Chapter 24: Journey to Penglai (Part 3)

After days of play, Xu Qianyu felt weary, realizing that all this gold and silver was a burden. She spent some during her leisure, but it was hardly enough. If she let it all go, she wouldn’t be too happy about it, as it was her money and a reminder from home.

She had initially planned to find a silver shop to exchange it for silver notes, but then thought again: the immortal sect had a time flow where one year there equated to five years in the mortal realm. Once she entered the immortal sect, decades could pass. By the time she finished spending this money, the silver shop would likely have disappeared; it was safer to keep the gold and silver.

Eventually, the system suggested, “Just bury it.”

This idea resonated with her, and Xu Qianyu instantly became interested.

Whenever they arrived at a new place, she had Shen Suwei stop so she could distribute a small portion to the locals. Then, she chose a picturesque spot in the mountains to dig a pit in the woods and bury most of her treasure there.

She already walked slowly, and now had to stop and go, making three stops. Shen Suwei could no longer endure it; he turned to her with a cold demeanor, saying, “I’ll help you bury it.”

Xu Qianyu looked at him in surprise. Before she could speak, Shen Suwei glanced at her and added, “I know this is your money, not mine.”

“… Then go ahead. But you can only bury ten boxes; I still want to take the rest back,” Xu Qianyu said, feeling tired. She lifted her skirt and sat down under a tree to wait. Shen Suwei helped her draw a protective magic circle and left her two icy mooncakes to prevent her from becoming too restless and causing trouble.

Shen Suwei led a spirit crane carrying the ten boxes of gold and silver out of sight, returning after half a day.

When he came back, the spirit crane was flying gracefully in the sky, flapping its wings freely above them. Shen Suwei, dressed in the cold wind, walked to the tree and handed Xu Qianyu a piece of cloth with a map and a bright red candied hawthorn.

Xu Qianyu looked up at him. Her senior brother had no expression, making it hard to tell if he was tired. She took the candied hawthorn with one hand and the map with the other, glancing at it, which made her forget to eat the hawthorn.

The map simply depicted the locations of the thirteen southern cities, marking with red sand where the gold and silver were buried and noting the depth. There were a total of ten red crosses, almost evenly distributed within the borders of the thirteen cities.

This map was drawn with spiritual energy. When Xu Qianyu’s finger touched it, a projection of the locations appeared. Each spot was secluded, filled with ethereal essence, and far from water surfaces to avoid decay. Moreover, they were buried deep, making it hard for ordinary people to notice, ensuring their safety.

Xu Qianyu couldn’t help but glance at Shen Suwei, feeling a bit of joy from being his master. Asking her senior brother to do a task was indeed a comfortable experience.

Noticing her look, Shen Suwei asked, “Is this what you wanted?”

Xu Qianyu nodded, rolling up the map and tucking it into her sleeve, feeling at ease. However, with her proud gaze, her brow slightly furrowed, her face radiated with splendor, making it hard to tell if she was satisfied or not.

“Then let’s go.” Shen Suwei summoned the spirit crane, placing the remaining boxes on its back. When he turned around, he found Xu Qianyu still sitting under the tree in a daze. He couldn’t help but walk in front of her and said, “Get up.”

Throughout the journey, Shen Suwei had treated her very gently. Xu Qianyu understood his patience and, when he called out sharply, thought he had finally grown tired of her. She immediately sprang up.

But as soon as she stood, she felt the movement was too quick and embarrassing. With a flick of her skirt, she sat back down, sneering and glaring at him, “Just because you told me to get up, I will?”

Shen Suwei’s gaze remained unwavering, his distinct black-and-white eyes staring directly at her. “Get up.”

As her senior brother radiated sword energy, his cold demeanor had a certain authority. After a brief standoff, Xu Qianyu felt the urge to get up, sitting uncomfortably as if a thorn was in her back. Considering he had helped her bury her treasure, she stood up after a while, feeling quite embarrassed, her palms damp with sweat.

Shen Suwei said coldly, “I’ll carry you.”

Xu Qianyu’s eyes widened.

Shen Suwei had already turned his back and squatted down. Xu Qianyu saw his jade crown and black hair stopping right in front of her eyes. “Get on.”

It was indeed too slow to continue walking like this.

