Even though I could never win against Master's relentless coaxing, I still obediently took my medicine for six years. But he kept those words of mine close to his heart.
After I recovered, nothing sour or bitter ever appeared on my dinner table again.
I took the pot from Matron Thornwell's hands and, as if I couldn't feel the scalding heat, drank half the soup in one long gulp.
The remaining half I poured out beside Master's body.
I wiped my mouth. "Not bad, old man. But the blood mixed in makes it a little fishy."
"Have a taste yourself. Pay attention next time you make it."
That was what finally shattered Matron Thornwell's composure.
The tears she had held back for so long broke free all at once.
"Lynara, there won't be a next time. Your master is dead!"
Oh, right. There wouldn't be a next time.
Fine. Since Master couldn't look after me anymore, it was my turn to protect him for once.
I unfastened the cloak Master had sewn for me with his own hands and draped it over his body. My voice was calm. "Matron, watch over Master. Don't bury him."
"He'd be too lonely by himself. I'll find him some company for the grave."
Matron Thornwell couldn't stop me. All she could do was weep and beg me to come back alive.
I carried my short sword and walked to the Nine Heavens.
The Jade Stairway crumbled to dust behind me, and the whole celestial realm shook to its foundations.
Celestial soldiers rushed forward, blocking me outside the Celestial Gate.
The one leading them was none other than my senior brother from the Dawnveil Sect, Master's proudest disciple: Edwin Ellison.
He stared at me in surprise, brow furrowed. "Lynara, if you've come to seek the Sovereign's favor, you should keep your head down and your voice low."
"What's the point of making such a scene?"
I didn't bother looking at him. My eyes stayed fixed on the Celestial Gate. "Tell Aldric Voss to come out."
"Tell him an old friend has come to visit."
Edwin let out a weary sigh.
"Lynara, have you lost your mind?"
"We're mere mortals. If not for this stroke of fortune, how could we ever have ascended to immortality and stood before the Sovereign?"
"'An old friend.' You're not embarrassed to say that out loud?"
Only then did I turn to look at Edwin, each word falling like a stone. "You call Master's death a stroke of fortune?"
Edwin faltered. A flicker of guilt surfaced in his eyes.
Rosalind Adams, the second disciple, had just arrived. She rushed to Edwin's defense the moment she saw his expression.
"Lynara, how dare you speak to Edwin that way?"
"Master's death wasn't our doing."
"If you want to blame someone, blame Master for being born with celestial bones. We simply seized the opportunity that presented itself."
Looking at Rosalind's face, utterly devoid of remorse, all I felt was that Master had never been worth the love he gave them.
Edwin and Rosalind were the first disciples Master ever took in.
He treated them no differently than he treated me.
He poured every ounce of his heart into raising them, even putting off having children of his own.
That was why, after all those years, Master and Matron Thornwell never had a child by blood.
Matron Thornwell would grumble about it from time to time, but that foolish old man would just laugh and wave it off. "It's fine. I trust my disciples. When the day comes, they'll see us properly buried."
He was wrong, in the end.
But I knew that foolish old man.
He believed, to his last breath, that people were born good. Whenever his disciples made mistakes, he always gave them a chance to make things right.
I never agreed with that. But I didn't want him to die with his eyes open, restless and unsettled.
So I did what Master would have done. I gave Edwin and Rosalind one chance.
"I'll handle avenging Master myself. I don't need your help."
"Go back to the Dawnveil Sect now. Stay with Master and Matron Thornwell."
"Carry on Master's legacy. Make the sect flourish."
Rosalind had been spoiled rotten by Master since she was a child, and her temper was as foul as they came.
The second she caught the commanding tone in my voice, her face soured.
