Time flew by, and a month passed. Within the Spring and Autumn Bell, it was already late autumn.
Jiang Tong slightly increased the flow of time inside the Spring and Autumn Bell, continuously crushing spirit stones to provide spiritual energy, exchanging them for more time to remain inside.
That wisp of divine sense grew ever stronger as time went on.
Jiang Tong even felt that before long, he could truly form a complete soul, no longer needing to stay inside the bell forever.
Under Jiang Tong’s careful guidance, Gu Xianyu improved rapidly.
In just a month, she had not only mastered the first four forms of the Willow Sword Technique but also advanced her cultivation to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.
Her once frail body, nourished by spiritual energy, unfurled like a budding flower coming into bloom.
Their conversations grew more frequent; at first, Gu Xianyu still called him “Senior” with great respect, but gradually, her tone became more and more familiar.
What could Jiang Tong say to that?
People always say raising characters in games is addictive—this must be the satisfaction of raising a child, father-style.
However, what Jiang Tong deeply regretted was that in this entire month, he hadn’t heard of anyone named Jiang Yueliu in the Shangyuan Sect.
He still wanted to see what his former master looked like.
Could it be that Master hasn’t come to the Shangyuan Sect yet?
Jiang Tong could only make such a guess.
Days passed one by one, and the Immortal Fate Competition was fast approaching.
Much like the autumn recruitments of his previous life, the Immortal Fate Competition was a trial held two hundred years ago by the Shangyuan Sect to recruit new disciples.
Those who participated weren’t just outsiders— even the sect’s servants could sign up, hoping for a chance to enter the outer sect.
Gu Xianyu was no exception. As the day of the competition drew near, she spent more and more time each day practicing her swordsmanship.
“Heh!”
As the sun set, the girl struck out with her final sword move, then slowly withdrew her stance and wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Senior…”
She turned to look at the bell on the table, but her expression suddenly changed as she instinctively clutched her lower abdomen.
It hurt…
It hurt so much!
Tiny beads of sweat slid from her brow as her willow-shaped brows knitted in pain. A cold wave assaulted her belly in pulses.
“Xianyu, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Tong was resting in the bell when he was startled, hastily sending out his divine sense to check on Gu Xianyu’s condition.
“So cold, I’m so cold…”
Her face turned pale as she gripped her sword hilt, her body trembling uncontrollably.
At a glance, Jiang Tong frowned.
Damn, it was the onset of the Cold Soul Jade Physique.
This month, the Cold Soul Jade Physique had been quiet, and with her sword embryo growing so rapidly, he’d nearly forgotten this thing would grow stronger with her cultivation.
Suppressing the Cold Soul Jade Physique required special pills, but only a few hours had passed in the real world— it was probably the middle of the night. He’d have to wait until tomorrow to check any pill formulas.
All he could do now was treat a dead horse as if it were alive…
Jiang Tong sighed and picked out a few warming pills from his usual stock, then used spiritual energy to deliver them to Gu Xianyu.
After she took the pills, her complexion improved significantly, though her body still shivered slightly.
She went inside to fetch an autumn jacket and draped it over herself, finally settling down a bit.
“Senior, I’m fine now, hehe…”
A few minutes later, the girl wrapped herself tightly in the autumn jacket, looking just like a chubby little squirrel.
She asked nervously, “Senior, my sword moves just now were pretty awesome, right?”
Jiang Tong felt relieved and smiled as he met her eyes. “Awesome.”
“Then, for tomorrow’s Immortal Fate Competition, I can still go, right?”
Jiang Tong neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he sent his divine sense into her dantian, then after a moment asked:
“Xianyu, tell me honestly— how long have you had these symptoms?”
Her eyes flickered evasively. “I-it’s been like this since I was little, it’s not a big deal, really.”
“You’ve been enduring it for this whole month?”
“…No.”
“You’re lying.”
“Eh?!” Gu Xianyu’s ears turned red. “Was it that obvious?”
“When you lie, you usually turn your face to the side.” Jiang Tong mercilessly exposed her—she really was just too naive.
