Chapter 41 : First Day of School
41: First Day of School
At the hour when night gave way to dawn, Fu Peibai woke on her own. The room was pitch black. She sat up, a string of internal cultivation formulas flashing through her mind, then gathered her energy and began to meditate.
As usual, after circulating one small cycle, a warm current first rose from her dantian and flowed to every limb and bone. Her entire body felt as if immersed in a warm, comfortable spring, soothing both body and mind.
But in an instant, her dantian stagnated. A cold energy suddenly emerged, rushing straight toward her head and tangling with the warm current in her body. She frowned in discomfort, breathing deeply to suppress the dark currents surging within.
The two currents of energy seemed to be fighting for ownership of her body, neither giving ground. Compared to before, this time was worse. She could already faintly feel it becoming uncontrollable. Her heart pounded violently. After a moment, her body suddenly shuddered forward, and she let out a muffled cough in the quiet room.
The sound woke Xie Jingming. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the blurry figure on the opposite bed. "A-Pei, what's wrong?"
Fu Peibai took a heavy breath and cleared her throat. "Nothing. Go back to sleep."
Only after Xie Jingming lay back down did she wipe the corner of her mouth. In the moonlight, the dark red on her fingertips deeply reflected in her pupils.
She froze for a moment, then her expression gradually calmed. She lay down and slowly closed her eyes.
When she woke again, the hour of chen had just passed. She rose, and she and Xie Jingming each washed up before going to the dining hall for breakfast. There they met Wei Xiao again. The three ate at one table, then went together to the training grounds.
When they arrived, people were already standing here and there across the wide training grounds, all wearing white training uniforms, looking spirited.
"A-Pei, later, let's see which, which hall master you get assigned under. I hope we, we're in the same hall."
Fu Peibai smiled faintly but said nothing.
Soon, a heavy, lingering bell sounded across the spacious training grounds. Upon hearing it, everyone returned to their places, forming four neat squares. Only Fu Peibai stood alone outside the formation, looking somewhat conspicuous.
The bell ceased. Four middle-aged men in wide robes and long sleeves walked up to the high platform of the training grounds. They were the same four who had overseen the first round of the entrance examination Fu Peibai had participated in last year.
The leader was a powerfully built man with a resolute face. He immediately spotted Fu Peibai outside the formation and called out loudly, "You must be the one the Sect Master specially permitted to enter the sect?"
All eyes turned to the youth standing outside the formation. Fu Peibai replied in a neither humble nor arrogant voice, "Yes."
The man nodded, then conferred with the three behind him, seemingly discussing where Fu Peibai should be assigned.
After a while, another man stepped forward. His cheekbones protruded high, and his eyes were like a hawk's. His tone was rather cold as he spoke. "Since the Sect Master personally approved it, you shall be assigned under me." He pointed to the formation on the far right.
Fu Peibai was too far from the high platform to see the man's features clearly, but his tone suggested he didn't think much of her, though she didn't know why. She could only walk toward the rightmost formation and take her place at the end. When she looked up, she saw Mo Qingyuan several rows ahead, turning to stare at her with a gloomy gaze.
She looked away, wondering why she always seemed to run into this fellow. She didn't want trouble, didn't want to provoke anyone, yet trouble always seemed to find her. Thinking of this, she felt somewhat vexed.
But soon, she spotted Wei Xiao in the formation. Wei Xiao smiled warmly at her. Having a familiar person nearby put her slightly more at ease.
The bell rang again. Everyone stood straight. At the word "Begin" from the high platform, they all drew their swords and began practicing sword forms.
Fu Peibai had not learned the Heavenly Pole Sword Technique, nor did she have a sword. She could only stand there empty-handed, watching the others practice.
The four hall masters on the high platform didn't seem to intend to pay her any attention either. After coming down, they walked around inspecting the other disciples' practice.
She clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and began practicing the boxing technique on her own.
Though she was at the very end of the formation, her posture and movements were completely different from the uniform others, and she soon attracted the attention of the four hall masters.
"Brother, did you see that person's movement technique?"
"Mm. This technique looks somewhat familiar."
"I remember now! Isn't this the Mingxiao Sect's boxing technique? How does this kid know it?!"
At these words, their expressions all changed. "The Mingxiao Sect disappeared from the martial world ten years ago. Their techniques and manuals were all lost. Where did this young whippersnapper learn it? Could there be a hidden master from the Mingxiao Sect guiding him from behind?"
The four fell silent, each with their own thoughts. Then the hawk-eyed man walked toward Fu Peibai. After reaching her, he looked her up and down and said in a low voice, "Stop."
Fu Peibai stopped her movements and raised her hand in salute. "Disciple greets the Hall Master."
"Where did you learn this movement technique?"
"I came across it in an ancient book and learned it from that."
"What was the book called?"
"It had no name."
The man's gaze grew even darker. He suddenly raised his hand and struck toward Fu Peibai's shoulder blade.
This inexplicable attack came too suddenly. Fu Peibai had no defense at all and immediately took the hit, staggering back two steps. She coughed twice, shock and confusion on her face. "Hall Master, you..."
The man withdrew his hand and snorted coldly. "What you've learned is not my sect's technique. Do not practice it again. If I discover you doing so again, there will be no place for you in my hall." With that, he brushed his sleeves and walked away.
The people nearby whispered among themselves. Only Wei Xiao came over and asked with concern, "Junior Brother Fu, are you alright?"
