Lan Jing Forest (1)

It took four days to reach Lan Jing Forest.

The forest is extremely vast, with trees that are hundreds of years old and taller than palace towers. Its size, age, and abundant spiritual energy make it one of the treasures of the Southern Peninsula.

Although anyone can enter the forest from any side, there is a known main entrance through a gate right beside where the Tan Clan's residence was located. Upon entering the forest, one will see wooden structures of white and green color that make up a large academy.

When the sun rises, the training grounds of the academy are usually filled with chatter of morning lessons and Tan Sect's disciples' sword practices. However, the ambience today was quite peaceful.

The students were given freedom to roam around in and out of town as lessons were temporarily suspended due to the circumstances. Elders in the academy weren't sure what steps to take that can avoid harm to the residents and disciples.

Not far from the residence outside the forest, there were two youths gathering weed and herb plants. One looked to be around twelve to thirteen years old, and the other looked slightly more mature.

The younger one spoke, "Just this once, Da-xiong! A simple one wouldn't absorb too much spiritual energy, right? Look! Just this thin leaf, how do I strengthen it?"

Without looking at him, the other simply plucked another weed and threw it in the basket that his junior brother is holding.

Unwilling to give up, the boy continued, "Besides, Master had refined our protective charms. Nothing should harm us! You don't even have to use your magic! Just tell me how and I'll do it myself."

As the younger one said so, the older one looked down on the carved jade pendant he wore on his neck. Sure enough, the pendant had extra strokes on the carvings. The elders had just renewed the students' charms a few days ago.

He felt more relieved, but shook his head as a response.

"No. It's not a matter of whether I do it or not. You should avoid using magic for now. It's dangerous."

"Come on! In the past 8 months only five have fallen ill, maybe they were just overwhelmed by the power of the spirits."

"Out of those five, two were basically possessed! They are still bedridden. Do you not understand how severe this matter is? It's not worth it."

The younger boy clicked his tongue but he didn't argue further out of respect. Crouching with the basket in hand, he could only watch his senior brother sorting out weeds.

He was disappointed. The boy had just been admitted into the academy a few months ago and he wasn't able to actually practice spiritual magic despite being told that he learned quickly and had a talent.

The most he had learned were just simple and basic tricks. He wasn't allowed to use a sword yet, and all he could do was read books or learn charm carvings.

A few days ago, his master suddenly announced suspension of lessons and forbade the students from drawing magic for an unknown amount of time. Even those that don't live in the Tan residence were advised to go home.

The boy failed to understand why the actions taken by the academy took an extreme turn.

The older one had been in the academy about a year longer, so he knew that in the history of the Tan Clan, cases of students falling ill and going insane never happened before. In addition, he accidentally found out about the news of a student's death by eavesdropping on the servants.

He understood the decision of the elders to withhold information to avoid panic in the residence. He managed to find out that one who passed away was a senior student on the verge of graduation. That student has been training by himself for a while now.

At first, he was just as confused and thought that it wouldn't matter if he used a little spiritual magic. Up until a few days ago, he was still practicing in secret.

It was a mix of ignorance and ego. He judged himself to have a stronger mentality and spirituality than his peers, so drawing just a bit should avoid most of the consequences.

Only after hearing the news did he realize how grave the risk was. The victim was someone older than him by a few years, most likely far more advanced in magic than he is.

If he told his rather noisy junior brother about this, he would definitely stop pestering him about practicing magic. However, he also didn't want to discourage him. What if he kept this incident deep enough to make him hesitate to use magic in the future?

The boy was still new to all this, so he should take things slow and easy.

Still, he was annoying enough that every few minutes or so, he would chirp.

"Da-xiong, what about floating spells? Just a few pebbles."

"No."

"Maybe I can try activating protective charms? Since it's for protection it shouldn't hurt, right?"

"That is if you manage to activate it correctly. No."

"Soil enhancement? It shouldn't affect me because the spiritual energy is already there, right?... I guess that's a no, too…"

"Haa…"

The older one had considered multiple times to say, 'The risk is dying, do you know that? So, shut up!"

