Chapter 325: Heart Clarity

Yang Yan was silent for a while again: "Seeing Pei Ye... I don't want to go to Tianshan anymore."

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned: "Why?"

"I feel like I can't stay there."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye felt that irritability rise again, a heavy weight pressing on his heart. He frowned and took a deep breath, wanting to persuade him properly.

But suddenly he felt a kind of inexplicable fatigue.

The young girl's orchid-green hand under the night rain flashed in his heart again. Seeing Pei Ye looked at the youth before him silently.

"I know I'm a bit... stupid." Yang Yan said in a low voice, "Easy to be deceived. But going to Tianshan, isn't it always the same? I feel... there is no such thing as being prepared before going for revenge. I can only do what I want to do most right now."

"Are you sure it was your senior brother who killed your master?"

Yang Yan raised his head blankly.

"Anyway... when you walk the Jianghu by yourself, think more about many things." Seeing Pei Ye said in a low voice, "But, anyway, since you are not going to Tianshan, it doesn't mean you aren't learning the sword... I must teach you this sword even more."

"... Okay."

Seeing Pei Ye took two steps back and pulled out the sword stance: "I haven't fully learned this sword either, and there is no way to learn it just by being taught once. I will teach you the sword moves. It doesn't matter if you can't learn them in a rush. Just remember to practice them every day. After you have mastered the sword moves, you should be standing in the Spirit Realm. The road ahead... can only rely on realization. Only when the heart and sword are one will it truly be in your hands."

"Once you learn this sword, other swords will become easier to learn." Seeing Pei Ye gave a final instruction and slowly dismantled the first stance for the youth before him, section by section.

After walking through it laboriously once, Seeing Pei Ye temporarily put away his sword: "I'm going to the Immortal Platform first, you—"

His voice stopped abruptly.

Before the courtyard gate, a figure in green clothes was standing there quietly. The young girl's dense, silk-like hair was neatly tied up. The green clothes were cleaner than the green trees washed by rain. She stood gracefully, her sleeves and ribbons fluttering in the morning breeze.

She looked over here blankly, and their eyes met.

Seeing Pei Ye couldn't help but look at her left sleeve—only a light emptiness.

Li Piaoqing hid it behind her back subconsciously, and then bent the corners of her mouth slightly toward him.

"Heard you woke up," looking at the youth walking over, she said softly, "Are you okay?"

"Nothing serious." Seeing Pei Ye lowered his gaze, "How about you?"

"I'm fine too." Li Piaoqing's brows curved slightly, and then she lowered her brows, "Shall we... go for a walk by the lake?"

"... Okay."

————

By the side of Zhuoyue Lake, the youth and the young girl stood quietly under the willow trees. In the morning sun, the lake surface was covered with a layer of fine, rippling light.

"How is the Sect Leader?" Seeing Pei Ye asked in a low voice.

"He's out of danger this time." Li Piaoqing looked at the lake surface, "It's just... the days ahead, there might not be many left."

"... How long?"

"Maybe ten days, maybe three months." Li Piaoqing lowered her head, "Actually, the first time I saw him in that state, I knew there was no way to save him."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye lowered his brows and looked at the young girl, unable to speak for a while.

He still remembered when they first met, she was carrying the blood feud of her senior brother being killed, talking and laughing as usual in such a depressing situation, completely unable to see the heavy burden in her heart. Now, only ten days after leaving that abyss, Seeing Pei Ye had just seen her truly happy and full of hope, and everything was suddenly smashed back heavily.

Her only relative was leaving again, Cuiyu had lost its only Grandmaster... the seventeen-year-old girl had to bear everything alone again.

This time, the one she was facing was no longer the Seven Serpents Cave, but the Joy-Huan Si Lou.

"Then what are you going to do later?" Seeing Pei Ye's voice was a bit dry.

"... What is there to do." Li Piaoqing smiled, looking at the front quietly, her dress fluttering like a willow tree.

"Actually, there has never been a 'what to do'."

Seeing Pei Ye turned his head to look at her. The young girl's side profile was still so clear. Seeing Pei Ye had looked at this face many times, near or far, in a rush or carefully. "Looking back at the green color of life, shaking the fluttering green," she had always had a very unique beauty, every smile and frown carrying the spiritual energy brought from the mountain streams and autumn mist.

This face was very suitable for being lively. Except when she was biting her lip and crying, it almost never looked ugly.

But now, Seeing Pei Ye saw a strange vastness on it for the first time, like the Zhuoyue Lake with slight ripples before him, like the Lu River rushing for thousands of years outside the city, like the silent and deep Xincang mountain range in the distance.

