Chapter 157 - 120: The Moon-White Sword

Chapter 157: Chapter 120: The Moon-White Sword

BANG!

A brilliant firework soared into the sky.

Lu Changyuan gathered and dispersed a mass of blood in his palm. The blood bizarrely bloomed into a series of flowers before finally bursting apart.

’My control over the Blood Demon’s abilities is still average. I need more practice.’

"My Lord."

Xia Lianxue came over, holding a few rice cakes. "Here, try some. Jiayi and I made them together. We’ll be eating soon."

Lu Changyuan smiled and took one. It was soft, faintly sweet, and stuck to his throat.

Seeing his reaction, the Little Fairy in a White Skirt covered her mouth to stifle a laugh and walked away. She had insisted on cooking today, just like she used to back in the Mortal World. Every New Year, she would make pastries and deliver them to the home of the Young Physician not far away. Then, faced with his exasperated expression, she would go on and on about what their life would be like after they got married.

’Now that we’re married, it’s still the same. Nothing’s changed.’

Everyone seemed to be bustling about, leaving Lu Changyuan in peace. Watching the smoke rise from the busy kitchens, his thoughts began to drift.

He was thinking of someone. Not the Sun and Moon Palace Master or some other woman, but the Elder Physician.

In this life, he had been found and raised by the Elder Physician, who had been gathering herbs in the mountains. He didn’t know who would abandon a baby on a mountain. If the Elder Physician hadn’t found him, he probably would have been eaten by the mountain tigers.

The Elder Physician had no wife or children, so he raised Lu Changyuan as his own son and taught him some skills with medicinal herbs. Lu Changyuan thus became a Physician himself. However, about five or six years before Lu Changyuan recovered his memories, the Elder Physician had died.

He wasn’t murdered; he died of old age.

In Lu Changyuan’s memory, the Elder Physician had been unbelievably old, with white hair and a white beard, his eyes barely able to open. But his medical skills were so profound they were on the verge of Entering the Dao.

’If the Elder Physician had a bit of immortal fate, he probably could have reached the Fifth Realm on the spot.’

When Lu Changyuan was a child, he had asked the Elder Physician his age. The old man would always joke that he was too old to remember. Lu Changyuan had never thought much about the Elder Physician before, but thinking back on it today, it did seem a little strange.

’Why would an Elder Physician like that stay in a small village at the foot of a great mountain?’

"How exactly did I survive?"

The reason he was reminiscing about the Elder Physician was because Lu Changyuan wanted to know how he had survived the Celestial Punishment.

’Even with the Little Fairy in a White Skirt using her Time Technique, it shouldn’t have been possible to bring me back so completely. Someone else must have intervened. Who? The Desire Demon?’

’Does the Desire Demon even have that kind of power?’

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes, searching his memories meticulously.

Someone approached quietly, as cold and distant as the moon in the sky. "Teach me swordsmanship."

Qiu Yuehan took a few graceful steps, drawing near to Lu Changyuan. Although she had bought the clothes, she had agonized over it for several days before finally finding Lu Changyuan on the eve of the New Year.

The Fairy bit her lip. She felt strange, her mind constantly filled with the urge to be near Lu Changyuan. This had all started with the scenes she had witnessed in the sedan chair.

’He’s my junior sister’s man, but... he’s my Lifebound Spirit, isn’t he? My junior sister stole my Lifebound Spirit.’

An inexplicable turmoil tormented Qiu Yuehan, a feeling that even the Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique could not suppress.

Lu Changyuan snapped back to reality and asked blankly, "What swordsmanship?"

The Cold Fairy’s cheeks flushed. "I am your Named Disciple, after a fashion. Shouldn’t you teach me? Besides, I entered the Red Dust Sword Dao through your Red Dust Intent. How am I supposed to walk the path ahead?"

’That’s true.’

When they faced the Fifth Realm Elder of the Blood Demon Palace, Lu Changyuan had used a Demon Pattern to grant her a sliver of Red Dust Intent. That was what allowed the Moon Fairy to achieve Entering the Dao with her Fairy’s Hanging Sword.

"And I’m still not very good with A Sword from the West... Come with me."

