Chapter 35: Civil and Martial Trials (Part 2): Why Did You Leave Me Behind Again?

As soon as someone mentioned it, Shang Shan instantly perked up and accused, “Yeah, she beat me up several more times. She was even afraid I’d fight back, so she used some magical tool to restrain me. Take a look.”

She shook out her sleeve and extended her hand. Sure enough, there were marks around her wrist. “This person just relies on being older and knowing magical power to bully me. Once I start cultivating and get stronger, I’ll see what she does then!”

Panxiang Yin said, “Age doesn’t matter. In the path of cultivation, talent comes first, diligence second. If your talent is sufficient and you work hard, you might catch up to your master in just a few years.”

Shang Shan said, “That’s for sure. But even now, in hand-to-hand combat, she’s no match for me at all! Don’t believe me? Ask her yourself. She knows it too, so she never spars with me.”

Panxiang Yin chuckled lightly and walked into the room. “Your master often went hungry as a child, which damaged her foundation. She hasn’t recovered after all these years, so her body has always been frail. It’s normal that she can’t beat you.”

“Hm?” Shang Shan had never heard this before. She froze for a moment before jumping down from the edge of the pool. “How could she go hungry? There’s so much to eat…”

Only after she said it did she remember that not everyone was like her, able to eat anything—even the weeds and stones by the river could fill her stomach when hungry. When people got hungry, they really could starve to death.

Following Panxiang Yin inside, Shang Shan caught sight of the woman’s slender side profile. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to that night on Sweet Spring Mountain when she, in a fit of rage, had lunged forward and pinned the person in her arms with all four limbs.

When she buried her head and bit down, she had tightened her arms, nearly getting jabbed by the bones of the person in her embrace. So skinny, without a bit of flesh—just bones. How much strength could she have?

No wonder.

While she was lost in thought, Mu Qian Tan was completely unaware. Seeing people enter, she stood and bowed. “Greetings… Godmother.”

She had never used this form of address before, so her first time saying it came out a bit stuttered. Fortunately, she had no particular attachment to the word “mother,” so after a brief hesitation, she still said it.

Panxiang Yin said, “Sit down.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Yes.”

Shang Shan was still mulling things over, so her steps lagged. By the time Panxiang Yin sat down behind the table, she dawdled back to Mu Qian Tan’s side.

With the person right in front of her, she still couldn’t imagine this fierce woman going hungry as a child, so she couldn’t help but keep looking. Her gaze drifted back and forth—wanting to look but not, looking then quickly withdrawing, hesitant and fidgety.

Mu Qian Tan turned her head. “What are you fidgeting about? Possessed by a ghost?”

All the words Shang Shan wanted to say caught in her throat. She drooped her head and fell silent.

The two little immortal children stood on either side of Panxiang Yin, bent down to place the scrolls and bamboo slips they carried, stacking them in order of priority. They occasionally confirmed with each other, their movements perfectly in sync—clearly accustomed to this task.

Panxiang Yin set down the balance scale in her palm and watched as the two pans balanced before saying, “You’ve been very obedient lately, coming to see me on schedule. Much better than before when you hid in the Narrow Sea every day.”

Mu Qian Tan lowered her gaze slightly and said nothing. Panxiang Yin asked again, “What did you discover on this trip?”

Mu Qian Tan leaned forward, a few strands of inky hair spilling from her shoulder. “Sorry, nothing.”

Shang Shan’s hands itched to help tuck the hair back, but meeting the woman’s cold gaze, she withdrew her hand and gripped her ankle while looking elsewhere.

Panxiang Yin said, “No need to apologize. It was never an easy task. You’ve worked hard.”

Mu Qian Tan shook her head. “No. The letter has been delivered.”

Panxiang Yin paused slightly and was silent for a moment before asking, “How is she…?”

How? What should she be like? What would be normal? Mu Qian Tan didn’t know any of it, so she could only answer, “As usual.”

Panxiang Yin spread her palm over the paper, as if unconsciously rubbing it lightly. After a long while, she said, “Good.”

She didn’t press for details, sparing Mu Qian Tan from making up more. She relaxed a bit and pushed those few strands of hair behind her back with the back of her hand. This small action drew the gaze of the Brain-Damaged Dragon beside her again, which drifted unsteadily before fixing on one spot.

The woman had a pair of perfectly painted phoenix eyes that could gather tenderness with a slight close, but unfortunately, her gaze was cold and lackluster. Still, the red mole at the corner of her eye remained striking, faintly visible, fanning the flames.

Anyway, she was idle, and Shang Shan’s original intent was to see just how much thinner she had gotten—to see the impact of not being able to afford food in her youth. That was why her gaze kept wandering restlessly.

But as the woman brushed her hair aside, her gaze focused on that irrelevant spot: the red mole.

She suddenly returned to the fire scene. The cracking sounds of the burning beams exploded in her ears again, and her cheeks burned hot as if scorched.

Besides there, she had actually discovered another place with the same tiny red moles recently. Under the moonlight, in the bone-chilling Cold Spring, on the collarbone wrapped by lips and teeth, there were two such sharp little red moles.

Maybe there were others elsewhere on her body?

Her brief stare drew the woman’s attention, and a pair of cold black eyes entered her vision. Shang Shan jolted, knowing she should look away immediately or get beaten. But her neck felt rusted; she couldn’t turn.

Mu Qian Tan caught her peeking red-handed, and this person still didn’t avert her gaze. Thinking it was a provocation, while Panxiang Yin was deep in thought, she reached out and viciously pinched the girl’s leg.

Like being electrocuted, Shang Shan straightened her back. Her scream nearly burst out but was swallowed back down. Her face twisted as she madly rubbed her thigh, baring her teeth.

