The Village of Lost Orphans were each hard at work. What could they be working hard at? Perhaps it was cultivation? Qi manipulation? Maybe martial arts?

No. None of those tasks were important to them at that moment.

“Oi, brat! Hurry up,” Cai shouted. Tied around his back were three sacks of rice; strung around his neck was a yoke with four buckets of water on both ends; and he held a fat stack of lumber under each arm. He was barely sweating.

Currently, the Village of Lost Orphans were all earning their livelihood: Each day began with traversing to the bottom of the mountains at the crack of dawn. At the bottom of the mountains, several caravans would be waiting, and, along with the regular servants, the Village of Lost Orphans would transport the necessities of daily life to the boundary which divided mortals and cultivators. From that point on, a group of outer sect disciples would transport everything to the entire sect using their bags of holding at noon.

“Junior Brother Cai, little Qiu’yue is barely at the first stage of qi condensation — and she is the youngest of us all! She simply cannot carry that much weight and move quickly, or over such long durations,” Senior Brother Sha chided. He was in a similar situation as his junior, though a basket of fruits and vegetables was also tied onto his balding head.

“Stop chatting! Meili is going to catch a cold, or faint from a sunstroke,” Jang-Guo cried.

“Mmm,” the younger twin moaned. “Ge-ge, you’re holding my hand too tightly.”

“Preposterous! A brother’s love can only be transmitted through holding hands, and this is not even the extent of my eternal love — for this is not even my final form,” Jang-Guo shouted and leaned in close to Meili’s disgusted face.

“Ge-ge, please concentrate,” the girl frowned. With a tsk the older brother retracted his face.

The twins were the oddest out of the entire group of child laborers. First of all, the two were able to leisurely hold hands despite both of them carrying the same things as Senior Brother Sha, with the only difference being that the twins carried nothing under their arms. It was the method by which the twins carried the assortment of miscellaneous items that was of particular interest. While Jang-Guo’s right hand held onto his sister’s, his left arm was held outstretched. Bound to his left arm with short rope were pots of vinegar and wine, and entrapped by his left palm was a basket containing various fabrics, medicine, and tools. This arrangement was identical for the younger sister.

Despite the clutter and fragility of their arrangement, the twins managed to be at the top of the pack without causing any mishap.

Qiu’yue who was at the very end of the pack with the regular mortal servants carried only a sack of rice and had already stumbled quite a few times.

“Do not fret, little girl,” one of the servants who hiked beside her said with a smile. He carried the same weight as Senior Brother Sha. “Your friends have trained for much longer than you; it is only natural that their body is more resilient and stronger. And the twins are of a more peculiar sort than the rest of us. Do not fret, do not fret. This is the last round, hang in there, little girl.”

“It hurts,” the girl responded as her face contorted like a dried date. Her knees buckled together as she lugged her burlap sack up the stone stairs. Sweat covered her nubile body. The girl would most likely catch a cold. “It really hurts. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“No one help her. If anyone helps her, she will not be given food tonight,” Cai shouted and blocked Sha with his body. Sha whipped his head around and glared at Cai. “Senior Brother, do not forget! the fourth commandment. We must engrave pain and suffering into her very bones. Only then will we accept her. For, pain is suffering; suffering is strength!”

Step by step, sweatdrop by sweatdrop, the girl continued to drag herself up the stone stairs. She watched as the Village of Lost Orphans disappeared from her view. Her chest continued to heave as the kind servant left her behind. One by one, the servants all left her behind. Only she was still climbing up the stairs; the mortal servants who had finished their task began their swift descent.

She climbed with tears streaming down her face. With every step, her grip on the sack loosened. Senior Brother Sha glanced at the pale-faced girl and then glanced at Junior Brother Cai. The young boy shook his head fiercely and his queue coiled around his neck. He then sat cross-legged and began meditation. Senior Brother Sha then glanced at the twins. The brother sat against a tree stroking his sister’s long hair while she used his lap as a pillow.

“Do not think of helping her,” Cai said with closed-eyes. Senior Sha spat on the ground and began to pace across the stairs. He silently watched as the girl struggled to complete the last few dozen steps.

When the girl neared the last five steps, she collapsed. While lugging the sack up the stairs, she stumbled, fell, and scraped her elbows. The sack fell in such a way that it fell a good dozen steps below. Walking unsteadily down the stairs with her arms limp at her side, the girl picked up the sack of rice again. At this point, her body was no longer moved by her will or determination, but rather by a soul-less desire to get everything done and over with.

