“Perhaps she is hungry? Anyone got any mice to feed her?”

“Poor thing, I bet they give her human food here. Don’t they know it’s bad for felines? Don’t worry dear, I’d only feed you cat food~”

“Did you see how she flew? Perhaps she’s actually a bird type?”

Such were the comments Zhanzhan had to endure from her new company. She glanced nervously at the occasionally passing servant, trying to signal for help, but alas, all she got was an apologetic bow or a shrug. She was utterly on her own! Stranded, isolated, and helpless!

“So…”, asked Mei Rulan, winking mischievously “what’s your name?”

“Shan Zhanzhan!” exclaimed Zhanzhan, making up a surname on spot.

Every Wuyun delegate glanced at her for a moment, bewildered, then laughed out loud.

“This one…has a sense of humor, ahahaha”. She didn’t exactly mean it as a joke though-if Fengli is allowed to have a surname, why can’t she? She pouted and stomped the ground, angrily.

“So, Zhanzhan….how old are you?” asked the man with wild hair sitting to her other side. Bai…whatever, it doesn’t matter to her what his name is!

“I’m 15!” that too, was a lie. In fact, she was 14, but she thought if she lies and elevates her age a little bit, no harm will be done, and these foreign people will treat her with a bit of respect.

“Are you a servant here?”

“Yes, and when the grandmaster learns about how you treated one of his employees, you will be in trouble!”

“But you started spying on us first…how do we know you aren’t acting on some secret orders from the grandmaster~?”

“Do I look like a spy??”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, she really doesn’t…”

That pissed Zhanzhan off. But before she was about to contradict her own previous words, and try to prove to them she’d make an excellent spy, the old man, who seemed to be their leader, cut into the conversation.

“Speaking of grandmaster….I don’t see him present for the opening ceremony…?? How is old Lan Caolu doing”

*None of your business* thought Zhanzhan, but her cat-like survival instinct prevented her from vocalizing that thought.

“He’s doing fine. He just had some health problems recently and is currently resting”, a blatant lie, but she couldn’t afford to make the sect look weak before these strangers. Despite her mischievous nature, Zhanzhan, a native of Chenfei, was a fierce patriot, and wouldn’t do anything to blemish the name of the mater or the Shuangshan sect, who have been towering over the village for as long as she can remember.

“This is fine…” said the Wuyun master. He was caressing his long beard, seemingly lost in thought. Come to think of it, she didn’t know his name. Ok! Here comes spy Zhanzhan in action. Time to learn the first piece of information about the enemy!

“Ummm…forgive me for asking, but what is your name?” she inquired timidly, bowing over and over again.

The man ignored her question, his eyes were looking somewhere far away, and it didn’t seem he was aware of his surroundings anymore. However, the Bai guy answered her question for him.

“This is Bao Zimo, one of the first-grade masters of the Wuyun sect. I don’t expect a lowly yaren like yourself would have heard of him….” he said, glancing nervously at the old master, trying to see if the compliment was registered “but he’s actually a famous cultivator, who has participated in Jianding campaign, alongside your master Lan!”

Jianding campaign? She was but a little kid when these events transpired, but she remembered adults talking a lot about that, considering that Shuangshan volunteered several of their cultivators led by Lan Caolu himself for the war effort. If she recalls well, it was some kind of border conflict in the far south, however, the details eluded her memory.

And this old guy fought side to side with master Lan there? She found it hard to believe. Our old master always preached honor and benevolence, and the Wuyun sect was known to be anything but! Why would a righteous person like him ally with such scoundrels?

…..

While Zhanzhan was left pondering all kinds of things with her new “friends”, the sparring tournament begun in its full glory.

The opening act was a martial form demonstration. A chosen group of most handsome warriors of either gender presented various sword, spear, and open hand techniques in rhythmical, dance-like motions. There were also mock combat demonstrations, meticulously trained just for this occasion, where one person did something, and the other reacted in prearranged and practiced manner. They didn’t have much in common with what happened during actual combat but were nonetheless very flashy and for many, quite entertaining to watch.

The gathered crowd was festive: some spectators chatted among themselves, barely paying attention to the performers, some were selling snacks, some were eating, some were placing bets, some were already drinking-even though consuming alcohol on the school grounds is normally forbidden, master Lan leniently allowed it for the day of tournament a couple of years ago. He believed that turning a skill contest into a festival will help forge stronger bonds between the warriors and the villagers.

And of course, the omnipresent screeching kids, running around. Their screeching was annoying, however, Ming Libai didn’t care. He liked children. In fact, he preferred their company to that of grizzled old adults, who forgot to enjoy life in their ever strict pursue of the so-called “virtue”.

Speaking of children, he was looking for his best friend, Wang Shunji, who should have been mingling with the peasant ladies or perhaps around the food stalls, like the manchild he was. However, a powerful and easygoing manchild~ Together, they enjoyed causing a lot of mischief on the rather uneventful sect ground and had many adventures, and he couldn’t see it being any different at any point in the future.

Failing to find his comrade among crowds of onlookers, he retreated to warriors barracks, resigned. This was a single-elimination type tournament, which means that all participants were grouped in pairs, the winner moved on, the loser was eliminated until only two remained for the final fight. He was hoping to face Shunji head-on, and show him how much he improved since last year, alas, fate didn’t allow it. They were placed on the opposite sites of the ledger! The way things are going now, they won’t face each other, unless they both reach finals.

He had no doubt that his friend will get there. Wang Shunji was considered the most talented cultivator this school has ever seen!…True, Shuangshan functioned for a mere 20 years, but nonetheless, on a local level, the man was unparalleled. That’s why Ming Libai wanted to fight him so much!

However, he wasn’t so sure of his own ability to make it to the final fight. While a lot of participants he’s going to face are small fry, the way the pairs are set, he will most likely face a most troublesome opponent in the penultimate match…

Oh well, no use fretting over it. He examined the weapons prepared for participants. Double-edged blades and polearms. The world of cultivation knew many weapons-some, such as chain sickle, were very unorthodox and required years of dedicated training and a level of mastery over qi to be able to use them efficiently in combat. However, the curriculum of this fairly remote and small school didn’t teach the use of them. When Lan Caolu opened this school, he only had a couple of his closest associates to help him, and they only taught their students the fighting methods they knew themselves.

Frankly speaking, Ming Libai wasn’t a big fan of either, and lately, he focused his training on unarmed combat. Using his large, muscular frame to his advantage, he was confident he can overcome any opponent, as long as he manages to grapple them.

That and…his special preparation regarding applying the element of Earth to strengthen his punches. He clenched his fist and grinned, a thin carapace momentarily spread over his knuckles, then dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

Who needs weapons, when one’s body can become a weapon?

……

“Sure is lively in here” said Mei Rulan to no one in particular, while playing idly with Zhanzhan’s ears.

The catgirl was irritated by it, and told her to stop several times already, but the Wuyun warrior would just apologize then resume a few minutes later with renewed vigor. She sighed and lowered her head in resignation. That reminds her, Fengli used to have a minor obsession with her ears too, so she’s pretty much used to having them used and abused anyway.

Soon the demonstrations ended and the crowd went silent. The competition properly began!

These good for nothings from the lowlands will be mindblown by the spectacular martial proficiency of the finest warriors of Shuangshan school!