Shadows of the Past and Present

Senior Aunt Xue was a woman of few words. To put it another way, she seemed rather rigid and traditional. However, these traits, combined with her remarkable strength and stunning beauty, could hardly be considered flaws.

In this lifetime, Xia Niansheng was not in a hurry to ‘repay her kindness.’ After all, in her eyes, he was merely a junior who was on good terms with her disciple.

Senior Aunt Xue, for her part, detected the gaze from behind her.

Yet, it was entirely different from the gazes tinged with desire that she often encountered.

Senior Aunt Xue turned to look at Xia Niansheng.

Beneath the night sky, his usually dark pupils seemed to shimmer with a faint light.

Complex emotions appeared to swirl within his gaze.

She subtly furrowed her brow.

‘Why is he looking at me with such an expression?’

Her face remained aloof, but a hint of faint confusion flickered deep within her eyes.

Xia Niansheng merely offered a faint smile before turning his head away.

‘How peculiar.’

Senior Aunt Xue turned her head back, embracing her longsword.

****

Bolstered by the power of a magical artifact, the group managed to return to the sect within two days by water travel alone.

Over these two days, White Snow Jade had reverted to her persona as the pure, immaculate, and approachable Saintess.

With outsiders present, neither of them dared to ‘act out of line,’ and naturally, they wouldn’t expose their peculiar relationship.

The injury of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s Saintess was no small matter.

To avoid unnecessary complications, the group entered through the sect’s back gate.

Senior Aunt Xue used her Elder’s token to open a gap in the back gate’s formation array, allowing the group to slip inside the sect.

After two days, White Snow Jade’s condition was fortunately stable.

Now that they were back in the sect, she could receive timely treatment, though she would still require a period of thorough recuperation.

As for rewards or reporting the details of the mission, those matters would undoubtedly be addressed only after White Snow Jade had been properly settled.

Upon entering the sect, Senior Aunt Xue prepared to take White Snow Jade to the residence of her master, the Sect Master Qiu Yan.

The accompanying group consisted of disciples from Cold Moon Mountain, all considered trusted confidantes.

Before their departure, she had already cautioned them about the secrecy of this mission.

She glanced at Xia Niansheng, who stood beside her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Xia Niansheng.

After all, even when her disciple was gravely injured, he had remained by her side.

His character was certainly trustworthy.

However, certain assurances were merely procedural, and Senior Aunt Xue, ever one to follow rules, would naturally not overlook them.

Xia Niansheng nodded with a smile.

“This matter will remain absolutely confidential until the sect issues further instructions.”

Only then did Senior Aunt Xue nod.

“The sect will compensate you for your losses.”

“My thanks, Senior Aunt Xue.”

Xia Niansheng waved his hand, bidding farewell to the group, and set off in the direction of Blood Sword Mountain.

Several female disciples, witnessing his carefree demeanor, felt their hearts flutter.

White Snow Jade stared intently at Xia Niansheng’s retreating figure, deep hatred smoldering in her eyes.

Senior Aunt Xue, however, couldn’t shake the feeling that Xia Niansheng’s gaze towards her these past few days had been unusually complex.

****

Xia Niansheng considered the first move of his plan successfully executed.

The remaining developments of the story were still within his calculations.

He first returned to Blood Sword Mountain.

Blood Sword Mountain was the residence of Duan Xi Shen, an Elder of the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

Generally, Elders who presided over a mountain peak would have a lineage of disciples under them.

Unlike other mountain masters who strove to expand their factions, Duan Xi Shen had only one personal disciple: Xia Niansheng.

The entire Blood Sword Mountain was inhabited solely by Duan Xi Shen and her disciple, Xia Niansheng.

Upon returning to Blood Sword Mountain, Xia Niansheng did not rush to find Duan Xi Shen.

Instead, he first went back to his own dwelling.

It was a modest wooden house, neither too large nor too small, and certainly not crude, for it boasted its own small courtyard.

Inside, the room contained only basic furnishings, yet it was meticulously clean and orderly.

Xia Niansheng skillfully retrieved a wooden bathtub.

After filling it with water, he then used his internal energy to adjust the temperature to his liking.

He then stripped off his clothes and settled into the tub.

While clothed, Xia Niansheng appeared somewhat slender, but with his clothes removed, one could discern aesthetically pleasing, well-defined, and powerful muscle lines.

Coupled with his handsome face, he exuded a potent aura of masculinity.

For cultivators like Xia Niansheng, who had reached such a level, their bodies were long purified of impurities.

One purpose of a hot bath was simply to relax.