For a long time, she said softly: "I have been thinking about my childhood days these past two days."

"..."

"Those days were truly carefree. Every day I liked to go exploring in the creek barefoot, playing wildly from morning to night. When I returned to the sect, I would hand over the bean-sized fish and shrimp I caught to Aunt Ling and insist she make soup. After nightfall, I would call for Uncle to tell stories, and after waking up, it was another day like that." The young girl said softly with a smile, looking ahead, "Sunny days, foggy days, rainy days, spring, autumn, winter... every day was so fresh and happy."

"Later, when I grew up a bit, I started having lessons." Li Piaoqing lowered her brows and smiled lightly, "I had to study and practice the sword. It was tiring and I didn't like it, so every day I thought, as long as I finished my lessons, I could run out and play wildly again. At that time, those books and swords were simply my greatest enemies."

"Later, stepping on water and catching fish seemed childish. I felt that practicing the sword and reading books were quite interesting. Every day I looked forward to making progress in the sword path, constantly looking forward to the next small competition and big competition. At that time, when I practiced the sword hard every day, I thought, after I learn "Green Light", I will go learn "Jade Shadow", and then learn "Yellow Jade"... and then it would be a great success, becoming the most powerful disciple of Cuiyu."

"Later I found out that the sect was in such a situation. Even if I learned the entire "Yellow Jade Chapter", it wouldn't necessarily save Cuiyu."

"But it still didn't matter. Cuiyu's sword is truly powerful, and Zhang Shixiong is truly powerful. At that time, I practiced the sword even harder, telling Master that in five years, ten years, we two would definitely revive Cuiyu, and then everyone would never have to worry about being destroyed by the Seven Serpents at any time."

"Then Zhang Shixiong was killed, and Cuiyu fell into a dead end."

The young girl looked at the cold gray sky in the morning and was silent for a while.

"But things were still not hopeless." Li Piaoqing said, "I thought, it's time to take responsibility, do what Zhang Shixiong didn't do, defeat the Seven Serpents Cave, revive Cuiyu, and lead everyone from darkness to light... I must do them."

"That was the darkest period. I kept telling myself I could get through it, and ahead was ten thousand zhang of light." The young girl said softly, "And I did it."

Silence.

Seeing Pei Ye looked at her blankly, suddenly feeling a sense of empathy.

"But you saw it, Master is seriously injured and dying, and the Joy-Huan Si Lou has destroyed everything." Li Piaoqing had no expression on her face.

"So I think... the so-called defeating a certain enemy, getting through a certain darkness, working hard for a certain period of time, and then everything becomes bright... such things have actually never existed." The young girl looked into the distance quietly, "And there is no such thing as 'returning to a normal life'. Those are just stories in books. That creek from childhood has already dried up, Aunt Ling remarried to Xiangzhou a few years ago, the appearance of Zhang Shixiong and Uncle is frozen there, and Master will soon leave forever, with grave grass lingering..."

"Life is just such a road that never returns. It will only push one deeper and heavier obstacle in front of you. You work hard to climb over it, not to return to the days before you were disturbed, but to be further and further away from them."

"And then face the next one."

On the morning of autumn in Bowang, it was quiet and cold. The young girl's voice was also very light, and her fine, soft hair danced in the morning sun.

Yes.

Seeing Pei Ye thought blankly, suddenly feeling a vast cruelty.

"But I will never be defeated by it." The young girl beside him said softly.

At the end of the lake, outside the high city, behind the vast mountain shadows, an orange-red sun was jumping up bit by bit from the cold gray horizon. The young girl looked at this scene indifferently: "I will use my whole life to face this kind of fate, endless obstacles, every time I break my head and bleed... I will wade through them one by one, until the end of life."

"..." Seeing Pei Ye looked at her blankly, suddenly feeling that this expression was somewhat familiar. On this morning, the young girl seemed to have found the enemy of her life.

"Do you still remember Sword Heart Illumination, Seeing Pei Ye."

"I remember." Seeing Pei Ye said softly.

"I remember too. You are 【Bright God】, Seeing Pei Ye. Uninvaded and unstained, the state of mind is like a god... all the darkness pressing toward you, you can eventually make them crumble." The young girl turned her head, looking at him somewhat distractedly. For the first time today, she revealed a smile as beautiful as usual, "I am not as powerful as you... but do you believe that a life of 【All-Controlling】 is also full of brilliance?"

"..." Seeing Pei Ye's lips trembled slightly, his throat hoarse, "But... your hand..."

