The master's eyes immediately lit up: "Then you shall take my surname."
My master's name is Shi Jing, but as soon as I thought about it, I immediately rejected the idea. A stone mill? Even Mo Mo wouldn't do!
Seeing that I remained silent, my master rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Then you can choose for yourself. Anyway, you have no father or mother, and I don't even know your surname."
A brilliant idea struck me, and I exclaimed happily, "I'll call myself Yunmo!"
My master's chief disciple is named Yunzhou, and he's my idol. I've always thought the surname Yun sounds beautiful and has a poetic feel, and Senior Brother Yun is so handsome, almost like an immortal. Sharing the same surname with him means I can call him "brother" from now on, which would be so much closer. I excitedly ran to tell all my senior brothers that I'd changed my name, and from now on, anyone who calls me Momo will have to get angry!
Actually, I regretted it later. I can just call myself Yunmo, why did I have to call him Brother Yunzhou?
Upon hearing that I had changed my name, Little Pouch came looking for me, eager to make her move.
She said hesitantly in a low voice, "Miss, can I change my name too?"
At that moment, I understood my master's feelings, because I was the one who named her Little Pouch.
Three years ago, my fellow disciples went down the mountain to celebrate the birthday of the Wudang Sect Leader, and I went with them. At the foot of the mountain, I encountered Xiao Hebao being chased by villains. I intervened and saved her; that was my first act of chivalry. Actually, I relied on my fellow disciples. The villain, seeing my imposing group of disciples behind me, ran away before I could even draw my sword.
Little Pudding said she had nowhere to go, so my master decided to let me take her in as a maid, actually to keep me company.
Looking at the little purse, I said wistfully, "What a wonderful name, 'Little Purse'! When you're hungry, you can have a fried egg; when you're broke, there's silver in the purse. It's so meaningful, why don't you like it?"
Little Hebao was happily convinced by me. It seems I chose a very good name, better than my master's. My master, Shi Jing, was the ninth leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, and in his youth, he was known in the martial arts world as the Jade-Faced Young Master. When I first heard that, I laughed until my stomach cramped. Jiang Chen, standing next to me, chuckled wickedly, "Momo, are you thinking of the Jade-Faced Fox?"
I maintained a serious expression and firmly denied it.
Master Shi Jing was fair-skinned and handsome. Because he became the sect leader at a young age, he often wore black robes, trying to appear more mature. However, wearing black only accentuated his fair complexion, making his nickname even more fitting. Alas, every advantage has its disadvantage.
Upon assuming his post, Master displayed exceptional leadership skills and a determination to select talent without being bound by convention. He disregarded everyone's length of time in the sect, seniority, and background, holding a sect-wide martial arts competition where the winner would become the chief disciple. Regardless of age, everyone respected him as the second-in-command of the Free and Unfettered Sect, while the number one was none other than Master himself.
That's how Senior Brother Yunzhou stood out. In that grand martial arts competition that swept through the entire sect, he defeated all his senior brothers and became Master's most valued chief disciple. As for me, I am Master's last disciple. I feel that this is fate.
So, after I changed my name to Yunmo, I followed in the footsteps of my senior brother Yunzhou and started calling him "brother." At first, he twitched his lips, turned around, and walked away. Later, I called him dozens of times a day, and he became numb to it and accepted it. Truly, where there's a will, there's a way!
Senior Brother Yunzhou is even more handsome than Master, but he doesn't show his emotions, so I often don't know what he's thinking. Senior Brother Jiangchen, on the other hand, wears his heart on his sleeve, which often leaves me confused as well. So, everything should be done in moderation; too much of anything is as bad as too little.
Before I knew it, it was my fifteenth birthday. I had been waiting for this day for a whole year. Because I have sixteen senior brothers in the Xiaoyao Sect, if each of them gave me a gift, hehe, just thinking about it made my eyes so happy I could barely open them.
"Xiao Mo, what are you laughing at? You can't even see your eyes."