Fu Peibai took a deep breath and composed herself. "I'm fine."
For the rest of the morning, she could only stand idly by and watch everyone else practice sword and martial arts. When the midday break came and the crowd dispersed, Xie Jingming walked over, expressing worry. "A-A-Pei, are you okay?"
Fu Peibai shook her head. Then she saw Mo Qingyuan approaching. He walked with his hands behind his back, looking arrogant and haughty. "Junior Brother Fu, that boxing technique you used earlier was truly fierce. Quite impressive."
Fu Peibai couldn't be bothered to give him even a glance. She told Xie Jingming she was leaving and walked ahead toward the dining hall, leaving Mo Qingyuan grinding his teeth in place.
At the dining table, Wei Xiao again came over to sit with them. Seeing Fu Peibai's gloomy expression, he comforted her. "Junior Brother Fu, don't be so troubled. You may not know this, but our Hall Master had a personal grudge with the Mingxiao Sect in earlier years. So in the future, just don't practice that boxing technique in front of him. Practice it secretly on your own."
Fu Peibai frowned. "Senior Brother Wei, how did you know the technique I was practicing was from the Mingxiao Sect?"
Fu Peibai was puzzled for a moment, then quickly understood. "Are you saying the technique I've been practicing is a Mingxiao Sect technique?"
Wei Xiao was also surprised. "You didn't know the technique you yourself practice?"
"I just learned it by chance from an ancient book."
"That's truly strange. The Mingxiao Sect back then was one of the few sword sects that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Pole Sect. Masters gathered within its ranks, and for a time its reputation surpassed even the Heavenly Pole.
"But for some unknown reason, ten years ago it suddenly vanished from the martial world without a trace. All its techniques and manuals were lost. To think you could learn it by chance, that must be quite a stroke of fate. I only wonder where the Mingxiao Sword ended up."
Fu Peibai's expression turned serious. She thought of Meng Yan, and confusion rose in her heart. Could Brother Meng be a disciple of the Mingxiao Sect? Then why would he choose to live in seclusion here, content to be a steward of servants? And Uncle Wen, they were fellow disciples, so they must belong to the same sect.
The Mingxiao Sect. What happened back then?
She looked at Wei Xiao and asked, "What is the origin of this Mingxiao Sword?"
"The Mingxiao Sword was the Mingxiao Sect's treasured sect heirloom, the sect master's personal sword. Legend has it that the master swordsmith Duan Wushou forged it using black iron from the Northern Sea. The blade is flexible and can be bent to hide at the waist. When one circulates internal energy throughout the body, the blade becomes rigid again. No sharp blade in the world can break it.
"After Duan Wushou created this treasure sword, he gave it to Yan Mingxiao, who was known as the Sword Immortal at the time, then passed away. And with this divine sword to aid him, Yan Mingxiao was able to establish his sect."
Xie Jingming listened with his jaw slightly agape and praised, "S-such a powerful sword."
But Fu Peibai frowned as she listened. "Regarding the Mingxiao Sect's disappearance, is there really no news at all in the martial world?"
Wei Xiao picked up his chopsticks and took some food. He spoke while eating. "There naturally are some, but they're all just rumors, quite far-fetched."
"Senior Brother Wei, tell me about them."
Seeing Fu Peibai's curiosity, Wei Xiao set down his chopsticks and began speaking seriously. "There's one theory that says two disciples of the Mingxiao Sect simultaneously became infatuated with an elder's wife, then poisoned the elder and violated the elder's wife. After this came to light, it provoked outrage among the other disciples, and the sect split into two factions that slaughtered each other.
"In the end, no one survived, and the Mingxiao Sect fell apart. Tell me, isn't that absurd? The great elder's wife of the Mingxiao Sect was already sixty years old. How could she have provoked disciples into chaos over her?" Wei Xiao shook his head and smiled after finishing, finding it ridiculous himself.
"What else?"
"Let me think. Mm... there's another theory that the Mingxiao Sect also got caught up in the struggle for Dengling. You know about Dengling, right?"
Fu Peibai nodded.
Wei Xiao continued. "The legend is that the Mingxiao Sect possessed one of the Dengling fragments. The innocent man bears no guilt, but he who possesses jade becomes guilty for it. So they were assassinated by a coalition of other sects and thus vanished. But this theory also has its unreasonable aspects.
"First, the Mingxiao Sect had always kept to itself and stayed out of worldly affairs. They wouldn't likely get involved in martial disputes over the Dengling treasure. Second, given the Mingxiao Sect's strength, having the entire sect wiped out overnight seems unlikely. So this rumor shouldn't be blindly trusted either. As for the truth of how the Mingxiao Sect disappeared, we later generations naturally have no way of knowing."
Dengling. Dengling again. Fu Peibai thought of what the storyteller at the tavern had said last time. In these hundred years of the martial world, so many famous figures have emerged, so many magnificent deeds accomplished, all eventually flowing into the river of history. Only this secret treasure of Dengling has survived for over a hundred years, still churning the dark currents beneath the martial world's surface.
She couldn't help feeling curious. "Senior Brother Wei, with your knowledge and experience, do you think Dengling really exists?"
Wei Xiao smiled. "Naturally. If it were fake, then wouldn't all the struggles over it by both the martial world and the imperial court over these hundred years become nothing but a joke?"
Fu Peibai nodded and asked no more questions. She ate her meal while lost in thought.