Zhou Zixi initially went east.

He walked alone, stopping and starting, regarding people and things around him with indifference. Perhaps because he was unconcerned about death, even secretly hoping to be killed and put an end to everything.

So when Zhou Zixi encountered problems, he would simply resort to violence, beating up anyone who displeased him. In the eyes of others, this made him seem genuine, heroic, and righteous.

The first people Zhou Zixi met in the east were Qu Zhuyue and Principal Yuheng.

Principal Yuheng and Qu Zhuyue would set aside time every year to travel together, regardless of the destination, as long as they could explore together.

The east had many temples, and on the perpetually bustling streets, one could always find vendors selling Buddhist prayer beads.

Principal Yuheng loved buying six or seven strings of beads for Qu Zhuyue every time they visited, regardless of whether she would wear them or not—he simply enjoyed buying them.

Qu Zhuyue followed behind Yuheng, who was examining prayer beads, muttering with mild exasperation: “I don’t believe in Buddhism. Stop buying these. The jewelry box in my room doesn’t even hold jewelry anymore—it’s all filled with prayer beads.”

“Trust me, I can tell which ones have been blessed. They can neutralize killing energy. Your cultivation of killing intent worries me more and more. If I don’t buy something to take back, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

Yuheng was determined to spend money for peace of mind, and Qu Zhuyue couldn’t stop him.

Qu Zhuyue reluctantly extended her hand, letting Yuheng help her put on the newly purchased prayer beads. “Aren’t you afraid of buying fakes?”

Yuheng said proudly, “I learned from the master at Yong’an Temple. How could I not tell the difference?”

Qu Zhuyue looked at him: “The older you get, the more things you seem to fear.”

“It’s precisely because I’m getting older that I fear you’ll leave before me.” Yuheng helped her put on the prayer beads and touched them again, unusually serious: “Cultivating killing intent isn’t good. Although I can suppress your heart meridian’s turbulence each time, having more methods is never a bad thing, and it gives me greater peace of mind.”

Qu Zhuyue shook her head: “I don’t know what you’re worrying about all day.”

The two walked toward Yong’an Temple, with flowering trees swaying around them.

Besides being concerned about Qu Zhuyue, Yuheng also thought about his disciples at Yuheng Academy. Whenever he went out, he would buy many things to bring back for them.

Zhou Zixi wandered into Yong’an Temple, watching people devoutly kneeling in worship or seeking answers with worried expressions. Eventually, he came to the donation box for blessings.

He saw Principal Yuheng standing before the donation box, tossing in coins and saying a phrase with each coin: “This is for my first disciple.”

“This is for my second disciple.”

“This is for my third disciple.”

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… Principal Yuheng went through all his dozens of disciples.

Finally, Principal Yuheng cupped a handful of coins and poured them into the donation box, saying: “This is for my Zhuyue.”

Hearing the clinking sound of falling coins, people turned to look. Qu Zhuyue silently covered her forehead with her hand and quickly pulled Principal Yuheng away.

Zhou Zixi, standing in line, watched them leave before turning his gaze away.

*

Principal Yuheng had an acquaintance at Yong’an Temple who usually listened to troubles and provided guidance. This friend happened to be unwell today, so Yuheng stepped in to help.

Qu Zhuyue sat nearby, watching Principal Yuheng earnestly counsel others and listen to their complaints and grievances. Someone without patience couldn’t have sat through it.

Before Zhou Zixi entered, he hadn’t expected the masters in the Hall of Solace to be these two.

Yuheng was surprised to see a young man enter, as most who came were older people complaining about family matters. The thin youth before him couldn’t be more than seventeen.

“Come, come, sit,” Yuheng smiled with narrowed eyes, warm and kind.

Qu Zhuyue glanced at him.

Zhou Zixi sat down in the hall filled with Buddha statues.

Yuheng examined the youth before him, relaxed in demeanor, clear-eyed—a young man with a story.

“What troubles you?” he asked with a smile.

Zhou Zixi lazily lifted his eyelids and said, “No money for food.”

Yuheng: “…”

Zhou Zixi then asked: “What’s the solution?”

Yuheng thought for a moment, slowly took out a gold leaf from his sleeve, and placed it on the ground, about to explain the methods of earning money.

Zhou Zixi said “Thank you” and left with the gold leaf.

“He, he, he…” Yuheng, having lost a gold leaf, looked at Qu Zhuyue with a face full of grievance.

