2. The Cause

"Oh, a real Golden Sword." A voice sounded, laced with excitement.

But as the speaker reached out to grasp the Golden Sword, it gave a faint hum, struggling to break free from his grip.

"Quite the temper—already choosing its master?" He arched his brow, tightening his hold. "It hasn’t recognized a master yet, but it already protects its own. Truly worthy of being called the Guardian Sword."

"Wu Zhan, Senior Brother."

"Master, Junior Brother." Wu Zhan the Martial Venerable nodded in greeting.

"So this is the owner of the Golden Sword?" The sect master raised his brow, glancing at Lin Jiuci, who was struggling to crawl out, and Lin Jiuge, who had fainted.

"Sis, sis." Lin Jiuci was crying miserably, her tiny hands flailing.

"Well, well, a little girl." Wu Zhan the Martial Venerable let go, and the Golden Sword returned to Lin Jiuge’s side.

Lin Jiuci struggled to go check on Lin Jiuge.

"Has the Golden Sword recognized its master?" the sect master asked.

"No, but it’s stubborn," Wu Zhan replied, curling his lip.

"What happened here just now?" an elder asked, sweeping his gaze across the scene, where traces of battle were obvious. "The sect forbids fighting—who started this?"

"Reporting to the sect master and elders, it was Senior Brother Wang Bin who wanted Lin Jiuge to complete a task for him. Lin Jiuge refused, and a fight broke out. There’s a recording talisman as evidence." The servant disciple holding the recording talisman spoke up, trembling as he handed it over. He instinctively felt this was his opportunity.

The sect master immediately activated the talisman. Though it was a low-quality, inferior one, it had captured all that was necessary—especially Lin Jiuge’s every movement as she wielded a broom as a sword. The Martial Venerable Wu Zhan’s eyes grew brighter as he watched.

"Excellent," Wu Zhan couldn’t help but praise. The girl’s technique was sharp and decisive, growing braver with each setback.

And when the Golden Sword descended, knocking Wang Bin unconscious in a single strike, the steadfastness in Lin Jiuge’s eyes spoke volumes of her talent in the way of the sword.

The elders who arrived later had already begun tending to their injuries. Lin Jiuge recovered quickly, and upon waking, politely expressed her thanks before focusing on soothing her little sister. The healing elder raised a brow, finding the girl intriguing.

On the other side, Wang Bin awoke to a throbbing pain in every organ, wailing incessantly and spitting threats, which only made the attending elder’s brow arch—though his expression remained sour.

"Silence." The logistics elder, who’d arrived late, couldn’t conceal his irritation between his brows. What a fool—how had the Wang family managed to send such an idiot here?

"Disciple Wang Yang greets the Sect Master and all elders." Wang Yang bowed.

"Enough, Wang Yang. Is Wang Bin from your family?" another elder inquired.

"Yes, Elder Jieyan, he is one of my clan," Wang Yang replied with a bitter smile. If only the fool had woken with a bit more sense, perhaps the trouble could have been minimized. As it was, Wang Yang closed his eyes and opened them again, realizing he would have to suffer the consequences as well.

"Report to the Discipline Hall for punishment. As for you, Wang Yang, due to poor management, you are demoted to assistant logistics elder," Elder Jieyan decreed.

"Yes." Wang Yang answered weakly. Because of this idiot, the position he’d worked so hard for was handed over just like that. To climb higher now would be almost impossible.

"Little girl, your name is Lin Jiuge, yes? Which family of our Mount Tai Sect do you come from?" the sect master asked kindly, watching Lin Jiuge pacify her sister. Truth be told, he couldn’t remember which family she belonged to. The sect had dozens of affiliated families—he recalled the major ones, but none bore the surname Lin. Still, wary of missing something, he asked.

"Replying to the Sect Master, Jiuge comes from the mortal world." Lin Jiuge bowed slightly, holding her sister as she answered.

"The mortal world? Is it already time for the disciple selection in the mortal realm?" The sect master asked uncertainly. Had he remembered wrong? But, seeing the small girl in Lin Jiuge’s arms, he thought she shouldn’t have been in the selection pool.

"Master, Junior Brother, that’s exactly what happened." A silent elder at the side leaned in to explain the situation quietly.

"Absurd." The sect master’s expression changed at once.

"Senior Brother Wu Ming, what you’ve done here doesn’t align with our sect’s rules," Wu Zhan the Martial Venerable said grimly, casting a sympathetic glance at the two sisters, though relief flickered in his eyes.

"Junior Brother Wu Zhan, I am aware. But what’s done is done. Perhaps this is the child’s fate." Wu Ming, the Primordial Venerable, gestured toward the Golden Sword, which stood guard at Lin Jiuge’s side.

"Lin Jiuge, come with me," Wu Zhan said with a curl of his lip. If not for the fact that Wu Ming had been brought into the sect, he’d be just the sort of schemer Wu Zhan would like to pummel.

Without another word, Wu Zhan seized Lin Jiuge, along with the child in her arms, Lin Jiuci, and vanished in an instant.

"Let’s go. Wang Yang, handle the rest," the sect master said as he left, the other elders following suit.

"Yes." Even as an assistant elder, Wang Yang still outranked the servants, who quickly returned to their duties. The disciple who’d handed over the recording talisman felt a pang of regret—though a month later he received a token of thanks from Lin Jiuge, along with notification of his promotion to an outer sect disciple. The incident prompted a thorough reform among the servant disciples, and the discipline improved significantly thereafter.

Lin Jiuge, still dazed, clutched Lin Jiuci as Wu Zhan brought her to a weathered stone.

"Lin Jiuge, strike this stone with the Golden Sword. Remember to focus your heart—understand the reason you wield the sword. I’ll watch over this little one for you," Wu Zhan said, naturally taking Lin Jiuci into his arms. "My, this child is sturdier than she looks."

"There, be good. Your sister has important work to do; stay with uncle for a while." Wu Zhan tried to put on a kindly smile, which only frightened Lin Jiuci into nearly crying—though she bravely held back. This made the lips of the assembled elders twitch with barely-suppressed laughter.

Senior Brother Wu Zhan had no self-awareness—his aura of constant combat was hardly something a little child could endure.

Finally, Zhou Yan, who had been standing silently by, couldn’t help himself.

"Master Uncle, allow me." The little girl’s on-the-verge-of-tears look was too much for him. Zhou Yan took Lin Jiuci, whose mouth fell slightly open in surprise.

"Pretty," she whispered. In Lin Jiuci’s eyes, Zhou Yan was the second most beautiful person she’d ever seen—right after her sister.

A ripple of amusement passed through the elders. Children, after all, speak the truth, and it was rare and precious. They looked kindly at their flustered junior and the wide-eyed child in his arms.

"Master Uncle!" Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, though it did nothing to mar his beauty.

Meanwhile, Lin Jiuge grasped the Golden Sword, which had followed her of its own accord, in her left hand.

Closing her eyes, she pondered—why does she wield the sword? Memories surfaced: her early days learning the sword, the time after her sister was born when she put it aside to learn weaving, and finally, the moment danger struck—when her broken sword shielded her sister. The last image was Lin Jiuci’s peaceful, sleeping face.

A lovely curve appeared at Lin Jiuge’s lips. Her sword was for protection. A sword is a weapon, yes, but it is also the instrument to shield those she wishes to protect.

The Golden Sword seemed to sense her intent, emitting a resonant hum.

Yet Lin Jiuge didn’t open her eyes; suddenly, the sword’s song grew louder, as if something flashed by in an instant.