A few days later, Gu Xianyu joined the Shangyuan Sect.
She stood on the Spirit Testing Platform in a daze. After being measured with a Three-Attribute Mixed Spirit Root, she was nearly sent to the Servants’ Peak.
However, the Sect Leader of the Shangyuan Sect possessed a keen eye for talent. He actually discovered the existence of a Sword Embryo within her and took Gu Xianyu in as his direct disciple.
From then on, Gu Xianyu’s path of cultivation was smooth and steady, yet a piece of her mind seemed to be missing. she was like a dull block of wood.
As her cultivation grew, her heart remained stagnant. Every time she looked at the bell on her wrist or that ugly wooden plaque, her heart would twitch.
It hurt.
The Sect Leader was quite satisfied with her. A Sword Embryo with no distractions would become a powerful asset for the Shangyuan Sect in the future.
However, the good times did not last.
While Gu Xianyu was out on a mission, she was targeted by a great evil cultivator. With a single strike of his palm, he wounded her severely and gouged the Sword Embryo from her body.
The young girl had no reaction to this. The Sect Leader was furious, but once the evil cultivator succeeded, he vanished without a trace.
Without the Sword Embryo and with her spirit root damaged, Gu Xianyu’s status was demoted from a core disciple. Eventually, her treatment was lowered to match that of an outer disciple.
No one regarded her as a genius anymore.
She continued to practice her sword and her cultivation. Sometimes, she would walk to the edge of a lake, staring at the green water with an empty feeling in her heart.
Gu Xianyu did not know the meaning of swinging her sword, nor did she know the meaning of her existence.
She only knew that she seemed to have forgotten a very important person.
That person remained in her heart only as a shallow scar that throbbed with pain whenever it was touched.
Because her spirit root was damaged, the girl’s cultivation continued to plummet. She was about to fall out of the Qi Condensation Stage and become a mortal.
Once she became a mortal, Gu Xianyu would be forced to leave the Shangyuan Sect.
The time she spent practicing the sword grew shorter, while the time she spent staring blankly at Guanye Lake slowly increased.
One day, as the dazed girl stared at the stagnant green water as usual, the bell on her wrist suddenly stirred.
A white, soft thing crawled out.
“Are you tired?”
“…” Gu Xianyu acted as if she had not heard anything, staring blankly at the lake.
“You must be tired.”
“…”
The white thing reached out its hand and gently stroked her head, again and again.
The girl’s body trembled slightly. Finally, she had a reaction, staring blankly at the mass in front of her.
“Does it feel good?”
Gu Xianyu thought for a moment and nodded hesitantly.
“Do you want a hug?”
‘Hug… hug?’ The girl tilted her head, her eyes hollow.
The white thing did not speak. It stepped forward and gave Gu Xianyu a hug.
The girl’s body first stiffened in his arms, but after being held for a while, she slowly relaxed.
“Does the hug feel better, or the head pats?”
“Better.”
“Then let’s hug,” the white thing said.
“Hug.”
As she was held in his arms, the girl felt warm.
“My name is Jiang Tong.”
The white thing picked up a branch and wrote his name stroke by stroke on the riverbank soil.
[Jiang Tong]
Looking at the words on the soil, Gu Xianyu’s heart suddenly twitched.
She turned to look at Jiang Tong and felt that this person was very close to her. She could not help but nuzzle her head against him.
“Jiang Tong…” she said.
“Yes, Jiang Tong.” Jiang Tong reached out and flicked her nose, his eyes filled with heartache.
In the days that followed, Jiang Tong accompanied her as she walked, practiced her sword, and cultivated.
She cultivated every day, as that was what the Sect Leader had taught her.
It was just that Gu Xianyu did not understand why her cultivation would not rise despite her hard work.
Practicing the sword was also something the Sect Leader ordered. She practiced every day, day after day, without any difference.
Whenever she did this, that white thing would approach her and watch her quietly without saying a word.
The girl did not know she had been crippled, nor did she know that the Sect Leader no longer wanted her as a disciple.
After that night, she had become like a block of wood.
After Jiang Tong finished watching her dance with the sword, he would step forward and give her a hug.
Gu Xianyu liked hugs. After their hug, the two of them would sit by Guanye Lake.
“Watch closely,” Jiang Tong said to her, then dived into the water.
A moment later, he pulled a few stalks of water grass from the bottom of the lake.
Gu Xianyu tilted her head, not understanding his behavior at all.
But seeing Jiang Tong smile, she would follow suit and smile as well.
Spring went and autumn came; summer went and winter came.
Gu Xianyu completely became a mortal.