’Why does the Nether Monarch even need to learn swordsmanship?’ Lu Changyuan thought. ’Once the Netherworld returns and you reclaim the Yao Guang Technique, can’t you just kill anyone you point at?’

But before he could speak, Qiu Yuehan had already pulled Lu Changyuan to the bamboo forest on the back hill. "I’m going to change into something more suitable for practicing."

Moonlight dappled the bamboo, scattering a cool radiance.

When Lu Changyuan saw Qiu Yuehan again, he was nearly blinded by the vision of moonlight she presented.

"Where did you buy this ’training outfit’?"

Qiu Yuehan’s face flushed red all the way to her ears. She bit her lip. "The clothing shop down the mountain said... they said this is the latest style for training clothes."

"Did you accidentally buy men’s clothing?"

Lu Changyuan stared at Qiu Yuehan. The Fairy’s face was cold and stunning, her moon-like eyes filled with shyness. Her nose was elegant and straight, her lips as delicate as a plum blossom blooming in winter.

Looking down, he saw a one-piece black dress. The hemline was shockingly short. The Fairy was already tall and slender, and her jade-like legs were displayed without reservation, dazzling his eyes.

The most outrageous part was the slit on the side. Like a cheongsam, it was held together by what looked like extremely fragile ties, completely failing to conceal the Fairy’s slender waist. One could even glimpse the moon-white fabric of her undergarments through the gaps.

Qiu Yuehan lifted her chin, feigning composure. "The shop owner said it’s breathable."

She walked over.

Only then did Lu Changyuan realize the Fairy wasn’t wearing any shoes. Her elegant, bare feet pressed against the soft ground. A jade-green anklet made her unadorned feet look incomparably lovely.

"What are you looking at?"

"Am I not allowed to look?"

Qiu Yuehan’s cheeks reddened. "Swordsmanship!"

Lu Changyuan was baffled to find his body moving on its own.

’Qiu Yuehan is controlling me!’

He didn’t try to reclaim control of his body. Instead, he wanted to see what this Fairy Yuehan was up to. A slightly chilled body pressed into his embrace. Lu Changyuan’s left hand found itself resting on the Fairy’s impossibly slender waist, while his right hand clasped Qiu Yuehan’s soft one.

’Teaching swordsmanship hand-in-hand, huh.’

Her firm, springy bottom pressed against Lu Changyuan’s leg.

Lu Changyuan was secretly impressed. Qiu Yuehan’s legs were dazzlingly long, straight, and utterly captivating—even more so than the Little Fairy’s.

"How much of your memory has returned?"

Qiu Yuehan was silent for a moment. "Not much. I just remember you carrying me... fighting all the way to Long Mountain. You were heavily injured, but you didn’t leave me behind."

On that thin line between life and death, the Nether Monarch’s loneliness had been gently worn away.

The Nether Monarch had said her Lifebound Spirit was her destiny. So, what was Lu Changyuan to Qiu Yuehan?

"I also remember you and I... washing in the lake..." The Moon Fairy bit her lip, shifting her hips slightly.

"From now on, just stay with us. You won’t be lonely."

Qiu Yuehan felt Lu Changyuan’s breath on her neck, making her feel a little weak. She spoke softly, "Will you let me go?"

Lu Changyuan replied with a straight face, "Only if you let me go."

The Fairy’s voice was faint. "The relationship between us is so complicated I can’t figure it out anymore. And I don’t want to."

A flash of sword light appeared.

Lu Changyuan, still holding Qiu Yuehan’s hand, had executed a Pure Yang technique.

The two of them did, indeed, look like they were practicing swordsmanship.

Qiu Yuehan said, "My junior sister told me before that since I have your mark, I’m not allowed to have contact with other men for the rest of my life."

"When was this?"

"Before you went to the Netherworld."

’What a domineering Little Fairy.’

Qiu Yuehan snorted. "I think my junior sister intentionally wanted to place me in your bed, but when I actually get there, she’s not happy about it."

What could Lu Changyuan do? He could only smile and say nothing.

The Moon Fairy suddenly turned around. Her glazed, jewel-like eyes, looking somewhat dazed, stared at Lu Changyuan. "Do you think I’m not beautiful?"

