TGM Vol.1 Chapter 3 – Confinement (1)

That night, Xuanji packed some clothes in preparation to go to Mingxia Cave the next morning.

While wiping her tears, He Danping packed some delicious food for her and said, “From now on, you will have to practice diligently… Don’t make your father angry again. Don’t be afraid, Mother will come pick you up sooner than you think.”

Xuanji sullenly nodded her head in agreement.

Linglong nimbly twisted her loose hair into a bun, and childishly said, “Don’t be afraid, Xuanji. I will come visit you in the cave in two days! Wait for me! I’ll take care of you.”

He Danping, who was wiping away tears, laughed at her words and said softly, “Silly child, how can anyone just go to Mingxia Cave? Xuanji, please don’t blame your father for being ruthless. Mingxia Cave is a place designed by the ancestral masters to train their willpower, and it’s specially prepared for the disciples who are not good at concentration. That your father is sending you there, is also for your own good. As the daughter of the Head Master, if you can’t honour him, but at least don’t disgrace him. What happened today in the martial arts arena will not happen again, do you understand?”

Without waiting for Xuanji to say anything, Linglong burst out, “Father! All he knows is saving face! He doesn’t even feel distressed for my sister, who is obviously in poor health and physically unfit to practice kung fu!”

He Danping frowned and said, “Linglong, stop talking! Don’t interfere with your father’s business.”

Linglong pouted and went off to the side quietly grumbling.

He Danping held Xuanji’s hand and said, “It’s cold and damp in the cave, so remember to layer more clothes. Your Sixth Brother will bring you food every day. If you are sick, you must tell him so that we can bring you back.” Her mother’s heart could not help but worry, so she kept rambling and instructing her child about every trivial thing.

It was only when a few of the disciples came to announce the time for dinner that she stopped talking, only sighing and touching Xuanji’s head.

“Madam, Master said he was having dinner at Xiaoyang Peak today, and on the way to discuss with Master Wo-Yang and the others about next month’s Hairpin Tournament, so he won’t be back tonight. Please help yourself and the two junior sisters.”

A disciple said outside the door, and his voice said it was the Sixth Disciple Zhong Minyan.

When Ling Long heard it was him, she lifted the curtain with a smile and ran out, saying, “Then Little Six can eat with us today.”

Zhong Min Yan quietly made a face at her but didn’t say anything. He Danping came out with Xuanji on her arm and laughed, “You child, Brother Zhong is three years older than you are! How can you call him little! Minyan, since your Senior Brother and Master will not be dining home today, gather your senior brothers and sisters. Call everyone to have dinner here. I’m sure everyone will have fun together.”

Zhong Min-Yin answered yes with a smile, and then stood up straight. He was the youngest of all the disciples of the Min Generation, with Ling Long and Xuan Kei following him. He is handsome, smart, clever and sweet, which is why his master and mistress like him very much, and Ling Long pesters him every day.

When he saw Xuanji standing beside the Madam, pale and with no expression on her small, almost transparent face, he felt disgusted.

He didn’t like Xuanji, who always had a blank face and never smiled, like a wooden person. As he approached her, he couldn’t help but feel depressed, and the atmosphere felt frozen. He was so eloquent by nature that even his master could speak to him, but he just couldn’t reason with Xuanji. She would just nod again and again, you would think that she was so modest and humble, but in the end, she just turned around and do what she wanted.

Zhong Minyan believes that she is a very clever girl, but two-faced, and has never really spoken to her. It’s better to be like Linglong, who’s also a little girl, but she’s good at sword fighting, innocent and fun to argue with. Otherwise, what is the difference from a puppet?

He was about to turn around to call his brothers and sisters to come over for dinner when he suddenly thought of something and turned back again, saying, “Right, Master has something to tell Sister Xuanji. He said, “Don’t think of being lazy and impertinent again, do some introspection and practice while in the cave. Next time, if you still don’t know the Xuanming Fist, don’t even think of ever going out of the cave.”

Xuanji replied with a quiet, “Oh.”

Zhong Minyan wanted to see her crying, but was disappointed and had to leave.