The young girl smiled again, and her cold palm stroked his tense face: "It doesn't matter, this is just the first one."

Seeing Pei Ye lowered his head, his lips moving, his throat rolling.

"... Alright," the young girl comforted him again in a low voice, "It's nothing—"

He suddenly spread his arms and hugged her deeply.

The young girl's body trembled, her slight stiffness and rigidity softened. She lowered her head and buried it in his chest, half a sentence stuck in her throat like this.

The youth and the young girl embraced for a long time, surrounded only by the cool lake breeze and the quiet, climbing morning sun.

"Seeing Pei Ye..." Li Piaoqing squeezed two words out of her throat.

"... Hmm."

"..."

After being quiet for a long while, the young girl in his arms said the second half of the sentence extremely low and lightly: "Let's not be together anymore."

Seeing Pei Ye looked at the misty, cold, and lonely mountain shadows in the distance without moving.

Seeing Pei Ye trembled slightly, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something, yet nothing came out. In truth, he knew how some things would happen; he was simply still quite dazed in this moment.

Seeing Pei Ye trembled as he opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything. Actually, he knew how some things would happen, it was just that he was still very dazed at this moment.

For a long time, he blurted out a few words dryly: "Then let's wait until later—"

Two slender, cool fingers covered his lips quickly. The young girl said in a low voice: "... Don't say silly things."

"..." Seeing Pei Ye pursed his lips, his gaze falling back to look at the lake blankly.

For a long time, the young girl whispered: "Alright... I brought you a gift."

She gently pulled his hand.

Seeing Pei Ye lowered his head. The young girl untied her waist pouch with one hand, and the elbow under the other sleeve moved first, then paused, and then she took out an exquisite little sword the length of a finger with the hand that untied the bag.

Seeing Pei Ye looked at this scene straightly, gripping the sword hilt tightly.

A finger-length sword, the one the young girl promised him on the boat that day, it was indeed very beautiful. Cast in green gold, decorated with feather patterns, finely carved, and two tiny jade stones were embedded at the hilt.

"This was... made by the sect master before the martial competition. Because it took a long time, it was just carved recently." Li Piaoqing said in a low voice, and gently stuffed this little sword into his hand.

Seeing Pei Ye looked down and still didn't speak.

The youth's blank appearance made Li Piaoqing's face tremble slightly. She lowered her head, enduring: "Then that's it..."

"... Hmm."

Seeing Pei Ye stood quietly for a while, then turned and walked backward.

"Seeing Pei Ye!"

The young girl behind him grabbed his forearm suddenly.

Seeing Pei Ye turned his head and saw two lines of tears sliding down the young girl's cheeks. She suddenly stepped forward and kissed him around the neck.

The moist, soft lips pressed up, the cool and smooth kiss went deep inside. Seeing Pei Ye was stunned before this strange feeling.

After a while, he slowly raised his hand to press on the young girl's slender shoulders and gently pushed her away.

"..." Li Piaoqing was a bit at a loss, but the youth didn't say a word.

He stood with his head down for a while, then said in a light, hoarse voice: "You must pay attention to your own safety in the future."

After saying this, he didn't look at the young girl's standing figure again and walked away slowly with his head down.

Seeing Pei Ye looked down at the familiar patterns of the blue stone street, his brain a bit dazed.

Next, he had to go to the Immortal Platform to see the arrangements for this case on Inspector Wuhe's side, so that he could confirm his subsequent itinerary and give an answer to Miss Ming.

The matter in Xiangzhou also had to be explained clearly to the Immortal Platform regarding the Heart Amber and the Candle World Sect.

Then he had to say goodbye to everyone. The Joy-Huan Si Lou would not return to Bowang, so if things went smoothly, he might have to prepare to leave tomorrow.

The black cat said that thing had to be in his hands, which was also a matter to worry about next.

Of course, there was also the finding of them, which burned in his heart purely without any purpose.

Seeing Pei Ye pursed his lips and looked straight ahead, his footsteps stopping. Before him was the familiar gate of the Immortal Platform.

He raised his hand to push the door, and a hard object pressed against his palm.

He lowered his head, only then remembering to put this little sword in his hand before his eyes. The shape of this one was indeed different from the small wooden sword of Cuiyu. Green blade carved with feathers—this was the appearance of the Lost Jade.

Engraved on the sword body were two lines of poetry. The clear and moist handwriting was clearly carved by the young girl herself.

【Fortunate to escape the hunter's machine, able to be close to the gentleman's courtyard】