As for other purposes, well…

After wiping himself dry and changing into fresh clothes, Xia Niansheng stepped out once more.

****

Duan Xi Shen.

Xia Niansheng’s master.

She had taken over Blood Sword Mountain at a remarkably young age, and when she descended the mountain for training at twenty, she had taken the eight-year-old Xia Niansheng as her personal disciple.

Now, Xia Niansheng was eighteen.

This was Xia Niansheng’s first encounter with Duan Xi Shen since his rebirth.

Her residence lay not far from Xia Niansheng’s house, a mere few minutes’ walk along the flagstone path.

This was a path he had traversed for nearly a decade.

Xia Niansheng gently knocked on the door of Duan Xi Shen’s residence.

A few seconds later, footsteps approached, and the door swung wide open.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, and despite having lived two lives, Xia Niansheng couldn’t help but feel a ripple of emotion upon seeing Duan Xi Shen in her crimson robes once more.

Certain memories trampled through the wilderness of his mind like wild horses, inflicting such raw pain.

****

Against the vast expanse of rolling black clouds in the sky, a ray of dawn flashed, as if the gates of heaven had opened wide.

When Duan Xi Shen looked at him, her usually icy eyes finally held a hint of tenderness.

“Niansheng…”

She called his name, just as she had in his childhood.

But swiftly, that faint hesitation solidified, entirely consumed by her yearning for ascension.

“Master, was I merely a part of your sacrifice?”

He had asked her, incredulous, though such a question now seemed utterly foolish.

‘It seems I should have known all along…’

‘I should have known!’

There were times when she inexplicably distanced herself from him, and mysteriously evaded his natural filial affection.

All of it was merely preparation for this very moment.

Perhaps, for a fleeting moment, she had truly regarded him as a disciple or a family member.

However, from the moment she brought him back to the mountain, his current fate had been sealed.

Xia Niansheng no longer remembered if he had been crying then.

The spray from the waterfall had obscured his face, making it impossible to tell.

Duan Xi Shen, however, averted her gaze, unable to meet his eyes directly for the first time.

Her evasion was her answer.

Xia Niansheng could not describe the emotions he felt at that moment.

He had genuinely believed in Duan Xi Shen, his master.

Ultimately, all his illusions were shattered by her resolute gaze.

Promises held no sway over those devoid of true affection.

Duan Xi Shen took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time.

Finally, she spoke: “This extent will not take your life. From this day forward, live well.”

Then, she swung her sword.

Later, Xia Niansheng did indeed miraculously survive, but after that sacrifice, he experienced another short period of peaceful life.

Yet, what followed was the true beginning of his nightmare.

Afterward, there was no further news of Duan Xi Shen’s ascension.

****

“What’s wrong?” Duan Xi Shen’s familiar voice pulled Xia Niansheng’s thoughts back to the present.

Xia Niansheng gazed at Duan Xi Shen with his dark eyes, the complex emotions within them carefully concealed.

He shook his head.

“Nothing, Master.”

Duan Xi Shen narrowed her eyes, a hint of suspicion in her gaze.

She was undeniably a great beauty, one of the female leads in this game.

If White Snow Jade’s beauty was sacred and inviolable, and Senior Aunt Xue’s beauty was dignified and ascetic, then Duan Xi Shen’s beauty was fraught with peril, perfectly embodying the metaphor of a ‘rose with thorns.’

After holding Xia Niansheng’s gaze for a few seconds, Duan Xi Shen ultimately decided not to press him about his distraction.

She turned and settled onto the reclining chair behind her.

Only then did Xia Niansheng notice that, as usual, she wasn’t wearing shoes.

Her delicate, fair feet were exposed, kept pristine by the barrier of her true qi.

Above them, her long skirt revealed a small portion of her slender calves.

Xia Niansheng’s gaze was pure, not lingering unnecessarily.

He quietly turned and closed the door, then looked into Duan Xi Shen’s eyes.

Duan Xi Shen rested her chin on her wrist, staring intently at Xia Niansheng.

“You used a compound pill?”

Although Duan Xi Shen spent her days on Blood Sword Mountain, such news never failed to reach her.

Xia Niansheng, having no intention of concealing it from Duan Xi Shen, nodded.

“White Snow Jade was poisoned. Without a pill to sustain her life, she would surely have died.”

“What is your relationship?”

Her tone was not accusatory, but rather like a casual conversation.

Xia Niansheng smiled.

“Just a normal fellow disciple relationship. It just so happened that I had the pill in that situation.”

Duan Xi Shen gave a barely perceptible nod, and continued to inquire:

“Where did you get the compound pill?”

Indeed…