Glass Lotus (Fanfic Sequel to Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation)

Chapter 1 A New Beginning - Lan En / Lan Qinghui

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / Mo Dao Zu Shi / 魔道祖师

Original novel written by 墨香铜臭

魔道祖师 同人小说 - 第1章 一元复始 1 - 蓝恩/蓝情惠

MDZS Fan Fiction - Chapter 1 A New Beginning - Lan En / Lan Qinghui

By @chiaki.himura on IG

"Lan En! Stop looking at every single flower we pass by or we're going to be late!" Lan Jingyi's voice floated over, tinged with impatience.

"You don't have to be like that, Jingyi. This is Qinghui's first time in the Yunmeng region after all; let her explore all she wants. I'll explain to Jin Ling if we do arrive late."

Lan Sizhui's soothing voice washed over Lan Jingyi's earlier tone as he shifted beside Lan Qinghui who was leaning over the side of the long boat they were travelling on. She was busy admiring a white lotus peeking out of the still waters, stopping the boat not for the first time since they entered the waters of Yunmeng. She had been entirely enthralled with the beauty of the lotus flower, something which was not commonly found in the Gusu region. Pulling out her long sword, Changyin, she quickly sliced the stem and caught the flower in her hand.

"Alright, alright, I'm done! Don't be such a nag and let me enjoy the scenery a little more, Brother Jingyi," Lan Qinghui quipped goodnaturedly as she beckoned the boat to continue moving.

The trio were on their way to attend the Cultivation Festival and this year, the Yunmeng Jiang sect was hosting the event at Lotus Pier. Lan Qinghui, together with Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, were selected to represent the Gusu Lan sect as participants of the cultivation competition and so were arriving a week ahead of the festival to prepare whatever they needed and to get used to the competition venue.

    Lan Jingyi rolled his eyes again but couldn't help releasing a grin as he shook his head in mock exasperation.

    "You need to control yourself or there'll be no more lotuses in Yunmeng," he teased.

    Indeed, the boat was already decorated with a dozen lotus flowers in different sizes and colours, and sitting amongst them was a beautiful young woman who had just hit twenty one last month. Her skin was as clear as porcelain and her eyes were bright and sharp, a brilliant golden characteristic of the Lan clan's direct descendants. Her features were well-defined but also had an edge to it; she had often been described as androgynous; either a very handsome girl or a very pretty boy. It suited her well that she looked this way, since she had always been a boyish maiden, obsessed with cultivation and swordplay since she was a young girl while others her age learned to sing and dance. She also preferred male cultivator clothing, donning the Gusu Lan sect's official men's uniform over her inner robes. On her forehead she wore the trademark cloud-patterned forehead ribbon of the main Lan family.

    As the only child of Lan Qiren and the late Gusu Lan sect leader's younger, estranged brother Lan Zhuoyin, Lan En, courtesy name Lan Qinghui, had scared the wits out of her father when she declared that she would devote her life to cultivation and showed no interest whatsoever in dancing or singing. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to get married and carry on the family line! However, Sect Leader Lan Xichen had seen her potential and took her personally under his wing to train as a female cultivator, even gifting her with a white jade xiao* not dissimilar to his own and taught her how to use it after she had successfully formed her golden core.

    Two years ago, after Lan Wangji had eloped with Wei Wuxian, Lan Qiren reformed the sect's rules and for the first time since the sect was created, mixed gender cultivation was introduced in an attempt to prevent any further disciples from veering down that path. Thanks to the new system, Lan Qinghui was finally allowed to attend cultivation training together with the other male cultivators and met Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, whom she quickly became fast friends with due to the closeness of their age. The new change also came at a good time, since Lan Xichen had confined himself to his quarters ever since the Guanyin Temple Incident and stopped teaching her.

    Over the course of two years, under the keen tutelage of Lan Qiren, Lan Qinghui excelled in whatever she was taught, quickly surpassing her male peers in both cultivation and sword technique. The only people her age she couldn't beat all the time was Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, whom she treated as her close friends and rivals in cultivation.

She had vaguely remembered Lan Sizhui when he first arrived at the Cloud Recesses, sickened with fever, a frail boy with no memories of his past. She too had been no older than four then, and having snuck into the Library Pavilion to take a look at this mysterious little boy, she was caught by Lan Wangji and "punished" by being buried in a pile of fluffy white and black rabbits together with Lan Sizhui. Lan Jingyi, who was a descendant from the branch family, had been chosen to join the main family in cultivation due to his talent and the fact that there was simply no descendant from the main family after Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji. Since Lan Wangji was definitely not going to have any descendants, Lan Qiren's only hope was Lan Xichen, but ZeWu-Jun himself was not in a good position, locked up in mourning.

Naturally, Lan Qinghui, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi were the chosen three to participate in this year's cultivation festival, the second one since the first festival had been held the previous year by the Qinghe Nie sect. The same three had been chosen to participate in that festival as well and had performed favorably, with Lan Sizhui receiving the honorable mention for the most beautiful technique with his mastery over Inquiry, second only to HanGuang-Jun. Lan Qinghui and Lan Jingyi had come close to receiving honorable mention for their sword technique in the most dazzling skill event, but Jin Ling has been the one to steal the show with his flaming arrows display.

The boat gradually slowed down as it bumped gently against the sandbags hung around the wooden dock. They had arrived at Lotus Pier. The three Gusu Lan disciples hopped off the boat gracefully and stepped onto the pier. Lan Qinghui looked around in amazement, taking in all the sights of the pier, from the bustling stalls that lined the streets to the numerous people walking about minding their daily business. It was yishi** and Lotus Pier was at its peak of business as people hurried about to get more work done before breaking for lunch.

Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi walked ahead as Lan Qinghui trailed after them, her head turning this way and that as she tried to absorb as much as she could of this colourful, noisy place that was so different from Gusu. Even the Qinghe region couldn't compare to the Yunmeng's liveliness. The three soon reached the gates of the Yunmeng Jiang sect residence and Lan Sizhui pulled out a scroll prepared by Lan Qiren for the cultivators guarding the gate.

"All seems to be in order, welcome to Lotus Pier, Young Masters of the Gusu Lan sect!" The Yunmeng Jiang cultivator smiled widely as the gates opened.

The three had not made more than ten steps into the residence when suddenly, a flaming arrow came flying straight at them!

Lan Qinghui immediately pulled out her xiao, Yuhe, and brought it to her lips, halting the arrow as the fire around its tip sizzled out and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

"I see you've improved, Qinghui! Long time no see, Sizhui, Jingyi! How do you like my welcome gift?" Jin Ling emerged from atop a nearby tree, his handsome, boyish features glowing as he grinned at the three Gusu Lan disciples.

- End -

*Xiao: Chinese vertical flute, Lan Xichen & Lan Qinghui's spiritual weapon of choice. Lan Qinghui's xiao is called Yuhe, meaning Jade River. Lan Xichen named it for her, hoping that her melody would be clear as jade and powerful and smooth as the river current.

**Yishi: Ancient Chinese time for 9am-11am.