“Fine…”
Gu Xianyu pouted. “I just felt it was a minor issue, no need to bother Senior. You’ve already helped me so much.”
Jiang Tong looked at her and couldn’t help but let out a silent laugh.
So she was afraid that, since her illness had just flared up, he’d stop her from joining the competition tomorrow.
How could he? He’d find a way to handle her illness.
This girl—so silly.
Gu Xianyu picked up the bell from the table and set it down at the other end of the stone bench.
She sat on the left, Jiang Tong on the right.
The sun had completely set, and the late autumn night sky was sprinkled with faint stars.
Wrapped in her autumn jacket, the girl poked out her head, looking up at the starlight above.
“Senior.” After a long silence, she suddenly spoke.
“Mm?”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
Jiang Tong’s divine sense only covered this mountaintop; he couldn’t see the stars, but he could sense the girl gazing at them.
He looked up too, even though the sky was pitch black to him— but it still felt just like two people watching the stars together.
“I was born in a landlord’s family. That landlord was my father.”
Jiang Tong didn’t interrupt, listening quietly.
This was the first time Gu Xianyu had ever taken the initiative to tell him about her life.
“My father was a mortal, but when he got married, everyone said he had great luck.”
“Because he married an immortal. In the eyes of the villagers, cultivators were immortals from the heavens, so a woman cultivator was naturally a fairy.”
“Senior, did you know? When I was a child, I thought my mother was amazing.”
She turned her head to look at the bell on the stone bench.
She was clearly smiling, but Jiang Tong couldn’t help feeling the bitterness behind it.
“Why did you think she was amazing?” Jiang Tong couldn’t resist asking.
If he remembered right, the gambling debt at Drunken Immortal Pavilion was owed by Gu Xianyu’s mother.
“Because Mother could use magic. For example, to make fire—she’d just point her finger, and a flame would spark up.”
The girl looked back at the stars. “At that time, I thought Mother must be a fairy from heaven. I wanted to learn spells from her and become a cultivator too.”
“No matter if she beat me or scolded me, left me bruised all over and said I’d never form a single wisp of spiritual energy, I still thought she was amazing.”
“And then?” Jiang Tong asked.
“And then I grew up.” The side of the girl’s face fell into shadow. “I found out things weren’t what I’d imagined.”
“The neighbors said my mother only left the sect because she couldn’t stay, and married my father for money.”
“Later, my father died in a brothel from a venereal disease, and when Mother saw I had no talent for cultivation, she gradually stopped caring for me.”
“After who knows how many times I found her in the gambling house, she finally lost her temper and told me everything.”
Gu Xianyu grinned, laughing awkwardly.
“It turns out, my mother wasn’t a fairy—she was a menial worker in a small sect, only at the second level of Qi Refinement.”
“She couldn’t get immortality, so she sought money and married my father…”
“And I was just her lingering attachment.”
“I couldn’t become an immortal, and I was a girl—a money-losing child…”
“But she still named me Gu Xianyu.”
“‘Xian’ as in immortal, ‘Yu’ as in jade.”
The girl’s mouth twisted into a smile, but tears slid silently down her cheeks.
Jiang Tong wanted to wipe away her tears, but as a wisp of spirit, he could only watch in silence.
“I want to prove that I’m not a useless person, that I’m worthy of my name. So I came to the Shangyuan Sect.”
Starlight shimmered. The girl wiped away her tears and looked at the bell beside her.
“I have no family left. If it weren’t for you, Senior, I probably wouldn’t even be alive now.”
“To me, Senior, you are my only family.”
“No, you’re wrong.” Jiang Tong shook his head gently.
“Xianyu, you don’t need to prove anything, because this name… isn’t worth proving.”
“It’s just your mother’s obsession. It’s not your wish.”
Gu Xianyu was stunned, her nose tingling with the urge to cry.
“Since you said I’m your only family…”
Jiang Tong looked into the girl’s eyes and saw the starlight shining within them.
“Maybe you can’t see my face, but from now on—”
“I’ll be your Master, alright?”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.