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

The trek around the mountain proceeded at what felt like a snail's pace. The Radiant Mountain Lion was the first powerful beast they had to cautiously avoid but it wasn't the last. Twice more, Wu Ling brought out his well worn zither and lulled powerful beasts to sleep so the group could slip by unnoticed.

When the group encountered a large collection of Razor Toothed Beavers who had dammed the creek they were following, there were far too many beasts for Wu Ling to overwhelm with his music. Avoiding the group of wolf-sized beavers took them on such a wide detour that they ran out of daylight before they could return to the stream they'd been following.

As much as they would have preferred to camp near running water, they instead ended the day in a small hollow surrounded by boulders. What their camp lacked in comfort, it made up for with the reassuring presence of wagon sized stones that provided shelter and a more defensible position on the mountain.

Danger from Below