As the Mystical Qilin mountain range grew closer, Anji requested to ride the horse with her second brother instead of Gu Ying. The female bodyguard understood and did not feel bad about it. Instead, she listened to the idle chatter between academic siblings, debating about topics that not even Bai Dajin could understand. However, they knew this was Anji’s way of spending more time with her brother before she parted ways with her older brother, who was also one of her first teachers.
"Also, bullying is a common phenomenon. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, don’t show them any reactions. Your best bet is to analyse them and collect as much information as possible about them."
Collect information? That was different from what Anji thought. When she asked the people around her previously, many of them suggested things like reasoning, compromising and even ignoring. Apart from her mother and older sister, who gave Anji permission to beat up her bullies, the more responsible adults told Anji not to confront her bullies out of fear that Anji would bring herself unwarranted hardships in the name of justice.
However, her brother had a different idea. Mingshen suggested befriending them.
"Have you heard of a saying to keep your friends close and your enemies closer? They might not be great friends, but they could be useful pawns. Besides, all wars are won because of intel. So don’t give them the upper hand. The fewer reactions you give them, the more wary they are of you. However, to simulate their thoughts, you can observe them all you like through their words, actions and emotions."
The art of mind reading was half a skill and half a lie. If there was one thing Mingshen learned from Zhang Mou, it was his charisma. Although Mingshen had changed a lot externally in his behaviour, there was still a huge difference between his skill and Zhang Mou’s. The Azure Dragon Sect’s oldest son was like an oak tree, unshakeable and always serene no matter what happens on the outside. He radiates a calm that not many cultivators and scholars can achieve, almost similar to the zen vibes of monks who have meditated their whole lives.
Mingshen was like the eye of a storm. While he might appear calm initially, chaos always ensues in whatever he does. Hong Nian Niang loved his inner imp and how he worked like the sly pickpockets in the slums. They got along because of their crooked personalities while exuding different external mannerisms. Hong Nian Niang preferred to charm others with her classy words but filthy fashion and words, tempting their lust and greed. However, Mingshen worked differently. He preferred to win people’s trust and destroy them using their insecurities after he had a grip on their minds and hearts. Hope and fear worked hand in hand for the terrifying spy, and now he was teaching his sister the trade in his work.
Anji always knew that her siblings were amazing people. She had always known her older sister and third brother took after their father’s straightforward personality more. They spoke exactly what was on their minds and often offended people with the truth. However, her second brother and Anji took after their mother more. Zhao Wanting was great at managing the sect because she understood how to win the hearts of people who worked under her. It was Zhao Wanting who taught Anji how silence was an answer option and why lies are sometimes not evil. The world was not as black and white as her father and siblings believed. Hence, Anji could understand what Mingshen was telling her. Yet, part of Anji disagreed with the methods involved.
At heart, Anji understood most of the insecurities other people would experience as she had suffered from them the most. As a doctor, Anji vowed to make every life she came across better. It did not matter if it were a physical, mental or emotional ailment. If it were within Anji’s ability, she was determined to try to help them. There might not be a cure, but at the very least, Anji hoped to make it hurt less.
"I understand, brother. If anyone bullies me, I will not hate them. Instead, I will do my best to understand them and convert them into my friends. Having more friends in this world isn’t bad, especially if the Mystical Qilin Sect is going to be my second home."
Hearing how only half of his message reached Anji, Mingshen wanted to correct her. However, after observing that determined sparkle in Anji’s eyes, he could not bring himself to dim it. Unlike Mingshen, who toed the line between good and evil, Anji only took the high road. Sometimes, he thought Anji was incapable of hatred with the inexhaustible kindness in her soul. Anji was the only child who adopted the perfect half of both their parents. With their father’s kindness and righteous nature but their mother’s wit and flexibility, Anji was the most outstanding candidate to become their sect’s successor if she were not born with that overpowering cultivator core that had to be sealed.
Yet now, they could only send their prodigy child to become another sect’s successor. Yan Ping was both the Celestial Dragon’s Sect’s saviour and a robber. For now, Mingshen will let Anji do as she pleases. However, if she ever became unhappy and lost her shine under the neglect of Yan Ping in the Mystical Qilin Sect, he would infiltrate the spell mountain and wreak havoc. Although he was inferior in spell knowledge, Mingshen had his ways when dealing with even the most stubborn of hermits. Surely, they would come out of their holes if he smoked them out, right? The idea of smoking rats out of their holes worked on humans too. All Mingshen had to do was start a much bigger fire, perhaps the size of three mountain ranges.
"Just remember that jealousy runs deeper than logic," he cautioned. "Not everything can be reasoned logically. Humans were originally illogical creatures. It was how we managed to defy the heavens and climbed our way into ascension."
Chuckling, Anji nodded and made a pinky promise that she would always prioritise herself instead of others when she entered the Mystical Qilin Sect. It was the same promise she made to Doctor He when she was first recognised as a graduated apprentice with her own right to practice medicine.
"I will," she reassured Mingshen, who still had a sceptical frown. "It would be troublesome if you decided to cause grief to my shifu if you found out I was having difficulty on the mountain. Father and Mother would likely kick up a huge fuss, and my teacher would be troubled. I’ll be careful so it will not sour the relationship between the two sects." Latest content published on nοvelfire.net
When Anji left, she was told that she would always belong as part of the Celestial Dragon Sect, even if she were the successor to the Mystical Qilin Sect. However, Mingshen did not expect his youngest sister to take on the role of a diplomat so quickly. It was good that she did not intend to follow in the footsteps of Liu Guiya, who entered the imperial court for politics. If she did, the world would collapse at his younger sister’s feet. Mingshen suppressed a shudder.
Was this the reason why the heavens crippled her on the day she was born?