Afterward, Shen Ci and he nervously stared ahead, not daring to breathe loudly, afraid of being discovered.
After a long while, when the young man saw the three figures finally walk far away, he let out a long sigh of relief, released Shen Ci, and half-collapsed on the scattered rocks, patting his chest in lingering fear. “Whew… that was close. Good thing I swiped a couple of life-saving talismans before leaving.”
He looked up and met Shen Ci’s sparkling, wide eyes. The little girl had a round face and round eyes, her expression full of curiosity.
“Ahem…” The young man cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well, that was an accident. Next time I see them, I’ll definitely beat them to a pulp!”
He glanced guiltily at Shen Ci, wondering if this girl was going to laugh at him.
But he was overthinking it. Shen Ci simply said, “Oh.” Her curiosity stemmed from never having seen such a disheveled cultivator—aside from herself.
The young man finally took a closer look at the little figure before him: her worn-out clothes, her battered sword, her messy hair. He crouched down, his tone softening unconsciously. “Little one, which Sect are you from? Where are your parents?”
Shen Ci’s eyes dimmed. “No Sect… and no parents either.”
“Ah!”
The young man suddenly clapped his hands, his eyes shining with an unusual brilliance. “Aren’t you the legendary Chosen One!”
He leaned excitedly toward Shen Ci, his eyebrows dancing animatedly. “I know a super, super, super amazing Sect that specializes in recruiting chosen ones like you! What do you think? Want to consider it?”
“Join now, and you’ll be an elder.”
He blinked, staring at her without looking away.
Shen Ci: “…”
Did she look that easy to fool? His face practically screamed, “I’m going to trick you!”
But at the moment, she really did need a place to stay. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly nodded.
The young man cheered with a “Yeah!” then crouched down again to meet her at eye level. “I’m Bu Ranchen. From now on, I’m your senior brother. What’s your name, little one?”
Bu Ranchen? The name suited him well. Shen Ci’s eyes curved into crescents. “Hello, Senior Brother. I’m Shen Ci—Ci as in kindness.”
Bu Ranchen stood up, waving his hand with spirited enthusiasm. “Come on, Junior Sister, let’s head back to the Sect.”
He was about to take Shen Ci’s hand when his gaze suddenly fell on the little girl’s tattered cloth shoes, which were worn through, revealing her red, swollen feet. An inexplicable pang of sorrow struck his heart.
Without another word, he turned around and crouched in front of Shen Ci. “Come on! Senior Brother will carry you back. Consider it your initiation gift.”
Shen Ci was slightly taken aback, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Drip…”
Bu Ranchen felt something cool on his neck. In a cheerful tone, he said, “Hold on tight!”
He deliberately jostled the little one on his back and hummed a tune as he walked up the mountain.
Half an hour later, Shen Ci and Bu Ranchen stood at the foot of moss-covered stone steps, looking up at the mountain gate hidden in the mist and clouds, questioning their life choices…
She had guessed that the Sect she was about to join might be a bit run-down, but she never expected it to be this run-down!
“So? Impressive, right?” Bu Ranchen shook the hem of his clothes proudly and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, a loose brick on the ground flipped up with a “clack,” splattering mud all over both of them.
Shen Ci wiped the mud off her face and silently stared at the wild vegetables stubbornly growing between the cracks of the stone steps. As the brick shifted, the mist and clouds completely dissipated.
What a… remarkably simple entrance formation.
She finally got a clear view of the sect’s scenery:
Buildings spanning a hundred miles were arranged in an orderly yet scattered fashion, with flying eaves and bracket sets faintly revealing their former grandeur. However, the red paint on these structures had peeled off, cobwebs hung from the roofs, and wild grass grew thick between the cracks in the plaza’s paving stones.
At a glance, it was clear the place hadn’t been maintained for a long time. Moreover, why couldn’t she sense even a trace of Spiritual Qi?
“Um… Senior Brother,” Shen Ci asked cautiously, “how many people are in our sect?”
Bu Ranchen actually counted on his fingers, “There’s the master, one senior sister, you, me, plus those constantly traveling abroad… roughly twenty or thirty people!”
This…
To put it in perspective, the Shangyun Sect had ten mountain peaks, and each peak—excluding inner and outer disciples—had at least one or two hundred people including miscellaneous duty disciples.
“Oh right!”
He suddenly slapped his forehead, “There’s also a speckled hen in the backyard—that’s our sect guardian divine beast.”
As he spoke, a half-bald old hen came strutting over proudly, continuously clucking “Bok bok bok bok…” at Shen Ci.
Shen Ci: “…”
“Hey, this fellow seems to really like you! It usually tries to peck me when it sees me.”
Shen Ci looked down at the weeds by her shoes, then up at her senior brother’s expectant face, suddenly feeling… like she might have boarded a pirate ship.
The two continued forward, finally reaching the main gate. Shen Ci looked up and softly read the large characters on the plaque: “Shang Yun Sect.”
“……………………？？？？？？？”
What kind of human could come up with a name like that!
She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Rubbing them, she took another look at the plaque. Oh my, her vision was fine.
Shen Ci’s small face scrunched up, “This name…”
“Majestic, right!” Bu Ranchen puffed out his chest proudly, “Our founding patriarch racked his brains to come up with this.”
“They say he drank three jars of Drunken Dream Death back then, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration in the outhouse!”
Shen Ci: “…It’s truly majestic indeed.”
Just as they were about to enter, an angry roar suddenly came from the side hall on the right: “Bu! Ran! Chen!”
Shen Ci keenly noticed the young man’s body stiffen. Trembling, he said, “L-little junior sister, um, senior brother needs to make a quick exit.”
With that, he immediately turned to run. But after just two steps, a pink ribbon of light wrapped around his waist and yanked him backward. “Senior sister, spare me!”
“Still trying to run!”
Shen Ci also turned to look. A young girl in pink clothes, face full of anger, was twisting Bu Ranchen’s ear. “Tell me, was it you who stole the Concealing Qi Talismans I worked so hard to create?!”
Bu Ranchen cried pitifully, “Senior sister, I was wrong, I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again!”
“You said the same thing last time. Quickly, return them.”
She held out her hand to him, speaking fiercely.
Bu Ranchen lowered his head, stammering, “Um, I used them up.”
Tao Yaoyao’s eyes widened, “You were only gone for one day, and you used both?”
Bu Ranchen’s face was full of bitterness, “What can I do? I was unlucky enough to offend those scoundrels from the Wudao Sect. Wow, senior sister, they’re truly terrible—capturing young boys and girls everywhere to test medicines. I couldn’t just stand by and watch them die, could I?”
He pointed at Shen Ci: “Look, take this little one for example. So small—if she fell into their hands, she’d be done for.”
Tao Yaoyao followed the direction of his finger and her eyes instantly lit up. She darted in front of Shen Ci, “Xiaobu, is this someone you tricked—ah no, recruited as our new junior sister?”
Shen Ci’s eyes sparkled, “Hello, Senior Sister, my name is Shen Ci.”
Tao Yaoyao cupped Shen Ci’s small face, examining it from left to right, “This little one is far too thin.”