Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 9: "Chanji" - A Place Where No One Could Take Her Away...

Chapter 9: “Chanji” – A Place Where No One Could Take Her Away…

The trail of footprints meandered all the way to the courtyard’s entrance.

Behind her, Xue Huailing’s voice rang out: “Did someone come?”

Just as she was about to step outside to investigate, Lu Wenshu raised his hand and swept it through the air. With a surge of spiritual power, the chaotic footprints vanished, and the snowfield returned to its pristine flatness.

“No one came,” Lu Wenshu replied.

He erased all traces from the snow. By the time Xue Huailing stepped out, all she saw was the courtyard’s snowscape restored to its original smoothness – desolate and vast, with snowflakes like willow catkins still falling incessantly.

Xue Huailing’s delicate brows slightly furrowed as she prepared to ask more, but Lu Wenshu said: “Ling’er, I have matters to attend to and cannot accompany you for now.”

With these words, he flew away.

Xue Huailing watched his rapidly departing figure, her slightly knitted brows still not smoothing out.

She always had this uncomfortable feeling in her heart, this peculiar intuition.

She felt Lu Wenshu’s sudden departure had something to do with that mortal on Azure Peak.

At this thought, Xue Huailing’s expression turned extremely unpleasant. Pressing her lips together, she too chased after him.

–

Xue Huailing – Lu Chanji remembered her.

That was thirteen years ago, when she had just followed Lu Wenshu from the mortal world to the Great Ocean Ten Continents.

She had been struck by a snow demon’s demonic energy, her entire body icy cold, her chest hurting with every breath.

At that time she was barely clinging to life, on the verge of death. But Lu Wenshu transferred spiritual power to her, infusing a thread of vitality. Afterwards, Lu Wenshu brought her all the way to Wind Breath Valley, where he obtained the Wind Soaring Pill for her, expelling that extreme cold energy from her body, allowing her to keep her life.

It was there that Lu Chanji first saw Xue Huailing.

Just like thirteen years ago, Xue Huailing remained that elegant, spirited, and radiant young maiden, her appearance completely unchanged, her demeanor even more dazzling than before.

Meeting the daughter of the person who had once saved her life, meeting her – she should be happy, she should be grateful. But Lu Chanji didn’t know why, tears rushed uncontrollably from her eyes, the snow particles stinging her eye sockets.

On the road, the wind and snow still raged.

Along the main peak’s path, two immortal attendants were busy planting grasses and flowers.

Upon the pure white snow suddenly appeared two golden plants, shining as brightly as lanterns in the fog.

“Be careful! These are the Yellow Canal and Golden Moss the sect leader specially obtained from Wind Breath Valley. Don’t be clumsy. If you accidentally kill them and the sect leader blames us, you’ll be held responsible.”

“Why plant flowers and grass in the snow for no reason?”

“What else could it be for? It’s clear Immortal Huailing is going to stay long-term at the Sword Inheriting Sect. The sect leader fears she might not adapt to the Flame Continent’s environment, so he specially obtained these.”

“When Immortal Huailing was young, she and her brother were sent by the Wind Breath Valley master to our Sword Inheriting Sect to practice swordsmanship. She shares deep affection with the young sect leader. I heard they’re about to become cultivation partners soon, is that true?”

“Most likely. They’d truly be a match made in heaven, unparalleled in this world.”

“But if that’s really the case… what about the one on Azure Peak?”

“The one on Azure Peak?… How can they compare? Raising a mortal is no different from keeping a pet. Can’t take it too seriously.”

They were still talking, but Lu Chanji’s ears began buzzing again, the words becoming indistinct.

She gazed at the two golden-hued flowers and herbs, strikingly vivid against the white snow. It was almost laughable how, upon her arrival, her heart and mind had been so wholly consumed by Lu Wenshu that she had overlooked these changes entirely.

The footsteps of the Immortal attendants drew nearer. Lu Chanji hastily wrapped her cloak tighter, unwilling to let them catch sight of her trail. Turning awkwardly, she retreated into the wind and snow.

The bells atop the Listening Spring Pavilion chimed once more.

