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..."
Talk Fast
Hou's warning didn't give them much time to make arrangements but it was enough to ensure that both Xiong Dahuo and Su Xiang had a weapon handy and for Wu Ling to take a position alongside Yue at the point he felt like the approaching men were most likely to emerge from the forest. While he considered making more overt defensive arrangements, ultimately he abandoned the notions as too likely to fail, or worse, to further escalate tensions.
While Wu Ling had no intention of allowing their group to be bullied if he could prevent it, he was deeply aware of how many of them were still recovering from injuries. If they needed to fight their way out, he'd create the best conditions possible, but he hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.