September turned into October, October into November, and then December came-and with it, the first snow. The evergreen pines were covered in a thin layer of white, and people of Yafan rejoiced before the upcoming winter solstice festival, observed so often in the north, but utterly unknown to the southerners.

However, Lan Caolu did not rest- ever since his coming out as the war hero of old, he was holding sermons and lectures in the library of Yafan almost daily, and gathered a fairly large clique of followers who were attracted to his reputation and shared his ideas. Countless “young masters”(heavens, he hated that term!) readily offered to join his school if he ever decided to open one, and graciously volunteered to pour a substantial amount of their family wealth into funding such a noble enterprise.

Meanwhile Bai Caoren and Lan Chaoxiang, despite their differences in temperament, worked surprisingly well together on fixing the sins of the local sect. Lan Caolu didn’t know all the details, but apparently, the young Wuyun scholar made a great impression on Yao Erzhan, and the three of them toiled day and night to overcome the corruption that had taken hold of Songshu sect.

Why did a traveling scholar get involved in the inner affairs of the local sect, was a mystery….perhaps her strong sense of justice didn’t allow her to stay passive in the face of recent events? At any rate, her knowledge and intellect were a great help in convincing some of the more reluctant cultivators into joining their righteous cause, and for the first time in years, it seemed that the tide of fate in Songshu is turning again in the favor of old teachings.

Still, it didn’t seem like the stalemate was about to break any time soon. Not wanting to wait any longer, Lan Caolu finally gave in and decided to open his own school back in Chenfei- and if Songshu sect was fixed, the trainees from his school would always be free to go back and rejoin its ranks.

He handpicked 10 out of all the volunteers who expressed a desire to follow him. His criterium was not power, nor wealth, nor ability, but virtue. To this end, he ran extensive background checks, and lengthy interviews, making sure that he’s not inviting a wolf in sheep’s clothes into his sect. Such corruption could erode it slowly from within, turning the entire enterprise into naught. A worst-case scenario he was determined to avoid at all costs.

But perhaps most surprisingly, Wen Feili started showing up in the city district ever so often. She perfected her sound amplifiers, and as long as she was wearing them, she was able to hear as well- or perhaps even better- than any other human being. Being able to hear her own voice again, she also began practicing speech, although re-learning a conditioned ability she didn’t use for 10 years was understandably a time-consuming process.

The last time they met was not on the ground of her estate, but in the library, which was actually owned and sponsored by the Wen clan. Was there anything scholarly that family didn’t dabble in? Once again, Lan Caolu was in awe of the spirit of innovation.

“T-thank you, master Lan, for entertaining my i-invitation to join me one final time over a cup of tea~” she was articulating individual words very slowly, uncertain of the level of loudness and pitch she should apply each time. Her voice was very soft and sweet, and deep inside the old man selfishly wished she’d change interests into singing or something among these lines so he could listen to it some more.

Alas, such was not the case. Regaining hearing didn’t decrease the girl’s passion for all things scientific- if anything, it deepened them. She was convinced that her “clockwork technology”, enhanced by qi, will be salvation to all kinds of disprivileged peoples- the disabled, the mundane, even the yaren.

“But the sects will not forgive that….”

“A-at first, they won’t! B-but surely, if we introduce our innovations into the m-market slowly, they will get a-accustomed….”

He sighed. What a naive view.

“Surely you are aware of the adverse effects qi deviation has on the human mind and body?”

She nodded sadly, but quickly a new spark was born within her large, hazel eyes.

“If only we had some m-method to bypass or m-mitigate these side e-effects….”

However, discovering, or perhaps inventing such a method was surely in the realm of impossibility. No matter how diverse effects of qi deviation could be, its cause was relatively simple- too much qi passed over too short a period of time through meridians that weren’t accustomed to such levels of power, thus permanently damaging them over time.

Speaking of which…

“How are you feeling?” he inquired, worried. True, her sound amplifiers passed rather minuscule amounts of qi through her body, but considering how she was wearing them all the time, it’s possible there might be some damage eventually. “At very least, take them off before you go to sleep….”