Qu Zhuyue, however, laughed softly at the sight.

*

Zhou Zixi stayed at Yong’an Temple as a handyman, sweeping fallen leaves, carrying water, guiding visitors to the temple, and living a simple yet fulfilling life.

Later, he discovered that the true master of the Hall of Solace wasn’t the person he had first met, but Master Tongxin, a ghost-person who was dying from illness.

Zhou Zixi knew Master Tongxin was a ghost-person but didn’t tell anyone or initiate conversation with him. Whether Master Tongxin was human or a ghost-person didn’t matter to him.

Master Tongxin was severely ill, but he remained gentle when listening to people’s suffering, comforting and blessing others while beyond saving himself.

Occasionally, when Zhou Zixi swept fallen flowers and leaves in the Hall of Solace, he would pass by Master Tongxin and observe his busy work. The more he watched, the less Tongxin seemed like a ghost-person—just a kind-hearted individual wholeheartedly concerned for others.

One day, the temple closed for seclusion, not receiving visitors. The bustling Hall of Solace became quiet.

The previous night’s wind had been strong, blowing many fallen leaves and withered flowers to the ground. Zhou Zixi swept quietly while Master Tongxin sat under a tree, smiling with a slight nod as he watched him.

Neither spoke.

As Zhou Zixi finished sweeping and was about to leave, Master Tongxin asked: “How do you find this?”

Zhou Zixi turned to look.

The man under the tree had illness written all over his face, appearing near death, hanging on by a thread.

“It’s nice,” Zhou Zixi said. “Very quiet.”

Master Tongxin smiled: “If it helps you calm your mind and focus, that’s good.”

This was Zhou Zixi’s first conversation with Master Tongxin, and also his last.

They talked about many things, mostly with Master Tongxin speaking and Zhou Zixi listening. He spoke of his life, the hardships and difficulties he had endured, yet finding peace in the end.

The temple had closed to visitors because they knew Master Tongxin was about to die. This was to protect his ghost-person identity from being discovered, preventing people from seeing his flesh turn black after death.

“The first half of my life was rootless and wandering, but now I have this place to belong, so I feel those hardships were just temporary,” Master Tongxin said. “Whether life is long or short, I’ve experienced many things, but as I depart, I can only remember the people who closed the temple for me.”

Painful memories are deeply etched, but moments of happiness are also unforgettable.

Master Tongxin passed away the next day.

Master Tongxin had told Zhou Zixi that the first person he had seen in the Hall of Solace was the principal of the North Dipper Seven Sects. If he ever grew tired, he should go north, as it was the safest place for ghost-people who behaved themselves.

*

Zhou Zixi went north.

The name of the North Dipper Seven Sects was known to everyone in the north. The Ancient Continent had only four super-large sects, not to mention that two years ago, North Dipper had produced the youngest Pilgrim, who was at the height of their fame.

It was recruitment season. Zhou Zixi had no concept of sects, thinking they were similar to martial academies, but his memories of martial academies were rather embarrassing, so he preferred not to think about them.

The registration procedure was simple, and there were many people around, densely packed. Many had parents and relatives accompanying them. Zhou Zixi stood to the side, leaning against a wooden post, idly watching the sky.

That day, Chen Zhou was responsible for organizing recruitment matters. The accumulation of various information made him dizzy with busyness. When he occasionally glimpsed the quiet youth in the distance, he slightly raised his eyebrow.

While other young people appeared full of passion and determination, he alone stood there daydreaming, as if it didn’t matter whether he entered North Dipper or not.

Well, one truly needed confidence and skill to be so casual.

Chen Zhou said to Fu Yuan beside him, “Keep an eye on that guy. I see he has an expression that doesn’t regard his competitors at all. He might have some powerful techniques.”

Fu Yuan glanced in the direction of his gaze, unimpressed: “There are more than a dozen martial academy elites there. Someone like him won’t last a day in the mountain challenge.”

After the mountain challenge began, Fu Yuan was repeatedly proven wrong.

Watching from the observation platform as the youth defeated all the martial academy elites with an unimaginably fast array formation speed, Fu Yuan silently looked up Zhou Zixi’s information. Which martial academy had produced such a genius?

Oh, he was unaffiliated.

That day, Yaoguang, Tianxuan, and Tianji Academies were supervising the exam. Dong Yeshou had urgent business and asked Chen Zhou to watch over things. Midway through, Yuheng came to join the excitement, coincidentally sitting in Yaoguang’s position.

