…………
Yun Hao walked slowly along the sect’s small path, his steps no longer as agile as before.
Along the way, he felt deeply hypocritical. He had promised Elder Lin that he would take good care of Junior Sister, yet he had left Western Peak on the very next day after the old man’s passing.
He felt pained and full of self-blame. Senior Sister’s face and her indifferent expression from that day kept surfacing in his mind.
More than ten days had passed since he last saw Senior Sister. Was she all right? It had been nearly twenty days since he had properly spoken with her—a first since he joined the sect.
Yun Hao’s longing for Senior Sister grew stronger. He wanted to know why Senior Sister had agreed to Elder Lin’s request. Hadn’t she said he should focus on cultivation for now? Matters of Dao Companions were best considered only after reaching Core Formation or Nascent Soul.
He should have rushed to Sect Master Peak as quickly as possible, yet his promise to Elder Lin held him back. He should have stayed on Western Peak.
He understood now… Junior Sister liked him. Moreover, they were already betrothed.
In both the mortal world and the cultivation world, a woman’s reputation was her most important possession. He could not abandon Junior Sister after forming a betrothal. He could not do something so heartless.
Yun Hao felt the betrothal document inside his sea of qi, its elegant handwriting and the drops of their essence blood sealed upon it. Elder Lin had prepared it for them. When they married in the future, they would burn the document, and the immortal path would swear an oath to witness their union.
Yun Hao stopped walking. His eyes were filled with pain and conflict. Did he like Junior Sister? Yes, he did. But it was the love of a brother for a sister, not romantic affection.
Then who was the one he truly admired?
Yun Hao slowly lowered his head, bitterly chewing on that name yet unable to speak it aloud.
He could not say it…
The youth felt utterly drained. The death of an elder, Senior Sister’s decision, and Junior Sister’s future—these three matters tangled endlessly inside his heart, inseparable. He tried to solve them and create a future where they could coexist, yet he found no way to begin.
The string of events had dealt Yun Hao a heavy blow. He had forced himself to stay strong in front of Junior Sister, but now that he was alone, the emotions he had suppressed finally erupted. He felt lost and dazed, with no idea where the future lay.
………….
Yun Hao walked even more slowly, his head bowed low. What should he do? Follow his heart? Or keep his promise? He felt that if the person he admired were not Senior Sister, he could have given it up.
But Senior Sister was his savior, the only ray of light in his sixteen years of darkness. He… could not let go…
………..
“Junior Sister, stop being angry. Master said she will refine a youth-preserving pill to make it up to you.”
“Make it up to me! Is a youth-preserving pill as precious as a Clear Mist Flower? And I had to beg Senior Sister so hard to get that one!”
“Master also said she will find another one for you later. This time it was only borrowed.”
“Hah! Borrowed! That was outright robbery! She’s too lazy to gather her own pill ingredients, and I’m supposed to believe she’ll find me another Clear Mist Flower?”
Two young women were walking toward him.
They appeared to be around twenty years old. The one in front looked wronged and resentful, while the one behind her wore an expression of helplessness and headache.
Their master was good in every way except for being lazy. A few days ago her junior sister had secretly brought back a Clear Mist Flower, and yesterday their master had taken it to use as a pill ingredient.
Not only had she taken it, but today she had sent the two of them to deliver pills to other elders. She had been listening to her junior sister complain for nearly an hour already.
She opened her mouth, trying to console her.
“It’s fine, Junior Sister. Master always keeps her word. She will find you another one.”
Her words seemed to have no effect. The junior sister in question only grew more upset and marched straight ahead, ignoring everyone.
She could only smile bitterly and hurry to catch up. She would treat it as water off a duck’s back. A few complaints would not kill her.
She quickened her pace to catch up with her junior sister. As she did, she happened to glance sideways at a nearby disciple and was momentarily stunned by his appearance.
When had such a handsome youth joined the inner sect? How had she not noticed? She stopped, wanting to ask him. But before she could speak, she realized her junior sister was already walking farther away.
She sighed helplessly.
Never mind. Since I know he’s an inner sect disciple, I can ask around in the inner sect later. There aren’t that many inner sect disciples anyway.
