When the White Moonlight Holds the Script - Chapter 10

Tu Meng carried Zhu Zhihan all the way to the peak of the mountain.

Before setting her down, she carefully observed the girl’s complexion.

The girl’s lips had regained their rosy hue, and her originally pale cheeks were now tinged with a faint pink from embarrassment, softening the innate sickly aura she carried.

“Feeling better?” Tu Meng asked.

Zhu Zhihan hopped down from Tu Meng’s embrace with a sulky expression, not particularly inclined to speak.

Tu Meng laughed heartily.

After her laughter subsided, Tu Meng turned serious. “A constitution like the Xuan Yin Body, our sect has never encountered such a case before. Once your master returns, I’ll discuss it with her and find a skilled physician to examine you.”

Zhu Zhihan stiffened. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

Not to mention the cost of hiring a good physician, which would only worsen the financial strain on this nearly bankrupt sect, just thinking about her nominal master.

Recalling the day she became a disciple, Zhu Zhihan thought to herself, If Luan Wu doesn’t kill me outright, that’ll be a blessing. How could she possibly arrange for a physician to treat me?

Tu Meng clearly misunderstood her hesitation and patted her shoulder, steering the conversation toward an introduction to the Blade Sect.

This gesture warmed Zhu Zhihan’s heart but also filled her with guilt, if only she hadn’t resorted to such underhanded means to get here.

Tu Meng said, “The peak is originally meant to be the place where the sect leader holds meetings. But our sect leader your master isn’t particularly fond of managing affairs, so it’s usually only the Grand Elder who comes here.”

Zhu Zhihan’s attention was caught, and she exclaimed in surprise, “My master is also the sect leader?”

Tu Meng chuckled. “Yes, doesn’t seem like it, does it?”

Zhu Zhihan nodded in wholehearted agreement.

“The former sect leader, our master, mine and my senior sister’s insisted on passing the position to her.”

“At the time, I was the first to object! My senior sister is hardly cut out for managing things! And sure enough.” Tu Meng sighed, on the verge of tears. “Just look at the state of our sect now, we can barely afford to keep the Spirit Gathering Array running.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the main hall.

There were no attendants at the entrance to announce visitors, so Tu Meng led her straight inside.

As soon as they stepped into the hall, Zhu Zhihan faintly heard the sound of an argument.

“I already said we’ll pay by the end of the month! Even if you show up now, there’s no extra money in the accounts to give you!” A furious, deep male voice echoed through the empty hall.

Tu Meng clicked her tongue and silently changed direction, guiding Zhu Zhihan to a side chamber.

The side chamber was also sparsely furnished, with only a few chairs hastily arranged. Tu Meng pulled out the sturdiest one still intact and not missing any legs and motioned for Zhu Zhihan to sit.

“I’ll go check on things first.”

“Ah!” Zhu Zhihan blinked, still processing the situation, but Tu Meng had already rolled up her sleeves and strode out.

Was this, a debt collection scene?

Zhu Zhihan finally got a firsthand glimpse of just how impoverished the sect was.

The hall’s soundproofing was poor, and Zhu Zhihan could faintly hear the shouting escalate into a heated exchange between a man and a woman.

After a while, the noise outside quieted down.

Tu Meng returned, leading an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man, muttering as they walked, “Didn’t I send you a message ahead of time? Didn’t you see it? How did you still let them in?”

The middle-aged man had a pair of fierce, bushy eyebrows but now looked rather sheepish. “Ahem, I had a bit to drink yesterday.”

When he noticed Zhu Zhihan, his eyes widened in astonishment. “So this is the sect leader’s disciple? I still can’t believe the sect leader actually took on a disciple.”

Once again, Zhu Zhihan felt like she was being treated as some kind of rare specimen.

The middle-aged man coughed and forced out a kindly smile. “Hello there. My name is Shi Gan, the Grand Elder of the sect. You may address me as Elder Shi.”

“Come, follow me. I’ll take you to the ancestral hall to carve your life plaque first.”

Zhu Zhihan hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. “Shouldn’t we wait for my master?”

Elder Shi waved a hand. “Ah, this. The sect leader is elusive. Who knows when she’ll return? Let’s carve the life plaque first. The formal tea ceremony can be done later.”

Zhu Zhihan detected a hint of urgency in his tone.

It seemed he was afraid this new disciple might run away.

“Well, alright then.”

She was actually more than willing.

Since this opportunity to join had been obtained by deceiving Luan Wu, if they waited until Luan Wu realized that she actually knew nothing of her secrets and had no backing, Luan Wu would undoubtedly expel her.

