The Academy of Golden Elegance claimed a large tract of land near the centre of the city, a short walk from the temple. Shops and houses cozied right up to the academy's thick stone walls, but the moment Shi Qingxuan walked through the towering gate at the entrance it was like stepping into another world. Trees had been carefully planted along a winding path to create the impression of a dense and verdant forest, shielding the academy's students from the common world outside the walls. There was the faint scent of incense, and the sound of distant chanting. Sitting on a bench to wait for Yu Yanli, Shi Qingxuan felt for a moment like they'd been sent back in time, to their own training on a distant mountain. They wondered if He Xuan felt the same. But they were always too afraid to ask about the early parts of He Xuan's life, ever aware of how that life had ended, and why.
Shi Qingxuan was startled from their thoughts by the sound of running feet as Yu Yanli burst through the trees. "I'm so sorry!" she puffed, with a hurried bow. "When I mentioned I was coming to meet you, some of my fellow students insisted on coming to help show you around."
"That's quite alright," said Shi Qingxuan. "We haven't been waiting long."
"It's not the lateness I'm apologising for," said Yu Yanli via private array, "it's the other students."
Before Shi Qingxuan could ask what she meant, the other students appeared, two twenty-something women making their way along the path at a much more leisurely pace. The first was a friendly looking woman with a shy smile in simple white cultivation robes. The second woman was smiling too, but like a shark, her eyes narrowing in smug judgement when she took in Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan's appearances. Well, bah to her, they looked great. Shi Qingxuan might dress like a bedraggled beggar most of the time, but they knew how to look nice when it mattered. Certainly better than this woman, whose skirt was so over-embellished with embroidery that it had become lifeless and stiff.
Yu Yanli introduced the two women as Ban Ruojun and Shen Xiaowan respectively, then handed Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan the talismans required to enter the grounds proper.
"Yu-shimei didn't mention she had two friends," said Shen Xiaowan. "It seems that pretty little Mistress Feng here is supposed to be her old master, but who may I ask are you?" She stared at He Xuan like she was trying to intimidate him. Good luck with that, sister.
"Bodyguard," said He Xuan. Since it might be considered inappropriate for Yu Yanli to be friends with young men, He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan were women today, but even in his feminine form He Xuan still looked like plenty intimidating.
"Bodyguard?" repeated Shen Xiaowan. "Do you not trust the academy to take care of you, Mistress Feng? No-one may enter or leave without the express invite of a member of the academy, and we only take the best of the best."
"No insult intended!" said Shi Qingxuan. "I'm sure your academy is very safe! She's more of a friend than a bodyguard, really. Aren't you, A-Xuan?"
He Xuan didn't reply, but wore the stoic expression of a mistreated employee unable to argue with her spoiled mistress.
Shi Qingxuan resisted the temptation to kick him and instead privately asked Yu Yanli, "Doesn't like you much, this Shen Xiaowan, does she?"
"Well spotted," replied Yu Yanli. "I'm sure she only invited herself along to cause trouble. Ban Ruojun is harmless enough, at least, if easily led." Out loud, she said, "I was thinking we could start with a tour of the gardens. If that wouldn't be too much walking, Mistress Feng? The fountain in the East courtyard is especially-"
"Surely we should begin with the main temple," interrupted Shen Xiaowan, in a shocked tone. "Even your friends are not so impious to disrespect the gods, I hope?"
Shi Qingxuan barely managed to turn a sharp laugh into a long cough. "No, no, I'm very pious," they said, when they could speak again. "Always been very close to the gods, isn't that right, A-Xuan?"
"As you say," he replied, blank face not cracking even a little.
Shen Xiaowan led them past the trees into the academy proper, as marked by another, even fancier gate. As they passed through, Shi Qingxuan felt a shiver pass through them, and stumbled.
"Oh," said Yu Yanli, "I warned you about the protection array, didn't I? That's why you need the visitor talismans. Even with them you won't be able to cast any powerful spells."
"You did!" said Shi Qingxuan. "It just gave me a little surprise to actually feel it. That's...quite a security system you have set up here. Even the Heavens aren't so cautious...I would imagine, haha."
