Reunion

Yan Jue stared blankly at Qi Xianqing. In that instant, she once again sensed that familiar aura from her.

Invisible pressure.

It was the righteous qi that made all demons and monsters under heaven tremble, carrying an overwhelming sense of suppression.

Yan Jue couldn’t help but feel a faint chill run up her scalp.

Probably during the time they’d been apart, Qi Xianqing’s cultivation had improved again, and that pressure had grown especially dense.

Qi Xianqing had slain another demon.

That was the first thought that flashed through Yan Jue’s mind.

It had been a long time since she’d come into contact with Qi Xianqing’s Immortal Spirit Physique, and the faint trace of blood in the air was impossible to ignore, even from so far away.

Yan Jue swallowed, cold sweat beading on her forehead; the hand hidden in her sleeve slowly clenched.

The moment Yan Jue saw Qi Xianqing, her heartbeat suddenly sped up. A burst of excitement hit her at their long-awaited reunion; if she had two tails right now, they would probably already be wagging wildly.

“...”

Yan Jue lightly pushed off the ground with the tips of her feet and in an instant appeared before Qi Xianqing, beaming up at her. “Senior Sister, long time no see.”

Her movement was light and graceful, completely natural; her rose-red pleated skirt fluttered in the wind, her skin was fair as snow, and she looked every inch the spirited young girl, lips red and teeth white.

A trace of barely perceptible surprise flashed through Qi Xianqing’s eyes.

“Long time no see.” Qi Xianqing averted her gaze and said indifferently.

“...” It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head.

Qi Xianqing was just too cold. Even Yan Jue, who was usually so enthusiastic, felt a little embarrassed at that moment.

Yan Jue forced herself to ignore the pleasant scent drifting from Qi Xianqing, then looked up at the Ghostfire Fireflies not far away and asked in confusion, “Before I went down the mountain, I left a few Ghostfire Fireflies by the Cold Pool. Why did they turn into this when I came back?”

Qi Xianqing also knew about her raising the Ghostfire Fireflies, so Yan Jue asked directly.

The insects now floating by the Cold Pool were larger, and their color was much brighter than the Ghostfire Fireflies she had raised.

Yan Jue was certain her Ghostfire Fireflies were neither this size nor this color.

Qi Xianqing looked at her for a moment, then coughed softly. “Because after you left, Junior Brother Chu came again.”

Yan Jue: “Huh?”

Qi Xianqing: “He practiced a sword technique that specifically counters Ghostfire Fireflies.”

She had sliced apart all seven of your Ghostfire Fireflies. I was worried he would keep training here, so I released the Thunderlight Bugs.”

Yan Jue: “...”

Qi Xianqing looked into the distance with an expressionless face. The little Thunderlight Bugs that had been circling above her head suddenly swooped down and settled on her shoulder.

In the sunlight, they gleamed an eye-searing indigo, faintly crackling with a popping sound.

This woman.

Yan Jue no longer even knew how to complain about her. On the surface she was so gentle and courteous, answering every question from Chu Fu with endless patience; who knew how annoyed she must have been with him inside, hahahaha.

Thinking of it that way, Yan Jue suddenly felt that she and Qi Xianqing were on the same side again, and her tone became a little more natural. “Senior Sister, this time when I went down the mountain, I had some ideas about the ‘Instant Thousand Miles’ movement technique. I just don’t know how well I’m practicing...”

Qi Xianqing lifted her brows slightly and looked at her. “Then show me once.”

Although Instant Thousand Miles was only a basic movement technique of the Five Dragons Sect, not many people could truly master it.

After all, most Five Dragons disciples cultivated swordsmanship; movement techniques fell under the category of martial arts.

Although Qi Xianqing had taught Yan Jue the Instant Thousand Miles footwork last time, she had done so somewhat casually and had not expected Yan Jue to really learn it.

It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and the Cold Pool was quiet and deserted.

Since Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing had reunited after such a long separation, she naturally wanted to be a little more serious. She settled into stance and silently recited the mental formula.

A faint breeze seemed to stir beneath her feet.

