The next day was the first day of the New Year.
Jiang Tong had just emerged from the bell when he saw Gu Xianyu practicing her swordplay in the courtyard. She was wrapped so thickly in cotton clothes that she looked like a bear, and her movements with the sword were somewhat clumsy.
“Master, you woke up so late,” she muttered, sheathing her sword as she saw him come out.
“Souls do not need sleep. Your Master was merely recuperating,” Jiang Tong said with a straight face. “Happy New Year.”
Gu Xianyu paused for a moment. “Ha—Happy New Year.”
“Wait, wait…” She ran back into the house in a panic, returning a moment later.
She held her small hands behind her back, tightly clutching something.
Jiang Tong was confused. “What are you doing? Why so mysterious?”
“A New Year’s gift, to hang on the bell.” Gu Xianyu seemed a bit nervous. “You aren’t allowed to dislike it!”
“Oh, look at you, actually showing some filial piety…” Jiang Tong chuckled. “Let your Master see it.”
The girl pursed her lips, hesitated for a few seconds, and then obediently opened her hands.
It was a loop of red string with a small, round wooden tag hanging from it.
Jiang Tong stared blankly, then used his soul power to pick it up and weigh it.
Heh, it had a decent weight to it, and the knot was tied very tight. It wouldn’t break easily, and it was far better than the red string currently holding the bell.
Glancing at the wooden tag, Jiang Tong could hardly keep his composure. “What did you draw here?”
His little disciple lowered her head. “Mas—Master.”
“This is supposed to be me?”
Jiang Tong wanted to laugh. He stared at the little ghost on the wood. He could tell Gu Xianyu had tried her best to make it round.
However, her hands were clumsy. The carving was a bit lopsided, looking like a leaking balloon. From the slightly frantic marks left by her repairs, it was clear she had tried her hardest.
But it even had a little tail. It was detailed.
“It’s carved well. Your Master likes it very much.”
Jiang Tong held the hand-string his disciple had given him, feeling quite pleased.
Truly, the more he looked at the wooden tag, the more he liked it. It had a certain silly charm.
Gu Xianyu’s intertwined fingers quietly relaxed.
“Close your eyes,” Jiang Tong suddenly said.
The disciple didn’t understand why, but she still closed her eyes obediently.
Jiang Tong moved closer. Feeling her hair being gently lifted, the girl’s heart began to thud in her chest, a sense of panic rising within her.
‘What is Master doing?’
‘He just reached out and touched my hair, and he even told me to close my eyes.’
She thought of the stories she had read.
In those stories, those scoundrels also told girls to close their eyes, and then they would…
If Master acted like a scoundrel, what should she do?
Gu Xianyu’s eyelashes trembled, and a faint look of unease appeared on her face. Her pink lips parted slightly, but she didn’t know whether to speak or keep them closed.
Jiang Tong gave her a strange look.
“All done.” Stopping his movements, he tapped the girl on the head. “Open your eyes and look.”
The disciple opened her eyes nervously, and a bronze mirror appeared before her.
She blinked, and her gaze fell upon the top of her head. A hairpin was tucked into her hair, and hanging from it was a single flower bud that had not yet bloomed.
“A new look for the New Year.” Jiang Tong stepped back two paces, looking at her with pride. “This hairpin took quite a bit of effort… That flower bud is real. If you inject a little spiritual power into it every day, like watering it, it will bloom very quickly.”
“Remember, don’t inject too much, or the formation might break. Just a little bit will do.”
Jiang Yueliu had asked him to replicate an identical hairpin, and Jiang Tong had a sudden inspiration to make one for his disciple as well.
He had carved a small Spirit Gathering Array into the hairpin. By injecting spiritual energy, the flower could be kept alive. He felt like a genius for coming up with such a trick.
“Will it not die?”
“Not that quickly.”
“How long can it live?”
“Live…” Jiang Tong thought for a moment. “200 years shouldn’t be a problem.”
The disciple gave a soft “Oh” and couldn’t help but raise her hand, cautiously stroking the bud twice. Her eyes were filled with joy.
