The evening had already arrived on the way back to the mountain.
Maple leaves were burning red along the path. Jiang Huai returned to the courtyard and first tidied up the flowers and plants in the flower beds before approaching Chu Xianning’s door. He softly inquired, “Master, what would you like to eat tonight?”
“You eat,” Chu Xianning replied, frugal with her words.
“I already ate at Wanwan’s,” Jiang Huai muttered softly. Chu Xianning did not respond.
Jiang Huai stood outside the door, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, “I heard from Wanwan that Senior Pei Ning visited Guanxue Mountain a few days ago?”
“Yes.”
“What did she come for?”
“Didn’t Wen Wanwan tell you?”
Wen Wanwan had indeed told Jiang Huai everything. Jiang Huai was merely feigning ignorance, so he innocently replied, “Wanwan says she can’t quite remember.”
Chu Xianning, inside the room, was silent for a moment before softly answering, “She wanted to gift me a Golden Scale Luo Water Pill.”
The Golden Scale Luo Water Pill was a top-grade pill. Even for a sect like Tian Xuan Sect, it might take decades to refine one. It was clearly an extremely precious treasure. Jiang Huai, knowing the truth but pretending ignorance, continued, “Master, you and Senior Pei Ning have such a good relationship.”
“I’m not familiar with her,” Chu Xianning replied to Jiang Huai indifferently. “Never have been.”
“Then that’s strange. Why would Senior Pei Ning suddenly bring such a valuable item to visit Master…”
Jiang Huai felt extremely guilty as he said this. He had just communicated with Xu Qing via Sound Transmission Spirit Jade and learned that Xu Qing had been in seclusion for a while and knew nothing about this. When Xu Qing asked her mother, her mother only replied that she had simply gone to deliver a pill, never mentioning anything about the relationship between the two juniors.
Jiang Huai quickly understood Pei Ning’s intention. Perhaps Pei Ning simply felt that since Xu Qing had some feelings for him, this pill was a gesture of goodwill. But in Chu Xianning’s eyes, it was probably like: “I’m giving you this pill, and you’ll sell your disciple to my daughter?” Naturally, Chu Xianning would not accept, and it was reasonable for her to feel a little annoyed.
“Pretending,” Chu Xianning’s voice from inside the room grew colder.
“Pretending, what am I pretending? Oh… perhaps Senior Pei Ning wanted to thank me for saving her daughter in Daoji Ancestral Land last time? That’s why she gave the pill to Master. I heard from Wanwan that Master didn’t accept it?”
“We are neither related nor obligated to each other, why should I accept her gift?”
“That makes sense.”
Given Chu Xianning’s proud personality, she would never want to take advantage of anyone. Not accepting it was understandable. Jiang Huai hesitated outside the door for a moment and then softly asked, “The weather in the courtyard is cool. Do you want to come out for some fresh air, Master?”
“No.”
“Then, do you want to play a game of chess?”
“No.”
“Then, do you want…”
“So noisy.”
Jiang Huai had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth, returned to his room, and sulked under his blanket.
Stingy Chu Xianning!
***
Midnight.
Jiang Huai hadn’t slept at all. He was huddled in his room, lit by a small lamp, and began writing his novella. He had given up on writing longer scripts with A Mumu. It wasn’t until the full moon hung high in the sky that he heard the sound of a door opening in the adjacent room.
He sat on the chair, pretending to be still, not moving. It wasn’t until another incense stick’s worth of time had passed that he went to the door, opened it, and stretched. He saw Chu Xianning, sitting quietly by the lotus pond in a white nightgown.
On a tree by the lotus pond, a Firefly Stone shone, casting a warm, soft glow on the lotus petals. Logically, in the depths of autumn, lotuses should have long withered. But she was Chu Xianning. Her Flower Spirit Physique allowed all flowers to bloom throughout the seasons. The lotus petals swayed gently in the night. Even when she heard Jiang Huai open his door and stretch behind her, Chu Xianning remained as still as a statue, her slender back the only thing visible to Jiang Huai.
“Master, you’re not sleeping so late?” Jiang Huai didn’t approach, only standing under the eaves and asking softly.
“Cannot sleep, came out for some air.”
Jiang Huai wanted to say something, but he worried Chu Xianning would find him too noisy. So he said nothing, just stood quietly under the eaves. Chu Xianning was gazing at the moonlit lotus pond, and Jiang Huai was gazing at her by the pond.
The world quietly fell silent.
Jiang Huai suddenly remembered the scene that day when Chu Xianning had leaned in and kissed him. That memory kept appearing in his dreams. He remembered his pounding heart, Chu Xianning’s pleasant breath, her trembling eyelashes like butterfly wings. When she opened her eyes, the allure in her pupils made his heart melt.
After that kiss, Jiang Huai had been well-behaved for a very, very long time.
His desires had been quietly satisfied. Compared to touching Chu Xianning’s body again, he wanted to explore her heart more, but at this moment, he was at a loss.
Even if he guessed why Chu Xianning was sulking, what could he do? He couldn’t solve anything. Not to mention Xu Qing, he felt that even with the presence of Wanwan, Qingyu, and Bai Li, Chu Xianning was already extremely awkward, she just didn’t express it daily. Perhaps Pei Ning’s visit to give the pill had reminded Chu Xianning of these matters again.
She only had Jiang Huai, and yet Jiang Huai had so many little butterflies fluttering around him.
