In the courtyard, the fairy's pointed ears twitched slightly. Her brows furrowed and her cheek muscles tightened...
"Come to the courtyard and see me."
This voice clearly came from outside the house, yet it felt ethereal, as if whispered right beside his ear.
"Senior Sister?"
Xu Xian scanned the room but found no one. He slapped his groggy head and stood up.
Seeing the heavy sword lying on the table, he flicked his sleeve to store it away. He picked up a pot, drank half of its contents, and as his mind gradually cleared, he wiped his lips with his sleeve before heading outside.
As he walked, his memories pieced themselves back together.
He had gone to the Sword Mound to claim a sword and had been gone for four months. After leaving the Sword Mound, the energy source provided by the sword intent within was cut off. With an empty stomach, he had fainted from hunger, and then...
And then nothing.
Presumably, Ye Xianyu had brought him back. However, he had no idea where this slight sense of drunkenness had come from.
Following the voice to the small courtyard, he saw that early spring had arrived. Mountain flowers bloomed one after another. A white-clad fairy sat alone among the blossoms, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
"Senior Sister, you were looking for me?"
Ye Xianyu looked back, sizing him up for a moment before uttering a single word: "Sit."
Without hesitation, Xu Xian walked over and took a seat at the table.
Ye Xianyu asked, "How do you feel?"
Xu Xian replied honestly, "I don't know what's wrong. I feel all dizzy, like I've been drinking heavily all night."
Ye Xianyu gave him a reproachful look and said with disdain:
"Jade Liquid Celestial Dew is a top-grade immortal essence produced in ancient immortal tombs. You wouldn't find even ten drops in all of Fanzhou. How can ordinary wine compare? You've gotten a bargain and you're still acting like you've been wronged."
The grades of flora in the Cangming Realm were: mortal, spirit, immortal, and divine.
Mortal plants were products of the mortal realm—common herbs.
Spirit plants were spiritual medicines grown by consuming qi.
Immortal plants were items that nurtured a wisp of immortal qi. They were extremely rare, each one a priceless treasure.
As for divine plants...
They were recorded in books, but no one had ever seen them.
Jade Liquid Celestial Dew.
According to records, it was produced within ancient immortal tombs and was wine brewed by immortals.
Preserved through the shifting sands of time, people of later generations would enter the immortal tombs to find this fortune.
If a mortal drank it, it could cure any ailment except lovesickness, while strengthening the body and extending life.
If a cultivator drank it, it would clear the meridians and restore essence—a true sacred medicine for healing.
It was incredibly precious.
Xu Xian smiled. "No wonder I was so dizzy. Thank you, Senior Sister."
Ye Xianyu said playfully, "What use is a mere thank you? If you really want to thank me, why not offer something practical?"
Xu Xian was puzzled. "For example?"
Ye Xianyu narrowed her eyes. "For example... write an IOU and pay me back in the future."
Xu Xian rolled his eyes. "I think we can talk about something else..."
Ye Xianyu reached out and poked Xu Xian's forehead with a finger, saying with contempt:
"Wiping your mouth and refusing to settle the bill after eating—men really are all the same."
Xu Xian was speechless. These words sounded strange; how did this escalate to the level of gender opposition?
"Alright, let's talk business. Do you know how long you stayed in the Sword Mound?"
Xu Xian said without thinking, "Four months. What about it?"
Ye Xianyu pulled a long face and lectured sternly, "'What about it?' You know it's been four months, right? You clearly reached the Immortal Sword Pool long ago, so why did you stay in there for so long? Didn't I tell you that you could only stay for two months..."
Xu Xian felt a bit awkward. "Uh..." For a moment, he didn't know how to respond!
"...The path of longevity isn't about who runs the fastest or the farthest, but who lives the longest. You need to be steady, understand?"
Ye Xianyu continued her nagging!
Yet, Xu Xian didn't find it annoying.
Perhaps in her eyes, he was just a wet-behind-the-ears youth.
"Alright, I've got it. I'll be careful in the future," Xu Xian said sincerely.
Ye Xianyu picked up a cup of hot tea from the table and blew on it gently. Catching a glimpse of his sincere attitude, she softened.
She said, "Don't let there be a next time."
"Understood."
She took a sip of hot tea, set the empty cup on the table, refilled it herself, and glanced at the boy. "Want some?"
"I'll take a cup."
"Get it yourself."
"Oh."
Ye Xianyu sipped her tea slowly and got back to the main topic. "Is your sword that heavy sword that was at the head of the hundred swords?"
Xu Xian subconsciously looked at his sleeve and nodded. "Yes."
Ye Xianyu set down her cup and traced a circle with her fingertip. An immortal sword manifested out of thin air, hovering beside her.
The sword's body was pure white and translucent throughout. Unlike Xu Xian's heavy sword, this sword was very elegant. Just like Ye Xianyu, it was a beauty among swords.
Ye Xianyu said, "This is my sword. It's named Xianyu. Counting from the top, it is ranked eighty-eighth."
As Xu Xian stared at the sword, he felt an indescribable connection to it. It felt as if he could communicate with the sword Xianyu just by a thought.
Xianyu also seemed to be giving him a warm response behind its master's back.
It likely had to do with him becoming the master of the Sword Mound.
He offered a perfunctory, "Good sword."
Ye Xianyu pursed her lips, and with a flick of her finger, Xianyu withdrew its edge.
She gestured toward Xu Xian's sleeve and asked, "What about yours? Have you named it?"
"Of course."
"What is it called?"
"Wait!"
Ye Xianyu paused with her cup held mid-air. "For what?"
Xu Xian smiled. "I said my sword is named 'Wait'."
Ye Xianyu froze for a good while before she finally realized what he meant. At the same time, she understood Xu Xian's intention and muttered with lowered brows:
"You truly are shameless."
Xu Xian said nothing. Only children explained themselves.
The two sat across from each other drinking tea, bathed in the early spring mountain breeze. For a long time, there was silence.
"...Is there nothing you want to say to me?"
"Say what?" Xu Xian played dumb.
Ye Xianyu remembered her senior brother's instructions and said softly, "If you don't want to say anything, then don't. If there's nothing else, go back and cultivate. Don't linger around here."
Xu Xian got up sensibly and bowed with cupped hands. "Then I shall stop disturbing you, Senior Sister."
Ye Xianyu spun her cup, seemingly indifferent. "Mm."
Xu Xian turned to leave.
"Junior Brother."
Xu Xian stopped in his tracks and looked back.
"What is it?"
Ye Xianyu stared at the tea in her cup and asked in a low voice:
"Does the Divine Sword Pool really exist?"
Xu Xian thought for a moment before finally nodding.
"Of course."
Ye Xianyu's brows pressed down slightly.
"I see."
Xu Xian glanced at her, then turned and left, exiting the small courtyard and heading down the high peak...
After Xu Xian left.
Ye Xianyu drained her cup of tea in one gulp.
Resting her chin on one hand and playing with her long hair with the other, she looked longingly at the budding peach tree before her and muttered to herself:
"Not very old, but quite the deep thinker."
Rate on N.U.
