Volume 2, Chapter 12 – Opening Act

The next day, in the small grove outside the dojo, Xiang Xian sat cross-legged atop an ornamental rock hill. Facing the first violet breath of dawn, she opened her eyes.

There was a bloody smell in the air. Lower the “camera” and you could see several corpses wrapped in clothes and leather, their withered bodies lying in the mud.

Their limbs were all twisted out of shape—some shattered into pieces, some curled into tight balls. But what they had in common was that they were all being broken down and digested at an abnormal speed. Skin, flesh, bone, along with clothing and leather, were all being decomposed into fertilizer and absorbed into the earth.

Xiang Xian lowered her head to glance down, then took out her phone and called back a missed number.

“Master!” The call was picked up at once, a wailing female voice bursting out. “How could you be so cruel as to abandon your disciple!”

“You’re over thirty and you still have the nerve to say that.” Xiang Xian didn’t sound gentle at all right now, her brows tightly knit. “How are the Demon-Transforming Pills I told you to refine?”

“Hehe… well… I did three batches.” The woman on the other end gave a few dry laughs. “Came out with six pills in total. Not as good a success rate as Master’s…”

“Six pills?” Xiang Xian nodded. “Six is six. Send someone to deliver them to Chilong at once.”

“Master.” The woman’s voice turned serious. “You really mean to find me a little junior sister?”

“The Bai family’s Xiang girl is a heaven-sent prodigy. Seventeen, already at Condensing the Aspect, with a steady temperament. Even leaving aside past ties, she is a fine piece of jade.” Xiang Xian said, “Which Dao Lord wouldn’t be coveting her if she were thrown in front of them? Why shouldn’t I take her?”

“No—” The woman drew out the word, “I just feel it’s unfair to Master, that’s all.”

“Oh?”

“How is it not?” Seeing Xiang Xian’s tone lift, the woman immediately began airing her grievances. “Back then that old Bai geezer only knew to blame you. He never realized that if not for Master, how could the Bai family have lost only one person?”

“And he even went and offended the Imperial House from their childhood, making them resent us to this day. Master’s great opportunity was thrown away for nothing!”

Xiang Xian said nothing, making it hard to read her attitude.

Thinking she’d gotten through to her, the woman added, “Besides, transmission of the Dao stresses ‘born of heaven and earth, joined with the person’. We’re not walking a slaughter path. That Bai Xiang kicked a classmate’s leg off right after Entering the Dao—how can someone like that quiet their heart under Master’s tutelage? Let alone cultivate the Yuming Sword to completion!”

“Yuer.” Xiang Xian finally spoke. “Are you teaching me how to take disciples?”

“I…” The woman faltered, her tone instantly dropping. “Your disciple wouldn’t dare.”

“The path of cultivation is a contest for benefit.” Xiang Xian sighed. “Every extra person I take, the materials and resources allocated to you all are split thinner. That’s the truth. So having these thoughts is only human.”

“But you are no ordinary person, Yuer.”

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“The world knows that our Yuming Dao values heavy craft and heavy tools, with three thousand ingenious techniques and five thousand wondrous methods—proficient in everything from sword forging to pill refinement. But they don’t understand… to truly master these arts, you must have the jade spirit and bright heart within to anchor them.”

“Otherwise the many methods tangle together, throwing your spirit and will into chaos, like a wild monkey that can never be stilled. One moment you’re thinking of swords, the next of pills, and then of smithing and forging arts again!”

“If you can’t even settle your heart, there’s no talking about any ingenious technique or wondrous method. In the end, you’ll accomplish nothing at all.”

“Master,” the woman said softly in response, “your disciple knows she was wrong.”

“Knows you were wrong?” Xiang Xian smiled as she glanced toward the street view. “You think I don’t know you?”

“You achieved jade spirit and bright heart at sixteen. Would you really vent petty jealousy on someone you’ve never even met?”

“You’re afraid…” Xiang Xian paused here, “it might have political repercussions at court, aren’t you?”

“Since Master already knows, I won’t hide it.” The woman’s voice on the other end turned earnest. “The few of us talked it over. We can accept Master sharing resources with her. If Master needs, we can even send our Demon-Transforming Pills to her!”

“Master entirely may act as teacher to the Xiang girl in all but name. It’s just that this formal status… is best not made public for now.”

She finished spilling everything in one breath, then apologized. “I have presumptuously meddled in Master’s will. Please punish your disciple.”

“No need.” Xiang Xian closed her eyes. “It’s filial concern too. What’s there to punish?”

“As for the Xiang girl…” The woman hesitated.

“I’ll decide that myself. Just send the pills quickly.”

After hanging up, Xiang Xian took a moment to compose herself, then sighed toward the east.

Trading a lifetime of propriety for a moment’s gain.

Is this what jade spirit and bright heart are meant for?

Hopefully… she was just overthinking it.

Elsewhere, in the side room, Bai Xiang was waking up as well.

She’d slept very deeply this time. Whether it was due to the blood Qi remaking her body or not, when she woke she only felt clear-headed and refreshed.

“Sister Xiang’er… itchy…”

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A soft, sticky murmur drifted up from below. When she lowered her head, she saw Bai Zhuqing curled against her chest like a little animal, lashes trembling in her sleep, who knew what good dream she was having.

She was even drooling.

