Yunmeng was abundant in lakes. The YunmengJiang Sect's "Lotus Pier", the residence of the greatest sect here, was built near a lake as well.
Starting from the end of Lotus Pier, after just a while of paddling, one would see a large lotus lake, more than a hundred miles in length. The wide, verdant leaves and the smooth, pink blossoms brushed shoulders against one another. As a breeze blew over, the petals and the leaves swayed as if they nodded their heads. Amid the purity and grace, one could also feel a naive sense of clumsiness.
Lotus Pier wasn't as other-worldly as the other sects' residences, shutting their doors and refusing to let commoners come within a boundary miles away. The docks right in front of Lotus Pier's entrance often bustled with vendors selling seed pods, water chestnuts and all kinds of pastries. Runny-nosed children from households nearby could also sneak into Lotus Pier's fields to watch the cultivators practice their swords. They wouldn't be scolded even if they got caught, either. They could sometimes even play around with the Jiang Sect's disciples.
When Wei WuXian was young, he often shot kites at the bank of Lotus Lake.
Jiang Cheng stared fixedly at his own kite, glancing at Wei WuXian's once in a while. Wei WuXian's kite had already flown high up in the sky, but he still had no intention of drawing his bow. With his right hand at his brows, he grinned as he looked up, as though he still felt that it wasn't far enough.
Seeing that the kite had almost drifted out of the area where he was certain he'd succeed in shooting it down, Jiang Cheng clenched his teeth. He positioned his arrow and drew the bow. The white-feathered arrow shot out. The kite painted like a one-eyed monster was pierced right through the eye and fell downward. Jiang Cheng's brows lifted, "It hit!"
Right after, he asked, "Yours has flown so far already. You sure you can hit it?"
Wei WuXian, "Wanna guess?"
He finally pulled out an arrow and aimed. As the bow was drawn to the utmost, he swiftly let go.
A hit!
Jiang Cheng's brows scrunched up again. A humph came through his nose. All of the boys put away their bows and went to pick up their kites so that they could rank the distances. The closest kite would receive the lowest ranking. Every time, the last one was the shidi who was the sixth eldest. As usual, they'd spend some time laughing at him. His face was quite thick, though, so he didn't care at all. Wei WuXian's was the farthest. The closest one to him, the one ranked second, was Jiang Cheng's kite. Both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng felt too lazy to go fetch the kites. The boys rushed into the winding hallway built over the water's surface. They were playing around, jumping up and down, as two young, slender women appeared before them.
Both of them were dressed as armed maids, carrying with them short swords. The taller maid, holding a kite and an arrow, blocked their path. She asked coldly, "Whose are these?"
All of the boys silently cursed their luck as they saw the two women. Wei WuXian touched his chin and stepped forward, "They're mine."
The other maid snorted, "You're an honest one, aren't you?"
They parted and revealed between them a purple-clothed woman, also carrying a sword.
The woman had creamy skin and was rather beautiful, though her delicate features displayed some fierceness. The corners of her lips lay between a frown and a smile-she was a natural at sneering, just like Jiang Cheng. Her flowing purple robes wrapped around her thin waist. Both her face and her right hand, which rested on the hilt of her sword, were as cold as jade stone. A ring embellished with amethyst was worn on the index finger of her right hand.
