I Really Like the Male Supporting Character (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 39

In the Far North, snow fell ceaselessly throughout the entire year, and ice stretched for thousands of miles. The barren expanse was devoid of any trace of life.

For three sleepless days, Lu Cang carried Ah Luo through the skies. Finally, they arrived at the farthest reaches of the Far North. Even then, it took them two more days to traverse to the deepest part of the endless snowfield.

The biting cold was so severe that no amount of spiritual energy Ah Luo summoned could ward off the chill that seemed to seep into her very bones.

She shivered uncontrollably, and Lu Cang didn’t appear to be faring much better. 

His complexion was so pale it was almost translucent, and his lips had lost all colour, blending into the vast whiteness around them. He seemed like a part of the snowfield itself.

They trudged onward through the wind and snow. Their vision was filled with the desolate expanse of white.

Ah Luo’s limbs had grown numb, and each step became heavier and slower. At last, Lu Cang seemed to notice her struggle. He stopped and said, “I’ll carry you.”

Ah Luo didn’t refuse—she truly couldn’t go on any further. Reaching this point with her limited abilities was already a testament to her determination.

Lu Cang hoisted her onto his back and began moving forward once more, step by deliberate step.

The Far North snowfields were notorious for their violent gales. The wind and snow were so fierce that visibility was minimal, making flight impossible and forcing them to rely on their own two feet.

Resting against her master’s broad back, Ah Luo suddenly found the relentless, icy wind disappearing. A warmth emanated from where their bodies touched. Exhaustion, compounded by days without rest, finally overtook her, and she felt drowsy.

“Master, where will we go after this?” she mumbled sleepily as her head rested on his shoulder.

Lu Cang didn’t answer. It was his way—he never spoke unnecessarily, as he preferred actions over words. She didn’t expect a response; their time together in the hidden realm had taught her to understand him well.

“We can’t go back to Guiyuan Sect,” she continued. Her voice was soft and wistful as she continued, “They probably want nothing more than to destroy us. Speaking of which, I didn’t get to say goodbye to my sister. She’ll be so worried… How about we go to the mortal realm after you recover? We can live as an ordinary couple. I’d like a small courtyard with a flowering tree that blooms all year round. We could put a recliner under it… And if we had two children, that would be perfect…”

Ah Luo blabbered on. She happily imagined a future for the two of them together. Slowly, though, her voice lowered until she fell asleep and didn’t speak anymore.

Lu Cang continued walking in silence. His dark crimson eyes were unreadable. He trod carefully, his every step steady, to ensure that the girl on his back rested peacefully.

When he could go no further, he found a tall, towering ice mountain and settled in its lee.

Ah Luo woke to find herself curled up in her master’s arms. His long robe was draped over her for warmth. His embrace felt like a safe haven amidst the raging storm, shielding her from the unrelenting cold.

The moment she stirred, he opened his eyes and looked down at her.

“I’m gravely injured,” he said quietly, his tone calm and unhurried. “I’ll need to enter seclusion for a hundred years. I’ve already contacted Qingyun. She’ll come to take you away shortly.”

Ah Luo stared at him in surprise. “A hundred years?”

Lu Cang nodded slightly. “Yes.”

To a cultivator, a century was not a particularly long time. Some powerful beings spent millennia in seclusion. However, for nineteen-year-old Ah Luo, a hundred years was an eternity. The thought of being separated from him for so long filled her with dread.

“Master, can’t I stay here with you?” she asked hesitantly.

Lu Cang shook his head. His gaze was distant as he said, “The wind and snow here are unrelenting, and the climate is too harsh. A hundred years in this barren land would be tedious and stifling. Besides, my seclusion cannot be disturbed. Go and find a place to settle—like the courtyard with a flowering tree you mentioned. Wait for me to return.”

His words were calm, and his expression was as steady as ever, yet an inexplicable sense of unease stirred in Ah Luo’s heart.

She looked at him expectantly. With hope in her tone, she asked, “Master, you’ll come find me after a hundred years, won’t you?”

Lu Cang remained silent for a long moment. His gaze was unreadable. Finally, under her unwavering, pleading gaze, he nodded slowly.

“Master, you’ve promised me,” Ah Luo said resolutely. She straightened and grabbed his robe collar. Her reddened eyes stared into his.

Lu Cang’s dark eyes seemed bottomless as he murmured, “I will.”

In the days that followed, Ah Luo clung to Lu Cang and refused to leave his side. She knew they would soon be parted for a century, so she couldn’t bear to let go. 

Fortunately, immortality cultivators didn’t have physical needs such as eating and going to the toilet. They spent their remaining time together in quiet companionship, leaning on each other like two intertwined trees braving the snowstorm.

One night, when Ah Luo was awakened by the cold, she gazed at her master’s pale face. At that moment, she became more aware than ever of his severe injuries.

She realized with a pang that she understood so little about the cultivation world. Her cultivation had been very poor, and her learning had been limited to the lectures she attended in the sect’s junior disciple lecture hall. The content that she studied was superficial at best and paired with her own low academic skills, this meant her understanding was naturally limited as well.

After establishing her foundation through dual cultivation with her master, that was only recently, and she’d had little time to train with her master after that. All in all, her poor cultivation and low academic skills had led to her low comprehension of cultivation basics, let alone more advanced things.