Qi Xianqing: “As for Instant Thousand Miles, there’s no need to rush—”

Before she could finish, a gale suddenly swept across her face, and Yan Jue vanished from in front of her.

Qi Xianqing: “...”

In the next breath, Yan Jue landed steadily on the large boulder at the far end of the Cold Pool.

After landing, Yan Jue subconsciously looked up at Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing stood in the sunlight and looked back at her; the jade pendant at her waist swayed in the wind, and her peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of her eyes deep and restrained.

No matter how many times she looked, Yan Jue still found herself stunned by Qi Xianqing’s beauty.

After a long silence, Qi Xianqing said in a voice without the slightest rise or fall, “Not bad. You’ve already reached the beginner stage of Instant Thousand Miles.”

Hearing Qi Xianqing’s evaluation, Yan Jue finally confirmed her own guess. Her lips curled up slightly.

Qi Xianqing stared at Yan Jue, extremely surprised inside.

Drifting Snow had already been difficult to learn, yet Yan Jue’s sudden enlightenment within the span of one incense stick had still seemed reasonable.

But how many days had it been since then? This Instant Thousand Miles was learned far too quickly.

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue. “Since you’ve already made some progress with Instant Thousand Miles, that means your training method isn’t wrong. Keep practicing.”

When Yan Jue saw Qi Xianqing turn around as if she were about to leave, she hurriedly took out the sugar-steamed milk curd from her Qiankun bag and respectfully handed it over.

Qi Xianqing paused slightly.

The tender yellow sugar-steamed milk curd was perfectly preserved in its box, with a tempting layer of sugar frost condensed on top.

Last time at the inn outside Nanxing Town, Qi Xianqing had indeed shown strong interest in sugar-steamed milk curd, and had even specifically packed some to take away before leaving.

Qi Xianqing knew Yan Jue had gone down the mountain to train a few days ago, but she hadn’t expected Yan Jue to still remember that, or to bring her sugar-steamed milk curd this time.

Yan Jue: “Senior Sister, I’ll practice Instant Thousand Miles properly from now on. Could you... teach me another martial art?”

Her eyes lowered slightly, the very picture of a humble, eager student.

Qi Xianqing stared at her in silence for a long while.

Cold sweat began to rise on Yan Jue’s back.

Qi Xianqing had always given off a somewhat cold aura; when she wasn’t smiling, she was especially inscrutable.

Yan Jue had to admit that she was being a little pushy now. Clearly, on that day in Nanxing Town, Qi Xianqing had only agreed to one request, but Yan Jue had learned one thing and now wanted to learn another, putting Qi Xianqing in a difficult position.

After all, if it were discovered that Qi Xianqing had privately taught her martial arts, that would be extremely bad.

Qi Xianqing didn’t answer directly. Instead, she said softly, “You haven’t fully learned Instant Thousand Miles yet, and you already want to study a new technique. Junior Sister, aren’t you being too ambitious?”

Before she even finished speaking, sweat broke out on Yan Jue’s forehead. She hadn’t expected Qi Xianqing to have such a temper; she was already lecturing her.

Qi Xianqing lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought, and then walked away distractedly.

-

Yan Jue hadn’t managed to pry any technique out of Qi Xianqing, so she couldn’t help feeling a little dejected.

She returned to the dormitory listlessly, took out the latest issue of The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, and flipped to the first page. There, in bold characters, were the words: preparations for the Five-Dragon Summit are underway.

As the name implied, the Five-Dragon Summit was a grand martial competition among the disciples of the five peaks of Five Dragons Mountain.

Although it could not compare to the grandeur of the Myriad Immortals Assembly, it was still a very large event.

At that time, disciples from the Six Great Immortal Sects would also be allowed up the mountain to watch and learn from the matches.

Looking at that report, Yan Jue’s expression darkened slightly.

The original host’s death had occurred on the eve of the Five-Dragon Summit.

Now there were only five months left until that time.

She would still be under observation by the Administrative Hall for another month.

During this month, she naturally had to make good use of her time, such as learning more martial arts from Qi Xianqing.

She had to strive to break through before going down the mountain.

Of course, if Qi Xianqing refused to teach her any more, there was nothing she could do...

