Ji Tongzhou carefully examined the lifelike, cool-to-the-touch purple jade cricket in his palm. The long passage of time had turned youthfulness to old age and simplicity to worldliness, yet this cricket remained as vivid and exquisite as ever.
It was like something forgotten by time, and now suddenly seeing the light of day. The emotions he had sealed away in the depths of his heart also seemed to emerge suddenly, as if clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
Completely involuntarily, he recalled those fresh memories as if they had happened just yesterday. So much time had passed, yet he remembered it all. He simply hadn’t wanted to think about it before.
The snow and moon of the academy, the sky and wind of the East Sea, those bright and vivid colors – how dazzling they were.
He had truly loved a woman, starting from the innocent days of his childhood. He couldn’t explain why, but he just wanted to show off everything he was proud of to her. Beyond the concern of a friend, he always wanted to get more of a different kind of attention from her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t understand. His realization of his feelings was also too absurd; even he couldn’t believe it. Was it reckless possession or graceful retreat? He thought he had been confused, but in fact, he hadn’t been. It turned out he had always harbored resentment in his heart.
He had done many things for her. When facing Zhenyu Zi, he had sincerely wanted to risk his life for her, but still couldn’t earn even a hint of her warm smile. That’s right, from beginning to end, Jiang Lifei simply didn’t like him. She always tried to lock their relationship at the distance of ordinary friends, neither getting close herself nor allowing him to get close.
No matter how he tried to convince himself that she wasn’t wrong, he still hated her.
Whatever he wanted, he would eventually get. And if he couldn’t have her, her existence became meaningless. Better to destroy it. He just wanted to make himself feel less suffocated. National grudges and family hatred – if he added failure in love to that, how was he any different from a dying dog by the roadside? To eke out a miserable existence in the future relying on a shred of pity from friends and loved ones? His dignity wouldn’t allow him to make such a choice, so he made another choice.
Was it right? Was it wrong? Looking back now, he could only laugh. He was now the Xuanhua Immortal, renowned throughout the world and dominating in battle. Those fragile times of barely surviving under others’ protection had all been buried by his own hands. Wasn’t that good enough?
Zhao Min gave him these two items – what was her intention? He understood in an instant. In these four hundred years, he had rarely smiled. Did she think he was regretting it? Reminiscing? Trying to disturb his state of mind?
Back then, when he encountered the Shen beast in the East Sea, his life changed because of it, and his dormant heart awakened. At this moment, how was he any different from his most triumphant self in that illusion? He only lacked Jiang Lifei, but he no longer needed her, just as he no longer needed friends like Ye Ye. The next Sea Destruction was still a hundred years away. Would she, now an oddity from overseas, come riding the heavenly thunder and sea of fire again? If she came, this time he would surely capture her with his own hands, along with Lei Xiuyuan. Only then would all the memories of the past truly end.
Ji Tongzhou picked up the lacquered wooden comb, initially intending to burn it with fire. But the moment he touched it, he suddenly remembered his nervous state of mind in that shop in the East Sea years ago.
He had never tried to please a girl before and didn’t know how. The worn wooden comb he had stolen from Jiang Lifei was crescent-shaped. He thought she might like that shape, but none of the beautiful combs the shopkeeper showed him that caught his eye were that shape. He had originally wanted to buy the coral comb inlaid with pearls. Her hands were white, her hair black – surely she would look beautiful combing her hair with that comb.
But in the end, he spotted the only crescent-shaped lacquered wooden comb. The craftsmanship was fairly exquisite, though not precious enough. But it must be what she liked, so he chose that one.
He remembered that day in the bustling inn, leaning against the railing alone, feeling nervous for the first time in his life, and somewhat eager. When Jiang Lifei arrived and he gave her the comb, she finally smiled – not her usual perfunctory smile. He felt gratified but also despair. She would never look at him the way she looked at Lei Xiuyuan, nor would she smile at him the way she smiled at Lei Xiuyuan.
Ji Tongzhou felt a tightness in his chest. He threw away the lacquered comb and abruptly stood up, pushing open the door. From afar, he could hear Ji Jingwu’s cheerful laughter. It wasn’t yet time for the noon break, but instead of focusing on cultivation, he was slacking off and playing again.
This child had no sense of urgency at all, and his talent wasn’t considered top-tier either. If he didn’t know how to be diligent and hardworking, who knew when he would become capable? He had brought him to the Star Rectification Pavilion when he was seven, and five years had passed. He still hadn’t broken through the first bottleneck. Apart from being slightly faster at sword flying, he showed no advantages compared to the academy disciples of the past. It was truly frustrating.