So acting first and reporting later was the best approach even if it felt somewhat underhanded.

Elder Shi led her to the back mountain. The back mountain was even more dilapidated than the front, overgrown with weeds, with only a small clearing around the ancestral hall.

Zhu Zhihan was brought before the ancestral tablets and respectfully kowtowed.

Then she stood to the side with Tu Meng, waiting for the Grand Elder to carve her life plaque.

While waiting, Zhu Zhihan gazed curiously at the existing life plaques.

The plaques were arranged by seniority, each representing a member. The entire Blade Sect, including elders and disciples, numbered barely over twenty people.

She noticed that only Luan Wu’s plaque was different carved on thunderstruck wood, the two characters seemed etched in fresh blood, strikingly crimson, even faintly ominous.

Tu Meng noticed Zhu Zhihan’s gaze and sighed with emotion. “Shijie’s life plaque was personally carved by our master. Those two are truly a pair of fated adversaries.”

“Sometimes I wonder if our master was too harsh on Shijie.”

“But the matters between them, we junior disciples can hardly intervene. After our master passed.”

Zhu Zhihan pricked up her ears, eager to hear more.

Unfortunately, Tu Meng only sighed and said a few words before falling silent.

“Zhihan, your master has had a difficult journey. As you can see, we were all quite surprised that she agreed to take a disciple.”

Tu Meng suddenly said, “Shishu would like to ask a favor of you.”

Zhu Zhihan perked up. “Please, go ahead.”

“If one day, and I mean if,” Tu Meng said softly, “your master walks a path unimaginable and incomprehensible to ordinary people.”

“Please don’t abandon her. When necessary, lend her a hand.”

Tu Meng’s words eerily echoed certain plots from storybooks.

Zhu Zhihan almost suspected that it wasn’t her who had the script, but Tu Meng.

Under Tu Meng’s scrutinizing gaze, she answered earnestly, “I will.”

Even if Tu Meng hadn’t said it, to contend with the female protagonist and protect her own life, she would have done so anyway.

“Good!” Tu Meng clapped her hands. “Enough of serious topics.”

“Hey, you there, surnamed Shi! Aren’t you done yet?”

Elder Shi turned his head, sweating profusely. “Do you think this is easy?”

With that, he finally finished the last stroke and handed the life plaque to Zhu Zhihan.

His tone softened considerably when speaking to her. “Just place a drop of blood on it.”

Zhu Zhihan followed the instruction and pricked her finger. As her blood dripped onto the life token, she felt a faint connection forming between herself and the token.

In the future, if she faced a life-threatening crisis or died, this life token would shatter accordingly.

With this step completed, she was officially considered initiated.

However, for Zhu Zhihan, the real trial had yet to begin, what would she do when Luan Wu returned?

Facing Tu Meng’s trusting gaze, Zhu Zhihan suddenly conceived a rather underhanded idea.

Luan Wu had been overwhelmed with troubles these past few days.

First, there was the investigation into how deeply the demons had infiltrated the Immortal Alliance, which ultimately ended inconclusively due to various factors. Then came the tedious disputes over the shattered Sumeru Realm.

She truly couldn’t understand why straightforward matters had to be dragged out for endless discussions and debates.

It was claimed that many clans held joint ownership, so a fair method of bearing responsibility had to be determined. Then they began arguing over which clan was more at fault in the incident, insisting they should concede more benefits. The disagreements stemmed from this.

If it weren’t for the fact that the thing was incredibly valuable, she would have long since…

Even a powerful Dao Lord had to worry about making ends meet.

Sigh.

Another day of drowsing through meetings, and just then, she felt a stir in the connection to her life token.

An extremely faint consciousness had attached itself to her lineage.

This meant she had gained a new disciple.

She suddenly remembered that she had a “prospective disciple” left behind over there.

It seemed now that Tu Meng, that meddlesome one, had taken the person back and, without even consulting her, registered the disciple on the life token!

She abruptly stood up.

The heated discussions ceased instantly, the silence so profound one could hear a pin drop. All eyes turned toward her.

Irritated, she furrowed her brows.

“Notify me once you’ve argued your way to a conclusion. I have personal matters to attend to.”

No one dared disturb a Dao Lord in such a foul mood.

Luan Wu rushed back to the Blade Sect at top speed.

Eventually, she found her target at the training grounds.

Walking along the path, she pushed aside the branches obstructing her view.

She saw her newly acquired disciple looking utterly docile, clasping her hands together toward Tu Meng as if pleading for something.

Why was it such a different demeanor from the one she showed her?

Luan Wu grumbled inwardly.

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