Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"What do you mean?" Ming Yue asked. 

"Well, the one who organized this is Elder Jia, the one who ordered the guards to keep strangers out. He had only just recently returned from his personal experiential training and spoke of a place he had come across of. But he had not told anyone except for the other elders of this location. Since Rou'er had been called to join, I decided to come along in case something happens."

Ming Yue found it strange, why was it that this Elder was so intent on taking disciples to this mysterious place? Even going so far as to recruit those that were talented.

"If the other elders allowed this to happen, then it must be quite a place..."

"I do not know much but he intends to gather up everyone tomorrow night to speak about this endeavor, perhaps it will be revealed then. In any case, I should show you around the sect, Uncle Fei would've done the same."

Gesturing Ming Yue, the pair left Fei Xian's house and he lead her all around sect. From the many practice fields, to the halls as well, however when standing in front of one specific building, he warned her not to enter. 

"This place contains the record of the Eonic Stance, a compiled collection of several hudnred years worth of knowledge pushed into it. It is heavily guarded and personally watched by the Sect Leader as well."

He pointed at a tower that was at the center of the sect. It was a nine story pagoda with six sides, shaped into a hexagon. It gave off an ancient and solemn aura, a feeling of threat emerged as she looked at it. 

She lingered for a bit before following him deeper into the sect as the sweet scent of medicine wafted into air. 

"This is the Medicinal Hall of the Eternal Blade Sect in which I am a core disciple of."

Fei Xian spoke proudly as he led her into the building. It was a three story building surrounded by multiple gardens, where disciples maintained the herbs they grew. It was built to be sturdier than the other buildings with thick beams of a reddish mahogany wood acting as supports. 

Entering the hall, Ming Yue was met with the familiar sight of medicinal pots filled with bubbling liquids. However, they were much smaller compared to the massive bubbling cauldrons that Elder Hua had. They were much smaller, easily carried with two hands and large enough to hold several liters of water. Each one had a person handling it, looking into the mixture as they continued to tend ot the fire and feed it their energy. 

No one looked up to see their entrance, all of them were focused on their own mixtures. 

"These pots are property of the sect and can only be reserved a week in advance. However, only the first floor is only like this. The second floor is for inner disciples and the third floor is for the elder as well as the core disciples. It is only on the third floor that there is a Grandmaster's Cauldron. Here, let me take you to the gardens."

Through the first floor, they passed through the many disciples, all of whom had sweat running down their faces as they fully concentrated. Leaving the hall, Fei Xian opened a set of doors that led to the outside, revealing massive gardens nearly twenty times the size of his personal one. 

"We have four gardens. Three of them are for the disciples to maintain and contain herbs ranging from rank 1 to rank 4. The fourth garden is for inner and core disciples to use."

Ming Yue looked at them, each one had a variety of different herbs that made for a very colorful view. It was very beautiful and gave off a simple yet calming sensation. 

"Hm, Fei Xian, is that you? So you've returned from teaching the new disciples I see. How was it?"

A female disciple stood up, carrying a small sapling in her hand. She wore a white and green uniform with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Slightly muscular and a bit tan, this perosn had spent time in the gardens and was certainly experienced. Her face was balanced, neither her eyes, nose or mouth was disproportionate, making for a charmful appearance. She spoke with a friendly tone and her expression showed that she was happy to see Fei Xian return. 

"It was fine, Qi Yao. There wasn't any sort of danger so the class went smoothly. Oh, this is an aquaintance of mine, Ming Yue. Ming Yue, this is my junior sister, Qi Yao."

Quickly he introduced the two together before speaking again. 

"Ming Yue came to visit and I decided to show her around."

Qi Yao smiled, her expression did not change as she looked at Ming Yue. 

"Oh, so you are Ming Yue. I've heard quite a bit about you from Fei Xian and Elder Fei. I've always wondered about meeting you in person and it would've been better at a different time. As you can see, I'm not quite empty handed."

She looked towards her hands, covered in dirt from working in the garden. 

"Hm, let me help you. Though my expertise might be lacking, it's better than working on your own. Fei Xian, is there perhaps a set of tools for me to use?", said Ming Yue. 

"Oh-oh, here...you don't have to force yourself. Besides, you are my guest, I cannot allow you to dirty your hands and do our work for us."

Fei Xian tried to persuade her otherwise but he handed her the tools. 

"No, no, what else could I be doing? I have the rest of the day anyways."

She rolled up her sleeves and looked at both of the disciples, who looked at each other before taking up their own tools. 

"If that's the case, we might be able to finish early today."

The trio then moved, examining the garden, watering and cutting away any dead parts. From her childhood, Ming Yue was no stranger to gardening. Coupled with what she learned from Elder Hua, her skill was quite good. It was somewhat nostalgic for her and became a bit therapeutic, calming her heart and mind. 

At some point, Fei Xian left to complete some minor errands, leaving Ming Yue with Qi Yao to finish. The task was done by the time the sun shined directly above them. Both worked up a sweat and entered the Medicinal Hall, to rest for a bit. 

"You know, you are the reason Fei Xian entered the Medicinal Hall."

Qi Yao abruptly spoke, revealing a secret about him. 

"Is that so?" Ming Yue replied, not knowing how else she could respond. 

"From what I hear, you saved him with several years ago from a Jade Snake. You gave him a small slip of medicinal powder for his wounds. From there, he took on an interest of medicine before fully joining the Medicinal Hall. Though he does still practice his sword skills as much as possible."

"Really now? I didn't expect that to have happened."

"Hah, To you that might not have been worth noting but it changed his life and mine..."

Qi Yao's voice turned a bit quiet, her face was not as bright and cheerful compared to earlier. 

"In truth, we were going to be Dao Companions but ever since Elder Fei disappeared, he has been different. Suddenly, he's been working even harder, taking on numerous tasks and responsibilities and I fear for him."

Then she looked at Ming Yue, revealing her worried expression. 

"I know that you are not here to visit. Even though Fei Xian said so, I know that you came to investigate Elder Fei's capture.. Perhaps, he doesn't know anything but there is something I should tell you."