Pick Up Your Sister

Since Lin Xiao and the others had planned to leave this place for the new disciples to build themselves, after giving it some thought, they decided to let the disciples name it as well.

Since Liu Yunan had brought up the matter, he naturally took the opportunity to tell them about the residences they would need to build themselves.

“As I mentioned before, these thatched huts are only temporary. However, our Lingxian Sect has a tradition: everyone builds their own residence! So, starting tomorrow, after your lessons at the Cultivation Hall, you’ll have one hour to rest and digest what you’ve learned. After that, everyone must work together to build the houses you’ll be living in from now on.”

Although their residence, Guiyuan Mountain Retreat, had been built by Brother Xiao, they had all contributed materials and helped with the other construction. So, by stretching the definition a little, building one’s residence counted as a tradition! No problem there!

At his words, the hundred or so people below looked rather bewildered.

The younger ones, especially those from reasonably well-off families, exchanged glances.

So they had to build their own houses after joining a sect?

Liang Zhonghuai, Yuan Jinsheng, and Feng Xuanbie from the Shangyang Sect all wanted to explain to those who had never seen another sect that other sects didn’t work like this.

At least, they had never seen one that did.

But none of them dared say anything.

Hadn’t Elder Liu just said this was a tradition?

What did “tradition” imply? It meant that everyone in the sect had gone through the same thing.

It was just a bit of manual labor, wasn’t it?

There were more than a hundred of them. A little work wouldn’t be difficult.

One of the bolder new disciples raised his voice and asked, “Elder Liu, are there any requirements for the size or style of the houses?”

Liu Yunan shook his head.

“No. Build whatever you like. There’s only one requirement: everyone’s residence must be roughly the same. You may decorate the interiors however you wish, but the houses themselves must be of basically equal quality.”

After explaining that matter, only one final item remained on Liu Yunan’s agenda for the day.

“Also, during this first month, you should take the opportunity to explore the various parts of the sect. I already told you that taking positions in the sect’s different departments can earn you contribution points, so keep that in mind.”

“But aside from working, there’s another way to earn them: taking a master.”

As he spoke, he took a stack of white paper from his storage pouch.

“This is a list of the elders who are accepting disciples. It also states what each elder teaches. I’ll distribute the lists to you now.”

With a wave of his hand, Liu Yunan used telekinesis to send a sheet of paper floating to each person.

“Let me make this clear in advance: trying to learn too much at once will only leave you mediocre at everything. For now, each of you may choose at most one art to study under a master. Once you’ve made your decision, draw a circle around that master’s name and hand the paper to Baizhu. The formal apprenticeship ceremony will be held in a month.”

“Of course, once your cultivation has improved and you have enough time and energy to spare, you may learn more. There’s no need to worry about that.”

With that, the new disciples’ sect life for the near future had been arranged.

After Liu Yunan finished telling them everything they needed to know that day, he left a pile of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on a shelf before letting them make their own arrangements.

They had only just arrived, and his role as their guide had more or less come to an end. It was better to give them some space to explore and familiarize themselves with the sect on their own.

Not long after Liu Yunan left the Cultivation Hall, many of the new disciples who had been sitting quietly in their places picked up paper and brushes almost in unison and gathered around Baizhu.

“Hey, little brother, your name is Baizhu, right?”

“You were the first person among us to make it through the Heart-Questioning Path? That’s amazing!”

“Baizhu, I already thought of a name. I think it would be perfect for this mountain of ours! Wait a moment, I’ll write it down right now!”

“I have a good name too. Everyone, tell me what you think!”

…

Surrounded at the very center, Baizhu’s ears turned bright red. His heart felt as though it had been filled to the brim with something warm.

He secretly drew in a deep breath and let it out, then lifted his head and answered everyone with his biggest smile, responding to each of their suggestions.

The new disciples made a lively commotion in the Cultivation Hall for a while. Then, someone called out to a few fellow disciples and invited them to stroll around the area halfway up the mountain.

Elder Liu had told them to explore the sect and familiarize themselves with it, after all.

Starting tomorrow, they would have lessons in the morning and build houses in the afternoon. After that, they would have to study an art or take on sect missions to earn contribution points.

They probably wouldn’t have much free time to wander around for quite a while.

Meanwhile, ever since the new disciples had left, Yang Jinshu had been sitting restlessly in the Law Enforcement Hall, staring anxiously at the sun outside. Only when the sun was finally nearing the horizon did she hurry over to the General Affairs Hall.

Seeing that Liu Yunan was already busy inside, she knew that the arrangements for the new disciples must have concluded for the day.

Yang Jinshu walked straight over and grabbed the still-busy Liu Yunan, who had been writing something seemingly without end, pulling him to his feet.

“Come on, you’re coming with me to pick up your sister!”

Before Liu Yunan could recover from his bewilderment, she dragged him at a run to the Spirit Food Hall and brought out Liu Shengsheng, who had been assisting Jiang Youfu.

Then she seized both of them and hurried toward the new disciples’ living quarters.

Her fiery, hurried manner was completely unlike her usual dignified image as a mother.

Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng were both utterly baffled. They exchanged glances behind Yang Jinshu’s back, communicating silently with their eyes.

‘What’s wrong with Mom?’

‘I was just dragged out too. How would I know?’

‘Then what are we going to do?’

‘Could it be that Mom took a liking to one of the new disciples and wants to adopt him as her godson?’

‘Why couldn’t it be a goddaughter?’

…

Their confusion lasted until they reached a secluded corner behind the new disciples’ thatched huts.

After telling them, “Stay right here and behave,” their mother used an Invisibility Spell and entered the newcomers’ huts.

Then they waited.

And waited.

A very long time later, when the moon was almost directly overhead, they finally saw their mother supporting an elderly woman with gray-white hair as the two emerged from the small woods on the other side of the huts.

Yang Jinshu’s eyes looked red and swollen, as though she had been crying.

At the same time, the sharp-eared siblings heard their mother speaking to the old woman in a voice so gentle and tender that it was almost unrecognizable.

“Mother, you’ve suffered so much all these years… These are my son and daughter. My son’s name is Yunan, and my daughter’s name is Shengsheng.”

Then Yang Jinshu turned to Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng and said briskly, “Hurry up and greet your maternal grandmother.”

The old woman had already come before them and was smiling kindly at the siblings.

They were so shocked that their mouths fell open wide enough to fit an egg.

“Maternal grandmother?!”