"As you can see," said Shen Xiaowan, "We have a great deal to protect."
The academy was indeed as beautiful as Yu Yanli had always described it as being. Carefully tended gardens and gilded buildings expanded out as far as the eye could see. In the centre was a path leading to the main temple, which sat at the top of a long staircase lined with lanterns hung with brightly coloured banners. These weren't the most impressive grounds Shi Qingxuan had ever seen, but it wasn't for want of trying.
"A few years ago a rival cultivation school stole some of our holy relics using distance shortening arrays," said Ban Ruojun. "It was quite shocking! The protection array makes us all feel much safer."
"Ah, I see!" said Shi Qingxuan. The reason few cultivators bothered with an array like this was that it used up a ridiculous amount of spiritual energy, far more than would generally be required to defeat any threat it might protect against. But it made sense as an over-reaction to a recent scare.
They cautiously tried sending a message through their private array. "Hey, He Xuan, can you still hear me?"
He Xuan didn't react, still glaring at the trees like they might secretly contain some secret threat. But then his voice appeared by Shi Qingxuan's ear. "Unfortunately."
"You could overcome the array if you had to, right?"
"What do you think?"
"Yes, alright, oh mighty Ghost King, you are far beyond us petty mortals. I was just checking!"
Shi Qingxuan was happy to discover that they could also still cast the little spells they relied upon to make walking easier, though they could feel the array pushing back a little, and could imagine how much harder it would push if they tried for anything more ambitious. But that was fine, their only plan for today was to walk around looking impressed.
Of course, that came with its own challenges.
"Sorry about this," said Yu Yanli.
"I'm pretty sure most of my temples had stairs too," laughed Shi Qingxuan weakly, leaning against a pillar.
"If you really don't want to go, I could probably persuade Shen Xiaowan if I put my mind to it."
"What? But I'm nearly there." They took in Yu Yanli's pained expression. "Oh, you think I'll feel awkward going to a temple? It's kind of you to worry about me like that, but I can handle a few prayers to an old acquaintance. It will give me a chance to complain to them about all the stairs." They gave their legs a stretch and then started walking again. "Who's the temple dedicated to, anyway?"
"Ling Wen."
Shi Qingxuan burst out laughing. "What a role model! I take it you mortals haven't heard about what she got up to a few years ago, then." Or maybe they just didn't care, as long as their prayers kept getting answered.
Yu Yanli raised her eyebrows. "Us mortals?"
"You know what I mean." Shi Qingxuan looked up at the many-tiered roof of the temple, covered in detailed carvings of flowers and foam-tipped waves. "This is prettier than her usual aesthetic, at least. Reminds me of one of my old temples haha."
They entered the temple, and stared up at shining statue of Ling Wen, looking very masculine and sensible and not at all like a woman who'd helped nearly destroy the world. But Shi Qingxuan didn't begrudge Ling Wen her continued godhood too much. From the sound of things, these days life was harder for her up in the Heavens than it was for Shi Qingxuan down here on the ground.
And they certainly weren't jealous of her getting to have weird looking statues like this. The materials were fine enough, and the temple in general was richly decorated. But the plinth was way too wide, large enough for two statues, and the resemblance was even worse than usual. Even beyond her face and clothes, all the other details were off: the scroll in her hand was lopsided and held more like a fan, and the ground around her feet had an odd lumpen texture. It was almost as if it had been adapted from another...
Suddenly Shi Qingxuan had a vision of what this statue must have looked like a few years ago. Before the fan was cut down into a scroll. Before the waves were cut down into dirt. When it was a statue of the Water Master, Shi Wudu, sharing his plinth with his sibling the Wind Master Shi Qingxuan.
Thinking back, they even remembered visiting this place back when it was new, a century or so ago. It had hardly been the only cultivation school dedicated to the Wind and Water masters, but Shi Qingxuan had been especially charmed by the idea of an academy for talented female cultivators being dedicated to them. They had even cast a few blessings on some of the temple's spiritual artefacts.
