How Did I End Up With Such A Useless Master - Chapter 1

“I beg of you, please take me into the sect.”

Xu Rugui had been kneeling for nearly two hours.

The snow fell rustlingly, almost turning her into a snowman.

Even so, she kept her back straight, kneeling formally and upright before the gates of the Chiheng Sect. The biting cold wind pierced to the bone; Xu Rugui couldn’t help but tremble all over, wrapping her arms around herself in a vain attempt to gain a morsel of warmth.

This tiny bit of warmth was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water—utterly insufficient.

The snowy night was dead silent, save for the howling wind passing her ears. Yet, indistinctly, the sound of footsteps treading on snow filtered in, as if someone was approaching.

No… someone was coming.

A rabbit darted out from a dog hole, hopping incessantly like a ball of snow, making a rustling noise against the wall.

Immediately following was a blur of red flipping over the wall, landing directly into the snow.

“Oops…”

The girl in red cried out, instinctively covering her mouth, not daring to make another sound. After hurriedly brushing off the loose snow from her clothes, she immediately set off to chase the rabbit.

But the white rabbit had vanished into the snowy landscape, impossible to find.

The girl sighed in frustration. She raised her hand to pinch a spell gesture, and a burst of radiant white light blossomed from her fingertips, swiftly flying toward the nearby bushes.

She quickly circulated the true qi within her body, and with a seal, she trapped the rabbit hiding in the thicket.

The rabbit shrieked, sounding quite pitiful.

“So noisy…” the girl hummed softly. She waved away the floating light and used a spell to silence the rabbit’s cries.

Just as she tucked the rabbit into her pouch and prepared to flip back over the wall into the sect, her gaze was drawn to the “snowman” in front of the sect gates.

“Um… what are you doing kneeling here?” The girl in red was somewhat wary, slowly walking toward the “snowman.”

Xu Rugui was already dressed in a white robe, and her yellowed, dry hair was mostly covered by white snow; her entire person blended into the wintry scene.

Fortunately, the girl had sharp eyes; otherwise, she wouldn’t have discovered this “snowman” at all.

One could see that this “snowman” had slender shoulders, a narrow waist, and a tall stature, with a hint of cold elegance between her brows.

It wasn’t until the girl stood before her that Xu Rugui’s dry eyeballs rolled once, and she regained her senses.

So the scene just now wasn’t a hallucination.

Someone had really come, and it was an immortal who could use magic.

“Are you… from the Chiheng Sect?” she asked, looking up. A flicker of hope flashed in her dull, detached eyes. Having stayed in the bitter cold for so long, her voice was inevitably hoarse and trembling.

The flying snow began to thin, mingling with the plain white silvery light as it fell upon the two of them.

The girl replied, “Yes…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Rugui immediately prostrated herself, knocking her head hard against the ground. She cried out in a raspy, loud voice, “I beg you to take me into the Chiheng Sect! I kowtow to you!”

She was truly sincere; she performed the kowtow without hesitation.

The girl seemed startled by this display. Her legs went weak, and she nearly knelt down herself in imitation of Xu Rugui.

“You, you, you—don’t, don’t do this! Get up, get up quickly!” The girl’s hands trembled as she reached out to help Xu Rugui up. Her speech was stumbling, shaking along with her movements.

Xu Rugui refused to budge. Her face was buried in the snow, and the chilblains that had already broken out flared with an abnormal redness, both painful and itchy.

“If you don’t agree, I will… I will… I won’t get up!” She was clearly there to beg, yet she spoke with an air of stubborn defiance.

The girl couldn’t pull her up no matter how hard she tried. She could only sit down in the snow, propping her face in her hands as she watched, muttering to herself: How can this person be so stubborn? She’s really playing the rogue.

Hearing no more sound, Xu Rugui thought the girl had left. She slowly raised her head, only to see the girl sitting in front of her. In a panic, she slammed her head back down in another kowtow.

The girl: “…”

Seeing how persistent the person was, the girl sighed lightly. A thin mist drifted from her lips like strands of immortal qi.

She asked, “The night is deep and the dew is heavy. You suddenly appeared here without explaining your purpose. Who knows if you are…”

Before she could finish, Xu Rugui interrupted her immediately.

“No, it’s not like that! Today the Chiheng Sect opened its gates to recruit disciples. I was led astray by the mountain mists and arrived a bit late, but I still arrived within the designated time!”

“But just because I was the last one, the gate-keeping disciples refused to let me in. They said if I could stay kneeling outside through tonight, they would make an exception and accept me; otherwise, I would have to wait another five years…”

She remained in a prostrate position. After a brief pause, her voice grew smaller: “But I truly cannot survive this winter night, nor can I afford to wait those five years.”

As the red-clothed girl listened to her story, her youthful face was filled with astonishment. She said:

“The gate-keeping disciples don’t have that authority…”

“Even if they really could make an exception for you to enter the sect, Mount Lingyu’s cold is bone-chilling. Even if you survived tonight, the cold qi would invade your body, leading to damaged meridians and making cultivation difficult.”

