By now, Wei Long had accepted two things:
He had a disciple.
He wasn't allowed to stop having a disciple.
Lin Qian had taken her duties very seriously. She rose before dawn, swept the temple ruins, patched the roof with reeds and prayer flags, and practiced her punches with terrifying enthusiasm. If enthusiasm alone could kill demons, the heavens would be quiet forever.
Wei Long, meanwhile, was focused on more important matters—like perfecting the art of sleeping upright and determining whether wild yams tasted better roasted or raw.
Still, each morning, she would kneel beside him and ask with unshakable faith, "Master, what is today's lesson?"
And Wei Long, who had never trained in anything more advanced than skipping stones, would blink slowly and mutter something like, "Balance is important."
Lin Qian gasped. "Yes, of course. Balance between the body and mind! Between fire and water!"
"…I meant, don't spill soup when walking…"
But by then she'd be sprinting off to punch a tree while balancing a bowl of water on her head.
And every time she returned with scraped knees and cracked knuckles, she would look to him and say, "I can feel it, Master! My chi is aligning!"
Wei Long didn't have the heart to tell her it was probably just bruising.
On the fourth morning, trouble arrived. Again.
This time in the form of a well-dressed young man with eyebrows so sharp they could slice melons. He rode a glossy white horse and wore a sword longer than his patience.
"You there! Hermit!" he called from the gate, staring at Wei Long, who was attempting to meditate but had fallen asleep hugging a pumpkin.
Wei Long blinked awake, squinting. "Are you… another bandit?"
The man scoffed. "I am Duan Fei of the Silver Mountain Pavilion! Top-ranked inner disciple. I have come to challenge the mysterious master said to dwell here."
Wei Long yawned. "You want the pumpkin? You can have it."
Duan Fei drew his sword in one graceful arc. "So humble. You even disguise your blade as a vegetable. Truly, your ways are deep."
Wei Long opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "What?"
But Lin Qian stepped forward, eyes blazing. "He's not ready to fight right now!"
Duan Fei smirked. "I understand. He's conserving his qi. Fine. You, girl—are you his disciple?"
"I am."
"Then I shall defeat you. If I win, your master must duel me."
Wei Long stood up, panicked. "Hold on, hold on! We don't need to—"
But Lin Qian had already launched herself forward with a wild, unrefined, utterly fearless punch.
Duan Fei parried easily, grinning, and countered with a graceful sweep that sent her flying backward into the garden.
Unfortunately, it was Wei Long's pumpkin garden.
She crashed into a basket of dried vines, and one of the vines—long, brittle, and sharp—snapped, flew through the air, and wrapped perfectly around Duan Fei's ankle as he stepped forward.
He stumbled, fell, and slammed his head directly into a stone basin.
Crack.
Silence.
Wei Long stared. Lin Qian groaned. Duan Fei lay motionless, face-first in the dirt.
A moment later, he stirred, sat up—and with blood trickling from his brow, bowed deeply.
"…You taught her to use the environment itself as a weapon. I was careless. I concede defeat."
Wei Long took a step back. "No, really, she just—"
"Master Wei," Duan Fei said solemnly, "your techniques are beyond me. Please… allow me to observe your teachings for a few days. I have much to learn."
Wei Long stared at the sky.
"I was just… napping."
Lin Qian clasped her hands. "You were meditating, weren't you? That's why you didn't interfere. You knew I'd learn from defeat!"
Duan Fei nodded. "A training method through humiliation and accident. Brutal… yet effective."
Wei Long sighed and sat back down. "Sure. Let's go with that."
By sunset, he had two disciples.
One trained by slipping on rocks.
The other trained by falling into a bush.
And still, the rumors grew:
"Master Wei Long only accepts those whose fates are shattered, then reshapes them through wisdom too deep for words."
They brought him fruit.
And scrolls.
And more pumpkins.
And Wei Long quietly wondered if luck was a blessing… or a trap made by the gods for their own amusement.
To be continued…