Chapter 2: The Frontier (2)

The first time Xu Qianyu met Lu You was when she returned from a trip in the autumn.

She discovered that her room had been furnished with a pink quilt embroidered with peach blossoms, and by the window was a pair of butterfly hairpins she had never seen before. A few pots of spirit grass were placed on the windowsill, and the room was filled with a strange sweet fragrance.

As she pondered this, a timid young girl lifted the curtain and told her that she had entered the wrong room.

Since this place was close to the back mountain and convenient for gathering spirit grass, her master had given her this Zhaoyue Hall, while Xu Qianyu’s residence had been “relocated” to another side hall.

Xu Qianyu simply acknowledged this with an “oh” and, using the hilt of her sword, pushed the curtain aside and turned to leave.

At first, she didn’t think much of Lu You, not even clearly seeing what she looked like.

Little did she know that it was not just a room that had been taken from her.

That day, when she entered, she saw that all her belongings had been packed and were piled on the floor of the empty hall. Her senior brother was not around, and she didn’t know who had helped her pack, but the handling was careless: her clothes and letters, hairpins and cosmetics were all haphazardly stacked together, some toppling over and spilling out, the powders scattered across the ground in a pink mess.

She crouched down, dipped her finger in the rouge powder, and drew a couple of lines, recalling the unfamiliar, warm sweetness from her earlier time in Zhaoyue Hall; she couldn’t quite describe the taste.

The island was often rainy. That night, the sound of rain outside was drumming incessantly, quite loud. Xu Qianyu tossed and turned, feeling uncomfortable in the humidity, unsure whether it was because she was not used to the bed or if she felt some grievance.

Early the next morning, she went to pay her respects to her master, Xu Binglai.

She didn’t have deep feelings for her master, often oversleeping and arriving late. However, that day, she unusually wanted to arrive early and talk with her master. While bored behind the curtain, she had drawn turtles with her fingers, having done so hundreds of times. The disciple said Xu Binglai was still recovering from his demonic poison and would not see her, only sending a message advising her to prepare well for the upcoming spring outing in ten days.

Xu Qianyu was not one to believe in superstition. Not long after, she came again to kneel, but the disciple still said the same thing: before the spring outing, she should focus on her training and need not visit.

However, that evening, her junior brother Ruan Zhuqing informed her that Lu You had been serving in her master’s inner chamber. On a whim, she had made tea from the spirit grass she had cultivated and accidentally alleviated her master’s demonic poison. Her master was delighted and gifted Lu You a jade flute he carried with him.

Xu Qianyu found it hard to muster any interest: “So, she’s a medicinal cultivator. I saw quite a few spirit grasses that day in Zhaoyue Hall.”

“She’s not a medicinal cultivator; tending flowers and plants is merely her hobby.”

However, her junior brother struck her with another blow, “Master said she was born a sword cultivator, but she hasn’t had her own destiny sword yet. But that’s not a big problem; Master said he would personally choose a suitable destiny sword for her by the end of the month.”

Xu Qianyu was taken aback. Firstly, she was stunned that the title of “little junior sister” had suddenly been switched from herself to someone else.

Secondly, in her impression, Xu Binglai was always proud. Even her senior brothers had to earn their own destiny swords through struggle, let alone her own destiny sword, “Defeat Xue”:

She had fought in a demon cave for three days and nights, barely managing to crawl out. With great joy, she had shown “Defeat Xue” to Xu Binglai, who had only coldly commented, “This sword doesn’t suit you. Since you forced it, so be it. From now on, have your senior brother guide you on how to care for the sword.” This left her feeling deeply disappointed.

He would actually help someone else choose a sword.

Xu Qianyu began to wonder what had happened while she was in seclusion, what remarkable talents Lu You possessed that her master had taken on another female disciple.

Ruan Zhuqing replied, “Lu You saved our master, which is why she was brought back. Several elders voiced complaints since she was a disciple expelled by the Lingyue Immortal Sect, which would not be good for Penglai’s reputation. They wanted to see Lu You in person to determine what sort of person had captivated the sect leader’s heart; who would have thought that upon meeting, she behaved innocently and had a pure nature, and everyone felt a connection with her? Except for Elder Hua Qingsan, the others all rushed to take her as a disciple. Our master was unhappy and made the decision to keep her under his wing, and when the time comes, there will be a formal disciple-taking ceremony.”

