Chapter 61: Recollections of a Bygone Youth

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Recollections of a Bygone Youth

"We’re leaving for Nanling County City tonight?"

Without waiting for Chu Fan to confirm her guess, Yan Ying made the suggestion directly.

"I really don’t know any Mr. Hong," Chu Fan maintained. "Otherwise, why wouldn’t I have gone straight to Nanling County? Why would I have stayed in this small town for so long?"

He suspected Mr. Hong might be Liu Yicai, but he wasn’t entirely certain.

"All the more reason to go take a look, then," Yan Ying said. "The eighth of the twelfth month is only half a month away. For the next two weeks, the entire Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm will have its eyes on Nanling County. It’s bound to be a hotbed of activity. It’ll be fun to watch the show."

"A look wouldn’t hurt," Chu Fan agreed with a nod.

After all, given Chu Fan’s former reputation among the sects of the Eastern Domain, it was a given that while he couldn’t possibly know every Cultivator, most of them knew him.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, the two decided to set off at night.

The journey from this town to Nanling County City was less than a thousand li.

At their current speed, one night would be more than enough time.

...

「Lingyun Sect, Cuiyun Peak.」

Inside the Elder Residence of the Fifth Elder, Yun Keji.

Yun Xi sat on the stone steps outside her chambers, her eyes fixed on the ants on the ground as they carried food a hundred times their own size.

Her senior martial sisters, Wu Xiuzhen and Qiu Yihan, stood to one side.

A rift had long since formed between them. Ever since Chu Fan had left this place over four months ago, Yun Xi hadn’t spoken a single word to them.

For months, Yun Xi hadn’t cried or caused a scene. The thing she did most was sit right here, often for the better part of a day.

Everyone in the Sect knew Chu Fan was dead.

First, he had been struck by Yan Qi’s palm, then kicked dozens of li away.

Forget a Cultivator like Chu Fan, whose Golden Core had been shattered and hadn’t even recovered to the Golden Core Realm. Even a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator would have less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance of surviving those two blows from Yan Qi.

Wu Xiuzhen and Qiu Yihan both knew that Yun Xi’s spirit had likely died. She was now just a walking corpse.

They felt helpless. The kind, intelligent, and incomparably beautiful junior sister who had once captivated the Eastern Domain had been reduced to this. One could only say that fate was a cruel mistress.

There was nothing they could do to help. After all, if her own parents could be so cruel to their daughter, what could two senior martial sisters possibly do?

Sacrificing one person, Yun Xi, could save the thousands of lives in the Lingyun Sect and its millennia of heritage.

Anyone would know how to make that choice.

The eighth of the twelfth month was still half a month away. Tomorrow, Yun Xi would leave the Lingyun Sect. Her wedding procession was set to depart in the morning, scheduled to arrive at Nanling Mountain on the sixth.

Neither Wu Xiuzhen nor Qiu Yihan knew what fate awaited her.

’The dead are dead. No matter how much you miss them or how guilty you feel, you have to bury it deep in your heart and embrace a new life.’

’Shui Yuntian’s reputation may be unsavory, but he is, after all, the Saint Heir of the Celestial Derivation Sect—the future Sect Leader.’

’Yun Xi will be his proper wife and will hold a high status in the Celestial Derivation Sect. What is there to be so stubborn about?’

’What man of any standing in this world doesn’t have multiple wives and concubines?’

’Chu Fan was wonderful, yes, but he is dead.’

’If marrying Shui Yuntian, the Saint Heir of the Celestial Derivation Sect, was truly a fate worse than death, would her own parents really push her into that fire pit?’

’What parent doesn’t want their child to have a good life?’

That’s why both Wu Xiuzhen and Qiu Yihan felt Yun Xi’s mind was stuck in a dead end. She was simply unwilling to let go.

As Yun Xi sat on the stone steps watching the ants, her mind drifted to a series of warm, gentle memories from the past.

In her memory, a pair of children, like a golden boy and a jade girl, were squatting on the ground, chins propped in their hands, also watching the ants.

The little girl said, "My mom says when ants move their home, it’s going to rain."

