“Stay there! And don't move!” demanded Yuelong, pointing a bamboo stick at the teen.

Xiao-Kai stood there in a horse stance, with his fists by his waist. His muscles trembled from how long he had had to hold this stance. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the soil. He clenched his teeth, enduring the aching pain in his thighs and back. I can't hold this much longer… No, no! I can do this!

Yuelong watched from the front porch. His face was expressionless, but he still felt pity for for the quivering teen nevertheless. He stood up from the chair and walked up to Xiao-Kai.

Thwack!

Yuelong whipped the back of the boy's knees. “Hold steady! Tighten your muscles!”

Every muscle, tendon, and bone in Xiao-Kai strained as he focused on getting his knees to lock in place with whatever energy he had left over. He felt as if he was going to combust, and his body was so drenched in sweat that his clothes were glued onto him. Even the ground under him had become dark in colour from all the perspiration that had dripped down from him. He swallowed, only to instantly regret it as his parched throat seized. This was his first day of training, and it felt like hell.

Yuelong scrutinized his form. Satisfied, he said, “Good. You can relax now.”

The words rang like the sound of sizzling hot roast meat in Xiao-Kai’s ears, with how relieved he felt. At the realization that he had just completed his first session of—what he suspected to be extreme—physical training, he felt satisfaction wash over him. He then tried standing up straight, but all of a sudden, his knees buckled under him, and he started to fall face forwards towards the ground. But a tug from his collar stopped him at the last moment, pulling him back up onto his feet. “Careful,” his teacher said, before dismissing him. “You're free until tonight.”

Yuelong walked back into the house, reflecting. The tedious training that he was putting Xiao-Kai through was just the basics of the Qianyang Sect method. It was training that developed the strength and stamina of the cultivator, and it would prepare them for more advanced techniques. Yuelong recalled how awful his first disciple’s face looked just earlier and sighed. I’m doing this for your own good, Xiao-Kai. 

Xiao-Kai sat down beside the small pond in their front yard. He leaned his back against a towering bamboo stalk and stared blankly into the waters. His legs felt nonexistent, like he had never even had legs in the first place. He pulled them up towards his chest, curling up into a ball. His thighs were sore and aching. He had never felt this way before. Do I have to do this every single day? Can I really endure this!? He sighed at the thought of another round of horse stance.

“Are you going to spend the rest of the day just sitting there?”

Xiao-Kai was startled by the sudden call. He whipped his head around and saw Yuelong at the window of the house, waving a hand and signalling for him to come over.

Pushing through the soreness of his body, the teen slowly stood up and began walking back towards the house. His legs trembled more and more with every step he took. He sighed. All I want right now is some soft straw to lie on… My back! My thighs!!!

Yuelong watched the limping teen approach the house. Though he wasn’t showing anything, he was smiling on the inside at the sight. It was like watching a baby bird trying to walk instead of fly.

Oh my lord! This feels so terrible! Xiao-Kai was now taking his time trying to conquer the stairs. Walking on flat ground was bad enough, but the stairs! God! Why do stairs exist? At last, he reached the top of the four-step stairs, which, to Xiao-Kai, felt like four straight days of endless aching.

Yuelong walked inside, and Xiao-Kai followed. A delicious scent caught Xiao-Kai’s nose, and his stomach growled. He had been so focused on the pain in his body that he hadn’t realized how hungry he was. On the table was a plate of roast rabbit. The fat was still sizzling on the golden-brown meat. He ogled at it with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

Yuelong held out a stack of neatly folded robes. “Before you dig in, change.” They were robes that he had bought a couple of days ago, before they found the bamboo house.

Xiao-Kai nodded, took the stack of robes, and began to take off his clothes. The clothes he had been wearing were wet with sweat, but surprisingly, they didn't stink.

“Your clothes don’t stink because of the forest,” Yuelong explained. “The bamboos themselves have a faint fragrance that lingers in the air. It counters the stench from your sweat.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Mhm.”

Xiao-Kai quickly changed into the fresh set of clothes and sat down at the table. He made a grab for the rabbit’s thigh and bit into it. Savoury juices burst out in his mouth and oozed down his chin. The flavour of the roast meat filled his body with warmth and delight. Within a few moments, he finished wolfing down an entire rabbit leg.

“Slow down. You'll choke yourself.” Yuelong advised, smiling on the inside. He really does remind me of you, Lanyue. He even eats like you. 

Yuelong watched Xiao-Kai finish his second rabbit leg. The teen’s hands—and even his face—were covered with grease and bits of charred meat.

Xiao-Kai noticed the look on Yuelong's face. His teacher’s eyes peered blankly past him, deep in thought.

“Ge? Ge?”

“Hm?”

“You looked like you were thinking of something,” Xiao-Kai said.

“I was just thinking of…” Yuelong shook his head. “No, it's nothing.”

“Was it… Lanyue?”

Yuelong looked at the teen in surprise. “How do you know that name?”

“Well, ge, you mistook me for Lanyue, remember?”

“Oh.” The images of that night returned to Yuelong’s mind. He smiled. “Right.”

“So, who is this Lanyue?”

Yuelong sighed and smiled. I guess you have a right to know. After all, you are my first disciple. And you two are very much alike. 

“He is my shi-di, Nan Jingfeng. Lanyue is his given name.”

“Shi-di?”

“Yes, shi-di is the term we use to address fellow sect disciples who are younger than us.”

“Ge, you're a part of a sect?” Xiao-Kai looked at Yuelong with an astonished expression.

