Fleeting Dream Across Three Lifetimes - Chapter 10

After Qin Mohan returned, she immediately rode her sword to the purple bamboo grove. This time she had already delayed for an hour, so she needed to hurry back to her training.

***

Meanwhile, after hearing Le Fan’s report, Luo Yuan, curious as ever, went to the purple bamboo grove right on time to keep watch, wanting to see what that girl was up to. Yet he waited for an entire hour without seeing anyone. He was puzzled. Wasn’t it said that girl kept to her schedule with precision? Why hadn’t she come yet? Just as he was about to lose patience and leave, a surge of spiritual energy made him instantly conceal himself.

A fleeting shadow cut through the air, blue-and-white robes fluttering in the wind before settling neatly. The newcomer was indeed Qin Mohan. Luo Yuan blinked in surprise. Well now, her sword-riding technique had already reached this level?

Qin Mohan wasted no time. After walking a few steps into the grove, she chose a bamboo. A purple bamboo that had grown for two hundred years, its toughness was such that even a cultivator in the Golden Core stage, using their full strength, could not break it in a single strike. There were many bamboos over two hundred years old in this grove, because even though people cut daily, the ones under a hundred years were already enough to keep disciples of low spiritual strength busy for days.

Luo Yuan stared without blinking as she sat cross-legged beside the bamboo, reaching out to gently touch its stalk. Not until half a cup of tea later did she rise, lift her blade, and strike the bamboo. Her strength was not great, yet Luo Yuan could clearly see a mark appear, and chips of green fell away! His beard trembled with excitement. He watched for another half hour, and when that bamboo finally toppled, he nearly rushed out then and there. Barely restraining himself, he held his breath, ran all the way back to his courtyard, and laughed like a child.

“I’ve found a treasure, I’ve found a treasure! A dual spiritual root, and with comprehension like this, even stronger than a single root.” 

For nearly a century, the leadership of the Wuji Sect had been disappointing, full of open rivalry and secret strife, each faction acting on its own. As a result, the quality of disciples had declined sharply. Never mind single roots, even high-grade dual roots had become rare. Luo Yuan, who was devoted to cultivation and always cherished talent, gave his heart to any disciple willing to work hard. For so many years he had not taken a pupil, simply because none had truly suited him. Who would have thought, by a twist of fate, he had accepted such a good disciple. Back then, even he, though a single root, had been unable to sever a two-hundred-year-old bamboo within half an hour.

“I must prepare a cultivation method for my disciple. A method… right, her spiritual root, what kind of root was it again?” Luo Yuan thought, then smacked his own forehead in frustration. At the time he had been too caught up in his anger, and never took another look at her spiritual root. He would have to test her again.

***

Qin Mohan did not know she had astonished her master. She had thought cultivation would be very difficult, since she had never touched it before, and even in Lin Qingchen’s memories, cultivation had always been described as a grueling task. Yet she inexplicably felt that recently her cultivation had been going more and more smoothly. Even the methods that Lin Qingchen could not comprehend, when she read them, it felt as though she had seen them before, flowing easily, as if she had once already studied them. So that purple bamboo—she had only studied it for three days before discerning the pattern of its spiritual fluctuations. It was a strange feeling, but not at all unpleasant.

The next day, Le Fan told her she could freely enter the Ziyun Pavilion. All the books on the first floor that she could understand were open to her.

Upon hearing this, Lan Xuan, who had long since stopped paying her any mind, suddenly felt a new sense of crisis. By sect rules, one was supposed to be tested by Luo Yuan three months after entry, and only with his approval could one enter the pavilion to read. But this Lin Qingchen, not even a month in, had gone in without any test at all?

Qin Mohan herself knew nothing of this, and kept to her original routine. Only now, the time she had once spent training in the purple bamboo grove, she shifted to Ziyun Pavilion.

As usual, after listening to the Dao lecture she left, but this time, she did not immediately return. Instead, she stood beside the Wuji Hall, waiting for someone.

Lan Xuan too did not leave. He lingered nearby with the sect leader’s senior disciple, Yan Xiao, smiling and chatting, occasionally glancing over at Qin Mohan. She pretended not to notice, standing quietly, for there was no need for much contact between them.

But the two men thought differently. With a smile, the elegant Yan Xiao walked straight over.

Yan Xiao, the sect leader’s eldest disciple, was already over two hundred forty years old. His cultivation had reached the late Golden Core stage, and he was famed as a peerless talent. Among all Wuji Sect disciples, his standing was the highest. Naturally, Qin Mohan could not be discourteous. “Qingchen greets Yan-shixiong and Third-shixiong.”

