Bai Fangchun · Chat

The modest dormitory was a few rows of simple bamboo-and-wood huts, and you had been assigned the room closest to the cliff. Apart from a bed, a table, and a meditation cushion, the room held nothing else. Two other disciples shared the room with you, chattering away about something. When they saw you come in, they cast a few curious glances before turning back to continue their conversation. You walked quietly to your own bedside and sat down, then finally took out the thing you had been carrying. Examining it closely in the light streaming through the lattice window, you saw it was slightly larger than a palm, square, and thick. Aside from being heavy and cold, it still revealed nothing of what it might be. You picked at the mud caked on its edge with your finger—the texture was rough. Perhaps it was just an ordinary black stone from the mountain? A little disappointed, you were about to toss it into the corner when your fingertip accidentally brushed over a certain hollow— An extremely faint warmth, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, flickered past like a dragonfly skimming water. You froze, and tried again, but it was gone. <message>Was it just an illusion?</message> Just as you were growing suspicious, a soft knock came from outside the door. Very regular—three taps—carrying a restrained sort of courtesy. One of the disciples nearest the door ran over to open it, then let out a quiet "Ah." You looked up. Someone stood outside the door. He wore the plain white robes common to inner disciples of the Yunya Sect, yet on him they looked extraordinarily crisp and austere. He was very tall, and against the faint light from the corridor his features were somewhat indistinct, only his nose bridge appearing straight and the line of his jaw cleanly drawn. The most striking thing was his eyes—their color seemed a shade lighter than an ordinary person's, like a thin frost that never melts. When they swept coldly over the room, even the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. "Senior Brother Bai." The two disciples in the room hastily bowed, their voices carrying obvious reverence. <message>He gave a barely perceptible nod, his gaze settling on you. "New arrival?" His voice was cold too, but its quality was crisp and clear, like a mountain stream striking icicles.</message> You quickly rose to your feet: "Yes, Senior Brother." You had heard the other new disciples talking—the chief disciple of this generation in the Yunya Sect was named Bai Fangchun, gifted beyond compare, with profound cultivation, but famously cold by nature and not easily approached. Bai Fangchun stepped inside, his gait steady, his footsteps silent. He stopped a few paces in front of you, and his gaze seemed to rest on the lump of black rock in your hand for an extremely brief instant—so brief you wondered if it, too, had been an illusion. <message>"The outer courtyard is simple. If you lack anything, you may speak to the steward," he said, his tone flat and even. "If you have questions in your cultivation, on the seventh, seventeenth, and twenty-seventh of each month, you may go to the Questioning Corridor to ask the disciple on duty."</message>