41. Lin Jiuci Is Taken as an Apprentice

Lin Jiuge’s expression shifted instantly. She hurried over in a flash, with Zhou Yan reflexively following close behind. Li Yun’s mouth twitched; it seemed his disciple and grand-disciple had been researching quite thoroughly over the past two years.

"Grandmaster, what has Jiuci done?" Lin Jiuge picked up the bewildered Lin Jiuci. Now that Jiuci was older, Lin Jiuge no longer used her pet name.

"Jiuge, I wasn’t angry; I was just too shocked." Venerable Wudao, recalling his tone from moments ago, felt a pang of regret. He had simply been too excited.

Comforted by her sister, Lin Jiuci burst into tears—the kind of sobbing that ignored everyone else—and soon, Lin Jiuge’s left shoulder was soaked. Lin Jiuge remained silent, patting her sister’s back gently until the girl had cried her fill. Then, she wiped Jiuci’s nose and face clean.

Once she felt calmer, Lin Jiuci whispered, "Sister, Jiuci didn't mean to. I was just bored."

"So, what did you do?" Lin Jiuge was always patient with her sister.

"I saw you and Uncle drawing, so I tried to draw too." Jiuci pointed weakly at the talisman paper she had ruined with her scribbles.

"Why didn’t you tell me, Jiuci?" Lin Jiuge felt a pang of heartache. The girl was only five, and she had no playmates her own age.

"You’re too busy, Sister." Jiuci poked her fingers together. Her sister was always occupied; aside from providing her three meals a day and tucking her in at night, she rarely saw her during the day.

"I will make time for you from now on. But Jiuci, you know that doing something wrong has consequences, as I’ve taught you." Lin Jiuge set her down and crouched to look her in the eye.

"I know, Sister."

After speaking, Jiuci glanced timidly at Venerable Wudao, who had just been angry with her. "Uncle, it was Jiuci's fault. I shouldn't have touched your things, and I shouldn't have drawn on them. I won't do it again." She gathered her courage, trying to look the venerable elder in the eye as she apologized.

"Uncle wasn't angry with you. You might not believe it, but if you weren't untrained and devoid of primordial energy, that talisman would have actually worked. I was just stunned," the Venerable quickly clarified to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Grandmaster, Jiuci got the whole thing right?" Zhou Yan’s eyes widened, his face etched with shock.

"The stroke order was entirely correct." The fact that her hands were too small and weak, making the lines shaky, was of no consequence.

"Jiuci, can you draw it again?" Venerable Wudao asked.

"Jiuci... may I?" She twisted her two small fingers together, looking uneasy.

"Jiuci, you may draw it." Receiving judgmental stares from his fellow disciple and grand-disciple, the Venerable realized he had been in the wrong, but he truly had been overwhelmed. Seeing Jiuci’s timid expression, his heart ached.

Jiuci walked over, climbed onto the chair, picked up the brush, and began to draw with great focus. Venerable Wudao, watching from the side, became even more agitated.

"Good! Jiuci, would you like to be my disciple? I can teach you so many things." The words tumbled out of the Venerable’s mouth. It felt like a destiny ordained by the heavens. No wonder his martial uncle had said Jiuci was his fated disciple; no wonder she was always included in the gift-giving. He had wondered why their sect leader’s lineage—so protective and exclusionary—was so uniquely doting on this little milk bun of a girl. So this was why.

"Like becoming your disciple, just like Sister?" Jiuci asked, drawing from the limited examples she understood.

"Exactly. That way, you won't just be your sister's little sister, but also her junior fellow apprentice," the Venerable continued.

Lin Jiuge did not intervene. How her sister chose was her own business; she would protect Jiuci, but she would not prevent her from growing.

Zhou Yan was stunned. He was about to have a junior sister! He vowed to teach her well, momentarily ignoring the fact that he was often led astray by his own junior sister.

"Jiuci greets her Master." Jiuci performed the apprenticeship ceremony as earnestly as she had seen her sister do. Because she was a little round ball of a child, she was a bit unsteady; she folded her chubby hands together, lost her balance, and tipped over, landing on the floor with her little bottom sticking up. What should have been a solemn occasion was filled with joy.

"Ahem." They really hadn't meant to laugh; the little girl was just too adorable.

"Grandmaster, will you be holding an official ceremony?" Lin Jiuge asked, concerned.

"Naturally," the Venerable nodded.

Lin Jiuge frowned, wondering how many people would want to become the Venerable's disciple. Remembering her own experience during her apprenticeship, she felt deeply uneasy.

"Junior Sister, don't worry. Plenty of people want to be the Grandmaster's disciple, but they are all civilized people." Zhou Yan immediately understood her concern. Back then, Lin Jiuge had fought her way through everyone to earn her spot; she was worried the same would happen to Jiuci.

"Jiuge, rest assured. I will establish her status with Jiuci now, and she can formally conduct the ceremony once she has mastered the 'Classic of Rational Qi'," the Venerable said, understanding her worries.

"Thank you, Grandmaster." Lin Jiuge thanked him sincerely.

"Jiuge, now that Jiuci is five, she should be sent to the sect's school. The basics must be learned there; I can teach her the rest," the Venerable continued.

"The sect has a school?" Lin Jiuge’s shock was unconcealed.

"Naturally. The children there either have parents or elders in the sect, were picked up by elders during their travels, or were selected from the mortal realm by the sect. Everyone starts at the school," the Venerable explained.

"Very well." Lin Jiuge hadn't known before, but now that she did, she was naturally willing for her sister to interact with children her own age—though her understanding of the situation was slightly off.

"Don't be in a rush, though. The screening for this batch of disciples from the mortal realm is almost finished. She can join the school then. In the meantime, Jiuci can learn the foundations with me," the Venerable said, growing fonder of Jiuci with every look. He wished he could pour all his knowledge into her right then and there.

"I will trouble you, Grandmaster." With that, Lin Jiuge and Zhou Yan took their leave. The misunderstanding resolved, Lin Jiuge needed to deliver the manual to the Sect Leader so he could decide which level of the library to store it in.

"Tsk tsk, you old bookworm, I never expected this," Li Yun remarked after his disciple and grand-disciple had left.

"What? Can't I take on a disciple? Jiuci is so talented; don't be jealous," the Venerable retorted instantly.

"Old bookworm, have you forgotten something?" Li Yun reminded him kindly.

"What have I forgotten?" The Venerable racked his brain, unable to think of anything.

"Old bookworm, let me warn you: Lin Jiuci is Lin Jiuge’s sister," Li Yun prompted.

"I've known that for years, naturally." The Venerable didn't understand why this mattered.

"I won't even mention Jiuge’s proficiency in the arts—after all, she was the one who could memorize every talisman and array pattern. As her sister, aren't you afraid they might share the same... 'lineage'?" Li Yun asked pointedly.

The Venerable froze. He had been careless; he had completely forgotten to account for that. Now, as he looked at the talisman Jiuci had drawn, his heart began to flutter with anxiety. Surely she wouldn't be exactly like her sister, would she? It must be an illusion—sisters didn't necessarily have to be exactly alike!

"Jiuci is Jiuci."