Yan Xiao smiled and nodded. “Lin-shimei, you are not rushing back today. Are you waiting here for something?”

“Yes, waiting for a friend.”

“Oh? Lin-shimei still has friends at Luori Peak?”

Qin Mohan did not wish to mention Su Zining, so she said lightly, “Before I entered the sect, there was a young daughter of the Su family, old friends of the Lin family. I want to see if she is doing well.”

“So that’s it. May I ask her name, and which generation of disciple she is? Perhaps I could look after her a little.” Yan Xiao showed no sign of ending the conversation.

Qin Mohan composed herself and replied, “Yan-shixiong, as the sect leader’s eldest disciple, your duties are many. Such a trivial matter, I dare not trouble you. I fear she may wait too long. Please excuse me, Yan-shixiong. Qingchen will take her leave.”

Yan Xiao was slightly stunned. In all these years, he had never seen a female cultivator treat him so coldly. But Qin Mohan merely gave a slight bow and walked away. Seeing Yan Xiao’s expression, Lan Xuan felt a surge of inexplicable delight. At last, this proud man had met a setback. Watching Qin Mohan’s slender, tranquil figure receding, he asked, “So, Yan-shixiong, what do you think?”

Yan Xiao touched his nose and gave a deep, enigmatic smile. “Interesting.”

***

Though Su Zining told herself in every way that she did not wish to see Qin Mohan, when the bell signaling the end of the Dao lecture rang, she still walked over. And sure enough, that figure stood tall and straight, waiting for her. The wind stirred her blue robes, giving her an otherworldly grace, like an immortal descended. Truth be told, she was a little curious what Qin Mohan had originally looked like. Lin Qingchen had been beautiful, but somewhat flamboyant, with sharp features. Yet as the saying went, one’s appearance reflects the heart. Now that her soul had changed to Qin Mohan, her bearing had become calm and elegant. If this was her true self, what would that have looked like?

As Su Zining gathered herself to call out, she saw Yan Xiao and Lan Xuan approach to speak with Qin Mohan, Yan Xiao’s gaze fixed intently on her. Su Zining frowned slightly. Though Yan Xiao was indeed very gifted, he was somewhat of a libertine. His romantic escapades in the cultivation world were nearly common knowledge. She hesitated, then did not go over. Her looks had already caused her no small amount of trouble; better to avoid what she could.

Watching Qin Mohan leave with an indifferent air, she breathed a sigh of relief. Once out of Yan Xiao and Lan Xuan’s sight, she stepped in front of Qin Mohan and smiled. “Wasn’t I supposed to meet you? Why did you come alone? Aren’t you afraid of getting lost?”

Qin Mohan, seeing her smile so brightly, also smiled. “I was avoiding them, not planning to go alone.”

Leading the way, Su Zining twirled a blade of grass in her fingers as she walked, swinging it idly. “Yan Xiao holds a very high position in the Wuji Sect, and he treated you with such warmth just now. Why did you avoid him?”

Qin Mohan paused, lifting her gaze to look at Su Zining’s jet-black hair. After a while, she said softly, “Some people, you need to keep your distance from. A thick thigh doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe to cling to.”

Su Zining turned back to look at her, walking backward as she said, “Mm, cling to a thigh?” She thought about it, roughly understood the meaning of the phrase, then teased, “Am I now clinging to your thigh too? Then…” She wrinkled her small nose.

Qin Mohan instantly understood her meaning and replied, “My legs aren’t thick, and besides, this doesn’t count as clinging to a thigh.”

Su Zining glanced at her slender figure and almost laughed, but she held it back.

As usual, after helping Su Zining finish her chores, Qin Mohan sat on the grass and looked at her. “Has anyone in the Wuji Sect been guiding you in cultivation?”

Su Zining bit into the fruit she had brought, shaking her head. “I haven’t even been here twenty days. A gray-robed disciple with five spiritual roots, who would bother teaching me?”

There was a trace of pity in Qin Mohan’s eyes, and then she said earnestly, “I’ll teach you.” After that, she felt a little embarrassed. “Though no one is teaching me right now either, I can go into Ziyun Pavilion, so I should be able to learn something. From now on, after you finish your work, I’ll teach you for half an hour, how about it?”

