Chapter 2

She sat alone for a while, then picked up the dust-covered boot and tossed it over the cliff.

Should she cry?

Her eyes stung, and when she wiped them with her fingers, they came away damp with salty tears. But it was only a sting—her heart felt like a piece was missing, yet it didn't ache. She was lost, without any real sensation.

People always die, whether by sudden accident or natural decline. But her kin had died early because of her.

Using her scraped and bruised legs, Qing Zhouxue slowly, painfully made her way up the mountain. Young though she was, she had her own considerations. She couldn't turn back, couldn't return to the mortal world. If she did, the next innocent person caught in her wake would be someone else's father or mother.

Seeking immortality, finding a transcendent master, fulfilling her father's last wish—perhaps that was the only solution to this malevolent fate.

Unfortunately, things didn't always go as planned.

The sun quickly set behind the western mountains as she moved at a snail's pace. The sky darkened to the color of ink, pressing heavily on the clouds. Qing Zhouxue wasn't a wary nocturnal beast of the wild; her mortal eyes were useless in the dark.

If it had been pure black night, that would have been one thing. But amid the darkness, several tiny points of light flickered like ghost fire, circling her at a distance—not too near, not too far.

They might be glowing insects, or more likely, jackals that ate children.

Mustering what little strength she had, she hugged a tree and slowly shimmied up, carefully lying against the rough bark. Glancing at the sky, she saw not a single star.

The temperature plummeted quickly at night. She curled into a tight ball, her newly bought clothes not thick enough, teeth chattering uncontrollably. By the time dawn approached, her eyelashes were frosted with a thin layer of white.

Listening to the rustling sounds, she had stayed awake all night, nearly stiff. Now, as a hint of pale light appeared in the sky and the sun cast a bit of warmth, those glittering little eyes vanished one by one.

That had saved her life.

She climbed down from the tree and continued on, finishing the remaining stone steps. Today's weather didn't seem as sunny as yesterday; the sky had turned overcast, thickly smeared with large patches of ink. It felt dim and oppressive, the low sky weighing on her heart.

Qing Zhouxue hooked onto a small branch jutting from the cliff, her feet on the stone steps, and looked up at the sky.

She worried it might rain and thunder.

And sure enough, judging by her years of experience with misfortune, a blinding white lightning bolt struck down, hitting the tallest tree not far from her.

The world flashed bright for an instant.

Run!

This was aimed at her.

In that moment, only one thought filled Qing Zhouxue's mind.

A second bolt struck, shattering the bricks at her heels, leaving them charred black. The little girl lost her footing and tumbled down the slope like a ball. At this point, she kept her eyes tightly shut, feeling countless thin branches scrape across her body, a dense web of pain, compounded by the dizzying speed of her fall, leaving her rigid with tension.

She rolled to a stop on a flat area, half-dead, while behind her, lightning continued to strike relentlessly. Qing Zhouxue had no time to think about where she was; she scrambled up, chose a direction at random, and ran with all her might.

Her heart pounded wildly, and the thunder closed in unhurriedly, always just missing her by a hair. It was as if a proud, playful cat were toying with a mouse.

In her panic, she spotted another protruding hill ahead, its jagged rocks hiding what seemed to be a deep cave mouth.

There was no other choice. Qing Zhouxue pushed off with her feet, relying on her small, nimble frame to slip through the gap. Just then, a bolt of lightning struck a tree before the cave mouth, sending a charred trunk crashing down. It broke into several pieces, and amid flying dust, it blocked the entrance completely.

The little girl sat quietly for a moment, realizing the cave seemed solid and wouldn't collapse. She pursed her lips, approached the tightly blocked entrance, and pushed with all her might. It didn't budge an inch.

No use.

Now she couldn't get out.

She had no choice but to turn her gaze deeper into the cave. It wasn't completely dark there; a soft glow seemed to emanate from within.

Holding onto a faint hope that the cave had another passage, she rose, supporting herself against the damp, cold wall.

As she went deeper, the light grew brighter. But it wasn't the hue of natural sunlight; the light had a warmer tint, like the flame of the oil lamp her father used to light, casting a warm glow on the gray-white walls at home.

This wasn't just a cave in the wilderness. When Qing Zhouxue's foot stepped onto a carpet, she was certain someone lived here. The carpet was soft, a fluffy white like some kind of animal fur.

The cave opened up into a spacious chamber, the decor increasingly refined. On either side were lamp stands carved with intricate patterns, alternating between night pearls and candle flames.

Qing Zhouxue, young and inexperienced, had never seen night pearls before. She cautiously didn't touch them, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the suddenly brilliant light.

Following the endless white carpet, she saw a screen embroidered with flowers, birds, and insects. Behind the screen lay a tranquil pool, not very deep, shimmering with an eerily beautiful azure hue. It was still for now, only occasionally releasing a few bubbles.

The water rippled gently, but she couldn't see its source.

Was there an exit?

Qing Zhouxue knelt by the pool, feeling that something was submerged beneath the water. Through the not-so-clear surface, she saw...

She saw nothing.

A towering wave exploded suddenly, drenching Qing Zhouxue without warning. The cold water startled her, and she scrambled backward, hands bracing her body.

But it was too late to flee.

Water crashed down all around, accompanied by a deafening roar. It filled her mouth and nose, leaving her coughing uncontrollably on the ground.

She coughed so hard her heart raced.

"Oh, it's already Jingzhe..."

Suddenly.

A soft, husky voice, tinged with the drowsiness of just waking, whispered as if into a lover's ear.

The little girl, startled, forced her eyes open, shaking off the heavy droplets that clung to her lashes. She didn't see any fierce aquatic beast, only met a pair of half-lidded, languidly beautiful eyes.