The two of them really weren’t close enough for that.

Yan Jue then flipped to the second page of The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, where she found a piece of gossip.

—Chief disciple of the Beast Taming Pavilion, Xue Shuangxing, is heading to the southwest region.

According to reports, someone saw Xue Shuangxing at the inn in Nanxing Town. This time, she descended the mountain carrying the Beast Taming Pavilion’s mascot, “Tiger Mastiff.”

Do you know what a Tiger Mastiff is? It’s basically a big cat that looks a lot like a dog. The righteous qi on its body specifically counters demons and ghosts, and the Beast Taming Pavilion has always treasured and pampered it.

How strange. Why would the Beast Taming Pavilion allow Xue Shuangxing to bring its treasure to the southwest? Does that mean something?

Or is the Beast Taming Pavilion simply handing the sect’s pride and joy over to Xue Shuangxing, confirming her once again as the Beast Taming Pavilion’s chief disciple?

Yan Jue froze.

Was that woman Xue Shuangxing?

Even The Five Dragons Encyclopedia knew that the Beast Taming Pavilion had come to the southwest.

That meant the Beast Taming Pavilion had made no effort to hide its actions from the Six Great Immortal Sects.

It was just that she didn’t know what the Beast Taming Pavilion intended to do in the southwest region. Could it be related to the demon race? She remembered that in the novel, the demon race was hunted down by the Six Great Immortal Sects; had that plotline already begun?

After all, the Beast Taming Pavilion was an entire group of righteous cultivators who specialized in capturing demons; they were the ones who dealt with the demon race the most, so it was hard not to wonder.

She also didn’t know how long this Xue Shuangxing from the Beast Taming Pavilion would stay in the southwest, whether it was only her or if the whole Beast Taming Pavilion would come.

Yan Jue was about to flee the mountain soon and had no desire to run into trouble at a time like this.

Of course, The Five Dragons Encyclopedia was only making wild guesses; there was naturally no useful information to be found in the article.

It was still early, so Yan Jue lifted her sleeve and sniffed herself.

She had picked up quite a lot of demonic aura during this trip down the mountain.

Although she had the Demon Binding Ring protecting her, it was still better to get rid of the demonic aura she carried when she returned to her original form.

...

If she wanted to drive away the demonic aura and make herself smell nice again, the first place that came to Yan Jue’s mind was Qingmu Pavilion.

Qingmu Pavilion was the place the Five Dragons Sect had set aside specifically for disciples to bathe. The water in its pools had cleansing properties and carried a natural fragrance; soak there for a while, and all the filth on your body could be washed away.

More importantly, the waters of Qingmu Pavilion were comfortable to soak in.

Although the Cold Pool should also be able to cleanse away all impurities, and it even had healing effects along with abundant spiritual energy, Yan Jue had spent several days down on the mountain, and her whole body was feeling lazy. Tonight, she really didn’t want to go sit in the Cold Pool.

Qingmu Pavilion was divided into a men’s hall and a women’s hall.

The layout inside was also quite luxurious. A large pool was divided into one small stone chamber after another, leaving enough private space for the disciples coming to bathe.

Of course, if disciples didn’t want to enjoy individual bathing space, they could also soak in the large outdoor pool.

The private stone chambers only had the function of perfuming the body.

But the open-air large pool was infused with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and also had healing effects; one could say it was a heated version of the Cold Pool.

It was just that the water in the large pool was much hotter, and one couldn’t stay in it for too long.

There had even once been a news report of a disciple soaking in the pool for two full hours, only to have their whole body ulcerate.

Many disciples preferred comfort and naturally were unwilling to soak in the large pool.

Yan Jue arrived at Qingmu Pavilion, found a relatively enclosed stone chamber, and jumped in.

A night breeze brushed past, lifting the light pink gauze curtains.

Perhaps because the Five-Dragon Summit was imminent, most disciples had chosen to go into seclusion and cultivate, so there weren’t many people in Qingmu Pavilion at the moment.

The pool water was warm; the spring night was cold, but soaking inside felt comfortable.

Yan Jue closed her eyes and sat cross-legged in the water, adjusting her breathing.

