When Fang Qingmu saw Xia Wanyu again, he was lying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
As a mere handyman disciple of the Outer Sect, he naturally didn’t have a spacious courtyard, only a small room. It wasn’t until a handyman disciple outside his door informed him that someone was looking for him that he snapped back to reality. However, when he looked at his swollen legs, he could only sit up with a wry smile, hoping the disciple would convey his apologies, as he was unable to receive guests at the moment.
Then, a familiar, ethereal voice sounded from outside the door, “Fang Qingmu?”
“I’m here.” At that instant, his heart seemed to tremble again.
“The disciple who announced said you were injured?”
“A few days ago, I was in a competition and accidentally broke both my legs. I’m recuperating.”
“I’m coming in,” Xia Wanyu said softly.
He nervously pulled the quilt tighter. The door was pushed open, and Xia Wanyu, dressed in a black dress, walked in. The light from outside the window fell on her collarbone, and Fang Qingmu was lost in thought again. He thought he had moved past it, but the moment he saw her, Xia Wanyu shattered all his defenses.
“I’ve finished the Snow Blossom Crisp you made for me last time,” Xia Wanyu’s voice was gentle. She placed five Spirit Stones on the table. “Will you make two more boxes for me?”
“Of course,” Fang Qingmu immediately agreed, then hesitated for a moment before adding, “It will just be a little later. My legs won’t be well for another two days.”
His leg injury was caused by another Outer Sect disciple. That disciple was the child of an Elder in the Outer Sect and practiced body cultivation, so he often sought out disciples to spar with. Due to his status, no one dared to refuse. This time, the disciple found Fang Qingmu and “accidentally” kicked his leg bone, but he also sent some low-grade healing medicine. However, the effect wasn’t very good, and Fang Qingmu would need several more days of recuperation before he could get out of bed.
Xia Wanyu left a porcelain bottle on the table and said softly, “This is a Profound-grade Healing Pill. After taking it, your leg injury should improve. I’ll be leaving the sect for a trip in two days, so if it’s convenient, please try to finish it quickly.”
“Profound-grade pills are too precious, Elder Wanyu…”
Xia Wanyu looked at his hurried and flustered appearance, reached out, and gently touched his forehead, smiling at him. “It’s alright. I have plenty of these pills.”
He was stunned. Warmth seemed to emanate from her palm. He seemed to recall the feel of his mother’s hand on his cheek in his memories, so warm, as if it could melt everything. He suddenly felt tears welling up in his eyes, but the next second, he became flustered, afraid of her noticing, feeling incredibly embarrassed.
Fortunately, Xia Wanyu seemed oblivious, merely saying softly, “Rest well and recover.”
She withdrew her hand and left his room. He began to greedily inhale the air in the room. He ate a small piece of the pill from the porcelain bottle, and instantly, warmth spread through his limbs, healing his leg injury.
He rushed to buy the best spiritual rice he could find and began to diligently prepare the two boxes of Snow Blossom Crisp in his small room. By evening, he delivered them to the front of Xia Wanyu’s courtyard. Xia Wanyu accepted the Snow Blossom Crisp and thanked him softly.
When he returned to the courtyard where the Outer Sect disciples lived, everyone looked at him with strange eyes, their gazes full of envy and jealousy. He didn’t understand what had happened. After inquiring, he learned that Elder Wanyu had asked the Outer Sect disciples about the cause of his injury. After leaving, she personally went to confront that Outer Sect disciple and admonished him. Even the Outer Sect disciple’s father was reprimanded by Xia Wanyu for indulging his child too much. To avoid bringing further trouble to Fang Qingmu, Xia Wanyu personally declared that Fang Qingmu was under her protection and that anyone with a grievance could approach her directly. If anyone dared to retaliate in private, she would show no mercy.
As an Inner Sect Elder, no one dared to defy her.
Thus, Fang Qingmu’s status among the Outer Sect disciples suddenly soared. He was no longer assigned any dirty or arduous tasks; the surrounding disciples eagerly completed them for him, and he didn’t even need to offer anything in return. At that moment, Fang Qingmu finally understood the benefits of power. Even a couple of Junior Sisters began to subtly send him flirtatious glances, a treatment he had never received before.
But he knew that all of this was due to Xia Wanyu’s few casual words. He was merely lucky to have met Xia Wanyu once and to have had the fortune to make two boxes of Snow Blossom Crisp for her; that was all.
He didn’t become complacent because of this. Instead, from that moment on, he could no longer sleep peacefully. In his half-asleep state, he seemed to constantly hear murmurs and whispers. No matter what, he couldn’t calm his mind, so he began to cultivate fiercely.
However, his talent was quite ordinary.
Cultivation valued talent above all else, followed by resources. He possessed neither talent nor resources. Fortunately, he had a quick mind. He began to mass-produce many interesting food items, selling them to some Inner Sect disciples with ample resources, earning a small profit. He used the acquired resources for diligent cultivation. He began practicing sword techniques earnestly according to the sword manual, swinging his sword three thousand times daily until he collapsed on the ground, exhausted, gazing at the bright moon in the sky. The moonlight, falling on his body, was incredibly cold.
When he was at his limit of exhaustion, Fang Qingmu once again doubted the meaning of his efforts. No matter how hard he tried, he was merely chasing a phantom.
He never considered himself someone who could cultivate with all his might. His life’s ambition was simply to live as an ordinary person, to blend into the dust among the masses without anyone noticing.
But a month later, exhausted from practicing his sword, he climbed that mountain peak once more. He had originally just wanted to look at the moon, but he saw that hazy figure on the mountaintop again. At that moment, he suspected it was a hallucination brought on by his constant thoughts of her. After rubbing his eyes, he realized she was sitting there, turning her head and smiling faintly at him.
