A dead-end alley.
The bun shop owner stood with his hands braced on his knees, panting, and glared at the little beggar in front of him. "Run! Aren't you good at running? Go on, run!"
The little beggar knew she couldn't run anymore. She opened the dirty cloth and wolfed the buns down.
Every bite I can get is one more.
"Still eating, are you? Just watch me break your legs."
The bun shop owner strode forward.
The closer he came, the faster the little girl ate.
Gripping the rolling pin, the bun shop owner swung it down hard on the little girl's head.
The little girl squeezed her eyes shut and curled into herself.
But to her surprise, the pain never came.
She opened her eyes and saw a finely dressed young man gripping the bun shop owner's big hand.
Xiao Mo looked at the trembling little girl before him and asked, "What's wrong with this little girl?"
"Who are you? What business is it of yours? She stole my buns! And not for the first time! I'm going to teach her a lesson!" the bun shop owner said furiously.
Xiao Mo released the man's hand and tossed a few bits of broken silver into his arms. "Is this enough?"
The bun shop owner froze for a moment, then nodded rapidly. "Enough, enough, more than enough..."
"You little whelp, lucky for you!" The bun shop owner cursed a few more times and left the alley.
The little girl looked at the young man standing in front of her, swallowed, and clutched her small hands tight against her chest.
Xiao Mo crouched down and asked with a smile, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. What's your name?"
"Jiang... Jiang Qingyi..." the little girl answered timidly.
"Mm, that's a good name. Do you want to come with me?"
"Come with you?"
"That's right. I'd like to take on a disciple, and I think you'll do. If you come with me, you can eat your fill every day. What do you say? Will you think about it?"
The little girl looked at the half bun left in her hand, as if thinking it over.
At last she raised her head and looked at Xiao Mo earnestly. "I... I'll come with you!"
"Good." Xiao Mo nodded with a smile. "My name is Xiao Mo. From this day on, I'm your master. Go on, say it."
"Master..."
"Mm."
After bringing Jiang Qingyi up the mountain, Xiao Mo took her to collect a disciple token and a set of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's women's robes.
Back on his own peak, Xiao Mo sent Jiang Qingyi off to take a bath and change into clean clothes.
When Jiang Qingyi stood before Xiao Mo again, his eyes couldn't help brightening.
The Jiang Qingyi of before had been like a tomboy—short hair, covered head to toe in mud and dust.
But now that she was washed clean and changed into a dress, she looked like a doll carved from pink jade, utterly adorable: fair skin, and beneath curling, upturned lashes a pair of big, liquid eyes like the waters of West Lake, while her small, slightly pointed chin already hinted at the beauty she would grow into.
Xiao Mo tossed a wooden sword to Jiang Qingyi. "Starting today, you learn the sword from me. The sword art I'm teaching you is called the Cursive Sword Formula. It has to be cultivated as formula and moves together: you'll practice the moves by day, and by night I'll teach you to read and recite the formula. No slacking. Understand?"
The Cursive Sword Formula was the sword art the avatar Xiao Mo had cultivated, and every stance and move of it was imprinted in Xiao Mo's mind.
Xiao Mo even wondered whether, once he left this place, he might be able to practice the Cursive Sword Formula in the real world as well.
Jiang Qingyi hugged the wooden sword tight. "Yes... Master..."
"Follow me. First move."
Over the next half month, Xiao Mo taught Jiang Qingyi swordsmanship every morning at first light.
Jiang Qingyi studied earnestly and worked hard.
But because she lacked an innate sword bone, Jiang Qingyi learned very, very slowly; her aptitude could only be described as "poor."
Another half month passed, and Jiang Qingyi still hadn't learned the first move of the Cursive Sword Formula.
"Master... am I really that stupid?"
One day, Jiang Qingyi said dejectedly, hugging her wooden sword.
"Who says you're stupid?" Xiao Mo was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea.
Jiang Qingyi shook her head quickly. "No... no one said anything to your disciple."
Xiao Mo gazed at her and said mildly, "Come here."
Jiang Qingyi swallowed, then slowly walked up in front of her master.
"Qingyi, you're not stupid at all..." Xiao Mo patted her lightly on the head. "There's a saying that fits: everything's hard at the beginning. We're in no hurry, we'll take it slow. You don't need to fill your head with anything else—just do your own part well. Understand?"
"Mm-hm!" Jiang Qingyi nodded.
Encouraged by her master, the girl regained a little of her confidence.
Over the days that followed, Xiao Mo often bought spirit-beast meat for Jiang Qingyi to eat.
Yet Jiang Qingyi's progress remained slow.
A month and a half had passed in all, and Jiang Qingyi hadn't even reached the first layer of Qi Refining—the very threshold of cultivation!
One day, as Xiao Mo went down the mountain to buy wine, he happened to overhear several outer sect disciples talking:
"That disciple Elder Xiao took in has no root aptitude at all. No idea why Elder Xiao would accept her as a disciple."
"It's been a month and a half, and she still hasn't even entered the first layer of Qi Refining."
"Damn it, is my talent not way above that Jiang Qingyi's? And I never got to be an elder's disciple!"
"Hahaha, Xiao Mo always looks down his nose at everyone. I want to see how that little girl gets beaten black and blue at the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's New Blood Tournament a year from now!"
Just as the group was drinking and talking, Xiao Mo walked up in front of them.
"Fellow Daoist, what's the matter? Something you need?" a burly man said, turning around when he saw Xiao Mo.
"Nothing much. I just don't like hearing you talk about my disciple that way."
As the words left his mouth, Xiao Mo kicked them in the stomachs.
The burly man flew ten meters.
After teaching these men a lesson, Xiao Mo went back to his own Lingqian Peak as if nothing had happened.
By the time Xiao Mo reached the summit, it was already deep into the night.
Under the moonlight, a little girl was still practicing her sword.
Her movements were so clumsy, and yet she was trying so hard.
"Qingyi," Xiao Mo called softly.
"Master." Jiang Qingyi put away her wooden sword and ran over to him.
"You're still awake?" Xiao Mo patted her head.
"Master, Qingyi couldn't sleep, so I wanted to practice a little more," she said softly.
Xiao Mo smiled. "Working hard is a good thing, but you have to balance it with rest."
Jiang Qingyi shook her head hard. "It's all right, Master. I'm not tired."
Looking at the girl, a complicated flicker passed through Xiao Mo's eyes, but he didn't stop her. "All right. One stick of incense at most, then straight to bed. Understood?"
"Understood, Master. You should rest well too." Jiang Qingyi nodded.
Xiao Mo turned and walked back to his wooden hut.
Watching her master's back, Jiang Qingyi pressed her small lips together and clutched the wooden sword tightly in her little hands.
Just as her master was about to step inside, Jiang Qingyi called softly, "Master."
"Mm?" Xiao Mo turned around.
Under the moonlight, the girl's eyes were like ripples on a clear spring, limpid and gentle. "The sect's New Blood Tournament... I definitely won't let you down, Master!"
Xiao Mo was caught off guard for a moment; then the corner of his mouth curved up, and he nodded with a smile.
"Good."