The dark clouds in the sky seemed on the verge of falling.
Lightning tore through the black clouds, the thunderous roar deafening. The ancient trees outside the grand hall swayed unceasingly in the wind, while dead leaves and raindrops swirled in the tempest.
Jiang Huai heard the branches snapping one after another, heard the howling of the rain and wind. The scene before him was like the end of the world. He raised his head, forcing his eyes open to look into the distance. The figures of Fang Qingmu and Xia Wanyu in the distance were as small as dust, and he could not see them clearly.
He looked down in alarm, seeing Jiang Zhi standing not far away, also gazing up at the dark sky, lost in thought.
…
Fang Qingmu had already prepared everything.
His fingertips touched his chest, and he used his heart’s blood to construct his Origin Formation. The vast formation enveloped him and Xia Wanyu. Xia Wanyu’s pendant sword floated in the air, then enlarged, settling behind the two.
They sat on this flying sword and looked up at the rolling thunder. The lightning struck the formation repeatedly. The formation cracked briefly, then rapidly repaired itself. Fang Qingmu’s face turned pale, but when he looked into Xia Wanyu’s eyes, a myriad of tenderness welled up.
“Do you still remember how many times you’ve shielded me from tribulation?” Xia Wanyu suddenly asked softly.
Her voice was always so cold and aloof, as if keeping everyone at a distance, even those closest to her. Fortunately, Fang Qingmu was already used to it. He shook his head and replied softly, “I don’t remember.”
Seeing his eyes, Xia Wanyu swallowed back the words she wanted to ask.
She had asked herself more than once if he had ever regretted shielding her from tribulation time and again. But in the end, she did not ask those words. After seeing his eyes, she understood that some words did not need to be asked.
But at this moment, her eyelashes were still slightly lowered.
Fang Qingmu tightly gripped her hand, which had become extremely cold. This lightning tribulation was originally her calamity. Because Fang Qingmu shielded her from it time and again, it had now angered the Heavenly Way, merging his lightning tribulation with hers.
“What are you thinking about?” Fang Qingmu gently pulled Xia Wanyu into his embrace.
Xia Wanyu remained silent for a long while before softly saying, “I always want to say things you don’t want to hear… Every time the words reach my lips, I think about it and then decide not to say them.”
“I know what you want to say,” Fang Qingmu gently squeezed her shoulder. “This was always my own choice, and I have never once regretted it.”
Xia Wanyu’s body snuggled closer into his embrace, and she softly murmured, “Fortunately, I didn’t say it.”
At this moment, she finally felt at ease. She had never needed to ask that question. Asking it would have seemed as if she were suspicious and insecure about something. But now, she had a new question. Xia Wanyu’s voice was very soft, but it was unusually tinged with a bit of娇软 (jiaoruǎn – soft and charming): “So, what exactly do you like about me?”
“I like everything.”
“Is there nothing you dislike?”
“Well, there is a little bit.”
“Tell me.”
“I won’t tell you,” Fang Qingmu replied playfully, tightening his grip on her shoulder. “I’ll quietly tell you in the next life.”
“Will there be a next life?” Xia Wanyu asked softly.
“Yes.”
“It’s okay if there isn’t,” Xia Wanyu rested her head on his shoulder. “There is nothing I regret in this life.”
She seemed to have turned into a clingy cat, her slender and weak body trembling slightly, yet she whispered warmly, “Qingmu, it’s so good to have you.”
Fang Qingmu reached out and gently patted her shoulder, as if comforting a sleeping child.
He suddenly recalled many years ago, when he and Xia Wanyu met on the mountaintop. Xia Wanyu had promised to teach him sword techniques. That day, Xia Wanyu had drunk a lot of alcohol. After getting drunk, she leaned against him. For the first time, Fang Qingmu gathered the courage to gently embrace her.
