I bow to the man in front of me. “Thank you for gracing our home with your presence, Elder Zhu Chen.”

He bows in response, the entourage behind him bowing towards me as well. “Your grace and beauty grow every time I see you, Little Miss Lin.” He rises from his bow, the men behind him doing the same. “I see that you have broken through and awakened your qi. The patriarch of the Lin family must be very proud.”

“I believe that is the reason my father called you here Elder.” I say, studying the man who had gone to battle with my great, great, grandfather. He barely looked forty, his cultivation so vast that my years on this planet were barely a drop in the ocean compared to his. A grey beard reaches his chest, his eyes staring at me with a wisdom unmatched in any gaze that I had seen before. “Please, Elder Zhu, my father waits for you inside.”  

I open the sliding door to a well lit room, all the candles having been lit by the servants. My father, Fang Lin, patriarch of the Lin family, bows to Elder Zhu.

Father’s grey hair hangs loosely around his shoulders, his grizzled and exhausted face showing a wan smile as he greets Elder Zhu.

Both men move to sit on their knees at a table, Elder Zhu’s entourage standing patiently at the entrance to the room.

I pour the tea that the servants had prepared in the traditional fashion for both of them.

 “All this ceremony, little brother Lin. Is it really necessary?” The Elder asks as he takes a sip of his tea. 

The thought of him calling a man that looked two centuries his senior “little brother” almost makes me laugh. I keep a straight face, knowing how important this is to my father.

“This matter is of the utmost importance to me Elder Zhu.” My father responds, calmly taking a sip of his tea. “If a little ceremony gets me what I need, then I will not hesitate.”

“Then tell me, what do you want? Although I can guess, considering your daughter’s presence here.” Elder Zhu says.

“Elder Zhu, I beg of you, please take my daughter into your sect.” My father lowers his head, almost touching his knees. “She has unlocked her qi and has entered the world of immortals, I no longer have the ability to protect her.” 

I stare at my father in shock, he had not told me the reason for Elder Zhu’s visit.

Elder Zhu looks into his cup thoughtfully. “You understand that even with her impressive speed in awakening her qi, I cannot guarantee her a place as an inner disciple. And you know well that the outer sect is no place for a young girl of barely twelve years.”

“I believe in my daughter, Elder Zhu. I do not just speak with the pride of a father. Already, her abilities in martial arts can match boys two years older than her. And the royal princess herself commented on my daughter’s grace at the imperial court.” A small amount of pride enters my father’s voice while I blush behind him. It is rare for my father to compliment me in such a manner.

“Why would you wish to give such a beautiful flower to the sect, Patriarch Lin?” The Elder asks, worry in his voice.

“She has caught the eye of an imperial prince. Elder Zhu, the great sects are the only people powerful enough to protect her from that man. Please, help me.”

A few hours later, I find myself sitting in a carriage, across from Elder Zhu. I stay quiet, not really sure what to say around such a powerful cultivator.

Everything was so… sudden. I remembered the way that the Imperial Prince had looked at me, but I’d never thought that my father would be unable to protect me from his lust. 

Why would my father send me away? The world is scary! And my father is the only one that can protect me from the world. At least I’d thought so.

“What is it that you hold in your arms, Little Miss Lin?” Elder Zhu interrupts my thoughts.

My arms tighten around the bound instrument. “It is the flute my mother gave me… A Dizi.”

“Do you play it?” 

I nod my head. Slowly, I move to unwrap it from the cloth surrounding it. “I-I haven’t had a chance to play it lately Elder Zhu, I may be a little rusty.”

Elder Zhu smiles warmly at me. “Then it is a good idea to practice it.” 

I gulp, before putting the flute to my lips. The Dizi is a flute that points to the side, so I scoot over slightly to prevent it from hitting the carriage. 

I take an unsteady breath, then I begin to play. I start out slow, playing an old sad tune that my mother had taught me. I change the song a little as my memory falters. Long drawn out notes, fill the inside of our carriage. 

The music reminds me of memories that I had vowed to never forget, of my mother. Of home. Of a strange joy tinged with sadness. I feel hands hold my own, guiding my fingers with a soft touch as I play through parts that I barely remember. I wonder why I chose this song. I know other songs by heart, but something had made me choose this one, the song that I had heard my mother play so long ago.

The sad notes finally reach their end, as the warmth of those hands on my own disappear. I put my flute down into my lap, only now noticing the tears running down my face.

I had lost so much and now my father is gone too. I can’t know if I will ever see him again.

The feeling of silk on my face brings me back to the present. Elder Zhu kindly wipes the tears away from my face with a kerchief. “Don’t worry Little Miss Lin. I will do my best to keep you safe.”

We sit in silence for a while after that, Elder Zhu is seemingly lost in thought, while I am too embarrassed from my crying to say anything.

Eventually, I fall asleep. My flute wrapped tightly in my arms.

 

***

 

“Little Miss Lin. It is time to wake up.” Someone shakes me gently, waking me from my dream. 

A small feeling of loss hits my gut as I remember the dream being about mother.

I open my eyes to look at Elder Zhu. He smiles at my sleepy expression. “Come on Little Miss Lin. Your father made sure that you would arrive here in time for the testing.” 

I rub my eyes blearily as I follow Elder Zhu out of the carriage. As soon as I step outside of the carriage, I stop. Beautiful waterfalls fall down the side of a huge mountain. A long staircase rises next to the rivers, leading up towards the gates of the sect. small bridges cross the river at various points creating a breathtaking framework of paths. 