She had to admit that soaking in Qingmu Pavilion’s heated pool was really too comfortable; it couldn’t compare to the biting cold of the Cold Pool.

The water here was warm, and the rolling waves seemed almost able to melt a person’s heart.

Before she knew it, Yan Jue had turned back into a little fox. Her black ears lay against the back of her head as she floated in the water.

She felt the demonic aura on her body gradually being absorbed by the pool water, and her body once again became clean.

Suddenly, faint footsteps sounded from over there.

Since Yan Jue was a fox demon, even in a relatively relaxed state she remained vigilant; she immediately opened those amber eyes.

Then she smelled a trace of... a very familiar aura.

It was like the quiet fragrance of plum blossoms in heavy snow, elegant and cool.

Yan Jue froze, paddled through the water toward the shore, and hooked her little black paws over the stone wall. Water droplets rolled down her fiery fur as she peered through the gauze curtain. Through the blur, she could make out a figure.

The woman was slender, dressed in a plain white inner robe. Her long black hair, like crow feathers, was pinned up with a hairpin; she sat by the open-air pool, her hands braced behind her, quietly gazing ahead.

Yan Jue’s pupils shrank suddenly.

Qi Xianqing.

Qingmu Pavilion was near Qiwu Peak, and also close to the forest.

Yan Jue stared at the scene before her and couldn’t help freezing. What was Qi Xianqing doing here at this hour?

In the scalding waters of the open-air pool, Qi Xianqing slightly lowered her brows, dipped her head, and pulled up her sleeve. With one hand, she took out a wooden box, scooped out the pale, luminous ointment inside, and applied it to her arm.

Under the dim light, Yan Jue paused.

There were three clear blood marks on Qi Xianqing’s arm.

They seemed to be claw marks; three hideous lacerations spread across her fair skin like red lotuses blooming in the snow, deeply embedded in the flesh. The surrounding skin had split open, revealing vague traces of blood and bone. It looked like a fresh wound.

Qi Xianqing had gone down the mountain a few days ago.

The blood of the Immortal Spirit Physique was too special; wherever she went, it inevitably attracted monsters.

The injury on Qi Xianqing’s arm might have been caused by some trouble she ran into while traveling down the mountain.

So that was it. Qi Xianqing was human, and unless the injury was urgent, she wouldn’t go to the Cold Pool for treatment. That was why she had come to Qingmu Pavilion to heal.

Yan Jue climbed out of the hot pool, shook the water from her fur, and trotted toward Qi Xianqing in small steps.

Because Qingmu Pavilion was close to the forest, many spirit beasts would often come here to play in the water, and the Five Dragons Sect had always turned a blind eye to that, so it wasn’t strange for her to be here.

Yan Jue stopped several zhang away from Qi Xianqing.

Out of caution, she wanted to see whether Qi Xianqing still remembered her, whether there was any killing intent toward her. She wasn’t about to casually walk up to this killer.

As expected of an immortal, even sitting in the hot pool in a plain white inner robe, her eyes closed, her fair face flushed red from the steam, with beads of sweat slowly rolling down her forehead and slipping into the collar of her robe, she still gave off no hint of being tainted.

Hearing the footsteps, Qi Xianqing opened her eyes and met the little fox’s gaze.

Under the moonlight, the fiery little fox sat on the shore, its amber eyes lifting slightly as it watched her without blinking.

Qi Xianqing quickly recognized it as that little fox baby she hadn’t seen in a long time.

After all, the little fox was simply too easy to identify: amber eyes, fiery fur, and a belly as white as snow; among foxes, it was a rare and excellent specimen.

Qi Xianqing raised her brows in surprise, then smiled and closed her eyes again.

Since Yan Jue really hadn’t seen Qi Xianqing in a long time, and since Qi Xianqing showed no killing intent, she lay flat on the ground as a fox and began inching forward little by little. Soon she stopped in front of Qi Xianqing, one step away, her black nose twitching faintly as she hesitated to come any closer.

With her eyes still closed, Qi Xianqing spoke with a faint smile in her voice. “We haven’t seen each other for a few days, and you’ve already grown distant?”