Bai Ye did bring me something the next day as he promised. I was still a bit self-conscious about the day before, but he smiled and talked the same way he always did as if nothing ever happened, and it eased my anxiousness.

He handed me a pair of twin swords. “These are artifacts of the ancient times and carry strong, pure spiritual power. They should help with your progress.”

I ran my fingers across the swords’ surface, dark red patterns on black. The wooden sheaths looked aged but were carefully kept in superb condition.

“Try it with the Crescent Moon forms I taught you last week,” Bai Ye said. “It’s meant to be practiced with twin swords.”

I unsheathed the swords. The blades shone brightly under the sun. They were light and thin, perfect for my small frame, and the hilt felt surprisingly comfortable in my grip. I assumed a fighting stance and began practicing the Crescent Moon forms.

I was nervous at first. I hadn’t quite gotten the gist of the forms yet, and I hated constantly showing Bai Ye my clumsy side. But this time, things seemed to be going much more smoothly than usual. My movements connected seamlessly, and I didn’t miss a single twist or turn.

As I progressed through the poses, I started to feel an unfamiliar force coursing through me. It felt a bit like my spiritual power moving freely through my meridians, but not quite exactly. This power seemed to have come from somewhere else into my body, bestowing strength on me as it moved through.

My body felt lighter, and the swords started moving faster and faster in my hands. Before I realized it, I was already on the last move. I slashed out the swords to complete the sequence. To my utter surprise, a purple light flashed at the tip of the blades when I swung the cut, tracing out a beautiful arc in the air as I finished the form.

I almost jumped out of excitement. “My spiritual power! I called them forward to the swords!”

Similar to its role in medicine, spiritual power was what set apart a commoner’s sword moves and an immortal’s. I had never been good with swords because I couldn’t call my spiritual power forth to my weapons, but now I had finally done it. Now I would be able to train properly like all other disciples.

Bai Ye nodded. “These blades suit you,” he said. Then he hesitated for a moment before adding: “They are named Twin Stars, and they mean a lot to me. Will you swear that you’ll take good care of them, Qing-er? Never lose them, and never give them to anyone else.”

The seriousness in his tone startled me. “Master,” I began, “I … I shouldn’t take these if …”

“You should,” he smiled. “They are yours now. You can use them as much as you like, practice as often as you want, so long as they don’t leave your possession. That is all I ask.”

I looked down at the swords in my hands. I had never seen Bai Ye show such attachment to anything before, and I could only imagine how important these swords were to him. Yet he was willing to give them to me to help with my progress.

Gratitude overwhelmed me. “I swear, Master,” I said, hoping that he understood how much I meant it.

Bai Ye nodded. Though for a split second, I thought I saw that puzzling trace of sadness cross his eyes again, even as he was smiling.

~ ~

Before long, other disciples noticed Twin Stars hanging on my belt.

“I see you’ve got some new ornaments, Yun Qing-er.” Zhong Yilan stopped me on my way back from collecting herbs a couple of days later. She was Chu Xi’s cousin and best friend. The two of them were the most popular girls on Mount Hua, and for some reason, they never liked anything about me.

Typically I would’ve just walked around her and ignored her comment, but maybe my progress had reawakened my pride, and I didn’t want to just take her insult silently any longer. “Master Bai Ye gave them to me,” I said. “Be careful calling them ornaments.”

Zhong Yilan’s face ashened. I wonder if anyone on Mount Hua ever talked to her like this, and the thought made me feel good. She clenched her teeth. “Master Bai Ye has no idea how much of a waste it is to give you anything at all. Do you even know how to use a sword?”

I fought off the impulse to challenge her to a fight. Although I was starting to make some small improvements, I was still far from the level of other disciples around my age. I took a deep breath, bit back my retorts, and turned to leave.

My steps stilled at the sound of her sword unsheathing behind me. “Or you can prove me wrong,” Zhong Yilan scoffed. “You dare challenge me to a fight?”

I clenched my fists. I would certainly lose if I challenge her, but …

A man’s voice came from behind the bushes next to us. “Zhong Yilan, you don’t want to be the next Lu Ying, do you? Did you forget what happened to her?”

Zhong Yilan and I both turned in the direction of the voice in alarm. A figure walked out of the dense shrubs. It was one of the senior disciples, Xie Lun.

A big smile appeared on Zhong Yilan’s face so quickly that it looked like it had always been there. “What are you talking about?” she laughed sweetly. “Don’t you see I’m just teasing Qing-er? I wanted to see her new swords, but she didn’t want to show them to me.”

It always amazed me how well these girls could lie through their teeth. Although it didn’t work out for Zhong Yilan this time, because Xie Lun shook his head and said: “Don’t try to fool me, Zhong Yilan. I’ll pretend I heard nothing this time, but if I see you treat others like this again, I’ll report it to your master.”

Zhong Yilan’s smile shattered. She glared at me with a murdering rage in her eyes and left without another word.

“Are you alright?” Xie Lun asked me.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Despite being a senior disciple, Xie Lun wasn’t much older than me, and he was one of the most handsome on Mount Hua—at least so I’ve heard. To me, no one was handsome enough compared to Bai Ye—which made him much coveted among girls like Zhong Yilan. If it had been anyone else interfering, Zhong Yilan might not have backed down so easily.

Xie Lun glimpsed at my swords. “Have you practiced much with those yet?” he asked.

“No …” I trailed off, too embarrassed to explain that no one wanted to practice with Bai Ye’s useless disciple.

“My master recently took in a few junior disciples,” Xie Lun said. “You can come to our hall and meet them if you’d like. I’m sure they would be excited to have a new sparring partner.”

I blinked, surprised by the unexpected invitation.

“I … Of course, I would love to,” I replied.