It takes me a moment to notice that Elder Zhu’s entourage and I aren’t the only ones arriving at the sect. Various groups coming from all over the continent speak to each other, all of them having at least one younger member with them. Most of the teenagers are older than me, but a few are my age or even younger. 

Elder Zhu grabs my shoulder and points towards a man coming down the stairs. He wears the same blue and white robes as Elder Zhu, though not quite as ornate. The man looks a lot younger than Elder Zhu at around twenty five. His rare green eyes with the round shape common in northerners sparkle as he looks over the crowd gathered below him.

He moves his arm out in a welcoming gesture, the whole crowd going silent at his movement. “Welcome to the Flowing River Sect. I am Elder Yu. I will be your examiner. All you need to do in order to enter the sect as an outer disciple is be younger than twenty with awakened qi. If you wish to enter as an inner disciple, you must be younger than sixteen with awakened qi and you must pass the three tests given to you.” He folds his arms inside the sleeves of his robe. “For those wishing to be an inner disciple, please come to me.”

“Little Miss Lin.” Elder Zhu startles me. “You must take the test to be an inner disciple. If you wish, I will hold your instrument while you do.” 

I look down at the flute that I am still holding. Carefully, I hold it up to him. 

He grabs it, but I don’t let go. “Promise me that you will keep it safe.”

Elder Zhu looks down at me with a soft smile. “I will.” He says, his words going so far as to send a shiver through my qi.

I let go of my flute and bow to him. “I will be back soon, Elder Zhu.”

He nods to me. “I believe you will.”

I spin away from him. Taking a deep breath, I force my legs to walk to the Examiner. I have to become an inner disciple. Elder Zhu and my father’s words had made that clear. I will become an inner disciple. With as much courage as I can muster, I walk up the stairs to the Examiner.

The examiner waits patiently as a large portion of the people in the crowd walk up to him. 

Strange looks are sent my way by the teenagers around me. 

I know why. First, according to my father I am young to be entering a sect, no one is able to awaken their qi until they hit puberty and even then, it takes most people years after puberty to awaken, so twelve year old qi users are incredibly rare. The other reason is that I am a girl. Very few women enter the world of the immortals willingly. My gender and my age together make me an outsider.

The stares make me uncomfortable and I feel a slight blush reddening my face.

A squeal makes me look around in surprise as a girl around fourteen grabs my hands, “My goodness, you are adorable. What’s your name?”

“J-Jia Lin.” I answer fully blushing at the girl’s forwardness. 

The girl is dressed in the simple dress of a commoner, but that doesn’t stop her cuteness from showing through. She smiles at me, her soft brown eyes sparkling with joy. Brown hair falls down her shoulders in waves, surprising me with how silky it is. Commoners rarely kept their hair that clean.

“I am Jing Xia, call me Sister Xia. I was so scared that I wouldn’t find another girl here. But I never thought that I would find a beautiful jade such as you.” Jing Xia 

I open my mouth to respond, but I stop when I hear Elder Yu speak “The first test you must pass is an easy one. Simply walk up these stairs and enter through the gates of the sect.”

I look up at the stairs, then back at the examiner. The stairs looked easy to climb, I could reach the gate in five minutes. But tests are never that easy, Elder Yu must be tricking us somehow.

I looked at the front of the group as they rushed up the stairs, only to slow down and in some cases completely stop. Each step they took became harder. 

I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Jing Xia sends me a warm smile before she starts walking up the stairs. I take a deep breath and follow her.

After twenty steps, I feel a strange pressure. Another ten steps and the pressure increases. I keep pushing forward, until I get halfway up the stairs. Then I stop to catch my breath. The pressure is so intense I can barely move. I glare at Elder Yu.

He said this would be easy.

Pushing with all my might, I raise my foot and place it on the next step. I feel a little better about myself as I notice the other disciples having just as much trouble as I am.

I look forward, inwardly groaning. There must be at least another hundred steps. I turn my focus back to the stairs in front of me, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. Another ten steps and I fall to my knees. Growling with effort, I crawl forward. My papa needs me to reach the end, so I will reach the end! 

My arms give out underneath me and I start to cry. I’m going to fail papa and Elder Zhu. 

A soft touch on my arms interrupts me from the tears falling down my face. Gently, the small amount of qi inside me starts turning, circulating through my system. Relief fills my system as the pressure decreases.

Standing up slowly, I continue forward. I send a prayer to my mother as I wipe the tears from my face with my sleeve. A little bit of the makeup the servants had made me apply comes off of my face. I must look like a mess.

I sniffle and smile at the thought. I walk forward until the pressure increases to an unbearable level as I find myself ten steps away from the gates. But this time I will not falter. I will not fall to my knees like a common beggar. 

The circulation of my qi increases, straining against the boundaries of my meridians. I step forward until there are only five more steps. The temptation to fall to my knees overwhelms me, but I refuse. I take another step, the pressure turning to pain. 

A slight whimper escapes my mouth as I take yet another step, trembling as the pain almost makes me fall. 

Another step, cracking sounds come from my bones, but I do not falter. 

Another step, a snapping sound is heard from my right leg, I do not fall.

The final step, I put one foot forward stepping onto it, then I bring my broken leg up.

The pressure disappears, but I do not stop like many of my fellow disciples. The words of the examiner had been clear, you must climb up the stairs and enter the gate.

Pushing forward, the pain of my injuries still beating through my body, I walk through the gate. 

I reach the other side, relief filling my body. Then everything goes black as I fall to the floor.