Chương 113: Chapter 112: The Sponsorship Letter

Shixiong - Older male fellow disciple of the same master. Shidi - Younger male fellow disciple of the same master. Shijie - Older female fellow disciple of the same master. Shimei - Younger female fellow disciple of the same master.... Yang allowed entry through the cave formation and stepped outside to meet them. Three of them. He bowed.

"Senior Brother Lin Yi, Senior Brother Xu Kai, Senior Brother Zhen Hao."

"Junior Brother Yang." Senior Brother Lin Yi looked at him with a tired smile.

"I apologise for arriving with extra baggage." He glanced sideways at Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao.

"I came to keep this one in check," Senior Brother Xu Kai said with a sigh, gesturing at Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao. Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao on the other hand unlike the other two Senior Brothers turned to Yang with a wide smile.

"You don't mind, Junior Brother Yang, do you?" He turned back to Senior Brother Xu Kai before Yang could respond.

"See. Junior Brother Yang doesn't mind. He is happy to have me here." Senior Brother Xu Kai gave him a look that should have stripped the paint off wall but it just slid over the intended target. Senior Brother Lin Yi looked just tired of it all and Yang had a guess on who was to blame.

"My apologies, Junior Brother," Senior Brother Lin Yi said again.

"There is nothing to apologise for," Yang said.

"I am happy and honoured to see you all here. Please come in." He led them toward the cave entrance. As they passed the herb garden Senior Brother Lin Yi slowed, looking at the plants.

"They are coming along well, Junior Brother. I can see you have been taking care of them." Then he stopped. He crouched down near the Spirit Spiral bed, all three plants barely a few inches above the soil, and went still. Everyone stopped with him. Senior Brother Xu Kai and Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao hovered behind as Yang crouched down beside Senior Brother Lin Yi.

"Is something wrong, Senior Brother?" Senior Brother Lin Yi reached out and lightly touched the nearest shoot with one finger. He was quiet for a moment.

"Are you following the manual?" he asked.

"Yes. Soil Enrichment Technique at dawn for seven days before planting, Seed Awakening Technique on each seed individually just before planting the seeds, and I have been performing Spirit Spring Rain Technique every morning since then without exception." Yang looked at the plants. They looked healthy to him.

The Spirit Spiral seedlings were absorbing qi only from the water he gave them each morning, which the neighbouring Blue Jade and Spirit Grass plants confirmed by continuing to grow normally without showing any signs of qi depletion.

"Is something wrong with them?"

"No," Senior Brother Lin Yi said quietly.

"They look healthy." He stayed crouched for another moment as though looking for the right words.

"Are you planning to squat in the dirt all day, Lin Yi?" Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao's impatient voice came from above them.

"They are just plants. Stop staring at them." Senior Brother Lin Yi stood, and Yang caught the irritation in his expression before he controlled it. Senior Brother Xu Kai looked at the sky.

"Brother Zhen Hao," Senior Brother Lin Yi said, "there is more to cultivation than swinging a sword and shooting colourful sparks from your hands. Herbs and plants are an essential part of a cultivator's life." before turning around and moving ahead. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They continued inside.

Yang wanted to bring the Spirit Spiral topic back but could not find an opening, and whatever had stopped Senior Brother Lin Yi so suddenly near those plants remained unsaid. He had been fairly certain on the walk inside that Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao was the one sponsoring him. He was the only core disciple Yang had ever actually met. According to Ye Xuan, his master was a peak master and the sect master's own junior brother, and he was direct lineage from the previous sect master. It stood to reason.

Inside, the tea set was ready on the table, the tea simmering, the snacks Senior Sister Wei Wei had guided him to buy set out beside it.

"Junior Brother, you did not need to go to this trouble," Senior Brother Lin Yi began. Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao picked up a pastry and ate it in two bites.

"I recognise this. It is one of my favourites." He reached for another one. Senior Brother Lin Yi sat down beside Yang with resignation. Senior Brother Xu Kai and Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao settled across from them. Yang poured tea for everyone. He took a sip of his own and noticed it tasted a bit different from the first time, probably because he had boiled it for longer. Either way it worked. Senior Brother Lin Yi took a sip, set his cup down, and smiled at Yang before looking at him directly.