Zhong Minyan’s words made the dinner atmosphere extremely heavy. He Danping’s eyes were red, and she must have secretly cried again, even Ling Long had a bitter expression and didn’t say a word. Zhong Minyan felt regretful, so he secretly kicked Second Senior Brother Chen Mingjue, and asked him to tell a joke to improve the atmosphere.

Before his apprenticeship here, Chen Mingjue was an assistant to a storyteller and was good at telling jokes since he was young. When he saw that no one else dared to speak, he cleared his throat and said mysteriously, “Hey, do you know that something big is going to happen in our Sect?”

Linglong being the cleverest, figured out his intention quickly said, “I know! It’s the Hairpin Tournament next month!”

Chen Mingjue smiled and stroked his chin as if stroking an imaginary beard, and shook his head, “It’s true, but do you know what is the highlight of the Hairpin Tournament?”

Linglong frowned and thought for a while before saying, “The highlight? Aren’t the five Great Sects sending their elite disciples to compete with each other on martial and immortal arts? The brothers of Senior Mingjue’s generation are not yet old enough to compete in the tournament, could it be that you have been chosen?”

But Chen Mingjue doesn’t say anything, he just shakes his head, with an evil, mysterious smile on his face, and the impatient Linglong wants to grab him by the collar and force him to say something.

He Danping smiled and said, “Your elder brother is a rare talent, but you are not old enough to participate in the Hairpin Tournament. You have to be eighteen years old to participate in the tournament. Don’t be so glib, Mingjue, speak up.”

Chen Mingjue asked, “Do you know why the tournament is called the Flower Hairpin Tournament?”

Zhong Minyan replied, “I do know that. The winner of the tournament will have a peony flower pinned on their head by Master Rong Gu of the Dotting Valley, hence the name Hairpin.”

Chen Mingjue laughed, “Wrong! You can’t just pin it on your head after you win! If not, wouldn’t Master Rong Gu simply give a flower to the winner of the Flower Hairpin Tournament? This flower does not only refer to the peony flower, but also to the last challenge that the champion will face after winning the competition.”

This is the first time everyone hears of this so-called final challenge, and they all asked each other curious questions. Even Xuanji stared at Chen Mingjue with her eyes wide. He Danping, of course, has a clear idea of what is going to happen, so she just smiles and doesn’t say anything, letting the children have their fun.

Chen Mingjue whipped up everyones curiosity, and then said: “The so-called last challenge is for the winner of the tournament to fight a great demon! Of course, that demon was caught beforehand by the seniors and has lost most of its vitality, otherwise ow can ordinary disciples subdue it no matter how powerful they are? However, you must not underestimate the power of the injured demon. Even though it is badly wounded and has only 20% to 30% of its power left, few young disciples can defeat it on their own. If not, why make such a big deal out of the Flower Hairpin Tournament if it can just be won by sparring with each other? Since the beginning of this competition, no more than ten people have actually been able to get the peony flower pin. So, it’s not as easy as you think!”

Everyone sighed, realizing that the Flower Hairpin Tournament has such exciting contents. Ling Long was so impressed that she kept asking, “Do you know what the demon is going to be in the tournament?”

Chen Mingjue said: “I’m not sure about this yet, but I heard that there have been some Tengy causing trouble in Lutai Mountain, which made the people unhappy. I guess they might use that.”

Ling Long was very interested in the story and asked Mingjue to tell her more, but he sighed bitterly, “Little Sister, I don’t know! Why don’t you ask Auntie, she must know more about the Flower Hairpin Tournament.”

He Danping nodded, “Mingjue is right. If you can’t defeat that demon, you can’t get the flower pin. At that time, your master was also a participant in the Flower Hairpin Tournament. He was the youngest, but he was so talented that he almost won. In the end, he was at a disadvantage due to the demon’s strength and almost died. He still has that long scar on his body!”

“What kind of demon was Dad fighting? Did he get the peonies?”

“It’s was a very famous demon called Fei Yi. It had been roaming the northwest for three years, and no rain had fallen there. Finally, your grandfather and the elders of other schools tried their best to subdue it, and it was used as the grand finale of the Flower Hairpin Tournament. Your father fought it for two days and two nights before he finally won, and when he came out, his body was so dry and cracked that he almost died. Then I….”

