Ji Wangshu’s gaze met Liu Fuyao’s in midair. After a moment, he lowered his eyes, not daring to look directly at her.
Although he knew this Nascent Soul Sect Master couldn’t see through his identity as the Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flower transformed into human form, he still felt a hint of fear inside.
“Wangshu… you go back and wait for me first.”
Mu Zhiming’s stiff voice came from ahead. She then nodded toward Chen Miao and walked toward the Sect Grand Hall.
“Let’s go, Junior Brother Ji.” Chen Miao said cheerfully.
Ji Wangshu rubbed his nose, stepped onto the Flying Sword, and deliberately stood at the tail end, steadying himself. His small hand no longer dared to tug at Chen Miao’s robe.
In no time, the two flew back to the Mountain Residence. After exchanging farewells, he sat by the stone bench under the tree, just like usual—
First, he picked up the watering can beside the Flower Garden that he hadn’t put away since last night. After a night, a layer of white frost had formed on it, and there was still a faint trace of Mu Zhiming’s fragrance lingering on it.
He filled it with some mountain spring water, then sprinkled it over the various flowers in the garden, letting out a soft hum.
“Huh?”
He stared closely and saw that at the spot where Mu Zhiming had crouched waiting for him yesterday, a flower’s stem was wrinkled and crumpled, no longer as relaxed as before. The green stone slab in front of it was covered with its fallen petals.
He suddenly shuddered, pondering in his mind.
‘Woody… when she was waiting here yesterday, could she have been pinching the petals the whole time, gently plucking one off every time a cup of tea passed without my figure appearing?’
‘Until finally, her feet were surrounded by scattered, broken petals.’
Ji Wangshu then recalled how, in the Plaza earlier, she had deliberately condensed her Sword Intent and struck near the Senior Sisters’ feet, sending gravel flying onto their embroidered shoes.
Putting the two things together, he instinctively tightened his robe and reached his hand to his wrist.
It was already early spring, and snow no longer fell from the sky—so why did it suddenly feel so cold?
He activated his technique, releasing Spiritual Energy to shield his body, and only then did it feel a bit warmer. He then sat on the stone bench beneath the Plum Blossom Tree, glancing outside the Courtyard, waiting for Mu Zhiming’s return.
…………
Immortal Sect, Sect Grand Hall.
Following Liu Fuyao’s instructions, Mu Zhiming entered the hall. Just as she was about to ask her master what urgent matter she had been summoned for—
She saw Liu Fuyao grab her right arm with such force that it hurt.
Her master pulled up her robe. The already off-shoulder sheer fabric became even shorter, revealing the fair skin of her entire right arm. She then turned it over, looking at her wrist.
Liu Fuyao stared intently, then let out a relieved breath.
Good. Mu Zhiming’s Guardian Palace Mark was still intact. She hadn’t been foolish enough to give herself to that childhood friend.
The anger on her face faded, and the force on her hand lessened. She cleared her throat, returning to her usual calm demeanor as Sect Master, and asked flatly:
“Why have you been so distracted these past two days? You barely listened this morning when I spoke, and just now those two Sword Intents went wide. If they had been off by even a little more, they could have cost your Junior Sisters their lives. Do you understand that?”
Mu Zhiming lowered her eyes, let her arm fall, and the sheer fabric once again covered her fair skin. Her left hand gently gripped it. She did not answer.
Her whole demeanor was as indifferent as an iceberg lotus, making it hard for anyone to find fault with her.
Seeing her like this, Liu Fuyao let out a cold snort.
Woody was her Direct Disciple—she had personally guided her since the Qi Refining stage. How could she not know the level of Woody’s Spiritual Energy control?
What she had just asked was merely to seek a final answer. But Woody had not responded.
And not responding was the best answer.
Her own ice-cold, foolish disciple had ultimately developed feelings for a man, her heart stirred three parts.
“If you truly like him… then just enjoy these few decades of time to the fullest.”
Mu Zhiming lifted her head slightly at this, brows furrowed, a look of confusion on her face as she spoke stiffly:
“Master… what do you mean by that?”
Liu Fuyao did not answer. Her expression softened, and she lifted her eyes, gazing outside the hall.
A few Silver Pheasants flew across the sky, their pure white bodies dyed with the rosy glow of sunset, the sharp red spots on their beaks glinting with light.
She stared quietly, lost in thought, her mind drifting back to that afternoon several hundred years ago. Then she slowly spoke, recounting the past.
…………
That year, she was not yet an Immortal cultivator. She was just a seven or eight-year-old girl living in town, having known the boy next door since childhood.
The two of them played and frolicked in the village, holding hands, bathing together in the sunset, sitting by the only River in town, watching the Silver Pheasants fly across the sky.
“Hehe, you’ve made it big, you know. You’re the only one in the whole town who tested positive for Spiritual Roots.”
The boy looked at the Silver Pheasant before him, picked up a pebble, and tossed it into the River.
“Dong dong!”
After Thirteen Splashes of crisp sounds, the noise stopped.
He smiled, turned his head, looked at Liu Fuyao, and spoke.
“How about that? Impressive, right? Hehe, not gonna teach you!”
“When you become an Immortal, remember to come back and show me a magic trick.”
With that, as if remembering something, he pulled a jade token from his waist and handed it to Liu Fuyao beside him. He scratched his head, embarrassed, and said:
“Here, I bought this Protective Jade Token at the market. They said it has Immortal Protection on it, though I don’t know if it actually works…”
Liu Fuyao took it and looked at him.