"So, Yu Yanli," they asked, "Um. W-what happened to the statue of me?"
Yu Yanli bowed her head a little lower. "Sorry," she replied. "I don't know. That was before my time."
Shi Qingxuan let out a long sigh. Then they lit an incense stick and bowed in prayer. Though he was no longer a god, and had moved on, they sent affectionate good thoughts towards their brother. And then they sent a rather less affectionate prayer to Ling Wen, too, for good measure. After everything, she surely owed them a favour or two.
Seeing He Xuan bow his head beside them, Shi Qingxuan wondered who he was praying to. No-one, probably. He Xuan had had his fill of the gods.
After that, Yu Yanli was finally allowed to show them the gardens, which were indeed very pretty, and also enjoyably lacking in stairs. It was a nice day, and they weren't the only people enjoying the sunshine: white robed cultivation students chatted and trained in the central areas, while more drably dressed servants unobtrusively ran errands along the back paths. Some of the students stared and whispered amongst themselves when they saw Shi Qingxuan and the others, which Shi Qingxuan decided to interpret as the girls being impressed by their overwhelming elegance.
"Tell me about yourself, Mistress Feng," said Shen Xiaowan, as they all sat on a series of delightfully large benches and took refuge from the sunshine under a broad and verdant tree. "Yu-shimei says you're a poet, which is certainly an interesting choice of occupation for a young woman of your station."
"I am!" said Shi Qingxuan. "Would you like me to recite some of my work?"
"That won't be necessary," said Shen Xiaowan, with a thin smile. "Are you by chance related to General Feng of the Imperial Guard? I've met him a few times through my uncle, Lord Shen, the inspector-in-chief. Or perhaps with my my sister, Shen Xiaoying of the Imperial Court." She stared at Shi Qingxuan significantly.
"Subtle name-drops there, huh," they sent to He Xuan, who didn't send back a reply but rolled his eyes.
"Not as far as I know," said Shi Qingxuan out loud. "My family were...are all just merchants, I'm afraid." Plus of course, their real name wasn't Feng.
Shi Qingxuan had rather lost track of the mortal members of the Shi family over the last few hundred years. Their brother had taken great satisfaction in not elevating anyone but Shi Qingxuan when he attained godhood: if their aunts and uncles couldn't be bothered to act like family when the siblings were helpless children, why treat them as family once circumstances were reversed? Shi Qingxuan had initially been inclined to be a little more filial, until all those aunts and uncles had assumed they would get a share of their nephew's godly wealth and privilege, and gotten nasty when it turned out they would not. The last time Shi Qingxuan had checked, the Shis were all still just merchants, telling anyone who would listen that they were related to the great Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan, but otherwise unremarkable. They presumably didn't go around telling people that any more.
Had He Xuan had any extended family left when he died? Presumably none he was close to, or they'd have suffered as much at the hands of the Reverend of Empty Words as the others. Did any of them celebrate their connection to the beloved mass murderer He Sheng regardless? These days, he was a more respected figure than Shi Qingxuan or their brother.
"Where did you say your family was from again, Yu-shimei?" asked Shen Xiaowan, with a bird-like tilt of her head.
"A little town you've never heard of," replied Yu Yanli, with a cheery smile. "My husband, bless his soul, was from the capital. But he was just a merchant too. Neither of us come from as illustrious families as you."
"Oh, me either," said Ban Ruojun. "Mine are all scholars and priests."
"Don't sell yourself short, Ban-shimei," said Shen Xiaowan. "Your family has so many talented cultivators! I would not be surprised if one of them ascends to godhood one of these days."
"Well then...Mistress Feng is impressive too, surely, to master cultivation so young. When Yu-shimei described her shizun I was imagining an old man!"
"Yes, I remember her describing a man as well," said Shen Xiaowan. "Isn't that strange?"
"You know how it is, ladies, haha," said Shi Qingxuan. "Everyone assumes if you're any good at cultivation you must be a man!"