Noticing his senior brother turning more and more grumpy, the younger one stopped. But the silence didn't last long.

"Hey, Da-xiong…"

"Xiao-Liang, for the last time-"

"It's not that! Look, Da-xiong! I think we have a visitor."

The older one turned his head towards the direction Xiao-Liang pointed at.

On the field path leading to the Tan Sect, a short and skinny little girl was approaching. She looked too young to be traveling alone. Her robes seemed decent but got dirty, probably due to the journey.

She had a blank expression on her face that made her seem innocent, but she didn't look confused. The girl continued to walk as if she was sure of her destination.

The older boy called out to her.

"Hey! Are you heading to Tan Sect? Sorry, but it is temporarily not accepting any visitors. If there's anything you need, I can inform the elders."

"Um…"

The girl seemed to have a timid and shy personality.

With a simple glance at their identical robes, she quickly discerned that they were students.

White and green robes that are simple in design. It was the mandatory uniform for disciples of the Tan Sect.

"Are you… from the Tan Academy?" she asked instead.

The older one answered.

"Yes. My name is Tan Ren, and this is Chen Liang. We're disciples of Tan Sect."

Chen Liang had put down the basket of weeds and stood up to join his senior brother.

He asked her cheerfully, "What's your name?"

"...Zhou Xin."

Upon closer look, Tan Ren's eyes fell to a stone pendant on Zhou Xin.

He knows at a glance that it was a protective charm. The stone itself wasn't noteworthy in quality, but the patterns on the stone were far more intricate than the ones carved by the Tan elders.

Suppressing his curiosity, Tan Ren asked politely.

"Then, Zhou Xin, is there anything I can help you with?"

Because of her height, Zhou Xin had to tilt her head up to meet their eyes. Her voice was still quiet but sounded more confident than before.

"I need to go to the academy."

"Ah, sorry. As I said, Tan Sect is not open for outsiders right now. It might even be dangerous." Tan Ren tried to explain helplessly.

Chen Liang chimed in, "Why do you need to go to the academy? Are you looking for help?"

For a little girl to come alone to a mage clan without any adult, especially in ragged clothing, it was normal to assume she wants to ask for help. Tan Ren also had this thought.

What was weird was that she said she needed to go to the academy. If it was regarding an issue, she could have said that she needed to go to the Tan residence.

Zhou Xin hesitated before answering.

"I want to become a disciple of Tan Sect."

Hearing that, Chen Liang bursted into laughter.

After giving his junior brother a scolding look, Tan Ren politely explained.

"Sorry, but Tan Academy is currently not accepting new students. Also, you're a bit too young. Maybe try again in a few years when you reach thirteen years old."

Chen Liang added, "Don't worry! You can try when you reach twelve! I got accepted at twelve years old. Some elders are more lenient at accepting apprentices."

However, Zhou Xin persisted.

"Then, I'll go to the academy first. I can talk to the elders."

Tan Ren felt that this little girl is as stubborn as Chen Liang, but with a less joyful attitude. He was about to repeat his statement about Tan Sect not welcoming any visitors, when Chen Liang spoke first.

"That won't work! It's impossible. Tan Sect barely accepts anyone under the age of thirteen. You're too young to even get a feel for spiritual magic. It will drain you!"

Tan Ren disapproved of Chen Liang's rude reasoning, but he wasn't wrong. If a kid as thin as Zhou Xin attempts to draw power from spirits, it might strain her energy and undeveloped mind. She might even be a magnet for resentful spirits to possess her body.

Zhou Xin's blank face slowly turned into a frown.

"But I've already used magic," she declared calmly.

Both youths were stunned.

Perhaps because Chen Liang doesn't think before he opens his mouth, he once again managed to speak before Tan Ren.

"That can't be. You must be mistaken. Maybe you thought you could use magic, but it was actually the wandering spirits around you! Hahahaha! That's okay! It happened to me too!"

