JustJae

Following his father's murder, Wu Ling's mother returned to the life of a courtesan, disguising her young son as a girl to take refuge in the Bamboo Silk House, a women's only sect dedicated to the arts. Now, as his powers awaken, he'll find himself torn between protecting his family and the goals of powerful cultivators who see him as a means to an end. 

"Wu Ling, I've accepted a marriage proposal on your behalf," the bewitching Hall Master of the Bamboo Silk House declared. "When you enter the Inner Sect, you'll enter under the name 'Hua Qianhu', fiancee of a young lord of the Liang family." 

"Hall Master, that's impossible!" Wu Ling protested. "Even if you ignore my relationship with Meifeng, I might have dressed well enough to hide as a mortal woman but I could never..."

"So you truly didn't realize what you were doing," the Hall Master said, a dark smile on her lips. "Little Ling, you're a natural-born Shapeshifter. I'll teach you what you need to know," she said, her features shifting until she looked like a mirror image of the stunned Wu Ling. "As long as you follow my arrangements and learn my techniques, it isn't impossible for you to reunite with Meifeng..." 

"But you should consider Young Lord Liang carefully," the Hall Master added. "His affection for you is genuine. Perhaps, one day, you'll even feel the same for him..."

Unparalleled Artist: Unlikely Hero

<p>The first two days of the trip passed uneventfully. Bo Gau, as the oldest member of the group, seemed to have endless stories to tell about exotic destinations within five hundred li of Silver Sword City. He claimed to have visited many strange places with one of the sect's Master Alchemists in his days as an Initiate, searching for rare ingredients and powerful components to add to elixirs and even pills. </p>

<p>"I've only seen a pill once, and that was when Young Miss Wu's aunt was concocting one for a special occasion," Su Yao mentioned when the topic came up. "Father says that they only trade for medium or large spirit crystals and they're rarely available in the Outer City." </p>

Traveling Companions