Proud Sword Sect, Sect Master Peak…
Inside the elegant pavilion atop the peak, waves of bone-chilling spiritual power radiated outward, dense and steady.
The snow already blanketing the surroundings grew even colder beneath its influence.
Luo Shuiling sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.
Her curvaceous figure was wreathed in ice-blue spiritual energy.
This was the passive ability every cultivator gained upon reaching the Dao Integration Realm.
The spiritual energy in their vicinity would unconsciously assimilate to them.
No deliberate effort was required.
The ability manifested on its own after the breakthrough.
Because of it, Dao Integration Realm cultivators could replenish their spiritual power far more easily during battle.
It was also why this realm was regarded as the first true threshold into the ranks of the strong across the Tian Ling Continent.
Luo Shuiling’s Immortal Foundation had once been damaged.
Even as she broke through successive minor realms, she had never dared release this ability.
She had feared she could not contain the surge and would only worsen the injury.
Now, with the foundation fully repaired and after days of careful testing, she could finally confirm it was completely restored.
Yet her heart felt nothing like the joy she had imagined.
These were the very things she had always longed for.
Her Ice Jade Physique had grown even more formidable.
Her Immortal Foundation had advanced a step beyond its previous state.
The expression on her beautiful face remained as cold as the frozen world outside.
It was devoid of delight or relief.
Every movement carried an increasingly distant chill.
The faint gentleness that once lingered there had vanished without a trace.
She rose slowly, her jade-like hands clasped lightly over her lower abdomen.
She walked to the window.
Lowering her head slightly, she gazed at the teleportation array that had remained cold and silent.
Nineteen days.
The array had shown no reaction in all that time.
He had not returned.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the windowsill.
This did not match her calculations.
She had learned the truth days ago.
By now Yun Hao should have come back.
Yet she had cultivated for another ten days or more.
He had not appeared even once.
A flicker of irritation and worry crossed her face.
She watched the snow swirling outside.
She listened to the cold wind howling past her ears.
Unbidden, memories from a year ago surfaced in her mind.
It had been snowing just like this then.
The youth had appeared from somewhere carrying a bowl of hot soup.
He walked toward her with slow steps.
Smiling, he had said, “Drink some hot soup in winter and you won’t feel the cold.”
In the past, whenever he felt chilled, his mother would gather wild vegetables and whatever else she could find.
She would cook a large pot and ladle him a bowl.
After drinking it, his body might still feel cold.
But his heart would grow warm.
Luo Shuiling stared blankly out the window.
For the past few days, every time she finished cultivating, she would stand here and watch the teleportation array.
Each time she lingered a long while.
She hoped the array would light up and a white-robed youth would step through.
Then she could hand him a cup of clear tea.
She could offer him some care.
Perhaps their relationship could return to what it once was.
After a moment she closed her eyes.
She turned away and lay down on the bed.
It was already late.
Yun Hao would not be coming tonight.
The wind outside grew fiercer, rattling the windows.
The osmanthus tree creaked beneath the pressure.
Its trunk groaned as though it might snap.
She gripped the bedding tightly.
The howling wind left her restless.
Her chest felt suffocated, as if blocked by a lump of earth.
Her delicate brows drew together.
Scenes from years past rose unbidden in her mind.
The youth’s pure smile.
The thread of admiration in his eyes that she had once enjoyed so much.
Now, with those memories vivid before her, she felt a trace of loneliness for the first time.
Sect Master Peak no longer held his figure.
The entire mountain contained only her.
She tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Eventually she rose and sat once more on the cushion.
She circulated her spiritual power in an attempt to pass the night through cultivation.
Yet for some reason the energy that had flowed smoothly earlier now felt sluggish and resistant.
After only a single cycle she could no longer continue.
She withdrew from meditation.
The howling wind outside only made her more irritable.
She could not understand it.
In previous years, when the youth had not come, no matter how cold the winter night or how fiercely the wind blew, she had never felt lonely.
This year was no different from any other.
Yet she found it almost unbearable.
Gazing into the pitch-black night, she let out a soft sigh for the first time.
In her heart she admitted she had wronged the youth.
She had struck him without understanding the truth and driven him away.
But her reaction at the time had not been entirely unreasonable.
On the Tian Ling Continent, women—immortal or mortal—placed extreme importance on reputation and chastity.
