“The Taiyi Sect…” I mutter while looking up at the sect’s name emblazoned on the archway in big, gold characters.

“Mhmm…”

I spare a cursory glance at my maid who seems to be taking this all in stride, or certainly a lot better than I am. A day ago I thought I was on a family trip of sorts and then I am told I am joining some daoist sect here, far from home. I am also not allowed to go home, and my dad was more relieved about that than broken up and I feel like I am still trying to process that, and the only reason I haven’t collapsed from anxiety is my confusion.

“Maybe sneaking out wasn’t a good idea.”

Jingyi shrugs, something she hasn’t done in recent memory. Since yesterday’s fateful meeting, she’s been significantly more casual around me. “I don’t think it would have mattered.”

I narrow my eyes. ‘No “my lady”, anymore?’

She sees me looking at her and smiles. “The Great Dragon knows your fate, and since this is it, you would have arrived one way or another, right?”

I bob my head in agreement. She cast off her duty as my maid and stepped wholly into being my friend, just like I suggested in Huiyang. A little sense of pride wells up deep in my belly and I smile back.

“Well, I have gone from staying home all the time, to traveling, to staying away from home for an unknown amount of time and… that’s a lot of change in such a short period, don’t you think?”

“It is. Is that why you’re stalling?”

“My dad didn’t even cry! Or anything! He just…” I brush off her suggestion about stalling and emit a frustrated shriek. “He seemed relieved. Didn’t he seem relieved?”

“Maybe a little bit?”

“I’m his only child, and he wasn’t even that upset to see me go! He just… I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my mom. Should I write a letter? I should write a letter.”

“I think he is upset in his own way, but he probably had time to prepare for this since he brought you here. A lot of parents bring their children to the Great Dragon to figure out where to go next.”

“Your parents didn’t bring you, right?”

“No, they did not.”

“Is this normal?” I ask Jingyi while pointedly staring at one of the sect’s gate wardens. He hasn’t reacted to our presence since we arrived, and he isn’t changing that now.

“Mmm… you should write that letter,” Jingyi expertly deflects my question and places her hand on the small of my back to give me a nudge forward. “After you handle affairs here, of course.”

I roll my eyes and stamp my feet while getting closer to the guards. “I… I am Zhou Ran, and I am here to join… your sect?”

The warden’s eyes shift to lock with mine but he doesn’t so much as twitch otherwise. I shy back a step. ‘Woah, creepy…’

“This year’s initiates are not expected for another two days.”

“Oh, I was told to come here yesterday, so I didn’t know that,” I remove the jade slip I have stuffed into my sash for safe-keeping and hold it up.

The guard appears annoyed by my refusal to just turn around and leave and reaches out to inspect the token, but recoils just before making contact with it. “How did you get that? No, nevermind.”

He takes a deep breath through his nose and snaps out of his hibernation stupor, or whatever weird fugue state he was in to make it through his shift. “Follow me.”

After passing through the gate, something catches my attention. This taciturn gate warden, stuffy as he may be, reminds me of someone I met before. However, not by way of personality, nor by appearance, as the two men differ like night and day in that regard, but by their robes.

“Do you know someone named Yang Lide?”

“No.”

“I met him in Huiyang. He was wearing robes that look like yours. Is it possible he is from this sect?”

“It is.”

I scowl at his back. ‘I can’t believe anyone would pick this man to be the first person they meet. Yang Lide would be much better, or at least, someone like him!’

The guard casts a glance over his shoulder like he heard my thoughts. “The Taiyi Sect has a substantial presence in Huiyang, so it is no surprise you met someone there.”

“He saved my life.”

“Hopefully, it was worth it.”

I miss a step. ‘Huh?’

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Jingyi tries to reassure me by patting my hand, but I can’t figure out if I am mad, offended, shocked, or appalled. I fluctuate between all four as if caught in a turbulent storm and finally settle on a refreshing sense of emptiness. ‘I should have been content to just stay home…’

Emptiness feels appropriate in the Taiyi Sect. As we trek up the winding path, we pass by wooded groves and lush gardens, but there is a true sense of emptiness to them. There’s no animals, no bugs or birds, nothing disrupting the absolute calmness within. Everything I set my eyes upon is sterile and manicured, perfectly precise in every detail. The entire approach to the first courtyard is just a simulacrum of nature.

I shudder as we arrive at our destination.

A small courtyard and a few simple structures greet us, but yet again, there is an uncanny sense of nothingness. Aside from me, Jingyi, and the guard, there is no one around. We pause, but the guard continues on until he stands outside the largest of the three structures.

“Elder Cai will take care of you from here.”

He doesn’t spare us a second glance before wandering back down the trail to his post, leaving us to our own devices. I am not impressed by his conduct, and Jingyi gives me the impression she is holding back her thoughts, too.

