Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Child of Mount Hua
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The early autumn dawn air was unexpectedly cold.
Today, I had woken up early and climbed the back mountain alone.
The horizon was gradually turning red.
It was the same morning as always, but today held special meaning for me.
Early autumn in Shaanxi was usually marked by frequent rains.
They said that exactly twenty years ago today had been one such day.
A day of crashing thunder, flashing lightning, and torrential downpours.
That was the day the Sect Leader had carried me here, abandoned as I was.
"Doesn't look like it's gonna rain today, though."
The mountain before sunrise was always honest.
Dark paths, damp pine needles, water pooled in rock crevices.
This was the landscape I'd seen longer than any other in the world, yet it still felt strangely unfamiliar.
After sorting through my emotions for a while, just before the sun fully rose,
I brushed off my clothes and stood.
"You gonna leave without watching the sunrise?"
Turning around, I saw someone standing there.
It was my senior sister.
I'd slipped out of my quarters without a word, but of course she knew exactly where I'd gone.
She was already standing behind me before I knew it.
"Senior Sister? How did you get up here?"
"Today's a special day, isn't it?"
Before her words even finished, she naturally stepped up beside me.
"Cold."
Senior Sister pulled up the collar of my robe without waiting for a reply.
She straightened the messy knot with her fingertips and tucked in the protruding hem.
"It's not that cold."
"No, it is. The morning breeze is sharp."
Senior Sister looked up at my face, then casually reached toward my forehead.
She plucked a pine needle from my hair and brushed it away.
There was no hesitation in her touch.
Maybe because she didn't see me as a 'man,' or maybe there was no need to.
It was just the hand of someone caring for the youngest. The hand of a sister looking after her brother.
As if the line between us had never existed in the first place.
The problem was that I was the only one aware of it.
"...Did you tell Senior Uncle I came up here alone?"
"No. I didn't."
"Then let's head down before anyone notices. Reveille's soon."
Instead of waiting for my answer, Senior Sister grabbed my arm and hooked it through hers.
Her grip wasn't tight, but the moment her hand touched me, my body followed naturally.
The mountain path was slick from the night's dew.
Senior Sister matched my stride, and whenever I seemed about to slip, she held my arm firmly to steady me.
"Yi Yi. Don't you want to go out into the world?"
"......"
The answer didn't come right away.
Outside the sect.
That phrase had always remained as a vague 'someday.'
Senior Sister didn't press my silence.
Instead, she continued as if it were the most natural thing.
"It's been twenty years since you joined Mount Hua, so maybe I should suggest to the Sect Leader that you be allowed to go out."
"You think he'll permit it?"
"Of course. You're a second-generation disciple too, after all. And I was exactly twenty when I first went out."
"That was... because you were going to the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament..."
As I trailed off, Senior Sister slowed her pace and looked at me.
Her expression seemed to say, 'So?' I averted my gaze for no reason.
"Right, that's how it was. So, want to go out this time? It's at Wudang, so not too far."
"I'm still nowhere near ready."
"You've trained in martial arts for fifteen years. No reason you can't. Especially Mount Hua's arts."
"You know that's not true... I'm just barely mimicking them."
"Then how about your big sis goes with you? The Sect Leader won't worry then."
"Huh?"
The words came out so naturally.
Like asking, 'Had breakfast?'
"The outside isn't dangerous—it's unfamiliar. And the first time is always the hardest."
First time.
The word echoed strangely in my head.
In my oldest memories, Senior Sister was always there.
The day I took my first steps.
My legs wouldn't hold strength properly, and my body wobbled.
Senior Sister casually grabbed my arm.
"Slowly."
That one word was the clearest in my memory.
The next 'first' was her too.
The day I first gripped a wooden sword.
The day I first properly circulated my inner energy.
The moment I first learned to read.
All my 'firsts' had Senior Sister right there beside them.
The one who grabbed my hand when I fell.
The one who soothed my scraped palms.
"Then..."
"Yeah, I'll talk to the Sect Leader."
"...Thanks, Sis."
Senior Sister smiled lightly and patted my head.
As her palm swept over my crown, my shoulders tensed reflexively before relaxing.
To her, it was just 'handling the little brother.'
But I received that touch differently every time.
Standing under the sect plaque, my legs trembled.
Going out of the sect meant passing beneath those characters.
The Sect Leader greeted us first.
A benevolent smile spread across his face.
"Yi Yi, you're finally going to see the outside world."
I clasped my hands in salute.
Senior Sister Plum Blossom Yeon did the same.
"Yi Yi pays his respects before departing."
"We'll be careful."
The Sect Leader nodded to Senior Sister.
"With Hwa Yeon at your side, I have no worries. Who would fret with the runner-up of the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament watching over you?"
Then he turned to me.
"Yi Yi."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Outside the sect, you're not just responsible for yourself. You're carrying Mount Hua's reputation."
My throat went dry at his words, my posture straightening even more.
But the Sect Leader didn't press harshly.
His next words mixed caution with affection.
"So listen well to your senior sister. I know how much it eats at her when you get stubborn."
"I will keep it in mind."
