The Individual in the Shadows
It was grey, a dull and wretched grey… Words failed Mu Yu. He felt something transfer from his body to the boulder, yet… He stared at the boulder intently as though he could will its colour to change. The radiance of the bright pearl in the sky was almost adding insult to injury. His hand listlessly slid down. He descended the platform, head hung. He sat and slouched against the boulder. then buried his head in his arms.
Mu Yu didn’t cry, but he was vexed. All of Villa Chief Bu’s hope and words, Xiaohu’s overbearing taunts, the reminder of potential’s importance and General Manager Xun’s tragic fate gnawed at him. He heaved a heavy breath. When he finally found the motivation to cultivate after witnessing people humiliate Village Chief Bu, reality told him it wasn’t going to happen. The thought of the villagers potentially verbally attacking him and poking fun at him cut deep. Finally in their shoes, he could finally sympathise with the other grey-rank disciples who opted to stay.
“Why are you allowing a boulder to decide your fate?”
The sudden question from someone with a friendly voice posed startled Mu Yu. He instinctively jumped to his feet and looked over. The elder was none other than Dustfallen Sect’s patriarch! The elder sat down on the step Mu Yu was sitting on. He blinked several times.
“H-how did you get here?”
Patriarch Feng tugged up a corner of his lips. “I walked over!”
Mu Yu: I certainly didn’t hear any footsteps!
“I-I will be on my way now.” Mu Yu already broke the rules, wandering at night. The last thing he wanted was to offend Patriarch Feng and wound up in the same state as the senior brother he heard of not long ago.
“You do realise cultivators can tell somebody sneaked by even without leaving their room when you sneaked through the courtyard? Do you not intend to explain yourself?” casually questioned Patriarch Feng, completely unlike a patriarch.
Mu Yu began to fret about his latent ability being discovered. “Sorry, sorry, I did not know I disturbed you…”
“It wasn’t just me you disturbed! I helped cover for you; they mistook it was me, so you’re safe.”
Mu Yu learnt just how naïve he was, thinking he could outwit immortal masters. “Thank you, Patriarch.”
Mu Yu began to wonder if lady luck was on his side since Patriarch Feng had helped him, a grey-rank disciple, twice already.
“The moon looks pretty nice tonight,” commented Patriarch Feng, gazing at the moon. He ignored Mu Yu fiddling awkwardly for a while before saying, “You think a boulder can decide your future?”
Mu Yu shook his head. “No, but the result it gives me is vexing.”
“Why is that?”
Mu Yu wasn’t harbouring profound thoughts at that point. Having said that, he didn’t realise he was competitive with Xiaohu, who appeared to have a bright future unlike himself. He honestly answered, “I do not know.”
“Ordinary folks call us immortal masters. In actuality, we’re the only ones who are cognisant of the fact that none of us are worthy of the title. At most, we are cultivators. In the world of cultivation, none of us refer to another as an immortal master. My point is, don’t concern yourself with how supposedly amazing an immortal master is. One’s cultivation environment is not the most integral factor. The key question is, what do you want? Whoever it is you want to be, strive to be him. Don’t ask a boulder to decide for you.”
“Without potential, we cannot join any sect,” mumbled Mu Yu. Mu Yu lacked direction. He perceived a sect as a compass that would guide him to reaching immortal master status. By the same token, being ordered around as a servant would never get him to his goal.
“Cultivation depends on two things: luck and effort. Colour is not one of them. Talent allows you to hit the ground running. A lack of talent merely means you take more detours than someone with talent. Cultivation is supposed to be a challenge. If you lack the determination to weave through detours, you might as well pick up something else.” Patriarch Feng plucked a flower stuck in a rock’s gap and played with it. The flower was one of the flowers Mu Yu made bloom out of season.
“…If you lack the determination to weave through detours, you might as well pick up something else.” This sentence resonated with Mu Yu. It was akin to a beam of light, clearing away the darkness looming around him. He realised his folly; he gave up before he even tried. That was the hallmark of someone destined for failure. He nodded and bowed. “Thank you for enlightening me, Patriarch.”
If his journey started at grey rank, then so be it. Mu Yu didn’t know what the future held. At the present moment, he just wanted to outshine Xiaohu and prove he wasn’t useless.
Out of the blue, Mu Yu appealed, “Patriarch, can you take me in?”
Patriarch Feng grinned. “My sect? We’re dead last, you know? Literally nobody wants to join, and I don’t recruit disciples from the academy.”
“How can I qualify to join?”
“A better question is, why do you want to join a sect on the bottom rung?”
“In your words: one’s cultivation environment is not the most integral factor. By that logic, be it the top school or last school. Cultivating is cultivating. A place to cultivate is all that is necessary.”
“Hahaha, I didn’t see myself slapping myself. By your logic, wouldn’t cultivating at the academy be the same thing?”
“With your guidance, perhaps I will achieve better results.”
Mu Yu sincerely went down on his knees, only for Patriarch Feng to stop him with an invisible flow of energy. Mu Yu didn’t realise what happened, so he was confused why his legs wouldn’t obey him.
“Don’t hastily make conclusions. You might change your mind after you see this.” Patriarch Feng stood up and shifted his gaze over to the boulder. “Without enough light illuminating it, it won’t display any colour. That’s why it can’t faithfully display one’s true potential at night. Take a look at what colour you actually produced.”
Mu Yu raised an eyebrow. Patriarch Feng summoned a sword. The moonlight reflected off the blade, revealing a classy purple boulder!
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