The more Chu Xianning thought about it, the more inexplicably troubled she became. She hated this feeling. In the past, she could sit by the lotus pond, not thinking about anything, just watching the lotuses and spacing out all day. Now, looking at the entire pond of lotuses, her mind was no longer on the flowers.
Jiang Huai stood under the eaves, gazing at Chu Xianning in the moonlight from afar, but not daring to approach.
Sometimes, he could act like a clingy puppy, shamelessly pestering her and begging for forgiveness. But some things were not possible. So he just stood there from a distance for a long, long time.
Chu Xianning stood up from the lotus pond, and her gaze finally fell on Jiang Huai’s face.
Jiang Huai also looked at her from afar.
They just looked at each other from a distance, both silent.
The wind blew the hem of Chu Xianning’s dress by the lotus leaves, revealing a section of her soft, snow-white thigh skin. Her jet-black hair danced in the wind. After a short while, she turned her face and softly said, “I want to go down the mountain tomorrow.”
“Where to?”
“Haven’t decided yet, just a walk.”
“I can…” Jiang Huai didn’t finish his sentence. He had already guessed the answer in his heart: Chu Xianning wouldn’t take him with her. So he softly asked, “Then when will Master return?”
Chu Xianning looked into his eyes.
She saw the disappointment and grievance in Jiang Huai’s eyes, which were impossible to hide. She suddenly felt her heart soften again.
She had always known there were little butterflies fluttering around him. She hadn’t thought much of it before, so why was she bothered by it recently? It was because of the arrival of Pei Ning and Mu Lingwan. One harbored hidden intentions, and the other was direct, as if both wanted to snatch her disciple for their own daughters… Thinking of this, Chu Xianning’s heart welled up with unspeakable grievance.
He’s clearly my disciple.
“I’m going down the mountain to kill evil cultivators. I’ll come back when I’ve killed enough,” Chu Xianning said, then walked towards her room. Jiang Huai stood in place, gazing at her retreating figure until she opened the door. He felt his heart sink to the bottom.
“Master…”
Chu Xianning stopped. Her slender jade hand was gripping the door frame. She turned her head to look back at Jiang Huai.
“I want to go too,” he said.
Chu Xianning met his gaze.
“Oh,” Chu Xianning nodded lightly, then withdrew her gaze, pushed the door open, and walked in.
Jiang Huai stood in place, scratching his head.
***
The next day, early morning.
When Chu Xianning opened the door, she was wearing a plain white Daoist Robe, her jet-black hair tied up, yet her ethereal temperament was still undeniable, like a lotus emerging from water. Jiang Huai was dressed in a dark ink-colored long gown and was cooking Yangchun noodles in the kitchen.
Seeing Chu Xianning up, Jiang Huai took out over a dozen bamboo tubes and arranged them on the table. He said softly, “These are all recent reports of evil cultivator sightings received by the sect. We can go through them one by one. I’ve marked the specific locations on the map. We’ll set off one by one. The highest cultivation level reported is said to be Seventh Realm Void Refinement.”
Chu Xianning nodded slightly and looked at the bamboo tubes. Jiang Huai brought the noodles to the table and continued, “If we’re quick, we might be able to eliminate them all within five days.”
Chu Xianning picked up her chopsticks and lowered her head to eat her noodles.
Her expression was calm, but Jiang Huai looked extremely happy. He sat opposite Chu Xianning and said, “I feel like it’s been a very, very long time since I went down the mountain with Master.”
“Yes,” Chu Xianning nodded gently.
As a Master, although Chu Xianning didn’t teach Jiang Huai much sword techniques, she had taught him a lot about cultivation. When Jiang Huai was twelve years old, he had gone down the mountain with Chu Xianning to kill evil cultivators.
First, Chu Xianning was an extremely bored person.
Due to her asceticism and detached personality, she had no friends to visit or things to do. Her old injury had hindered her cultivation, so she didn’t even need to acquire cultivation resources. Therefore, her only way to pass the time and relieve her loneliness was probably to kill evil cultivators.
Evil cultivators were beasts who sacrificed the flesh and blood of mortals to cultivate themselves. Chu Xianning never showed mercy with her sword. Her reputation in the Eastern Region’s evil cultivator world was such that they would tremble with fear at the mere mention of her name. When Jiang Huai was twelve, his first time killing someone was with Chu Xianning. Initially, when they first went down the mountain, his heart was uneasy. But after seeing the seas of corpses and blood created by the evil cultivators and how miserably they tortured ordinary people, he never hesitated with his sword.
During that period, Jiang Huai would go down the mountain with Chu Xianning every few months. He would practice on low-level miscellaneous evil cultivators, while Chu Xianning would kill the powerful ones with a single sword strike. As a result, there were almost no traces of evil cultivators in the villages and towns around Tian Xuan Sect in the entire Moon Wave Continent. Some villages even had statues of Chu Xianning, and they revered her like a goddess.
Conversely, in the past two years, Jiang Huai and Chu Xianning had rarely gone down the mountain. The Moon Wave Continent had been peaceful for a while. Even the evil cultivator sightings in the bamboo tubes Jiang Huai had collected early this morning were near Linglong Continent.
After breakfast, Chu Xianning took her sword into the air. Jiang Huai came up behind her and innocently blinked at Chu Xianning.
Chu Xianning, with her back to him, said coldly, “No hugging me.”
“Oh…”
Jiang Huai gently placed his hand on Chu Xianning’s shoulder.
