Three weeks after the Mirror Academy's delegation departed, Li Yuan was helping Madam Wang sort dried herbs in her backyard when Merchant Liu arrived with a more serious expression than usual. In his hands, a scroll sealed with an elegant wax seal—far more formal than the usual correspondence he carried.
"Master Qingshan," Merchant Liu said, handing over the scroll with careful movements, "this came directly from the capital province. A special courier specifically asked to deliver it to 'Li Qingshan of Harmony Gang, Hexin.' They said it was urgent and important."
Li Yuan felt something cold touch his spine as he looked at the seal on the scroll. The Mirror Academy. He could feel a faint spiritual energy emanating from the wax seal—a subtle protection charm to ensure that the message reached its intended recipient without being tampered with.
"Thank you, Merchant Liu," Li Yuan said, accepting the scroll with hands that, he hoped, didn't appear to be trembling. "Did the courier say anything else?"
"Only that they expected a response within two weeks, and that transportation would be provided if you decided to accept... whatever was offered in the message."
Accept whatever was offered. Li Yuan felt a mixture of anticipation and dread. This isn't just a courtesy thank-you note for a pleasant conversation. This is something significant.
After Merchant Liu left, Li Yuan sat on a wooden bench in the yard, staring at the unopened scroll. Madam Wang, with her characteristic sensitivity, continued sorting herbs with quiet movements, giving him space to process whatever was in the message.
What if they suspect something about my true identity? the paranoid part of Li Yuan whispered. What if their questions during the visit raised red flags, and now they want to investigate further?
Or, another part of him countered, maybe this is a genuine offer for a meaningful contribution to a tradition founded by the little boy I taught centuries ago.
With a deep breath to steady his nerves, Li Yuan carefully broke the wax seal and unrolled the heavy and expensive parchment.
To the Honorable Master Li Qingshan,
In the name of the Mirror Academy and all the scholars who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of authentic wisdom and meaningful service, I extend a heartfelt invitation for you to join us as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer for the upcoming academic term.
During our visit to Hexin and the profound conversation we shared, it became clear that you possess an understanding of community leadership, spiritual service, and the principles of compassionate wisdom that perfectly align with the teachings that have guided our Academy since its founding three centuries ago.
More specifically, we would be honored to have you lead a series of lectures and workshops on:
- The practical application of wisdom in community crisis management
- The philosophy of leadership that serves rather than dominates
- Techniques for maintaining compassion and clarity in challenging circumstances
- Methods for helping others discover their own strength and wisdom
The term appointment will last for four months, with full accommodation, a generous stipend, and access to all the resources of the Academy's library and research facilities. You would have complete freedom to design the curriculum according to your expertise and passion.
Most importantly, we believe that your wisdom represents a living embodiment of the principles that Master Shui, our founder, learned from a mysterious teacher in his youth. You offer a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and practical application that could benefit hundreds of our current students and future community leaders.
We understand that this represents a significant commitment and a separation from the community that clearly means so much to you. However, we also believe that wisdom such as yours is meant to be shared with the wider world, particularly in times when so many communities struggle with division, fear, and a loss of shared values.
Should you accept this invitation, transportation will be arranged for three weeks from the date of this letter, with a return journey provided whenever you are ready to resume life in Hexin.
With our deepest respect and anticipation,
Master Wei Ling
Senior Instructor, Mirror Academy
On behalf of the Board of Distinguished Faculty
Li Yuan read the letter twice, then a third time, feeling complex emotions wave through him with each reading.
Pride that the wisdom he had shared—both centuries ago with little Shui and more recently with the community in Hexin—had been recognized as valuable and worth sharing more widely.
Longing to see what had grown from the seeds he planted so long ago, to contribute directly to the tradition founded by one of his most beloved students.
Fear that extended exposure to a scholarly community trained to observe and analyze could lead to questions he wasn't ready to answer, or a recognition he wasn't prepared to handle.
And underneath it all, a deep conflict between his desire to serve the broader good versus his commitment to the community that had already become his home.
"Qingshan," Madam Wang's voice, gentle but curious, interrupted his contemplation. "Good news or concerning news?"