I immediately opened my eyes wide and turned around. Jiang Chen strolled over leisurely with his hands behind his back. I assumed he must be hiding a gift for me, but when I looked behind him, there was nothing there.
I was quite disappointed, so I reminded him, "Well, didn't you hear what Master told everyone yesterday?"
He glared at him and asked, "What is it?"
Are you pretending to be confused? Yesterday, Master specifically informed everyone that today is my coming-of-age ceremony, and everyone should give me gifts.
Last night, I was so moved that I ran to my master's room and chatted with him until he yawned and tears streamed down his face. Seeing that he was sleepy, I tried to warm his feet, but it startled him so much that his face turned pale and he was wide awake. Compared to my master, Jiang Chen is truly heartless; on such an important day, he didn't even show me any appreciation.
I looked at him seriously and said solemnly, "Senior Brother Jiang, your surname Tie would actually be more suitable for you."
"Why?"
"What a tightwad!" I've been arguing with Jiang Chen for years, and I've learned some of his skills in the process.
"Xiao Mo, you're the real miser! I didn't give you a gift for your birthday that year, but did you give me one?" Ever since I changed my name to Yun Mo, he stopped calling me "Mo Mo," but he also refused to call me "Yun Mo," only calling me "Xiao Mo" like his master does.
I said with dissatisfaction, "Senior Brother Jiang, do leaves count as gifts?"
He stared wide-eyed: "Is that just an ordinary tree leaf? It has Wang Wei's poem on it."
I rolled my eyes at him: "But you're not Wang Wei."
"Xiao Mo, you really have no sense of romance or charm." He sneered and walked away nonchalantly, turning back to give me a disdainful look three steps away.
I glanced at him dismissively. He did indeed send gifts every year—leaves, wildflowers, sparrows—but the most expensive and elaborate gift he ever gave was a box of rouge. I proudly flaunted my first-ever box of rouge around. The Xiaoyao Sect was all men; it was my first time seeing such a thing, and I was bubbling with joy.
Yunzhou glanced at it and said indifferently, "It looks like it's been used."
I've kept that box of rouge at the bottom of my drawer. Every time I think of Jiang Chen, only one word comes to mind: stingy.
Yunzhou has never given me a gift. But it's better not to give me anything than to give me something perfunctory.
My birthday was especially lively. My master asked Chef Zhang from the kitchen to make me lots of delicious food, and all my fellow disciples gave me gifts. Actually, what I was most looking forward to was Yunzhou's gift, because he had never given me anything before. What could it be?
I never dreamed he would give me a dagger!
I sighed, looking at the sharp dagger in my hand. Holding it up to the sunlight, it gleamed coldly, sharp enough to cut a hair with a breath—clearly a fine weapon. But, to give a girl something like this, to borrow Jiang's words, was utterly lacking in romance. While I was happy he gave me a gift, I was somewhat disappointed that it was something like this. I am, after all, a girl. Although I spend all my time with my fellow senior brothers and have a somewhat unrestrained personality, they can't treat me entirely as a man. Giving me something so masculine is too disheartening. Rouge or a hairpin would have been so much better.
I was a little unwilling to give up, so I examined the dagger closely under the light. Could there be some secret inside? Like a treasure map, a martial arts manual, or a small note?
I studied it for half an hour but couldn't find any mechanism. The only unusual thing was that it was engraved with the character "相" (Xiang). After thinking about it for a long time, I couldn't help but go and ask him why he gave me the dagger.
I arrived at Yunzhou's room and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Yunzhou's voice was exceptionally pleasant, like a stream at night or a mountain breeze at dawn.
I pushed the door open, and Yunzhou was sitting at the table.
A pot of azaleas was in full bloom by the window, its vibrant color making him appear even more refined and elegant in his white robes.
I asked cautiously, "Brother, why did you give me a dagger?"
Yunzhou looked up at me, then lowered his eyes to look at the book in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly before relaxing.
I leaned closer mysteriously and asked, "Brother, is there a treasure map or martial arts manual in here?" I wasn't counting on the little note.