Lu Xiaochan was startled inwardly. This was not good, not good at all. This rib bone had accepted him as its master. He hadn’t expected it would take so much effort to forge it into an immortal sword.
If that Lord Yuanzun who could forge it had already perished, wouldn’t this rib bone go to waste?
“That’s because for over eight thousand years, no ancient spiritual beast remains have accepted a master. Since there were no immortal swords worth forging, naturally there was no news of Yehua Yuanzun.” Shu Wuxi turned his face and said, “Xiaochan, pack up. We’re heading to Yechuan.”
“Oh, alright,” Lu Xiaochan nodded.
Anyway, he had no objections wherever Shu Wuxi said he would take him.
“I’ll also prepare some elixirs for Xiaochan to take along,” said Kunwu.
Thinking about the little rascal he had raised having to leave again, Kunwu felt reluctant in his heart.
He thought for a moment and still had something he wanted to make clear to Shu Wuxi, so he said to Xiaochan, “Little rascal, go out for a while. I have something to say to Shu Wuxi.”
Lu Xiaochan wanted to say “there’s nothing that can’t be said in front of others,” but upon reflection, he knew that besides Shu Wuxi, Kunwu was someone who truly cared for him.
Sometimes, when they didn’t want him to know something, it was better for him to pretend not to know, so as not to hurt anyone.
Moreover, the present was peaceful, so why dwell on the past?
“Alright! I’ll go find Qingyao!” Lu Xiaochan stood up, but Shu Wuxi still hadn’t let go of his hand.
Lu Xiaochan smiled and shook his wrist, making a crisp bell sound. “We still have the Immortal-Locking Ribbon! And no matter how I wander, I’m still within Tailing Pavilion!”
“Tailing Pavilion has countless virtual spaces, far larger than you can imagine,” Shu Wuxi replied.
“Anyway, you can find me wherever I am!”
Just as Lu Xiaochan pushed open the door, Kunwu suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “Don’t mess with my spiritual herbs again!”
“I’ll try my best!” Lu Xiaochan waved his hand.
After he had run far away, Kunwu let out a sigh and poured a cup of tea for Shu Wuxi in front of him.
“Although you and I are old acquaintances, I know that a thousand-year friendship doesn’t mean much to you. But there are some things I still hope you can take to heart,” Kunwu said.
“Go ahead.”
“If there’s anyone in this world who can fully protect Xiaochan, it’s not me, but you. When you put the bone-clinging cold garment on him, I knew your determination. Once it’s worn, the whole body is filled with bone-chilling cold. But it also has its benefits – just like the exquisite cold jade of Wuyi Jingtian, while you resist its cold, it can also increase your cultivation, helping you quickly regain the cultivation you lost because of Xiaochan.”
“That was my intention.”
“It’s fine if you have feelings, but if desire arises and mixes with the karmic fire of chaos, no one knows if the bone-clinging garment will melt. So… it’s good to have him by your side, but don’t ask for too much in everything.”
“Mm.” Shu Wuxi answered.
“It took me over a thousand years to reconstruct his physical body using his elixir core. I know you blame me for hiding him away, I was just worried that you…”
“You feared my obsession would be so deep that I’d destroy his physical body.” Shu Wuxi’s voice was calm, without any emotion, neither resentful nor bitter.
“I know you’ve always thought that Junior Brother left out of fear of you when he was in Wuyi Jingtian… but the one who truly feared you wasn’t him, it was me.”
Kunwu lowered his head and sighed, deciding to speak out the words that had been weighing on his heart all these years.
“That’s why I took Junior Brother away when you were subduing the Dongxu Sword Master. I understand my Junior Brother. He appears open-minded and broad, but in reality, he has clear likes and dislikes, preferring to shatter like jade rather than remain intact like tile. If he truly hated you, he would have jumped into the Sword Sea without hesitation, never to meet you again in all eternity. He wouldn’t have come back to find you, let alone sacrifice himself for you.”
Shu Wuxi’s fingers trembled, and he raised his head to look at Kunwu.
“I just wanted to tell you the truth, hoping you’d let go of your attachment to the past and cherish the present.”
After saying this, Kunwu felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he let out a long breath.
After a long while, Shu Wuxi finally spoke. “Thank you.”
