A night where a hundred springs freeze and choke, the moon’s song echoes the biting cold.
Scattered mountains are adorned with leftover snow; a lonely candle illuminates no one.
The area around Gu Qinghan’s Cave Residence was perpetually shrouded in wind and snow, much like the life she led.
She lived alone on this massive peak, a fact she didn’t mind in the slightest.
In fact, she found it tranquil.
This was the life she desired—a clean place where no one would disturb her, a stretch of wind and snow where she could enjoy her own company, perceive the Heavenly Dao, and cultivate until the end of time.
As for Qian Yu…
That half-demon fox had frequently sought her out since her previous life.
Gu Qinghan had interacted with her purely out of the kindness of her heart.
The fox’s snow-white, fluffy appearance did indeed appeal to her aesthetic sense, making her more willing to speak.
But that was the extent of it.
To her, the fox was no different in essence from the wind and snow in these mountains.
At most, because the fox possessed life, she was a grade higher than the elements and could be called a friend.
Gu Qinghan had truly believed this.
But just as Yingning had sneered—she suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Her mind was filled with the cold manner Qian Yu had shown when she interrupted her, contrasting sharply with the intimate way the fox had followed Nalan Yunyan.
She couldn’t even settle down for her favorite activity: cultivation.
She condensed ice into a sword, but after performing a single dance, the joy vanished.
She closed her eyes for silent meditation, but as soon as her thoughts settled, she opened them again.
Clearly… she had gained many insights into why the Sacred Body was so extraordinary from the Saint Body Exchange Disk that Qian Yu had produced.
Yingning floated behind her, watching her silently.
She no longer teased her, but she didn’t speak either.
She simply let Gu Qinghan repeatedly pick up the sword and put it back down as her mind became increasingly bewildered.
The lonely moon drifted through the sky.
After an unknown amount of time, Yingning finally spoke.
“Alright, Qinghan, stop wasting time. Prepare to cultivate.”
When Gu Qinghan did the unprecedented and refused, Yingning finally broke into a smile.
“What? Don’t you love cultivation the most? Now that your Master wants to teach you about the nature of the Sacred Body, you won’t listen?”
‘The nature of the Sacred Body?’
Catching those keywords, Gu Qinghan’s slightly vacant eyes suddenly flickered.
She was about to agree instinctively, but that unpleasant image crashed into her mind again, draining her mood once more.
“I’m sorry, Master. I can’t calm my mind right now.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Qian Yu went home with Nalan Yunyan,” Yingning continued.
“She was surely touched by the way the other girl saved her earlier. Now, she views her as a source of support and has forgotten about you.”
“This is all because of your previous hesitation. Otherwise, you would have been the one to save her.”
Gu Qinghan turned her head away and pursed her lips.
Even now, she didn’t feel her previous hesitation was wrong.
Aside from her pursuit of the Dao, she carried the burden of her mother’s disappearance and her Master’s resurrection.
It was only right to be cautious.
“Exactly. You should consider things carefully.”
Yingning smiled.
She didn’t argue; instead, she expressed her agreement.
What she opposed was never her disciple’s deep thinking, but rather the way that thinking led to timidity and a loss of impulsive spirit.
Yingning could easily imagine Gu Qinghan’s mental journey.
In her previous life, Gu Qinghan cared about nothing but cultivation.
When she encountered danger, she believed the sword in her hand would cut through all thorns.
After being struck down, that innocence had sharply swerved into her current state.
Yingning was certain that in a situation like the one before, if Gu Qinghan were allowed to keep hesitating, the “rational” choice she would eventually make would definitely be to abandon Qian Yu.
It was just like when she was first reborn; she clearly wanted to kill Qian Yu, but in the end, she hesitated and let her go.
With a sigh, Yingning asked another question.
“Qinghan, let me ask you this: if you were in Qian Yu’s position, would you have the courage to slice away your own Sacred Body with a single blade, without a hint of hesitation?”
Although she was currently in a soul state, her knowledge remained top-tier in this world.
The moment she saw the exchange disk in Qian Yu’s hand, she knew what method the girl was using to sever her Sacred Body.
It was a technique simple enough for a young child to master, yet extremely dangerous to execute—if one felt even the slightest bit of hesitation or reluctance during the self-severing, the thing they ended up cutting away would be themselves.
If it were the Gu Qinghan of the previous life, Yingning believed she would have had that strength of character.
But now?
The girl had witnessed the terror of death, the great power of the Sacred Body, and she had experienced too many moments of personal helplessness.
Could she truly be without even a shred of reluctance?
The answer was obvious.
As Yingning expected, Gu Qinghan fell into a long silence after hearing the question.
After that long silence, the only conclusion she reached was a silent shake of her head.
She would hesitate.
That single death had obliterated not just her life, but also her Dao Heart that had been untainted by a single speck of dust.
She had begun to understand the dangers of the world, yet she lacked sufficient ability to maintain her original heart amidst the mortal realm.
She had started to see that “mountains are not mountains,” yet she lacked the experience to reach the stage where “mountains are once again mountains.”
“This is what they call a half-empty bucket. Sometimes, it’s worse than having no water at all.”
Yingning chuckled.
Only at a time like this would she act like a true Master—careful and gentle.
“Let me ask you again: do you really only think of Qian Yu as a friend?”
“Of course,” Gu Qinghan replied without a second thought.
She and the girl didn’t have much interaction, and they were enemies in their previous life.
The fact that they could be friends now was already strange enough.
What other relationship could there be?
“Think before you answer. Is she really, *really* just a friend? She’s such a wicked, scheming fox.”
Yingning’s voice grew heavier, but Gu Qinghan still just nodded, giving the same answer—her relationship with Qian Yu was ordinary; they were just friends.
She didn’t understand what her Master was getting at.
The previous questions were aimed at her psychological state, so why ask about Qian Yu now?
Was the girl that important?
What did she have to do with her state of mind?
“…You’re something else.”
Spitting out those words, Yingning’s earlier gentleness instantly turned into a cold sneer.
Looking at Gu Qinghan’s expression—which seemed cold but was actually a bit wooden and dazed—she picked up a ruler and smacked it down onto the girl’s head.
Ordinary words were no longer enough; she had to hit hard.
“Gu Qinghan, you little…”
Furious, Yingning grabbed Gu Qinghan’s ear and poured her voice directly into it.
“You know you were enemies in your past life? You know she’s the reason you were reborn here? Then why did you forgive her so easily, and why, after forgiving her, do you admit she’s your friend? Have you considered any of this? Is it just because you’re kind?”
She had originally intended to use controlled anger to wake Gu Qinghan up, but by the time she finished speaking, she was genuinely angry.
She picked up the ruler and smacked Gu Qinghan again.
She thought that after her series of questions and hints, the girl would have figured it out.
After all, she had almost explicitly pointed out that Qian Yu had deeply harmed her in their previous life and that there should be some lingering resentment.
She hadn’t expected that this disciple, who was exceptionally brilliant at perceiving the Great Dao, would be so oblivious to this point that she just stood there nodding.
Yingning didn’t know what to say anymore; she felt a sense of powerlessness.
On the other side, now that her Master had finally stopped hinting and asked directly, Gu Qinghan finally understood everything.
“Master, do you mean…?”
She remained silent for a long time, hesitating.
It wasn’t until the night sky on the horizon began to turn the color of a fish’s belly that she finally looked at her Master and asked softly, “Has Qian Yu become my Heart Demon to some extent? Are you telling me to kill her to clear my mind?”
Yingning: “…”
“Haha~”
As if letting go of some obsession and suddenly finding relief, Yingning laughed and said, “Come, child. Let’s continue cultivating.”