By late afternoon it rained — and we took shelter under a large tree huddling together while water poured from the sky as the kids were miserable and shivering in their wet clothes.

  Chen Wu took off his outer robe and draped it over Mei and Hua, the two girls. "Here, you need it more than I do."

  Mei's face turned red. "Thank you, Chen Wu-ge." (The honorific 'ge' — older brother. But the way she said it, quiet and shy, carried more weight than simple respect.)

  Chen Wu didn't notice her expression — or he was ignoring it, too busy making sure all the kids were okay. I thought maybe he had become a complete monk — (akh, what I am thinking.)

  I sat with them leaning against the tree trunk as the kids shifted to make space though not enthusiastically — all of us settling into an awkward circle waiting for the rain to pass.

  Drip, drip, drip.

  Lin, one of the younger boys, kept staring at me — not with hostility exactly, more like confusion

  "What?" I asked quietly.

  He jumped. "N-nothing….sorry."

  "You keep looking at me?"

  "I just..." He frowned like he was trying to figure something out. "Why is your face always covered with your hair, I mean."

  "I like it this way." I said as I caressed my long black hair while he just stared at me.

  Drip…

  "Mm, it's so boring." Wei complained then turned to Chen Wu as if wanting to ask something.

  "What do you want to hear now?" Chen said with a smile.

  And Wei also smiled."What are the masters like?"

  Chen Wu lifted his head and looked at the grey sky. "Strict but fair." He paused, "like my master who is one of the kindest people I know and he's also the one who found me in a temple and brought me to the sect when I was 12."

  "Just like you're doing for us!" Jian said excitedly.

  "Exactly — it's how the sect grows and we find those with potential and give them opportunities."

  "What cultivation stage is Elder Yun?" It was now Mei who asked — she was sitting closer to Chen Wu than necessary.

  "Golden core Realm.," Chen Wu said with obvious pride. "He's incredibly powerful."

  "Ooh," the kids gasped and I was also impressed.

  (Golden Core Realm! That was like three realms above Foundation Establishment.)

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  The cultivation system went: Body Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Qi Condensation, Core Formation, Golden Core and then higher stages I didn't know yet.

  "Will we meet Elder Yun?" Lin asked.

  "Of course. All new students meet the elders during the entrance examination."

  "Examination?" All five widened their eyes and looked nervous.

  "Don't worry, It's just to assess your potential and everyone passes, it just helps in finding talented students."

  That relaxed them somewhat.

  By the time the rain passed, we continued walking and finally we reached the town situated at the mountain's base around noon — larger than Greenbrook Village with proper streets, shops, inns and restaurants, everything built to support the sect above.

  "We'll rest here for an hour," Chen Wu announced. "Get some proper food — then we'll head up to the sect gates." The kids cheered and Chen Wu led us to a restaurant where the owner recognized his sect robe immediately and gave us a good table. We ordered meat and vegetable soup as the kids dug in enthusiastically while I ate slowly glancing at the people around us.

  Right then a group of cultivators sat at a nearby table wearing the same sect robes as Chen Wu — Clouded Peak disciples.

  They noticed him and waved. "Chen Wu! You're already back!"

  "Just returned from a quest."

  "How'd it go?"

  "It... didn't go as planned. But….still a success."

  The disciples nodded and went back to their meal but one of them — a girl, kept glancing over. At first her eyes were on Chen Wu with a face of pure fondness but then her eyes settled on me — she stared for a long moment as her expression shifted from friendly curiosity to something else.

  Great. Another person or i can say another bitch affected by the villain aura and she was clearly a sect disciple — probably someone who knew Chen Wu.

  After we finished eating, the girl stood up and walked over to our table."Chen Wu," she said warmly. "How are you?"

  "Su Ling." Chen Wu stood up. "I am good, how have you been?"

  "Good. Training hard." Her eyes flicked to the kids. " Are these the new students?"

  "Yes. They are from Greenbrook Village and will be taking the entrance examination tomorrow."

  "That's wonderful." She smiled at the kids who looked intimidated by this older disciple — then her gaze settled on me again and the smile remained but it no longer reached her eyes.

  "But who's this?"

  "Ah, FuYang, he was...um..he had some trouble so I'm bringing him to the sect to recover."

  "Trouble?" Su Ling's voice was pleasant but her eyes were sharp.

  "He was imprisoned by the bandit lord I went to defeat," Chen Wu explained. "So, I'm offering him sanctuary at the sect."

  "I see." Su Ling looked at me directly. "You must have been through a lot."

  "Yes," I said quietly.

  "Mmmm." She then turned back to Chen Wu. "Well I'm sure Elder Yun will want to hear about your quest — I'll see you at the sect."

  Chen Wu nodded and she walked back to her table.

  Right then — "Su Ling seems nice," Mei said after Su Ling left, her voice a little flat.

  "She's one of the senior disciples — very talented and she'll probably reach Core Formation within a year."

  "Oh." Mei looked down at her food.

  (Hah) The young girl was already feeling... what? Inadequacy? Jealousy? After meeting a sects fairy.

  We finished our meal and started the climb up to the sect — the path was steep with stone steps carved into the mountainside and handrails for safety as the kids struggled a bit with the altitude but Chen Wu kept the pace manageable.

  As we climbed higher I saw more sect disciples training in open courtyards, practicing sword forms and meditating on platforms — everything looked disciplined and organized. This was a real cultivation sect with proper structure and proper training, nothing like my bandit camp.

  After an hour of climbing we reached the main gates — massive wooden doors stood open with guards in sect robes on each side and a large banner hung above: "Clouded Peak Sect — Virtue Through Cultivation."

  Chen Wu walked up to the guards and bowed respectfully. "Disciple Chen Wu returning from a quest and I've brought new students for the examination

  One guard nodded and we walked through the gates and finally I was inside the Clouded Peak Sect.

  The kids looked around in wonder at everything — gardens, ponds and buildings with curved roofs as disciples walked past in clean robes with the sound of training and weapons clashing in the distance. A righteous sect with a sense of peace and order.

  Chen Wu led us toward a large building. "This is the registration hall — wait here while I report to Elder Yun."

  He disappeared inside the building leaving me and the five kids outside the courtyard waiting — and right then Su Ling walked past with her group glancing at us as we bowed our heads respectfully then she was gone too.

  *****

  "Haaaah," I turned to look up at the mountain peak disappearing into the clouds as the wind kissed my face and ruffled my hair like a soft caress — I spread my arms wide as if they were wings. This was where my real life began.

  Meanwhile in the kids' eyes I looked utterly ridiculous — like a man trying to hug the sky. Maybe I was, and too far gone in my own joy to care.

  Chen Wu came back out of the registration hall with an older man following him — the man looked to be in his fifties wearing deep blue robes with silver embroidery, clearly marking him as someone important with his hair tied back neatly and his eyes sharp and assessing.

  Golden Core stage. I could feel the pressure radiating off him even from this distance.

  (This had to be Elder Yun.)

  "These are the new students," Chen Wu said, gesturing to our group. "From Greenbrook Village."

  Elder Yun's gaze swept over the five kids as his expression softened slightly. "Welcome to Clouded Peak Sect — you've taken the first step on the cultivation path by coming here."

  The kids bowed awkwardly, clearly intimidated.

  Then Elder Yun's eyes landed on me and I felt it immediately — the weight of his attention as his cultivation pressed against me, not aggressively but evaluating.

  "And you are?" Elder Yun asked.

  "Fu Yang," I said quietly using the name I had given myself and keeping my head slightly lowered — respectful. "I'm... I was traveling with Merchant Wang before bandits attacked us."