Although Yan Ping returned to the Mystical Qilin Sect, Anji thought nothing had changed after two weeks. Everyone was still as busy, and Yan Ping did not allow her to leave the hut they shared. However, Anji soon learned why.
"My debut?"
Chuckling at the child’s cluelessness, Yan Ping decided it was ti to tell her what was happening in the sect, or at least part of it.
"Of course," she smiled. "What kind of sect would we be if we did not hold a successor announcing ceremony? Now, quickly choose. Which fabric do you prefer? We need to make a ceremonial robe for formal events and your regular clothes in the sect. Unfortunately, the Mystical Qilin Sect only allows successors to wear white. The other colours, red, yellow, green and blue, are for researchers from different districts. Grey robes are for retired sect mbers and black for outer court apprentices."
Although Anji owned many dresses back ho of all different colours, she had never seen anyone wearing all white outside of a funeral. Her shifu was the first person with such a unique aesthetic that suited her mysterious personality. However, now that Anji knew better, she wondered if Yan Ping once wore a different coloured uniform.
"Black," Yan Ping replied at once. "The colour I wore before it beca white."
...
???
Even without a sound, Yan Ping could hear Anji’s confusion. It was only natural. However, it was also true. Not many people in the Mystical Qilin Sect knew about Yan Ping’s unique past. She was probably the first person in the sect’s long history to beco a sect successor without becoming an inner disciple. She was also the first naturally blind person admitted into the sect. There were many first tis with Yan Ping for the Mystical Qilin Sect.
Then again, her master was the most carefree sect leader known to the Mystical Qilin Sect. Maybe it wasn’t all that surprising after all. Fate had a unique way of doing things. If people stopped to think about it, Anji was also a unique case. No child had ever been officially admitted into the sect before reaching double-digit age. Yet here they were, choosing the fabric for her ceremonial outfit.
Seeing how they would spend a few years together as master and disciple, Yan Ping put aside the imdiate task for now. Although she had never wanted a husband, the blind woman had never been against the idea of adopting children. Anji was the closest child she could call her own. Although Yan Ping could never hold a candle to Zhao Wanting as a mother, she was determined to act like a godmother or grandmother to Anji whenever she was not required to act as her teacher.
"Do you want to listen to a story?" Yan Ping offered the space beside her, welcoming Anji to sit. "It’s not a very interesting one. But it’s one that only a few people know about."
Eager to learn more about her shifu, Anji bead. Climbing up to the chair beside her teacher, Anji waited excitedly. Yan Ping was a very mysterious person. Not many people know what she was thinking most of the ti. However, as they spent more ti together as master and disciple, Anji enjoyed all the little things she ca to know about her usually strict and graceful teacher. The little things like Yan Ping’s unconscious habit of placing her left foot out to test the steps first gave Anji a clue that her teacher was originally left-handed. Yan Ping confird her suspicions when Anji casually asked about it. Others would assu Yan Ping was naturally ambidextrous, but not Anji.
Sighing, Yan Ping tried to recall the details from more than a hundred years ago. Truthfully, it wasn’t a particularly interesting story. Yan Ping was not a skilled storyteller. She often recited stories like reading a textbook. As a teacher, she had confidence in making concepts easy. However, the blind woman knew she lacked any humour. Entertaining was Hong Nian Niang’s expertise, not hers.
"Before I entered the sect, I was a blind orphan living on the streets. The only thing I rembered was being raised to beg on the streets by so horrible people who adopted . They don’t feed or clothe well, but they beat up a lot if I don’t make enough money."
Hearing that, Anji’s eyes widened. Despite the dark story, there was a small smile on her shifu’s face when she recalled those unhappy days as a helpless blind child wandering the streets.
"Then, one day, I decided to change my approach. I thought that begging at the side of the street was too passive. So, I started approaching others. Eventually, I picked up a new skill. It was easier to help myself to other people’s money bags instead of begging them to open it for ."
Ah, her shifu was a pickpocket! Scandalised with equal fascination, Anji covered her mouth and continued to listen to the rest of the story. It did not sound as if Yan Ping had much education. Given her handicap, how did she enter the Mystical Qilin Sect?