“…Innocent behavior and pure nature?” Xu Qianyu questioned, “Is that all?”

“I’m telling you,” Ruan Zhuqing quickly changed his position, dissatisfied with her contempt, “This little junior sister is extremely adorable. Every time I talk to her, it feels as if my heart has been washed by a clear spring, and I feel particularly refreshed afterward. Good things always seem to happen afterward. For example, today, I made a shuttlecock for little junior sister, and she smiled at me; later, I broke through in my qi refining during the small week.”

Xu Qianyu: There are such good things?

She had been troubled by her stagnation in cultivation. If that were the case, she could make a hundred shuttlecocks for Lu You and make her smile a hundred times.

But unfortunately, this pattern didn’t seem to work for her.

There’s a saying that people have auras. If they don’t get along, they simply don’t.

For some reason, she always felt awkward when interacting with Lu You; this little junior sister was quite afraid of her too. So, they hardly communicated.

Xu Qianyu often immersed herself in her own world, as her master had said, “heartless and lungless.” It took her a long time to realize that her surroundings had become empty and desolate, with not even a shadow around, and even Ruan Zhuqing had not come for a long time.

Xu Qianyu found an opportunity to look for him and stumbled upon him and a large group of disciples, sleeves rolled up, joyously cultivating spirit grass together in Lu You’s Zhaoyue Hall.

Xu Qianyu whistled from a distance, a secret signal known only to her and Ruan Zhuqing. Back in their spiritual arts class, all she needed to do was blow once from outside the window, and no matter how much Ruan Zhuqing pretended to focus on the lecture, he would always find an excuse to sneak out and meet her after a quarter of an hour.

At that moment, the boy was turning his face and smiling at Lu You, completely oblivious to her even as three whistles went by.

Immediately, Xu Qianyu’s mood became extremely heavy.

She realized that Ruan Zhuqing’s smile was different. It was not the mischievous, clever grin he usually had when facing her; instead, it carried a hint of shyness and clumsiness, as if he had many bitter thoughts he couldn’t express, and in his eyes, only the person before him could fit.

Her only friend had fallen for Lu You.

*

Xu Qianyu’s initial confrontation with Lu You began when she saw that sword on the school grounds.

The sword was pinned to Lu You’s cherry pink sash, its body snow-white, looking at first glance like another broken sword. However, Xu Qianyu stopped in her tracks, carefully observing, only to realize that Lu You’s sword was clearly longer and wider, adorned with raised dark patterns, and the white light flowed along the engravings, the luster difficult to conceal. It was named “Fulong”.

The items chosen by the master were indeed of good quality; she had never seen anything like it.

Xu Qianyu, always infatuated with martial arts, couldn’t take her eyes off the sword. During practice, when it was time to select partners, she pointed to Lu You. She wanted to try this sword.

Lu You’s face instantly paled, and others rushed to dissuade her. With Lu You’s cultivation level, sparring with her would be nothing short of bullying, right? However, Xu Qianyu was unwilling to listen. In the end, Lu You, not wanting to put others in a difficult position, agreed to duel her with a sheathed sword.

It was evident that Lu You had hardly ever used a sword, and wielding this “Fulong” was quite taxing for her. However, after ten exchanges, Lu You suddenly demonstrated a natural understanding, and “Fulong” soared with the wind. Xu Qianyu, growing more competitive, moved in closely, but suddenly, a flash of white light dazzled her eyes.

Fortunately, Xu Qianyu was sharp-eyed and immediately retreated, avoiding the dazzling blade. However, the butterfly tassel hanging from her chest was burned into a piece of charcoal, dropping to the ground.

Looking down, Xu Qianyu nearly exploded with anger: “I’m practicing with the sword sheath, and you draw your sword to strike me?!”

Lu You was so frightened her face turned pale, the sword clattering to the ground at her feet: “Senior sister, it wasn’t me! I don’t know what happened; I… it… it just suddenly unsheathed on its own…”

“Disciples practicing must not harbor any intent to harm. You will go to the Discipline Hall’s dark room for three days of reflection. Come out only after you’ve reflected properly.” Xu Qianyu was furious and ordered someone to take Lu You away. The disciples rushed to intervene, some persuading her gently, while others criticized her for insisting on sparring with a little junior sister who had only recently touched a sword. If it weren’t for Qianyu’s harsh attacks, how would the junior sister be startled into drawing her sword? Besides, wasn’t it just a minor incident?