A woman who lost her virginity before marriage would be looked upon with strange eyes.
She herself would carry unbearable shame.
Chastity was the finest dowry she could bring to her husband’s family.
If she lost her body before that, it would be like losing both arms.
Facing the pursuit of the other three elders’ disciples, she would never be able to hold the position of Holy Maiden.
Losing that title would render decades of effort by her and her master meaningless.
The painstaking work of all previous sect masters of this lineage would collapse in an instant.
She would truly become the sinner of this bloodline.
The burden on her shoulders was not light.
The youth had been gone for nearly twenty days.
Since meeting him two years ago, they had never been separated for so long.
She missed him a little.
…Should I apologize?
The question surfaced in her mind as the days continued to pass without his return.
This matter was indeed her fault.
She had acted without first clarifying the facts.
By all rights, she should be the one to apologize and ask for his forgiveness.
Yet she hesitated.
A part of her wanted to avoid it.
From childhood onward she had always been proud.
Her self-respect was towering.
Aside from her master, she had never truly placed anyone in her eyes.
She possessed the capital for such pride.
She was the most outstanding disciple Proud Sword Sect had seen in its history.
She carried the Ice Jade Physique.
Her combat power was formidable.
Even five years ago, when she was severely injured and her Immortal Foundation damaged repeatedly, she had remained proud.
In the grand competition she might not match those elder disciples who had obtained immortal opportunities.
But that was only in fair, formal combat.
In a true life-and-death battle she would never die alone.
She would drag her opponent down with her.
She had that confidence.
Now that her Immortal Foundation was whole again, her perspective had risen another level.
Apologizing to the youth… she could not bring herself to do it.
Troubled and uneasy, she wondered where he had been sleeping these past days.
His only destination had always been Sect Master Peak.
Yet she had driven him out.
Western Peak?
No.
She understood his character.
He would never stay there.
Even with the betrothal to Lin Shengyu, they were not yet married.
A lone man and woman sharing the same mountain was improper.
The thought eased her mood slightly.
From what she had observed, Yun Hao held no romantic feelings for Lin Shengyu.
There was only the gentle care an elder brother would show a younger sister.
In his eyes there was only her.
In her heart, Luo Shuiling had always regarded Lin Shengyu, whom she had not seen in five years, as nothing more than a naive little girl.
She knew nothing about attracting a man’s attention.
The only troublesome one had been that old fox Lin Xian.
Two years ago he had exploited her urgency to grow stronger and set a trap for her.
He was truly cunning.
As for Lin Shengyu, she had done nothing from beginning to end.
She had simply reaped the benefits.
A little girl who understood nothing.
Why waste time or attention on her?
Luo Shuiling felt her reasoning was sound and nodded faintly.
She had already stumbled once because of Lin Xian.
She would not stumble again because of Lin Shengyu.
Combining everything, she concluded Yun Hao could not possibly be staying on Western Peak.
Then where was he?
She did not know.
The wind outside grew colder still.
Even a cultivator could resist the chill with spiritual power.
But without shelter it would still be inconvenient in the depths of winter.
Her heart felt suspended.
What should she do?
The question circled endlessly in her mind.
On one side lay a faint longing for the youth.
On the other, her pride and self-respect.
A dilemma.
After thinking for a while, a spark of light appeared in her beautiful eyes.
She had thought of a solution.
She could go find him herself.
That would demonstrate the greatest sincerity and apology.
The two of them still needed to meet face to face.
Otherwise the problem could not be solved.
She could pretend to pass by him.
Given his admiration for her, he would surely be unable to resist greeting her first.
Then she would respond gently.
Once that most difficult first step was taken, she could find an excuse to gradually lead him back to Sect Master Peak.
Time would slowly dissolve the estrangement.
It would preserve her dignity while subtly conveying her apology.
In the end their relationship would return to how it once was.
The more she considered it, the more feasible the plan seemed.
She understood her place in his heart.
As long as she treated him a little better, he would accept it.
A sense of lightness spread through her body.
The anxiety that had weighed on her faded considerably.
It was replaced by a trace of anticipation and gentleness in her eyes.
She had once said she would treat the youth well and protect him for the rest of his life.
Now it was time to fulfill that promise.
Luo Shuiling gazed into the completely dark night.
Her eyes shimmered.
For the first time, she found herself eagerly awaiting the arrival of dawn.