Finally, step by step, the girl carried the sack up to the place where Sect Master Mo left her. Plopping the sack down onto the stone step, the girl wobbled over to where the rest of the orphans were gathered. She tripped over her own feet and stumbled. Senior Sha caught her. The girl’s throat quivered and vomit dribbled out of her mouth which hung open.

“Junior Brother Cai, you went much too far. None of us had to go through what she just did.” The older boy screeched as he carried the girl toward Cai.

Cai opened his eyes and got up. He told the twins to go on ahead, so as to prevent Meili from falling ill. The young boy faced his senior brother.

“The girl’s a brat.” He said bluntly. He held up a hand. “Before you get angry, that is not only my opinion. It is the opinion of the twins as well. I may not like the girl, but it would be troublesome if she continues to be an outcast. I was hoping her completing her first time without support would improve the twins’ image of her.”

Senior Sha looked down at his feet. He chewed on the inside of his cheeks. “Do you think it worked?”

Junior Brother Cai shook his head. “Of course not, this is not some naive tale of romance and friendship. So what if she completed the task? She still acted like a brat.”

The young boy glanced at the girl being hoisted up by senior brother. “Senior Brother Sha, that is not the way you should carry a girl.” Cai knelt down and presented his back. Senior Sha gasped in surprise and placed Qiu’yue onto Cai’s back. “Senior Sha, go on ahead of me. They usually go by seniority. I do not want you to be late.”

Senior Sha bowed and patted his junior brother’s shoulders. Then he walked off the stone stairs and onto the dirt path. He burrowed under it and disappeared.

Cai glanced at Qiu’yue’s face which rested on his shoulders. He felt an urge to just bite her nose as punishment. “Troublesome brat. Making me, of all people, carry you. I can’t even dash because of you.”

The boy shook his head and sighed heavily. He walked as quickly as possible without disturbing the girl’s stomach further. It took the boy a full incense to arrive at the Tree of Ten-Thousand Fire Blossoms.

The boy saw three unfamiliar faces standing under the tree. The twins and Senior Brother Sha were huddled a great distance from the unfamiliar trio. One was a gray-haired woman in a tight red dress. The other two were inner sect disciples: a young woman from the Yun Division who dressed in white robes and a young man from the Yue division who dressed in cerulean robes.

The young woman wore very heavy makeup. Her powder was so thick that it was as if snow masked her entire face. The red dye which dotted her cheeks, eyes, and lips gave her a comical appearance. Her long auburn hair was tied in a fish-braid which reached her butt.

The young man was the definition of a Han! Despite the cold season, sweat lined his entire body like jewels and his earthy tan made him appear exceptionally dignified. He also towered over Cai and possessed a square face resembling that of boars.

Both disciples looked to be the age of no less than 16 and no more than 20.

The other orphans noticed Cai’s arrival and called him over. He did so and laid Qiu’yue onto the ground under the shade of a tree.

Representing the Village of Lost Orphans, Cai walked up to the trio and bowed. The seniors did not bow back, nor did they acknowledge his existence. The young boy remained with a bent back.

“Junior Cai greets senior brother and senior sisters. May junior have the honor of knowing why seniors have come to visit the Village of Lost Orphans today?”

“How dare you address me, Gui Fa [Name basically meaning Rose], as senior sister?” The white-robed girl said with her hands on her hips. “You are but orphans, not even official disciples of even the outer sect! Not to mention who you harbor in your company. It disgusts me.”

“Oh, calm down, Gu-gu [phrase meaning aunt; gu can also mean bone or poison]. Stop being so unruly over this morning’s events,” the Yue disciple said with crossed arms, his eyes not even looking at Cai, rather ogling Gui Fa’s rather endowed breasts.

“Gu-gu?! How dare you call me, Gui Fa, Gu-gu! And stop staring at my breasts, Li Da Gui [li]!"

[li]

Cai ignored the bickering between the two disciples. He waited for the third person to speak. She did not. The lady in red smiled at the boy with a twinkle in her eyes before pulling out a fan to entertain herself. Frowning, Cai turned his attention back to the two disciples.

“Excuse me, senior sister and senior brother, where are Hanfu and Jian-yan? Usually, those two outer disciples would be here to conduct our entrance exams.”

“Do not call me senior sister, or are you deaf?”

Da Gui covered Gui Fa’s mouth. The young woman protested by flailing her arms and legs about. “Do not mind this insane Gu-gu. Simply put, there is no entrance exam to the outer sect for the Village of Lost Orphans today.”

Cai lifted his head and looked directly into the senior brother’s eyes. “How can that be? Every day, there is the exam to determine whether we orphans are to be accepted to the outer sect. It has been that way since the Village’s establishment!”

“Quiet your tongue, before I slice it off.” Da Gui said as he tapped the scabbard of his blade.

