Master

The man’s gaze flickered subtly, and the light within it seemed beautiful to Jue Yi, though she could not grasp its meaning. The man smiled and said, “You’re Mu Yun’s daughter.”

Jue Yi nodded, accustomed since childhood to everyone knowing her father, so she was not surprised. But just as she was about to leave, the man pressed her small figure and asked, “Do you know who your mother is?”

“Do you know her?” Jue Yi asked.

The man nodded, and Jue Yi quickly changed direction, reaching out her little hand to touch his sleeve, looking up and saying, “Then tell me.”

“How about we make a deal? After this contest, if your father remains the clan leader, come find me, and I’ll tell you everything about your mother.”

Jue Yi thought for a moment, then nodded.

“But you mustn’t tell anyone else,” he added.

She nodded again, reluctantly releasing his sleeve and slowly making her way toward the crowd. Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she hadn’t asked his name. She turned to look back, but upon seeing the endless mountain range, stopped. Well, she would ask next time…

The clan leader’s contest was held every four years, lasting four days each time.

After returning, Jue Yi soon learned the result—her father remained clan leader. That evening, as dusk fell, Jue Yi was playing on the stone steps when her father stepped before her, bathed in golden twilight, and lifted her high. She broke into laughter, for she saw her father’s joyful smile.

That night, recalling the man from before, Jue Yi lay in bed pretending to sleep so she could slip away sooner.

As expected, after Bi Li tucked her in, she left. Jue Yi hopped down, not bothering with an extra layer, and hurried eastward. The mountains were darker at night; after a few steps, she dared not go further. She decided to call out a few times—if no one answered, she’d return in daylight. Yet, before she could speak, the white-robed man appeared before her once more.

“Mu Yun retained his post?” he asked.

Jue Yi nodded, guessing he was asking if her father had won.

The next moment, the man picked her up, and they walked through the dark mountains until they reached a small grass hut. Flickering candlelight softly illuminated the surroundings, and Jue Yi finally loosened her hold around his neck. He brought her inside, placing her on a soft bed.

“Do you truly know my mother?” Jue Yi asked.

The man handed her a cup of hot tea. “Of course. Has your father ever told you tales of the True Gods?”

Jue Yi shook her head but replied, “Sister Bi Li told me—she said there are no True Gods anymore, not even Higher Gods. Now, the most powerful in Heaven are the Divine Lords.”

“That’s right. But long ago, before you were born, there was still one True God in this world—the last. And this True God was a goddess named Shuang Yi. As the last True God, she bore the weight of protecting all three realms. You see your father busy enough guarding the small Witch Clan—imagine the burden of safeguarding the entire Three Realms.”

He looked at Jue Yi, and as she nodded, continued, “One year, a plague broke out among mortals, killing many. The Witch Clan’s magic made treatment easier, so the True God hurried to the Ancestral Isle. She found the clan leader and elders, explained the situation, and personally requested help. The Witch Clan could not refuse, so they sent their most promising youths to assist her in saving the mortals. Yet, in those years of rescue, one youth grew to love her. When the True God was exhausted from healing, he confessed his feelings. The elders learned of this and immediately had the youth captured. It was a crime punishable by eternal exile, but through the True God’s pleas, he was spared, sentenced instead to twenty years in the dark prison.

The youth knew the Witch Clan valued strength, and his love was genuine, not for her status. Determined to see her again, he devoted himself to cultivation, finally earning a chance after twelve years. By then, he was a young man, and he did not squander his opportunity. Upon regaining freedom, his first act was to leave Ancestral Isle and seek the True God. But she had been grievously wounded while subduing an ancient beast, and no one knew her whereabouts. The elders urged him to give up, but he refused, embarking alone to find her. Perhaps Heaven rewards the persistent—he did find her at last. Yet she was frail, on the verge of fading away. Knowing he could not help her, he wished to take her to Heaven, where others might aid her. But she declined and chose instead to accept his love.

They lived together among mortals, but two years later, the young man awoke to find the True God gone. He knew she had left to fulfill one last task and did not pursue her. Instead, he took the infant she left behind and returned to Ancestral Isle, winning the clan leader’s contest and becoming the new chief. Jue Yi, do you understand? Your mother was the last True God, Shuang Yi, and now she is gone.”

“What did she leave for? Why wouldn’t she let Father help her?” Jue Yi asked.

The man gently ruffled her hair, smiling tenderly. “Because it was her duty to protect the world, not your father’s. To ensure hundreds of years of peace in Heaven, she used her last strength to seal something dangerous. Moreover, before she left, she forcibly altered your father’s fate against the heavens. He thought he had only slept a night, but upon waking, a hundred years had passed. In this sense, the True God was cruel, stripping away even the last chance to say goodbye.”

Jue Yi felt stifled after hearing this; she disliked the tale. She would rather her mother had abandoned her and her father than have this ending. So she jumped down from the bed and walked outside.

The man did not stop her, but at the threshold, Jue Yi remembered her previous question and turned back. “What’s your name?”

“Feng Qing. You may call me Feng Qing.”

Jue Yi nodded. “Can you take me to the entrance? I’m afraid of the dark.”

Feng Qing smiled slightly, rose, and carried her all the way to the entrance.

For days after her return, Jue Yi hid in her room, afraid she might blurt out her questions if she saw her father. This did not last long—Bi Li noticed her odd behavior first. One morning, after Jue Yi’s usual waking hour had passed, Bi Li knocked and entered.

Jue Yi turned toward the inside of the bed, but Bi Li pulled her out of the blankets.

“My little princess, what’s wrong?” Bi Li asked, cradling Jue Yi and smiling fondly.

Jue Yi pouted. “Nothing. Sister Bi Li, let me sleep a bit more.”

Bi Li looked troubled, but before long, Mu Yun entered. Bi Li handed Jue Yi over, and Mu Yun carried her outside.

“What have you been doing, holed up in your room these days?”

Jue Yi turned her head away from her father, but wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, asking softly, “Father, do you miss Mother?”

He answered with silence that lasted a long time.

At last, she heard him say, “She has always been in my heart.”

Jue Yi tightened her arms, burying her head in his neck. Large tears rolled down, soaking his robe.

Mu Yun gently rubbed the back of her head, but said nothing more.

Thus, the matter of her mother reached its conclusion for Jue Yi. Having found her answer, she never questioned Mu Yun again. She returned to being the little princess who ran wild and carefree throughout the Witch Clan.

Joyful, untroubled days slipped by until her seventh birthday. As Mu Yun was clan leader, many came to celebrate, including several elders. Only then did Jue Yi carefully count their number, ticking them off on her fingers, finally arriving at nine with a cheerful smile.

One elder saw this and teased, “What if both hands aren’t enough?”

“There are always feet!” Jue Yi replied, making everyone burst into laughter. The elder affectionately ruffled her hair.

Afterward, Jue Yi saw some elders speaking quietly to her father, their eyes occasionally drifting to her.

That night, after the guests had gone, Mu Yun carried Jue Yi to sit on the stone steps in the courtyard. Ancestral Isle, an island far from the mainland, was swept by sea winds at night. Though its natural barriers kept most explorers out, the wind was never stopped.

Jue Yi tilted her head, watching her father’s long black hair dancing in the breeze, intertwining as if in a dance. Then, she heard him speak.

“Jue Yi, it’s time for you to find a master.”