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She giggled and thanked him for his concern. But he wasn’t quite certain if she really took his advice seriously.

In the end, he decided to drop that topic. And never quite brought himself to tell her he dislikes green tea, either.

………….

And soon the time had come to say goodbye to the snowy northern town.

Having done everything he aimed to achieve in Yafan, it was time to come back to Chenfei. Lan Caolu and his handpicked volunteers departed together with merchant caravans, which for a small fee, agreed to transport the raw materials necessary to build basic facilities for his upcoming school. The caravan master, an old wolf yaren, was frankly speaking quite grateful to have a bunch of cultivators “on board”- even though bandits and monsters were a very uncommon occurrence in this day and age, it still offered some degree of security against all threats seen and unseen.

As the carriage departed, Lan Caolu waved goodbye to a small crowd of people that gathered to send him off. All the people he met or made an impression on during his four months long stay in Yafan…..Bai Caoren and his son….Yao Erzhan and his clique of virtuous followers….Wen Feili and her parents….He waved them all goodbye, and promised to come back next year, or at the latest the year after the next year, after his school was securely established, and training of first apprentices commenced.

Who would have thought that this journey to Yafan will change his life so much? So many great memories, so many great people…even though the air was freezing cold, he could feel warmth in his heart. He didn’t know this feeling when he lived in isolation, like a hermit…

And the name of this feeling was happiness.

……………

It was still winter when they reached Chenfei, but Lan Caolu insisted on beginning the construction immediately. He chose the western hill overlooking the village as the most suitable location to place the facilities- the position not only carried with it a certain level of overworldly authority but also allowed one to oversee the lands from the high point, should a threat ever arise.

One of his students laughed

“Master Lan, there aren’t any wars anymore in this day and age”

He was right. Apparently, aside from sectarian conflicts, the world had been at peace for the past 80 years. He didn’t like to admit it, but the treaty of Changan lived to its name.

Nonetheless, the top of the hill was the optimal location, and no one was particularly opposed to that idea.

The locals were overjoyed not only to interact with the so-called war hero, but also to have “their own” sect in their sleepy little village. They volunteered to help with the construction effort, and the work was progressing smoothly. By the time spring arrived, the main buildings-the barracks and the training hall(apparently called a ‘gymnasium’ if it was enclosed) were already finished. However, several facilities were still required, if the school were to open for real….

“We need servants” exclaimed the student from before “our cultivators can’t be expected to do all the menial tasks themselves!” Lan Caolu hated the concept of employing outside servants.

Yet, it was true that this kind of division of labor was efficient. After a lot of back and forth, he yielded, and agreed to begin construction of the ‘servant quarters’ on the opposing eastern hill- in a worst-case scenario, the building complex can serve as ad-hoc warehouse…

Not sure how to approach this issue, he wrote a letter to his son, asking for advice.

The postal system between the major cities such as Yafan, Tianze or Kiyi was extremely well developed and efficient. Unfortunately, it didn’t cover such isolated locations such as Chenfei, and his letters would have to be transported with the nearest caravan, and return with another caravan, which would visit the village in the summer at the earliest. Of course, the alternative was sending a private messenger, but he didn’t feel it was right to use people for such personal tasks….considering how his letters not only asked for advice on the matter of servitude but also a lot of other things, as he couldn’t contain his curiosity about how things were going on in Yafan.

He also wrote letters to Wen Feili and Bai Caoren. The former, he inquired about her progress in scientific research, making sure to use ambiguous wording in case someone else would open it and read its contents; he didn’t want to get the Wen clan into trouble. The latter, he asked more general questions about her scholarly pursuits and travels. Frankly speaking, he wasn’t quite sure if Bai Caoren was still in Yafan; but if so, no harm was done, the letter would just be returned to him.

……

And returned a letter was.

However, the one that didn’t reach the recipient was Wen Feili’s.