Aside from pulling weeds, she now had something else to do…
She bit her lip.
‘This scoundrel Master is actually quite good.’
‘When will this bud bloom?’
—
In the blink of an eye, it was April in the mortal world.
Jiang Tong had stayed in the Spring and Autumn Bell for an exceptionally long time.
Since nothing was happening in the real world, he simply maintained the time flow at 1:100. Every day, he performed the same tasks, followed the same steps, and taught sword techniques and insights. It was quite a carefree existence.
The only downside was the toll it took on the spirit stones in his pocket.
Gu Xianyu’s cultivation was progressing smoothly. After four months, she had successfully broken through to the Early Golden Core Stage. The Cold Spirit Jade Body and the Sword Seed no longer fought each other; instead, they combined to provide a terrifying boost to her cultivation rate.
Jiang Tong lay by the lake, watching the clear water. He glanced at the girl nearby who was huffing and puffing as she built a fence. He felt that being a soul wasn’t a bad deal at all.
White clouds drifted by, and the years were peaceful. He could just lie flat and be a lazy scoundrel of a soul.
Two major things had happened.
One was the Outer Sect Competition shortly after the New Year. Gu Xianyu had won. This time, there was no earth-shattering commotion; she had practically crushed her way through and entered the inner sect smoothly.
To Gu Xianyu, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
She still lived in this small, dilapidated courtyard in the outer sect. It had the New Year couplets Master had pasted and the lanterns they had hung together. After rejecting the invitations of numerous elders to become their disciple, she started working on what she considered the truly important business.
Taking advantage of the weather before it got too hot, Gu Xianyu worked hard and cleared all the weeds out of the lake in one go.
The entire lake looked like a mirror. Sitting by the lake at night, Jiang Tong truly saw the stars and the moon.
“You are a Weed Immortal,” Jiang Tong joked.
“I am a Weed Immortal.” The girl nodded in deep agreement. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted proudly toward the lake full of stars and moonlight, “I am a Weed Immortal!”
“And I have a scoundrel Master!”
“…” Jiang Tong looked at her cunning, bright eyes. He wanted to say something but shook his head and suddenly burst into laughter.
The master and disciple laughed together by the lake like they were missing a few brain cells. Laughter was truly contagious. Jiang Tong liked this silly girl and her down-to-earth nature.
With just a sword, a bag of spirit stones, and a pill, he had tricked this silly girl into becoming his disciple. She was so easy to fool.
She wasn’t a dull blockhead who only cared about cultivation. She could cook, pull weeds, and make very ugly handicrafts. Occasionally, she would even use him as a pillow when she slept, only to wake up with drool all over him.
Jiang Tong acted disgusted, but when he touched the ugly yet cute wooden tag she had carved, he didn’t feel that disgusted anymore.
The girl was silly, but she loved him.
April passed quickly, and the circular courtyard was finished. The overall frame of the house was mostly done, leaving only the filling and decorating. This wasn’t a difficult task for a cultivator.
“Master, are you happy?” the girl asked.
“I am.” Jiang Tong felt there was no suspense in that question.
“Master, I feel like this is happier than cultivating.” The disciple sat by the lake and lowered her head. “I still want to live a life like an ordinary person.”
“Will you scold me?”
“No.” Jiang Tong thought for a moment. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“But you said before that a sword cultivator must forge ahead without looking back…” Gu Xianyu picked at her fingers, looking a bit lost. “Right now… am I just a salted fish lying flat?”
“You even know the term ‘lying flat’ now.”
“I learned it from you.”
“Strictly speaking, you aren’t,” Jiang Tong explained patiently.
“Look, you pull weeds every day, fix the fence, and build the house. Doesn’t that count as doing something?”
“I guess… so?” Gu Xianyu was confused. Was something unrelated to cultivation considered ‘proper business’?
“When you pick up your sword, you are a sword cultivator. Your business is to use that sword to cleave through everything in your way—whether it’s a person or a beast. When you hold a sword, you must strike, or you will die, or suffer a loss, and then you will regret not striking cleanly. Over time, that creates inner demons. So, when it’s time to use the sword, you must be ruthless.”
