Chapter 11 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Vân Tiêu Peak

The great gate of Tông Vân Các appeared after the last turn of the mountain road, causing Diệp Sương to rein in her horse, her mouth falling open in shock.

It was not a simple wooden gate like the one at Tùng Lĩnh Village. In front of it stood a tall stone gate, its sides carved with delicate scrolling clouds, while a gilded wooden sign engraved with three large words hung above. Behind the gate, an architectural complex stretched up many stairs along the mountainside—curved tiled roofs, long corridors, and lush green gardens dotted with ancient pines—all submerged in a thin layer of mist, making the scene both majestic and dreamlike.

"This... this is where I will live?" she asked softly, his voice still shaking with surprise.

"That's right," Tạ Vân Khê replied, the corner of her mouth lifting in a rare smile. "The feeling of seeing this place for the first time, no matter how many years have passed, I still remember it clearly."

The group entered through the large gate, along the stone path leading up the steps. Diệp Sương looked around and saw groups of disciples wearing ash-gray uniforms walking around, holding books or spell-drawing tools in their hands. Curious eyes glanced over the group of newcomers, but no one stopped to ask questions, as if the sight of newly introduced disciples was too familiar to them.

*

The initiation ceremony took place that afternoon, in a large hall located in the middle of the architectural complex, where dozens of other children - the same age or a little younger than Diệp Sương - stood in neat rows, each of their faces showing the same tension and excitement as hers.

An old man stood on a high platform, his figure was slim but his demeanor exuded a majesty that made the entire hall silent when he spoke.

"That's Grand Master Thư Khải Dương," the young disciple who had guided Diệp Sương's horse on the way up the mountain, now standing next to her in line, whispered an explanation. "The head of the Tông Vân Các. It's rare for you to come personally to the initiation ceremony. Today is probably because there's something special."

Standing on both sides of the high platform were dozens of elders and instructors, neatly dressed in ash gray, each with a solemn demeanor that made the new disciples no longer dare to whisper and discuss. Diệp Sương glanced around and saw that at the end of the hall, separate from the row of new outer sect disciples, was a small group of older disciples standing and observing the ceremony - probably inner sect disciples sent to witness as usual. Among them, a young man with a straight figure and a cold face with little expression stood in a corner, his eyes scanning the row of new disciples with indifference and not paying much attention. Diệp Sương just glanced at him, didn't think anything more, not knowing that in just a few days, that cold face would become more familiar to her than anyone else in this large community.

Diệp Sương wasn't sure if that "special thing" had anything to do with her or not, but she bowed her head low when it was her turn to be called, her heart pounding.

"Chu Diệp Sương," the voice of the person reading the list rang out clearly in the large hall, "Tùng Lĩnh Village, personally recommended by Elder Tạ Vân Khê, officially became an outer disciple of Tông Vân Các."

Sect Master Thư Khải Dương, from the high platform, looked down at Diệp Sương for a moment, his eyes deep and unpredictable, then nodded slightly without saying another word and continued to call the next disciple's name. The moment passed so quickly that Diệp Sương was not even sure whether she had imagined it, but she still felt an invisible weight in that fleeting glance, as if the sect master were evaluating something far beyond what a normal initiation ceremony required.

*

After the ceremony, the new disciples were led to the housing area for outer sect disciples, a long row of houses divided into many small rooms, each room shared by two people. Diệp Sương was led to a room at the end of the row, where a girl about her age was already sitting on the bed by the window, rearranging her luggage.

"Ah, new roommate!" the girl exclaimed as soon as she saw Diệp Sương walk in, her round face lit up with a friendly smile. "I'm Âu Bội Nhi, from Lam Thủy Town. What's your name?"

"Chu Diệp Sương," she replied, somewhat confused by this unexpected enthusiasm. "I'm from Tùng Lĩnh Village."

"Tùng Lĩnh?" Âu Bội Nhi frowned and thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Is this the place where the monster attack just happened? My whole Lam Thủy Town has been buzzing for the past few days, rumors say that there is a child who draws a spell to save people with her bare hands!"