Lu Wenshu lowered his gaze to the courtyard below. In the past, Lu Chanji would always appear swiftly, tilting her face up to look at him, but today she was nowhere to be seen.

He waited a moment longer, yet Lu Chanji still did not come.

He could sense her presence in her room.

Lu Wenshu descended gracefully, intending to head inside, but his eyes first fell upon the courtyard filled with Puppets.

Several Puppets lay haphazardly piled together, their wooden limbs riddled with sword wounds. Beside them, crumpled paper balls littered the ground. Lu Wenshu picked one up and found it covered in sketches of Sword moves.

All were discarded drafts.

Clutching the wrinkled paper, Lu Wenshu glanced toward the room. Only when he spotted Lu Chanji’s figure hunched over the desk, her face buried in her arms did his heart truly settle.

He strode quickly inside, approaching her side, and called softly, “A-Chan.”

Lu Chanji did not lift her head.

“Did you come to my place earlier?” Lu Wenshu asked.

He began to regret giving her that Invisibility Talisman, usable even by mortals. Had he not, the moment Lu Chanji stepped into his courtyard, he would have detected her presence. Then, she would not have overheard Xue Huailing’s words.

Xue Huailing, spoiled since childhood by her father and brothers, had grown willful and unrestrained, daring to say anything. She had always looked down on Lu Chanji. Those words… he wondered how much Lu Chanji had heard. He should have sent Xue Huailing back to Wind Breath Valley long ago, but this time, she had been invited by the sect leader.

“If you’re upset, shall I go down the mountain to buy you some pine nut candy?” Seeing her silence, Lu Wenshu reached out to touch the top of her head. “If not pine nut candy, then perhaps sugar-roasted chestnuts? The winter market below the mountain has delicious ones. Would you like some?”

But Lu Chanji evaded his touch.

Lu Wenshu froze in surprise.

When Lu Chanji finally raised her face from her arms, he realized she was not angry.

Not only was she not angry, but her porcelain-fair face even managed to force a smile.

She smiled at him and said, “Brother Wenshu, I did go to your courtyard earlier. But the Immortal attendants said you had a guest, and I didn’t want to be impolite, so I came back.”

As she spoke, she lifted the Sword manual in her hand, her tone deliberately light and cheerful. “I wanted to bring you the Sword manual you gave me. I’ve created my own Sword move! Would you like to try it?”

Yet, her eyes were rimmed with red, faint tear tracks still visible beneath them.

“Alright,” Lu Wenshu replied.

He unfolded the Sword manual she handed him, studied it for a while, then set it down and went to the courtyard to practice the sword.

Lu Chanji guided an intact Puppet to spar with him.

“What is this move called?” Lu Wenshu asked, standing in the courtyard after finishing the sequence.

Words caught in her throat. Lu Chanji paused briefly, then, as if releasing a burden, smiled gently. “It’s called Chanji.”

She had originally intended to name this move “Phoenix Flying Together,” blatantly yet covertly hiding her feelings within the name of the sword move. But now that she knew Xue Huailing was about to become Lu Wenshu’s Cultivation Partner, she could no longer bring herself to utter this name that secretly revealed her heart.

“Phoenix Flying Together, never parting in life or death.” Her feelings were best left buried in a pile of discarded paper Lu Wenshu need never know.

“Call it Chanji…” Lu Wenshu murmured.

“Just call it Chanji,” Lu Chanji declared firmly, with neither arrogance nor humility, speaking with utmost solemnity. “Please tell those cultivators that this sword move was created by a mortal. Ask them not to look down on mortals so easily.”

“And…” Lu Chanji paused, “I hope they will use it to slay demons and eliminate evil, so that there won’t be any more homeless children like me in this world.”

“Why are you entrusting me with these tasks?” Lu Wenshu frowned.

Lu Chanji replied softly, “Brother Wenshu, I want to return to the mortal world.”

Lu Wenshu’s figure stiffened slightly, a crack appearing in his expression. “Return… to the mortal world?”

“Yes,” Lu Chanji tried her best to smile cheerfully. She didn’t want to make their parting too sorrowful. “How wonderful it will be to return to the mortal world! From now on, if I want pine nut candies, sugar-roasted chestnuts, or any other delicious treats, I can buy them myself. I won’t have to wait on Azure Peak, longing for your return.”