"Junior Brother. I am here to pass on your sponsorship letter." He glanced at Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao, who was occupied with the snacks and did not notice the look for a moment. When he did, he simply passed Senior Brother Lin Yi a scroll without comment.

"This is your sponsorship letter," Senior Brother Lin Yi said, placing it in front of Yang along with a second scroll from his own sleeve.

"The other scroll is a list of the talisman competitions available. You will need to show the sponsorship letter at the outer sect hall along with your list of chosen competitions. They will pass the information to the inner sect hall to register you, and you will then receive a letter confirming your acceptance." He paused.

"Choose no fewer than two competitions and no more than three. You are welcome to ignore this advice, but as a new outer sect disciple it is better to concentrate your effort on what you do well rather than spread yourself across too many events."

"I will keep it in mind," Yang said, taking both scrolls with a small bow. He turned to Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao.

"Thank you for agreeing to sponsor me, Senior Brother." Senior Brother Xu Kai's let out a slight scoff before he controlled it. Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao gave a wide smile.

"It was not me who sponsored you, Junior Brother."

"Not that he could even if he wanted to," Senior Brother Lin Yi muttered under his breath. Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao turned to him with an injured expression.

"Brother Lin Yi, you are putting salt to my wounds. The sect master was entirely unfair to me. I had not broken any sect rules at the time and was deprived of my rights and honours as a core disciple without just cause." Senior Brother Xu Kai looked at Yang with a deep sigh.

"Brother Jiang thought it appropriate to hold a competition among the outer sect disciples to determine who should receive his sponsorship the first time the competition was held after he became a core disciple."

"Is that against the rules?" Yang asked.

"It is when it is a drinking competition," Senior Brother Lin Yi said.

"The elders and peak masters considered it undignified," Senior Brother Xu Kai added.

"There were no rules against it," Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao said, with genuine conviction.

"I was the wronged party." Looking at his expression, Yang believed he believed it. He brought the conversation back.

"Then who sponsored me?"

"Senior Brother Chen Xin Hai," Senior Brother Lin Yi said. Both he and Senior Brother Xu Kai were watching Yang carefully.

"I do not know anyone by that name," Yang said confused.

"Why would he sponsor me?"

"We were also wondering that," Senior Brother Xu Kai said, and glanced at Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao, who was back to the snacks.

"He is one of Zhen Hao's shixiong," Senior Brother Lin Yi said.

"The one above him."

"I thought Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao's shixiong were Senior Brother Xiao Zhan and Senior Brother Luo Yun Xi," Yang said, remembering the brief meeting on the top floor of the restaurant.

"He has more than two, a whole army of them" Senior Brother Xu Kai said.

"This one was not there when we went up."

"I am confused," Yang admitted.

"So are we," Senior Brother Lin Yi said.

"When I received your letter I was disappointed to find the elder slots were already filled and regretful about having given you hope. I shared this with Sister Xing Fei—""Who shared it with everyone else," Senior Brother Xu Kai interrupts. Senior Brother Lin Yi continued past the interruption with a brief glance at him.

"It became a discussion among our group. I was preparing to visit you myself when a sponsorship letter in your name arrived from Senior Brother Chen Xin Hai."

"A sponsorship letter just arrived for me," Yang said slowly, "from a senior brother I have never met, for no reason anyone will explain."

"That is an accurate summary," Senior Brother Xu Kai said, his eyes boring holes into Senior Brother Zhen Hao. Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao smiled pleasantly and said nothing. The table was quiet for a moment. Even Yang, with all his superior social butterfly skills, had nothing to say.

"I am grateful," Yang said finally, to no one in particular.

"I would like to thank Senior Brother Chen Xin Hai properly for this opportunity." He looked to Senior Brother Lin Yi for guidance on how to go about that. Before Senior Brother Lin Yi could answer, Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao spoke.

"Your thanks are appreciated but not required. Do well in the competition. That is all the payment Xin Hai Shixiong needs." Yang looked at him.

"Do as Brother Zhen Hao says," Senior Brother Lin Yi said quietly.

"He will know best what his own shixiong wants." Yang accepted this and let it rest.

"Junior Brother," Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao said, reaching for the last pastry, "take a look at the competition sheet. Which events are you thinking of entering?" Yang unrolled the scroll and began to read.