Descending the Mountain

“Tomorrow, we’ll be descending the mountain. Have you bid a proper farewell to all your friends?”

Luochen, held in Su Yue’s embrace, suddenly turned to face her.

“Hmm… I suppose I did,”

Su Yue replied, a hint of guilt in her voice.

She didn’t truly have any friends within the sect who warranted a proper farewell, but she had mentioned her departure to a few fellow disciples who frequently purchased her elixirs.

Their reactions, however, were rather dramatic, as if the sky was falling, and it had taken considerable effort to mollify them.

“Ah, my Senior Sister truly is the best,”

With that thought, Su Yue tightened her embrace.

Listening to the steady breathing of her Junior Sister beside her, Luochen, who typically maintained a very regular sleep schedule in this unfamiliar world, found herself surprisingly sleepless.

Since arriving in this world, she had remained within the Feibai Sect, venturing out only for brief periods.

This time, however, she was truly embarking on a long journey.

For some inexplicable reason, her mind drifted back to the night before her university orientation in her previous life.

Her heart had been filled with a restless anxiety about going to a foreign land, and she had spent the entire night tossing and turning.

It truly felt like a remarkably similar scenario.

Then again, it wasn’t entirely similar; in her previous life, she hadn’t had a Junior Sister by her side.

“Hmm, it would be even better if she didn’t cling to me so tightly in her sleep,”

With considerable effort, Luochen pried open Su Yue’s octopus-like embrace, finally recovering from the suffocating predicament.

Yet, regardless of her apprehension, descending the mountain to seek out the Daughter of Destiny was an imperative task; she would simply take things one step at a time.

Staring at the darkened ceiling, Luochen mused silently.

****

After once again extricating herself from Su Yue’s inexplicably entwining embrace, Luochen gently pinched her Junior Sister’s cheek.

“Time to wake up, Junior Sister,”

With a soft groan, Su Yue sat up, her eyes still heavy with sleep, and stretched languidly.

Her loose sleepwear slipped from her shoulder, revealing the curve of her chest.

A glimpse of nascent spring.

Seeing no reaction from the person in question, Luochen silently pulled her Junior Sister’s clothing back into place.

“Get dressed, and remember to double-check everything you need to bring,”

She closed the door behind her.

In her final moments on Bamboo Green Peak, Luochen meticulously surveyed every familiar blade of grass and every tree, as if intending to etch them into her memory.

Rarely, the fish in the lake leaped from the water, their scales shimmering beautifully under the sunlight.

“Were they perhaps seeing her off?”

Alas, Luochen did not understand the language of fish; otherwise, she might have quietly gone to wash a pot and start a fire.

For, as it turned out, the fish were cursing rather obscenely.

“Senior Sister, let’s go!”

From the dwelling, a now-ready Su Yue called out loudly to her.

“Master, I am now descending the mountain for my travels. I hope that by the time I return, you will have already achieved the Ninth Reversal breakthrough.”

Her gaze swept past Zhu Qing’s room, finally settling on Chen Ruan’s residence.

“Miss Chen, will we meet again after I descend the mountain?”

Luochen felt a blend of anticipation and fear, apprehensive of encountering a Chen Ruan entirely different from the one she held in her memory.

“It’s no good to always be so caught between gains and losses,” she mused. “At the very least, I should take the first step.”

Rubbing her head, Luochen departed with her Junior Sister on their flying swords, arriving at the mountain gate shortly thereafter.

“So, it seems the news of our departure has already spread,”

Observing the dense, dark mass of people before her, Luochen felt a headache brewing.

“Senior Sister Luochen!”

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister Su!”

“Senior Sister Su!”

Originally, Luochen had intended to demonstrate her newly acquired skill of performing a drifting turn and stopping her flying sword with flair for her Junior Sister.

However, with so many eyes upon her, and to preserve her image as the esteemed Senior Disciple, Luochen decisively opted for the most stable and dignified method of landing.