“You… were probably tricked.”

The girl looked up, sizing her up and guessing that the person before her was about fifteen or sixteen years old.

In the matter of Daoist cultivation, the earlier one starts, the better. Usually, those with talent or those born with immortal bones begin at six or seven. Fifteen or sixteen is truly too late.

No wonder she said she couldn’t afford to wait five years.

Xu Rugui’s straight back slumped instantly. she murmured in a low voice, “How could it be… they clearly said…”

But very quickly, she straightened up again. Pushing aside the stray hairs on her forehead, she fumbled in her bosom and produced a piece of green jade.

The jade was about the size of a palm, its surface translucent and smooth, carved with the pattern of a divine dragon among auspicious clouds.

“This jade was given to me by a wandering immortal. It was she who recommended I come to Chiheng to apprentice and learn the arts.” Her hands shook as she handed the jade to the girl in red.

The girl had intended to persuade her to leave early, but her eyes caught sight of the divine jade.

This was the Azure Dragon Divine Jade of the Wandering Martial Aunt!

So it was someone recommended by her who had come.

“You were recommended by her, yet they still wouldn’t let you enter the sect?” The girl held the jade in both hands, asking in confusion.

“Yes… they laughed, saying the Wandering Immortal would never recommend anyone, and then they drove me out without another word.” Xu Rugui hung her head, wrapping her clothes tighter so the fabric would make more contact with her body to draw some warmth.

The cold wind grew fierce, becoming even colder.

Xu Rugui pleaded, “I beg of you, please take me into Chiheng.”

The girl hesitated for a moment, her heart undergoing a several struggles.

She had heard that some disciples, out of jealousy, would shut out those with supreme talent or excellent potential. It seemed the person before her had fallen into such a predicament.

It wasn’t that she was unwilling, but the sect had rules against bringing outsiders in without cause.

The girl sighed, then looked again at Xu Rugui shivering in the wind, and felt a pang of pity.

Forget it, forget it. Since I’ve already broken the sect rules by sneaking out in the middle of the night, what’s one more violation?

The girl raised her small face, tilting her head as she said softly, “Sigh, lucky for you that you met me. I’ll take you in right now.”

But whether you can actually become a disciple of the Chiheng Sect will depend on your own destiny.

“Really… really?” Xu Rugui’s dim eyes instantly brightened, looking at the girl in disbelief.

The girl’s lips curved slightly into a gentle smile, like brilliant sunshine breaking through a long snowy night, warming the soul.

“Of course! I, Lin Tingyi, am a girl of my word.”

She even patted her chest like a hero taking on a grand task, her tone sincere and firm.

This smile was etched into Xu Rugui’s heart, impossible to forget for a long time.

Even years later, whenever it was mentioned, she would think of those eyes, as bright as the stars.

She looked up, meeting the other’s gaze as equals.

“By the way, my name is Lin Tingyi—’Ting’ as in ‘listening’ and ‘Yi’ as in ‘meaning.’ What is your name?”

“Xu Rugui.” She moved her reddened fingertips, tracing her name onto the snowy ground.

She had knelt in the snowy night for so long that her legs were wobbly when she tried to stand. With great difficulty, she managed to stand somewhat straight, but her legs were so sore and weak that she nearly knelt back down.

Fortunately, Lin Tingyi was there to support her.

Xu Rugui was currently at the age of fifteen, naturally a bit taller than her peers, but Lin Tingyi was petite, her head only reaching Xu Rugui’s waist. It was truly not easy for her to hold her up.

Lin Tingyi brushed off the white snow scattered on Xu Rugui’s body, and only then did she see the style of the clothes she was wearing.

She had originally thought she was just wearing an ordinary plain white robe, but looking closely, she discovered it was a mourning garment used for funerals. Moreover, it was tattered and ill-fitting, with large sections of fabric trailing at the wrists and ankles… these fabrics had been bound by Xu Rugui with thin strips of cloth, yet even so, they hadn’t prevented the chilblains.

Xu Rugui’s palms rubbed back and forth against her forearms; the sound of the coarse cloth rubbing against her skin was particularly noticeable in the snowy night.

All of this fell into Lin Tingyi’s eyes.

Combined with that purple-bruised skin, she could more or less see that Xu Rugui’s chilblains were likely itching; she wanted to scratch but was afraid of breaking the skin, so she could only endure it this way.

Lin Tingyi thought: What on earth has this person been through?

Without further thought, she rummaged through her Universe Pouch, finally pulling out a bean about the size of a small fingernail.

Pinching a spell gesture, the bean transformed into a purple hand warmer.

She stuffed the warmer into Xu Rugui’s hands.

“Here, this is a magical treasure my master made specifically for me. It’s really, really good…” Lin Tingyi paused halfway through her sentence.

