ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 3 - 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔒𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫

"The Order of Heaven is a religious order that worships the Heaven. It is led by a Grandmaster and a Council of Elders. The Order of Heaven is concerned with three tasks: worshipping the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Court, training their students in swordsmanship, martial arts and Qi cultivation, and punishing the wicked and protecting the downtrodden. The Imperial Court retains ties with the Order of Heaven – which is independent from Realm authorities – and tolerates them."

- Imperial Records of the Golden Realm, Volume I by Chief-Scholar Dai Yijun

Yang Jing was strolling in the garden of the Palace of the Order of Heaven, the grandest Martial Sect. Bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. In the center, there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle. Jing was now eighteen years old. Eight years had passed since he was a young child fleeing persecution. He had grown tall, with long black hair and a delicate and most beautiful face. He wore a blue gown made from the finest silk and was holding a hand fan made of crane feathers. He needed to make a good impression.

“A beautiful garden, isn’t it?” a man asked. Jing turned around and noticed an elderly man wearing a long purple silk gown. His long hair was white but, despite his age, his face was smooth, delicate and showed no signs of old age. He exuded a sense of calmness and peace.

Jing bowed and said, "Greetings. I am Yang Jing. Are you Grandmaster Rong?"

"Indeed,” the old man smiled. “Luo has spoken highly of you. However…” Rong’s face turned sour, frowning. “I am skeptical of accepting you as a disciple. Your heart is dominated by hatred. You seek revenge at all costs. I can sense the anger inside you. If you continue down this path, you shall turn into what you hate. I cannot bear the burden of training an evil man.”

“Gran-“

“If the only reason you want to study here is to get revenge, I shall not teach you. This is a place for cultivation, not for murder."

Jing fell to his knees. There was desperation in his eyes, pleading. His voice was hoarse. "Grandmaster! Please accept me as your disciple. I will not disappoint you. I will work hard and follow your instructions. It is indeed true that I seek the death of those who murdered my family but that is out of a desire for justice, not revenge. The Yang Clan always defended the Golden Realm and was loyal to the Emperor. Yet this treacherous tyrant murdered them! Since then, he has not improved as a ruler. He is licentious and allows corrupt officials to run the court."

Rong turned his back at the young man. "You have such hatred in you... This is poison for the mind and the soul!" he sternly warned. "How do you expect me to teach you if you have such hatred in you? You dare talk of justice when your words are filled with murderous intent? You better leave. I can only teach you personal enlightenment: to seek justice and defend the downtrodden. I cannot – and will not – teach you how to become a murderer.”

Jing clenched his fists so hard his nails were grinding into his palms. His mind was filled with memories of the massacre of his clan and of the oath he gave before the memorial tablets of his family. "You cannot do that!" he shouted in exasperation.

Rong waved his hand, unleashing an invincible wave of internal energy at the young man. Jing could only gasp in terror. He was violently pushed back and fell. His black slammed against the ground

"Angry! Impatient! Willful! It seems that Luo was greatly mistaken about you. You have no potential for becoming my disciple or, indeed, for being anything other than a murderer."

Jing struggled to get up, still feeling dizzy. He approached Rong and fell on his knees. His face looked down, shame written on his face. "I was wrong. My desire for vengeance has blinded me. Teach me how to pursue justice and not vengeance. Teach me how to become an enlightened person and put behind the burdens of the past."

Rong sighed. “Your words sound sincere but your heart is still conflicted. If you are to become a disciple of the Order of Heaven, you must make your mind. You have to commit yourself to the cause of justice and put behind you past hatreds. I feel you are not ready to do that.”

“You are right. I still think of getting justice for my family. I still harken back to that cursed day. I cannot lie and say I can forget about the past. But I truly desire to cleanse my soul of evilness and bitterness; so when I do have to face my enemies, I will be doing so purely out of a desire for delivering justice and protecting the innocent than due to hatred. I beg you to give me a chance.”

The Grandmaster nodded in approval. "I shall give you a chance. Do not disappoint me. Come to the Main Hall in about an hour.”

The Grandmaster walked away, leaving Jing alone to silently gaze at the pond. ‘Have I abandoned my oath?’ he thought. ‘No… I will get justice for my family and I will fulfill my oath. But I will do it for the right reasons. The Grandmaster is right; I cannot let blind hatred guide me.’

"You are Grandmaster Rong's new disciple?" someone asked. Jing, who had been lost in his thoughts, turned around and saw a young man. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and sturdy and strong stature. "My name is Zhang Xiao. I am a disciple of Master Deng."

"My name is Yang Jing,” Jing smiled softly. “I am glad to meet you."

“You don’t know how lucky you are. Grandmaster Rong has not taken a disciple in over thirty years. You must be really special for him to accept you.”

Jing shook his head. “I do not believe I am special. Uncle Luo has told me he is an old friend of Grandmaster Rong. Maybe that’s why he accepted me?”

“Could be that. Hey… do you happen to like wine?"

“Who doesn’t?” Jing laughed.

“You would be surprised by the number of people who don’t drink,” Xiao sighed. “Many here are too stringent and disciplined. They think that if you are enjoying life, then you must be lazy. Personally, I do not see how training and enjoying wine are mutually exclusive!”

“Eh… You do make a good point.”

Xiao grinned. "Finally a normal person! Why don't we meet here tonight after dinner to drink some wine?”

Jing nodded, his face glowing. Living with two elders and having to avoid attention, he never had any real friends while growing up. Now he finally had the chance to make a friend.

Jing stepped into the Main Hall. The hall was spacious and the ceiling seemed to be six meters high. At the center was a raised dais. Grandmaster Rong was seated on a purple mat. Jing approached the dais and fell on his knees. “Greetings Teacher,” he bowed deeply.