Ji Tongzhou slowly walked towards the training ground. Ji Jingwu’s hearty laughter gradually became clearer. This child was young in years but precocious, especially fond of playing with little girls. Moreover, he was handsome and spoke pleasingly, unlike himself in the past who was too proud to humble himself. Many little girls smiled upon seeing him, each liking him, which spoiled him and made him forget himself.
“Is that Moonless Pavilion junior sister you mentioned really that beautiful?” a little girl asked, somewhat unconvinced. “What does she look like exactly?”
Ji Jingwu answered particularly cleverly: “She is beautiful, in white clothes with red flowers, looking especially delicate and likable. But you know, she has her kind of beauty, and you all have your beauty too. Senior Sister Yuan has the beauty of an orchid, Junior Sister Chen is like a rose…”
Ji Tongzhou listened and couldn’t help but smile. Such saccharine, flowery words – who taught him that? He called out, “Jingwu.”
Seeing him approach, the young disciples were so frightened they all shrank back and knelt on the ground, none daring to make a sound. Ji Jingwu was especially flustered, his face pale as he stammered, “Ma-Master! I was just…”
Ji Tongzhou said calmly, “Have you finished practicing the Five Elements Basic Immortal Technique?”
“In response to Master’s question, the disciple has completed it and dares not be slack.”
Ji Tongzhou glanced at the five stone dolls nearby. The immortal technique fluctuations on them showed that the child indeed hadn’t lied. His heart eased slightly, and his tone became somewhat gentler: “You’ve been at the Star Rectification Pavilion for five years and haven’t gone back to look around for a long time. Today, go back and pack up a bit. At noon, you’ll return to Duantu with me.”
Hearing he could go home, Ji Jingwu’s face immediately lit up with joy. He rushed back to the disciple quarters to pack his belongings.
The capital of Yue, Duantu, was no longer the same as it was in the past. Now the largest and most prosperous country in the Central Plains, its capital was countless times larger than before. The mountain and sea sects had been communicating for four hundred years, and interaction was no longer limited to cultivation sects but had become frequent among ordinary people as well. East Sea-style houses could be seen everywhere in Duantu, with bright and gaudy colors and quite tall. They all liked to keep two fierce demon beasts as guards at the door. No one was surprised by this sight anymore.
The Duke Ying’s Mansion was the same as it was four hundred years ago, still in its original location. On Ji Tongzhou’s instructions, the mansion had neither expanded nor changed its name. Every month, craftsmen were called to carefully repair and decorate it, striving to maintain its original appearance.
This was Ji Jingwu’s second time coming to the legendary Duke Ying’s Mansion. In Yue, this place was even more sacred than the imperial palace. For four hundred years, even the servants, stewards, and repair craftsmen who entered were carefully selected. Although Ji Tongzhou rarely returned, no emperor of Yue would dare to be negligent in the slightest.
This Duke Ying’s Mansion wasn’t particularly magnificent. After Yue’s expansion, whether it was the imperial palace, temporary palaces, or even other princes’ mansions, they were all built bigger and grander. The once awe-inspiring Duke Ying’s Mansion now seemed ordinary. Ji Jingwu looked at the scenery for a while and became bored. Seeing that many of the maids here were very beautiful, he couldn’t help wanting to play with these beautiful elder sisters.
Ji Tongzhou gazed at the aging willows by the shore, but before his eyes floated the image of their lush, tender dance in the wind of years past. He ignored Ji Jingwu and walked along the stone path towards the courtyard. After four hundred years, the courtyard remained unchanged from before. Those carved railings and jade steps, those clean white bricks – he had seen several young men drunk and sleeping soundly on them, and he had also seen their fresh blood staining the ground red.
He stood silently for a moment, then turned and slowly pushed open the door. Looking around quietly, he saw that the curtain hooks had been replaced with jade ones. The white-haired Xuanhua Immortal silently looked at these familiar scenes, but what came to mind were the colorful days of his youth. He had laughed with several people, gotten drunk together, and looked forward to a future of becoming immortals to punish evil and promote good. Where were they now?
The interior was maintained even more meticulously, with even the colors and patterns of the bedding unchanged. Ji Tongzhou’s brows furrowed slightly. He had been reckless too; later on, all the maids in Duke Ying’s Mansion wore white clothes with red flowers, each with snow-white skin and bright eyes. The stewards were shrewd, noticing he liked Miao Qing’s appearance, and secretly changed all the maids to the style he liked.
That period of debauchery ended when Miao Qing died in childbirth.