Scene 2 - Change

When the mask finished forming to fit her face, Xue was slightly surprised at how natural it felt, as if it had always been there. She put on her new silky blue robe and exited the room to see the two black-robed women from before staring at her with pale faces and shaking bodies.

A wave of guilt washed over Xue when she saw their expressions. Why couldn’t everyone just wear a mask? It would make life so much easier. Shaking her head, Xue slowly moved towards the two black-robed women who were staring at the ground, too scared to look her in the eye.

Agitated by their actions, Xue cursed inwardly,‘I have to act better or else I’ll lose face for master.’

Taking a deep breath, Xue looked straight at them with a tranquil appearance, showing no hint of her previous unsightly manner, “Please raise your heads fellow sect members.What happened earlier was my fault, I don't blame you.”

Startled, the two women raised their heads, “No, Senior Apprentice Sister Xue! We were in the wrong! We should have known that there was a reason why your face was stained with ink!”

“How could you have known when I didn’t tell anyone? The fault lies with me, not the two of you. Please forgive me for screaming at you like that, it was shameful of me to have acted that way.”

Xue suddenly moved forward, placing her hands on their shoulders and startling them in the process, “And what’s this Senior Apprentice Sister nonsense about? I haven’t even formally joined the sect yet so you should call me Junior Sister Xue for now.”

Seeing Xue smile with a gentle smile, the two black-robed maidens relaxed and color gradually returned to their faces; one of the two maidens, a girl with average features but a slender figure, shook her head in disagreement, “We can't do that! Our status within the sect is much, much lower than a soon to be core disciple like yours is! To call you something like that whenever inner disciples would have to treat you with the highest of respect... Us two outer disciples would only get in trouble.”

The other robed maiden, who possessed a childish demeanor and was a head shorter than Xue, hastily spoke up while giving a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts, “It was our fault in this matter. We’re sorry for the trouble, Senior Apprentice Sister Xue, but thank you for showing my friend and me such kindness.”

Xue gave a complicated smile, ‘Were Sect rules really this strict? Whatever. I’ll do what I want!’

Having made up her mind, Xue smiled at the two maidens, “No matter what you say, I'm still sorry for the trouble I caused. I'll repay you for the inconvenience, so if either of you are ever in trouble don't hesitate to seek me out. Ah, but you'll have to leave your names behind so I know who I'm indebted to.”

The two, still shocked, stuttered as they gave Xue their names. Muya was the smaller of the pair and the other was known as Lilly. The three chatted for a while, with the two girls respectfully answering some of the questions that were bugging Xue.

They were not servants but rather apprentices of the sectless sect, outer disciples that followed Sect Master Celia. They had volunteered to follow Master Mo and help him around the ship while he searched for promising disciples in the outside world.

While they talked, Xue watched the girl's eyes and mouths to see if they were being trustworthy, a skill she had picked up from living in the slums her whole life. Thankfully she felt no signs of malice or hidden intent as they talked.

While Xue was absorbed in the conversation, her brothers and sisters exited the baths one by one.

All of the guys were blushing and half-haphazardly dressed, being chased by black-robed women with rotten eyes as they fled from their rooms. Xue even chuckled when she saw the evil glint in Rune's eyes as she watched two women try to seduce Vince, only to rush over a moment later and thrust them away before storming off with a red face, dragging Vince behind her.

The rest of the siblings followed after the pair, so Xue said a quick goodbye to the two black-robed women before hurrying after them. When Xue exited the room she saw the black-robed guard, Skinny, standing outside waiting for them.

“Master Mo wishes for all of you to return to your room and cultivate for the rest of the day. Since this is your first time in this area, I’ll lead the way back.”

The siblings quickly followed behind him and soon returned to their bedroom; as soon as the door closed both the twins and Nena surrounded Xue and drowned her in questions.

Sol, with his big green eyes sparkling, hung on Xue left arm, “Big Sister Xue, where did you get the mask? It looks so cool!”

“I want one too,” Luna hummed as she played with Xue’s hair

Nena clung to Xue’s right arm, watching her with innocent eyes, “That mask is so pretty! Can I hold it?”

They hung on Xue like monkeys and all reached for her mask.

“Eh? Why won’t it come off?”

“Eh? Big sister, why?”

The three's insistent questions of why seemed unending, and after a while, Xue couldn't take it anymore and roared, “YOU LITTLE SHITS! GO CULTIVATE BEFORE I BEAT YOUR BOTTOMS BLACK AND BLUE!”

The three took flight, speeding away like the little fiends they were and hiding behind Vince. Sol even cried out, “Big bro~! Big Sis is being mean to us!”

Luna stuck out her tongue, “Yeah! Xue’s being a big meanie.”

Nena nodded her head in agreement.

Vince pinched both of their cheeks while Rune gave Nena a stern look. Both of twins soon had tears in their eyes but didn’t dare whine as they looked at the menacing scar under Vince’s eye.

“Stop bothering Xue and get to cultivating and I might read you a bedtime story.”

When he let go of the twins, the waterworks immediately stopped as they excitedly ran to their beds to begin cultivating. Nena followed after them, holding her sword tightly as she mimicked their actions.

‘Their moods change faster than the wind... Guess it’s time to break into that beast book’, Xue thought listlessly, reached for her own cultivation manual.