As the two landed, the disciples converged around them.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister Su, please be extremely careful during your travels down the mountain,”

One individual, seemingly chosen as their representative, stepped forward. “The demonic path has been rampant down the mountain recently, and many righteous disciples have suffered losses.”

“Thank you all for your concern. My Junior Sister and I will certainly be mindful,”

“And thank you for taking the trouble to come so early to see us off,”

“Thank you, everyone,” Su Yue added. Though typically taciturn, she understood the decorum expected in such a situation.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two rose to take their leave.

“May your journey be smooth!”

The crowd waved in unison, bidding them a collective farewell.

Watching the two streaks of sword light ascend directly into the clouds, Yuxi retracted his divine sense.

“They’ve gone,” he murmured, a touch of sentiment in his voice, before lowering his gaze back to his book.

“Why didn’t you go see them off?” Shuanghua asked, playfully teasing the small fish Yuxi had just caught. Yuxi had even named it ‘Little Blue’.

“You didn’t go either,” Yuxi replied, not bothering to lift his head.

“There were too many people. I feared my presence would disrupt the atmosphere.”

Shuanghua tapped the glass, observing Little Blue’s every movement.

“Well, what do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?” Yuxi closed his book, an undisguised note of triumph in his tone.

“It is quite beautiful, I’ll admit. Are you certain you didn’t employ any underhanded tactics?”

Shuanghua’s face was etched with suspicion. She had witnessed Yuxi’s fishing methods before; any fish with even a glimmer of sentience would never take his bait.

Unless, of course, they wished to be caught.

“You may question anything about me, but you must never question my sincerity and passion for the art of fishing!”

Yuxi declared indignantly.

“Fair enough,” Shuanghua conceded, stroking her chin as if acknowledging Yuxi’s assertion.

“Hmph, pure dumb luck,”

She shook her head and departed, closing the office door with a sigh.

****

“So, they’ve left,”

Zhu Qing withdrew her divine sense.

For the past few days, she had been replenishing her depleted primordial spiritual energy, and now, at last, her condition had been restored to its optimal state.

If there was any lingering discomfort, it was the recurring memories of the intimate night she had shared with Luochen.

Even the mere recollection of those enchanting scenes sent a flush of heat through her entire body.

Her swift decision to enter secluded cultivation had also stemmed from her uncertainty about how to face Luochen after that particular incident.

Otherwise, Zhu Qing could have easily recovered her primordial spiritual energy on Bamboo Green Peak, lingering to spend Luochen’s final days with her.

Why, then, was she alone on Enlightenment Peak, staring at a dark, desolate cliff face?

Cliff face… murals… slipping.

Images of Luochen’s clothes slipping away flashed in her mind, swiftly followed by thoughts of their intimacy.

Caresses… kneading.

‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’

Zhu Qing took a deep breath, finally managing to cast these impure thoughts from her mind.

After confirming the protective array’s normal function, Zhu Qing began to condense her spiritual energy.

She was about to enter a true state of secluded cultivation, from which she would only emerge upon a successful breakthrough or a significant drop in cultivation due to failure.

As for the somewhat altered feelings she harbored for her disciple…

‘Perhaps new insights would come to her after she achieved the Ninth Reversal,’

As these thoughts faded, Zhu Qing’s mind emptied, and she felt her body plummeting rapidly, as if falling into the boundless depths of the ocean.

A profound and mysterious aura emanated from her, and spiritual energy converged around Zhu Qing, shimmering with radiant light.

With heaven and earth as my foundation, they shall lift me to the clouds.

****

As the farewells of the crowd echoed behind them, a faint smile played on Luochen’s lips.

“What is it, Senior Sister?” Su Yue couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s just that everyone truly is wonderful,”

Indeed, everyone at Feibai Sect was truly wonderful.

From her very first day in this world until her departure today, she had spent the vast majority of her time within the Feibai Sect.

It was, in essence, her home in this realm.

Now, the wanderer leaving home was about to embark on her adventure.