“He’s… interesting.”

“That’s not the word I’d use,” I answer sourly and raise my hand to knock on the door. It slides open before I can and a young woman bows to greet us.

She waves us inside.

I gingerly tip-toe my way past her and find myself in a foyer of sorts. It is surprisingly dark. Only a handful of candles provide light and the somber, reddish-brown wood amplifies the shadows that fall on shelves of books and curious doodads that may be more for decoration than function.

At the other end of the room, seated behind a grand and expansive desk, is a woman on the verge of middle-aged in astoundingly ostentatious robes. Her dark hair is stacked atop her head and filled with golden hair pins sprouting up and out like antlers. When she looks up, a host of small talismans dangling from the end of each pin on petite chains jangle like discordant wind chimes.

“I am Third Elder Cai Lingxian,” She announces while rising from her seat. “I was not aware that we were expecting any new applicants.”

We curtsy in unison.

“Zhou Ran.”

“Xiang Jingyi.”

I rise and hold myself with practiced poise. I’ve trained all my life to be a proper lady, and now that I finally have a chance to stand before someone of note, I intend to make use of all of my lessons. Elder Cai obviously pales in comparison to the Great Dragon, but I was a little too overwhelmed to consider my bearing at that time. I find this situation tolerable, even if she is intimidating in her own, suspiciously shiny fashion.

“I am not an applicant,” I reply while holding the jade slip up again. “I was sent here as an initiate — I think. She is my friend, and she was told to come with me.”

Elder Cai opens her lips to reply and shifts suddenly once she notices the jade slip. “Is that…?”

She scrambles around the edge of her desk to get a closer look and even plucks it from my fingers to hold it up to the light. Elder Cai performs a couple of quick tests to check the authenticity of it, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is most interested in the resale value of it.

“Well, well! I haven’t seen one of these for a while. Lucky girl, aren’t you?” Elder Cai comes across as oddly pleased with my fortune. “You don’t agree? Normally we have to choose our initiates from a list longer than you can imagine and hope it works out.”

She wags the jade slip at me. “These usually indicate someone is going to be useful.”

“Usually?”

“You’re here because of your fate, but that doesn’t mean it will be good for us.” Elder Cai stares off into the distance, lost in thought. “Huh… maybe it’s not as convenient as I thought? Either way, I can’t say no — so have a seat.”

She gestures to a pair of chairs that the attendant from earlier is dragging in so we scoot over and sit patiently. Elder Cai does not return the jade slip. ‘I am probably not getting that back…’

My suspicion is confirmed when she casually deposits it into a drawer of her desk before sitting down. “So, the other initiates will begin arriving shortly, and the orientation for this year’s class will be held in the morning two days from now. I am assuming you have nowhere to stay, right? Of course not. Why would you? Who expects something like this to happen?”

We watch in silence as she wobbles back and forth, hurriedly scribbling notes and, presumably, preparing something for us. Her flurry of motion provides no end of jingling and I can’t shake the feeling that she is out here by herself because no one can stand to be around her.

“Are you familiar with our sect? No? Hm! We are one of Longzhou’s Five Great Sects so we do things a little differently here. We get thousands of applicants, so we take in a lot of youths like you who want to make something of themselves, and then we pluck the quality from the quantity. You’re initiate four-hundred and twenty-seven.”

She interrupts her unprompted rambling to slam a small metal identification badge on the desk. “Make it through the first three months and you can call yourself a disciple! Isn’t that wonderful?”

I force a smile. “It is!”

“She’ll be your Dao Attendant, so she is your responsibility. You’ll have to figure out what that means for the two of you because you don’t get special consideration. Anyone who brings a Dao Attendant is in the same situation. Only the initiate receives resources from the sect, so you will have to share and divide things as needed. Well, food is an exception, and maybe clothing, but that’s not under my purview so someone else can fill you in.”

“Take that badge and don’t lose it. We’ll provide temporary lodging until the rest of the initiates arrive at which point you’ll follow the process for… everything. It’ll be explained better later, but for now, follow my assistant and she’ll take you where you need to go.”

I take a deep breath, rise, and slide the badge across the desk and into my palm. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, Elder Cai.”

“Mhm. We’ll meet again soon enough, I’m sure. Now, off you go!”

We curtsy again and swiftly retreat from the Elder’s office.

The dreary, lifeless grounds outside suddenly feel welcoming and fresh. This will be home for a while, or, at least somewhere around here will be. We follow behind Elder Cai’s assistant who still hasn’t spoken. ‘Maybe she thinks her boss talks enough as it is? Speaking around her might be a risk.’

“She seems nice,” Jingyi says suddenly and her proclamation feels sincere.

I huff indignantly. “I’m pretty sure she robbed me…”

My friend raises her right hand and places the tips of her fingers over her lips to hide her smirk. “Heh.”