Chapter 196: Bell Machine
Yan Ping felt guilty for not being able to monitor Anji’s progress as she had promised herself to. However, with several guests leaving the Mystical Qilin Sect, she had to step in as a representative when her successor could not. By the time everyone had left, the sect master was socially exhausted. If it were up to her, she would take some time to recharge her social battery. However, Anji had been left to her own devices for too long. The blind prophet felt guilty for the neglect. Raising children has never been an easy task. No matter how independent the child is, they still need plenty of attention.
It was already late. Anji should have returned for the day. However, Yan Ping wanted to subtly check her student’s progress in the restricted library.
"Ommm..." someone hummed in the restricted library. There was only one person in the Mystical Qilin Sect with such a youthful voice.
Even from where she was, Yan Ping could hear the sound of bells and Anji’s vexation.
"No! Not again! Omm...?" she raised her humming pitch, and this time, at least three bells activated, much to Anji’s chagrin.
"No?" Anji cringed. "But you worked perfectly when I played the Xun! Where did I go wrong?"
Staying silently at the side to observe more, Yan Ping realised that her brilliant successor had created a new type of device using bells that would respond to different vibrations caused by energy fluctuation. It was not a terrible idea. However, this calibration was too sensitive, causing the energy meter device to give mixed results.
Making subtle noises deliberately, Yan Ping approached slowly so as not to startle the deeply focused girl. The heavy thud of her walking stick caught Anji’s attention after a while.
"Shifu!" she quickly greeted, only to realise the sky had turned dark. The restricted library had light talismans that lit up automatically when it was dim, so Anji failed to realise the passing of time. Cringing internally, the hard worker braced herself to be scolded for not managing her time better.
Instead of commenting about the late hour and skipping meals, Yan Ping walked up to the bell machine.
"The calibration is too sensitive. The bells are too heavy. Your conducting material requires too much energy for activation, and your control is too weak to precisely use it."
Cringing at the brutally honest feedback, Anji looked at the ground. However, the hand that gently patted her head told her Yan Ping did not think it was entirely useless.
"I was busy today seeing off important guests. We’ll have dinner and rest first. You can explain to me what you did in my absence over a meal. Aunt Wine must be worried because you missed dinner."
Worrying a little at the mention of the motherly cook, Anji tidied up swiftly. Yan Ping could not help but notice how many reference books were piled up. Did Anji go through these many in her absence? She always wondered how a child could self-study spells when she could barely read and write. The blind prophet thought the scholarly second young master of the Celestial Dragon Sect tutored Anji. However, Anji must have done it all by herself. Her speed of progression proved it.
"Let’s go," Yan Ping offered a hand to Anji when her student put away everything safely. Truthfully, there was no need to do that when the entire restricted library was booked out for Anji. However, she appreciated the tidy habits.
Looking at Yan Ping’s one outstretched hand, Anji hesitated. When she was younger, she would usually run over and hold her mother’s hand whenever she saw the sign. However, it felt unfamiliar when that person was her shifu. Yan Ping wasn’t one who normally showed physical affection like that. Besides, Anji felt that a seven-year-old girl should no longer act like a child.
After waiting for too long without feeling the warmth of a child’s hand in hers, Yan Ping raised a brow.
"Are you not going to guide me?"
Within an instant, Anji bounded over and apologised as she grabbed the outstretched hand. Although she was embarrassed to misunderstand her shifu’s gesture, the girl was secretly happy to hold someone’s hand like a child again, even if it was guiding a blind person.
Together, they made their way to the Western District’s cafeteria, with Anji pacing her steps and informing Yan Ping where stones and stairs were in their path. Along the way, Anji greeted many seniors they passed by who bowed and gave them weird stares. At first, she thought nothing of it. It was not the first time people stared at the successor of the sect. Not everyone had met her yet. However, when the stares of seniors she personally knew lingered, Anji began to wonder what was happening.
"We’re here," Anji announced and guided her teacher to a chair at the mess hall. "I’ll let Aunt Wine know. Is there anything you’d like to eat, shifu?"
Yan Ping was about to decline when Aunt Wine’s voice cut through the large space.
"Little Cutie! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you all day. Do you know how worr— Oh, greetings, Sect Master."
Staring directly at their conjoined hands, Aunt Wine’s eyebrows quickly folded into a frown, and a weird look crossed her face. This time, Anji picked it up and traced the line of sight back to the hand she was holding.
"I was guiding shifu," she explained. "Sorry, I missed dinner! I lost track of the time! Is there anything left on the menu for us?"
From behind, Yan Ping made a gesture sneakily to inform Aunt Wine that if she spills the beans, she will face sagely retribution. Living here for several centuries meant Yan Ping knew it better than anyone else. There was no real need for a guide. It was merely an excuse to trick cute children like Anji.
"Oh, oh! Yes, of course. We, uh... I think there’s still fish left. I’ll bring the soup first, please make yourselves comfortable!"
Hastily making an escape and still reeling from disbelief, Aunt Wine hyperventilated silently. Their Sect Leader was unmovable like a lofty mountain. She was the most upright person anyone knew. However, today she was caught taking advantage of Anji’s naivety and exploiting her blindness just because she wanted to hold the girl’s hand. How sly! Nobody else in the sect had been able to spoil the girl like this. Today, everyone will know how snake-like their sect leader truly was. Unforgivable!