He heard Xia Wanyu pour out her fears, her unwillingness, her despair to him. She was never as resilient and cold as outsiders thought. She faced the heavenly tribulation alone only because she had no other choice. She also wanted to live and did not view death so lightly. Her tears fell onto his clothes. At that time, he was flustered and at a loss, not knowing how to comfort her, so he could only gently pat her back, as if comforting a sleeping child.
After sobering up the next day, Xia Wanyu forgot about crying in his arms, but he remembered it. It became his goal in cultivation. He wanted to cultivate well, to reach a point where he could stand before her and shield her from heavenly tribulations. He remembered Xia Wanyu saying she was afraid that night, with tears streaming down her face. He didn’t want to be like that night, only able to cautiously wipe away her tears while being powerless to do anything else.
The Xia Wanyu in his arms gradually calmed her breathing. The formation above their heads was on the verge of shattering. Fang Qingmu looked up at the sky, his gentle eyes growing cold.
The Heavenly Way is heartless.
Even though he was now half a step into the Ninth Realm, Fang Qingmu had never understood the so-called “Heavenly Way” in the slightest. The Heavenly Way was an absurd existence; it was neither merciful nor evil, yet it always seemed to have some inexplicable mischievousness.
Xia Wanyu’s Eternal Tribulation Physique meant that if she did not cultivate, she would surely die at the age of twenty. But even if she embarked on the path of cultivation, it would only be to endure lightning tribulations again and again with her cultivation until she could no longer resist and turned to dust under the tribulation. All her efforts seemed to be in vain. No one knew why the Heavenly Way would watch such completely meaningless struggles.
Yet, he was fortunate enough to benefit from Heaven’s gifts. Over the years, he had explored many ownerless secret realms. With good fortune, he had obtained many opportunities, which allowed him to enter the Ninth Realm and forcibly endure heavenly tribulations with Xia Wanyu, allowing them to be together for another thousand years.
Now, everything was settled. Even though Fang Qingmu knew that struggling was futile, he still wanted to make one last effort.
…
“Stop.”
A cold female voice suddenly rang out beside Fang Qingmu. He was instantly stunned. As the voice reached his ears, he saw the figure before him clearly: it was Jiang Zhi in a red dress. She stood in this world of wind and rain, not turning her head, only gazing far into the distance at the lightning, and said softly, “Jiang Huai is a distinguished guest of Ziyun Pavilion. He requested to use this year’s permissions of the Purple Jade Card to buy your lives. Your next lightning tribulation is in a hundred years. This time, I will shield you from it.”
Fang Qingmu looked at her profile in astonishment, then shook his head. “The karma of the lightning tribulation…”
“It will not leave any karma, nor will it affect me in any way. Although this is Jiang Huai’s request, it is also me repaying a favor to Wanyu, as she and I are old acquaintances.”
Jiang Zhi said this very lightly, and then her body moved towards the center of the lightning tribulation. Fang Qingmu stared at her figure, dumbfounded and speechless.
But Jiang Zhi’s expression was incredibly calm.
A white light appeared on her brow, identical to the white light that had emanated from behind a door in Jiang Huai’s Soul World. As this light appeared, countless lightning bolts that were about to strike, upon passing by her, vanished.
Although Jiang Zhi had a premonition in her heart, when she truly reached the source of the lightning tribulation and saw that ethereal door, she was stunned for a moment. She seemed to hear a calling from behind the door, but she dared not approach it.
She hesitated before the door for a long time, and finally sighed and stepped through it.
…
“You’ve arrived.”
“Master… is that you?”
“Since you’ve guessed, why ask again?”
“Master…”
“There’s no need to revisit old memories, nor to hide things from me. My eyes watch everything in this world. If you think you can hide anything from me, you are too naive.”
“This disciple has sinned, and I implore Master to punish me…”
Jiang Zhi heard only a voice in her ear. After stepping through the ethereal door, she had seen nothing. Only now did a hazy silhouette appear before her.
