Chapter 36: Change and Constancy

Not long after, in the Sword Garden.

Outside Ye Chen’s courtyard, on a rarely-trodden bluestone path, the sound of light footsteps echoed.

The newcomer wore a simple white long dress belonging to a personal disciple.

The hem swayed with each step, flowing like the rising and falling of a sea of clouds.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo forest, scattering dappled light upon her, draping her in a shimmering veil.

When she reached the courtyard gate and lifted her head, even the wind in the woods seemed to fall silent for a moment.

What a breathtaking face.

If she was once an uncut jade a year ago—pure and unadorned, with the innocence of the wild—then now she was a peerless gem, exquisitely carved and worshipped in a grand hall.

Her skin was fairer than snow, glowing with the luster of top-grade warm jade, casting a faint halo in the sunlight.

The once-slender figure had grown, now tall and graceful, her curves delicate, standing almost as tall as Ye Chen.

Her long black hair was no longer simply tied, but styled into a complex flowing cloud bun he had never seen before, several strands trailing down her cheeks, fluttering gently in the breeze.

But the greatest change was in her eyes.

Once clear like a mountain spring, now they resembled a deep pool shrouded in mist.

When she gazed at the tightly closed courtyard door, waves of longing and tender affection surged from the depths of those eyes, nearly overflowing.

She was Xiao Xiao.

She raised her hand, fingertips stopping just an inch from the door, trembling slightly.

Behind this door was the one she had thought of day and night for a year.

Taking a deep breath, she finally pushed the door open softly.

Creak—

Inside the courtyard, Ye Chen stood quietly beneath a tree. As if sensing something, he slowly turned.

Their eyes met.

Time seemed to stretch in that moment.

When Xiao Xiao’s gaze fell on Ye Chen, all the emotions surging within her—longing, grievance—transformed into the purest tenderness.

It was him.

Still the familiar brows and eyes, still that calm, otherworldly aura.

Yet in the next instant, she forcefully froze that tenderness.

Because she saw it clearly.

He was almost… unchanged.

Except for his aura, now deeper and steadier, clearly at the late Foundation Establishment stage, his expression and gaze were identical to when he left her a year ago.

Calm.

Indifferent.

As if this year’s separation was but a fleeting instant to him.

Why?

Why did she toss and turn, unable to sleep, while he remained so calm and composed?

An uncontrollable anger and grievance erupted from the depths of her heart, burning the newly sprouted tenderness to ashes.

The light in her eyes extinguished.

In its place was a deliberately cold, icy facade.

“Hmph, isn’t this Young Master Ye?”

She spoke, her voice crisp and pleasant, yet laced with a strange mockery.

She didn’t even look at him directly, only casting a sidelong glance at the bamboo leaves beside him.

“Long time no see. Your cultivation has improved greatly. You’re already a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Truly worthy of congratulations.”

She even clapped her hands.

The title “Young Master Ye” itself held no special meaning, but in her mouth, it was as cold and distant as a blade.

Ye Chen looked at the girl before him, both familiar and strange, a complex emotion rising within.

He could feel the thorns in her words, and the immense sorrow hidden beneath that icy exterior.

He sighed inwardly, knowing it was his own neglect.

“I…”

He had just begun to speak, ready to explain how he’d been immersed in cultivation, forgetting the world outside.

But he only uttered a single word.

“Shut up.”

Xiao Xiao cut him off coldly, her gaze moving from the bamboo leaves to his face, as if looking at an unimportant stranger.

“I don’t want to hear any of your explanations.”

Before she finished, her slender hand lifted, fingers pointed like a sword, waving in the direction behind her.

Bang!

The heavy wooden door slammed shut on its own, sealing off the outside world with a muffled thud.

She gestured for Ye Chen to enter the house.

Next, all the windows in the room closed by themselves.

The courtyard dimmed instantly.

The Array beneath the eaves was triggered by the darkness, dozens of points of light glowing softly in an attempt to relight the space.

“Unnecessary.”

Xiao Xiao frowned in disgust and waved her hand again.

A surge of powerful spiritual energy swept through, extinguishing all the lights instantly.

The world plunged into darkness.

For two Foundation Establishment cultivators, darkness could not hinder sight.

Yet the sudden, oppressive confinement filled the air with tension.

Ye Chen fell into a long silence, his mind racing.

He had never encountered such a situation before.

In his memory, emotions were obstacles to cultivation—mortal ties to be severed.

A cultivator’s heart must be as a pine atop a lonely peak—unyielding, unswayed by outside forces, seeking only self-perfection.

But why did Xiao Xiao seem to have gone to the other extreme?

Had her nature twisted so much from his momentary neglect alone?

Were mortal emotions truly such fragile, yet powerful things?

Ye Chen sighed inwardly.

It seemed his understanding of “human” remained far too abstract.

The Dao is merciless, yet people have feelings.

Perhaps, to resolve this predicament, he could no longer rely on his old ways of thinking.

He didn’t realize that, in Xiao Xiao’s eyes, his silence was an admission, a lack of feeling, and a further crime.

She glared at him in the darkness, chest heaving.

A year’s worth of suppressed emotions threatened to erupt like a volcano.

Finally, she could no longer endure.

Boom—!

A surge of spiritual energy, far surpassing that of an ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivator, erupted from her small frame!

Azure light soared skyward, causing her pale dress to billow, hair whipping wildly, transforming her into a descending goddess of wrath and majesty.

“Is this Xiao Xiao now to your satisfaction, Young Master?!”

Her voice, amplified by spiritual power, echoed through the courtyard, tinged with madness.

“A cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment—does it finally catch the eye of the great Young Master Ye?!”

Ye Chen instantly understood her intent.

This was not a sparring match.

It was a demonstration, a venting.

He neither dodged nor spoke.

He merely stood calmly, spiritual energy emanating from his body like a gentle tide, forming an invisible barrier to withstand the raging pressure.

Between them, an invisible battle of spiritual force began.

No Daoist Spells, no sword moves—only the purest contest of cultivation.

The air groaned under the clash of their powers.

Seeing him accept her challenge, the coldness in Xiao Xiao’s eyes deepened.

She began to pace slowly, each step pressing upon Ye Chen’s heart.

With every step, her spiritual pressure intensified.

“Do you know, Young Master, how Xiao Xiao spent this past year?”

She spoke, her voice trembling from the turmoil of her energy.

“Do you know how scared and lost I was when I first arrived at Heavenly Sword Peak? Forced to study Daoist Spells I had no interest in, among strangers, in an unfamiliar place…”

“Later, I gradually adapted. I even began to feel happy… I thought I could finally catch up to you. I thought my future might be more than a passing shadow in your life…”

Her tone, once icy, now carried a trace of joy.

She halted, lifting her head to meet Ye Chen’s gaze.

“Do you know what I was thinking when I wrote you my first letter?”

“The excitement, the longing, the feeling as if the whole world was filled with light…”

She trailed off, then suddenly gave a desolate smile, sorrow etching itself into her eyes.

“Now, it all feels so… distant.”

As the words fell, Ye Chen clearly felt the pressure from Xiao Xiao’s spiritual energy rise by thirty percent.

Within it were mixed grievance and resentment.

Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly, his own spiritual force intensifying by the same degree, maintaining the balance without faltering.

He did not interrupt her.

He wanted to hear.

In this past year, what storms had this once-dependent heart endured?