Kunwu raised his teacup and said to Shu Wuxi. “Can we let bygones be bygones?”
Shu Wuxi raised his teacup, gently clinking it against Kunwu’s. “Between us, there is gratitude but no grudge.”
Both men drained their cups in one gulp.
Kunwu stood up and glanced at the bed, saying, “This Xiaochan, he’s still the same. Chang Yan’s rib is such an important sacred object, yet he just tosses it in his room without any care.”
Shu Wuxi stood up and picked up the rib bone with one hand.
Kunwu was dumbfounded. “This… didn’t it accept Xiaochan as its master? How can you pick it up too?”
Shu Wuxi gently stroked it and said, “You forgot, my Wuxi sword was forged from Chang Yan’s spine. It’s not the rib bone that accepted a master, but the primordial spiritual beast Chang Yan.”
Kunwu thought for a moment, then smiled. “If it’s truly forged into an immortal sword, wouldn’t it be a pair with your Wuxi sword?”
Shu Wuxi’s expression became even softer than before.
“I’ll go prepare a brocade bag to wrap the rib bone. Otherwise, you’ll be too conspicuous on your way to Yechuan.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Lord Kunwu.”
Shu Wuxi nodded slightly.
His attitude made Kunwu feel much more at ease.
After Kunwu left the quiet room, Shu Wuxi turned his wrist, retracting the Immortal-Locking Ribbon.
At that moment, Lu Xiaochan was climbing up a spirit vine, picking its fruits.
Legend had it that its fruits could not only satisfy hunger but also heal wounds. Lu Xiaochan had decided to store the picked fruits in the “Tailing Zhenyuan” to brew fruit wine along with the hundred jars of Drunken Life Dream Death.
It was better to be prepared for the long journey ahead.
Qingyao stood at the base of the spiritual vine, looking tearful. “Little Martial Uncle, please come down! If Medical Lord finds out, he’ll surely kill me!”
“He practices the medical way, his heart is compassionate. He wouldn’t even step on an ant, let alone…”
At this moment, the Immortal-Locking Ribbon on Lu Xiaochan’s wrist tightened. His eyes lit up, and he slid down nimbly, frightening Qingyao who thought he was falling and reached out to catch him. To his surprise, Lu Xiaochan landed steadily.
“Quick, quick, take me back! They’ve finished talking!”
Seeing that he had stopped picking fruits, Qingyao let out a sigh of relief.
But when he looked up… Lu Xiaochan had picked at least ninety fruits, if not a hundred…
Tailing Pavilion was likely to be flooded by Kunwu’s tears again!
Lu Xiaochan was led back to the quiet room by Qingyao. At this time, Shu Wuxi was sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, packing Lu Xiaochan’s luggage.
Without a second thought, Lu Xiaochan rushed over. Unable to see inanimate objects, he sat directly on the clothes.
Seeing him return, Shu Wuxi raised his hand and placed it on Lu Xiaochan’s face, looking at him very seriously.
“Xiaochan, you were never like this before.”
“Like what now?” Lu Xiaochan tilted his head.
“Willingly staying by my side,” Shu Wuxi answered.
Regarding past matters, Lu Xiaochan had promised Shu Wuxi that if he didn’t want to talk about them, he wouldn’t ask.
“How do you know that in the past, I wasn’t willingly by your side?”
Lu Xiaochan had vaguely understood that the person Shu Wuxi spoke of had always been his past self.
Shu Wuxi was about to say something, but Lu Xiaochan reached out with both hands and pressed them against Shu Wuxi’s face.
“I want to touch your face too. To see if your spiritual energy feels the same as what my hands can touch!”
“Of course it’s the same.”
Lu Xiaochan’s hands carefully touched Shu Wuxi’s brow bone, gently tracing along it to the end of his eyebrows, then moving to his nose bridge and the tip of his nose.
“So handsome…” Lu Xiaochan sighed softly.
“Do you like it?” Shu Wuxi asked.
“I do,” Lu Xiaochan nodded. “Brother Wuxi, being able to touch you makes me feel very, very nervous inside.”
“In the past, I used to hit your hand with a bamboo branch because I was afraid of burning you. Now, of course, I won’t hit you anymore. You don’t need to be nervous,” Shu Wuxi replied.
“I’m afraid… what if suddenly I can’t touch you again? So when I can touch you, I must touch you more.”