On the boy’s face, there was still mud stuck to him from when he had accidentally fallen during play earlier. But at this moment, his eyes were so innocent, so bright and full of spirit.
Ten years passed. She was now a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. She returned to town and saw him again by the River.
“Yo, our town’s Immortal is back? Are you used to life in the Immortal Sect?”
“Let me tell you, you’ve come back at just the right time. The Flower Festival is in a week. People from dozens of miles around will be coming to town for the fair. It’s going to be lively for sure!”
“Oh… you’re heading back to the sect in a couple of days, huh…”
“Me? I’m doing fine. A few good families came to propose Matchmaking for their daughters the other day. I didn’t agree.”
“What? You’re asking if I was waiting for you? How—how could that be! I just think none of them can compare to you…”
When Liu Fuyao left, she left behind some pills that even Mortals could take.
Looking at the man now in his twenties, there was less clarity in his eyes, but more resolve.
Another forty years passed. Liu Fuyao reached Golden Core. Her master told her: she was the youngest Golden Core in the Immortal Sect’s several hundred years of history, and in the future, she would definitely have the chance to cultivate to Nascent Soul, inherit her legacy, and ensure the Immortal Sect would never be without successors.
She returned to town again. The local accent of the children on the road hadn’t changed, but the shops lining the streets were all ones she no longer recognized.
She walked to the River again. This was still the only River in the village.
By the riverside, Liu Fuyao saw him again. His temples were already white, and his hands trembled as he washed clothes. She called out to stop him.
“Who’s there… which kid? This old man here doesn’t have any snacks…”
He turned around and saw her. In his cloudy pupils, a spark of brightness returned.
“Oh! It’s you! I thought it was some child. My eyes aren’t so good anymore.”
“I look terrible now, don’t I… Didn’t expect to grow old so fast.”
“Every time I see your unchanging face, my mind drifts back to our youth, like a dream.”
“Back then, both our parents were still alive, and now…”
“What? You want to give me an Immortal pill?”
“Forget it. At my age, I can’t even digest it. You should keep it for yourself…”
“You’re at Golden Core now. I heard that the higher Immortals cultivate, the harder it gets. You should be more frugal…”
On her way back to the sect, Liu Fuyao didn’t speak a word. She just touched the Protective Jade Token at her waist.
The markings on it had long been worn smooth, no longer recognizable. Yet the jade itself was as white as freshly washed, like a stone by the clear riverside.
Another twenty years passed. She heard from the Elder who had gone down the mountain to test Spiritual Roots that an old man in town was on his deathbed, and that he might have some connection to Sect Master Liu.
So she returned to town, returned to the riverside, walked into the nearby Wooden House, and looked at the dying old man lying on the bed.
“Whose girl are you? You’re so beautiful.”
“You look just like her—as young as her, as beautiful as her…”
“Why are you crying? You’re a young girl. What’s so hard that you can’t get past…”
“How about this old man shows you a magic trick? Watch closely…”
“Ta-da! See this Osmanthus? Hehe… you came at just the right time. I haven’t succeeded in a long time…”
“Too old, no good anymore…”
“Little girl, can you do me a favor…”
“After I die, plant a few flowers in front of the door, so that when she comes, she won’t have trouble finding the way back…”
“You’re asking who she is? Well, that’s a long story.”
“She’s an Immortal at the late Golden Core stage of the nearby Immortal Sect! Though I don’t know what the difference between Golden Core and Nascent Soul is…”
“She’s so beautiful… just like you. That gentle radiance, those deep shadows, but the most beautiful thing about her is still the look in her eyes back then…”
Liu Fuyao lowered his hands, heard his last murmured words as he breathed his final moments. She used the Dust Cleansing Art, which even entry-level disciples knew, to wash the damp bedsheet, over and over again.
She stumbled out the door. Behind her came his final, low whisper:
“If only… I had Spiritual Roots too…”
Liu Fuyao planted Ten-Mile Osmanthus all around the Wooden House.
When spring arrived, she gathered a wisp of Spiritual Energy at her fingertip and released it into the tree, bursting open—petals of red and yellow scattered through the air, falling in great swaths onto the River’s surface, like rosy clouds at dusk.
She looked up at the sky, and saw two Silver Pheasants flying over. They landed on the railing, watching for a moment, then flew away, disappearing to the horizon she could no longer see.
Liu Fuyao bent down, picked up a washed stone, weighed it in her hand a few times, and gently tossed it out.
“Dong dong.”
The stone bounced twice on the water’s surface before stopping.
Sure enough, even at the end of the story, she still didn’t know how he had managed to make Thirteen Splashes all at once back then.
She sighed, returned to her Cave Dwelling within the sect, took out the protective token she had kept at her waist for many years, and carefully rubbed it. The patterns on it were already hard to make out.
She used the token to open her Cave Dwelling, went in alone, and the stone door closed behind her.
Afterward, Liu Fuyao entered seclusion for fifty years. When she emerged, her Nascent Soul was complete.
…………
Liu Fuyao stared blankly at the horizon.
The Green Mountains Remain, how many times has the Sunset Reddened.
The distant Silver Pheasants flew away one by one, until only one remained. As if sensing something, it flew toward the Sect Grand Hall.
The Silver Pheasant let out a “coo coo” sound, and its red-tipped beak tapped against the protective token at her waist.