Besides, comprehending the Dao was typically a lesson taught directly by one’s master. However, Lu Cang had never taught Ah Luo any Dao techniques, nor had he ever explained what the Dao truly was.

Ah Luo had heard the term ‘perish with the Dao’s collapse’ and knew vaguely of the importance of the Dao heart, but she never imagined the devastation its destruction could wreak on a cultivator.

At first, as long as she stayed near her master, she was safe from the bitter winds.

But over time, Ah Luo noticed that Lu Cang’s body temperature was gradually dropping. It grew colder and colder until his embrace, once a haven of warmth, became as frigid as the snowfield itself, offering not a trace of heat.

His condition worsened—his meditative state deepened, his breathing weakened, and his body grew icy cold. Frost began forming over his silver hair and flawless face, giving him the appearance of a lifeless ice sculpture rather than a living being.

If not for the occasional flicker of his eyes when he glanced at her, Ah Luo would have believed that Lu Cang had already passed away and that she was clinging to a rigid, lifeless corpse.

Day after day, Ah Luo refused to leave his side, even as his once-warm embrace turned colder than the snowstorm swirling around them.

She often pressed herself tightly against him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a futile attempt to warm him with her own body heat. However no matter how tightly she held him, she ended up trembling with her teeth chattering from the cold, while he remained motionless, radiating a chilling frost.

“Luoyin, don’t waste your efforts. Step aside,” he said. His low, detached voice finally broke the silence, drifting down to her as she leaned against his chest.

Ah Luo’s mind, dulled by the freezing cold, took a moment to register his words. When she did, she shook her head fiercely and tightened her arms around him. Her voice quivered as she declared through gritted teeth, “I won’t! Master, you’ll never get rid of me in this lifetime. I worked so hard to have this—I refuse to let go!”

Lu Cang remained silent. After a long pause, he lightly rested an icy hand on the back of her head. He stroked her hair slowly and deliberately.

The gesture caused a lump to rise in Ah Luo’s throat, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Master, you’ll be fine, won’t you?” she choked out. Her voice was thick with emotion.

Lu Cang let out a soft “Mhm.” He stayed conscious for a short while before once again slipping into a deep, unresponsive state.

This pattern continued for the both of them. By the eighth day of this, Lin Qingyun finally arrived.

Through the blinding snow, a faint figure stumbled forward. Her steps were slow, and her complexion pale, clearly affected by the freezing cold. When Ah Luo saw her, Lin Qingyun already looked half-frozen.

“Sister,” Ah Luo called softly across the distance.

Lin Qingyun halted in her tracks. Her expression was complicated as she stared at the two figures huddled closely together. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Her younger sister and their master… were in love. It was a union that defied the heavens and broke every taboo. When Lin Qingyun had returned to the sect after her training and heard the news, she had been utterly stunned.

She hadn’t noticed even the slightest change in the relationship between her master and her sister. If it weren’t for the elders’ firm assertions—combined with the fact that several elders had been gravely injured and Elder Li Yu had perished—she might have thought it was all a cruel fabrication.

Even with the entire sect speaking in unison, she had only half-believed it. Even when she received a message from her master instructing her to come to the Far North, she still held onto a shred of doubt.

But now, seeing this scene before her, she finally believed it.

The master she had revered as pure and untouchable, cold as the frost and moon, was now holding her sister, Luoyin, in his arms. Their robes and hair intertwined ambiguously, but their intimate closeness was unmistakable.

“Yinyin… Master sent me to take you back,” Lin Qingyun finally managed. Her voice was trembling.

Ah Luo tilted her head up to look at her and asked softly, “Sister, you know everything now, don’t you?”

Lin Qingyun was silent for a moment before nodding. “Yes, I’ve heard it all.”

“Do you disapprove of me being with Master?” Ah Luo asked. Her sister’s conflicted expression made it all too clear.

Lin Qingyun’s lips twitched into a bitter smile, and her eyes rimmed red. She was normally always composed and indifferent, but she now struggled to control her emotions as she burst out, “Do you know what people are saying about you two? Master was a revered Daoist master, respected by all. Now he’s ridiculed and reviled! Even our Guiyuan Sect has become a target of scorn and derision. Is this what you wanted? And more importantly…” 

She faltered, and her voice broke as she said, “More importantly, Master’s Dao foundation has been destroyed because of this. His path to ascension is forever severed!”

Ah Luo could ignore what others thought, but this was her elder sister—the one who had always cared for her deeply. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Sister, I didn’t want this either. No one loves Master more than I do!”

Her tears froze upon her cheeks and turned into icy crystals. A pale, slender hand suddenly appeared. Its cold fingertips brushed against her face to wipe them away.

“Luoyin, don’t cry. None of this is your fault.”

At some point, he had awakened. He took Ah Luo’s hand and helped her to her feet before turning his gaze to Lin Qingyun. His tone deepened as he said, “Qingyun, tell those hiding behind you to come out.”

Ah Luo’s eyes widened in shock. “Sister, you brought people here?!”

Lin Qingyun’s expression froze, and she hurriedly stammered, “I didn’t! I came alone!” 

However, she knew all too well that if her master said there were people, then there were indeed people trailing her.

Before her words had fully left her lips, several shadowy figures emerged from the storm, moving swiftly toward them.