Seeing the Gentleman - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Gu Yu went rigid as stone in my arms.

His cultivator robes were old, the fabric washed to a soft, faded hemp-green.

With my arms wrapped around him, I looked him over from left to right.

“You’ve gotten so thin-why are your hands so cold?”

As if burned, he yanked his hand back and hid it inside his sleeve.

Only after a long while did his lips move. In a halting, unfamiliar voice, he said, “Jinyue, you’re grown up now. You can’t just hug me whenever you like. Let go.”

“I won’t!” Catching the red at the tips of his ears, I leaned in shamelessly and rubbed against him. “So you’ll write me letters, but you won’t see me?”

Behind us, the crowd exchanged looks. Someone called out to me.

“Junior Sister Zhao, you know him?”

It was Senior Brother Zhou Su, who had come to welcome the new disciples up the mountain.

I tugged Gu Yu along and introduced him with a smile. “Senior Brother, Gu Yu and I are-”

“Siblings!”

He cut me off and cupped his hands to the crowd.

“When I was young, Miss Zhao and I lived next door to each other. I am her sworn brother.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Zhou Su answered mildly, then turned to me. “There’s nothing much to see in the outer sect. Junior Sister, come with me up to Sanxiao. The elders all want to meet you.”

Before I could even say goodbye to Gu Yu, he brushed my hand away, picked up his broom, and hurried off.

Snow scattered beneath his feet. He left in a panic.

Zhou Su led me into the inner sect, blocking the way in front of me with all his might.

“Senior Sister Meng, hold on! I was the one who discovered this seedling, so naturally she has to meet the people of our Talisman Sect first.”

As he spoke, he wriggled forward and bumped aside a woman in red.

I was still staring in confusion when a seal token suddenly appeared in my hand.

A man in riding clothes with a sword at his waist introduced himself with a stern face. “Junior Sister Zhao, I am-”

Zhou Su pulled out a pill and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Shut it, Yan Qing. You spell-cultivation lot are all stubborn as mules. Junior Sister will be bored to death if she goes with you. Move!”

That Senior Brother Yan’s face flushed red. Then his voice rang out like a crack of thunder.

“If you join the Dao Sect, you may become a disciple of Dao Lord Shaowei!”

Zhou Su went silent, like a sparrow poisoned into muteness.

Senior Sister Meng Xiao’s eyes widened. She craned her neck to ask the people around her, “That one from Taixu Palace has come out of seclusion? When did that happen? How am I supposed to snatch anyone now? Honestly.”

I didn’t understand any of it. I was only wondering when I could go look for Gu Yu.

After Yan Qing defeated all his opponents, he lifted his chin.

“Well? Junior Sister, come with me and test your spiritual meridians again. The Dao Lord is already waiting.”

I nodded and followed him.

Behind us, everyone exchanged glances, then all chased after us together.

Dao Lord Shaowei’s surname was Yuan, his given name Bocang.

He had once been the crown prince of the Ancient Shu Kingdom, born with a spiritual bone.

Now he presided over Taixu Palace and cultivated the Five Elements Dao arts.

Yan Qing explained the rules to me the whole way.

The territory of the Dao Sect was cold and austere on all sides.

Before the towering hall, two bronze cranes spread their wings, wisps of smoke drifting from beneath their feathers.

Yan Qing stopped and reminded me in a low voice, “Go on. The Dao Lord dislikes noise. Do not speak too much.”

It smelled so good.

Following that fragrance the whole way, I peered through the falling snow and saw the immortal lord beneath the corridor.

A black cat lay in his arms, and he was stroking its fur again and again.

“Place your hand on the crane’s head.”

Without looking up, he gave the order calmly.

I did as I was told.

The crane’s head was icy cold, pressing painfully into my palm.

“Ow!”

I pulled my hand back. The bronze crane bloomed with flowing gold, lifting its head to let out a clear cry.

The black cat leapt away and hid behind Yuan Bocang in shock.

He froze in disbelief, then slowly descended the stone steps.

“Are you willing to enter my tutelage?”

I asked, “If I come here, will I have to work?”

He gave a contemptuous snort. “Ridiculous. If fortune favors you, my Taixu Palace will be yours in the future. Fine clothes and exquisite food go without saying.”

“All right.” I thought for a moment, then asked, “Can I bring someone to live with me? He’s also from the Lushan Sect. His name is Gu Yu.”

He pressed his lips together and did not answer.

Zhou Su hurried forward and cupped his hands.

“Reporting to the Dao Lord, that person is a sweeping servant from the outer sect. He claims to be Junior Sister Zhao’s sworn brother from the old days.”

“Sworn brother?” Yuan Bocang frowned. “To cultivate the Dao, one must keep a tranquil heart. You cannot become mired in love between men and women.”

So that meant no.

Imitating the others, I bowed to him, then shook my head.

“Thank you for telling me, Dao Lord. I think I’ll go look elsewhere.”

Zhou Su’s eyes went wide, the corners of his mouth lifting wildly.

Meng Xiao tugged at Yan Qing and waggled her brows, laughing with open delight.

The man above was stunned for several breaths.

“You are unwilling? Do you know that becoming my disciple places you only one step away from ascension?”

“What use is it if only I ascend? Gu Yu will die. If he dies, what am I supposed to do?”

At that, Yuan Bocang pressed his lips tightly together.

He looked as though he had swallowed a fly and was terrified someone might notice, unable to either spit it out or force it down.

“You…”

He closed his eyes. “Dull-witted as a pig! For a mere romance, you would give up the great Dao and eternal life?”

Eternal life was not important to me.

Before Zhou Su discovered my innate talent, I had been nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable farm girl.

The first half of my life had been bland and laughable, with precious little joy.

The only trace of sweetness in it had all come from Gu Yu.

“Dao Lord,” I said, “the weight the great Dao holds in your heart is the weight Gu Yu holds in mine.”

I bowed again, then turned and left.