Spirit Reaper - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Starting School—Hey Classmate, You Have a Full Forehead, a Sign of Fortune…

Since her trip to the Underworld, Yu Song began teaching Wuyi what she called “True Daoist Arts.” From high-level ghost-hunting techniques to the deep Heart Sutras of the Dao, the half-month of intensive study completely revolutionized Wuyi’s worldview.

She knew it! Yu Song had been hiding the “heavy-duty” goods all along; everything she’d taught Wuyi before had been mere surface-level scratchings. Finally, Wuyi felt she had the capital to actually hold her own!

However, jumping from “middle school curriculum” to “university level” overnight wasn’t easy. Even with her head buried in the books, Wuyi only grasped about half of it. As summer break neared its end and Wuyi kept moping over her studies, Yu Song simply packed up the secret manuals and handed them over.

“Understanding these on your own will take a long time. If you get stuck, find your Auntie Ming. She’s from the same sect as me; she can help you,” Yu Song instructed as she handed Wuyi her luggage.

“Got it! Don’t worry, Grandma. By the time I come back, I’ll have mastered all of them!” Wuyi promised, thumping her chest.

“Alright, I’ll trust you for once,” Yu Song smiled, patting her head.

The village bus rattled toward them. Wuyi waved goodbye and began her journey back to Lincheng.

…

Wuyi’s feet had barely touched the ground at the foot of Mount Xuan before her heavy bags were snatched away by her two younger “martial sisters” who had been waiting for her.

“Senior Sister! You’re finally back! Without you on the mountain, no one takes Ming Yue and me to the kitchen for midnight snacks…” Ming Xi, her hair in a high ponytail, pouted and chirped like a hungry chick.

Wuyi couldn’t help but laugh. She looked at the quieter Ming Yue behind her and teased, “Oh? So in your eyes, I’m just a tool for stealing food?” She wiped away fake tears. “My heart is truly broken…”

“No, Senior Sister isn’t a tool,” Ming Yue whispered, tugging at Wuyi’s sleeve with absolute certainty. “Senior Sister is a very important person…”

Realizing Ming Yue took the joke seriously, Wuyi smiled. “I’m just teasing. Go on up first. I’ve been on a bus all day and I’m wiped out. I’ll head up after a rest.”

“Then tonight, Senior Sister…”

“I know, I know. Two extra chicken legs each! See you in the kitchen at the hour of the Rat (11 PM).”

“Senior Sister is the best!”

Watching the two girls run off, Wuyi shook her head. Ming Xi and Ming Yue had been found as infants by Ming Qingxuan at the foot of the mountain eighteen years ago. They were only three months younger than Wuyi and had studied for just as long, but they insisted on calling her “Senior Sister.” Wuyi, who loved taking them on snack raids, felt she was hardly a role model.

…

After greeting Ming Qingxuan—who was busy painting cinnabar talismans—Wuyi was given a choice.

“It’s almost time for school. Given your constitution, living in a dorm might be risky. I have a small apartment near the campus if you’d prefer to stay there,” Ming Qingxuan offered.

“Thanks, Auntie Ming, but I want to try the dorm life first. If any ghosts show up, I’ll punch them into a retreat!” Wuyi gestured wildly.

“Fine, silly child. Use the rest of your time here to polish your basics. Once you’re off the mountain, you’re on your own.”

For the remaining weeks, Wuyi’s routine was ironclad: up at 5 AM for martial forms and sword practice, sutra chanting, and talisman drawing until bed at 10 PM. It was grueling, but she felt her foundations finally solidifying. She was no longer a “three-legged cat” amateur.

During this time, she had a recurring dream. She was a young general in iron armor, riding a Red Hare horse, sweeping through thousands. But every time she cut off the enemy leader’s head, she was pierced through the heart by an unseen soldier and woke up gasping. Each time, her chest ached as if the dream were real, and the jade pendant around her neck would glow with a faint heat. She tried calling out to Qin An, but there was no response.

…

Finally, move-in day arrived. After hauling her life up to the third-floor dorm, Wuyi was a puddle of exhaustion. Slowly, her three roommates arrived.

After exchanging names, a weird silence fell over the room until Liu Shu, a girl with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, spoke up. “I’m a Finance major. What about you guys?”

“Finance? Cool. I’m in Broadcasting,” said Liang Qi, a cool girl with a wolf-cut hairstyle.

“Liu Shu is Finance, Liang Qi and I are Broadcasting… looks like we’re a mixed-major dorm!” Xie Yunqing, a long-haired “cute type” girl, gasped. “That’s fate! Hey, Wuyi—can I call you ‘5-1’ (Wuyi)? Your name sounds like Labor Day! What’s your major?”

Three curious gazes landed on her.

“Me? I’m… a Daoist Studies major.”

The silence turned into a fever pitch. Liang Qi jumped down from her bunk, and the three of them surrounded Wuyi like a tactical unit.

“I heard that stuff makes bank! Like, four figures for a single fortune reading?” Liu Shu gossiped.

“Daoist Studies? The mysterious major that takes fewer than ten students a year?”

“Can you hunt ghosts like Lam Ching-ying?”

“Are you going to be a nun? I heard Daoists can’t date or marry—is that true?”

Wuyi’s head began to throb. She suddenly regretted telling Auntie Ming she didn’t need the apartment. “It’s not that mystical. Remember, we are firm Materialists,” she joked, masking her discomfort. If they knew I was married to the Eleventh Yama, they’d actually faint.

…

L University was unique; there was no military training for freshmen. Classes started after a brief orientation. Because of their different majors, Wuyi rarely saw her roommates. Liang Qi and Yunqing were always at the recording studio, and Liu Shu worked multiple part-times.

Wuyi’s schedule was as eccentric as her major, featuring mandatory morning and evening “practice” sessions. It felt just like being on the mountain.

During her first class, Wuyi was shocked to find only five people in the massive lecture hall. The girl sitting next to her was equally surprised and struck up a conversation.

“They said Daoist Studies was exclusive, but wow.” The girl patted Wuyi’s shoulder familiarly. “Hey classmate, I see you have a full forehead—a sign of great fortune. Want a reading for fifty yuan? You know Song Shichu, the president of the Lincheng Daoist Association? My grandmother.”

Wuyi stared at her. If she weren’t an expert herself, she might have fallen for this girl’s innocent smile.

Seeing Wuyi’s “Are you serious?” expression, the girl laughed awkwardly. “Okay, fine, my face-reading skills suck. Just a joke! I’m Song Miao. Song Shichu really is my grandma, though. What’s your name?”

“Yu Wuyi. Call me Wuyi.”

“Yu Wuyi… Yu Wuyi…” Song Miao’s eyes widened. “I know you! I know you!”

“You know me?” Wuyi was baffled. She’d never met this girl.

“My grandma and Daoist Ming from Mount Xuan are old friends. I overhear things,” Song Miao whispered excitedly. “Like how Ming Qingxuan’s head disciple, Yu Wuyi, is a pure Body of Pure Yin.”