“You may get up,” Rong spoke and the young man got up. “You said that you will work hard and follow my instructions.”

Jing nodded.

“Good. Your first task is a rather simple one.” The Grandmaster got up from his mat and stepped down from the dais to make his way to the back of the hall. When he returned, he was holding a wooden broom. Jing widened his eyes in surprise. Before he could talk, Rong threw the broom at him. “You will have to sweep all the floors of our Palace complex.”

“Eh… what about my training?”

“That is your training. I assure you it will be time-consuming. We have plenty of halls and courtyards. So it is wise to start early lest you miss dinner.”

The young man felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on him. He momentarily froze. “Yes,” he finally said, almost whispering.

Jing was sweeping the floor on the sidelines of the open-air courtyard. The courtyard was extremely wide and served as a training field for disciples of the Order. Jing could see rows of disciples, dressed in long white gowns, swinging their swords left and right. Overseeing them was Master Deng, a chubby middle-aged mustached man. He would occasionally rush to the side of a disciple and correct them if they made some mistake.

‘He really cares for his students,’ Jing thought as he kept sweeping with his broom. ‘He is patient and does not get angry even when the students get a move wrong repeatedly. And look at them! They are learning all those techniques while I am stuck here being janitor…’

“Young man.”

“Eh?” Jing’s eyes widened in surprise. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed that Master Deng had approached him. “I am sorry, Master Deng.”

Deng laughed. “Don’t sweat it. I too have occasionally dozed off. I saw that you were looking at the sword exercises.”

Jing nodded. “I did not mean to intrude in your lessons.”

“I was once young, so I know you must be really looking forward to learning those fancy moves instead of sweeping with the broom. But trust me, Grandmaster Rong knows what he is doing. If it helps make you feel better, imagine the broom is a sword and that you are practicing how to hold it.”

“Is that why the Grandmaster wants me to sweep the floors?” The young man’s face lit up like a bulb.

“I wouldn’t know, but regardless of the Grandmaster’s intentions, that is certainly a benefit of this exercise.”

Jing smiled and began sweeping the floor with renewed enthusiasm.

The sun fell behind the horizon. The twilight faded to blackness. Jing and Xiao were lying on the grass in the garden and drinking each a jar of wine. Jing let out an “Oof” sound. “Grandmaster Rong was not kidding when he said the Palace complex is huge…”

“Forget about it! We are here to drink and relax!”

The two of them hugged their wine jar and sipped on it. The wine had a spicy taste and a delectable aroma.

“That’s some of the best wine I’ve ever tasted,” Jing admitted.

“It is a family recipe,” Xiao boasted with a big grin. “My father is the Duke of Laozhan. Our Duchy is renowned for brewing the best wines in the entire Realm!”

“Why would the son of a Duke join the Order of Heaven?”

“I am the fourth son of my father. My eldest brother is tutored to become the Duke once my father retires. My other two brothers are tutored for the politics of the Imperial Court. As for me, I was sent here because my father wishes to maintain close ties with the Order. Plus, it helps if a family member becomes a master swordsman.”

“So you came here only because your family wants you to?”

Xiao contemplated the question for a brief moment. “At the beginning, I guess yes. I did not have much interest in martial arts. But now I am staying here because I actually like my Master and the skills that I have acquired. It just… grew on me. What about you?”

“I want to master the art of the sword and to cultivate my internal energy so I can seek justice for my family.”

“They were killed?”

Jing hesitated to answer. He liked Xiao but he preferred to keep his background hidden. In the Order, only Grandmaster Rong knew about his family. “Yes, by evil men.”

“And what do you plan on doing after you finally get justice for your family? Will you remain here or shall you wander off in the world and live a carefree life?”

Now it was Jing’s turn to contemplate hard. “I… I haven’t really given much thought to it. I have been so preoccupied with seeking justice for my family, that I have not considered about my life after.”

“You are Grandmaster Rong's new disciple?” a stern voice asked. The man who had spoken had a large face, was tall and sturdy with long brown hair, and was dressed in a white gown. He glared at them with barely disguised contempt.

Jing at once let go the wine jar, got up and bowed slightly before the disciple. His face paled with nervousness. “Indeed. I am Yang Jing. Greetings.”

The man sneered. "You have been accepted as a disciple by Grandmaster Rong and, instead of discipline and practice, you waste your time on drinking? You may wish to bring shame to yourself, but do not bring shame to Grandmaster Rong."

“It’s just a little wine!” Xiao protested. “Brother Yao, it is Jing’s first day here. Give him some slack!”

Yao ignored Xiao, focusing solely on Jing. “If you do not heed my counsel, you will end up like this good for nothing lazy drunkard.”

Jing kept his face bowed down out of shame and guilt, not daring to reply.

“You might think that because you are the disciple of Grandmaster Rong that you deserve respect and that you shall be given leeway,” Yao continued. “You shall not be given any leeway and you do not deserve any respect at all. You were accepted by Grandmaster only because he owes a favor to your ward. You have not earned this honor. If you want respect, you will have to earn it by your own sweat and hard work.”

Yao walked away, leaving Jing gaping. “Who was that?” he finally spoke.

“Elder Brother Yao. He is a fellow student of Master Deng. He is considered the best disciple in the Order. His swordsmanship and cultivation of internal energy are unsurpassed. It is rumored he might become a Master himself one day. That’s why he is so arrogant and thinks he can judge everyone.”

“He is right though. Being a disciple of Grandmaster Rong is a great honor, one which I’ve not earned by my own merit. I should work hard to not dishonor my Teacher and so that one day people might say that I’ve actually earned this honor by my own hard work.”

“Oh! Come on! That’s why I hate Yao. He kills all the fun. If you become rigid and preachy like Yao, with whom will I be drinking wine?"