At that moment, a familiar presence hurried from behind the Sect Leader.
It was Eldest Senior Brother.
"Sect Leader! I came because the little one's heading out!"
Eldest Senior Brother's eyes lit up the moment he saw me, and he rushed over.
He scanned my robe hem, checked my sash knot, and dusted off my sleeve ends.
"Hey, why do you look so skinny? You'll eat properly out there, right? What about water? Got your canteen?"
"I packed it, Eldest Senior Brother."
Senior Sister cut in with a sigh-tinged voice.
"Senior Brother. I'm right here—why the fuss?"
"Right, Junior Sister. I'll trust you then."
Eldest Senior Brother patted my shoulder and put on a needlessly serious face.
"Yi Yi, results don't matter. Just come back safe and sound."
As his hand left my shoulder, a wave of emptiness hit first.
I fiddled with my robe collar for no reason, steadied my breath, and bowed.
"We'll be off."
The Sect Leader lightly raised his hand.
"Yes. Go on."
Senior Sister stood beside me.
And without a fuss, she stepped forward under the plaque first.
I followed—one step.
Two steps.
The moment I left the sect grounds, I felt the air change.
It couldn't have been my imagination.
The protective barrier I'd always taken for granted stayed behind my back, while an untrodden path stretched ahead.
Senior Sister matched her pace to mine and asked,
"Nervous?"
"...A little."
Saying it out loud made me even more embarrassed.
Twenty years old, an adult now, and I couldn't even hide my trembling toes.
"First times are always like that."
Senior Sister said it without taking the lead.
She stayed just a half-step ahead, so I wouldn't lag.
My gaze kept drifting sideways.
The long dirt road stretching down the mountain, the forest alongside it,
The distant curving valley, and the world beyond.
I'd 'seen' that road countless times.
From the back mountain, it looked like a thin line snaking far away.
Carriages and people like dots moving along it.
But now was different.
My feet were on that line.
Unable to believe it, I kept glancing down at my toes.
"Feels surreal?"
I nodded honestly instead of answering.
"It's... so close, yet it was so far away."
Even as I said it, it felt strange.
A place I'd only gazed down at from the mountain,
And now I was walking right into it.
Senior Sister chuckled briefly.
"From now on, you can see it for yourself."
The words weren't much, but they warmed something in my chest.
I nodded and took another step.
Just walking, yet every step felt new.
We walked without rest until we reached Chang'an, the largest city in Shaanxi.
Every stretch of the road was packed with people, carts, and noise.
Wagons rumbled by on creaking wheels, horseshoes clopping on stone pavement.
I found my mouth hanging open without realizing.
Senior Sister, half a step beside me, said,
"Overwhelming, huh."
"...Yeah. But it's amazing."
As I spoke, Senior Sister gave a short laugh.
That laugh felt like her pretending not to notice my nerves.
We pushed through the crowd into an alley.
Senior Sister passed fancier places and stopped in front of an inn with a crooked signboard.
'Clear Wind Inn'.
The name sounded decent, but the door rattled loosely, and the floorboards slanted a bit.
A mix of cheap liquor and oil smells wafted out.
"We're staying here?"
"Can't waste the sect's money. But it's fine for one night."
Across the alley, red lanterns hung in a row.
Even in daylight, every sway of the crimson fabric seemed to redden the sunlight again.
Incense drifted on the breeze, and faint music trickled from somewhere.
"What about over there...?"
"Not for us. Don't mind it."
I cleared my throat awkwardly and pushed open the inn door.
It was cramped inside, but not as crowded as I'd thought.
Two drunks at a corner table, broth bubbling from the kitchen.
The owner, eyes half-closed, sized us up and quoted the room rate first.
Senior Sister placed coins on the table.
Exactly the right amount.
"One room. And food down here."
The owner nodded curtly and tossed us a key.
Senior Sister caught it and led me upstairs.
The room was small and musty.
Sounds from outside leaked through the window cracks.
Laughter spilling from the red lantern district, claps, low singing.
I set down my pack but kept glancing at the door.
Senior Sister noticed once, then said casually,
"Hungry? Let's go down."
Downstairs, Senior Sister ordered knife-cut noodles.
Clear broth with thin strands.
Scallions and a few drops of oil on top.
Not much different from what we ate in the sect, but it felt hotter somehow.
I picked up my chopsticks.
"...Senior Sister."
"Yeah."
"After we eat... can we look around a bit?"
Senior Sister's chopsticks paused briefly.
Her eyes scanned me—not scolding, but weighing lightly.
"We can. But promise me."
I nodded.
"Only crowded places. Back before it's too late."
"Yes."
Senior Sister looked me straight in the eye.
"If trouble finds you, don't fight—run. Got it?"
"...Run?"
"Yeah. Run."
She said it so matter-of-factly, it scared me more.
"Outside, it's not about being strong—it's about staying safe."
"I'll remember."
Only then did Senior Sister pick up her chopsticks again.
"Noodles'll get soggy. Eat."
I sipped the broth.
Even as the hot flavor slid down my throat, the laughter from outside kept tickling my ears.