Suddenly, she stopped talking, a slight blush overtaking her face. How could she tell something like that to these juniors. When she first saw him after the tournament she rushed over desperatly and hugged him, all the while crying. However, he grabbed the peony flower, which was obtained with such effort, and pinned it in her hair, smiled and said, “I have wanted to say this for a long time……Fragrant flowers go well with beautiful women. Now… I’ve finally found a flower that is worthy of you.”

Alas, the sweet memories of the past have faded with the passage of time. Only in her heart, these precious memories are still so vivid, as if they happened yesterday.

After dinner, everyone chatted for a while, comforted Xuanji and then left to rest.

He Danping did not know how many tears she shed in her distress, or how many worried words she said while holding her daughter. She only knew that she hated this one night that seemed so short, and the gradually brightening sky.

When Xuanji opened the door with a small parcel in her hand, she saw a few disciples of the Zhenxia Hall and Master Yang standing at the door, all neatly dressed in robes with red trim on a white background, and when they saw He Danping, they saluted respectfully and said, “Greetings, Madam. We are ordered by the Head Master to escort Junior Sister Xuanji to Mingxia Cave.”

Zhenxia Hall is responsible for punishing the disciples who have broken the rules, and the fact that Xie Lei let them come to receive Xuanji shows that he is selfless. He Danping could not help but shed tears and asked to say a few last words to her, and then stood aside with Ling Long in tears, watching as they tied Xuanji up with a gold rope and put her on the black jade sedan chair. The four disciples stood on the sides of the chair, and it floated into the air.

“Xuanji, don’t be afraid! Mother will be there soon to pick you up!” He Danping waved vigorously to her from the ground.

Xuanji was pale when she peeked pver the side of the sedan chair, but fortunately she did not look sad or frightened. When she saw her mother and sister crying, her heart was puzzled but also slightly saddened, so she said loudly, “I will be fine! Mother, sister! Don’t worry about me!”

As soon as he said that, the black jade sedan soared into the sky and instantly became a black dot, never to be seen again.

Xuanji had only ever heard about Mingxia Cave, but had never actually been there, so she didn’t consider the punishment terrible. On the contrary, she felt lucky becasue no matter what, it was better to be locked up than to be beaten. She doesn’t want to be slapped by her father, that would be horrible.

Mother has packed two bags for her, one full of clothes and one full of dried food, and her sleeve pockets and dress front are also full of stuff. Linglong had even slipped in a little toy to help relieve her boredom. Unfortunately, she is tied up now and can’t take a closer look.

But they say that Mingxia Cave is on the Sun Peak, which is the most beautiful place on Shaoyang Mountain. Sun Peak is the shortest peak in Shaoyang Mountain. It is strange that there are not many trees here, but it is the place where the most wild animals are found. Mingxia Cave is the deepest and largest cave inside.

The black jade sedan was carrying her, and she arrived at the entrance of Mingxia Cave in just a short while. Xuanji stuck her head out of the sedan chair and saw that there was a flat land surrounded by pines and cypresses, but strangely, the land three feet in front of the Mingxia Cave was devoid of any grass and was as deep red as dried blood.

One of the disciples untied her and another one carried her two packs, and another got her out of the sedan chair before saying, “Sister Xuanji, we have to take you into the cave now.”

She nodded obediently, but didn’t ask why they wanted to accompany her into the cave. Were they afraid that she would run away?.

Who knew that upon entering the cave, there would be a mysterious iron door that was ten feet high. The lock on the door was thicker than her thigh. Whether one wants to go in or out, nothing can be done without the key. The cave is a dungeon, and it’s a waste to give it a good name like Mingxia.

After opening the iron door and walking a few steps inside, the light was already dimmed, and one could barely see person’s face farther than five steps. Looking around, Xuanji saw moss all over the wall of the cave and was glad that there were no bats. Perhaps someone regularly got rid of them, she thought.

Walking a little further, she suddenly heard the sound of rushig water somewhere in front, thinking that there was an underground spring somewhere.

Xuanji never imagined that there would be so many things in Mingxia Cave. Not only was the entrance to the cave locked by an iron gate, but she had to take a short boat ride after entering the cave before she reached her destination. At that moment, she could not see anything anymore, so she put her hands in front of her eyes and tried to stare at them.