Jiang Tong felt the evening breeze and closed his eyes. “But when you put the sword down, what are you?”
Gu Xianyu looked at him. “A person who isn’t holding a sword.”
“Exactly. You are a person,” Jiang Tong said as if it were obvious. “Therefore, you have human needs. You pick up the sword to survive. When you put it down, you must satisfy your own needs.”
“Some people can keep holding their sword and charge ahead forever because their only need is to become stronger. There is nothing wrong with that, but you are clearly not that kind of person.”
Jiang Tong pointed at the lake and then at the half-finished house. “To us, this is called living. Things related to living are ‘proper business.'”
He had to admit that his perspective had changed. Initially, he just wanted to raise a ruthless powerhouse, but he had ended up turning his disciple into a slacker just like himself.
‘Ah… what a sin.’
“Living,” Gu Xianyu pondered. “I like living.”
She thought for a moment and made up her mind. “I cultivate so that I can have a better life and live for a long, long time with Master.”
“Good realization.”
Jiang Tong felt lucky that he hadn’t led this girl down some path of bitter vengeance. A person shouldn’t live just for revenge or just for the sake of surviving… that would be too boring.
She was his disciple, the Weed Immortal, and a silly girl. She was special. From their initial formal relationship to now, they had developed a unique way of interacting.
“Thank you for being my disciple,” Jiang Tong said suddenly and seriously.
Gu Xianyu was stunned. Her cheeks turned rosy, and she turned her head away.
Fortunately, the moon wasn’t bright enough to show her face clearly.
From initially living for her mother’s expectations to living to repay her senior’s kindness, she now truly felt she was living for herself—and for her Master.
She liked listening to her Master ramble and talk about various questionable philosophies. Not only was her Master’s swordplay powerful, but his tongue was also very sharp.
At the thought of this, her heart began to thump. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
‘Clearly, he didn’t say anything special. Why is it beating like this on its own?’
Gu Xianyu was a bit distressed. She had read some romance stories where the male and female leads got together quickly. The male lead would start kissing the female lead, their two mouths smacking together, and at that moment, the story would say the female lead’s heart was thumping and her face was as red as a monkey’s butt.
But right now, she was just feeling the night breeze and watching the stars. Her mood should be peaceful. Why was her heart racing? Why was her face starting to feel like a monkey’s butt?
She wasn’t a shallow woman, but her heart was indeed thumping.
If she could dig her heart out and sink it to the bottom of the lake, the surrounding area would surely be brimming with vitality.
“I also…” She tilted her head, her voice very small. “I also thank you for being my Master.”
Jiang Tong smiled, looking at the shimmering lake. His mood was difficult to describe.
200 years ago, 200 years later…
Fate was a strange thing; it seemed everything was predetermined.
“Master, I want to go down the mountain tomorrow,” Gu Xianyu said, hugging her knees and looking at the lake, her eyes slowly brightening.
“What for?”
“To find my mother.”
“Where will you look?”
“The Drunken Immortal Tavern, or that area with the gambling dens…” The girl looked at Jiang Tong. “I want to see her and see how she’s doing now.”
Jiang Tong was puzzled. “Don’t you hate her?”
“I do,” Gu Xianyu said honestly. “If not for her, I might have been very happy. I might have had a different kind of happiness…”
“But regardless, she was once my family and a part of my life. I want to face my life head-on instead of hiding from her or trying not to think about her…”
“Good.” Jiang Tong was impressed. “But your Master is curious—what will you do after you find her?”
“Just look.”
“Just look?”
The girl shook her head. “She… she can’t quit. I won’t give her money. Even if I give her food, she would definitely sell it to keep gambling. If I appeared before her without any cultivation, she would even sell me to keep gambling.”
Jiang Tong deeply agreed. Once a gambler refused to change, trying to pull them out would only result in being dragged down yourself.
“Master is my only family now. I only want to live a good life with Master.” The girl bit her lip and partially unsheathed her sword.
“If someone doesn’t know what’s good for them, I don’t mind showing them what it means to forge ahead without looking back.”
