Different From the Past

A private dining room at the inn was quickly prepared for Li Yuechan's sisters and the guests from Glacier Palace. Only Long Yifei and two other elderly women entered, while the other Glacier Sect members remained outside to guard. Mayor Zhang made sure tea was served before leaving to give them privacy.

"Snow Fairy Long, I would like to thank you once again for your help." Li Yuechan said after they all sat down.

"It was my pleasure, how could I not after seeing my former junior sisters being bullied. Also, just call me Sister Long. We're not strangers after all... Oh! You guys should remember 4th Elder Ying Wanxin and managing elder Jin Lei." Long Yifei said, introducing the two women beside her.

They nodded. The 4th Elder was well into her senior years and a respected member of the sect while Jin Lei actually had been their managing elder up until their expulsion. Ying Wanxin had a curious look while Jin Lei held a weird and unreadable expression.

After some more courtesy and greetings, the topic of conversation drifted to the fight.

"Sister Long, are the Divine Blazing Mountain people all this unreasonable? How are the other sisters faring?" Song Wushuang asked.

"They are indeed a problem but so far we have avoided any serious confrontations. They like to operate in small teams so we have maintained larger groups for our sect members. However, they are ravaging the commoner population and the refugees, not sparing any women they find a fancy for." Long Yifei said.

"Indeed, they are a vile group of animals." Jin Lei said with loathing, "They bully women and pay them a pittance to pretend like they are moral. Like if they offered some benefits in return, men think it's all okay. It is not okay."

Jin Lei slapped the table in anger.

"Now, now..." Ying Wanxin patted Jin Lei to calm her down. She then looked at the five sisters, "Your performance during the fight was admirable. And Jin Lei tells me you've all vastly improved your cultivation in a short time. Your master must have taught you some interesting secret arts."

Her tone was soft and kind but it was not a kind question to ask about another sect's secret arts.

"Elder Ying, respectfully, we cannot talk about our sect's secret arts." Li Yuechan said with a frown.

"Of course, of course. Hehe, please excuse this old woman." Ying Wanxin said.

"Sisters, there is another matter I must ask you about." Long Yifei changed the subject deftly. "As you know, our sect always struggles to recruit new members. When we walked through the crowd of refugees you rescued, I sensed several good seedlings with a good potential for cultivation. I would like to invite those girls to join Glacier Palace. What do you think?"

This was perhaps the last question they expected. It didn't seem especially bad. The Glacier Sect was their home for most of their lives. It was difficult to find any cultivation sect to join, let alone an immortal sect. Li Yuechan couldn't immediately find anything to say but Song Wushuang whispered a few things in her ear which made up her mind.

"Sister Long, these refugees are all going to my master's province. We will support them so we will have to refuse your request." Li Yuechan answered.

Long Yifei and the two elders had genuinely surprised expressions. They wondered if this Chen Wentian was a crazy person. Why would he spend such money to transport so many common refugees?

"Your master is certainly eccentric." Ying Wanxin chuckled.

"Yuechan, please consider it." Jin Lei said, "The Glacier Sect is the best place for women. The Eternal Winder Sutra is the best art for women. These helpless girls will learn how to be strong women and how to protect themselves from the despicable men of the world."

"Elder Jin, I think it is wrong to view all men like that. There are many repulsive men in the world but there are also those that respect women." Song Wushuang said.

"Is one of those the man you call master?" Jin Lei scoffed, "I know what happened. He defiled you all and made you all stay in his sect. He even brainwashed all of you into defending him!"

Bam!

Xu Lanyi slammed the table with her fist as she stood up. "You! Don't insult master!"

"Lanyi! You..." Jin Lei spluttered in anger, shocked at Xu Lanyi's impudence.

Li Yuechan pulled Xu Lanyi down swiftly but glared at Jin Lei as well, "Elder, that was uncalled for. Please do not insult us like that."

It seemed managing elder Jin Lei still hadn't gotten over losing her disciples to a man. Man was her most hated enemy. It was an extreme view, but one shared by a significant fraction of the sect.

"Now, now... let's calm down." Ying Wanxin chided Jin Lei. She then looked at Li Yuechan, "Though, I still have to ask, do you think your master's secret art is better than Eternal Winter Sutra? Will your master accept those young girls as his disciples? Will they have a better cultivation path?"

"They will have a better life." Li Yuechan answered firmly.

Ying Wanxin's questions were sharp like daggers but Li Yuechan didn't back down. She stared straight at Ying Wanxin without wavering. She wasn't sure of if she could answer those questions but she believed in Chen Wentian and her three senior sisters.

"Oh?" Ying Wanxin gave her a doubtful look.

"4th Elder, Elder Jin, please clam down." Long Yifei sighed with disappointment, "It seems we were too unruly. It was not my intention and I apologize. I hope we can work together again in the future."

Afterwards, she got up, as did the two elders. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yuechan escorted them out of the inn.

"Phew..." Su Xue exhaled and slumped in her chair.

Her twin sister patted her shoulder but she was tired as well. In the past, they had merely been average disciples within the sect and never had to chance to interact like this with the elders. It was stressful for all of them.

"Even now, that old hag is still unbearable." Xu Lanyi muttered.

Song Wushuang was pensive, "Jin Lei has not changed... but we are different from the past."

"Indeed," Li Yuechan said as she returned to the room, "Each of us are different from the past."

"That's right! We don't have to listen to bullshit from these old hags anymore!" Xu Lanyi agreed as well.

"Elder Jin and Elder Ying were both very rude." Su Xue said.

"Mmm, but Sister Long is still so nice." Su Yue sighed in admiration.

Li Yuechan sat down and looked at Song Wushuang, "Wushuang, you gave me the hint to refuse them. What did you think of their performance?"

The others looked over as well, eager to hear her thoughts.

"I think we should be more careful around Long Yifei." She chose her words carefully, "It's not that she is a bad person but I think she is a naturally manipulative person. Look at the situation with our conversation. She let the two elders probe us and attack us while she sits back. She then comes in to diffuse the situation like she is kind and benevolent."

"But Sister Long has always been kind to other disciples in the sect." Su Yue pointed out.

"That is true, but I think there is more to that than meets the eye. There are some women who are highly focused on expanding their influence through beneficial exchange. Meaning, she will help when it is beneficial for her. It can be for establishing a new relationship, deepening an existing one, having the other party owe her favors or develop feelings of praise and worship."

Song Wushuang continued her analysis, "Take her intervention in our fight for example. I'm sure she was in the crowd for some time and she could have stepped in to help us a lot sooner. However, she waited until we were in an extremely dangerous situation to lend a hand. We would then be extremely grateful to her and we would owe her a great favor."

"The same can be said for her recruitment methods as well. She is personally going around and recruiting the next generation of girls for the sect. These girls will look up to her as their shining light. They will be her unwavering support when she fights for the sect master's position in the future."

The others nodded as they listened to Song Wushuang's reasoning. It did make sense. They had experienced many other women with similar traits within the Glacier Sect though none were as beautiful or talented as Long Yifei.

All things considered, Long Yifei wasn't an inherently bad person. Cultivation was a dangerous road and everyone did what they could to survive. But it seemed like she was not a perfect angel either. When they were lowly disciples, they looked up people like Long Yifei as their idols. But now that they were on equal status, they could identify the minute flaws. It seemed that every woman, like every rose, has its thorns.