“Yes. I am from the Qianyang Sect. And so was Lanyue.”

“I wonder where Jingfeng is.”

Yuelong sighed. “I want to know too,” he said, trusting the instincts that told him that the man was still alive. “But ever since he left Qianyang Summit, he was never the same. And I never understood him anymore.”

“Why did he leave?”

Yuelong looked at the teen. Maybe it might be good if I told him about Lanyue. He isn't biased, and he might be able to judge the situation from a different perspective.

“He didn't leave of his own will. He was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped!?”

“Yes. We were on a mission to settle a demonic cult. But on our way back afterwards, we were ambushed by members of the Bi An Sect. They overwhelmed us, and poisoned us. And they took Lanyue away.

“We searched for him for years. Later, we heard news that a new demonic lord had risen. We found out then that it was Lanyue himself who had ascended the throne of the Bi An Sect.

“Lanyue used to be a really kind person. But after he became the demonic lord, he turned cold and cruel. He ordered the killings of many cultivation disciples and wiped out an entire town.”

“An entire town!? That's terrible! How did he become this way? Maybe he was possessed by a demon like that Daoist was!”

“Maybe.”

A puzzling thought came to Yuelong's mind. Maybe he is right. I believe Cangming did sense the presence of Lanyue, the day I encountered Xiao-Kai. And it was also that same day that the snake spirit revealed itself. It seemed to know about me… Could Lanyue have anything to do with this?

Xiao-Kai was desperately curious about the whereabouts of Yuelong's shi-di. This was the first time in his life he felt comfortable asking questions like this. Before, when Xiao-Kai still roamed the streets, he only knew how to fear. Passers-by looked down on him. Store owners, who thought Xiao-Kai would bring them bad luck, physically harassed him. There had been no one he could really talk to, no one he dared to ask. But now, he did.

“Where do you think Jingfeng is now?”

“I'm not sure. I want to search for him, but I don't know where to start. And even then, I'm not sure if he actually wants to see me.” Yuelong replied. Does Lanyue hate me? That day, when he fell off the cliff—the hate in his face…! I failed to rescue him from the demon sect. He must hate me for it.

The relaxed atmosphere in the room quickly turned sunken and melancholy. Noticing the change in Yuelong, Xiao-Kai pushed the plate of roast rabbit towards him.

“Ge, I'm full. You can have the rest.”

Yuelong smiled at the boy, and the mood in the room instantly lifted. “No, it's alright.” He paused to think. “You know, let's go to town to exchange some money.”

The noontime sun gradually moved down towards the horizon, settling at the edge of the landscape. Orange and purple sunlight now shone through the green and yellow leaves of the early autumn forest. Stalks of bamboo moved subtly in the wind, their shade like characters in a shadow play. The teacher and his disciple walked back towards their house from their trip to the nearest town. The teen held a bag of coins in his right hand, while in his left he carried a bag of vegetables. The game they had caught earlier in the day had just proved to be very much welcome in the village they visited. Despite the soreness in his arms, the teen happily shook the bag of coins and listened to the clattering.

“Do not be attached to worldly materials, Xiao-Kai,” Yuelong warned. “It will only hinder your cultivation.”

“Yes, ge.”

After a quick dinner of radish soup and roast meat, Yuelong sat down on the bed and called Xiao-Kai to him.

“Tonight, I will teach you the Qianyang meditation method. It will let you collect the natural energies of the world, and it will help with your physical training as well.”

Xiao-Kai nodded and sat down on the bed opposite of Yuelong. Following Yuelong's directions, Xiao-Kai propped his legs one on top of the other, folding himself into a double lotus position.

He instantly felt the discomfort of the position his legs were in. On top of the soreness of his muscles, there was now also the unnatural feeling of having to sit in this meditational position. He desperately wanted to stand up and straighten his legs, but, at Yuelong's glance, he decided against the idea.

“Now close your eyes and relax your entire body,” instructed Yuelong. “Feel like you are sitting in a void. Let your mind blend into nothing.”

Xiao-Kai did as he was told. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. The uncomfortable feeling gradually faded into nothing. Wow! This is so magical! I don't feel it anymore! He imagined that everything around him was gone, that he was sitting in nothing. A very warm and comfortable feeling gradually washed over his body. It was like sitting in a warm and cozy bed, all soft and comfortable. This feels so good. I want to sleep now…

Thwack!

Xiao-Kai jolted up from the position that he had drooped into, opening his eyes to see the angry expression on Yuelong's face. In Yuelong’s hand was the bamboo stick that he had used to hit the bed frame and wake his disciple up.

“Don't fall asleep. You won't attain any natural energy like that. You must blend your mind into the surroundings, not fall asleep in it. Again.”

Yuelong watched as Xiao-Kai closed his eyes and settled into the state of meditation once more. Achieving a meditative state in the double lotus position is no easy feat, with how physically and mentally taxing the position is. People new to cultivation aren’t normally able to see past the pain this quickly and easily. This kid truly is a natural.

Yuelong closed his own eyes as well, calming his mind down into the state of tranquility. But an uneasy feeling suddenly washed over him. He opened his eyes and looked out the window into the night. Something doesn't seem right.

A huge shadow flew across the canopy of the bamboo forest. Like the wind, its movement was subtle.

Yuelong quickly leapt out of the window and started chasing after the gliding thing. In the bluish moonlight, he realized that what he was chasing was a sedan. And on the back of the flying sedan, there was the symbol of a spider lily.

The Bi An Sect!? Lanyue!