Jade Mountain

I gasped in shock at her words. For a second, everything stopped moving.

Minerva was horrified, mother was overjoyed, and father didn't move at all. The Shangs were an influential and powerful family. Their relatives are all important officials and ministers. Administrator Shang was the highest-ranked official in Henan. His son, Shang GuoWei, will become a General in the royal army. Why would a noble family want anything to do with us?

"May peace come to your family. Now, I know this is very fast progressing. However, I wish for our children to be engaged as soon as possible. They can marry in 6 months." Mrs. Shang spoke.

I kept my head bowed, I couldn't think of much to say.

"Mr. and Mrs. He, would you want to chat in private first then? I see that young Ms. He is a little nervous." Mrs. Shang spoke in a calm voice.

I peeked over at Minerva. She was shaking. Her face had turned completely, red. She was much more than nervous.

"Of course furen, please come in." My father addressed. He signalled for me and Minerva to wait outside and led Madam Shang into the zhaiyuan. Mother turned her face away and headed in quietly. I knew she was extremely happy. Mother had always envied the rich and powerful, now is her chance to tie families with a nobleman. Why wouldn't she be?

I watched them walk in and turned around. Minerva was missing. Nowhere in sight in the matter of a few seconds. She had very fast qinggong skills and is probably out of the village by now.

"Where did my sister go?" I asked the maid.

She pointed in the direction of Jade Mountain. Great, Minerva went there again. Sparrow Village is located at the foot of the mountain and many visit the beautiful mountain. Minerva always runs off to Jade Mountain when she's sad. I guess I will have to go and look for her then͙.

𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹𖦹

I sped as fast as I could up the mountain. Using my qinggong techniques, I was moving along faster than usual. However, I'll have to be quick, Brother will come looking for me soon.

Dashing through a forest of oaks, I arrived at my favourite place to be, the very still pond. Yes, it was a small pond that was so still, it was clearer than a bronze mirror. I stood over the water and peered at my reflection.

I, Minerva He, am 16 years old. I had long, straight, ink-black hair and fairly light skin. My eyes were clear and bright but full of sadness. Marriage. I do not know the first thing about caring for a husband and children. I didn't want to start a family anyway. For one, I wish that I was a boy, like my brother. Then, I can manage a business, like a merchant, or perform in martial contests, or maybe even enter the military.

I hope that father will turn off the marriage. I do not want to marry anyone. Especially Shang GuoWei.

crack.

I spun around. No one was in sight. I tapped the ground and leaped up. Still no one. Then suddenly-

swoosh!

I heard a light swishing sound behind me. Before I could turn around a flat palm struck the center of my back and I toppled forward as my entire body went numb. A shadow of a tall figure loomed over me. I started to panic. That palm strike was very strong and well-aimed. Whoever struck me must've been a skilled martial artist. But why?

"Who-who are you?" I managed to choke out with my now completely stiff face.

Hearing my words. The figure stopped moving.

"Oh wait-this voice does not belong to her, I have the wrong person then. Sorry about that." A masculine voice said.

tap, tap, tap.

I could hear the faint steps of others arriving who all travelled with lightness kung-fu. There seemed to be 4 or five of them.

"Li Zhi? Have you found her?" A sudden female voice appeared to my right.

"Well, actually I have the wrong person." My attacker said.

"Then why don't you free her first?" A third voice questioned as they picked me up and placed me upright. Hitting the same spot on my back once again, my numbness started to fade. There were 5 people all dressed in colourful martial robes. 3 men, two women. Their ages ranged from in their late thirties to early twenties. All of them carried different weapons.

"Sorry again for what happened we were looking for someone else." The man in the middle said.

"It's okay, who are you looking for anyway?" I asked. Normally, I would just leave without saying anything. However, I was quite curious about these people. They all looked thoroughly trained in martial arts, and they didn't wear the same robes. Which means that they are not a gang or a spy group. Who could they be?

"A girl in a white dress. She is of about the same height and a little older than you. She travels with very fast qinggong, I doubt that you've seen her." Said the man on the far right.

"I haven't seen anyone else since I came here," I told them.

The man on the far left looked a little impatient."Well, then little girl, I think it's time for you to go-"

"Wait". The young woman beside him who also carried a sword interrupted. She stared me up and down and smiled.

"Do you also practice martial arts?" She asked.

