After a while longer, Han Li suddenly felt his waist tighten as his body grew light, and he was lifted upward all on his own.
Han Li turned his head to look and saw that it was the senior brother who had been following closely behind him, carrying him with one arm while using his other hand and legs to scale the cliff with agile precision. At the same time, Han Li noticed the sun hanging high directly overhead.
So he hadn't been able to complete this stretch after all. A pang of sadness struck Han Li's heart — he had pushed himself so hard, yet he still couldn't compare to the others?
In the blink of an eye they reached the clifftop. Before him, only six children sat resting to one side, while Wu Yan was speaking with a plump, well-to-do old man in a dark blue scholar's robe who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, well past fifty years of age. Hall Master Yue and Protector Wang both stood at the old man's side, and several more people stood beside them, all waiting as the young senior brothers carried the slower children up the mountain one by one.
After a wait, all the children had been brought up. At that point, Hall Master Yue stepped forward and addressed the gathered children with a solemn expression.
"This time, a total of seven have passed. Among them, six will enter our Hundred Forging Hall and formally become Inner Sect Disciples of our sect." He spoke slowly and deliberately.
"The remaining one, Wu Yan, was the first to reach the clifftop and demonstrated exceptional ability. He will be directly recommended to Seven Absolute Hall to study our sect's supreme techniques." Hall Master Yue glanced back at the old man in the scholar's robe. The old man stroked his beard and gave him a satisfied nod.
"As for the others..." Hall Master Yue looked over the remaining children, gently rubbing his chin with his right hand. After a moment's thought, he spoke: "Zhang Tie and Han Li — although the two of you failed to reach the clifftop on time, your performance was outstanding and it's clear you can endure the hardships of martial training. You two will first train under several Instructors here in our sect to build a foundation. In six months you'll be evaluated again. If you pass, you'll formally become Inner Sect Disciples. If you don't, you'll be sent to the Outer Sect as Outer Sect Disciples."
Han Li glanced at the other child who had stood up at the same time — the one named Zhang Tie. He was the boy who had been right behind him, also dangling from the rope, who had nearly made it to the top.
"Protector Wang, give each of the remaining ones some silver coins and send them all home." Hall Master Yue looked coldly at the last group of children who hadn't made the cut.
"Understood!"
Protector Wang stepped forward, bowed respectfully to accept the order, and led the children who hadn't passed down from the cliff.
"Zhang Jun, Wu Mingrui — you two bring these accepted ones to the hall and hand them over to Vice Hall Master Gu and Instructor Li respectively."
Two more young men stepped forward upon receiving their orders and divided Han Li's group into two, leading them down the cliff path. One of them was precisely that cold-faced senior brother. As they descended, Han Li couldn't help stealing a glance at Wu Yan and saw that he was still talking with the old man in the blue robe, showing no sign of moving anytime soon.
"He's different from you — he's a Core Disciple being sent to Seven Absolute Hall. Once he finishes his training and comes out, he'll hold at least the rank of Protector." The long-faced senior brother seemed to have noticed the question in Han Li's mind and volunteered an explanation, though his voice carried an unmistakable tinge of envy and jealousy.
"Isn't it just because he has a brother-in-law who's a Vice Sect Master? If his cousin hadn't married Vice Sect Master Ma as a second wife, would he even stand a chance? He's already past the age requirement for admission, and yet he still gets into Seven Absolute Hall?" The cold-faced brother's words sent a chill creeping up everyone's spine.
"Zhang Jun, do you have a death wish? The Vice Sect Master isn't someone we can carelessly gossip about! If other sect members overhear, neither of us will escape the punishment of wall-standing repentance!" The long-faced brother — Wu Mingrui — was startled by the cold-faced brother's words and hurriedly glanced around. Seeing only the small group of children and no other outsiders, he finally let out a breath of relief.
The cold brother gave a disdainful huff, apparently feeling some apprehension himself, and said nothing more. Only then did Han Li learn that this cold-faced brother's name was Zhang Jun. The things they said were only half understood in Han Li's heart, but he vaguely grasped that Wu Yan hadn't earned his place in Seven Absolute Hall through genuine talent or skill — it was because he had a relative in the sect, a Vice Sect Master, backing him up that he'd been able to enter so effortlessly.
Walking along the mountain path, both senior brothers seemed to recall some dispiriting matters within the sect and lost all desire to speak, simply leading the way in silence. Han Li and the others dared not speak among themselves either. Perhaps they had all already sensed, even if dimly, that the Seven Mysteries Sect was different from home in ways they couldn't yet articulate.
As they passed through a dense stretch of forest, an old man slowly emerged from among the trees. He was over sixty, tall and gaunt, with sallow, sunken skin, but he wore his white hair long enough to drape over his shoulders. The old man walked with a perpetual stoop, coughing ceaselessly, and from the wretched severity of his coughing it seemed he might collapse at any moment, which was deeply worrying to behold.
The moment Zhang Jun and the others saw him, however, there was not a trace of concern on their faces. Instead, they hurried forward and bowed deeply to the old man with the utmost respect.
"Doctor Mo, good day to you, sir. Is there anything you need this disciple to do?" Zhang Jun's usual cold demeanor vanished entirely, his face now filled with reverence. To him, this old man was more deserving of respect than even the Hall Master or the Vice Sect Master.
"Oh, are these the new disciples who've just come up the mountain?" The old man finally stopped coughing and asked in a hoarse, unhurried voice.
"Yes. Among them are six formal disciples and two In-Name Disciples." Zhang Jun answered carefully.
"I'm short-handed at the moment. I still need an apprentice for preparing medicine and a disciple for gathering herbs. These two will come with me." Doctor Mo made a casual gesture, pointing directly at Han Li and the other In-Name Disciple, his tone leaving no room for questioning.
"Of course. These two are In-Name Disciples — being noticed by you, Doctor Mo, is their great fortune. Why haven't you come over to greet Doctor Mo yet? If you can learn even a trick or two of his medical arts, it will be the fortune of a lifetime!" Neither senior brother showed the slightest objection. Wu Mingrui, the long-faced one, even went so far as to heap praise upon the old man.
Seeing that neither senior brother objected, Han Li and Zhang Tie naturally had no standing to refuse, and they followed the old man into the forest.
The old man led them along at a leisurely pace down a winding path through the woods, turning left and right, until suddenly the view opened up. A lush, vibrant, emerald-green little valley appeared before them.
On the left side of the valley lay a large medicinal garden thick with the rich fragrance of herbs. Within it grew many plants that Han Li couldn't name. On the right stood a cluster of a dozen or so buildings of various sizes, all connected together. Looking around, aside from the entrance they had come through, there appeared to be no other exit to the outside world.
"This is Divine Hand Valley. Apart from the disciples who live here, outsiders rarely come unless they are sick or injured. You two will be living here from now on. Go rest for now, and come to the main hall this evening — I have things to say to you." The old man stood before a row of closely connected buildings and pointed toward one of the smaller rooms.
"You may call me Old Mo from now on." The old man paused for a moment, then added: "Doctor Mo is fine as well."
With that, Doctor Mo paid them no further mind and walked, coughing with every step, into a larger and more imposing building.
Han Li was already utterly exhausted. Without sparing a thought for the other boy, Zhang Tie, he threw himself onto a wooden bed in the room and sank into a drowsy sleep. For him, regardless of how it had happened, he could already count himself half a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect.
(End of Chapter)