Xu Qianyu had been spoiled over the years and would not yield. Indifferently crossing her arms, she watched Lu You, tearful, being dragged away, then snorted and returned home.

Before she could reach the door, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind, spinning her around. Turning back, she saw it was Ruan Zhuqing.

Ruan Zhuqing clutched her sleeve in a plea, asking her to quickly release Lu You. The junior sister couldn’t take it because she had no spiritual root.

Xu Qianyu was baffled. At the beginning of cultivating immortality, the foundation was in refining qi, and the first step in refining qi depended on having a spiritual root. The spiritual root was the foundation of every cultivator. If Lu You didn’t have a spiritual root, how could she cultivate, and how could she possibly be accepted as a disciple by the master?

The Penglai Immortal Sect had always been competitive; it wasn’t a charity hall.

Moreover, the dark room of the Discipline Hall was just a small dark room, merely a couple of days of confinement. Who hadn’t been confined before? It didn’t harm anyone’s roots.

As Ruan Zhuqing tried to argue further, he was locked outside.

Xu Qianyu took off her front piece, which had a large hole in it. At that moment, she didn’t want to think about the light and heat when “Fulong” unsheathed nor did she want to admit that alongside her shock, a hint of envy and even jealousy had sprouted.

She navigated these complex thoughts in her mind, only resentfully cursing her bad luck: that butterfly tassel clasp was bought by her senior brother; she had only worn it for three days.

As she turned away, she suddenly felt the hot, murderous aura from earlier when “Fulong” unsheathed on the training ground, like a hurricane sweeping toward her neck. Xu Qianyu’s eyelashes trembled.

At the moment that heat touched her, an extremely strong force intervened with a loud “clang,” pushing it far away.

The sword energy was icy; Xu Qianyu felt a layer of frost form on the back of her neck. She touched it and found it damp, startled, she turned back: “Senior brother?”

Standing beside her was the Sword Lord, his hair slightly moving. He had black hair and black eyes, clad in pure white robes, his mind calm, the killing intent repressed.

Because it was too cold and too quiet, this face, which could be described as stunning, had frozen into a lifeless ice sculpture, utterly inscrutable. It was Shen Suwei, who had just returned to Penglai.

He held the collar of a ragged, emaciated silver-haired boy as if he were carrying a kitten. He glanced at the boy, discerning, and said, “Sword spirit?”

Only then did Xu Qianyu notice that the struggling and cursing boy had horns on his head, golden patterns on his skin, and his furious pupils were a light golden color, radiating light, unlike any ordinary person. Xu Qianyu’s eyes widened slightly as she pointed at him: “You… are Fulong?”

It was Lu You’s sword.

“Bah! You malicious woman! Not only do you bully Lu You, but also…” Before the sword spirit could finish cursing, Shen Suwei flicked his wrist, transforming it back into the shape of a long sword. He gazed at the sword, silently listening as Xu Qianyu hurriedly explained the situation.

The more Xu Qianyu spoke, the angrier she became, seizing the sword. However, Shen Suwei raised it a little higher, already having deduced the situation from her few words, decisively stating, “Come with me to the Discipline Hall, now. We cannot let the master know.”

“You wouldn’t want to let her out, would you?” Xu Qianyu nearly rolled on the ground in despair. “You can’t believe him! I… I…”

She was afraid she had truly wronged Lu You.

Lu You hadn’t intended to draw the sword; it was the sword spirit protecting its master that had recklessly removed the sheath.

However, only ancient spirit swords could have sword spirits, and thereafter, they could communicate with their owners. Among so many people, only the master’s sword had raised a sword spirit.

Why could the junior sister receive the sword chosen by the master? How could a person who didn’t know how to use a sword end up with a weapon of the same level as that of a sect master?

She actually wanted to ask a string of “why” questions, but Shen Suwei had already reached the door, turning his back to her and softly saying, “Change your outer robe, quickly.”

Xu Qianyu looked down and saw that she hadn’t changed out of her unlucky dress, which had several large holes in the chest. Frustrated, she had no choice but to change clothes angrily. After that, she called Shen Suwei to pull her sleeve and rushed out like a gust of wind.

However, it was still too late.