Qu Zhuyue said to Principal Yuheng, “That youth called Zhou Zixi, doesn’t he look familiar?”

“Where?” Principal Yuheng looked in the direction she pointed, and after a moment, slapped the table. “Isn’t that the boy who took my gold leaf?”

Qu Zhuyue remembered too and laughed: “What a coincidence.”

Principal Yuheng watched Zhou Zixi the entire time, initially muttering about the gold leaf, but gradually became attracted by Zhou Zixi’s array formation techniques.

His Eight Meridians Array was not only fast but also didn’t fully rely on the circulation meridian. The array incorporated spirit techniques from all eight meridians.

And he had all eight meridians awakened.

Principal Yuheng felt his gold leaf had been well spent and unilaterally declared Zhou Zixi a disciple of their Yuheng Academy.

Later, Dong Yeshou arrived and heard everyone discussing the most outstanding youth, so he also watched. Chen Zhou explained Zhou Zixi’s array formation approach to him, and Dong Yeshou nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Principal Yuheng: “He took one of my gold leaves, one gold leaf!”

Zhou Zixi also saw Principal Yuheng, but since he was sitting in Yaoguang Academy’s position, Zhou Zixi mistakenly thought he was from Yaoguang Academy.

So after the mountain challenge ended, Zhou Zixi chose North Dipper’s Yaoguang Academy.

When Principal Yuheng learned the bad news: “…”

Dong Yeshou, receiving Zhou Zixi’s application to join the academy, smiled with narrowed eyes.

*

Zhou Zixi inadvertently entered Yaoguang Academy and was momentarily stunned when he met his master, Dong Yeshou.

Dong Yeshou appeared gentle at first glance, but concealed sharpness in his heart. Such a person had unpredictable thoughts and wasn’t easy to deal with.

Initially, Zhou Zixi was constantly vigilant around Dong Yeshou. He believed Dong Yeshou was harder to get along with than Principal Yuheng, so he thought he wouldn’t stay at North Dipper for long. Therefore, he didn’t bother to disguise himself, fully exposing his lazy and fearless nature.

During this period, Dong Yeshou was leading the newly admitted disciples.

He chatted with his daughter, saying his new disciple was somewhat rebellious, with a fierce streak, like someone who hadn’t yet adapted to a new place and kept his guard up all day.

Sitting under the eaves, fiddling with star lines, the young girl turned to look, her almond eyes blinking with curiosity: “Is it a puppy?”

Dong Yeshou: “…”

Keeping a straight face, he said: “It’s a person. Even with your father’s exceptional talent, I can’t teach dog cultivation.”

“Oh.” The girl wasn’t very interested.

After her father left, not long after, her senior brother, who came to find her for dinner, also said: “The new little junior brother has exceptional array formation skills. Qing Ying insisted on competing with him today, probably won’t win even by dawn.”

The girl asked: “How fast is he?”

Her senior brother said, “Even for large arrays, it only takes about four or five instants.”

The girl listlessly picked at the rice in her bowl, disinterestedly saying “Oh.” Rather than caring about how fast her new junior brother’s array formation was, she was more interested in knowing where her senior brother had hidden her jar of chili sauce.

*

Zhou Zixi’s handwriting was truly terrible. Because of this, Dong Yeshou supervised his writing practice, making him write many passages from the Eight Meridians Spirit Technique books every day.

Dong Yeshou said, “Although you have some foundation and experience studying at a martial academy, your understanding of high-level spirit techniques is insufficient. Most of the spirit techniques you use in your arrays are middle to low level.”

Zhou Zixi wrote while listening.

“There’s one more thing—your killing intent is too strong.”

Zhou Zixi’s pen-holding hand paused as he listened to his master’s words, not daring to raise his head for a moment.

Dong Yeshou was flipping through a book in his hand, speaking in a casual tone and expression, as if merely mentioning it as an afterthought: “Although you showed restraint during the mountain challenge, you still injured people. I imagine you used to aim for killing blows in the past. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, but you need to understand the appropriate degree of force. You must learn to master this balance yourself.”

Zhou Zixi maintained his head-lowered posture, eyelashes trembling slightly as he asked: “Don’t you think it’s wrong for me to… kill people?”

Dong Yeshou asked: “Have you killed before?”

Zhou Zixi pressed his lips together: “Yes.”

Dong Yeshou asked again: “Why did you kill?”