“What a coincidence,” she said softly.
At this moment, her complexion was slightly pale, and her expression carried a hint of sickly aura. Fang Qingmu had heard the rumors: a few days ago, Xia Wanyu had left the sect to face her lightning tribulation. She had survived again, but was also seriously injured.
“Not bad, Late Stage Foundation Establishment already,” Xia Wanyu said softly.
Fang Qingmu, standing there, was at a loss. He took out a large pile of various snacks from his storage bag, then felt his posture seemed too awkward. He stammered, “I’ve made a lot more food recently… Fairy Wanyu, would you like to try some?”
“Okay,” Xia Wanyu gently patted the empty space beside her.
He dazedly moved closer, dazedly sat down, dazedly spread out a new white cloth, and placed all the food on it. He was like a stiff puppet. This time, Xia Wanyu ate a lot, her cheeks puffed out, looking incredibly cute.
“It would be even better if there was some wine,” she said.
Fang Qingmu nervously took out the spiritual wine he carried. Xia Wanyu looked at him playfully, “Drinking too often and neglecting your cultivation isn’t good.”
“No, no… I’ve been cultivating diligently this past month. I haven’t had wine in a long time.”
“Don’t be so nervous, I’m just saying.” Xia Wanyu’s laughter grew even more cheerful. She brought the wine cup to her lips, and with each sip, her eyes became brighter.
That night, he suffered from insomnia again.
He had almost decided to give up, but from that day on, he felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline. If he didn’t exhaust his body’s last ounce of strength every day, he would feel a sense of unfulfillment. Yet, he also found it laughable. He couldn’t distinguish whether he had feelings of admiration for Xia Wanyu, but he definitely had a trace of hatred. If it weren’t for her, perhaps he wouldn’t have become so frenzied, as if he were going insane.
He didn’t know why he suddenly became so diligent. Perhaps it was just to get closer to her? But no matter how hard he tried, how desperately he pushed himself, could he get even half a step closer?
Yet, from then on, every day he would exhaust his body’s last ounce of strength to climb to the mountaintop. Even if he knew he wouldn’t see her figure again, he would lie on the grass alone and look at the moon.
Half a month later, he saw Xia Wanyu again. Xia Wanyu merely glanced at him from afar, and he took out piles of snacks and wine. Xia Wanyu smiled and beckoned him. So, he sat beside her. He remembered that night they drank a lot of wine, and Xia Wanyu didn’t leave. Instead, she lay down on the grass and fell asleep.
He also drank a lot and gradually fell asleep not far from her.
The next day, when he woke up and opened his eyes, Xia Wanyu was holding a blade of grass and tickling his face. Seeing him awake, Xia Wanyu laughed, “I drank a lot of your wine last night and ate a lot of your food. I can’t just take it for free.”
She took out Spirit Stones and handed them to Fang Qingmu. “Keep these. In two months, your Outer Sect will have the Outer Sect Grand Competition, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have confidence entering the Inner Sect?”
Fang Qingmu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.
“Why?”
“The disciples who are about to enter the Inner Sect in the Outer Sect have been diligently practicing sword techniques. I’m just blindly practicing according to the sword manual… I don’t have much confidence.”
“That’s easy to fix.” Xia Wanyu tilted her chin slightly. “From today onwards, every day when the sun sets, come here, and I’ll teach you sword techniques for an hour.”
Fang Qingmu’s eyes widened, and a dreamlike joy suddenly descended upon him.
“But don’t call me Master. I haven’t decided if I’m really going to take a final disciple yet. Consider this your reward for treating me to food and drinks these past few days, alright? I’ll teach you until your Outer Sect Grand Competition begins.”
“Thank you… Fairy Wanyu.” His throat felt a little tight.
From that day on, every time the sun set, he would arrive at the mountaintop. Xia Wanyu began to personally teach him sword techniques. Xia Wanyu was a sword technique genius, and her swordplay was heavy with ferocity and killing intent. As for him, his talent was dull, and after many days, he still couldn’t grasp the essentials.
But it was during these days that he gradually got to know Xia Wanyu. Xia Wanyu occasionally had a quick temper, was a little gluttonous, and sometimes felt very down, but most of the time, her smiles were bright. She didn’t get angry because of his dull talent; she would just quietly sit by the cliffside, teaching him to swing his sword again and again. Occasionally, when her temper flared, she would tap his head with her hand, but very, very lightly.
They practiced swordplay under the setting sun. The evening glow burned brilliantly above their heads, consuming everything in the sky until night fell, and the serene moonlight descended.
After practicing swordplay, Xia Wanyu would allow him to drink. In reality, it was she herself who was craving it. If Xia Wanyu wanted to talk, Fang Qingmu would accompany her in casual chat, listening to her talk a lot. If she didn’t want to talk, they would quietly drink cup after cup, gazing at the moonlight reflected in the wine cups, lost in thought.
Countless times he wished time would slow down, but a month passed as quickly as a dream he had slept through for half an hour.
In a blink of an eye, tomorrow was the Outer Sect Grand Competition. Xia Wanyu raised her wine cup. “I wish you success in entering the Inner Sect tomorrow.”
He uneasily clinked glasses with her, draining the wine liquid in his cup. Finally, he mustered the courage to ask, “Tomorrow… will Fairy Wanyu come to watch?”
Xia Wanyu tilted her head and thought seriously. “I might have something to do tomorrow, so I might not be able to come. If I can finish quickly, I will come to see you.”
He was relieved. The fear and unease in his heart suddenly vanished. At that moment, he arrogantly thought that if Xia Wanyu were in the audience, quietly watching him, then he wouldn’t lose. He would win, defeat everyone, and show them all the power of Fairy Wanyu’s sword techniques.