As Lu Xiaochan saw Shu Wuxi’s lips part, his fingertips couldn’t help but touch them.
In an instant, Shu Wuxi froze, not speaking anymore. Even the hand that was originally resting on the edge of the bed clenched into a fist.
Lu Xiaochan only felt that Shu Wuxi’s lips were very soft, but carried a coolness, as if since Shu Wuxi returned from the Northern Sea, not a single part of his body was warm.
This made Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help but rub his lower lip, hoping that the warmth from his fingertips could dispel the cold on Shu Wuxi’s lips.
Shu Wuxi turned his face slightly, and Lu Xiaochan, caught off guard, let his fingertip slip between Shu Wuxi’s lips.
Lu Xiaochan tensed up, afraid he had offended Shu Wuxi, but to his surprise, Shu Wuxi raised his hand and grasped Lu Xiaochan’s withdrawing fingers, slowly pressing his lips against them.
His heart began to race. The way Shu Wuxi’s eyelids drooped, it seemed as if all the gentleness in the world was in his eyes.
Shu Wuxi took a deep breath and closed his eyes completely. His lips pressed more firmly than before. Lu Xiaochan wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt Shu Wuxi’s lips growing warmer.
“Brother Wuxi, do you know that this counts as kissing my fingers?” Lu Xiaochan smiled.
Only then did Shu Wuxi retreat, saying, “I’m sorry.”
Lu Xiaochan thought to himself, Shu Wuxi had no concept of money and didn’t care about social niceties. As for the special meaning of lip contact, he probably didn’t understand much about that either.
Now he had to teach him properly, lest someone else lead him astray.
“Mm, let’s make an agreement. Since your hand has held mine, it can’t hold anyone else’s.”
Without a second thought, Shu Wuxi replied, “Alright.”
So readily?
Lu Xiaochan then grasped Shu Wuxi’s arm, thinking that while Shu Wuxi’s figure looked slender, his arms felt quite strong.
“And your arms, since they’ve hugged me, they can’t hug anyone else either.”
“Alright,” Shu Wuxi nodded.
Lu Xiaochan was almost bursting with joy.
“My lips, since they’ve touched you, won’t touch anyone else either.”
Lu Xiaochan blinked his eyes, this agreement was completely unexpected.
“This… well… if you insist, it’s fine!”
Lu Xiaochan thought carefully, if one day Shu Wuxi kissed someone else, he would probably be furious, and then secretly do something bad.
If he promised not to kiss others, it would be Lu Xiaochan who gained the advantage.
Very good, very good!
“Then your hand can’t hold anyone else’s in the future.”
“That’s fine.”
I don’t want to hold anyone else’s hand anyway! And now I can see living beings, I’m not completely blind, so I don’t need others to lead me.
“Your arms also can’t hug anyone else anymore.”
Lu Xiaochan immediately nodded. “Why would I hug others? I promise you.”
But on second thought, something seemed off, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Your lips also can’t touch anyone else anymore.”
Lu Xiaochan was stunned, then scratched the back of his head.
He felt this promise shouldn’t be made lightly, but then thought, since Shu Wuxi had promised, it seemed wrong if he didn’t agree.
“You’re unwilling?” Shu Wuxi gripped Lu Xiaochan’s wrist, squeezing rather hard.
Lu Xiaochan’s eyes and eyebrows immediately scrunched up, oh my oh my, being able to be touched also has its downsides, his bones were about to break.
“I agree! I agree! Brother Wuxi, be gentler!”
“Mm.” Shu Wuxi loosened his grip.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Lu Xiaochan felt that the corners of Shu Wuxi’s lips seemed to have turned up slightly.
“Beautiful,” Lu Xiaochan said.
“What’s beautiful?”
“The way you look when you smile, it’s really beautiful.”
Lu Xiaochan squinted his eyes, leaned close to Shu Wuxi’s face, staring at the corners of his lips.
Shu Wuxi turned his face away, Lu Xiaochan raised his hand and touched his ear, then laughed. “Brother Wuxi, your ears are getting hot!”
“Alright, I’m packing your luggage for you.”
Shu Wuxi raised his hand and rubbed the top of Lu Xiaochan’s head.
“Oh.” Lu Xiaochan still sat motionless.
“You’re sitting on it.”