But Lu Wenshu raised his sleeve.

Lu Chanji, being a mortal, felt nothing and remained unaware of what was happening.

Only the snowflakes drifting outside the Restriction were repelled farther away as the barrier encircling the Listening Spring Pavilion suddenly intensified.

“What if I don’t allow it?” Lu Wenshu strengthened the Restriction around the Listening Spring Pavilion.

Lu Chanji was taken aback.

Lu Wenshu had always granted her every wish, so it had never occurred to her that he might forbid her from leaving the mountain.

She was momentarily at a loss, completely unsure how to handle this unfamiliar situation.

“Brother Wenshu ”

“A-Chan, you are not allowed to leave. You must stay here with me,” Lu Wenshu said. “I told you, we will be together forever.”

Hearing this, Lu Chanji’s expression changed abruptly. “How can I be with you forever? With my lifespan of at most a hundred years?”

Lu Wenshu murmured, “There will be a way. I will find a way.”

He insisted with conviction, “No matter what happens, I will not let you go.”

A deathly silence spread between them.

Suddenly, Lu Chanji let out a bitter laugh. “Stay? To remain here and continue being a pet?”

She looked directly at Lu Wenshu. “In the immortal sect, I am just a mortal. Without spiritual power, I am worthless. My mere decades of life are like a mayfly’s in the eyes of you immortals. Any desire or longing I have is trivial and laughable. Brother Wenshu, please let me return to the mortal world. That is where I belong. I will be an ordinary, happy mortal, and no one will gossip about me because of you.”

The pain of separation is only temporary, but this is the best path forward. Even she understood such a simple truth Lu Wenshu should not fail to grasp it.

Yet Lu Wenshu remained stubborn. “I will not let you go.”

Lu Chanji suddenly felt utterly powerless. It seemed that no matter what she said, Lu Wenshu would not listen.

“You should calm down first,” Lu Chanji said. “I’m going to find Lu Qi.”

She turned and walked out of the Listening Spring Pavilion. She would find Lu Qi it wasn’t as if Lu Wenshu was the only one who could escort her down the mountain. If all else failed, there was still Xue Huailing… but that was the last resort. Deep down, Lu Chanji still hoped Lu Wenshu would be the one to see her off. She prayed he would come to accept reality and calm down after a while.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine, and her entire body stiffened, rooted to the spot. Only her eyes could still move.

From the corner of her eye, Lu Chanji watched as Lu Wenshu slowly walked up to stand before her.

“Lu Qi? You’re going to find Lu Qi?” A smile surfaced on Lu Wenshu’s face, but it was peculiar as if he were using it to desperately suppress something, causing his usually aloof features to twist into a barely perceptible grimace. “A-Chan, you are not to seek out Lu Qi. You are not to leave me. You promised you would stay with me forever why are you going back on your word?”

Lu Chanji’s hands and feet turned icy cold.

She had never seen Lu Wenshu like this before.

In the past, he had always been gentle, doting, and accommodating toward her.

This version of Lu Wenshu felt unfamiliar.

Instinctively, she tried to struggle, but he had cast a Mystic incantation on her, rendering her completely immobile.

For the first time, Lu Wenshu had used Spiritual power against her.

Tasting the sensation of being controlled by Spiritual power for the first time, Lu Chanji suddenly realized that it had always been Lu Wenshu making concessions for her she had never truly had any bargaining power.

Then, darkness swept over her vision. She fainted, her body going limp as Lu Wenshu scooped her up into his arms.

After lifting her, Lu Wenshu gently brushed aside the long hair that had fallen to her sides.

Then, he carried Lu Chanji out of the Listening Spring Pavilion.

He was taking her to a place where no one could take her away.

As he stepped beyond the Restriction of the Listening Spring Pavilion and prepared to head toward Sword Casting Valley, a voice tinged with suppressed anger echoed from not far across the snow-covered ground.

It was Xue Huailing.

Seeing Lu Chanji cradled in Lu Wenshu’s arms, she flared up in rage: “Lu Wenshu, stop right there!”