“Li-Li! Over here, come quick!”

Li Mei put down her scrolls quickly and ran towards the young woman who was beckoning at her to come over. She bowed down to greet her.

“Liu-shijie¹Shijie - Elder disciple sister. Not related by blood., what is it?”

“Li-Li, I’m sorry to trouble you, but lately we’ve been short of hands,” said the young woman, taking out a large wrapped parcel. “I hope you can be a good shimei²Shimei - Younger disciple sister. Not related by blood. and go to the base of Spring Jade Mountain to help our da-shijie³Da-shijie - eldest martial sister. out by bringing her some things she needs. She’s gone there with Min Yi to Green Dew Cave, but I think having more people around would be helpful, so I’ve sent them a talisman message already. It’s not too dangerous around the base, but be careful all the same. They should know you’re coming.”

“Yes, I’ll go,” Li Mei nodded. “Shijie, you can leave it to me.”

“Thank you! You’re a dear,” came the bright and smiling answer – and off Li Mei went to the mountains to look for her elder disciple sisters.

Li Mei had been cultivating since she was a little girl in the immortal mountains. She followed a natural path as ordained by the sect she worshipped, and was trained in martial arts at a peak for young women. Overall, the sect was a peaceful and pleasant one, and all her disciple brothers and sisters whether from the same peak or others treated each other well, even if they sometimes argued over petty things.

The girl tempered her breathing and skipped over the large rocks lying in her way like a grasshopper in spring. The leaves and flowers were beautiful around this time of the year, and soon she reached the base of the mountain and stopped at the mouth of Green Dew Cave.

“Shijie? Hu Die-shijie? Min Yi-shijie?” she called, but no one answered.

At this, Li Mei craned her neck and started to poke around the area, looking for clues.

“That’s strange,” she said to herself. “Liu-shijie said that they knew I was coming. Perhaps I should just go inside to see if they’re alright.”

Li Mei walked into the cave carefully. Its interior looked mostly untouched, but to her surprise, on one side there stood a small wooden table with a candlelit lamp. Li Mei eyed it curiously.

“Does someone… live here?”

As she walked on she came to a natural chamber. Peering in, she saw books and scrolls lying on the floor. The rest were all stacked together and packed tightly in makeshift shelves on the cave walls. Picking a book titled ‘Beastman Cultivation’ up, she opened it and began to look through its contents.

“……!!!!!!”

Li Mei nearly dropped the book in shock. What was this? In the book was a picture of a large young man shaped like a tiger draped all over another young man who looked half like a deer, stuffing his enormous jade pillar into a very Yang cavern at the back of two furry mountains.

But again, what was this? Why… why was it that she couldn’t put the book down?

Why was it that she couldn’t stop reading?

Li Mei breathed deeply. Flecks of light began to shine around her like fireflies. They swirled as the entered her body and her sleeves started to flutter around although there was no breeze. Shutting her eyes, she allowed them to seep into her meridians and enter her spirit core.

Opening her eyes, she breathed out some impure air.

Li Mei had just cultivated! The girl stared at the book in her hands in wonder. Somehow, this manual was easy to digest, and she had advanced faster just grasping the point of them, compared to her other cultivation manuals…

“Li-Li?” came a gentle voice behind her, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Min Yi-shijie!” Startled, Li Mei spun around and quickly hid the book behind her back. “I came to look for you. Shijie, I apologize for overstepping. I called but nobody came to the cave entrance, so I got worried and came inside.”

“It’s alright,” said Min Yi, smiling her usual calm and gentle smile. “Anyway, our da-shijie will be here soon. Speaking of which, Li-Li, somehow you seem to have advanced a little from when we last met this morning. Did something happen?”

“I…” Li Mei faltered – but overall she was an honest girl and never liked to tell lies. Bowing deeply, she brought the book in front of her. “Shijie, I hope you won’t think lowly of me. I somehow managed to comprehend the methods in this book and…”

She blushed deeply. “I advanced…”

“With that book?” came another voice, sharp and firm. “From which perspective were you able to do so?”

Li Mei looked up and gasped. It was their eldest disciple sister, Hu Die!