What Kind of Special Unorthodox Flower is This?

Escorted by the woman in white, the group passed the iron chain bridge on the other side of the Tree Stump Platform and arrived at the main gate of the House of Jade’s isolated peak.

A man with a stern expression and dressed in black stood outside of the gate. When he saw the group approaching he stepped forward, nodded and addressed, “Di Ling.”

Cupping her fist in salutation, the woman returned, “Mo ShixiongElder Martial Brother.”

Scanning through the remaining candidates, the man praised, “Passing in such a brief time span, this group must be good seedlings.”

The woman explained, “I brought over these young talents first. Later, I will return to the array’s exit with Chi Tong to wait for the remaining candidates. I would have to trouble Mo Shixiong to take them to settle at the guest courtyard. I’m afraid the result of the stone forest will be known later.”

The man nodded. “Everyone, follow me.”

An extensive area of green bamboo forest nestled at the foot of the isolated peak. Several small courtyards with white walls and grey tiles scattered in this forest.

Dumping the group in a courtyard with three rooms, the man instructed them to hang tight as they waited for the result of the final assessment. Once the result was out, he would take them up the mountain to begin the apprentice and master ceremony. Then, the man left without a single thought, departing without providing them any refreshment. 

The group of five standing in the courtyards glanced at each other.

The unfamiliar environment combined with the people’s strange behaviour made the group originally at odds with one another suddenly feel a sense of closeness to each other. Even the rowdy Pu Lingyun was quiet.

“What are the rules of this…place?” Fan Xi asked hesitantly. 

“Very unclear.” Xu Yunzhan frowned slightly and continued, “But since he asked us to wait, then wait patiently we shall. This is the House of Jade, there should be no malice from them even if their way of acting is strange.”

Fan Xi turned to look at Su Yang and asked, “Young Master, what is your plan?”

Su Yang was still immersed in an internal tangle. The baffling experience of being dragged to the House of Jade made him miss Fan Xi’s question at first. He looked towards the west in a daze, focusing on an unknown origin. 

The others turned in that direction to see an open door. From this angle, a low daybed in the corner of the room could be seen.

“Young Hero Su had a hard and bitter night, he must be tired.” Gu Feidi said, “Why don’t we each turn in for a short rest, nourishing our energy and spirit.”

Su Yang suddenly regained his surroundings. Only replied with a low “Oh” when he heard Gu Feidi. With nothing else to add, he walked straight toward the western chamber and closed the door with a bang.

Pu Lingyun could no longer hold it in and murmured, “He acted so recalcitrant, how did he even pass through the stone forest array!”

Hearing this, Fan Xi laughed.

Pu Lingyun huffed in a rage, “What are you laughing about!”

Looking toward her, his eyes were shaped like a pair of crescent moons, “You have such a bad temper. I don’t know how you got through the stone forest array.”

Pu Lingyun rebuked, “You—!”

Xu Yunzhan reached out to stop Pu Lingyun and advised, “Alright, we will soon become disciples together in the House of Jade. Since they passed through the stone forest array, they must not be ill-willed. Any opinions from the Jianghu shouldn’t be mentioned within the walls of the House of Jade. In the future, we need to get along with each other.”

Pu Lingyun obediently shut up.

Fan Xi chuckled, turned to Gu Feidi. “I'm sure Young Hero Gu could see that the Young Master is not evil. You need to discipline your Xiao Shimei well.”

After that, he swung his sleeves without looking at Pu Lingyun’s reaction. Walked toward the east chamber and closed the room quietly. 

Xu Yunzhan shook his head helplessly. “Let’s go. The main chamber looked quite spacious. It should hold all three of us. We can rest there.” 

As each of them went into their own separate room, the little courtyard was quiet again, except for the sound of rustling bamboo leaves in the breeze.

Su Yang took a very comfortable afternoon nap. When he woke up, it was already sunset.

Dressed only in his middle robe, he sat up from his thin blanket cocoon, raised his hand to open the window, and gazed out toward the courtyard, which appeared layered in gold by the setting sun.

The unpolluted air was very refreshing. Having excellent eyesight because of his martial arts, he could see the flying leaves at the tip of the bamboo forest in detail. Leaves tossed about by the wind, sparkling under the afterglow. They looked like wandering gold blades, gleaming like crystal, and glittering like a clear water’s reflection under the sunlight.

Fan Xi passed by the window with a tray in his hands. Seeing Su Yang sitting by the window in a daze, he said smiling, “Is the Young Master awake? I found a small kitchen in the corner earlier. There were fresh ingredients, firewood, and some readily available cold food and pastries. So I boiled some water to make tea and was just about to call you. How about enjoying a cup of tea with me?”

Blinking slowly, Su Yang lifted the thin blanket, and left the bed to open the door.

Fan Xi came into the room with a teapot and cakes and chirped, “Young Master really has excellent taste. Just a moment ago…”

Turning toward Su Yang who was walking back to the bed to get his clothes. His words were suddenly stuck in his throat. 

He quickly placed the tray on the old-fashioned square table by the door, strode toward the bed, picked up the thin blanket, and covered Su Yang’s back. 

Looking anxious, he wasn’t aware how much strength he was using as he lowered Su Yang down on the edge of the bed.

Holding on to the blanket, Su Yang asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Fan Xi locked eyes with him.

