Chapter 120: Chapter One Hundred Twenty

120. Chapter One Hundred Twenty

Guan San is currently caressing the server, please make up the subscription to defeat him! A day at Beihai Sword Sect begins with the first morning glow piercing through the clouds.

Atian was woken by a rumbling sound like floodwaters bursting from a mountain. Still half-asleep, she instinctively opened her mouth and called out, "Papa? Mama?"—but before the words had even faded, she snapped awake.

She was no longer at Bai Fu in Guangkai Town.

Unable to fall back asleep, Atian threw off the covers and got out of bed, changed into the sect attire she had prepared the night before, and gave herself a quick wash. Standing before the vanity, she hesitated over the casket of jewelry Lady Bai had prepared, then firmly closed the lid.

She hadn't forgotten the one lying at the bottom of the sea.

Dabbing a bit of lip color on her lips, Atian stood up and warmed herself up with a stretch. The moon-white gauze skirt Guo Huai had given her was soft and well-fitting—she felt she could easily pull off a roundhouse kick.

Once she finished washing up, she could head out.

She cautiously pushed open the door, and immediately understood where the rumbling that had woken her was coming from.

Beihai Sword Sect had a total of one thousand three hundred and six people. Aside from the five Elders, including Sect Master Duan Xuan, there were one thousand three hundred and one disciples in all. Subtracting Bai Xinli, who was in year-round closed-door cultivation, and those out on training journeys, several hundred still lived in this mountain-shaped dormitory.

When Atian had returned last night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, so naturally she hadn't sensed anything. But at daybreak, the presence of these disciples made itself abundantly clear.

One by one, moon-white figures leapt down from the mountain-shaped dormitory. Amid the rising and falling footsteps came all manner of greetings—Senior Brother, Senior Sister, Junior Brother…honorifics and names rang out in a chorus, with the occasional "Martial Uncle" thrown in—after all, the first level was Guo Huai's territory.

Atian couldn't manage the nimble leaps they did, so she obediently walked down the steep stairs. This perfectly normal act made her stand out conspicuously among the leaping crowd, and quickly drew others' attention.

"Who's that?"

"A new Junior Sister?"

"A new Junior Sister."

"A new Junior Sister?!"

The news instantly caused an uproar among the disciples. They all stopped what they were doing and turned in unison to look at Atian, who was carefully making her way down the stairs. The latter unhurriedly paused her steps, covered half her face with her sleeve, and smiled with curved brows and sparkling eyes.

"She… she, she doesn't eat people, right?"

The male disciples, long accustomed to being walked all over by their Senior Sisters, sucked in a cold breath and immediately braced themselves as if facing a great enemy—only to be kicked off the dormitory one by one.

"Morning practice is about to start. Don't waste time."

Amid the disciples' wails, a slender figure appeared in Atian's line of sight. The newcomer wore the same moon-white gauze skirt as her, with long black hair coiled at the back of her head and not a trace of powder on her face. Her looks were nothing extraordinary, yet she gave off an utterly comfortable air.

The woman walked up to Atian. Her face showed no trace of age, but her bearing was very mature—at the very least, a little girl like Atian felt deeply inadequate beside her.

"This Senior Sister," she reached out and took the woman's hand, "I think I've seen you somewhere before."

"Of course you've seen me. A few years ago I paid a visit to your residence," the woman replied with a calm smile in the face of flirtation from the same sex. "I am Su Ying. Senior Brother must have mentioned me to you."

The smile on Atian's face faded. Su Ying had, in a single sentence, brought her back to late last night.

"See me?" Atian tilted her head. "See me for what?"

Bai Xinli paused. "I need your memory."

"Fifteen years ago, you and I—who had not yet entered Xiuxianmen—exchanged a glance…"

Atian cut him off. "That was only an instant."

"An instant… is enough," Bai Xinli said firmly. "Even if it was only a single glance, that is still 'me.'"

After a moment's thought, Atian rubbed her chin. "…Then, what do you want me to do?"

For her, this didn't even constitute a multiple-choice question.

Whatever their starting point, the Bai couple had raised her earnestly for fifteen years. Although the couple always stubbornly insisted their son had long been gone, deep down what they missed most was Bai Xinli, who had left fifteen years ago. This was only human nature, beyond reproach.

As for her, she had already severed her mortal ties and entered Xiuxianmen. If she wished to repay the Bai couple's kindness, repaying it through their biological son was not unacceptable.

And Bai Xinli? He had said he would give her an Immortal Path, and he had indeed delivered. Without his sudden intervention, she would have spent a drifting life in Guangkai Town—perhaps envied by all, but that would only ever be the happiness of a "mortal."