It was a woman.

She lay limp against the pool's edge, breathing softly, her pale purple gauze dress clinging wetly to her body, her dark hair coiling seductively behind her.

Her slightly labored breathing came to an abrupt halt.

"Who are you? Did the Sect Leader send you?"

Sect Leader?

Qing Zhouxue shook her head in confusion. She hadn't even made it up the mountain; how would she know any Sect Leader?

The woman leaned against the pool's edge, raising her eyes to size up this oblivious little frozen kitten. Perhaps reluctant to frighten her, she softened her voice and said, "Come here."

Qing Zhouxue started to step forward but then looked down. She was covered in dust from rolling down the hillside, and standing here would dirty the pristine white animal fur.

"I'll get it dirty."

The little girl pressed herself against the wall.

"It's fine. Come."

Hearing this, Qing Zhouxue stopped hesitating and obediently came over, crouching by the pool like a small beast staring at a stranger.

The woman before her had gentle features, her disheveled hair adding a touch of warmth and charm.

Qing Zhouxue, noticing her beautiful face and willowy figure, found her thoughts drifting to the mother her father had talked about all his life.

The villagers were all hardworking farmers, and the women were mostly broad-shouldered and sturdy. But from others, she'd heard that her mother was delicate and beautiful, the prettiest in the area. She must have looked like this woman.

All beautiful women share something in common. With that strange association, the child naturally felt a sense of kinship with her.

A hand touched her cheek—cold and soft. Qing Zhouxue initially thought she was just patting a child's face like an elder, but after the brief touch, the scratch from a branch on her cheek stopped stinging.

She felt it herself. It was remarkable—the small wound was as smooth as before.

"Your skin is delicate. Be careful not to scratch it again."

She withdrew her hand, shifted position, and submerged back into the water, her pale purple clothes spreading out like mist. She closed her eyes again. "Judging by your clothes, you're not a disciple of Taichu Sect. You must have wandered here by mistake. This is my secluded cultivation spot, not a place for play. Go home soon, child."

"Taichu Sect?" Qing Zhouxue said. "I don't have a home anymore. I was heading to Taichu Sect. Sister, do you know the way?"

Whether it was the childish address that amused her, the woman laughed softly. "You little thing, are you rushing up the mountain to become a disciple?"

Qing Zhouxue was taken aback. She was going up the mountain to save her life. As long as there was a place to take her in, a bit of food and drink, she asked for nothing more. As for becoming an immortal's disciple, her eight-year-old mind hadn't yet considered such lofty ambitions.

"I..." She wasn't good at lying, so she simply said, "I don't know. I can be one or not."

As long as I don't harm others anymore.

"Well, that's unfortunate. This isn't a disciple-recruiting year. The next one won't be for another ten years."

"Ten years..." Her eyes widened. Qing Zhouxue didn't have a clear sense of time spans, but she knew that number was enough to grow a whole new her, with some left over.

Throughout their conversation, the woman kept her eyes lowered, leaning against the pool as if resting. Now she didn't respond, her expression serene, appearing to have fallen asleep.

Qing Zhouxue glanced toward the cave entrance. It was tightly sealed; she couldn't get out. Even if she did, she'd likely face the heavenly thunder at any moment—in the end, it was a dead end. So she hugged her knees, leaned against the wall, and resigned herself to stay in this cave. She kept her breathing soft, afraid to disturb its owner.

Cold, wet, and having gone a day without food, plus all that mountain walking, Qing Zhouxue was exhausted. As she sat quietly, she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke again, she wasn't curled up in a cold corner. She was lying stretched out on a bed of soft fur, covered with a small blanket.

Qing Zhouxue looked up. The woman was sitting cross-legged not far away, doing her makeup before a bronze mirror. She had just pinned up her hair with a white jade hairpin and was applying rouge to her lips. Hearing the rustling behind her, she turned her head slightly.

"Thank you," the little girl said in a thin voice, clutching the small blanket.

"It was nothing."

Qing Zhouxue scrambled to her knees and peeked outside. The sky was bright. The fallen tree at the cave entrance had vanished without a trace, and she guessed the woman had gone out and cleared it.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're homeless," she said, pressing her lips together in the mirror and setting down the delicate box.

Qing Zhouxue didn't hide anything and told the truth of how she'd come to be here. Perhaps because she had little contact with people, she wasn't wary of others. Besides, the woman before her had a gentle, ethereal air; she couldn't possibly be a bad person.

The woman listened quietly, then chuckled softly. Producing a piece of snow-white pastry from somewhere, she brought it to the girl's lips, waiting until she bit down before letting go. "For every word you said, your stomach grumbled. It was quite noisy. You should plug that up first."

It was sweet.

Her throat, dry from a day without water, struggled to swallow. The woman noticed, of course. A drop of water condensed at the tip of her slender finger, hovering in midair, then drifting slowly to the girl's lips.

She wasn't ordinary.

This time, Qing Zhouxue saw it very clearly.

"Are you an immortal?"

The woman in purple said ambiguously, "Give me your hand."

Her wrist was grasped. The woman's gesture was like taking a pulse, but she quickly let go. Qing Zhouxue looked at her, puzzled, and heard a soft sigh. "From now on, will you stay by my side?"

"Why?" The little girl thought more deeply, her brows furrowing. "I bring misfortune. I'll harm you."

"Didn't you just see? I'm not mortal. I'm not afraid of that."

She smiled but didn't explain why she wanted the girl to stay. She gave the girl a red cord. The cord, as if alive, coiled around her ankle, emitting a faint red glow that flickered once before fading away.

"Wear this. It will keep trouble away."