But the little boy said, "Look at these ants. They’re so small, but they can carry things hundreds, even thousands of times their own weight. Maybe that’s what Cultivation is—training our own potential! Everyone dismisses them as mere ants, but has anyone ever really thought about it? Their potential is so much greater than ours! They’re just born small. If they were born as big as us, they’d be incredibly powerful."

"Chu Fan, why do you always make so much sense?"

The scene shifted to when they first met.

On the Lingyun Sect’s Martial Arts Arena, thousands of disciples were practicing their Cultivation. A little boy hid behind a stone statue, peeking at them. From time to time, he would wave his little hands, mimicking the patterns of their Martial Techniques.

A little girl tiptoed up behind him and suddenly tapped his shoulder, making him jump.

"Who are you? How dare you spy on people and steal our techniques!" the little girl demanded, her hands on her hips.

The boy jumped again, but he wasn’t frightened by her threat. Instead, he magically produced a fried chicken leg from behind his back and said, "If you don’t tell on me, you can have this."

For the first time, the little boy successfully bribed the little girl with a chicken leg.

"I’m Chu Fan. I live on Cuimei Peak. What’s your name?"

"I’m Yun Xi, and my dad’s an Elder."

"Your dad must be really strong then, huh?"

"Of course! My dad’s strong, but my mom’s even stronger. What about you? Who are your parents? Do they know any martial arts?"

Hearing her questions, the little boy fell silent.

The little girl said perceptively, "It’s okay. If anyone bullies you, I’ll get my mom and dad to beat them up for you."

"You don’t have to. I can protect myself. I’m a big boy."

The scene shifted again. The little boy had become the Supreme Elder’s Closed-door Disciple and was gradually revealing his talent.

"Yun Xi, from now on, you should call me Martial Uncle," the boy said.

"No! I don’t want to call you Martial Uncle! You promised you’d marry me when we grew up. If I call you Martial Uncle, wouldn’t that mess up our seniority?"

"I was just teasing you. I don’t want to be your Martial Uncle either. I’m definitely going to marry you someday. When we’re older, I’ll protect you."

"Mhm!"

"Chu Fan, you’re the worst! You’re going to eat all of this!"

The little girl had grown up. She was now slender and graceful, with a beauty that was second to none. But at this moment, her exquisite face was streaked with soot from Chu Fan’s fingers. Furious, she brandished a mountain chicken she had burnt to a crisp and chased after him.

Under her stern gaze, a helpless Chu Fan ate half of the charred mountain chicken.

"Oh, forget it. I won’t punish you anymore. I promise I’ll cook something delicious next time."

"Please don’t. You just don’t have the knack for it. Let me do the cooking next time. I just came up with a new recipe a couple of days ago."

"Chu Fan, in a few days you’re leaving for the Purple Gold Sect to attend the Tengxing Grand Assembly. I know you’ll come back with a high ranking. It’s just a shame I can’t go with you."

"But we agreed we’d go together, didn’t we? Why can’t you go?"

"It’s my mother. She said my two senior sisters are turning thirty next year, so this is their last chance to attend the Tengxing Grand Assembly. She wants me to give my spot to them."

"Yun Xi, I’m going to the Cloud Horse Jade Mine tomorrow with Master and my senior brothers. I just came to tell you. The people from Red Blood Mansion have gone too far. Not only are they ambushing and killing our martial brothers who go down the mountain to train, but they’ve also seized our Jade Mine."

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Don’t worry. With my Master and five senior brothers being so powerful, what danger could a bunch of scoundrels from Red Blood Mansion possibly pose to me? When I get back, I’m going to talk to Master about setting a date for our wedding."

"Hmph, so you finally remembered! I’m already twenty-two, a grown woman. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was unmarriageable!"

"Nonsense. Our Yun Xi is the greatest beauty in the Eastern Domain. If you wanted to get married, all the young, talented men in the realm would be lining up at your door to propose. I’m just the lucky one who had an inside track."

"You and your silver tongue. I’m not talking to you anymore."

As these scenes played out in her mind, tears began to stream down the face of the once-vacant Yun Xi.

’Chu Fan, I’m leaving for the Celestial Derivation Sect tomorrow. You promised me you would come, didn’t you? You promised you would marry me. You can’t break your word. If you don’t come, I’ll die...’