Su Yang had just woken up. His gaze was still somewhat drowsy-eyed, his cheeks had several red marks from the pillow and his hair was slightly disordered. When he raised his face, his neck drew tight and made the lines on it visible. The jumbled white-gauze middle layer was half transparent, with the neckline slightly open, it half-exposed the fine, collarbones…In the red light of dusk, his ambiguous beauty could steal anyone’s breath and hook their souls.

Fan Xi loosened his hold on the edge of the thin blanket. He bit down before saying, “Young Master should not act carelessly in the future. This silk middle layer is light and thin. It does not cover well. I assumed that you are not willing to show the…flower on your back.”

“Flower?” Su Yang repeated with a frown.

It stunned Fan Xi. “...You don’t know about the tattoo on your back?”

Su Yang subconsciously placed his hand into his collar, reached over his shoulder, and toward his back as if trying to touch the tattoo.

There was a tattoo on the back of the Evil Sect’s Young Master?

This is great. Another unmentioned setting in the script.

From Fan Xi’s expression, the tattoo seems to be a very important plot device, and should not be seen by just anyone.

Displaying no expression, Su Yang thought that he really should have read the original work to question what strange things were in the author’s skull.

Fan Xi studied Su Yang’s astonished face, which gradually became calmer. He bit down again and said, “Young Master, my apologies. I didn’t know you were in the dark. The Leader of the Evil Sect is actually…conducting himself in this manner. You shouldn’t always have to endure this—you should resist.”

After that, he paused and added, “Since you were successfully selected by the House of Jade today, you…you should not return to the Evil Sect after you finish your apprenticeship.”

Su Yang stopped his thoughts, raised his head to look at Fan Xi, and complained internally, ‘Why does this guy reveal half and hide half, just listening to him makes it super unbearable.’

But he couldn’t just ask directly—it was enough for his petal retainer to learn of his disordered memory. He should be more vigilant around outsiders.

And he had to carry the plot as he ran too! Don’t return to the Evil Sect? That was absolutely impossible!

So he chuckled and rebuked, “How can I do that? The Evil…Yantan Divine Sect is my home. No matter what happens, I will always go back.”

Pursing his lips, Fan Xi pleaded, “Then...the Young Master should at least be more careful in the future, and don’t let others see the tattoo on your back.”

Su Yang nodded and smiled. “Alright.”

Just as he put on his clothes properly, and before he could have a sip of the tea, the man who brought everyone to the courtyard prior, appeared once more and asked them to gather at the House of Jade’s main gate and prepare to go up the mountain for the apprentice and master ceremony.

The group dared not to delay, and they immediately packed up their things and followed the man out toward the gate.

The woman in white and a person in red led three teenagers behind them, waiting at the foot of the mountain on the green path stairway. 

Seeing that all the selected young contenders had arrived, the man only muttered “Follow me”, then entered the gate and walked along the mountain road untainted by even a speck of dust, to the top of the high isolated peak.

It was not hard to climb the mountain for someone practicing martial arts. In less than the time to burn one incense stick—half an hour of modern time—they arrived at the House of Jade’s main hall, halfway up the mountain.

At this time, the setting sun has gradually begun to dim, but thousands of candles were lit up in the main hall, making the whole hall as bright as day.

Strangely, the three seats located side by side at the top of the main hall were empty, contradicting to the script’s where sat three of the highest virtue and prestige masters that Su Yang had in mind based on the script.

There was only one enchanting woman in her thirties who was sitting on a chair drinking tea. When she saw the crowd’s arrival, she immediately got up to greet them. 

“Di Ling, Chi Tong, Mo Yun.”

The woman greeted these three first, then glanced at the candidates behind them, and explained, “Ah, there is a female among the group! This Xiao-MeimeiLittle sister, would you like to train under me?”

Saying that, she went over to study Pu Lingyun carefully and added, “Oh! A disciple of Tengyun Pavilion, you practice the Layers of Feathers I assume?”

Pu Lingyun nodded in salutation, and answered generously, “You assumed correctly.”

The enchanting woman smiled brighter. “Presumably, your posture and walking manner are nimble and graceful, which is perfectly suitable for me to guide you.”

As soon as they finished their conversation, the man asked, “Why are only you here? Is the ShizunMaster/Teacher not showing up again this time?”

The enchanting woman replied, “Just now, Shizun sent a message on going into seclusion. Let us select the most suitable candidate to train. Zhu Shixiong, Wen Shixiong, and Yang ShijieElder Marital Sister are close to breakthroughs. They will not be out of the mountain for a while. We are the only ones left. Fortunately, you and I have guided new people before. This time, we will assist Di Ling and Chi Tong.”

The man nodded. “This way is fine.”

The several candidates waiting on the side listened to the conversation between them. They exchanged looks secretly without saying a word.

They watched as the enchanting woman turned around and took out a green scroll from the side hall and hung it behind the central seat.

The painting was a portrait of a beautiful woman who was holding a book in one hand and pen in the other. She stood on the limestone beside a crystal-clear river, with both eyes looking into the distance.

The man introduced with a straight face, “For those entering the House of Jade, everyone will be the disciples of the ‘Immortal Qing Bo’. From here on in, please address us seniors by our title or any similar courtesy name. Since Shizun is busy and often enters into seclusion, you will conduct the ceremony with this portrait of her.”

All the selected young contenders: “...”

What kind of special-unorthodox flowerIt used to be a positive term meaning peculiar and beautiful flowers. Now on the internet, it’s a derogatory term and means behaviour that defies understanding, or behaviour and ways of thinking beyond that of normal humans. is the legendary House of Jade?!