Su Zining’s heart stirred. In her previous life, although she had nearly stepped into the Void Fusion stage, she had never taken a master. Her foundation had not been stable, which was why in the end she had struggled so much to comprehend that final barrier.

“Alright, but… will this delay your cultivation?” Su Zining’s eyes betrayed an irrepressible joy, yet also showed a touch of worry. That small expression made Qin Mohan’s heart soften. When she had been with Zhi Mo, she had always been the younger one, cared for and looked after. Only once in a while, when overly happy, had she shown little emotions like this, akin to acting cute.

Qin Mohan smiled gently. “It won’t. In fact, I’m only just learning myself. Teaching you will also help me cultivate. Then it’s settled. From now on, we’ll meet here, yes?”

“Alright.” This time, Su Zining’s smile came straight from her heart. In her previous life she had hardly known a few peaceful days. This kind of ease—she had not experienced it for centuries. In truth, if Qin Mohan was not as shameless as that man, perhaps she could give her something she truly wanted.

As she was thinking this, a gurgling sound broke the silence. Su Zining froze, then saw the amusement in Qin Mohan’s eyes as she stared at her stomach. Her face flushed hot. “I… haven’t eaten yet.”

Saying so, she took out a small cloth bundle from her sleeve. Inside were two yellowed, bun-like things. She bit into one, chewing with the water she carried, then swallowed.

The food looked hard and unappetizing, yet Qin Mohan said nothing. Instead, while Su Zining was drinking water, she leaned over and took a bite.

Su Zining: “…”

Seeing Su Zining holding the hard bun with a shocked expression, cheeks puffed with un-swallowed water, Qin Mohan, whose heart had been heavy moments ago, couldn’t help but arch her brows with a smile. “It looks pretty good. I’m hungry too. I’ll have a taste, you don’t mind, do you?”

Su Zining looked at the yellow, hardened bun and thought to herself, Is she starving, or blind? Where does this look good?

Forcing down the food in her mouth, Qin Mohan asked as she eyed what was in her hands, “You eat this every day?”

“Not exactly. At noon, each person gets one white bun and one yellow bun. You can collect them in the morning, but if you go late, only the hard ones are left. At night there’s rice and dishes, it’s better then.”

“Is the Wuji Sect really this poor?” Qin Mohan frowned.

Su Zining did not answer. No sect could truly be this impoverished. It was only the upper ranks withholding.

“I’ll go back first. At the hour of Xu (7 – 9 p.m.), wait for me here.” Qin Mohan considered for a moment, then formed the Wind-Riding Seal and vanished, leaving Su Zining sitting on the ground in confusion.

Back at Ziyun Peak, Qin Mohan was stopped. She stepped forward and bowed to the stern-faced Luo Yuan. “Shizun.”

Luo Yuan nodded. “Today you came back another hour late.”

Qin Mohan was startled. There had never been a set time to return. How did Luo Yuan know she was an hour later than usual—and again?

Seeing the confusion on her face, Luo Yuan coughed and said solemnly, “Before, I was too busy, and forgot to re-test your spiritual root. Come with me.”

Qin Mohan nodded quietly and followed him into Ziyun Hall. Inside was a transparent pillar of light, ten feet tall, rooted in a jade platform. On the platform sat a bronze compass with intricate patterns, surrounded by a soft glow, dazzlingly beautiful.

Luo Yuan looked at the pillar and said in a deep voice, “Calm your mind. Step forward and pour all your spiritual power into the compass without holding back.”

Qin Mohan hesitated slightly, but in the end walked forward, obeyed Luo Yuan’s instructions, closed her eyes, and placed her fair hand on the compass, channeling her spiritual power into it.

In an instant, the entire pillar blazed brilliantly, five colors swirling together. A moment later, the brilliance began to recede until only two colors remained—white and green. Only then did Qin Mohan notice that the pillar held five shallow grooves, and now white and green filled two of them. As she continued pouring in her energy, the colors in those grooves grew stronger and brighter, filling completely, then climbing higher. When the colors climbed two-thirds of the way, Luo Yuan’s eyes shone with relief, for they had not stopped yet. After another three inches, however, they finally trembled and halted.

Luo Yuan looked slightly disappointed and muttered, “High grade, just short of supreme.”

But just as his words fell, the white and green streaks suddenly shuddered violently, then vanished without a trace. In their place, a golden line, nearly twice as thick, shot upward with force, surpassing high grade, surpassing supreme—and still it did not stop! Finally, with a loud crack, the pillar itself shattered!

Luo Yuan stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded.