Chapter 51 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Back to the Mountain

Vân Tiêu Peak appeared behind the early morning clouds like a painting Diệp Sương had memorized in every detail. The curved tiled roofs of Tông Vân Các loomed amidst the dark green pine forest, and the three-entrance gate stood tall where she had first stepped through with the trembling legs of a thirteen-year-old child.

But this time, as her horse slowly advanced up the familiar slope, Diệp Sương felt neither the excitement nor the nervousness of previous journeys, only a silent vigilance, as if every bush or stone could hide a pair of watching eyes.

"Are you okay?" Thanh Việt asked softly, noticing her nervousness.

"I'm just trying not to show that I'm worried," he replied, forcing a smile without much success.

*

News of Diệp Sương's return, despite their attempts to keep it secret, still spread quickly in the outer sect disciples' housing area as soon as the group passed through the three-entrance gate. Before she could get off her horse, Diệp Sương saw a familiar figure running from afar, the figure's shirt flapping with each hasty step.

"Sương!" Chung Nhã Trúc called out loudly, hugging her as soon as she set foot on the ground, her voice both happy and reproachful. "Why did you come home without telling me in advance? I thought I would have to wait another month to see you again."

"I'm sorry, sister," Diệp Sương replied, hugging the sister who had protected her from the first days of confusion. "There are a few things that need to be resolved urgently and there's no time to give advance notice."

Chung Nhã Trúc stepped back and looked closely at her face. The sharp eyes of an experienced person quickly realized something was wrong behind Diệp Sương's forced smile. "What's up?" she asked, her voice lowered, completely serious.

"I'll tell you later," Diệp Sương replied, glancing around, saw a few other disciples watching curiously from afar. "Not this place."

*

Âu Bội Nhi, accompanying the group, pulled Chung Nhã Trúc aside and whispered a few words, making the sister's face even more serious. Chung Nhã Trúc nodded, did not ask further, just held Diệp Sương's hand tightly as an implicit promise to always be there when needed.

While packing her luggage and reporting according to procedure at the reception office, Diệp Sương caught a glimpse of Wei Bá Tuân standing in the far corner of the yard. He did not approach to drop his usual sarcastic remarks, but stood still and looked at her with a strange expression—not familiar hostility, but something probing and almost confused.

"Did you notice how Wei Bá Tuân looked at you?" Âu Bội Nhi whispered as the two passed by. "Very strange, not like usual."

"Maybe he heard something," Diệp Sương replied, a new feeling of insecurity rising in her heart.

*

On the way to the reception office to complete the return procedure, Diệp Sương encountered Nhiêu Bá Tường walking in the opposite direction with a thick stack of lesson plans. The normally stern instructor stopped and looked at her for a moment, his face revealing surprise mixed with something close to relief.

"You're back," he said, his voice no longer as cold as the first days of his initiation. "I heard about the Tiêu Sa Pass. You did very well, although the way you did it was still very different from what I taught you."

"Thank you, teacher," Diệp Sương replied, a bit surprised by that rare compliment.

Nhiêu Bá Tường nodded and was about to continue walking, then suddenly stopped and lowered his voice one more sentence. "There have been many strange things happening in the sect lately," he said, his eyes glancing around warily. "You just came back, you should carefully observe before trusting anyone. That's all I'm saying." Having finished speaking, he walked away immediately, not giving her time to ask more questions.

Diệp Sương stood still for a moment. Those veiled words made her even more worried, as if even a normally dry person with little interest in gossip like Nhiêu Bá Tường had sensed something unusual hovering in the atmosphere of the sect.

*

At noon, after showering and changing into clean clothes, Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt went to the place Tạ Vân Khê arranged to meet - a small house hidden behind the sect's medicinal garden, where few people passed by, only the sound of birds singing and the faint smell of herbs in the air.

Tạ Vân Khê was waiting, looking calm as always, but her eyes carried a different seriousness than usual. As soon as she saw two people entering, she stood up, signaled them both to sit down, then closed the door herself and carefully bolted it.

