Be Gentle, Immortal Master

Bai Ye's lessons turned out to be too addicting. The thrill of seeing him aside, the material was also so captivating and useful that I couldn't help but suspect he had tailored it just for me. I ended up being one of the first to show up every morning, and when I found out that it wasn't unusual for disciples to attend their own master's lessons, I started lingering around for multiple sessions a day.

Hearing everyone's pining comments and sighs about him soon became a new routine for me, but apart from that, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Not until the fourth day when a voice called from behind me on my way back to my room after the lesson: "Senior, you're staying on this level as well?"

I turned around. It was the girl that asked Bai Ye to help her with the talisman drawing last time. I nodded, "Everyone from Mount Hua is on this level." I was pretty sure she knew that already.

The girl smiled. "No wonder I've seen you quite a lot recently. And you're in the talisman lessons too, right? You are such a fast learner. I envy how quickly you pick up all the new techniques every time!"

I looked at her, not quite certain what she was trying to lead to. I did start picking up the new material much faster after the first day, and I was thankful for it—if Bai Ye were to keep showing me everything by hand in front of others, someone might end up noticing the unusualness—but how did any of this catch the Jade Temple disciple's interest?

"I'm not trying to judge," she added quickly, seeing my lack of response. "I'm just wondering … Have you learned any of these before? Are these common techniques taught at Mount Hua?"

"No, Mount Hua focuses on swordsmanship." Not knowing her intention, I answered the questions straightforwardly. "All masters are skilled in more than one art, of course, but most disciples don't learn the rest until after ascension."

The girl smiled again as if discovering something exciting. "Oh, does that mean the master that's teaching our lessons is a swordmaster as well? I had thought he specialized in talismans … How well do you know him? Since you are from the same sect, you must've seen him before, right?"

Ah, so she was here for gossips about Bai Ye. I considered it for a moment. Seeing no benefit in lying, I said, "He is my master."

Her jaw hit the floor. "H-He is your master?" she gasped. "You don't look it at all! I-I mean … You didn't show it …" Her gaze swept me up and down, and I saw in her eyes the jealousy that I had grown too familiar with at Mount Hua. "Why did you come to your own master's lessons?"

I had prepared an answer for exactly this question—I had expected to use it on whoever from Mount Hua that might want to give me trouble. "I signed up for two sword practice sessions in the morning, and I needed something else in between that didn't involve physical practices. The talisman lesson was the only option in that time slot that could give me a little break, and since I don't usually get a chance to learn it back at Mount Hua, it worked out." I thought for a moment and added, "If you're interested in swordsmanship lessons, by the way, Mount Hua's Gatekeeper also teaches them in the afternoons. You can give it a try."

We had come to my door while talking. I paused and nodded to the girl, implying that I'd take my leave. But she didn't take the hint. "What's your master like outside of lessons?" she asked. "Is he strict or easygoing?"

Her questions were getting a little nosy for someone that I didn't even know the name of, but I managed a polite smile. "Master is still the same person with or without lessons."

The girl didn't seem satisfied with the ambiguous answer though. She glanced around. After making sure that there was no one else nearby, she lowered her voice and asked, "Does he have a daoist companion? What kind of woman does he like?"

I glared at her then. I thought Bai Ye had said that Jade Temple was strict with rules … But these were questions that I would never even hear at Mount Hua. How was this disciple so bold?

My expression must've betrayed my thoughts, as the girl grinned the next moment and waved a hand dismissively.  "Don't look so alarmed!" she laughed. "I'm just joking. You haven't been to the mess hall these days, have you? You would've heard much worse jokes if you dined with my seniors." She patted my shoulder as if it was really a jest between best friends. "It was nice meeting you. My room is right down this hallway, and I'm sure we'll see each other quite often."

My eyes followed her as she strode down the hall and disappeared at the end of the turn. A handsome face is trouble indeed, I thought and shook my head. Ignoring this little distraction, I reached for my keys and opened the door.

Only to find that Bai Ye was sitting in my bed, looking at me with a giant smirk on his face.

… Heavens, I had forgotten that I had given him a spare key so that he could sneak in unnoticed before the busy rush at the end of the day. My head snapped back, nervously searching behind me, and I only let out a breath after seeing that no one was passing through the hallway.

"You could've sat somewhere less obvious!" I glared at him and shut the door behind me. "Especially after hearing us … What if she saw you?"

The smirk was still on his face. "I won't let that happen," he chuckled.. I padded over to the bed, and he wrapped an arm around me, locking me into his embrace. "Tell me, Qing-er, what kind of woman do I like?"