Li Yuan looked up to find her watching him with the expression of someone who had learned to read the subtle signs of distress or excitement in people she cared about.
"Both," Li Yuan answered with complete honesty. "An invitation for... for an opportunity that could help many people, but which would require me to leave Hexin for several months."
Madam Wang set down the handful of herbs she was sorting and walked over to sit on the bench beside him. "May I ask what the opportunity is?"
Li Yuan handed her the letter, watching with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity as she read with careful attention.
"Oh my," she murmured when she finished reading. "A Distinguished Guest Lecturer at the Mirror Academy. Qingshan, this is... this is an extraordinary honor."
"An honor that is also a significant complication," Li Yuan replied with a voice that reflected the internal struggle he was experiencing.
"Because of what? Because of leaving the community for a few months?"
"Partly that," Li Yuan admitted. "But also because... because extended exposure to an academic community trained to ask probing questions could lead to... complications."
Madam Wang studied his face with eyes that had learned to see deeper than surface appearances. "Qingshan, in all the years I've known you, I've never asked about your past or where your knowledge and wisdom came from. Not because I wasn't curious, but because I trusted that whatever history you had, your intentions in the present were genuine and beneficial."
Li Yuan felt the warmth of unconditional acceptance, mixed with guilt about the level of deception necessary to maintain his current identity.
"But now," Madam Wang continued, "I am going to ask one question, and I trust you to answer with as much honesty as is safely possible."
Li Yuan nodded, feeling tension tighten in his shoulders.
"Would accepting this invitation put you in danger—either from a past that might catch up with you, or from exposure that might compromise your safety or wellbeing?"
Li Yuan considered the question with serious care. Physical danger? Probably not. Social or identity danger? Possibly. Spiritual or emotional danger? Unknown.
"No physical danger," Li Yuan answered after a moment of consideration. "But... potential complications that might make life more difficult."
"Complications for you, or complications for the community here?"
An insightful question. "Primarily for me. The community here is already... already strong enough to handle my temporary absence without significant problems."
Madam Wang nodded with understanding. "Then, a follow-up question: do you believe that accepting this invitation would allow you to help more people, to contribute something valuable that cannot be contributed in other ways?"
Ah. Li Yuan felt that she was arriving at the core of his dilemma. "Yes. I believe that."
"And do you believe that you have wisdom or insights that are worth sharing with a wider audience of future community leaders?"
"Yes," Li Yuan admitted with a reluctance born from humility rather than false modesty.
"In that case," Madam Wang said with a gentle but firm smile, "I think your answer is already clear, even if you're not ready to admit it yet."
That evening, Li Yuan found himself in an impromptu gathering in the yard of Sister Lin's house, surrounded by the core group of Harmony Gang residents who had become the closest thing to a family he had experienced in his current incarnation.
Sister Lin, Chen Wei, Granny Zhou, and several others listened with focused attention as Li Yuan shared the contents of the invitation and the internal conflict he was experiencing about whether to accept or decline.
"Qingshan," Sister Lin said after he had finished explaining the situation, "may I ask why you are so hesitant to accept an opportunity that clearly represents an extraordinary recognition for your wisdom and service?"
Li Yuan took a deep breath, knowing that the answer he gave would need to be a careful balance of truth and necessary concealment.
"A few reasons," he began. "The first is my commitment to the community here. You have all become family to me, and leaving for an extended period feels like... like abandoning my responsibilities."
"Nonsense," Granny Zhou interrupted with a voice that was firm but affectionate. "A healthy community doesn't hold back its members from opportunities to grow or contribute to the greater good. We support each other, we don't cage each other."
"The second," Li Yuan continued, "is a concern about... about whether I am truly qualified for a role like this. An academic institution with centuries of tradition and sophisticated scholars... I'm just a simple man who has tried to help his neighbors with practical wisdom."
Chen Wei laughed—a sound that was warm and skeptical at the same time. "Qingshan, in the past year alone, you helped this community survive a pandemic with a casualty rate that was a fraction of what happened elsewhere. You organized systems of mutual support that have become a model for other cities. And from what the Academy delegation said, your approach perfectly matches the principles they try to teach."