That was pure nonsense.

Qiu Yuehan was exquisitely beautiful. Hers was a solitary beauty, like a pure lotus on clear water. Anyone who saw her would feel as if the lonely, lofty moon had descended to the Mortal World and taken human form.

"You’re beautiful."

"Then why, from the first time you saw me until now... Never mind." Qiu Yuehan took back her words, thinking to herself that she was being a little petulant.

Lu Changyuan, feeling the cool, soft, fragrant woman in his arms, said, "Because it’s not necessary."

Qiu Yuehan said coldly, "Do you know why my junior sister never asks, even though she knows you and I have many secrets?"

"She has a gentle personality. She’s always been like that."

"Gentle? The Miao Yu Palace Master, someone who clawed her way out of chaos and slaughter, is gentle? Only in front of you." Qiu Yuehan turned to face Lu Changyuan, eye to eye.

’What a fierce Moon Fairy.’

The Moon Fairy said, "Because she knows you don’t like her."

"That was before."

Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but recall when the Desire Demon had possessed him. Back then, among his Five Desires, the one that had nearly made him fall was Xia Lianxue.

’Does that count as ’like’?’

Lu Changyuan wasn’t sure. He had liked someone before, but it had been so long that he’d forgotten the feeling. He only knew that Xia Lianxue had now become an inseparable part of his life.

So he added, "My relationship with her isn’t about ’like’ or ’dislike.’ I am her anchor, and she is my past. That kind of connection is much heavier than so-called ’like’."

Qiu Yuehan dropped the light sword and wrapped her arms around Lu Changyuan’s neck, the domineering nature of the Nether Monarch on full display.

"That sounds wonderful. If she were to hear that, she wouldn’t press any further," Qiu Yuehan said softly. "But I must say this: you cultivate the Supreme, so it’s inherently difficult for you to like someone. That’s why my junior sister is doing everything she can to stay by your side."

Lu Changyuan didn’t know what to say.

Qiu Yuehan reached out and placed her hand on Lu Changyuan’s left chest. "My junior sister feels she owes you for making you marry a woman you don’t like. So she wants me to make it up to you."

"There’s no debt between us. If anything, I owe her more. And... it’s not that I dislike her now."

In the end, love at first sight in the Mortal World is no match for love that grows over time.

The Little Fairy had already performed the marriage ceremony with Lu Changyuan. Feelings could be built from the trivialities of daily life.

Qiu Yuehan’s voice was lighter than moonlight. "How much of that is true?"

"That’s not important."

The Cold Fairy said again, "These things are very important."

Lu Changyuan shook his head, remaining silent.

"I used to wonder what I would do if you gave in to your beastly nature and forced me to do... unpleasant things. But before I came here today, I figured it out. You would never do that, because you don’t like me either," Qiu Yuehan murmured. "But if you don’t like me, who is supposed to dispel the loneliness of my two lives?"

If anyone else had control over the head Fairy of Miao Yu Palace, they would have probably played out every shameful scenario imaginable. But Lu Changyuan did nothing.

Not only did he do nothing, but after Qiu Yuehan recalled her memories as the Nether Monarch, she felt a chasm had formed between her and Lu Changyuan. And as they spent these past few days together, she suddenly realized that the chasm was only growing wider.

If this chasm wasn’t removed, she would remain lonely, while her junior sister and her own Lifebound Spirit lived happily ever after.

Leaving her all alone—was that right?

Lu Changyuan said, "That’s not ’like’ either. ’Like’ is just one part of affection. So-called ’like’ and ’love’ eventually become the familial bond of long-term companionship."

Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth and stared hard at Lu Changyuan, as if disappointed that he wasn’t living up to his potential. "From now on, you will teach me swordsmanship every night! I’ll wait for you right here!"

’I don’t understand myself anymore, but that’s okay. I’ll figure it out sooner or later.’

Lu Changyuan could only watch the Fairy depart over the snow, but in his mind, he was thinking, ’So, from now on, I have to watch the Moon Fairy practice swordsmanship in an outfit like that every night?’

’Is there any difference between that and her practicing naked?’

’Yes, there is.’

’Something half-hidden is always more alluring.’