Xiao Yunting had never cried in front of Celestial Master Zhang before.
This child was sensitive and thoughtful. He was restrained and self-contained. He longed for his father’s embrace, yet he knew it would never come, so he always lowered his eyes, hiding the yearning in his heart.
He was born under a dual fate, half life, half death.
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau had examined him at birth and concluded he likely wouldn’t live to adulthood.
Perhaps that was why the Crown Prince had never cared for this son.
And the Crown Prince Consort, maybe she believed that if she loved him less, she would hurt less when he was gone.
Only because she could appear indifferent did Empress Feng, always focused on self-preservation, dare to take a gamble and seek a way out for Xiao Yunting.
After all, aside from proclaiming his dual fate, the Astronomical Bureau had also said: On that night, the Ziwei Star suddenly flared bright, then fell into the mortal world.
And so, by a twist of fate, this child tumbled through hardship, from an imperial scion to a target of all kinds of plots.
Until he came here.
Even then, he was not truly safe.
Longhu Mountain had many peaks and many elders. Even Celestial Master Zhang could not make all decisions alone.
For example, when Xiao Yunting survived another assassination attempt and remained unconscious for sixteen days, Celestial Master Zhang decided to bestow him with the sect’s treasure, Tiger Fang.
But all the elders opposed it.
After all, Xiao Yunting would one day return to the capital. He couldn’t truly be considered one of their own.
How could such a precious artifact be entrusted to an outsider?
In the end, it was the Law Enforcement Elder who proposed a challenge: if Xiao Yunting could pass a trial in the dangerous rear mountains, he would be allowed to stay and have the Tiger Fang made into his life jade.
Qi Yuan now witnessed how Xiao Yunting, battered and bruised, had survived the deadly forbidden grounds of Longhu Mountain.
He was just about as old as Shen Jialang, thrown into deep, wild mountains all alone.
On the very first day, he encountered a wild boar. Terrified, he fled for his life and scrambled up a tree.
The boar rammed the tree over and over, nearly shaking him loose each time.
But he held on, grimly and desperately.
On the most unbearable nights, he hid alone in the cracks of caves, crying for his mother again and again,
Even though the Crown Princess Consort had probably never even held him properly.
Qi Yuan couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.
She now understood how precious the Tiger Fang was. She understood how hard-earned it was.
It was truly Xiao Yunting’s second life.
The jade in her hand grew hotter and hotter.
The scene shifted. Celestial Master Zhang was now resting a hand on Xiao Yunting’s shoulder: “Child, life, aging, illness, and death all follow the natural Dao. You were raised on Longhu Mountain, surely you’ve seen enough of life and death. No one can escape this trial. Even your master, if I cannot transcend into the Earthly Immortal realm, I too will die.”
He paused a moment, then said softly, “Let it go.”
But Xiao Yunting could not.
He knelt alone at the gates of Longhu Mountain. Everyone else had left. Only he remained, holding Qi Yuan’s corpse, sobbing in the rain.
From childhood, there were few things he had ever wanted for himself.
It was always others telling him what he should want.
His grandmother told him to earn the Emperor’s favor, win the empire, and restore the Feng family’s glory.
His officials wished for him to secure the Eastern Palace, to ensure the Crown Prince would not be deposed.
And he had always worked toward those goals.
Only Qi Yuan,
Only Qi Yuan was someone he had chosen for himself.
When she killed the brothel client that day, it was as though he had seen himself in her eyes.
It was he who renamed her.
A name is the shortest incantation. Once you name someone, you form a bond.
From then on, Qi Yuan was his attachment, different from anything else.
She was someone he wanted.
He could not let go.
Qi Yuan knelt beside her own corpse, reaching out to touch Xiao Yunting’s face.
Before her hand made contact, tears had already streamed down her cheeks.
So this was how it had been, Xiao Yunting, despite his high rank and status, had suffered so much.
So when she had believed he had fallen in love with someone else, in reality, he had just survived an assassination attempt.
She, too, broke down into uncontrollable sobs.
Liujin whimpered from the side: “His Highness has suffered so much! He and Miss Qi are like two bitter melons on the same vine.”
He knelt beside Xiao Yunting.
Babao knelt as well.
In the pouring rain, Xiao Yunting said nothing. No matter who tried to persuade him, he wouldn’t move.
He passed out, woke up, and continued kneeling.
Even the elders of all the sect’s peaks were alarmed. When they learned what had happened, they could only sigh.
Pitiful, yes. Tragic, yes.
But Heaven’s will is not so easily defied.
The Tiger Fang had become so hot in Qi Yuan’s hand she could barely hold it. But she held on with all her strength, because she sensed that if she let go, she would leave this life for good.
And she could not.
She needed to see.
She needed to understand, what price Xiao Yunting had paid to change Celestial Master Zhang’s mind.
After three days and nights of kneeling, without food or water, nearly dead,
Celestial Master Zhang finally sent a young disciple to bring Xiao Yunting inside.
Qi Yuan followed anxiously. The moment she entered the chamber, she felt suffocated, as if her whole body were floating in midair.
Celestial Master Zhang’s brows furrowed. His expression turned sharp, and he was just about to form a seal when he caught sight of the Tiger Fang glowing faintly in midair.
He stopped. Then sighed deeply: “Heaven’s will… heaven’s will… Foolish child… foolish child…”
He set down his horsetail whisk, and Qi Yuan immediately felt her body grow lighter.
Celestial Master Zhang waited for Xiao Yunting to regain consciousness, then asked solemnly: “You truly want her to live again?”
Xiao Yunting forced himself to kneel and knocked his head to the ground three times: “Master, I know our sect has such a secret art…”
“You only know part of it, not the whole!” Celestial Master Zhang cut him off sternly. “If it is a secret art, it must carry a price for defying Heaven. Take your Uncle Huang, for instance, he couldn’t let go of his dead son and turned him into a puppet. But you know the result, your junior brother can never reincarnate.”
He looked at Xiao Yunting and sighed again, “I do have a way. But child, go become your emperor. Fulfill your destiny. Love your people. Accumulate merit and virtue. Then return to me, and I will make it happen.”
Xiao Yunting had always been quick-witted. He closed his eyes and asked, “Decades of waiting… decades of loneliness… Is that the price I must pay?”
Then he smiled bitterly.
If so, he would gladly pay it.
Celestial Master Zhang gave a wry smile, “No. That is far from enough. This is merely the first step. If you truly want her to live again, then start with this first step!”