“Sitting on what?” Lu Xiaochan shifted a bit, but that small garment still moved along with him.
“Underwear.”
Lu Xiaochan sprang up in an instant, fumbling around on the couch in a fluster. “I’ll pack this myself! I’ll pack it myself!”
“You can’t see, it’s better if I pack it for you.”
After saying this, Shu Wuxi had already taken it, his fingers lifted and folded it neatly, placing it on top of the stack of clothes beside him.
This time it was Lu Xiaochan’s turn for his ears to burn.
But on second thought, why be embarrassed!
When he bathed, Shu Wuxi had been watching nearby. It was just undergarments after all, Shu Wuxi packed them for him, so he could lazily stay to the side.
Lu Xiaochan stood up. Seeing him walk away, Shu Wuxi raised his head to look at him, afraid he would bump into the table corner again.
Unexpectedly, Lu Xiaochan circled around to Shu Wuxi’s back, directly leaning against his back, resting his chin on Shu Wuxi’s neck, arms lazily draped over his shoulders.
“This way, I can hug you and not interfere with you packing my luggage. How nice!”
Shu Wuxi lowered his head slightly, which made Lu Xiaochan unable to resist mischief, blowing a puff of air on Shu Wuxi’s neck.
Sure enough, Shu Wuxi turned his face slightly, his shoulders rising a bit, the coldness on his body dissipating a little more.
“Brother Wuxi, you’re so aloof, surely no one gets close to you normally.”
“Mm.”
“So me being so clingy to you, you must be feeling shy, right?” Lu Xiaochan said with squinted eyes and a smile.
Shu Wuxi raised his hand to rub Lu Xiaochan’s head. His lips parted, perhaps about to say “don’t fool around,” but he said nothing, only pressing Lu Xiaochan’s cheek more firmly against himself.
Kunwu’s movements were quite fast, sending over a qiankun bag.
This qiankun bag was embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in water. Although Lu Xiaochan couldn’t see the pattern, he could tell by touching it, immediately understanding this was Kunwu’s bad taste, revenge for Lu Xiaochan picking his spiritual vine fruit.
No matter what, Lu Xiaochan wouldn’t carry this qiankun bag.
Shu Wuxi didn’t mind, putting Chang Yan rib into the bag.
That night, Lu Xiaochan lay on the couch, watching Shu Wuxi’s figure sitting at the desk studying medical classics. He was still reading some Northern Sea chapters.
“Brother Wuxi, I’ve never seen you rest. Go to sleep earlier tonight.”
Shu Wuxi walked to Lu Xiaochan’s side, sat down, his fingertips touching his forehead. “You sleep first.”
“If you don’t sleep, I won’t be able to sleep. I keep feeling that when I wake up, I might not be able to touch you again. We’re setting off tomorrow, shouldn’t you rest well?” Lu Xiaochan moved inward, making room for half a couch.
Shu Wuxi paused there, saying, “Before, when I lay beside you, you were very angry.”
Could it be because of this, Shu Wuxi never slept every night, only sitting beside him?
Lu Xiaochan felt heartache.
“Then sleep now. Only if we sleep well will we have the energy to travel very far. Oh right, now that I have cultivation, can we let Lushu carry us to travel thousands of miles?”
“We can. However, Yechuan is at the edge of the Nanli Jingtian. Even riding on Lushu, it will take us seven days.”
“Oh, I see.”
Shu Wuxi lay down beside Lu Xiaochan. He lay on his side, very still, not moving for a long time.
Lu Xiaochan, on the other hand, was restless. Halfway through sleeping, he wanted to stretch out, thoughtlessly putting his leg over Shu Wuxi’s body.
He suddenly awoke, thinking he might have pressed on Shu Wuxi, quickly wanting to pull his leg back, but Shu Wuxi only pulled the blanket to cover him properly.
Only then did Lu Xiaochan realize that Shu Wuxi hadn’t closed his eyes at all.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I’m afraid you’ll kick off the blanket,” Shu Wuxi answered.
Lu Xiaochan thought to himself that he was indeed restless when sleeping, and in the past, he would curl up under a tree or in an alley to sleep, never having things like blankets.
He smiled, lifting Shu Wuxi’s arm and placing it over himself, then snuggling in, saying, “If you hug me, it doesn’t matter whether I kick off the blanket or not!”