"One day, I ran into a very loud and drunk lady. She was full of openings, a typical target for pickpockets like . However, that was the biggest mistake and blessing of my life. That person turned out to be the previous sect leader of the Mystical Qilin Sect, my shifu."
Eyes sparkling now, Anji could not contain her curiosity.
"Did she adopt you to the sect after that chance encounter?"
Smirking, Yan Ping recalled the mont she was caught red-handed by a drunkard. It was both gobsmacking and paradigm-shifting.
"Not before she asked a question," Yan Ping explained. "She asked what the difference between a blind criminal and a criminal was. How would you reply to her question if you were caught stealing by a drunk woman?"
Anji tried to think of a response that her shifu would co up with. Yan Ping never saw her blindness as a disadvantage. However, seeing how her teacher was a very different person from her past, Anji wondered if that would be the right response. In the end, she chose to answer it her way.
"I’ll answer that there was no difference. However, there was a difference between a criminal who had to resort to cri to survive and a criminal who chose to do cri to fulfil their greed."
Grinning widely now, Yan Ping patted Anji on her head. Even at the sa age, they had vastly different answers. Anji was wise beyond her years and raised in a kind household. However, Yan Ping’s answer was more crass.
"I wish I had your answer back then. Truthfully, I don’t know why my shifu did not leave there and then. I told her crudely that the difference was how a blind criminal did not need to see the ugly faces of stingy rich people they stole from or the people who abused her. I even spat about how I found other criminals pitiful and pathetic because they had to resort to cri even without a handicap. When I was a child, I was so full of myself that I claid to never need to resort to dirty tactics if people would look past my handicap to give a chance to prove my worth."
Impressed by the guts her teacher had, Anji clapped softly. After spending enough ti with eccentric martial artists like Bai Dajin, Anji could understand how her grandshifu might find Yan Ping’s young outburst amusing.
"Did she adopt you to give you that chance to prove yourself? Is that how you ended up wearing white robes from black?"
Nodding, Yan Ping grinned. However, she soon turned serious and warned Anji not to follow in her foolish younger self’s footsteps. Quickly, the girl reassured her teacher that she would never do such a thing. After all, Anji had no wish to shock her mother into an early grave with her lack of manners.
"Long story short, the Mystical Qilin Sect was no better than a den of hooligans back then. My shifu deliberately threw bait into a den of wolves, expecting them to tear apart in a few days. However, after a year of surviving, thriving and reforming the outer court under my rule, she decided that I was the successor she needed to save the sect from total decline. In other words, my lazy shifu shoved all the responsibilities of a sect leader onto at the first opportunity she could."
Hearing the earth-shattering summary, Anji’s jaw fell. Suddenly, Yan Ping’s no-nonsense and serious personality made so much sense. It was probably accurate to say that Yan Ping single-handedly saved the dying embers of the Mystical Qilin Sect and made it burn brighter. She wondered if she could do anything as grand as her amazing shifu when it beca her turn one day.
As if reading her mind, Yan Ping snorted.
"You’ll be fine if you don’t run it to the ground like my shifu almost did. I doubt the sect will change much, even if you took over. If anything, you’re the perfect walking example of what an ideal Mystical Qilin Sect mber should be like ignoring your weak constitution. I didn’t choose you to beco my successor because I needed you to repay a debt. I chose you because of the prophecy. You are the person the Mystical Qilin Sect needs. Saving you was sothing I would have done either way, for both personal reasons and the sect’s interest."
Hearing the answer to a question she had no courage to ask, Anji felt a huge knot co undone in her heart. Smiling brightly, Anji promised to make many contributions to the sect and uphold its image as the successor.
...
Unwilling to dampen her optimism, Yan Ping agreed with a slight nod. However, she had a feeling that it was only a matter of ti before other cultivators learned about how crazy this place truly was. Any image Anji had as a successor would be instantly tarnished by the behaviour of their mbers during the cross-collaboration training.
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