlei naturally had no interest in him now--he belonged to the female lead--but was that why he'd suddenly turned so testy?

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Are you mad because I stopped chasing after you?"

Instantly, his knuckles rapped against her forehead. "By the Founder, you've really grown half-witted! When did I ever say I wanted you to?"

The novel said plenty! Wu Lianlei mentally huffed. You just don't know you fell in love with Wu Lianlei, that's all!

"Though I suppose half a wit is better than none at all." By now they'd reached the foot of Black Frost Peak, where Li Hanlan paused to look up the summit. When Wu Lianlei didn't reply immediately, he scoffed. "What now, is it taking time for your brain to process my words?"

"Li Hanlan! You're nothing like the descriptions at all!" Wu Lianlei exclaimed after a moment of helplessness. 'Warm as the sun, mild as the breeze, the gentleman with a countenance of jade and the nobleness of an orchid.' Hah, it's all a front!

"Descriptions? Whose?" Li Hanlan only chuckled back. "No one can understand another person perfectly. Aren't you a walking contradiction yourself?"

Wu Lianlei looked up at him in silence.

"Pretty, fragile, prone to tears. You haven't been any of these since I caught you cursing up a storm."

Midway into her rebuttal Wu Lianlei felt herself jolt at his words. I understand the second two, but what's with the first? Don't you know I'll be the Number 1 Beauty in all the cultivation sects one day?!

"Naturally, a true beauty is faultless inside and out." As if reading her mind, Li Hanlan finished with self-satisfied commentary.

Wu Lianlei's mouth twitched. "Then I'm sorry to say that you've grown uglier, too."

Li Hanlan only shook his head, amused. He stopped walking and headed for a tree, taking a convenient seat beneath its canopy of branches. Wu Lianlei stared at him, wondering what was up now.

"Aren't you heading up the mountain?"

"Absolutely. But there's no point in making master repeat herself when we can wait for the hothead to find us first." Li Hanlan peered at the skies, seeing that the clouds were clearing up. "What a monster, she's already done."

Wu Lianlei's head snapped back towards Vermillion Peak at the same time a blurry figure streaked towards them from the skies. With the airways so empty during the lightning storm, this could be none other than her senior sister, Wu Yelin. Moments later, the culprit braked to a stop before them and hopped off her swords before clipping them to her waist.

"Lei Lei, Brother Li," she beamed at them both, her long ponytail bobbing with her nod. "I heard Peak Lord Situ was looking for me?"

"She's looking for all of us, as a matter of fact." Li Hanlan tossed her a bunch of mulberries from his arms while dumping the rest of it into Wu Lianlei's basket. "Take a break, we're in no rush."

"It's all right, I'm fine," Wu Yelin was sparkling almost as bright as the reflection off her armor. What would typically be soldier's gear served a special purpose for the girl. From what Wu Lianlei remembered, this armor was a great cultivation treasure, although she forgot about its special effects after the first dozen or so chapters. 

"Then take a break for my sake since I've just sat down," Li Hanlan drawled. 

"I could carry you," Wu Yelin laughed easily as she tossed a mouthful of mulberries into her mouth. "Maybe even both of you--I've got strength enough!"

She was two years older than Wu Lianlei and nearly as tall as Li Hanlan. What she lacked in feminine grace, she made up for with a free and easy personality. Her face had a heroic air with arching brows and a high forehead, and when she smiled, her eyes sparkled like the crisp flickers of evening firelight.

"You monster, did you take a nap or pass a tribulation?" Li Hanlan gazed at her with incredulity.

"Hahaha! As if anyone could sleep through that racket. And it's always so itchy when the lightning bolts strike..." Absently, Wu Yelin scratched the nape of her neck as if recalling the sensation.

Li Hanlan and Wu Lianlei exchanged glances. Treating heavenly tribulation as a noisy, itchy racket...

Wu Yelin, you're something else.

Senior sister, it's no wonder you're the female lead...although, this feels off somehow...

"It was harder than expected to push past the fifth level bottleneck," Wu Yelin carried on. "Brother Li, how long did it take you to reach seventh rank?"

To put it simply, there were a full nine levels of cultivation available in the mortal realms, each with upper, middle, and lower divisions. Once in a thousand years, there might emerge a talent capable of reaching 10th rank--the level of demi-gods. Anything beyond that was the realm of the divine. According to the novel, even Wu Yelin had reached mid-tier ninth rank at best.

Both Li Hanlan and Wu Lianlei's faces now turned black at her query.

Monster! Somehow, that question pisses me off!

Cultivation maniac! If she closes herself up in that cave again, we'll miss out on all the important plotlines!

At the same time Wu Lianlei reached forward to grab her sister's hand, Li Hanlan rose to his feet. Both of them had the same goal in mind: get this girl away from cultivation topics at all costs!

--

As their names implied, the four peaks of Skyedge Sect corresponded to the Four Symbols of Chinese mythology. Black Frost Peak was a homage to the Black Turtle of the North, and each of its peak lords were skilled in the elemental mastery of Water. 

