"Gu Ying!" Anji spotted her Manchurian bodyguard almost imdiately after arriving at the guest quarters. She had her back turned and was talking to soone when Anji spotted her.
The young man behind Gu Ying looked familiar. However, it was the fan and scholarly sway that gave his identity away first.
"Brother Mingshen!" Anji gasped at the unexpected visitor. "Why didn’t you tell you were visiting the sect?"
Grinning behind his signature paper fan, Mingshen took a good look at his younger sister. It had been many months, almost half a year since they parted at the borders. However, the Mystical Qilin Sect entrance shocked him more than he expected. To think that they were waiting for thirty minutes after Anji ’left’ to turn back... The Founder of this sect surely enjoyed playing pranks.
Anji had not grown much in their ti away, but Mingshen did. The height difference between them grew even larger once more as he was finally at the height of Gu Ying’s shoulder. However, Anji’s new clothing made her appear more mature. Part of the scholarly teen wanted to pick her up and twirl her in the air. Yet, he restrained himself. After all, his younger sister was now the respected successor of the oldest cultivator sect.
"I wanted to surprise you," Mingshen smiled. "Gu Ying already knew. We kept in touch with letters. I simply ca ahead of the others for the exchange to represent the Celestial Dragon Sect and relay so important information from Hong Nian Niang to your shifu. Mother wanted to co but only one representative from each sect can attend today’s exchange representative initiation eting. She will co when the details of this martial exchange program are finalised."
Beaming, Anji reached out to hug her brother. Mingshen grew taller yet again without her, making Anji pout. Seeing him after so long reminded Anji just how much she missed her family. Parts of her wondered if everyone else back in the sect was doing alright.
"How is brother Yihao, big sister Ruiting and father doing?" Anji asked after they settled in the guest room.
According to Mingshen, Yihao was still in isolated training. Nobody knew how he was doing because his energy was still unstable. Occasionally, they would hear yells or feel tremors coming from the cultivation chamber he was in. Bai Dajin had gone back to check on his disciple so Wei Jie, the most advanced disciple of the White Tiger Sect, will be attending the exchange eting instead.
"Sect Leader Hong has gone to find Sect Leader Liu at the Heavenly Phoenix Sect. They will both arrive late because of so internal conflicts," Mingshen explained. "Things are becoming tricky at the Heavenly Phoenix Sect. Not everyone agrees with the exchange, and Sect Leader Liu is having trouble leading such a huge sect alone."
Nodding along, Anji could understand how difficult it would be for soone who yet barely beco an adult lead such a huge sect with many advisors and internal politics. Even with Hong Nian Niang’s help, it would still be difficult. Leading a sect was different from cultivating oneself to a higher level. Not everyone can single-handedly manage both like her shifu. Then again, not many sects had access to the accelerated cultivation chamber setup.
As they discussed the upcoming eting, Anji learned how Zhang Mou would be representing the Azure Dragon Sect instead of his father. In fact, the scholarly man will officially take over the sect as the leader by the end of the year, despite his lack of cultivation progress. Unlike the Heavenly Phoenix Sect, which constantly opposed Liu Yanxia’s succession, the mbers of the Azure Dragon Sect were said to cry so many tears of joy that it could end a drought.
"Sect Leader Chen will be attending the eting as well?" Anji asked. "Shifu did not tell the guest list for today’s eting. I’m rely attending as a formality because she wants to be officially recognised as the sect’s successor and representative of the Mystical Qilin Sect."
Nodding, Mingshen explained why the eting had to be postponed.
"Old Chen sprained his back trying to ride a horse. They had to change to a carriage halfway, and he was told to recuperate for at least a week by your shifu. That’s why the eting date was changed. From my information sources, he’s still a very healthy but hard-headed old man. When you see him later, you should greet him warmly. I heard that his joints are giving him problems when climbing the stairs, but he refuses to see a doctor because of it, opting to fly around on his sword instead."
Laughing uneasily, Anji wondered if the exchange eting with the representatives would conclude peacefully. Although she had t most of the representatives before, the pressure to perform well in her first public eting increased.
Moving from the topic, Anji asked about the other Celestial Dragon Sect servants, particularly Lizi and Doctor He. She had written back to introduce Doctor Yun to Doctor He but had not received a reply yet.
Patiently, Mingshen answered all of Anji’s questions. He had been very busy the past half year cleaning up the situation outside the sect and ensuring that any demon-hunting teams had access to the poison’s counterasures while recuperating in the sect. He helped his mother sort out dostic affairs and, among them, received Anji’s letters.
"He did not write back not because he did not want to," Mingshen quickly explained. "Ever since you told him about the unique herbs and recipes Doctor Yun uses, the man has decided to rewrite the entire dical series he has to be sent along with his reply letter to you and Doctor Yun. Before I left, he told that he was only sixty percent completed with it and told to tell you to wait a little longer. Also, he has been working closely with the other senior cultivators in our sect to test your idea out. It’s not cultivator surgery, but he’s using cultivation qi manipulation and acupuncture. It has proven to be very effective for countering toxic substances, more than dicinal baths and purging."
Intrigued by the different uses of the sa dical concept, Anji wondered if her shifu would allow Doctor He to stay with her in the Mystical Qilin Sect to help with her official thesis research. Anji’s mind was too narrow. She only considered surgery integration. Hearing how acupuncture also worked, Anji wondered if they could adopt cultivation practises into any other aspects of dical practices.
With so snacks and good tea, the ti passed quickly, and it beca late afternoon before an outer disciple interrupted Anji’s discussions.
"Pardon the intrusion, Ci Wang. The other representatives have just arrived at the main gate. The Sect Leader requests your presence to prepare for the exchange eting."
Quickly excusing herself, Anji hugged her brother and Gu Ying goodbye and quickly hurried off. She would see them later, but for now, there was no ti to waste. She should not keep her shifu waiting. After all, Yan Ping hated tardiness.
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