It had been a month since we had become crop partners. Strangely, our union seemed to bother only the elders. But not for the reasons I thought! For them, being united with a man, it was clear that I would have no other heir than SiZhui!

The invited disciples also seemed to find this normal. Word of our union spread through the Sects via them. Before the summit, which was to take place in a month's time, everyone would know about it. This would save us a lot of explanations! They had one month to think about whether I could keep my position or not!

In the meantime, I headed for one of the classrooms. Wei Ying had always gotten along well with the younger students, so he had asked his brother if he could help.

He had been teaching for two weeks now. Brother gave him a class of students who were considered "difficult" by the older students. From the first day, Wei Ying told me that they were not difficult. They needed special attention because the rigid rules of the Lan clan made them suffocate!

I knew how they felt!

He had taken them in hand and taught them, among other things, the art of talismans. They were impressed to have the Patriarch of Yiling as a teacher and... very proud!

The lessons he gave them were nothing like the ones they usually received. Wei Ying was all about practice! This resulted in some "unexpected" things! Uncle regularly rolled his eyes! But everything was always in order in the end.

I entered the room discreetly. Wei Ying was sitting on the table facing his students. He was dressed in his red robe with his black coat tightened at the waist by a wide leather belt. In his hair, he wore the silver cloud of Lan on his red ribbon. Every morning, I liked to comb his hair and tie it with the emblem of our union. Consciously or not, I was marking my territory.

His class this morning was not about talismans, but about music. He was giving an introductory course on the flute. Once they had learned the basics, he taught them a very simple piece: "Tranquillity". This music allowed the player to rebalance his Ki in order to reach a state of inner peace leading to healing meditation.

Brother and Uncle joined me and sat at the back of the classroom next to me. They, too, were interested in Wei Ying's classes.

This one was about to end. He had been relatively quiet. Before releasing his students, he asked them if they had any questions.

The disciples looked at each other; like all teenagers, they were curious about the events of the past. One of them dared to ask a question about it.

"Elder Wei, is it true that Chenqing, your flute, is one of the most powerful spiritual objects in existence? How did you come to possess it?

It was a good question, I had often asked myself. I know that he had it at the Burial Ground when he disappeared for 3 months after the destruction of the "Lotus Pier". Wei Ying had never told me about this period in detail!

He looked me straight in the eyes and smiled. Then he looked at his students. He reached into the bag behind his table and took out Chenqing. He took it in his hand and turned it on his fingertips. He began his story.

"It was not long after the destruction of Lotus Pier. I was separated from my brother and sister. Jiang Cheng and I had agreed on a meeting place in case this happened. Unfortunately, I was taken prisoner by Wen Chao and Wen Zhu Liu. They were very good at torture. At that time, I... didn't have my golden core anymore. I couldn't do anything to resist them. My only option was to make them kill me. That's what they decided to do. But they had a "funny" idea. Throw me into the burial mound.

Eighteen years ago, it was not as you know it today. This place was filled with fury, resentment and hatred. There was a dark energy that was almost palpable. The life expectancy in this cursed area was barely a few hours.

What Wen Chao didn't know, and what I didn't know, was that I was carrying the 5th piece of Iron Yin. When I fell, I was sure that I would break my bones and die. But the Yin Iron decided otherwise. His power slowed my descent and once on the ground, as I was assailed by the voices of wandering souls and ghosts, he offered to help me silence them. Having been possessed by the energy of despair, I accepted.

I had already had the idea when I was younger to use the energy of resentment. Lan Zhan and Master Qi Ren had taken offense at my suggestion. But here in the darkness of the Burial Ground it seemed like a no-brainer. I just had to learn how to control it.

It was when I saw Lan Zhan using his Qin in one of my nightmares that the idea of using music came to me. The only instrument I could make was a bamboo flute. Thus was born Chenqing. From a bamboo from the Burial Ground.

Thanks to it I was able to gradually master the spirits and to calm some of them down. Then the black energy began to permeate her. It changed color. It was then that I realized that a spirit had settled inside her. He would never tell me who he was, but from that day on, Chenqing became more powerful. She had become a spiritual object. Of course, she didn't have her name at that time. I must say that I didn't even think of giving her a name. Now you know everything.

Wei Ying stood up

"Don't forget tomorrow, check your knowledge of protective talismans. Now get out!

The disciples stood up, waved to their teacher and left the classroom, waving to us as we passed.

Brother and I approached. Uncle stayed at the back of the classroom. He looked doubtful. He stared at Wei Ying intensely. He finally joined us.

"Wei Wuxian I have a question for you, about what you said earlier."

Wei Ying gave me a quick glance with a grimace.

"Master Qi Ren, I said many things in my story..."

"About your golden core! You have... Lost it how?"

Wei Ying looked at me. I nodded to him.

"You can tell him. Uncle will keep it a secret. As for Brother, he already knows part of the story and must have guessed the rest."

"Very well...I didn't...lose my golden core, I gave it away."

"Gave it away? But what could have made you make such a decision? I didn't even know this was possible!"

"It was Wen Qing who performed the procedure. As for the why... for me, family is the most important thing. Just like me, Jiang Cheng fell into the hands of Wen Chao and Wen Zhu Liu and the latter melted his core. My brother was the heir of the Jiang Clan, I was just the son of a servant ... When Uncle Jiang Fieng Mian took me with him to give me a home, I incurred a debt. I had lived part of my life on the streets. I was used to fighting to survive. I knew that I could get by without a golden core. So I didn't hesitate!"

"Wei Wuxian, the more I get to know you, the more you amaze me!" Said Uncle with a bewildered look.

"Master Qi Ren don't tell anyone about this right now. Jiang Cheng has only known about it for a short while and is having a bit of trouble with it!"

"Alright, I'll keep it a secret."

It was time for lunch. My soul mate and I had made a habit of having our lunch together. Before we went to class, I had prepared something to fill his stomach. He had been getting up early for the past month, well not as early as me! But at 9:00 am he was up, he who usually got up around 11:00 am.

We left the room with Uncle and Brother looking on.

"As foolish as his mother!" sighed Uncle as he watched us disappear through the gallery.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)