Shu Wuxi’s embrace immediately tensed up.
Lu Xiaochan smelled his scent, feeling calm and at ease, and soon fell asleep.
Listening to his breathing, Shu Wuxi’s arm finally relaxed. He tightened his embrace, then worried about squeezing Lu Xiaochan too hard, so he loosened it a bit again.
Lu Xiaochan fell into deep sleep, and in his hazy state, he found himself falling into a dream once more.
Lu Xiaochan found himself surrounded by familiar cold white jade walls, with dozens of swords embedded in them.
Each sword exuded powerful spiritual energy.
Four pillars rose from the ground to the sky, and this place, like Tailing Pavilion, had an endless virtual space.
On the pillars were countless neatly arranged scrolls, seeming to repeat endlessly.
“Where is this?” Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help but wonder.
In the center of the great hall was a table with a delicately carved ice jade flower.
A wisp of fragrance was floating from its center.
This fragrance swirled up, slowly winding around the four jade walls, and more than ten blank scrolls fell down.
Lu Xiaochan looked down at himself. He thought he would see the little boy covered in bottles and jars from before, but he found he was still wearing his own clothes.
What was going on?
This was completely different from the dreams he had before.
That wisp of fragrance gradually took shape, sometimes becoming a blue bird hovering with spread wings, sometimes turning into a nimble white cat, and sometimes becoming a huge dragon whale in the sea, making a whistling sound, looking like it was about to swallow Lu Xiaochan in one gulp, but only passing through.
Lu Xiaochan found it extremely fascinating, unable to close his eyes.
He turned around and saw that wisp of fragrance transform into the shape of a young man, smiling slightly.
“Lu Xiaochan, long time no see.”
Lu Xiaochan was puzzled. “How do you know my name?”
The young man crossed his arms and laughed. “Unlike you, I don’t have such a poor memory. I am the Sword Spirit, formed by the remnant sword intent of generations of sword masters from the Great Primordial Chaos to now in the Wuyi Jingtian. I wasn’t as lucky as the sword master to get a name. From ancient times until now, I’ve only had the name ‘Sword Spirit’. Just like tables and chairs.”
Lu Xiaochan was shocked. He looked around. “This… this is actually the Wuyi Jingtian?”
“That’s right!” The Sword Spirit came in front of Lu Xiaochan and snapped his fingers, “You’ve been here before. You complained that the sword master was always cold and didn’t talk to you or play with you, so here, we played together!”
“I… I was here before… So that means, I’ve been to the Wuyi Jingtian?”
The Sword Spirit shrugged, his figure light as he stepped onto the corridor pillar, flying up like a fish entering the sea.
Seeing Lu Xiaochan not moving, he turned and came back down. “Why aren’t you playing together anymore?”
“Play what?”
“Compete to see who can climb higher in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!”
“Ah? Oh…” Lu Xiaochan hugged the pillar with both hands, stepping on the scrolls, about to climb up.
The Sword Spirit quickly stopped him. “Oh no, no! Xiaochan, these scrolls are the cultivation records of past sword masters, you can’t step on them!”
Lu Xiaochan quickly put his foot down. “If I can’t step on them, I definitely can’t go up…”
The Sword Spirit suddenly knocked on Lu Xiaochan’s head, but fortunately, he was formless, and his hand just passed through Lu Xiaochan’s face.
“Where did your six hundred years of cultivation go?”
“Fed to the dogs, I guess.”
Wait, six hundred years of cultivation?
I had cultivation before? I really was a cultivator!
Lu Xiaochan quickly leaned forward. “Then who was I before?”
“Look!” The Sword Spirit pointed to the blank scrolls on all sides.
At this time, countless lines slowly sketched out on the scrolls, colored in, and the figure of a young man gradually appeared.
In one, he was dragging a small medicine jar filled with soil, with a small tender sprout growing, the young man beaming with joy, vivid and lifelike.
In another, his fingers were pinching a small flower, head tilted back, eyes squinting, with nectar about to drip from the petals, the young man extending his tongue tip, eagerly anticipating tasting the flower’s nectar.
There was another where he had rolled up his sleeves, holding a foxtail grass in his hand, teasing a cricket in the grass.
“Why are these scrolls… showing him?” Lu Xiaochan looked closely.