She stopped hesitating, leaped past the youth, and chased after her junior sister.
………..
Yun Hao stopped in his tracks, momentarily dazed. The two disciples who had just passed seemed to have been talking about a Clear Mist Flower.
But weren’t Clear Mist Flowers extremely rare? How could two of them appear in such a short time!? And what about the “Senior Sister” the woman had mentioned? Begged for it?
Yun Hao’s body stiffened with cold. He grew even more afraid to think about it… An extremely unpleasant thought rose unbidden in his mind.
Had Senior Sister given away the Clear Mist Flower he had given her!?
The thought rolled like a stone down a hillside, faster and faster, impossible to stop. He felt suffocated… just like that nightmare, except this time he was wide awake.
The osmanthus cakes and food box inside his sea of qi suddenly seemed heavier, drifting out from the corner to remind him of their existence.
A fact Yun Hao desperately did not want to remember resurfaced in his mind…
Senior Sister had thrown away the osmanthus cakes…
Could the Clear Mist Flower the female disciple had mentioned also have been given away by Senior Sister?
Yun Hao’s body swayed. The blow was too much. His legs gave way as though the bones had been pulled out.
No! It can’t be. Senior Sister would never do something like that! It can’t be! Although Clear Mist Flowers are rare, the senior brothers and sisters of Proud Sword Sect have vast abilities. If they searched carefully, they could still find one.
He frantically tried to reassure himself.
Senior Sister had no reason to do such a thing. Last time with the osmanthus cakes, she simply had not liked the taste. This time he had given her the Clear Mist Flower, and she had smiled and told him she liked it very much. Senior Sister would never give it away.
Yun Hao seemed to find a reason to feel at ease and pulled himself back from the suffocating feeling of drowning.
He forced his feet to move and hurried toward Sect Master Peak. He had to confirm whether the Clear Mist Flower was still with Senior Sister… If it was not.
He did not dare imagine what would happen if the Clear Mist Flower he had risked his life to obtain had been given away by Senior Sister…
…He might truly break.
…………..
Sect Master Peak, beneath the osmanthus tree.
Seventeen days…
Yun Hao still had not returned.
Luo Shuiling felt numb. She had sat beneath this osmanthus tree for seventeen days and still had not seen Yun Hao return.
At first she had believed the unease in her heart would slowly fade. Yun Hao was a devoted youth; her shadow had always been in his heart. He would definitely come back.
But those comforting words had no effect. As time passed and the youth still did not appear, Luo Shuiling’s unease only grew stronger. Even her anger and blame had been worn away completely.
Only anxiety and restlessness continued to spread through her heart.
She no longer planned to punish Yun Hao. As long as the youth came back obediently, she would turn a blind eye this time and let him off.
Luo Shuiling felt like a fish dragged onto the shore, enduring the sun’s vicious rays. She tried desperately to open her gills and breathe, yet all that greeted her was sand, with no water in sight.
She had not closed her eyes for more than ten days, and her mind had remained in a state of extreme tension and anxiety. Even though she was a cultivator, without spiritual power nourishing her body she was starting to reach her limit.
Yet she still refused to leave. She wanted to wait until Yun Hao returned so that the first thing he saw would be her. She wanted to see Yun Hao.
Luo Shuiling hoped in her heart that Yun Hao would return. Because she was his support, his master. He should not abandon his master.
The autumn sunlight was not harsh. On the contrary, it felt warm on the skin and made one drowsy.
The fatigue of more than ten days made her feel sleepy. Weariness surged from every part of her body, begging for rest.
Luo Shuiling’s vision grew hazy, yet her gaze never left the teleportation array. After a while she seemed to see the array finally flash with light. A figure slowly emerged from within.
…Had someone come? She did not remember inviting anyone…
She could vaguely make out that the figure seemed slender and not very tall, just like Yun Hao… but the drowsiness made it hard to tell clearly.
Yun Hao… Yun Hao…
Suddenly Luo Shuiling jolted awake. She focused her eyes on the figure inside the teleportation array.
It was Yun Hao!
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