With less burden, the spirit crane flew directly into the clouds, disappearing from view.

Shen Suwei carried the girl, reciting incantations as they moved through mountains and walls, significantly speeding up their journey. He even used a strand of sword energy to gently wrap around her, shielding her from the cold wind that might cut her skin.

Xu Qianyu held the candied hawthorn in her left hand and wrapped her right arm around Shen Suwei’s neck, noticing that the collar of his robe was adorned with runes. However, these runes were subtle, visible only under certain lights. As a person from the immortal sect, his clothing was as light as clouds and as clean as snow. The intersection of the robe faintly revealed the color of his skin, resembling the pale jade pendant hidden at home.

His hair was black and straight, flowing softly, each strand carrying a hint of frost. There was a refreshing, cold fragrance in his hair and robe, noticeable only when she got close. It smelled like soap pods and pine resin, elusive yet inviting, making her want to lean in closer to catch the scent again.

This fragrance reminded Xu Qianyu of something from her past life.

Her senior brother had carried her when she took her life sword.

At that time, after defeating the snowy beast, she crawled out of the monster’s cave, nearly exhausted. Suddenly, a hand reached down, and as she grasped it, her senior brother pulled her out.

Once they emerged from the cave, snow was falling heavily, with three feet already accumulated on the ground. She felt physically drained but exhilarated as she recounted how she had seized the snowy beast’s defeat, getting so carried away in her storytelling that she eventually collapsed into the snow.

She remembered that she could use her sword to prop herself up, but that sword was hard to come by, and she cherished it, holding it close to her chest. The snow was soft, so falling wouldn’t hurt; she closed her eyes and let herself fall into it. But Shen Suwei moved swiftly, turning around to support her arms and lifted her up, preventing her from hitting the ground.

At that moment, she noticed blood dripping onto the snow, melting it with each drop, winding its way beneath the surface. It was her own blood that had been dripping all along.

Her senior brother crouched in front of her, still holding her arms, seemingly tilting his head to look at her. Then he stepped forward, as if trying to lift her out of the snow. She thought that it was unnecessary; she could still walk. Annoyed, she pushed him away, but then her vision faded to black, and she lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself on her senior brother’s back.

Shen Suwei was flying with his sword, wrapping her in his sword aura. Outside, the wind and snow were like knives, but inside, it felt like being in a cocoon. She had always thought her senior brother was very cold, but now, in the bitter cold, she sensed a bit of warmth from him.

There was also a faint, elusive fragrance.

His hair fluttered in the wind, icy and sharp, each strand catching the breeze, giving him an ethereal beauty and graceful elegance.

This was a beauty that was rarely noticed, now discovered for the first time.

She reached out to touch a strand of hair; it was smooth and cool against her fingers.

Perhaps her action startled him, as Shen Suwei suddenly spoke, “You asked me to carry you.”

She wasn’t sure if it was an explanation or a reminder.

Xu Qianyu relaxed her grip but quickly lost consciousness again.

She vaguely felt herself sinking underwater, her arms still wrapped around her senior brother’s neck, but she struggled to keep a thread of awareness. It was so comfortable in this cocoon; she really wanted to lean back and let herself fade away. But she didn’t dare to fully surrender, so her sleep was erratic and uneasy.

Even though the moonlight could illuminate a person, that moon would always hang in the sky, shining upon all beings; the illusory moon shadow could not be captured. This was something she always understood.

However, the thought that her senior brother would ultimately fall for Lu You made her heart ache.

That feeling of melancholy instantly dissipated like smoke sucked away by a magical artifact, and Xu Qianyu deleted that memory from her mind.

Then she squeezed her legs tighter, adjusting to a more comfortable position, pressing herself against Shen Suwei more firmly.

Xu Qianyu’s head was tired and hot; she wanted to eat a sugar-coated hawthorn. She extended her hand, craning her neck, but before she could bite the top fruit, Shen Suwei, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, said, “You can eat in a bit.”

Shen Suwei indeed had his considerations. As a cultivator traveling on the road, one must remain vigilant. If suddenly attacked by a demon, stopping, dodging, or fighting back were all ordinary reactions.

But the person on his back could not share his thoughts. If he made a sudden move, Xu Qianyu might choke or accidentally stab herself with the stick and perish, which would be a loss.