Jiang Tong was dazed for a moment, then he looked at her and smiled. “Is there a cup?”
“No…” Just as Gu Xianyu shook her head, she thought of something. She scooped two balls of ice from the lake and used her spiritual power to grind them into two ice cups.
The Cold Spirit Jade Body’s control over ice spiritual energy was indeed proficient.
Jiang Tong took a cup and scooped some water from the lake. Gu Xianyu followed suit. The man and the soul clinked their cups under the moonlight.
“To our meeting,” Jiang Tong said.
“To our meeting,” Gu Xianyu repeated. After a moment’s thought, she added, “To life.”
“To life!” Jiang Tong used his soul power to clink the cups and then swallowed both the cup and the water. He didn’t taste anything.
After all, it was just ice water. It was cold.
But as he thought about it, there seemed to be a hint of sweetness.
Gu Xianyu blinked, holding the cup with both hands and taking small sips of the water.
She looked at her Master and thought the water was very sweet. Her heart felt warm.
She really wanted to take a bite of him.
—
Early the next morning, the two went down the mountain.
The place where Gu Xianyu used to live wasn’t far from the Shangyuan Sect, only about a two-hour journey by spirit horse.
Jiang Tong stayed inside the bell. The bell was tied with the new string, and the small wooden tag bounced along.
Around noon, they first went to the Drunken Immortal Tavern. Upon hearing that she was a disciple of the Shangyuan Sect, the tavern master was terrified, bowing and scraping, hardly daring to breathe.
After all, the previous Associate Deacon had intended to replace him. The Shangyuan Sect had struck like lightning and cleared out that threat for him; he couldn’t be more grateful.
Not to mention, a Fairy at the Golden Core Stage had arrived.
“Do you know a person named Gu Nianxian?”
“Gu Nianxian?” The tavern master cautiously poured her a cup of tea. He thought for a moment and nodded. “I have some impression of her. She used to gamble here frequently last year…”
“However, ever since she couldn’t pay back her debts, she disappeared from here.” The tavern master watched her expression and said with his head lowered, “After that, as you know, Fairy, that whole business happened…”
Gu Xianyu paused, then asked, “Do you know where she went?”
“That…” The tavern master looked troubled. “I’m not sure about that. However, a few days before she disappeared, it seemed some gamblers were talking. she kept saying she was about to become an immortal soon…”
The tavern master mused, “I think she went crazy. We probably don’t even know where her corpse is now.”
Gu Xianyu frowned and left the Drunken Immortal Tavern.
“She really went crazy?” Jiang Tong, staying in the bell, had heard the entire conversation clearly.
“I don’t know…” Gu Xianyu felt a faint sense of unease. “Master, should we look some more?”
“Let’s look some more.”
The two searched the entire nearby area, and the information they gathered was mostly the same.
This person kept mumbling about how she was about to become an immortal, and then she vanished without a trace. It was very strange.
“She might be dead.” Jiang Tong couldn’t think of any other possibility.
“I hope she is dead.” The girl sighed. “If she’s dead, she’s free, and I’m free as well…”
She knew exactly what kind of wretched, mud-like life her mother had lived before.
“Let’s go back,” Jiang Tong comforted her. “She is indeed dead. She is dead in your memory.”
“But you still have your Master.”
“Mhm!” Gu Xianyu nodded, a smile blossoming on her face.
“I have Master, and we have a home. Master, let’s go home.”
As the sun began to set, they returned home.
In a few days, they could move in. They would take root and settle down by the lake. She also wanted to plant trees—a whole forest of them—to make her and Master’s lake full of life. This was the ‘proper business’ of living.
Gu Xianyu was in a pleasant mood. As she thought about it, she couldn’t help but hum a little tune.
But as they neared the entrance to the courtyard, she stopped in her tracks.
Inside the bell, Jiang Tong also frowned slightly.
‘What is this crazy woman doing here?’
“Gu Xianyu.” The girl in the black dress called her name. “You’ve finally returned.”
“There are some things I must discuss with you.”
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