The elder’s residence was made entirely of bamboo.
Bamboo floors, bamboo walls, a bamboo table, and bamboo stools.
If Gu Xianyu was the waterweed immortal, the old man before them was undoubtedly a bamboo immortal.
“Sit,” the elder said. He sat at the table and personally poured two cups of mountain spring water for them. The cups were made of bamboo leaves, yet they did not leak a single drop.
“Since you have found your way here, you likely already know my identity. I will speak plainly then.”
Jiang Tong nodded. “Please, go ahead.”
“This young friend.”
The elder pointed at Gu Xianyu. “Her talent and temperament are quite good. She was able to wake up from the sound of my bamboo cutting, but she is too young.”
“The second gate of the Sword Fetus transformation is called Asking the Heart. You will enter an illusion to find the meaning behind swinging your sword. During this process, your original memories will gradually disappear.
“If you find it, you can break the illusion and complete the transformation. If you cannot find it and lose yourself in the illusion, you will die.”
The word “die” was spoken with total nonchalance.
The elder paused for 2 seconds to observe Gu Xianyu’s reaction before continuing.
“This second gate tests nothing but one’s character and state of mind.”
“You are only 17 or 18 years old, and your character has not yet matured. Do you truly want to pass this gate now?”
Gu Xianyu had listened to Jiang Tong’s explanation on the way here. Facing the elder’s questioning, her expression remained calm as she nodded.
“I do.”
The elder was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. “The younger generation truly is to be feared.”
He did not believe Gu Xianyu could endure it. Throughout the endless ages, he had seen too many geniuses possessing a Sword Fetus.
Some had tempered their minds for hundreds of years and believed themselves to be fearless, yet they ultimately became nothing more than nourishment for the bamboo forest.
At 17 or 18, what could she possibly understand?
“Then let it begin.”
As those words fell, Gu Xianyu felt the scenery around her shift rapidly.
Looking back, she saw Jiang Tong growing further and further away. Watching him recede, the girl’s heart was suddenly gripped by fear.
“Master!”
She cried out. In reality, Jiang Tong stepped forward gently and caught her, watching as she closed her eyes in his arms.
He held Gu Xianyu, his ethereal body expanding until he could support her entire weight.
The elder sat still, quietly drinking a cup of tea with a sentimental tone.
“I have seen Dao companions, masters and disciples, brothers… They have all come before me. One entered the illusion, and the other waited outside.”
Jiang Tong held his silly girl, silently listening to him.
“When their relatives or lovers lost their memories and could not return to reality, I would ask: Are you willing to save the life of the person who is important to you?”
“The cost — it could be your very life.”
“90% chose to leave, while 10% wanted to try. Their souls also entered the illusion, and the vast majority never woke up again.”
Jiang Tong hugged his disciple and smiled. “Then I might be among the minority.”
“I have never seen such a unique existence — a soul acting as a master…” The Sword Soul laughed. “You have no body; you are merely a soul.”
“If you enter, and if she does not wake up, you will never have the chance to wake up again.”
“From then on, your soul will shatter and dissipate between heaven and earth.”
—
Rain lashed against the banana leaves.
Gu Xianyu gazed at the continuous drizzle. Autumn had arrived, and the cold wind made her shiver.
She looked at the bell on her wrist, toyed with the small wooden tag, and pulled out a pen and paper. She wrote stroke by stroke.
**[Jiang Tong] [Master]**
After finishing, Gu Xianyu carefully folded the paper, tucked it into her shirt, and pushed the door open.
Her father was dead, and her mother had gone to the casino. She had returned to 1 year ago, on that rainy day when she ran away from home to seek the path of immortality at the Shangyuan Sect.
The Sword Soul had said that memories would gradually dissipate. She had to remember Jiang Tong firmly while her memories were still intact.
“Shangyuan Sect…”
Gu Xianyu murmured.
Yes, she had to go to the Shangyuan Sect. Currently, she was just a mortal. To come into contact with a sword and find her master, she had to go to the nearest sect, the Shangyuan Sect.
‘I wonder if I can meet Master in this illusion?’
The girl felt uneasy; there was no answer.
Braving the rain and carrying her meager savings, Gu Xianyu raised an oil-paper umbrella and ran through the rain, rushing out of the city toward the Shangyuan Sect.
She could not afford to rent a spirit horse, so the 4-hour journey became exceptionally long.
1 year ago, she had traveled for a full 15 days before reaching the mountain gate of the Shangyuan Sect.
But Gu Xianyu did not care. If she could see her master again, what did this distance matter?
She slept in the wild and was exposed to the sun and rain.