Out of caution, it was best not to eat.

Xu Qianyu frowned, not caring for such unreasonable demands. She opened her mouth to bite, but her arms were frozen in place by the sword aura.

She still clutched the sugar-coated hawthorn in her hand, but her arms couldn’t move an inch. She struggled against it, sparks of energy flashing around her arms, yet she still couldn’t break free. Stretching her neck, she still couldn’t reach it, feeling irritated and scolding, “Shen Suwei, are you even human?”

Shen Suwei remained indifferent.

While Xu Qianyu was cursing him, a golden butterfly fluttered gracefully in front of her, capturing her attention. Since he didn’t reach out to catch it, the golden butterfly danced around Shen Suwei, following their flight.

She didn’t need to open it to know what was inside.

“It has been three days.”

Shen Suwei felt that he was about to become equivalent to a useless person in his master’s eyes.

He suddenly reached out and broke off a branch. With a flick of his wrist, the branch was sliced and bent by his sword aura, quickly forming a small cage with a thin thread attached, which could be held in hand.

The faith butterfly was trapped inside the small cage, flapping its wings and flying around, golden powder falling from it, looking dazzling.

Shen Suwei turned the small cage and hung it on Xu Qianyu’s finger, then released her right hand.

Xu Qianyu indeed picked up the small cage, holding it in her hand. She stared intently at the butterfly inside, feeling somewhat at ease.

The faith butterfly was originally transformed from a piece of paper, carrying a meager amount of spiritual power. On the road, it could occasionally be knocked down by the powerful spiritual forces of others or devoured by demons. Once that happened, the faith butterfly would self-ignite to prevent anyone other than the recipient from seeing the contents. If blocked by mountains and rivers, it would retain its form as a spirit butterfly until its spiritual power was exhausted, after which it would self-destruct.

In such situations, there could be delays of several days. People from the immortal sect were not allowed to reply to messages; if they suspected that a faith butterfly was lost, they would send another. For urgent matters, two letters would be sent at once for safety.

As long as one did not accept the letter, there was no need to respond.

From this moment until his master assumed the faith butterfly was lost and sent a second one, they could gain a few more days.

After passing through another city, seeing that it was getting late, Xu Qianyu maintained a position for too long and couldn’t bear it anymore, so Shen Suwei stopped to rest.

When he placed her under a tree, Xu Qianyu had already fallen asleep.

There was no other reason; it was simply that the faith butterfly flying around in the cage had made her dizzy and drowsy.

Shen Suwei released her left hand, seeing that her eyes were tightly closed but her hand still firmly grasped the sugar-coated hawthorn. He wanted to take the hawthorn away. Xu Qianyu frowned, her eyelashes fluttering, seemingly unhappy even in her dreams, ready to scold him.

Shen Suwei glanced at her face, his breath catching, and his movements immediately softened. He carefully held her hand and gently extracted the sugar-coated hawthorn from her grasp.

He stood under the tree, hesitating for a moment with the hawthorn, then directly stuck it into the snow in his “realm.” There was also a box of ice skin mooncakes given by Guan Niang nearby.

In there, it was freezing cold and could preserve the hawthorn.

She could eat it when she woke up.

The small cage holding the faith butterfly fell beside Xu Qianyu, the faith butterfly still flapping its wings inside. Having consumed a considerable amount of spiritual power, its glow dimmed, and it flew slower. If it were any later, it would self-destruct and vanish; its current posture was quite pitiful. Shen Suwei looked at it through the cage, his dark eyes cold, his face as expressionless as jade, still not reaching out.

He always sought stability in his work. At this moment, he tightened his fingers in his sleeve, suppressing the urge to confirm the risks.

Just hold on a little longer.

This situation was completely unexpected. Not everyone was this difficult. Once he returned, he wouldn’t have to see them again.

However, the originally dim messenger butterfly suddenly fluttered its wings rapidly, and as Shen Suwei turned his head slightly, another messenger butterfly flew into the air.

One flap, two letters—this was urgent!

Shen Suwei immediately caught this messenger butterfly while using his spiritual power to penetrate the small cage, preventing the other messenger butterfly from self-destructing before he could open it.

The two letters lay before him, and indeed, the contents were identical:

“Qianqian is critically ill; return quickly.”