“I have a Sect-Entering Order, and I wish to join the sect…”
Mo Hua presented his Sect-Entering Order.
The disciples appeared astonished and exchanged glances. One disciple said,
“Please wait here for a moment, I need to report this and consult an Elder for a decision.”
Then he added, “Please fill out the record of your Cultivator’s background and history…”
Mo Hua looked at the so-called “record of background and history,” which was a form to state one’s place of origin, family background, and the nature of one’s Spiritual Root.
Mo Hua filled it out truthfully.
The disciple took the entered information and produced a sealed box to store the Sect-Entering Order. Then he entered the mountain gate and walked along the broad jade road for the time it takes to brew tea. When he reached a hall,
several Elders of the Qian Taoist Sect were in the midst of discussion.
The disciple presented the sealed box and explained the situation.
The Elders all showed surprise. “A Sect-Entering Order?”
They looked to the presiding Elder and asked, “Elder Shen, how do you see this?”
The one seated in the highest seat, Elder Shen, had deep wrinkles and his Taoist robe was adorned with four golden Patterns, clearly of high status.
On hearing the report, Elder Shen took the Sect-Entering Order and, upon seeing the inscription, he furrowed his brows.
“Elder Shen, is there something amiss?” asked an Elder observing his reaction.
Elder Shen shook his head and handed the order to the others, “Take a look for yourselves…”
Other Elders accepted it with some confusion and after reading it, they too paused in surprise.
An Elder slowly read, “The bearer of this order may not be refused entry…”
“This character… is it not right…”
“Shouldn’t it read ‘He who bears this order should be respectfully admitted’?”
“Yes, why does it have the tone of an imperial edict?”
“Is this Sect-Entering Order counterfeit?”
Elder Shen shook his head, “It’s real, just, ‘old’…”
“Old?”
The Elders were taken aback.
Elder Shen nodded, “This is an edict from the old rules of our Sect…”
With a hint of emotion, Elder Shen added:
“This is from a batch of ‘Sect-Entering Orders’ that’s quite ancient. At that time, the Qian Taoist Sect was in decline, with insufficient strength. We had to act subserviently to others, which is why the Sect-Entering Orders from that period have the tone of an edict…”
“Not to be refused, meaning our Qian Taoist Sect could not resist…”