The four of disciples struck the flint and lit the torches, onto to see that a crude stone hut had been built here, with a stone bed, table and chairs all made of primitive green stone. The so-called bed was nothing more than a flatter piece of stone with a layer of damp straw and no blanket.

The four men left a handful of flint and a few candles for her and said, “Then, Sister Xuanji will stay here to meditate. We’ll have to leave first.”

When they saw her dazed and lost look, they couldn’t bear it, so they left her the torch and said, “Sister, take care! I hope you will soon be enlightened.”

After they left, the cave soon regained its silence, or rather, dead silence.

Xuanji had never been in such a quiet and frightening environment before. It seemed that after a long time, the sound of her heartbeat had become thunder, and she could even hear the sounds of her veins and arteries moving.

She was so startled that she turned around, walked into the stone house and touched the straw on the bed. As expected, the straw was wet, and she did not know how long it had been there. She tried to lie down on it, but it was very hard and uncomfortable.

She hadn;t suffered muc since she was a child, and the environment was so different now that she finally felt wronged and wanted to cry, but another thought struck her. She was alone here. Even if she scraped her throat raw crying, it wouldn’t matter. So she had to gather her courage and stay composed. She don’t know when mother will come to pick her up, but she really doesn’t want to stay in this place at all.

She doesn’t know how long it took, but she fell asleep in her bed, having many strange dreams. Her father was going to beat her, and her mother was protecting her. Then, out of nowhere, Zhong MInyan came running to her, looking at her with an indifferent expression and saying, “You deserve it!” Suddenly, he became Senior Brother Du Minxing, touches her head and promises to put in a good word for her.

She is asking him to make her father let her out of the cave when suddenly Ling Long pours a bucket of water in her face and shouts, “You’re daydreaming again!”

She woke up with a shudder and a sudden jolt of darkness. It took her a long time to realize that the torch had burned out. The dampness of the straw underneath her body was seeping through her clothes. Her small body couldn’t stop trembling, so she hurriedly looked for several clothes to put on.

There was no sound, not a sound at all. The dreadful silence and darkness were more unbearable than death. She curled into a ball on the stone bed, but she couldn’t stop trembling. She couldn’t even tell if it was the cold or the fear of the endless silence that made her shiver.

It was only after a long time that she remembered that the disciples of Xiatang Hall had left candles and flint for her. She fumbled around on the bed for a long time and finally found the flint, clicked it and lit the candle. With the light, she felt a little more at ease and hunkered down on the bed to stare at the small orange flame.

There were only four candles and she couldn’t use them all the time, so she would have to live in the dark most of the day. She can actually ask Zhong Minyan for more, but this person has never been fond of her and will definitely not say yes, so it’s better not to say anything than to open her mouth and get humiliated.

The time in the cave feels frozen, not moving at all, and she has no idea how much time has passed.

There was nothing to do, and she usually did nothing and spent her days in a daze, but if she was left alone like this, she couldn’t even doze off. So she had to take out the toys Ling Long gave her, but it was a slingshot, a bird made of clay, and a small red rattle.

What’s the use of this? Its confusing.

She had no choice but to go back to sleep, but the stone bed was so cold that she couldn’t fall asleep. But the stone bed was so cold that she couldn’t fall asleep, and she shivered with a strange feeling of loneliness.

The rattle in her bosom fell on the bed and made a crisp sound. She grabbed it in the dark and clutched it in her hand. After a while, she turned it gently.

dong dong dong, dong dong dong.

The little rattle made a loud sound.

In such a silent and dark place, this is the only sound left to keep her company.

She kept spinning it.

Dong dong dong, dong dong, dong dong.

It’s as if she’s in a bustling New Year’s scene.

Big Brother was beating a kui-pei drum with a red silk drumstick, while Linglong was jumping behind her, beating her little waist drum. The air smells of Mother’s sweet red bean cakes, and Father instructs the young disciples to unpack the good wine that has been hidden in the cellar for a year.

She also liked the bustling scenes. She likes to be a little background color in a bustling scene, instead of being mercilessly removed, and everyone forgets and ignores her.

Xuanji had a lot of random thoughts and finally fell asleep again, unable to remember these annoying and helpless things.

<<Previous – Chapter List – Next>>