The girl still sat cross-legged every day to cultivate, but now, she could no longer feel a single trace of spiritual energy.
The speed of her sword dance became slow and heavy. Her steps became labored and strenuous. After finishing a set, she would stop to wipe away her sweat.
“What is happening to me?” she asked Jiang Tong.
Jiang Tong stroked her head. “You have become a girl.”
“A girl…?” The girl was confused.
“Yes, a girl,” Jiang Tong said. “A normal, cute girl who doesn’t have to fight and kill.”
Gu Xianyu pursed her lips. “What are the benefits of becoming a normal girl?”
“Of course there are benefits.” Jiang Tong hugged her. “How many hugs have we had today?”
The girl dazed out as she counted on her fingers. “Yesterday was fifteen times.”
“Then starting from today, we can have sixteen,” Jiang Tong said seriously. “Do you like that?”
Gu Xianyu thought for a moment and smiled. “I like it.”
One year, two years, three years passed.
Guanye Lake became clear, and a small wooden hut was built by the shore.
Gu Xianyu moved out of the outer sect quarters. Every morning, one could see a young girl by Guanye Lake.
She practiced her sword meticulously. As she practiced, she would stop to catch her breath, wipe her sweat, and take a sip of water from Jiang Tong.
The Sect Leader did not drive her away. Guanye Lake was a very remote place in the sect. It was fine to let her stay there.
Five, six, seven years passed.
The girl still practiced her sword, but her time spent cultivating had decreased. A small notebook appeared on her table.
[Chicken, fifteen coins]
[Lean pork, twenty-three coins]
[Small green vegetables, seven coins]
[Crucian carp for Jiang Tong, twenty-five coins]
[Small mushrooms for Jiang Tong, twelve coins]
[Jiang Tong’s favorite…]
Every time she wrote the name “Jiang Tong,” Gu Xianyu’s heart would twitch. It no longer hurt; it felt a bit sweet.
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Tong returned from outside. The area around the lake was already planted with lush tong trees.
“Nothing.” The girl quickly shook her head and opened her arms to him. “Jiang Tong, hug.”
“You went over the limit again today. How many was it yesterday?”
The girl seriously counted on her fingers. “Yesterday was fifty-six.”
“Then starting today, it’s fifty-seven.” Jiang Tong opened his soft body and pulled the girl to his chest.
Ten, eleven, twelve years passed.
The girl still practiced her sword, but she no longer cultivated. Whenever she practiced, there was always a white figure watching from the side.
He never made any demands or corrected her mistakes. He simply watched.
He watched until the leaves turned yellow, and he watched until the spring flowers bloomed.
Twenty, thirty years passed.
Gu Xianyu’s body began to change and lose its shape. She still woke up every morning to dance with her sword by the lake.
Jiang Tong would also sit on a rock on time, watching her swing her sword again and again, his eyes full of tenderness.
When she finished her sword dance, he would step forward and give the girl a hug.
In his eyes, she was forever a young girl.
Fifty, sixty years passed. The tong trees turned yellow and then green, green and then yellow.
When disciples passed by this place, they often saw an old lady with silver hair trembling as she danced with a sword by the lake.
She was old and could no longer practice for long. After a couple of swings, she would hold her knees, pat her back, and pant in small breaths.
“What is happening to me?” she asked Jiang Tong on a day in late winter.
Jiang Tong stroked her head. “You’ve become an older girl.”
“An older girl…?” She lowered her head, looking at the wrinkles all over her hands and touching her inelastic cheeks.
“Yes, an old girl,” Jiang Tong said. “A normal, cute girl who doesn’t have to fight and kill, just a little bit older.”
He opened his arms. “It’s time for a hug. How many times was it yesterday?”
“I forgot the count… I’m sorry, I can’t remember clearly.”
“There’s no need to count anymore.” Jiang Tong took a step forward and held her gently. “I will give you many, many hugs.”
“Jiang Tong.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Jiang Tong gently patted her back. “Let’s go back inside. You should have been lying in bed…”
“I’m not going back.”
The older girl shook her head slightly. “I’m not going back…”
Her breath grew weaker by the second, and her words became powerless.
“Jiang Tong…”
“I’m listening.”
“I really want to dance with the sword for you again, but… it seems I can’t do it anymore…”
“You don’t have to hold a sword.”
“That won’t do…”
Gu Xianyu smiled at him, her breathing gradually becoming heavy.
“I like being held by you. After the sword dance, I can get a hug… I like it…”
Jiang Tong held her tightly and watched her hand slowly drop. She closed her eyes in his arms and whispered softly:
“My sword swings were only for you…”