Chapter Forty-Seven: A Second Gift of Magical Artifacts

Dongfang Mo, ever the gentleman, could not bring himself to harm the false Lu Xue. She clung to him relentlessly, mentioning past regrets over and over, and my master, his breath thrown into chaos, was so easily at risk of falling into madness. At last, I could endure it no longer. As the false Lu Xue wailed and sobbed, utterly unguarded, I seized the moment to cast a spell that sent her into unconsciousness.

My master then dissolved the immortal barrier at the mouth of the Rosy Cloud Cave.

Unable to speak, unable to call out “Master,” and unable to ask after his well-being, I could only stand at the cave’s entrance, tears in my eyes, smiling at him… He, too, smiled at me, a smile that was both his and reminiscent of Bai Hao from years past…

We gazed at each other in silence…

Dongfang Mo glanced between my master and me, then at the false Lu Xue lying on the ground. The corner of his mouth lifted in a faint smile, and he quietly withdrew, leaving the Rosy Cloud Cave behind.

To see him alive—what a blessing…

In that moment, it felt as if I had been separated from him for too long… I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into his arms and weep my heart out…

Holding back my tears, I knelt to pay him the highest respects.

“Don’t kneel! You’re still injured!” My master hurried to help me up.

“Does the wound still hurt?”

I shook my head.

“You cannot speak?” My master instantly noticed my strangeness.

I nodded.

He instructed me to open my mouth and carefully examined me with a spell. The Cloud-Condensing Heart Technique he used to check my throat felt cool and soothing, sweet as spring water in my mouth. Saliva pooled and, in panic, I covered my mouth with both hands before it could spill forth.

Seeing my foolish appearance, he chuckled. “It’s nothing serious. With rest, you’ll recover.”

Though he laughed so openly, his face was haggard. My heart ached. I pointed to my own heart, trying to ask after his health.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be better soon,” he replied with a gentle smile.

Lowering my head, I smiled, doing my best to hide the tears in my eyes. In my heart, I thought, “You endure a pain that pierces the soul, yet still say it’s nothing.”

I longed to say more, to gaze at him a while longer, yet I dared not disturb his healing. I prepared to bid farewell, and so glanced at the false Lu Xue lying on the ground. Dongfang Mo, seeing me arrive, had quietly slipped away, leaving the shameless impostor to me like a mangy cur.

“Fei’er, take her back to her bedchamber and keep watch over her for now. When Spring Breeze arrives, she will be taken away,” my master instructed.

I nodded, using a spell to lift the false Lu Xue. As I supported her, my hand caught her sleeve, and her left wrist was exposed—bound tightly with an Immortal-Binding Cord!

Kneeling down, I pulled up her sleeve to find the cord wrapped around her entire arm and the Xuanjing Bracelet, so tight that dark purple marks ringed her skin. If it had been tied any tighter, her arm might have been ruined completely.

Shocked, I looked up at my master.

“Untie it,” he said calmly.

The moment I unraveled the cord with a spell, the Xuanjing Bracelet flew from her wrist, transforming into the Xuanjing Sword. With a cold, dazzling flash, it spiraled through the air and hovered before me.

“Yesterday… did you summon it?” my master asked.

I nodded.

So, in that moment of peril, I had called the Xuanjing Sword, and the false Lu Xue, desperate to control it, had bound it to herself with the Immortal-Binding Cord, mutilating her own arm in the process.

My master’s eyes reddened…

Sensing his thoughts returning to that harrowing moment, I quickly spun around with a forced smile, even bouncing twice to show I was well, silently telling him, “Hmph! Next time, don’t mistake the wrong wife and force me to run away and nearly lose my life!”

He retrieved the Xuanjing Sword and handed it to me. “The Xuanjing Sword is now your magical weapon. Never give it to anyone else.”

I received it with both hands.

“To wield it, you must merge your intent with your spiritual power. Try it,” he instructed.

I transformed it back into a jade bracelet and slipped it onto my wrist.

He smiled at me, eyes full of tender affection.

“Fei’er, I must enter seclusion for a few days to heal. Take care of yourself and do not wander,” my master admonished.

I nodded, thinking, “Don’t worry! While you’re here, I’ll never leave again!”

Taking my leave, I cast a spell to transport the false Lu Xue back to her chamber, dropping her onto the bed. I glared at her face, biting my lip in fury…

To impersonate Lu Xue and cause harm, to even alter my message! Such shamelessness! If not for you, I wouldn’t have died, nor would my master have suffered so grievously. Since I am alive, simply killing you seems too mild, especially as my master only intends to confine you to Hundred Flowers Island. Since I brought you back here, I might as well see this through. With such an opportunity, how could I not let you taste a bit of your own medicine?

She likes to drive me away, to use Immortal-Binding Cords, to pester and entangle—very well, I shall oblige!

I sealed her mouth with a spell and placed dozens of successive Binding Spells upon her. Though not powerful, these spells link one after another: unraveling one only triggers the next, and without the key, she will be continually tormented, unable even to eat or relieve herself. I originally devised this little spell for unruly creatures in the Beast Garden. It’s useless against someone like Ming Zhong, whose power is deep, but perfect for toying with her.

