After changing out of her outer robe and keeping only her inner lining, Su Zhan washed up and returned to the courtyard to practice her sword forms once more.
It was a bit of last-minute cramming, but mostly it was to improve her odds even by a fraction.
Back at the sect she had only chased after realm advancement.
While she had practiced her techniques and footwork, she had let them fall behind.
The sword forms had come from Lin Wan’er, who had gotten them from Cheng Shuang.
There was no manual—Cheng Shuang had taught her through live combat instead.
The moment that left the deepest impression on Su Zhan was that impossibly fast sword.
The instant she raised her hand to block, the blade was already hovering at her brow.
At the time Su Zhan had already reached Golden Core, yet Cheng Shuang hadn’t used a trace of spiritual power.
She had defeated her in a single move with nothing but technique and footwork.
Afterward Cheng Shuang let Su Zhan attack.
The only requirement was that her sword had to touch her to pass.
It took Su Zhan three full months.
When she finally landed that strike, Cheng Shuang smiled and said her sword path was immeasurable—she could break ten thousand laws with a single strike.
In truth Cheng Shuang had probably just been comforting her.
Never mind ten thousand laws; even one gravity array had given Su Zhan a headache.
Another sharp thrust. The sword qi cut through the air.
From morning until the afternoon—aside from a half-hour break—she had already trained for six or seven hours straight.
“It’s already been half a day, Su Junior Sister. Have some tea and rest a while.”
Li Xingyue sat at the stone table nearby, pouring Su Zhan a cup of tea.
“Alright. Thank you, Senior Sister.”
Su Zhan let out a long breath, sheathed her sword, and walked over to sit down.
Anyone watching the two of them would never guess they were people who would soon be fighting to the death.
Su Zhan lifted the cup and took a sip. She set her sword casually beside her.
The cool floral tea was sweet and refreshing.
Her throat had gone dry from practice, so she drained the cup in one go.
It would taste even better with a little honey, she thought.
“Junior Sister, practicing sword forms day and night like this won’t actually help much,” Li Xingyue said as she refilled Su Zhan’s cup, unable to stay silent any longer.
“I just need some peace of mind. If I really can’t defeat Senior Sister when the time comes, at least I’ll be able to face it calmly,” Su Zhan answered softly.
“I see…”
Li Xingyue fell quiet. She lifted her own cup to her lips.
The sky in the distance was still bright, fluffy white clouds drifting by.
The afternoon breeze blew gently, easing the tension in one’s heart.
She suddenly raised her brows, looking at the sky with a faint smile. “Junior Sister.”
“Mm.” Su Zhan responded, staring at the slanting sun overhead.
The weather was perfect for something lazy and relaxed; she watched it in a daze, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of her cup.
“Why do you cultivate, Junior Sister?”
Li Xingyue gazed at that same patch of sunlight as well. It dazzled her eyes, so she narrowed them slightly and murmured, “Or rather… why do you live?”
“To live, nothing more,” Su Zhan answered without much hesitation after snapping back to the present.
She cultivated desperately to protect her own little life.
Once she had enough strength, she simply wanted to spend the rest of her days in peace and leisure.
A perfectly Ruthless Dao answer.
Li Xingyue gave a small nod and didn’t tease her the way she had before.
She simply hummed in acknowledgment.
The reply sounded perfunctory, yet Li Xingyue found herself resonating with it.
“I see.” She gave a soft, rueful laugh. “Our goals are actually quite similar. When Master first brought me onto the immortal path, I was only seeking a full meal.”
“And what about Su Beiyan?” Su Zhan asked casually.
“Yan’er?”
Li Xingyue let out a small chuckle. “She didn’t seek anything in particular.”
She continued, “She said… life is full of dissatisfaction—eight or nine times out of ten. What she wanted was for those dissatisfied people to still be able to smile freely.”
“…She was a very good person.”
Su Zhan spoke softly.
At least, those were words she herself could never say.
“Yes, she was.”
Li Xingyue agreed, as if it were the most obvious truth in the world.
“In this lifetime, I will never meet another person that good.”
“Mm. Since Senior Sister feels that way, you should remember it well and not forget,” Su Zhan said with a nod.
“Aren’t you going to remind me again that you aren’t Yan’er? I remember,” Li Xingyue said with a light laugh.
“No.”
Su Zhan had rested long enough. She picked up her spiritual sword and stood.
“In this life it’s already over. In the next life, don’t lose that girl again. You should take her with you and live out a peaceful hundred years together.”
A faint tremor passed through Li Xingyue’s eyes. The casual words stirred ripples in her heart.
Her gaze followed the girl in front of her—the one who bore a thirty-percent resemblance to the figure in her memories—as the girl once again took up her stance and swung her sword.
The next life, huh…
Li Xingyue lowered her eyes and smiled faintly.
Someone who had done as many wrong things as she had—how could there be a next life?
She probably wouldn’t even get reincarnation.
Still, those words really did sound like something worth longing for.
…
Small attic at the mouth of the gourd.
Xia Liu sat at the table holding the white cat, staring blankly into space.
Just now she had told Granny Su everything she knew about the past two days.
Su Zhan was trapped on that mountain, and she had no way to help her.
All she could do was come here and ask for help.
Granny Su had listened in silence, then refused her request.
In the current situation, there was nothing she could do either.
After that, Xia Liu learned from Granny Su that Li Xingyue had already fallen to her heart demon and would most likely die in three days.
Yet the news brought her no relief.
What she feared wasn’t a living Li Xingyue—it was the possibility that this demon-possessed woman would drag Su Zhan down with her before she died.
“Or perhaps another possibility will occur,” Granny Su said quietly.
“What possibility?” Xia Liu pressed.
“That Su Zhan girl looks very much like my late foster daughter. By my calculations, that girl has already been gone for several years,” Granny Su said after a moment of thought.
“Then… my condolences…”
Xia Liu’s face twisted. The words sounded incredibly awkward and unlucky. What did “looks very much like her” mean?
Your foster daughter is dead, so my senior sister has to die too?
Faced with a same-realm opponent who had fallen to her heart demon—and an array cultivator who could somewhat counter sword cultivators at that—Xia Liu only wanted to know how to rescue her senior sister.
If anything really happened to Su Zhan, then both people in this room would need condolences.
“I don’t know why the Li girl fell to her heart demon, but Yan’er and the Li girl were extremely close while she was alive. They may have even reached the point of marriage. That similar face should save Su Zhan’s life at the critical moment.”
Granny Su continued softly, “If Su Zhan can still confront her at that time, she will have a slim chance of survival. Even if she can’t defeat the Li girl, as long as she holds on for three days, she’ll be fine.”
“And… and what if she can’t hold on for three days?”
Xia Liu asked anxiously.
“Then it will be up to Su Zhan’s own fortune,” Granny Su sighed lightly.