Her Master was still as perfect as ever. Her cheeks neared the realm of fantasy. Jiang Zhi’s eye sockets instantly turned crimson. She choked, unable to speak, yet her Master’s eyes remained as calm as ever.
“I did not intend to punish you, nor did I expect you to obey me obediently. After obeying for so long, it’s not a big deal to disobey me once in a while. At least you’ve followed the agreement to some extent, so I’m not angry.”
“Master…”
“Let’s not reminisce. If you have anything else you wish to ask, ask it now. A wisp of my soul can only linger in this world for a short time. If it lasts too long, the order of this world will collapse.”
“When will I see Master again?”
“When Jiang Huai wishes to ascend to the Upper Realm, if he is willing to take you, you may come with him.”
“What is the relationship between Jiang Huai and Master?”
“Oh, right. You’ve only seen his memories in this life. He is my… Never mind. There’s no need to tell you such things. You just need to know that he is a very important person to me.”
“Why doesn’t Master personally take him to the Upper Realm? Why are you unwilling to reveal your identity to him?”
“My soul is growing stronger day by day, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for it to be accepted by the Lower Realm, so I must wait for him in the Upper Realm. I am in seclusion and cultivation in the Upper Realm all year round, and I cannot perceive the passage of time. Revealing my identity to him would only leave him with the pain of missing me even more. Therefore, I have simply prepared everything for him, and when he naturally arrives in the Upper Realm, I will give him a surprise.”
“What is Master’s relationship with the Heavenly Way of this realm? Why can Master control the power of the rules of this realm and control the descent of lightning tribulations?”
“The Heavenly Way was slain by me when I ascended. I left the Heavenly Way’s origin to Jiang Huai. After slaying it, I left a wisp of a soulless spirit to replace the Heavenly Way, watching over everything in this world with its eyes. As for this lightning tribulation? Xia Wanyu’s Eternal Tribulation Physique, Fang Qingmu’s opportunities, and your appearance here… were all arranged when I ascended. Although some details differed from my expectations, the general outcome has not changed. You would appear before me at this time, and I would also have a wisp of my divine sense to see you.”
Jiang Zhi stared blankly at the phantom image of her Master, looking at her indifferent eyes, and softly said, “I don’t understand…”
“If your soul is strong enough to understand everything in time and construct suitable calculation methods, you can predict future events to some extent. This is what people often call destiny, but it is ultimately not that precise. Even if I explain it to you, you may not understand it. Do you have anything else to ask?”
“Master… do you have any other teachings?”
“Take good care of him for me. As for whether you hate me, I don’t care. As for taking care of him, you don’t have to do everything for him. I’m afraid he’ll find it annoying. A world that is too easy will always feel boring. I hope he can experience various kinds of joy on his path to cultivation in the Upper Realm. After you accomplish this, the favor between us will be settled, and you will no longer have to always think of me. You should go and walk your own path freely.”
The phantom image of her Master paused for a moment and softly said, “Time is almost up. Don’t tell him about my existence. When the time comes, I will tell him myself.”
“Henceforth, I will no longer bring down lightning tribulations upon Xia Wanyu. Her role has been sufficient. As for Fang Qingmu… let him reach the Ninth Realm.”
Jiang Zhi heard her Master’s murmur in her ear. The void distorted, and Jiang Zhi was cast out. Instantly, the rain stopped and the sky cleared, with no trace of lightning tribulations remaining.
Not far away, Fang Qingmu was staring in shock at the vast spiritual qi entering his body. The bottleneck of several centuries in his body finally broke. His cultivation entered the Ninth Realm. As he lowered his head, Xia Wanyu in his arms opened her eyes. The imprint of the Eternal Tribulation Physique that had plagued her since birth vanished in an instant.
—
PS: The second volume ends.
Chapter 3: The Pear Blossoms Outside the Deeply Closed Door, Beat by the Rain