In Tan Ren's mind, Chen Liang was too shameless.

He then stole another glance at the stone pendant on Zhou Xin.

Could it be? No, right? That looks too high level.

The girl in front of them stood firm.

"I can use magic."

She sounded so sure that Chen Liang oddly felt annoyed. It hasn't even been a year that he was able to properly draw power from spirits. Even then, he was praised for using magic at such a young age.

No matter the circumstances, he couldn't comprehend anyone using magic any younger. Even drawing a small amount of spiritual energy was exhausting.

Seeing Chen Liang briefly get caught in a trance, Tan Ren took the opportunity to get a word in. He pointed at the stone pendant.

"Did you make that?"

"No."

"Who did?"

Zhou Xin couldn't say that it was made by a rogue mage, especially a thief, so she considered lying by saying she bought it. But with her current appearance, it would be unconvincing to say she had any money. Eventually, she blurted the next lie at the top of her head.

"My… dad…"

Tan Ren was immediately deep in thought. Zhou Xin was a daughter of a seemingly experienced mage. Most likely one that specializes in charms. Why did she come here? Wouldn't it be better to learn directly from her father?

Then, where is her father? Unless…

At that moment, Chen Liang interrupted.

"Your dad made that? It looks like a protective charm! But, I don't think that one works, it's just made out of a regular stone."

"No, this is-"

"Was your dad the one who told you that you can use magic? I think he might have lied. Otherwise, if he could make charms, he would have taught you yourself. I'm sorry but- Ouch! Da-xiong!"

Only after Tan Ren elbowed Chen Liang quite hard under his ribs did he notice that Zhou Xin's eyes had become more glistened.

In a quieter voice, she said, "I can really use magic… I'll show you."

Zhou Xin lifted her hand to make a hand sign.

Afraid of what might happen to this little girl, Tan Ren hurriedly reached out to grab her wrist, exclaiming, "No, wait!"

But before Tan Ren's fingers even brushed against her arm, something flew past him.

Right at the moment that 'something' came into view, Zhou Xin swiftly changed her hand gesture and muttered under her breath.

Tan Ren caught sight of that 'something' before it burst into flames. It was a paper talisman.

Then, he managed to grab her wrist, preventing her from casting another spell.

At the same time, Chen Liang's jaw dropped.

"Was that… sky magic?!"

Tan Ren was also dazed. He, himself, hasn't even reached the level to draw power from sky spirits. Forget sky magic, he could barely be called an advanced mage in land magic.

Zhou Xin reflexively yanked her wrist out of Tan Ren's grip, which snapped him back into reality and he promptly apologized.

Looking over his shoulder, Tan Ren scanned for whoever had thrown the talisman. He spotted an elderly figure in a white and green robe.

Both Zhou Xin and Chen Liang also became aware of the new presence.

As the figure approached, Zhou Xin realized it was an elderly mage, one that belonged to the Tan Sect. He had gray hair and prominent aged features on his face.

Despite his appearance, he spoke with a clear voice.

"What an interesting young maiden. At such an age, you're already familiar with sky magic."

"Elder Yan!"

"Elder Yan."

The young boys greeted him almost at the same time.

Zhou Xin looked stiff, observing the elder cautiously.

The elder had thrown a paper talisman towards her. In a split second, Zhou Xin recognized it to be a constraining spell, one that would have suppressed her spiritual energy.

The effect should have been temporary, and it was a harmless spell, but Zhou Xin decided not to let down her guard.

Noticing her demeanor, the elder softened his voice and smiled benignly.

"Forgive me, I mean no harm. Recently the spiritual energy around our forest has become unstable, so any use of magic here is risky and it is temporarily forbidden. I suggest you refrain yourself from now."

Zhou Xin understood, but she didn't relax.

"I heard you wanted to go to the academy? Come, then. Let's make this an exception, as long as you promise not to use any magic. Can you do that?"

"...Okay."

The elder led Zhou Xin towards the forest, into the academy. The two boys of Tan Sect followed closely behind them.