New clan members

Rui Zhi

Here is my new home. I am one of those who swore the Dao oath of loyalty to the Xia clan. Ah, and I spent my entire life avoiding such a fate. It's practically giving your life and freedom into the hands of others. But unfortunately, I had no other choice. Most of my life, I engaged in expeditions to the most dangerous places, always returning safe and sound. I raised my son and sent him to the sect, but an accident happened: on a mission from the sect, he was bitten by a snake. As a result, my son went blind and left the sect, becoming reclusive. Using spiritual energy, he can orient himself within a couple of meters, but overall, he ceased to be particularly capable.

I spent all my savings on healers and artifacts trying to cure my son. I even managed to get a black pearl, but nothing helped. So, I accepted the invitation to the clan, with the condition that they would try to restore his sight or find a way to help him develop and socialize. After the trauma, he focused solely on cultivating and attempting to advance in ranks, hoping to regain his sight. But to cultivate, one needs resources, and with my aging and worn-out body, I can't venture into dangerous places. If anything happens to me, my son will be left alone, blind in a world of cultivators, unable to earn a living.

There were seven of us accepted under similar conditions. The introduction was quite curious. The girl introduced to us as the clan elder turned out to be an extremely harsh person. The scene of her dealing with the geese left a lasting impression on our memory. Considering I knew where the geese came from, as did most people present, I was even more impressed. As it turned out, we worried in vain; she turned out to be a very kind and calm girl, at least as long as we behaved accordingly.

We were eventually taken to the area where we would be living. There stood a small house with tiny rooms, which were assigned to each of us. Leading us was a kind-looking woman with blue hair. She told us we had five minutes to get acquainted and choose our rooms, and then we were to come downstairs for instructions.

Once we settled in, she gathered us all in the living room on the first floor and began giving instructions.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lin Qing, and this is Hu Mei. I am the secretary and deputy elder here, under Elder Mei. You won't need to communicate directly with her; any questions should go through me or my deputy" she said, pointing to the brown-haired girl beside her.

"As for the rules and behavior on the clan's territory, one of the clan disciples will brief you after I leave. Now, regarding your work, you are here as individuals who will conduct various research and studies. Your first task is to translate an ancient tome into the modern language and help with its interpretation if there are issues. During the translation, you are prohibited from sharing information about this work among yourselves or with anyone else in the future, without direct instruction from me or my superiors. This is a direct order from the head of the clan.

Once the translation is complete, there will be a discussion to review your translations and create a more accurate interpretation of the tome."

She waved her hand, and storage rings flew to each of us.

"Inside, you'll find an outer disciple badge of the sect, your initial allocation of sect points, a small amount of spirit stones to start with, and a copy of the tome you need to translate.

Bringing outside mountain the ring, the tome, or any of your work related to the task is forbidden now and in the future. Additionally, aiding in this is also prohibited. This is a direct order from the head of the clan."

Orders from the head of the clan must be followed, or the dao oath we took would kill us.

"Are there any questions?" she asked.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked the youngest among us.

Hu Mei

Observing the way Lin Qing's smile began to grow—the same smile that last time had led to several people being sliced into ribbons and others tortured to death—I felt my eye start to twitch. Damn suicidal idiot. I just got to the clan, to the mountain, and here's a fool whose hormones are raging.

"Oh!?" she said, batting her eyelashes. Damn, I guess I have no time to waste. I had to intervene, or he'd end up with a shattered psyche, assuming he even survived.

Stepping in front of the doomed fool, I sent him flying with a backhand slap and said, "One more question like that, and you're dead" using my coldest tone.

Both Lin Qing, who I had deprived of her amusement, and the idiot who thought I had ruined his fun, gave me hurt looks. Idiot, I just saved your life—or at least your manhood. Lin Qing snorted and continued.

"Alright, any other questions?" she asked, her tone now tinged with disappointment. Without waiting for a response, she declared, "No questions" and disappeared.

After quickly answering a few minor questions, I headed to the mansion, to my room. At the entrance, Lin Qing was leaning against the wall.

"And why did you have to ruin my fun?" she asked, reproachfully.

"Madam, he's an idiot, and judging by your smile, his life would've been broken at best" I replied.

"Well, maybe not broken, but he'd have been recovering for at least a week. After all, he's a valuable asset to the clan" she said with a click of her tongue. Yeah, right, I almost believed her.

"Anyway, while you were away, you fell behind. Here are three crystals with techniques. You have a week to master them in some form" she said, handing them to me.

I looked at the crystals with suspicion.

"Trust me, it's in your best interest to learn as much as you can. All clan management representatives are scheduled for intensive training. And since you're an important member, believe me, the training will be rigorous" she said before laughing and walking away, humming a tune.

Damn, I knew saving that idiot would come back to haunt me. No peace at all. At least the strawberries are freely available, delicious, and incredibly beneficial.