Ban Ruojun nodded ruefully, but Shen Xiaowan didn't look very convinced. Worried that she might suddenly demand they prove their credentials, Shi Qingxuan added, "Honestly, I'm not that good at cultivation, certainly not a master. But Yu Yanli was curious, and I thought it would be some harmless fun to teach her the basics. When she turned out to be a natural genius I had quite the shock!"
"Harmless fun?" gasped Ban Ruojun, eyes wide. "She could have had a qi deviation!"
"Haha, yeah, so everyone keeps telling me," said Shi Qingxuan, with a self conscious laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do that again. But I am glad I was able to help Yu Yanli start the journey to fulfilling her potential."
"Yes, I am so proud of Yu-shimei!" said Ban Ruojun. "I've been cultivating at the academy since I was a girl, and I've never seen a new student progress so quickly. Why, I'm considered the top student of my generation, yet I think Yu-shimei's skills may surpass my own!" Shi Qingxuan analysed her tone for jealousy or malice, but didn't detect any. It seemed that at least some of Yu Yanli's classmates weren't the total worst.
"Indeed, it's almost impossible to believe she managed it without underhanded assistance," said Shen Xiaowan. "Of course, even with her unlikely progression, Yu-shimei only has so many decades left in which to master cultivation. I wonder at whoever raised her, for not recognising her potential sooner, while she still had time. But I suppose not everyone has the same opportunities in life."
Ban Ruojun bit her lip, like she wanted to argue with Shen Xiaowan but didn't have the courage. Ah well, at least her heart was in the right place.
"And some are given every opportunity yet waste their time on petty jealousy of those who have something they lack," said Shi Qingxuan with a sharp smile.
"Yes, those who won't accept their place are quite despicable," replied Shen Xiaowan, with a smile that was even sharper.
"Indeed!" said Shi Qingxuan. "For example, stuck up-"
"I appreciate the thought," sent Yu Yanli, quickly. "But please don't antagonise Shen Xiaowan. It's not worth the trouble."
"Fine," replied Shi Qingxuan. "I'll try my best." They forced themself to go silent, though they itched to give Shen Xiaowan a further piece of their mind.
"Anyway, it was lovely to meet you," said Shen Xiaowan, "but I have important business to take care of. Some of us can't laze around all day in the gardens doing nothing."
"Got to go practice her sneers in the mirror," said He Xuan, sending Shi Qingxuan into such a paroxysm of surprised laughter that by the time they'd caught their breath, Shen Xiaowan was gone.
"Ahhh she's so awful!" they sent to Yu Yanli, as she led them towards the next stop on the tour. "I'm amazed you haven't punched her!"
"I know how to hold my tongue when I have to," she sent back. "And the brat can pout and whine all she wants, it won't change the fact that I'm well on my way to becoming the academy's head disciple."
"Congratulations!" said Shi Qingxuan. "I guess that's why she hates you so much, huh?"
"Actually, I'm not sure it's that simple," said Yu Yanli. "We were on friendly enough terms until recently. I always got the feeling she realised I was going places and wanted to ride on my coattails. But she's been different lately, especially over the last few days." She sighed. "Considering all the little asides about my background, I suspect she's found out I'm not the respectable widow I claim to be, but doesn't want to bring disrepute on the school by revealing it publicly."
"Oh no. Do you think she'll cause you any trouble?"
"Maybe," said Yu Yanli, with a little shrug. Shi Qingxuan suspected she wasn't quite as sanguine at the prospect as she was pretending to be. "But it's not like there aren't already rumours about me, joining the school as old as I did, with no family connections. As long as I keep my head down any rumours she tries to spread shouldn't do me any real harm, even if they happen to be true this time. The people who hate me won't hate me any more than they already do, and the ones who like me care about who I am now, not who I used to be."
"And that's what you want, then? To become head disciple?"
"For starters," said Yu Yanli, with that glint in her eyes that meant trouble for anyone who got in her way. "After that...who knows? A teacher? Head of the school? There's certainly a few changes I would make given the chance."
"Wow!" said Shi Qingxuan. "I bet you could do it too. You're definitely my most talented student."
"Heh," said Yu Yanli, with a bright smile. "Thanks, shizun."