Bai Xiang looked at her little sister with distaste.

She’d already bathed by now and changed into a white sleeping robe. Bai Zhuqing’s drool dripped straight onto her chest; the slightest movement sent a wave of chill across her skin.

Without waking Bai Zhuqing, she carefully slipped out of bed herself, took a towel dipped in water to wipe her chest clean, then washed up and went to stand still in front of the wardrobe.

Shenming…

Yesterday’s dojo challenge had only been live-text, probably thanks to Zhang Daoming and the others working behind the scenes not wanting her footage to spread.

Which meant that today’s duel would be the first time Shenming Sword truly reappeared before the eyes of the world.

Even though Grandpa hadn’t passed the Dao Lord position to her, if she took the stage, she’d still be representing the dojo.

A struggle between the New Affairs faction and the traditionalists, is it?

In that case…

Her hand, reaching for the hoodie, stopped halfway, then changed course to grab the white-with-black-trim cloud-gauze long dress she’d worn last time.

So-called archaic-style formalwear meant something similar in spirit but changed in form, without such a long trailing hem, and easier to wear than true ancient dress.

Bai Xiang put on an underlayer first, then took a fresh pair of black silk tights from the ones Bai Zhuqing had gifted her last time, lifted her leg and slid her foot into them.

Then she wrapped herself in the long dress, closed the right front, fastened a black belt with dark-gold python patterns at her waist, hung on a palace-style red cord sash with jade coins and diamond knots, slipped on gold-laced ankle-wrap open-toe sandals, and took out a matching black python-pattern hair tie to bind her white hair high at the back of her head.

Thus dressed, she threaded a cord through the sword scabbard and hung it at her left waist. A female swordsman figure, leaning toward the “traditional,” appeared in the mirror.

Bai Xiang wasn’t satisfied yet. She went over her appearance in the mirror, adjusting it several times, making sure there wasn’t a single trace of “discourtesy” in how she presented herself.

After all, in a feudal dynasty, developing technology could shake the foundations of authoritative rule.

Those court ministers.

And the Imperial House’s will that was influenced by them.

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Most likely, they didn’t all support New Affairs…

Once she’d finished, it was just about seven o’clock. Bai Zhuqing finally woke with a soft whimper, and when she saw how Bai Xiang was dressed, her eyes practically lit up.

“Wow! Auntie!”

She rushed over at once, reaching out to touch Bai Xiang’s sleeves but stopping herself halfway, afraid she’d ruin the mood.

“But is it really okay for Auntie to wear this?”

The little thing stared hard at her sister’s black-silk-clad feet, while also putting a finger to her lips in a worried pose. “Isn’t it a bit inconvenient on stage?”

Truly, everyone had decided in their hearts that today it would basically be Bai Xiang who fought.

Bai Xiang found it amusing. She thought to herself that yesterday’s dojo challenge really had been the right move. She pinched Bai Zhuqing’s soft, plump cheeks, telling her not to worry about nonsense and to hurry up and wash and get dressed—they’d have to head out soon.

Bai Zhuqing did as told. At the same time, almost the entire Bai family was doing much the same.

Washing up, putting on formal attire. The adults even had an extra step of setting out a case and burning incense, paying respects to the ancestral patriarch in the main hall before they were done.

After all that busywork, when they stepped out it was just eight in the morning.

The whole family gathered to head out together. At the top of the long stone steps, they stopped and saw that a crowd had already gathered below, camera flashes sparking in the black sea of people.

Two extended black sedans were also parked by the roadside. The one facing the steps had a red carpet laid out, with brass stanchions and chains set to either side.

“Let’s go.”

Looking at all this, Bai Shengju seemed to let out a sigh of turbid air and led everyone down the stone steps.

He walked in the center, with Bai Xiang a step behind.

When they reached the bottom, a man in black immediately stepped up, bowed with clasped fists, and said, “Might you be Mr. Bai Shengju of Shenming Sword Dao and Miss Bai Xiang?”

Bai Shengju nodded. “We are.”

“I am here under Lord Tao’s orders to await you,” the man said, bowing again and gesturing toward the cars.

“The bout begins at nine thirty.”

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“My honored guests, please follow me.”

On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the adults of the Bai family—even Zhu Ying and Shen Xuelan—frowned slightly, displeasure flickering across their faces.

Because the man had not observed proper etiquette.

He had announced official business fairly, but hadn’t mentioned his own name at all—that was extremely rude.

As if he didn’t care whether they knew who he was.

Bai Shengju snorted lightly and was about to step forward.

But behind him came a sharp “clang” and a chorus of shocked cries.

“!?”

He whipped around, eyes wide, just in time to catch the sight of Bai Xiang’s wide sleeves settling as she slid her sword back into its scabbard.

As for the man? His face was already deathly pale, and a vertical line of blood had appeared between his brows.

“Many high-ranking officials have come to watch today’s duel.”

Camera flashes exploded all around them, but Bai Xiang’s voice remained as calm as still water.

“If you ignore proper rites, you disgrace your elders. That is unfilial.”

“If you fail in your duties, you disgrace Lord Tao. That is disloyal.”

“Someone so unfilial and disloyal…”

“Deserves death.”

As the word “death” fell, the man’s body split into two halves and slid apart.

Blood splashed across the ground, drawing screams of shock from the crowd.