When thirsty, she drank from the streams.
When hungry, she used her small amount of money to buy a few mouthfuls of dry rations by the roadside.
When tired, she would find a cave, light a campfire at the entrance, and make do for 1 night.
“Jiang Tong, Jiang Tong.”
During the journey, the thing Gu Xianyu did most was hold the bell, touch the wooden tag, and whisper her master’s name.
She was afraid of forgetting. This bell was like an anchor. Whenever she feared losing herself, she would take it out, and it would remind her of many things.
“Jiang Tong, Jiang Tong.”
The girl gripped the bell tightly, reciting the name over and over, reminiscing about every detail of their time together.
She also spent time thinking about the meaning of swinging a sword, but when she shouted answers into the air, the illusion gave no response.
The Sword Soul did not accept her answers.
5 days later, evening.
Gu Xianyu sat down by a cave. She habitually took out the bell, but as she looked at it, she froze.
Why did she take the bell out? Who did she want to talk to?
No, this bell had a name, and there was someone living inside it. That person was called…
Called what?
Gu Xianyu’s face turned pale. Trembling, she pulled the paper from her shirt and carefully unfolded it.
**[Jiang Tong] [Master]**
“Jiang Tong. Your name is Jiang Tong.” The girl gripped the paper so hard her knuckles turned white, desperately trying to recall Jiang Tong’s face.
“You are my master, and I am your disciple…”
“We built a house together. We pulled waterweed. We even put up Spring Festival couplets and hung lanterns…”
The girl was shivering. She bit her fingertip and added a few words to the paper with her blood.
**[House] [Waterweed] [New Year] [Round]**
“I remember. I remember everything.”
Having finished writing, Gu Xianyu’s brow relaxed, and she let out a happy sigh of relief.
As long as she remembered Jiang Tong, she would not panic, and she would know her purpose for being in this illusion.
In the days that followed, Gu Xianyu felt her memories becoming increasingly blurred.
More and more was written on the paper. From their first meeting to becoming well-acquainted, it was filled with large and small keywords.
Looking at this piece of paper, Gu Xianyu sometimes felt it was extremely foreign.
‘Did I really experience these things?’
10 days after setting out.
Gu Xianyu walked along the mountain path, muttering to herself.
“Your name is Jiang Tong, and you are my master…”
“Your name is Jiang Tong, and you are my master…”
She had forgotten many things, yet this name alone felt dear to her.
As long as she whispered it, she had the motivation to keep walking.
He was her master, and he had taught her swordsmanship. She held a sword so as not to let down his expectations.
‘Is this the answer?’
Gu Xianyu’s eyes lit up. She wanted to shout it to the air, but when she opened her mouth, she froze in place.
“I swing my sword so that I do not fail my master’s expectations.”
She still summoned the courage to shout the sentence.
It was silent. Nothing changed.
The girl lowered her head in confusion and shook it.
‘Why did I shout? There is no one here. There is no point in saying that.’
That night.
Before Gu Xianyu could even light a fire, she suddenly discovered several pairs of glowing green eyes appearing in the rain.
Wolves!
They lunged toward the cave. With nowhere to retreat, the girl gritted her teeth, grabbed her oil-paper umbrella, and ran into the rain.
As she ran, she protected the paper in her shirt as tightly as she could.
*Splash, splash.*
Rain hit the umbrella. The sound of the wind, the low growls of the wolves, and her own heavy panting filled her ears.
“You are my master… I am your disciple…”
An image surfaced in the girl’s mind of a night when the moon was very bright.
A blurry figure sat beside her and said to her:
‘Perhaps you cannot see my appearance…’
“Your name is Jiang Tong. Jiang Tong. You are my master…”
The girl gritted her teeth and ran, repeating the sentence over and over in her head.
‘But from now on, I will be your master… alright?’
“Your name is…”
The wolves pounced. Gu Xianyu’s foot hit empty air, and she tumbled miserably down the mountain, eventually becoming still.
An unknown amount of time passed before the sound of rain stopped.
The moon peered out with a faint glow. The girl struggled to prop up her body, her hands immediately searching her shirt.
She wanted to take out the piece of paper, but all she felt was a handful of mud.
On the paper, the writing was no longer discernible.
Gu Xianyu sat up blankly, holding the paper up to the moonlight again and again. Her nose began to sting.
She couldn’t see anything.
Looking at the bell on her wrist, her heart suddenly ached—as if someone had ruthlessly squeezed it. The pain felt like it would make her heart explode.
Tears fell, one by one, onto the muddy paper.
“Your name… what exactly was it?”