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 group's flight through the dark forest lasted until nearly dawn. It seemed like no matter how careful or cautious the group was, a single misstep was all it would take to bring down a new threat that would attempt to prey on the young cultivators. </p>

<p>At one point, Hou inadvertently ignited the web of a Giant Armored Spider as he attempted to light their way forward. At another, Yu Jinqi slipped at the edge of a steep gully, plunging into a stream filled with scaly reptiles that snapped at him with long snouts full of pointed teeth. If not for the alchemist's quick thinking to release a pungent toxin into the water he might have been swarmed by the vicious reptiles before the others could pull him back out of the stream. </p>

A Moment of Rest