Chapter 63: Illusionary Blossom, A Reflection In Water
“Who exactly is this Junior Uncle? Something doesn’t feel right,” Liu Jing transmitted his voice while quietly turning the formation disk, attempting to divine fortune and misfortune.
The other party’s voice sounded youthful, the age should not be great—at least younger than Jing Di. Yet his words carried an old, world-weary tone, and his entire bearing brimmed with authority and a heavy pressure. His cultivation seemed above Jing Di’s. Everything about him felt dissonant and strange.
The four of them broke out in cold sweat, while the White Tiger let out a low, uneasy growl.
Jing Di’s expression turned unnatural. “This person is called Ning Wei, a disciple of Saint Gui Qing. He and I have some… cough, old grievances. Everyone, be careful!”
Originally, Ning Wei should have been taken in by Han Shan. Back then, in a small town on the border between the North and South, it was Zhang Suyuan and the others who first discovered that his spiritual bones suited sword cultivation, and they intended to take him back to the North. When Jing Di heard the news, he rushed over with disciples of Mingyue Lake. Realizing he was already a step late, he had wanted to give up. However, a mischievous disciple bet with Jing Di, wagering whether he could snatch the boy from Han Shan Sword Sect’s hands. The stake was only a jar of wine. Young and proud, Jing Di could not resist the provocation. After investigating Ning Wei’s situation, he devised a foolish plan.
The disciples of Mingyue Lake only saw him don women’s clothing, skirt and hairpin included. No one knew what he said to the boy, but with little effort, he coaxed him away. Even the three from Han Shan were deceived for a time, believing Mingyue Lake truly had a female cultivator. When the truth came out, their anger and resentment lasted for years, and only days ago they were still lodging complaints to Meng Xueli.
Once Ning Wei arrived at Mingyue Lake and the matter seemed settled beyond reversal, Jing Di shed his disguise—sister turned into brother—giving the child quite a fright. The disciples of Mingyue Lake, who had endured the act all along, burst into raucous laughter.
Back then, Jing Di was at the height of his fame, arrogant and domineering. None of the Mingyue Lake disciples dared laugh at him, so they instead mocked Ning Wei behind his back. They whispered that such a young boy had learned no good, greedy for beauty and lust, harboring improper thoughts toward Senior Brother Jing, and thus deserved to be made a fool of.
Ning Wei became nothing more than comic relief for Mingyue Lake disciples in their dull lives of cultivation, and he could only endure in silence, his temperament growing darker by the day. Such jokes seemed fresh and amusing on the surface, yet harbored malice within. If one grew angry, others would mock further, saying you lacked tolerance and could not even take a joke.
Only Jing Di knew the truth was not at all as the other disciples imagined.
Back then, he had secretly investigated and learned of Ning Wei’s impoverished family background. His father was hot-tempered, often drunk, and beat him regularly. Only his mother and elder sister treated him well. Yet his mother fell ill and died two years ago, and last year his sister was sold by his father to a wealthy household as a concubine, whereupon she drowned herself in a well. Once his father learned his son had gained a connection to the immortals, fearing retribution, he packed all valuables and fled in the night.
Thus, Jing Di disguised himself as a woman, captured Ning Wei’s father, and handed him over to the boy. Ning Wei did not raise a hand against him. He only asked to have his sister’s and mother’s jewelry returned. From that moment, he was filled with gratitude toward Jing Di.
Jing Di had originally wanted to say: these trinkets are worthless, and if you follow me back to Mingyue Lake, you will have as many as you wish. Yet at the last moment, he changed his words and said instead:
“It’s nothing worth thanking me for. Truly, I just felt a connection with you and only regret I was a step too late. Alas. Han Shan is a fine place, but it is covered in snow all year, and its people are cold as well. Mingyue Lake is different. We are in the South, where the four seasons are as warm as spring. If you come to Mingyue Lake, those frostbites on your hands will never appear again.”
He pulled up Ning Wei’s small hand and smeared medicine on the red, cracked sores. Though it was the cheapest ointment in the cultivation world, for frostbite it worked instantly.
Seeing the boy’s eyes brighten slightly, he coaxed gently: “What do you think of me? If you become my junior, then I will be your mother—no, your elder sister—and treat you like my own younger brother. Do you want an older sister?”
The child probed timidly, “Senior Sister Jing?”
Jing Di smiled in satisfaction and patted his head.
So, if the boy truly harbored any so-called “greedy desire,” it was not for Jing Di’s beauty in disguise, but for that longed-for warmth of family, for the gentle “senior sister” who promised to treat him like a real elder sister. But unfortunately, all of this was nothing more than illusionary blossoms reflected in water—empty lies.
At this moment, recalling the past, even Jing Di’s shameless heart gave rise to a rare thread of guilt. Yet that “thread” was as fragile as a spider’s silk, scattered at the slightest breeze.
