Volume Two, Chapter One: The Academy's Discord

What is happening to me? Why does my head hurt so much?

Moshan rubbed his temples, which were throbbing violently due to disordered cranial nerves, and muttered in discomfort.

Blackened eyelids and hands that could feel no boundaries in the surrounding abyss—it was a darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything, casting a flicker of hesitation and unease across Moshan’s pale face.

He began to examine his surroundings. His eyes focused, the single white pinprick within his pupils swallowed by the surrounding blackness, until the environment gradually seemed to grow a fraction brighter.

Though still pitch black all around, the ground at least became faintly visible.

Countless crisscrossing trenches scarred the earth, forming a sprawling web that trapped him upon the stone flags.

To his right stood a massive coffin. He scrambled to his feet in a panic.

Could this be the prison of Wudang Academy? Did they have second thoughts after he passed out, deciding his condition was too bizarre?

Or perhaps they adhered to the philosophy that it was better to execute a thousand innocents than let a single guilty one escape?

Were they keeping a coffin here to bury him the moment he died?

The more Moshan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. That sense of dread spread through his heart—until he suddenly caught sight of a white figure ahead.

A white figure, standing right behind the coffin!

Could it be that this person had been lying in wait here all along...?

Waiting for me to wake up?

Moshan started, involuntarily taking a few steps back, only for his heel to catch on the sharp edge of a trench. Panic flashing across his face, he hurriedly dropped into a half-crouch.

That brief distraction caused the white figure before him to vanish instantly. Goosebumps broke out across his skin, and as he instinctively spun around, the white figure abruptly materialized directly behind him.

His brows twitched slightly as he beheld a blurred human face. Clearly standing so close, yet he could not make out a single facial feature!

He could feel his own heartbeat, hammering rapidly. Despite the indistinct features, he could clearly perceive that the entity was smiling.

Mocking him?

That was Moshan’s primary reaction. Following that, the white figure slowly drew a sword from behind its back.

A single bead of cold sweat trickled down Moshan’s forehead.

Run!

The moment he pivoted, his ankle tensing to burst into motion, a sword plunged into his back.

A blade steeped in biting chill pierced his spine first. It seemed almost alive, lightly brushing against his heart before effortlessly piercing right through it.

Moshan looked down. The sword had burst forth from his right chest, the white blade already stained with blood.

Was he going to die?

His vision dimmed. With a violent shudder, he stiffly turned his head back.

The longsword was withdrawn from his chest, dripping with fresh blood. The white figure was bespattered with crimson, carrying a chilling, bewitching allure, while its blurred features delivered a profound shock to his senses.

In the end, I still cannot see the face of the one who kills me?

Moshan’s voice was low, laced with helplessness, as he collapsed.

The next moment, a sudden warmth enveloped him. Were they going to pick me up and bury me inside the coffin...?

Father! Why must I apologize to those two? I merely cursed them a few times!

Beneath a sky of azure and white clouds, a pair of figures walked along the ancient divine path. A young woman puffed out her cheeks, voicing her discontent to her father.

Look at your age! Not a shred of a lady's demeanor! Cursing others with such a foul mouth—hmph!

And you still have the nerve to speak!

Just how thick-skinned can you be?

The one threatening to pinch the girl's cheek was none of than Elder Qian, Master of the Hall of Elixirs. He was escorting his daughter to the Eastern Divine Path to apologize to the person Qian Ling had reviled.

It would be so humiliating! How am I supposed to hold my head high in the inner sect after this? I won't go! Fa-ther!

Qian Ling deliberately dragged out her tone, tugging at her father's sleeve and whimpering coquettishly.

You think you can just refuse to go? Do you really have a choice in this matter?

Elder Qian remained entirely unmoved by Qian Ling's coquettish act. Today, she simply had to be disciplined—this girl whom the academy disciples had dubbed the little witch!

The Wudang Eastern Divine Path.

Two young women crouched upon the stone steps, their eyes fixed intently downward as if lost in thought, their minds wandering far away.

Behind the two of them, a white figure stood motionless upon the topmost step. Its posture rigid, viewed from afar it resembled nothing less than a stone statue, completely devoid of movement.

Yushan! I want to go back, I'm starving!

One of the girls' stomachs let out a loud rumble as she lowered her head with a pitiful expression.

They had arrived at noon, and upon hearing Luo Yinmei speak, they hadn't even bothered to eat.

Later, unable to resist Yushan's pitiful, pleading gaze, they had impulsively come to the ancient divine path. Having eaten only a tiny morsel that morning, they now found themselves surrounded by billowing clouds and biting wind.

Boredom had set in, their minds had wandered wildly, and hunger had promptly followed.

I'm starving too! For all we know, the elder might be waiting for us right at the exit! I refuse to turn back after staying for just a moment and become a laughingstock!

Yushan stared ahead and sighed.

But what do we do about the hunger? Besides, staying in this forsaken place is agonizingly boring!

And I'm starving!

The girl lowered her head, her stomach still rumbling audibly as she spoke with a weak voice.

Aren't there people behind us? Let's ask him how he manages to eat every day!

Noticing her best friend's rumbling stomach and realizing the girl was genuinely famished—which in turn triggered hunger pangs in her own belly—Yushan paused to consider what they would do about food if they were forced to spend a whole month here.

Her thoughts immediately turned to Qi Qiu behind them, and she blurted out the question.

Hey! Martial Madman! How do you usually get your meals?