She was still young and hadn’t learned many words. After thinking for a long time, she said with great difficulty, “…It’s very warm. You use it.”

Watching Lin Tingyi’s troubled expression as she searched for words, Xu Rugui found it strangely amusing. She looked at the deep purple heater in her hands… it was indeed warm.

A current of warmth slowly passed from her palms through her limbs; before long, her frozen body regained sensation.

She even had the illusion that the chilblains on her cheeks and hands were almost healed.

“Can you move now? Then let’s go.” Lin Tingyi stood tall, hands on her hips, walking toward the main gate of the Chiheng Sect.

She produced a jade token from nowhere and waved it casually before the gate. The transparent barrier surrounding the Chiheng Sect opened.

She stepped through the barrier and walked to the gate. The moonlight could no longer reach her, and she was swallowed by the shadows.

Xu Rugui was somewhat bewildered. She had thought they would have to flip back over the wall the way Lin Tingyi had come out.

If they could walk through the front gate, why did she flip over the wall to get out?

Probably because flipping over the wall made it easier to catch rabbits.

By then it was deep into the night. There was no one in the sect, so quiet that one could almost hear a silver needle drop.

Xu Rugui held the warmer tightly as she followed behind Lin Tingyi. The two of them entered the sect as stealthily as thieves.

Lin Tingyi looked around for any movement while pulling a wooden object out of her Universe Pouch.

The object was shaped like a pair of wings.

Muttering an incantation, she threw the wings forward. They rapidly grew in size, turning into a massive object in no time.

Then Lin Tingyi carefully climbed up and beckoned Xu Rugui to join her.

Once both were seated securely, Lin Tingyi pressed two fingers together and drew a complex, redundant rune in the air. The “Wind-Chasing Wings” activated, flying toward the distant mountain peaks within the Chiheng Sect.

The Wind-Chasing Wings were extremely fast. The sudden rush of wind in her ears made Xu Rugui feel uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes and cover her ears.

It wasn’t stable enough either, causing the two of them to wobble and shake as they sat atop it.

How much shaking?

They didn’t even have a smooth landing; instead, they were jolted by the Wind-Chasing Wings and tossed into a patch of grass.

“Sorry, sorry! That was an accident.” Lin Tingyi climbed up from the muddy ground, apologizing to the person beside her with a face full of dust.

She had studied this spell for two months, yet the result was still so unsatisfactory.

Xu Rugui wiped the mud spots off her face and said softly, “It’s fine.”

They were currently next to a winding, covered corridor. The two of them climbed over the railing, and with Lin Tingyi leading the way, they walked forward.

Lin Tingyi tucked her hands into her sleeves and coughed twice, trying to save face. “It’s too late and I’m a bit sleepy, so I didn’t draw the rune well. That’s why that happened.”

“Thank you for your hard work,” Xu Rugui said.

Lin Tingyi continued:

“My master is the Sect Leader of the Chiheng Sect. I’ll take you to see her first. As for whether you can enter the sect, that will depend on my master’s decision.”

As they walked along the corridor, they soon saw a room with lights still on. Faint sounds of silk and bamboo music could be heard.

The closer they got, the more distinct the music became. Lin Tingyi’s pace quickened, eventually turning into a run as she pushed the door open and walked straight in.

Xu Rugui followed closely behind.

She saw the small figure fly into the room, tapping the floor as lightly as a dragonfly touching water. The wind caught her hem, making it flutter like a blooming, vivid crimson flower.

The music stopped abruptly.

Lin Tingyi pounced into a woman’s embrace, her voice crisp and sweet: “Master, I finally learned how to use the Wind-Chasing Wings to carry someone!”

Xu Rugui looked up and saw a person dressed in simple, clean white clothes, holding a bamboo flute. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist; her features were gentle and lovely, exuding an indescribable grace that made it impossible to look away.

She wore a smile, and her face appeared even softer in the dim candlelight.

“Master knows. Our Little Yi is truly remarkable.” Lin Lan caught Lin Tingyi steadily. Her peripheral vision swept toward the doorway as she said slowly, “Come in. It’s very cold outside.”

Only then did Xu Rugui step into the room with great constraint, even closing the door behind her.

Lin Tingyi was still in her master’s arms, looking up and recounting the whole story, but she focused on the fact that she could carry someone with the Wind-Chasing Wings, praising herself to the heavens.

She didn’t mention being tossed into the grass or leaving the sect without permission at all.

Lin Lan nodded and praised her repeatedly, eventually letting Lin Tingyi leave.

Only she and Xu Rugui were left in the room.

“Sect Leader…” Just as Xu Rugui spoke, she was interrupted by Lin Lan. The words she had spent ages organizing were swallowed back down.

Lin Lan toyed with the tassel at the end of her bamboo flute. The fringe was adorned with delicate silver bells; with every movement, they emitted a crisp tinkling sound.

She said, “I know you want to join the sect. But I have one condition.”