The once pitiful child had grown up, and no one dared laugh at him anymore. After becoming a disciple of Saint Gui Qing, Ning Wei’s status was higher than Jing Di’s.
Rank could still be glossed over—a “senior brother” or “junior uncle” was only a matter of words. But as for why the other’s cultivation surpassed his own, Jing Di could think of no explanation other than “forced infusions.”
“Infusion” was a method of transmitting cultivation, rapidly increasing one’s reserves of true essence and pushing them through a bottleneck. In the past, masters of great sects were fond of using this method to train their disciples. But soon it was proven to be nothing but pulling seedlings to force their growth. When such disciples attempted breakthroughs on their own later, they would face even greater crises. The Way of Heaven had always been fair; there were no shortcuts.
The wheel of fate turned, and now it was Jing Di’s turn to probe cautiously. “Junior Uncle, don’t deceive me. Did the Saint truly send you to find Meng Xueli? I am the senior disciple of Mingyue Lake. If the Sect Leader or Saint Gui Qing had given such an order, how could I possibly not know?”
From within the forest came Ning Wei’s cold, emotionless voice: “The Saint’s words are law. This matter is of great consequence, and you are not yet qualified to know.”
The words pierced Jing Di’s ears like thorns, making him frown slightly. “You know I was following Meng Xueli earlier? Could it be that you saw us in the past few days?”
For a moment the streamside fell silent, with only the sound of wind and rain striking leaves, and the rushing water below.
Jing Di was about to continue pressing questions when suddenly a chill shot up his spine. Along with faint rustling sounds, more than twenty ghostly black shadows quietly emerged around them—from within the dense forest and across the stream. Though they appeared scattered and disorderly at a distance of about ten zhang, in truth they formed a ring that sealed off every direction.
Xu Sanshan shouted, “He really did see us!”
Zheng Mu cried out, “These are the ones who ambushed us by the Heishui River!”
That morning, Jing Di had been about to confess to Meng Xueli. Their enemies had long been lurking underwater, waiting to strike, but Meng Xueli had detected them first. The two of them had fought side by side against the enemy, and afterward they had gone their separate ways.
“I didn’t act that day, but tonight may be different,” Ning Wei said coldly. “I’ll ask one last time—where did Meng Xueli go?”
Jing Di felt his breath choke in his chest. He knew full well what the truth before him meant, but his stubbornness was roused instead. Resting one hand on the Ice Mirror Jade Wheel, he arched a brow and said, “Telling you is no harm. Meng Xueli turned into a dragonfly and flew away.”
His three teammates froze in place, then suddenly remembered the giant “bamboo dragonfly” that had burst out at the mouth of the cave. They erupted into laughter. “Hahahahaha—flew away!”
Their laughter was wildly out of place. Ning Wei’s true essence surged violently, spilling outward. The wind and rain in the forest grew fierce, fallen leaves whirled madly.
He said, “Attack.”
The three men’s smiles froze on their faces.
Liu Jing glanced down—and at some unknown point, the rotating formation disk had already stopped. All the intricate lines pointed to the same result—utter misfortune.
…
“Tingyun, did you hear something?” Meng Xueli suddenly stopped, tilting his head to listen. Under a vast, clear sky, the cool wind after the rain brushed past his ear, carrying with it the faint clashing sounds of weapons from afar.
Ji Xiao, whose five senses were sharp, answered without hesitation: “Over there—someone’s fighting. One against three. They’re all martial cultivators.”
Now when the miners’ team heard words like “fighting” and “robbery on the road,” they no longer trembled in fear. Instead, their spirits rose, their faces brimming with eager anticipation.
Meng Xueli turned his head and asked, “The teleportation array is close by. Do you want to hurry and make it in time, or should we go watch the fun?”
Wang Xiaohua replied, “I want to see. I come from a small sect and haven’t seen much of the world. If I can see more things, then even risking my life to come all the way here won’t be wasted.”
Li Shunqi said, “Yeah, just making it back alive this one time will give me enough to brag about for half a lifetime.”
Everyone chimed in in agreement. By now they were all familiar with Meng Xueli, and spoke honestly without the need for polite courtesy.
Meng Xueli laughed. “Alright then, let’s go.”
The group set off in high spirits, trekking over mountains and ridges.
Meng Xueli transmitted his voice to Ji Xiao:
“As your teacher, I’m not trying to sit back and reap the benefits. I just heard the sound of swords and wondered if it might be one of our Han Shan disciples fighting three opponents. If it happens to be someone we know, lending a hand is no trouble. Anyway, you and I have already collected enough jade tokens. We don’t need to worry about others surpassing our points…”
Hearing him explain himself in such a way, as though afraid Ji Xiao might be displeased, Ji Xiao’s heart grew steady and warm. He responded softly, “Mm.”
Author’s Note: For me, even being “long and thick” is just an illusionary blossom, a reflection in water. Crying.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