Bai Tian did not need that kind of happiness.

So she followed Zhao Kuo away, leaving behind her adoptive parents and her humdrum life, opening up new horizons. Even if what she saw and knew was merely the tip of the iceberg of the cultivation world, it was magnificent enough.

When she saw the Broken Sword piercing through Floating Island, she knew she could not go back—and did not want to.

And now, Bai Xinli was proposing a trade to her—trading an inconsequential memory for everything she yearned for.

This was an open scheme through and through, so aboveboard it was almost endearing.

Atian could find no reason to refuse his proposal.

Why refuse?

Bai Tian's life took a turn at the age of three, and turned back at eighteen. Perhaps this was her fated connection with the Heavenly Dao.

Seeing her agree, Bai Xinli should have felt glad. But the girl before him was dressed in clothes soaked with cold sweat, her face deathly pale. His Adam's apple bobbed, and the words that finally came out still took a detour.

"There's another person waiting outside. Go back to your room and rest tonight. Junior Sister Su Ying will come find you tomorrow morning."

The person waiting outside was naturally Song Zhicheng. Atian gleefully looked forward to seeing him make a fool of himself the next day.

She hadn't expected that, before she could even enjoy Song Zhicheng's embarrassment, the "Junior Sister Su Ying" Bai Xinli had mentioned came knocking first.

Although Bai Xinli called her "Junior Sister," Su Ying was actually considerably older than him, and her bearing was far more composed—quite unlike the other young men and women.

Su Ying's own explanation went like this: "I'm ashamed to say I'm much older than Senior Brother. I once followed our master's orders to look after him for a time—only back then everyone still called him Junior Brother Bai."

Atian nodded in understanding. Bai Xinli had been only five when he came up the mountain—just a child, probably a mischievous one at that. It would have been strange if no one had looked after him.

By now the two of them had returned to Bai Tian's room. Su Ying had somehow produced a full tea set out of nowhere and considerately poured Atian a cup.

"Senior Brother entrusted this matter to me because only I can do it."

She said calmly, drawing an amber-colored short sword from her bosom and placing it on the table.

"This sword is called 'Bai Ju.' It is my Sword."

"Bai Ju? As in 'the white steed's fleeting shadow'?" Atian asked.

Su Ying nodded. "That's right. The Sword Heart I have comprehended is Time. The past between you and Senior Brother is actually hidden within the time you have lived through."

"I will capture that stretch of time and cut it out of you," she said, her expression growing solemn. "You will be left with only a vague memory, unable to recall anything else. Have you thought it through?"

"Honestly, I can't remember it clearly even now," Atian answered sincerely. "I lock eyes with countless people every day—how could I possibly remember them all?"

"What you said makes so much sense… no, wait!" Su Ying cut herself off mid-sentence, slapped the table, and declared, "In that case! From today onward, you will cultivate properly! I will be supervising you!"

"Huh?" The other's image had changed too quickly, and for a moment Atian couldn't react.

"You're just a mortal right now, Junior Sister Bai! If I send this sword down, you'll go stupid!"

Su Ying stood up in one motion — where had that gentle big-sister manner gone, replaced by this fierce, imposing look?

"The sect had already prepared itself mentally to throw spiritual medicines at the problem until we forced out a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but you possessing a Sword Bone is a completely unexpected delight — it's saved us a huge sum of money!"

The tone she used saying this was exactly the same as Lady Bai's when she discovered a new hire only cost one string of cash a month, and it instantly gave Atian a sense of亲切感.

"Although our Beihai Sword Sect isn't short on money, this bunch of big men are always spending with reckless abandon — even a great estate can't stand up to such careless spending! In this regard, Junior Sister Bai, you're simply a snug little cotton-padded jacket!"

Atian's cheeks flushed red at the praise, and she nodded with deep feeling. Master Bai's ability to earn money was impressive, but his ability to spend it was no less so, and many times she could only join forces with Lady Bai to plug up his heart, which was forever restless on the front line of spending.

As the only person whose troubles resonated with her own, Bai Tian's shy little appearance delighted Su Ying all the more, giving her a strong sense of having found a kindred spirit.

"Here! This is your class schedule — you have to attend every single class, okay?" She took a piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Atian.

"Class schedule?" The latter unfolded the paper in confusion. "Is this a Classroom?"

Su Ying's face took on a desolate look at these words. "What you don't know, Junior Sister, is that our sect is short on people — the Sect Master plus the Elders only number five in total, really not enough to go around."

"For this reason, our sect abolished the one-on-one master-disciple system and specially opened a Classroom, where the Elders and several senior senior-brothers take turns giving lectures, and all disciples may attend according to their own level."