I nodded and pulled out my sword. It was my bronze sword carved with my father's initials which shone brilliantly under the light. He had crafted the sword himself when he was going to battle for the first time.

"He YiTian, the famous martial hero? Do you have his sword?" She excitedly asked.

I nodded again and the other four gaped in awe. I was confused. Since when was my father a celebrity? Our village knows him for his work, but them? Who even are they?

"Are you related to him?" Asked the man on the left who wasn't as impatient anymore.

"Yes, he is my father," I said sincerely.

They looked even more excited. I had to admit, all this appreciation for my father and me had boosted my ego.

"If you don't believe me, I can show you some of his martial arts," I said haughtily. I knew well that they already believed me. After all, I had father's sword. However, I didn't want to miss a chance to show off some of my abilities. At home, no one genuinely appreciated my martial arts except for father. Here, maybe these highly-abled martial artisans will be different.

Before any of them could say anything else, I grasped my bronze sword and sprung into offset posture. All 5 of them watched in enthusiasm, waiting for me to begin. I took a deep breath and began to perform some of my best patterns. Slicing, driving, striking, and thrusting; My patterns were vivid and lively. For the last few moments, I was completely absorbed in the technique. When I finished, I was met with 5 martial masters standing in awe, dumbstruck at my performance.

"This is incredible. Ms. He, how do you do it? Can you teach me?" Asked the woman who also carried a sword.

I smiled at that. These qinggong masters actually admire my sword techniques. When I practiced in my village, I knew I was good. But since I haven't shown my swordsmanship to anyone outside of Sparrow Village, I had no idea how I fixed amongst other martial artists. As of today, I consider that I rank rather well.

"General He's skills are truly flawless. How generous of him to pass it on to his children." Said the oldest man of the group. He was in his late thirties and carried a silver Polearm.

"What do you mean by that? Every parent teaches their children what they know." I said.

"Not all of them."He sighed sadly.

I was confused. Before I could ask more, the nice woman turned towards me again.

"What is your name?" She asked friendly.

"My name is Minerva He," I answered.

"Minerva, what an outstanding name. My name is Fragrance An." She introduced.

Fragrance then turned around and proceeded to introduce the other 4 as well.

"This is the first warrior, Morality Cheng." She gestured at the man with a polearm.

"This is the second warrior, Li Zhi." She indicated at the man who mistakenly struck me. He had a red-tasselled halberd.

"This is the third warrior, Wei Qin." Fragrance signed at the man who didn't seem impatient at all now. He gripped a sharp spear.

"This is fourth warrior Wan Liang." The other woman of the group smiled at me warmly. She hasn't spoken yet. Wan Liang had a thin metal staff topped with a hammerhead for a weapon.

"And I, am the fifth warrior. We are known as the Warriors of Jade Mountain, a given title by the imperial monarchs. We live here, on Jade Mountain, and are the ones hired to hold the Jade Mountain Contest. " Fragrance said, tapping at her Jade Sword.

Of course! How could I forget? The Jade Mountain contest was in no more than 8 months. The martial greats of the Ming are all preparing for this spectacular contest. The last winner was a mysterious unidentified sword-wielder who managed to defeat Obsidian Han, the head of the Nanjing Bandits. However, she then disappeared without a trace after the contest. And so, another will be held soon.

I was in admiration of The Warriors again. The Jade Mountain Contest was designed and invented personally by the emperor. Hundreds of competitors from different sects and different martial families come to compete. The warriors surely do have fame and great skill to hold a contest like this. Despite their exceptional qinggong, they must all be mastered in their weapons too.

When the warriors heard of my father, they immediately were interested in my martial skills. And now, after I've heard what they are doing here and that they were sent here by the emperor; I was more interested in their work. But I can't stay tooling, brother should be up the mountain by now.

Warriors of Jade Mountain," I said to myself. Can I possibly become one too?

......

W͟e͟l͟c͟o͟m͟e͟ t͟o͟ t͟h͟e͟ e͟n͟d͟ o͟f͟ C͟h͟a͟p͟t͟e͟r͟ 2

T̰h̰Ḭn̰g̰s̰ t̰o̰ p̰o̰Ḭn̰t̰ o̰ṵt̰:

- 𝚀𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊n𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 "𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚔𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚏𝚞", 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛; 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚎𝚊𝚜i𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛

-𝙿𝚊𝚕𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚗𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚒𝚏 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝h𝚊𝚝 𝚙a𝚛𝚝 of 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢, 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