I magicked away all the food and drink from her chamber, even the chamber pot. Locking the door with a solid seal, I clapped my hands and returned to my room with a light heart.

That night, lying in bed, I gazed out the window at the night sky. My master’s guiding star twinkled on and off. I raised my hand, examining the Xuanjing Bracelet on my wrist in the starlight—it was plain and simple, white and lustrous as mutton-fat jade.

It was back again.

With a gentle shake, the bracelet transformed into a bright, silken white ribbon in my palm. In my heart, I spoke to it…

When I first found you, you looked just like this. Fool that I was, I thought you a mere hair ribbon. You are real, but Lu Xue was false. My master’s dream is broken. Thinking back, how could a soul scattered to the winds ever return? What a farcical tragedy this has been.

Xuanjing Sword, is it because I freed you from your seal that you now recognize me as your master? Can you tell me what the real Lu Xue was like? Was she a gentle and perfect immortal? Did she suffer this much after taking the Return-to-Breath Pill? On Wushan Cliff, was she also anxious to see Han Qing… but Han Qing arrived too late… always late… and so maddeningly so…

I fell asleep with these thoughts.

That night I dreamed a dream of exquisite dance, white ribbons of cloud drifting softly down…

The next evening, several senior brothers and Shanhe kept me company in my room. Eleventh Senior Brother, animated and expressive, recounted my “tragic ordeal” to those who had remained behind at Jade Purity Domain.

Spring Breeze burst in, all bluster and haste.

“Little Crow! Be good! Have some snow pear juice—thousand-year snow pears from Hundred Flowers Island!” After fussing over me and making a few jokes, he left several large bottles of juice and hurried back to the island.

“Master asked you to take—” I tried to say, but before I could gesture, he was already gone. With the seasons in chaos and troubles plaguing Jade Purity Domain, he was clearly at his wits’ end. I pouted; it seemed the false Lu Xue would have to suffer another day.

The matter of the false Lu Xue being brought here to plague me—I would settle accounts with him when next he returned. I’d see how his magic weighed against the worth of my life.

With a loud crash, Shanhe bolted from my room to see Spring Breeze off, knocking half a door from its frame in her excitement. This was the second door she had broken since Master had transformed her into human form to tend to me. I sighed helplessly; seeing Spring Breeze always made Shanhe so excitable.

Thirteenth Senior Brother, watching the ruined door, gnashed his teeth in distress and complained, “Another door to fix! What’s so special about Shanhe compared to us? Master says we’re too clumsy to care for you properly. We may be rough, but Fifteenth and Twenty-First Brothers are meticulous. Shanhe has already broken eight bowls and two doors.”

“It’s just to make Little Brother happy. Don’t be fooled by how dull and plain Shanhe is now; once she sheds her beastly nature, she may turn out to be a beauty. Little Brother, don’t worry, Master understands you! So do we!” Eleventh Senior Brother winked at me.

“Oh, is that how it is!” Brother Kunpeng winked as well.

I understood that Master had assigned Shanhe to me because she was a woman, making it easier for her to tend my injuries. But back when we were in the Republic era, I had joked with my brothers that I liked Shanhe, and that joke had been hard enough to explain. Now, unable to speak, I couldn’t clear my name if I jumped into Heaven’s Pool.

Eleventh Senior Brother continued telling the story to those who had remained at Jade Purity Domain. “Let’s continue! When we arrived, Ming Zhong was whipping Little Brother like this. We all charged in to fight him! And Little Brother—covered in wounds, blood everywhere! His face pale, eyes wide open—even in death, he would not close them! He looked terrible! Even the Grandmaster was shaking!”

Eleventh Senior Brother was a born raconteur—dramatic gestures, embellishments, all at my expense.

Unable to speak, I could only sip my pear juice and endure his teasing about my “deathly visage.”

“And Master? How did he react?” the others asked eagerly.

Eleventh Senior Brother cleared his throat, suddenly snatched my juice, and gulped down several mouthfuls before I could snatch it back.

“Little Brother, don’t be stingy. If you drink all this, you’ll burst. Now, this is the key part—Master saw Little Brother like that, and tears just streamed down his face. He risked his life to use the Soul-Capturing Technique. Lu Xue rushed over to cut her own throat and stop him, but nothing could stop Master from saving his disciple. In twenty thousand years by Master’s side, through countless bloody battles, it was the first time I ever saw him weep!”

“Master cried?” the others gasped.

“Of course—his eyes were full of… ah, I can’t even describe it. Little Brother fought on, holding off Ming Zhong so we could send word. Master was heartbroken—yes, heartbroken! It was too tragic. I feel it here too!” Eleventh Senior Brother pounded his chest.

I burst into tears.

The others, already moved by Eleventh Senior Brother’s tale, wept with me, patting my head and back in comfort. Eleventh Senior Brother, startled, hurried to return my juice, promising fervently to squeeze fresh juice for me every day with his magic.

“Ming Zhong wielded such a powerful artifact—if not for you, we all might have died! This debt, I will repay for you, and I’ll settle my own scores with the Underworld!” Dongfang Mo vowed through gritted teeth.

I wiped my tears and nodded. In truth, I was thinking of my master’s self-inflicted wounds and worrying about the backlash from his soul-piercing pain.