Her Growth

The first time Patriarch Lin caught it was on a summer's evening. His newly assigned successor was on top of one of the tallest buildings of the Sect, staring intensely at an empty ground with a white cat sitting next to her. He should have called out to her, but reconsidered since the young girl always yelped and jumped whenever someone surprised her. It would be terrible if she got scared, rolled down the roof, and broke some body parts. Suddenly, her hand lifted, followed by the illusions of many windowed walls and an arched gate protruding from the earth to form an open-air courtyard. A faint-looking cobble path appeared on two-thirds of the area on the left side, while the remaining one-third was covered in white sand. A line of stone edging was set to separate the two areas, with grass between the path and the windowed walls. A row of phantasmal big Ginkgo trees was planted in the grassy area, and below them were many groups of dandelions and canola flowers. Despite it being summer, the old man could already imagine the sight of yellow leaves covering the whole yard. He knew Meiyi had got a chance to learn illusion magic, but didn't expect her to use it for this. Well, at least the brat didn't use it to do something bad. He should speak up, telling her to stop since this would cost her a lot of energy and leave her exhausted in the morning. She had just taken over the Sect Leader's position, neglecting duty was a bad mark on her record. But he didn't. Patriarch Lin stayed silent, only smiling slightly as he watched her work. Her green eyes glowed under the moonlight, eyebrows furrowed as she took note of the position of the illusions. Right at that moment, she wasn't a Sect Leader who looked anxious about messing up paperwork, nor a Sect Leader who had to act polite and dignified to impress others, nor a girl who was worried everything she said would be rejected. She was just Meiyi. His disciple who was lazy and playful, but had a sharp mind and creative thoughts. He had noticed her stash of colorful papers and inks, her collection of small pictures with rice glue and a small knife for paper-cutting, and colorful strings with different calligraphy brushes. However, the most undeniable proof was the study drawing books she had made for Yin Bai and Li Ryu. Only in those moments was she able to breathe. Day by day, he watched in silence from his chamber to see more appear. A small path branched off as you walked past the entrance, leading to a statue of Confucius holding a bamboo scroll with a three-legged censer on the left. The straight path led toward the main yard, where many rows of floor desks were arranged neatly. The teacher's desk was placed in front, and behind it stood a semi-circular arrangement of three stone stelae. The stone turtles protruded on both sides with large stone stelae on their backs. Illusionary Euphrates trees were planted in the white sand area, making the stilt house used for worshiping and studying on rainy days look less bland. On the top floor, a golden statue of Tathagata Buddha sat, facing directly toward the large door that led to the balcony. It gave a full view of the outdoor studying courtyard below, as if the Buddha himself was watching over the disciples. The Elders complained that she was too lazy, not finishing work and just sleeping for a whole day, but Patriarch Lin didn't say anything. He just watched, and waited. Waiting until one day she had enough courage to set the request paper down on his desk with a determined face. "Are you sure, Meiyi? Once I approve it, it will be hard to fix." She hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. "Well, I mean, I already took a look from many angles and thought about what kind of bad things could happen... but still, I'm a human. And humans aren't perfect. If there is something wrong, we will fix it." His lips twitched up, somewhat proud as his brush met the paper. As his name appeared with each stroke, he murmured quietly. "Why?" She stayed silent, as if looking for an answer for herself, before answering with a grin. "Because I like it, Master. A place I created with my imagination... a place I can be proud of."