A thousand years ago, Lin Chu, the leader of the Xuanqing Sect, was on the verge of ascending. But just as she faced the final lightning tribulation, a disciple's grand-disciple ambushed her, draining all her cultivation.
A thousand years later, at the once-every-ten-years disciple recruitment ceremony, a young girl named Lin Chu left all the other cultivation prodigies behind and became the first to reach the gates of the Xuanqing Sect.
By tradition, the first person to reach the summit was entitled to become the sect leader's direct disciple. But the sect leader simply waved a hand and sent her to Jiang Jibai, the sect's most aloof elder, who lived far away on Yuqing Peak and held a sinecure.
On her first day at Yuqing Peak, the little girl knocked on the courtyard gate with no regard for etiquette.
"Are you the Elder of Yuqing?"
Jiang Jibai sat beneath a peach tree. A breeze happened to blow, scattering the petals and making her look like an immortal from the heavens.
"I permit you to call me Master."
Lin Chu deliberately provoked her. "Elder of Yuqing, do you know that I was supposed to become the sect leader's disciple? Why was I sent to this remote Yuqing Peak instead?"
Jiang Jibai's breathing remained perfectly steady as she meditated. She didn't even open her eyes to look at Lin Chu.
"Go to the main hall and copy the Heart Sutra a thousand times. Respecting your teacher is the first lesson I will teach you."
Lin Chu swallowed her anger. Even when her hand trembled so badly she could barely hold the brush, she refused to admit she was wrong. In the end, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep with her head on the desk.
When she woke, she was no longer in the oppressive main hall, but in a tidy bedroom.
The bed beneath her was Jiang Jibai's.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
In the dim, flickering candlelight, Jiang Jibai's cool expression softened a little.
The woman in white leaned down gently. Her voice carried a hint of authority, yet her fingers naturally tucked the blanket around Lin Chu.
Her black hair brushed past, and the faint scent of peach blossoms from the day before filled Lin Chu's nostrils. Bewitched, she lowered her head. "This disciple knows she was wrong."
Later, Lin Chu and Jiang Jibai became entangled for decades. Certain forbidden feelings twisted and grew until at last they broke through the soil.
"You knew who I was all along, and you wanted to kill me from the start?" Lin Chu's eyes reddened with hatred. But when the dagger in her hand pressed against Jiang Jibai's throat and drew a thin line of blood, she instinctively eased her grip.
Jiang Jibai remained expressionless, so calm that she didn't even furrow her brow. "I wronged you. Take my life. I have no complaints."
"Your life?" Lin Chu's gaze grew colder, and a cruel smile tugged at her lips. "I don't want your life. I want your heart."
The elegant and noble Elder of Yuqing was pressed down on the bed, her clothes scattered across the floor. Her face flushed crimson as she involuntarily trembled with pleasure and let out soft, breathless cries amid the endless waves.
"You dare... Do you still remember, mm... that I am your Master?"
Lin Chu smiled, her gaze tender and wild. "This disciple knows she was wrong, but has no regrets."
P.S. This story is also titled "This Disciple Knows She Was Wrong."
Message: Let go of hatred and cherish what you have