Zhou Zixi said, “They were trying to kill me.”

Dong Yeshou nodded, not commenting on right or wrong, only saying: “When one person harbors killing intent toward another, they should anticipate the same outcome for themselves.”

Zhou Zixi finally looked up. His master smiled slightly at him: “Don’t think about killing or not killing today. First, improve your handwriting.”

Perhaps from this day on, Zhou Zixi let down his guard with Dong Yeshou, accepting him as his master.

Dong Yeshou taught him many things, allowing Zhou Zixi, who had previously only half-understood cultivation and figured things out on his own, to make significant progress.

Qing Ying loved to spar and compete with Zhou Zixi, often competing from day to night, with each having their advantages and disadvantages.

In Qing Ying’s view, senior brothers and sisters were too formidable to defeat, and Dong Yeyun was away. It would be strange not to practice with a newly arrived junior brother who was said to only half-understand cultivation.

But as they continued fighting, she realized this junior brother wasn’t so easy to bully after all.

Sometimes, just as Zhou Zixi was getting into the fight, feeling the battle spirit, Qing Ying would wave her hand and say: “No more, no more. I’m going to find a senior sister for dinner. Today we’re having teriyaki chicken rice!”

Zhou Zixi: “…”

That senior sister he had never met was the master’s daughter, a Pilgrim of North Dipper.

Qing Ying turned back and asked him: “Do you want to come along?”

To meet a Pilgrim, to eat with a Pilgrim.

Zhou Zixi’s expression became subtle as he shook his head in refusal.

“Alright.” Qing Ying walked a few steps, then turned back to look at him. “I heard you owe Principal Yuheng a gold leaf?”

Zhou Zixi thought for a moment and said, “I suppose.”

“Yesterday, Master repaid it for you.” Qing Ying extended her hand to indicate the number. “Ten leaves!”

Dong Yeshou had heard about Principal Yuheng meeting Zhou Zixi in the Hall of Solace.

Yuheng was still resentful about Zhou Zixi joining Yaoguang Academy and complained to Dong Yeshou daily. So Dong Yeshou repaid him with ten gold leaves, saying the remaining nine were to thank Principal Yuheng for ensuring his penniless disciple hadn’t starved to death and had survived until now.

*

Zhou Zixi became familiar with Chen Zhou and others at North Dipper, but still hadn’t met his senior sister, Ming Li.

Until several months later, when the Four Directions Trial was held at North Dipper, disciples from various martial academies and sects came to North Dipper, making it very lively.

Dong Yeyun, who had been away, had also returned and was in his room, detailing the gifts he had brought back for Ming Li.

Ming Li lay on the table, blinking as she watched him introduce each item, then lazily yawned.

Dong Yeyun was speechless—nothing interested her—so he said: “Today is the opening of the Four Directions Trial. Qing Ying is participating, and Father’s new disciple is also taking part. Don’t you want to watch?”

Ming Li sat up and said, “Watching them fight is like watching two mud figures play-fighting.”

Dong Yeyun said, “I haven’t seen Father’s new disciple yet. I heard his array formation speed is very fast. What’s he like?”

Suddenly asked what her little junior brother was like, Ming Li looked back at Dong Yeyun, thought for three seconds, and said: “I don’t know.”

Dong Yeyun asked puzzledly: “He’s your junior brother, and you don’t know?”

Ming Li said slowly: “I haven’t met this junior brother yet.”

Dong Yeyun asked her, “Do you have something against this junior brother? He’s been here for almost half a year, and you haven’t met him yet?”

“Not really. I’m very busy too. Why must I go see junior brother, and not junior brother come to see me?” Ming Li said as she rose to walk outside with Dong Yeyun.

The siblings arrived at the trial arena and stood at the outermost edge of the bustling viewing platform, watching from afar as a North Dipper disciple stepped onto the stage.

The youth’s eyes were calm, bathed in sunlight, his fair skin almost transparent. As he raised his hand, star lines danced, connecting with black rune symbols that flew from his fingertips.

Such rapid array formation speed was indeed astonishing.

Dong Yeyun said to Ming Li, “An Eight Meridians Array genius. Your junior brother, Zhou Zixi?”

Ming Li watched silently as the youth defeated his opponent with a single move. Amidst the enthusiastic cheers, as Zhou Zixi left the stage, he happened to glance in her direction. Through the sunlight and flower branches, his eyes met with Ming Li’s at the edge of the viewing platform.