I Have a Bronze Bell

The wind over Qingyun Town, blowing across the roof of Liu's Grain Shop that night, was never the same wind again. Sixteen-year-old street kid Zhang Ge climbed onto the roof for a bite to eat and made off with half a bag of spirit rice—but that theft dragged out a bloody case: a bloodstained jade slip, black-clad men called "immortals," a pill-shop owner who smiled at everyone, and a town-sealing plaque at the town gate declaring "the whole town shares the guilt." He should have run. But the mark on the jade slip was identical to the one in the letter left by his father, missing for years; and the old bronze bell he never took off his chest burned like a branding iron at the moment of life and death. He took on the mess his parents left him—investigate the spirit rice, investigate the immortals, investigate just who this bronze bell rings for. So he talked his way into the outer sect of the Qingyun Sect, starting as a sweeping menial, took a slovenly drunkard as his master, and learned a breath-suppressing art that doesn't rely on spirit roots. But the waters of the immortal sect run deeper than any well in town: blood spirit rice feeds something no one can name, an old case from thirty years ago remains unresolved, and the prize for first place in the outer sect tournament turns out to be his father's relic. The bell rings three times, and the well opens. When half a token at the waist of a fair-faced scholar appears on the tournament stage, Zhang Ge knows that he, a rat who burrowed into the immortal sect, has poked a hole in the sky—and this is only the beginning. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: I Have a Bronze Bell — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