Diệp Sương blushed, not knowing how to answer. "That... that was me," she admitted, sounding embarrassed.

Âu Bội Nhi's eyes widened, she jumped out of bed, ran to hold Diệp Sương's hands tightly, her excitement was not hidden. "Really? You're that person? Oh my god, I didn't expect to be sharing a room with such a famous person!"

"I'm not famous," Diệp Sương quickly waved her hand, even more embarrassed. "It was just a matter of luck, I don't know how I did it."

"You're so humble," Âu Bội Nhi smiled, pulling Diệp Sương to sit on the bed next to her. "But I like it. Many people here, especially those from famous families in the charm craft industry, brag all day about their family background. It sounds tiring. Having you in the same room would be much more fun."

*

The first evening at Tông Vân Các, after a shared meal in the large restaurant - a completely new experience for Diệp Sương, having to sit and eat with hundreds of other disciples in a large, noisy but clearly orderly space - Âu Bội Nhi pulled Diệp Sương to the hallway outside the room, showing her the view from above.

From here, one could see the entire valley at the foot of Vân Tiêu Mountain. The lights of Lam Thủy Town sparkled in the distance like stars fallen to the ground, while farther away, somewhere in the darkness, lay Tùng Lĩnh Village, too distant to see clearly.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Âu Bội Nhi asked, leaning against the railing, the night wind blowing her hair.

"Beautiful," Diệp Sương nodded, but in her heart a strong homesickness arose, thinking of Mrs. Chín Lài, Mr. Tám Mực, Mộc and Mận who were somewhere in the distant darkness, probably also looking up at this mountain top, wondering what she was doing.

"Are you homesick?" Âu Bội Nhi immediately recognized her new friend's distant eyes and her voice softened. "It's normal, everyone who just moved up is like that. When I first moved up, I cried for the first week, even though my house in Lam Thủy is much closer than yours."

"How do you feel less homesick?" Diệp Sương asked in a small voice.

Âu Bội Nhi thought for a moment, then smiled, naturally putting her arm around Diệp Sương's shoulder as if they had been close friends for a long time. "I think, having friends around will be much better. So from now on, you have me, don't worry about anything. I will show you all the rules here, introduce you to good people, stay away from unpleasant people. Consider me your roommate."

Diệp Sương smiled. For the first time since leaving the village, she felt a little warmth creeping into her heart amid the homesickness. Little did she know that the friendship that blossomed that first night would become one of the most important anchors during the challenging years to come, when her path to learning how to draw spells—seemingly just a continuation of what she had learned from Mr. Tám Mực—turned out to be much more bumpy and complicated than she had ever imagined.

Returning to the room, Âu Bội Nhi pulled out a small hand-drawn map from her luggage, showing Diệp Sương each of the main areas of the Tông Vân Các: the disciple housing area, the large training ground, the library, the medicinal garden, and a small dot on the highest peak that was carefully circled.

"This is Cảnh Linh Đài," Âu Bội Nhi explained, her voice lowered as if telling a secret. "I heard that it is the highest and most important place in the entire sect. Only selected disciples are allowed to be on duty to monitor the changes in the Linh Mạch. I heard the sisters say that standing there on clear nights, you can see the strange sparkling light radiating from the very heart of the mountain, it's very beautiful."

"I hope one day I can go up there and check it out," Diệp Sương said, her eyes bright with curiosity, temporarily forgetting her homesickness for a moment.

"It's not our turn yet," Âu Bội Nhi smiled, folded the map, and put it in her luggage. "But who knows, with talent like yours, you might soon be sent there." They both laughed, then tidied up their beds and prepared for their first sleep in the place that would become Diệp Sương's home for many years to come. Outside the window, the moonlight shined down on the curved tiled roofs of Tông Vân Các, and somewhere in the depths of the mountain, the Linh Mạch stream still silently flowed, carrying secrets that no new outer sect disciple, including Diệp Sương, could have expected on that peaceful first night.