Cai bit his tongue and lowered his head once more. His hands clenched into fists. He gave a furtive glance at the lady in red. He saw her frown at the other two’s behavior, but still did not speak. Cai understood that she must be the most important of the trio because she was the most prideful since she has not spoken at all. In addition, the two disciples gave a noticeable territory to the lady in red.

“Oi! Gu-gu stop biting my hand before I chop your long hair with my sword.” He cursed as he unsheathed his sword and waved it around crazily. Rolling his eyes, he sheathed his sword and relented. “Oh fine, I’ll remove my hand from your mouth. Just don’t say anything stupid. It’s a promise, Gu-gu.”

“Da Gui really is a ‘da gui’ [homonym meaning big turtle],” she mumbled under her breath.

Biting his lips, Cai asked his seniors once more what their purpose was.

“This matter does not concern the entire Village of Lost Orphans. It only concerns Qiu’yue.” Da Gui spoke and pointed at the shortest member of the gathering.

“We are here to explain to her the conditions of her being accepted as a inner sect disciple.”

The twins overheard that and immediately looked away from Qiu’yue and pulled at the grass around them. Even Senior Brother Sha could not help but chew on his lips.

“I see,” Cai said. “Let me go wake her then.”

Cai slapped the cheeks of the unconscious girl until she woke. He dragged her to the two inner court disciples.

When the lady in red saw Qiu’yue, she finally took interest. To the surprise of everyone, the red fairy skipped over to the young girl and crouched in front of her with a big smile. Qiu’yue hid behind Cai which caused the red fairy to frown. Qiu’yue took notice of this and began to play peek-a-boo with the red fairy, causing the fairy to be happy one moment and sad the next.

“Brat, what are you doing?” Cai scolded the young girl with a knock to her head.

The red fairy frowned at that action, but then laughed as if remembering something long past. She stood up and motioned for the other orphans to come as well.

Before speaking, the red fairy also replaced the talisman on Qiu’yue’s back and handed Cai a supply of them. She told him to reapply them daily, at least until Qiu'yue reach the third stage of qi condensation.

“I am the leader of the Yun Division, the Scarlet Fairy of Dreams, Meng Yue.” The fairy paused and allowed for the excitement to die down before continuing. “Our Sect Master Mo has deemed little cute Qiu’yue here a child of potential. However, for circumstances best left unexplained, her existence has caused the sect to be ousted from the favor of the Empire. Therefore, you all have no need to be jealous of little Qiu’er — Can I call you Qiu’er? — here. Simply put the conditions are very harsh and only a genius can accomplish them.”

The red fairy explained the conditions to the children. The twins felt their jealousy soothed when they learned that the girl will not be helped or spoiled.

“Since we are allowed to help the girl, will we also be able to directly become inner disciples if we too satisfy the conditions?” Cai asked with clenched fists.

Yun Leader Meng thought for a while. “If you children also complete a separate task which I deem worthy, I will accept you into my Yun Division. Keep in mind, the ten-years old restriction is still in place. After becoming ten, you must leave this place and return to the mortal realm if you do not become accepted into even our outer sect. Of course, Qiu’er, with your special conditions, if you do not pass within the year, you will be exiled without question.”

“What of the Yue Division?” Cai asked, almost pouncing onto Yun Leader Meng with his thirst for knowledge.

“I am only in charge of the Yun Division. But no need to pout. I studied under the same master as Sect Master Mo; I know what she likes best. I am sure I can find a condition in which you can move her heart.” The red fairy replied with a smile. She then got up. Unfurling her fan, she gestured toward the two inner court disciples. “Now little Qiu’yue, I would like you to fight this older brother and older sister. Alone. Just to gauge your strength.”

The two inner disciples released their qi. It was as if a great ocean engulfed the Village of Lost Orphans. Instantly, Qiu’yue coughed up blood and buckled at her knees and collapsed, barely staying afloat in her consciousness. Senior Brother Sha fell onto his knees and struggled to keep his teeth from shattering. Junior Brother Cai was only slightly better off, being forced onto only one knee. The twins were barely able to stand due to their particular ability.

Despite not saying it out loud, the girl thought she heard everyone say, “I will offer you rice wine from this day forth. [Basically saying they will offer her good wine on her death anniversary, because Qiu'yue is fucked].”

Author's Note: As always, thanks for reading.

Anyhow, I realized that I have not been explaining certain cultural aspects as much as I should. Sometimes, it just slips my mind that some things is not common knowledge. Currently, I'm going to place explanations in brackets. If you guys don't think that is too distracting, I'll keep using that and go back to earlier chapters to do the same.

I also always seem to upload really late in the evening...