“Tell me,” she said, without beating around the bush. "Every detail, don't miss anything, no matter how small."

*

Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt took turns telling the whole story, from the survey trip to the old stake area, the questions about the Special Coordination Line, to the break-in the middle of the night and the hunch about the seal in the style of an internal sect document. Diệp Sương took out a package of documents wrapped in oilcloth, carefully opened them, and placed each piece of paper in front of Tạ Vân Khê.

The elder examined each document carefully, her face gradually turned white, especially when looking at the faint seal mark on the old pile symbol.

"I've seen this type of abbreviation before," she said at last, her voice heavy. "In some old documents, back when I was an inner disciple. It belongs to a type of seal used only for special decisions, requiring direct approval from the highest council of elders, without going through normal channels."

"So that means," Thanh Việt said slowly, "the person who stamped this seal must have a high enough status in the sect."

*

Tạ Vân Khê nodded, her eyes heavy with a worry that she couldn't hide. "I can't say who it is," she said. "This is too big, too dangerous to speculate haphazardly. But I promise, I will find out more, be very careful, not reveal anything until there is enough solid evidence."

"What should we do next?" Diệp Sương asked.

"Keep quiet," Tạ Vân Khê replied decisively. "Do not tell anyone other than those you already trust. Do not reveal that you are holding these documents. I will arrange a formal presentation to the council, but must choose the right time, when I am sure those who need to hear will actually listen, not trying to stifle it from the beginning." Diệp Sương nodded, even though her heart was still filled with worries. "I trust you, Elder," she said, her voice sincere.

*

Tạ Vân Khê looked at her for a long time, her eyes softening with an affection she rarely showed. "You have grown a lot compared to the child who stood trembling at my gate years ago," she said softly. "I'm proud of you, Diệp Sương. Whatever happens next, remember that."

That sentence, although intended to comfort, made Diệp Sương shiver, as if she was mentally preparing for something heavier than she could imagine.

Leaving the small house behind the medicinal garden, Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt walked side by side on the familiar path leading to the disciple housing area, the sunset dyed the curved tiled roofs of Tông Vân Các yellow, the scene was so peaceful that it was almost absurd compared to what was silently going on beneath that quiet surface.

"We did the right thing by trusting her," Thanh Việt said, as if he was reassuring himself more than talking to it.

"Yes," Diệp Sương replied, but her eyes remained on the rows of houses and the silhouettes moving through the sect's yard. Among those hundreds of familiar faces, she wondered how many were truly what they appeared to be and how many hid something she had never expected behind their smiles.

*

That night, Âu Bội Nhi and Chung Nhã Trúc went to Diệp Sương's room, bringing a simple dinner so that the three of them could sit and eat together like the old days, although this time the atmosphere could not be as happy as before.

"Sister, do you believe what I just told you?" Diệp Sương asked softly, after telling Chung Nhã Trúc most of the story, although some of the most sensitive details were omitted according to Tạ Vân Khê's instructions.

Chung Nhã Trúc nodded without hesitation. "I trust you," she said, her voice firm. "You're not the type of person to make up stories to get attention, never have been since the day I met you."

"But if this matter involves an elder, it could be even higher than that," Diệp Sương said, her voice low, "are you afraid, sister, of standing on my side?"

Chung Nhã Trúc was silent for a moment, her eyes looked down at the bowl of rice in front of her, then looked up, her eyes determined. "I'm scared," she admitted. "But that fear is not greater than our faith in truth. If the time comes to choose, we will choose to stand with the truth, even if it means confronting anyone." Âu Bội Nhi nodded vigorously and hugged Diệp Sương tightly from the side. "The three of us, plus Thanh Việt, are already a team," she said, trying to use a cheerful voice to dispel the heavy atmosphere. "No one can separate us."

Diệp Sương smiled, even though there was still an unnamed insecurity in her heart, wondering how long that sincere promise could last in the face of what was about to happen.