"I think," Sister Lin added with a voice that carried the weight of deep consideration, "that the real question is not whether you are qualified to accept this invitation, but whether you are prepared to accept the level of recognition and visibility that might come with it."
Exactly. Li Yuan felt that he had been recognized with uncomfortable accuracy. It's not a question of capability or qualification, but of comfort with prominence and potential scrutiny.
"And if that is the concern," Sister Lin continued with understanding gentleness, "then I think the answer is to accept the invitation with the same humility and focus on service that has guided all your actions here."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean go with the intention to serve, to contribute what you can to the development of wisdom and compassion in future community leaders, without seeking recognition or trying to impress anyone with your knowledge or abilities."
"The same way you've approached everything here," Chen Wei added. "Focus on being helpful, being genuine, being present for the needs of others. Let your wisdom speak for itself through your actions and your presence, not through attempts to appear wise or important."
Li Yuan felt something shifting in his internal landscape—a movement from anxiety and resistance toward... not enthusiasm exactly, but a calm acceptance of an opportunity that, approached with the right intention, could indeed contribute to the greater good.
"There is one more thing," Granny Zhou said with an expression that became more serious. "If you go, you need to be prepared for questions about your background, about where your wisdom comes from, about the experiences that shaped your understanding."
The crucial issue. Li Yuan nodded with appreciation for her directness.
"I have considered that," he replied. "And I think... I think the best approach is to be honest about the principles and insights I share, without necessarily providing a detailed personal history or credentials."
"Focus on what you teach rather than who you are?" Sister Lin suggested.
"Something like that. Allow the wisdom to stand on its own merit, rather than on the authority or background of the teacher."
"That's a humble and wise approach," Chen Wei agreed. "And consistent with the philosophy you have always demonstrated."
That night, alone in his yard while contemplating a decision that would affect not only his immediate future but potentially the long-term trajectory of his current incarnation as Li Qingshan, Li Yuan turned his attention inward to consult with his fourteen understandings that resided within the Zhenjing.
If I accept this invitation, he thought, feeling the gentle resonance of the spiritual understandings that had guided him for centuries, I will need to be more careful than ever about maintaining the identity of a normal human with exceptional wisdom, rather than a spiritual being with supernatural capabilities.
That means a tighter wrapping of my understandings, more careful control of the presence that naturally radiates from my Ganjing, a more conscious effort to appear limited in ways that are consistent with the human experience.
With careful attention, Li Yuan began a process he had performed countless times before, but never with stakes quite so high. One by one, he gathered eleven of his fourteen understandings—all except Existence, Silence, and Wrapping which were essential for maintaining the projection of his consciousness body and basic presence—and carefully bundled them in energetic spheres within his spiritual anatomy.
Air was wrapped in a gentle compression that would allow basic empathy and wisdom without supernatural insight into flow and adaptation.
Memory was compressed to allow normal human recollection without access to centuries of experience.
Body was constrained to permit basic health awareness without the diagnostic abilities that would be impossible for a normal person to possess.
Breath, Sky, Loss, Fear, Soul, Chaos Qi, Chaos, and Simplicity were all carefully contained in a similar fashion—accessible for internal reference and guidance, but not actively radiating an influence that would mark him as anything other than a wise and compassionate human being.
The process took almost the entire night, requiring a level of precision and control that Li Yuan had rarely needed to exercise. When it was completed, he felt... different. More limited, in some ways, but also more focused. The understandings that remained active—Existence, Silence, and Wrapping—would be sufficient to maintain his identity and provide a beneficial presence, without creating an aura of supernatural capability.
Tomorrow, Li Yuan decided, feeling the satisfaction of thorough preparation, I will send an acceptance letter to the Mirror Academy. And in three weeks, I will embark on a journey that might be the most challenging test of my ability to serve with wisdom while maintaining a carefully constructed identity.
A challenge that, approached with the right intention and adequate preparation, could contribute something genuinely valuable to the cultivation of future leaders who might help heal damaged communities throughout the region.
And perhaps, he added with a thought that carried both hope and trepidation, an opportunity to see with my own eyes what a beautiful tradition has grown from the simple teachings I shared with a curious little boy named Shui so many centuries ago.