Xue was the pride and joy of the schoolmaster. In every lesson, she sat in the very front row, her back straight as an a…
Xue was the pride and joy of the schoolmaster. In every lesson, she sat in the very front row, her back straight as an arrow. She always took her coursework seriously, keeping her handwriting perfectly neat and orderly.
But Xue had no friends. The other children didn't like playing with her, calling her a stickler and a bore. She didn't care. She just needed to read more books, solve more equations, and memorize more blueprints. Only then could she pass into the Inner Sect and become a Grand Artisan.
Yet... whenever she stole a quiet moment away from her books, she couldn't help but wonder what the outside of Mohist City looked like.
"The world outside is dangerous," her mother always warned.
The farthest Xue had ever traveled was to the Old City, where they went to pay respects to her father. The stone tablets were weathered and mottled. When the wind blew, they sounded like someone whispering. Her mother would point to the row of small boxes, reciting the names one by one.
"This is your grandfather, this is your uncle, this is your father... He passed away when he left the mountains to build a bridge for people."
Xue only felt a heavy weight on her young shoulders.
So when the schoolmaster asked her to look after two kids from Jadestream Valley, Xue was thrilled. She had it all planned out. If they were girls, they would build wooden kites together. If they were boys, she would give them the latest editions from the Shangxian Bookstore.
But Su and Mi from Jadestream Valley were completely different. One took three whole days just to assemble a single wooden eagle. The other folded his textbook into a paper crane, sending it soaring out the window with a whoosh while laughing out loud.
Xue grew anxious, her words tumbling out. "If you keep this up, you'll never get into the Inner Sect! What will you do if you can't become Grand Artisans?"
Mi didn't even look up from folding his paper bird. "Then we just won't be Grand Artisans. We'll be the Three Junior Paragons!"
"The Three Junior Paragons?" Xue froze. "What's that?"
"That's the three of us!" Mi tossed his hand up, letting the paper crane catch the breeze and fly out the window. "A title we'll make for ourselves without relying on anyone else!"
"So... what does it take to be these Three Paragons?" Xue asked hesitantly.
Mi was stumped. He scratched his head. "Hey Su, what does it take to be the Three Junior Paragons?"
Su slowly looked up at the question. "Probably... being as amazing as Master Raven."
Xue smiled. "Who is Master Raven? How amazing is he? Is he even greater than the Grandmaster?"
"The Grandmasters of today are all Master Raven's disciples. Of course he's the greatest." Mi blinked at her.
"You're just bragging again. I don't believe a word of it... If you're really his disciples, why are your quiz scores worse than mine?" Xue shook her head.
"It's just a silly little quiz. We don't bother studying that stuff!" Mi stood up proudly. "Dare to challenge me in mechanics?"
"You're on!" she blurted out, only to lose spectacularly.
"Master Raven always said reading alone makes you rigid. Tell you what, I'll teach you mechanics, and you teach me how to read," Mi said, rubbing his nose.
...
Sitting atop the mechanical ox, Xue watched the silhouette of Mohist City fade into the distance. From afar, it looked like a wooden kite waiting to take flight.
She thought it wouldn't be too late to decide her path after visiting Jadestream Valley. Whether she became one of the Three Junior Paragons or a great Mohist artisan, there was still plenty of time.