Chapter 5: A Disciple of Her Own

Luo arrived at Low Step with a walking stick and an answer Ji had not requested.

She wanted to join the school herself.

Ji almost reached for Luo's bag before she heard the last word.

The smaller woman kept hold of its strap and waited.

Her ankle was healing, and she could walk without help on flat ground.

The academy had offered to let her remain if she praised its bridge arrangements.

Ji had expected that offer and feared Luo might accept it.

She had not imagined how much she would dislike another choice made freely.

Joining Low Step meant sharing the ridicule Ji had already brought through its gate.

Shen sat beside the broken bench with a bowl of beans in her lap.

She moved the bowl aside and asked Luo to sit.

"Luo needs the stool," Ji explained immediately.

Luo put her bag down on the table instead.

"I need to know where I would sleep," she said.

Shen pointed toward the narrow room behind the practice hall.

It had a sound roof and room for two low beds.

Ji had chosen the one nearest the window the night before.

She could move her things without anybody knowing she minded.

"She should take mine," Ji told her master.

"It is easier to reach."

Luo looked through the doorway before looking back at her.

"I would like the one beside the wall," she said.

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