Black Frost for Water in the north, White Jade for Metal in the west, Vermillion for Fire in the south, and Azure for Wood in the east. In the center of them all laid the Golden Pagoda for Earth, where the sect leader stayed. All cultivators had affinities for different elements, although some had finer focus such as Li Hanlan's ice skills. It was the primary reason why Peak Lord Situ Xuanshuang (司徒玄霜) had taken him in as her core disciple. Wu Yelin followed the Vermilion Peak Lord and his specialization of Fire, though she often sought Peak Lord Situ for assistance to master her equally versatile Water powers. As Azure Peak had no peak lord, Wood element disciples studied under various elders in the sect as their master. For plot purposes, white lotus Wu Lianlei had been taken in by Peak Lord Qin of White Jade mountain soon after she entered the sect. His speciality was Metal--specifically, lightning.

Peak Lord Situ was the youngest of the trio leading the sect, but gifted with an admirable self-possession that made her wise beyond her years. An incident in the past had injured her eyes and made them sensitive to light, so she always wore a bandage to protect them from the sun. Despite this, there were no traces of weakness emanating from the petite woman with long dark hair and a white fox fur pelt draped across her shoulders as she stood waiting for them outside her hall. 

As the trio approached, she turned without fail towards Li Hanlan and remarked, "Had enough fun?"

"Enough to get back into business, master." Li Hanlan clasped his hands and bowed politely with a cheeky grin. Wu Lianlei and her sister soon followed suit.

"Greetings to Peak Lord Situ."

"Apologies to Peak Lord Situ for the wait!" 

Approving of their attitude, Peak Lord Situ gave a nod. "Come inside."

Each of the peak lords had their residences atop the peak, consisting of a lone pagoda and some freestanding buildings. Peak Lord Situ favored wide open, airy spaces and soft light, while her walkways had the interesting additional of a small waterway that ran along its edge, just outside the banisters. Water flowed continuously through the miniature canal to surround the entire building, its ebb and flow serving as a guide for Situ Xuanshuang as she traveled through her halls. Once inside the pagoda, the group was treated to the sound of trickling water in the dark, cool rooms--one of the previous peak lords had made space for miniature waterfalls in the official residence, which cascaded between free-floating rock formations suspended around the main stairway. 

Situ Xuanshuang led them to a room on the second floor, where a young attendant had already set the table with tea. After a few more civilities, the peak lord unfurled a bamboo scroll on the table before gliding her finger over the surface. Instantly, the ink written on the wood peeled itself off to float in the air, shimmering slightly. This was elementary manipulation of water, used by Situ Xuanshuang to sense and "read" the characters in lieu of her eyes.

"A request for help has come from our branch disciples," Situ Xuanshuang began. "Something's been attacking the residents at Hengchun Village and caused three of our disciples to go missing. I'd like you all to resolve things there."

A light bulb flashed on in Wu Lianlei's head as she sat up straight. There it was!

Hengchun Village, the female lead's first mission out of Skyedge Sect!

Of course, Wu Yelin had gone on other missions in the past, but that was with her master. This would mark her first foray into the secular world with only fellow disciples by her side. The task itself wasn't very hard, and served the purpose of introducing the world to the novel readers and generating some affection points between Wu Yelin and Li Hanlan. Wu Lianlei had tagged along as well, but this was back during her pure 'white lotus' stage, so all she had to do was look pretty and not get in the way.

Li Hanlan creased his brows as he listened to Situ Xuanshuang brief them on the mission details. "Something like this..." he trailed off after she was finished. "Does it really need three core disciples to finish the job?"

Situ Xuanshuang's unseeing gaze rested firmly on Li Hanlan's face. "Certainly not. Even one of you is enough, although it'd cost more time."

"Then how about Wu Yelin and I go instead?" Li Hanlan suggested. "Little junior sister's only mid-tier fourth rank, she can stay and cultivate a bit longer."

Well, well, Li Hanlan! Pushing me out of the picture to get more time with your eventual crush! Wu Lianlei mentally huffed. Of course she supported their happiness, but this was a peak lord's hall, not some lovers' quarters! Where was his propriety at a time like this?

"Lianlei can come with you two to gain experience. This is Peak Lord Qin's wish as well. That aside--" Situ Xuanshuang paused before retrieving something else from her sleeve. "Strange phenomenon have been cropping up all across the continent. Some say that the demon realms have started to stir again, but I won't buy into such rumors without proof."

She set the object on a table--a broken jade slip, used for communications between sect members.

"The owner of this slip was one of the missing sect members, but his message only reached us recently. Traces of demonic qi were found on the fragments. Beyond a search and rescue mission, I'd like you to investigate the story behind his slip. We of all people cannot afford to be lax."

As a righteous sect, they had the responsibility to defend the human world and stop all attempts by the ghosts and demons of the underworld to crawl their way up. Demonic qi had long vanished after the demon world was sealed away, so it was rare to see it floating about the surface world.

In other words, the plot's still on track! Wu Lianlei wasn't perturbed. This had happened in the novel too, and the results had connected them to a long term storyline that was building up to unleash the trapped demons by the time she was sucked into this book. Li Hanlan hadn't even argued against her tagging along back then; he should be convinced to give up by now, right?

Instead, he picked up the broken jade slip and gave a snort. "They're certainly trying their best to attract our attention."

Hm? What's with this new development?

-ooo-

 

• Senior Sister - Wu Yelin (吳烨霖)
• Black Frost Peak Lord - Situ Xuanshuang (司徒玄霜) 
• Series Opening Theme:《翩躚》 by Tacke竹桑.