The first lesson Tao Mian taught Er Ya was that there is no free lunch in this world.
“You have to learn to enjoy labor, Er Ya.”
Tao Mian had returned to his reclining chair, fanning himself in perfect comfort. His disciple Er Ya was nearby, splitting firewood, her face twisted in a grimace.
She wanted to bite a chunk out of him.
She had been wrong. So very wrong. If she hadn’t gotten lost, she never would have come to Peach Blossom Mountain.
If she hadn’t come to Peach Blossom Mountain, she never would have stolen that chicken.
If she hadn’t stolen that chicken, she never would have been caught by Tao Mian.
If she hadn’t been caught by Tao Mian, she never would have been forced into a twelve-hour work schedule.
All that talk of five-star treatment and luxurious living-lies!
The only one enjoying anything was Tao Mian himself!
“Impatient child. You think Master is enjoying himself? Master is closing his eyes to commune with heaven and earth, becoming one with all things. You’re too young to grasp such mysteries.”
Lu Yuandi rolled her eyes so hard they nearly stuck.
“Little one, don’t be so unconvinced. Your Senior Brother Gu Yuan walked this same path, one steady step at a time. I’m not fooling you-with talent like Gu Yuan’s, he still sought instruction with humility. Your gifts aren’t even a tenth of his. Don’t get arrogant.”
Tao Mian waved his fan, eyes closed, and sighed.
“You’re the worst student I’ve ever had.”
Lu Yuandi refused to listen to his nonsense. For all she knew, Gu Yuan had been tricked by Tao Mian back then and just worked like a fool.
This swindler of an immortal!
“Are you really the master of Gu Yuan, the former Sect Leader of Blue Mist Sect?”
“The genuine article. If you don’t believe me, ask his neighbor Cheng Chi.”
“…Sect Leader Cheng passed away not long ago.”
“Oh dear.” Tao Mian tapped his chin lightly with his palm-leaf fan. “Dead men tell no tales. Shall I have him visit you in a dream?”
Lu Yuandi shuddered.
“No, no. I couldn’t handle that.”
The afternoon sun was warm and drowsy, baking the laziness into one’s bones. As Tao Mian drifted between sleep and wakefulness, he reflected that Er Ya had been on the mountain for over three months now. Splitting firewood, hauling water, cooking meals, feeding chickens-her foundations were nearly complete.
He pulled three blue-covered manuals from his robe and tossed them to his little disciple.
“Disciple, your master presents you with three gifts.”
Lu Yuandi scrambled to catch them-one in each hand, one clamped between her teeth.
“These three cultivation methods. Practice them well in your spare time. They’ll serve you greatly.”
Tao Mian’s lazy voice drifted over. Lu Yuandi could feel the dry warmth of sunlight still clinging to the paper.
Something stirred in the girl’s deadened heart-a faint ripple.
“F-for me?”
“Indeed. Peerless techniques.”
Lu Yuandi was overcome with joy. Finally-finally she could protect herself. She stroked the covers of the three books with care and opened the first page of the Fei Lian Sword Technique.
…
“Little Tao.” She had never stood on ceremony with him. “How do you read this character?”
Tao Mian rolled over abruptly, turning his back to her.
“Master is asleep.”
“…You can’t read either, can you?”
“It’s not that Master can’t read. Master simply can’t comprehend it.”
“…”
“…”
Silence. Attendant Wu clucked three times.
Lu Yuandi cupped her fists and took a large step backward.
“Master, this disciple will never forget your kindness. Farewell.”
“Wait. Master’s spiritual perception has suddenly opened. I can read the characters now.”
“Stop lying, Little Tao. Any more and it’s just rude.”
“How can the affairs of an immortal be called lies? Come here. Master will explain.”
Lu Yuandi wanted to flee, but she couldn’t. Tao Mian was blocking the door.
Little Tao the Daoist had few skills, but playing the emotional card was one of them.
“You’d really leave? You’d actually leave? Think of Attendant Wu. Think of your master. Think of the pots and pans and axe you’ve lived with day and night.”
Lu Yuandi’s temples throbbed. She was about to climb the wall and go.
“Fine, fine. I won’t lie anymore. Master really can read. I’ll teach you.”
Lu Yuandi pulled her right leg back from the wall.
“Truly?”
Tao Mian nodded, exasperated.
“Truly!”
As it turned out, the swindler immortal could indeed read. He simply hadn’t taught her before out of pure laziness.
By the time he finished one demonstration, Tao Mian looked like he’d been flayed alive.
“Figure out the rest yourself. Your master is exhausted.”
Lu Yuandi nodded, picked up the branch Tao Mian had tossed aside, and began to practice.
