Inside the disciples' quarters of the Sword Heart Sect, Pei Ji slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp pain in his chest made him let out a stifled groan, and his vision clouded with black patches. He tried to circulate his spiritual energy, only to find it sluggish within his meridians—a clear side effect of over-depleting his essence blood.
"Awake?"
A cold voice drifted over. Pei Ji looked up to see Qi Yunze standing by the window, his form silver-edged by the moonlight.
"Senior Brother..." Pei Ji's voice was hoarse. "I... I lost."
Qi Yunze walked to the bedside and handed him a bowl of medicinal soup. "Drink."
The soup was unbearably bitter, but Pei Ji downed it in one go. He clenched his fists. "I’ve brought shame to the Sword Heart Sect..."
"Nonsense," Qi Yunze frowned. "You did well."
Pei Ji smiled bitterly. "But I still lost..."
"Winning or losing isn't what matters." Qi Yunze's gaze was profound. "What matters is that you maintained your sword heart."
Pei Ji remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Senior Brother... did I disappoint Master?"
Before Qi Yunze could answer, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the awakened Pei Ji, a flash of relief crossed his eyes. "Ji'er..."
"Master..." Pei Ji struggled to sit up, but Ling Xiao pressed him back down.
"Don't move," Ling Xiao said softly. "How are your injuries?"
Pei Ji lowered his head. "It is nothing... only..." His voice grew smaller. "Your disciple failed to live up to Master's expectations..."
Ling Xiao let out a long sigh. "It was my fault." He looked at Pei Ji, his eyes filled with complexity. "I shouldn't have weighed you down with the sect's rivalries."
Pei Ji snapped his head up. "Master?"
"Recover well." Ling Xiao patted his shoulder and turned to leave, his departing figure appearing somewhat lonely.
Qi Yunze looked at Pei Ji. "Master... is blaming himself."
Pei Ji sat blankly on the bed, his heart filled with a mixture of emotions.
He had expected to face his master's disappointment, but he never thought...
In the dead of night, Pei Ji sat alone by the window, gazing at the moonlight in the courtyard. Suddenly, a soft knock came from the door.
"Second Senior Brother," Cang Dongqing's voice pierced through the door, carrying an unprecedented sharpness. "I know you're not asleep."
Pei Ji sat silently in the darkness, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the scabbard of his sword.
"Did you know? Everyone is actually very worried about you."
"We... we all need you."
Pei Ji froze.
"Do you remember when you were seven?" Cang Dongqing's voice suddenly softened. "You snuck into the Sword Mound and were covered in wounds from the sword qi. It was Master who carried you out and personally applied medicine to your wounds."
Pei Ji's fingers paused.
"On your tenth birthday, the first time you held a sword, your hands shook so much you couldn't even hold it steady. It was Senior Brother who stayed up all night to craft a wooden sword for you and practiced with you until dawn."
The window paper reflected her silhouette as she sat leaning against the door.
"When you were fifteen and hunting demons, a wolf demon tore through your chest. Elder Zhao used his life-bound true essence to save your life, taking three years of closed-door cultivation to recover."
Pei Ji's breathing gradually quickened.
"During the secret realm trial when you were twenty, you fell into a cold pool while saving Senior Sister Lin. Third Senior Brother jumped in to fish you out and nearly froze to death at the bottom." Cang Dongqing's voice grew lighter. "Have you forgotten... all of this?"
"I haven't forgotten!" Pei Ji slammed his fist against the ground, his voice hoarse.
"Fifth Senior Brother went to the Library Pavilion to find healing manuals. Third and Fourth Senior Brother went with Master to the Shenmu Sect to ask the Grand Elder to check your pulse. Even Senior Sister Lin went to the back mountain to pick spirit herbs for you."
Pei Ji clenched his fists. "I..."
"Master blames himself even more," Cang Dongqing continued. "He said he shouldn't have let you carry so much..."
Listening to the gentle voice outside the door, something in Pei Ji's heart was lightly touched as Cang Dongqing spoke again.
"Do you know why the Sword Heart Sect is named after the sword heart?"
Pei Ji was stunned.
"Because..."
"A sword cultivator's original intention is more important than the sword itself."
He finally rose slowly, walked to the door, hesitated for a second, and then opened it.
Under the moonlight, Cang Dongqing stood in white robes, the blood-colored bead bracelet on her wrist shimmering faintly.
She looked up at Pei Ji, her eyes holding a trace of something he had never seen before... concern?
"Little Junior Sister..."
Slap!
A harsh slap landed on Pei Ji's face, the force so great it made him stagger back. Cang Dongqing stepped over the threshold, slammed the door shut behind her, and her eyes burned with cold fury.
Pei Ji looked at Cang Dongqing in disbelief. "You..."
Cang Dongqing was expressionless, a complete reversal of her previous gentle tone. "Pei Ji, what are you doing?"
"This slap is for failing Master Ling Xiao's twenty years of cultivation!"
Pei Ji clutched his face, staring in shock at the junior sister who seemed like a different person.
"The second slap," Cang Dongqing raised her hand for another strike, "is for dishonoring the sword moves Senior Brother stayed up all night to improve for you!"
Pei Ji was knocked against the side table by the blow, sending tea sets crashing to the floor. Just as he was about to speak, Cang Dongqing grabbed him by the collar.
"Do you know what I despise most about you?" Her voice was incredibly low, but every word cut like a sword. "It isn't that you lost; it's that you don't even dare to admit it!"
Pei Ji's pupils shrank.
"You think hiding in your room wallowing in self-pity counts as having backbone?" Cang Dongqing sneered. "You lost one match, and you've withered into this?"
"Where is your sword heart? Where is your pride?"
Pei Ji stood dazed in place.
"You think it's over?" Cang Dongqing said icily. "The team battles haven't even started. There are countless matches ahead! Isn't your sword dao supposed to be about charging forward fearlessly?"
"I..."
"I what?" Cang Dongqing couldn't help but kick the side table over. "Are you even worthy of the name 'Shuofeng'? What is the essence of the Shuofeng sword? Speak!"
Pei Ji subconsciously replied, "Finding life... in death..."
"Then what are you doing right now?" Cang Dongqing barked. "Waiting for death?!"
Pei Ji felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Memories of his oath when he first learned the sword flashed through his mind—'To prove the Dao with the sword, to advance without retreat'.
"The team battles are imminent," Cang Dongqing looked at him. "If you're still a sword cultivator, don't walk around with a dead man's face." She turned to push open the door.
Moonlight poured in, outlining her resolute profile.
"If you insist on being a useless person—"
"Tomorrow, I will go to the Sect Leader and ask him to destroy your Shuofeng sword."
Having said that, she left hurriedly without waiting for a response.
The door slammed shut. Pei Ji knelt amidst the mess on the floor, the blood-stained cloth in his hand gripped tightly. A drop of water hit a bloodstain, blooming into a dark flower.
He stared in the direction Cang Dongqing had left, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the burning palm print on his face. After a long while, Pei Ji suddenly laughed.
"Little Junior Sister... thank you."
The night wind blew through the room, carrying a hint of coolness. He took a deep breath. After being slapped twice by Cang Dongqing, his chaotic thoughts had finally begun to clear.
He intended to tidy the room, but his hand froze as he touched his sword hilt.
Cang Dongqing tonight... was truly a bit strange, especially that hot-and-cold attitude.
Those words didn't seem like something the usually gentle and soft-spoken girl would say.
"Strange..." Pei Ji muttered to himself. "How could she know about the time I snuck into the Sword Mound at age seven?"
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