By the time they arrived, a crowd was gathered outside the Discipline Hall.

Lu You had already been released.

Unfortunately, the Master had also been alerted.

Xu Binglai stood with his hands behind his back and turned to glare at Xu Qianyu, his gaze as cold as ice.

Xu Qianyu noticed Ruan Zhuqing beside her Master looking evasive and sneered, “You actually went to tell the Master?”

Ruan Zhuqing explained with a bitter face, “I—I was trying to find an elder from the Discipline Hall to get an order to rescue the junior sister, but I happened to run into the Master playing chess there…”

“Shut up.” Xu Qianyu coldly shifted her gaze away. “From now on, you only have the junior sister, not the senior sister.”

“I…”

“Impudent.” Xu Binglai could no longer tolerate it and pointed at Xu Qianyu, scolding, “You’re too arrogant!”

It was an overcast day. As Xu Binglai reprimanded her, muffled thunder rolled in the sky.

The wind rustled the edges of everyone’s clothing, and everyone fell silent as if struck by a chill.

Xu Qianyu twisted her skirt belt, her back straightening.

“Master…” Lu You stood beside Xu Binglai and timidly tugged at his sleeve, trying to calm his anger.

After staying in the Discipline Hall for a day and a half, the little girl was in a sorry state—her skirt was soaked with sweat, her face covered in streaks of dust that were washed away by tears, looking like a stray cat. Fortunately, she hadn’t suffered any internal injuries; she was just overly frightened and had lost a lot of energy.

“Fine, I admit I was wrong.” Xu Qianyu said coldly, “I didn’t know the situation of the junior sister.”

To make her apologize was truly a hardship for her.

“Everyone else knows, except you.” Xu Binglai said. “Reflect on yourself.”

Xu Qianyu bit down on her teeth.

Wasn’t this normal? She had never been well-liked; the only person who told her any news was Ruan Zhuqing. This time he did tell her, but she didn’t believe it.

“Master, please forgive the senior sister.” Ruan Zhuqing said boldly.

“Master, I really am fine.” Lu You also tugged at Xu Binglai’s sleeve, swaying. Xu Binglai looked down at her and his expression softened.

He tiredly said to Xu Qianyu, “At your age, you should know better. Jealousy runs deep, and your methods are harsh. In the Discipline Hall, you will receive ten lashes as a small punishment, and this matter will be over.”

Xu Qianyu could hardly believe her ears.

Hit her?

Since the day she was caught trying to escape at the age of nine and received a beating, over the years, due to her identity as the only junior sister in the inner sect, everyone treated her with respect. The Master would scold her at most a couple of times, giving her face, and hadn’t dared to hit her lightly since.

The onlookers whispered among themselves.

“Isn’t that a bit too harsh? A few days of confinement should suffice. Senior Sister Xu is a girl, already at the right age; this would be quite embarrassing for her.”

“I don’t think it’s too harsh. For a foundation-building disciple, it’s just a couple of days of pain. The junior sister doesn’t have spiritual roots, yet almost died. How dangerous! The Master’s punishment is meant to tell the inner sect to be more caring.”

“That’s true…”

“Master.” Shen Suwei suddenly spoke up, “Qianyu is about to come of age; it’s inappropriate for her to be punished.”

Xu Binglai pondered for a moment and said, “Then let’s hold it off for now. She can receive it when she returns.”

After saying that, he didn’t look at Xu Qianyu again and instructed Lu You to go back and rest.

Suddenly, Xu Qianyu said, “Master, I have a question to ask.”

Shen Suwei closed his eyes for a moment.

Earlier, when he intervened, the Master’s intention to hold off the punishment was merely to save face. In reality, holding it off meant postponing; if it was delayed long enough, it might be forgotten.

However, Xu Qianyu had this temperament, always making a grand statement when everyone thought she had complied and accepted her fate.

Xu Binglai said, “Speak.”

“Is it true that the junior sister has no spiritual roots?”

“What do you think?” Xu Binglai replied irritably.

“May I ask, Master, how can one cultivate without spiritual roots? Why can one without spiritual roots enter Penglai and become your disciple? If having no talent truly doesn’t matter, then why can’t the countless junior brothers and sisters waiting to enter the inner sect?” Xu Qianyu’s voice, amplified by her inner strength, echoed through the valley, resonating clearly.

This question was not good; the entire atmosphere froze.p