When Tao Mian said Er Ya’s talent was lacking, he hadn’t meant it. His second disciple possessed a High Grade Wind Spirit Root-a genius found perhaps once in ten thousand.
After a single demonstration, Lu Yuandi was already mimicking the forms with remarkable accuracy.
The girl practiced her sword beneath the moon, her movements flowing like water, fallen petals swirling at her feet.
The Peach Blossom Immortal watched in a daze. He seemed to see his eldest disciple, who had also once practiced beneath this tree. The two figures overlapped, year after year.
Master-
“Little Tao?”
Tao Mian stirred from his memories. Like waking from a long dream-over ten years had passed. The girl had grown into a graceful young woman, bathed in moonlight, glancing back at him.
“Little Tao, you were spacing out again.” Lu Yuandi grinned mischievously and darted forward. “Watch the sword!”
A master was always a master. Tao Mian deflected his disciple’s fierce strike with an effortless palm. Though Lu Yuandi was a girl, her swordplay was fierce and forceful. Anyone who failed to dodge would not walk away unscathed.
Her first strike failing, Lu Yuandi spun and thrust again. Tao Mian sidestepped once more, catching the blade between two fingers. It looked effortless, yet no matter how she struggled, Lu Yuandi couldn’t break free.
“Little Tao is still the best.”
Lu Yuandi grinned, unbothered by her loss.
Tao Mian wasn’t fooled.
“You praise me now, but you’ll be back to assassinate me at midnight. Er Ya, you’re far too young to trick your master.”
Ever since he’d taught Lu Yuandi these techniques, the girl had been bursting with energy. She refused to study the sword manual properly and instead dragged Tao Mian into sparring with her.
How lazy was Tao Mian? If he could lie down, he would never sit. When words failed to move him, Lu Yuandi resorted to underhanded tactics.
Namely, sneaking into Tao Mian’s room every night to assassinate him.
The filial piety was killing him.
Now Tao Mian couldn’t sleep at all. After all, Lu Er Ya was a reckless fool who didn’t know her own strength. One slip, and Peach Blossom Temple would have a new owner.
So Little Tao the Daoist was forced to keep up with his disciple’s relentless training.
Fortunately, Lu Yuandi still had to do her chores during the day, leaving Tao Mian time to catch up on sleep.
Lu Yuandi was wild by nature. Unlike Gu Yuan, who had grown up on Peach Blossom Mountain at Tao Mian’s side since childhood, she came from beyond the mountain. She was always gazing into the distance. Half her heart was forever wandering.
Tao Mian knew Er Ya would leave one day. Like Gu Yuan, she was born carrying a burden.
Little Tao the Master didn’t know how much his second disciple understood about her own origins. But even if she knew nothing, with Lu Yuandi’s temperament, she would eventually seek out her roots.
And walk the path of vengeance.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yuandi turned seventeen. Lately, Tao Mian noticed that Er Ya’s midnight assassination attempts had lost their old decisiveness. She no longer struck without hesitation.
She could now conceal her presence completely. Anyone other than Tao Mian would never sense her approach.
At first, Tao Mian thought his disciple had finally matured and learned to respect her master.
Slowly, he understood. This was Lu Yuandi’s silent farewell.
She said nothing, but Tao Mian knew. The day of her departure was near.
“Little Tao, I’m leaving.”
The young woman carried a small bundle on her back. One hand gripped her sword; the other waved goodbye to her master.
Her tone was casual, as if she were only stepping out to buy him a jug of warm wine.
Tao Mian stood beneath a flourishing peach tree. The layered blossoms and shadows made him seem hazy in Lu Yuandi’s eyes.
Tao Mian said, Yuandi, your master will always be here.
It was the first time Lu Yuandi had heard him use her full name. It felt strange, but something was quietly shifting. She understood what he meant: once she walked through that gate, she could only be Lu Yuandi. The Er Ya who had been led around by her master would remain on Peach Blossom Mountain.
Lu Yuandi suddenly gripped her sword hilt with both hands and bowed deeply toward Tao Mian, forcing back the tears in her eyes.
“Master, I’m leaving.”
She finally called him Master.
As Lu Yuandi descended the mountain, she passed through the village at its foot. Two children sat on a large stone at the village entrance, clapping their hands. Their young voices sang a song she knew by heart-one Tao Mian had once taught her.
Peach blossoms red, willow leaves green.
Carp leap the shallows, spring waters lap the shore.
I think of myself, adrift and far from home.
Fading away, fading away.
Where does the tumbleweed return?
Lu Yuandi pressed one hand over her mouth, her brows and lids drawn tight. The tears she had held back so fiercely finally spilled free, streaming down her hand.