Unparalleled Artist: Unlikely Hero
Following his father's murder, Wu Ling's mother returned to the life of a courtesan, disguising her young son as a girl to take refuge in the Bamboo Silk House, a women's only sect dedicated to the arts. Now, as his powers awaken, he'll find himself torn between protecting his family and the goals of powerful cultivators who see him as a means to an end. "Wu Ling, I've accepted a marriage proposal on your behalf," the bewitching Hall Master of the Bamboo Silk House declared. "When you enter the Inner Sect, you'll enter under the name 'Hua Qianhu', fiancee of a young lord of the Liang family." "Hall Master, that's impossible!" Wu Ling protested. "Even if you ignore my relationship with Meifeng, I might have dressed well enough to hide as a mortal woman but I could never..." "So you truly didn't realize what you were doing," the Hall Master said, a dark smile on her lips. "Little Ling, you're a natural-born Shapeshifter. I'll teach you what you need to know," she said, her features shifting until she looked like a mirror image of the stunned Wu Ling. "As long as you follow my arrangements and learn my techniques, it isn't impossible for you to reunite with Meifeng..." "But you should consider Young Lord Liang carefully," the Hall Master added. "His affection for you is genuine. Perhaps, one day, you'll even feel the same for him..."
Secrets Revealed (Part One)
Shortly after arriving, the two young cultivators joined Su Jixin and Zou Suyin in a small garden with a view of the setting sun. As a mortal servant set out tea and small snacks, both of Su Yao's parents looked at her with growing apprehension when she chose to sit next to Wu Ling rather than with either of them. Su Jixin's expression looked particularly dark as he regarded Wu Ling, as though he'd swallowed something he'd rather spit out and only restrained himself to be polite.
"Yao'er," her mother began gently, taking in the changes in her daughter's demeanor. "When you left this morning, you were excited, eager, like a teapot fit to boil over. Now that I look at you that eagerness has become a fierce determination. There's something under that determination though," she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the many changes in her daughter's temperament.