The sharp pain dispersed all illusions, and as Shang Shan rubbed the sore spot, she discovered something.

Even though the great fire in her memory had long extinguished, her face was still burning hot.

Oh no, had her fever not gone down yet?

Shang Shan frantically rubbed her cheeks, tested her forehead with the back of her hand, pressed her palm to her neck—doing everything to check her temperature, trying to find the reason for the heat.

Taking in all her actions, Mu Qian Tan thought to herself: Has this Brain-Damaged Dragon mutated? Possessed by a monkey?

Behind Panxiang Yin, the two little immortal children who had witnessed everything kept their eyes on their noses and noses to their hearts, pretending to see nothing as they watched from afar.

With the incense smoke curling, Panxiang Yin finally seemed to snap out of it and said, “What’s this about?”

“Nothing,” Mu Qian Tan resumed her cold demeanor. “May I ask where to patrol next?”

The next main storyline location was within the sect, and travel wasn’t suitable for the coming period. She wanted to ask the location first, then find an excuse to postpone it later, so she could stay.

Unexpectedly, Panxiang Yin said, “The prophecy isn’t entirely true either. Don’t push yourself too hard. Besides, so many others are handling it. Don’t treat every little thing like a major crisis. The Civil and Martial Trials are two months away. We’ll discuss the next patrol after the trials end.”

It hit right what she wanted, so Mu Qian Tan naturally wouldn’t refuse. “As Godmother says.”

Shang Shan had been rubbing her face to cool down when her ears twitched. She asked, “Trials?”

Panxiang Yin said, “It’s an exam. You don’t know?”

Shang Shan shook her head. “No.”

The Civil and Martial Trials were a major exam held by Tianyu Sect every three years, set by the sect master and several hall masters, divided into civil and martial categories.

The civil included a century of Immortal Realm history, records of demon exorcism, and such, mainly testing mastery of foundational cultivation knowledge. The martial included qi control, trials, rankings, and more, to examine spiritual power usage and combat experience. With numerous subjects and high difficulty, it greatly challenged disciples’ comprehensive abilities.

The exam grounds were open to outsiders; disciples from other sects and clans could participate too. It was one way to inspect cultivation results, so it was always grand. If any disciple performed outstandingly, the news would spread throughout the Immortal Realm instantly—a great chance to become famous, important for both disciples and the sect.

Normally, preparations for the next one began right after one ended, yet with two months left, Shang Shan still didn’t know about it.

Panxiang Yin’s gaze sharpened slightly. It seemed this master-disciple relationship was even more tense than it appeared.

Seeing her serious expression, Shang Shan asked, “Is this exam important?”

“It’s a long story. Go back later and have your master explain it to you.” Panxiang Yin chuckled. “By the way, I rushed back today and forgot to feed the fish. Go help me out. The fish food is by the pool; look for it.”

Just wanting to go out for some air, Shang Shan agreed readily, scrambled up, and ran out the door.

As soon as she left, Panxiang Yin’s tone grew slightly more solemn as she softly called, “Yao’e.”

Clearly, there was something to discuss. Mu Qian Tan instinctively straightened her back and responded, “Here.”

Panxiang Yin said, “Each master-disciple pair has their own way of getting along. Whether you beat or scold your disciple, I won’t interfere. But as a teacher, you should at least fulfill the basic duty of instruction. On the path to immortality, you should lead your disciple onto the immortal road. The Civil and Martial Trials are very important for new disciples. You shouldn’t ignore it and let her miss the opportunity.”

“By the small, one can see the big. Surely you haven’t properly taught her on a regular basis either?”

“Yao’e, I don’t know why you suddenly decided to take a disciple, but since you did, you must know how heavy the words ‘master’ carry. They encompass the disciple’s respect and the master’s grace—it’s not something that ends with a couple of calls. You must take responsibility. Understand?”

There was no strong rebuke in her tone; it even grew gentler toward the end. Yet it still felt like a mountain pressing on her shoulders, making it hard to lift her head, even bending her back slightly.

Though Mu Qian Tan didn’t fully agree in her heart, she wouldn’t retort at this moment. She leaned forward and said, “Sorry, it’s my fault.”

Silence hung overhead for a moment before Panxiang Yin’s breathy laugh came. Her voice lifted a bit. “Alright, I’m not lecturing you. Why look so aggrieved?”

“…” Huh? Who was aggrieved?

Mu Qian Tan didn’t think she showed such an expression, so she said, “I’m not.”

Panxiang Yin fiddled with the balance scale and sighed. “My intent was to tell you not to underestimate the bond between master and disciple. The path of cultivation is long and lonely. Often, the one accompanying you to the end isn’t family or friends, but the disciple who keeps pace with you. So, don’t waste a good karmic fate.”

Being killed by being written into the disciple’s belly—where was the good karmic fate in that? Mu Qian Tan was silent for a moment before saying softly, “I understand.”

When she left the room, Shang Shan was still by the pool teasing the fish, her shoulders shaking with laughter as the fish chased each other. Who knew what was so fun about it.

Almost every time they met Panxiang Yin since their first encounter, she had shown care and concern. This was the first time she’d been lectured, and the fuse was that Brain-Damaged Dragon.

Mu Qian Tan was already displeased in her heart. Seeing her so happy only made her more irritated. Without calling her, she left Small Mountain Hall directly.

A gust of wind brushed past behind her. Noticing Mu Qian Tan leaving, Shang Shan hurried to catch up. “Wait for me! Wait for me!”

Seeing that the person didn’t even slow down, heading farther and farther without mercy, she angrily shouted, “Stinky Flopping Moth, why did you leave me behind again?!”