“If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be in trouble,” Lei Xiuyuan said, a rare look of helplessness crossing his face. “Yaoguang Peak is quite noisy, filled with people. If I’m late, someone will comment, and it won’t stop until evening.”
Li Fei couldn’t help but laugh. “Master Guangwei must have many disciples, right?”
“Dozens of senior brothers and sisters,” Lei Xiuyuan replied as he soared into the air, flying much faster than she could. In the blink of an eye, he was already several dozen feet away.
She hurried to catch up, calling out, “Xiuyuan! Don’t work so hard to come here next time!”
He waved his hand, leaving her uncertain whether he was agreeing or not.
“I’ll go to Yaoguang Peak to see you next time!” she shouted with all her might, but by then, Lei Xiuyuan’s figure had already turned into a small black dot, and she wondered if he could hear her.
Li Fei halted her pursuit, standing on her little white cloud, staring blankly as his silhouette grew more distant until it vanished completely. A sense of unprecedented reluctance and loss filled her heart. How many hours had he flown just to see her? Three months of struggling to barely fly, then crossing the entire Wuyue Court, all while managing other cultivation tasks—how hard must that have been?
Lei Xiuyuan was always like this; no matter what he faced or what he did, he always appeared indifferent, as if everything were trivial matters, and he would recklessly fly for hours just to tease her about being short.
“Li Fei?” Senior Sister Zhao Min’s voice suddenly called from behind, snapping Li Fei back to reality. She realized she had been dazed at the peak for quite a while.
“I was worried when you didn’t return for so long; I thought something might have happened.”
Zhao Min walked gracefully to her side. Seeing the silly smile on Li Fei’s face, she was momentarily taken aback. Turning her gaze to the swirling cloud sea, she noticed a lingering trace of where Lei Xiuyuan had just flown. After a moment of thought, she suddenly understood.
She recalled hearing her master mention an amusing incident: if it weren’t for Li Fei coming to Wuyue Court, Master Guangwei wouldn’t have taken in a new prodigy this year, one who could rival Hu Jiaping. That child’s name was Lei Xiuyuan, right? It was said he had exceptional talent, and Master Guangwei had been so focused on guiding this new disciple that he hadn’t even left Yaoguang Peak.
After standing with Li Fei for a moment, Zhao Min suddenly smiled. “Li Fei, was that Lei Xiuyuan who just came by?”
Li Fei nodded, then quickly shook her head. “Senior Sister, he flew for a long time to get here and only said a couple of words. It doesn’t count as slacking off. Please don’t tell Master Guangwei!”
She was worried that if Master Guangwei found out Lei Xiuyuan had secretly flown to Zhuoyu Peak, he might be punished.
Zhao Min laughed. “Lei Xiuyuan is a prodigy; since entering the sect, he has been diligent in his cultivation. This is hardly out of the ordinary; who would blame him? But you, Li Fei—”
She looked at Li Fei with a serious expression. Every time her senior sister wore this look, it meant she was about to lecture her. Li Fei held her breath, waiting for her to scold her for being distracted from her cultivation.
“I guess you must have told him that you’ll visit him at Yaoguang Peak next time, right?”
Li Fei was taken aback by the question. “Y-yes, so what?”
If he came to see her, she should also go see him! Friends should care for each other, right? It wouldn’t be fair if only one side made an effort.
“You mustn’t go,” Zhao Min said, glancing at her with a detached tone. “A girl shouldn’t be swayed by a little kindness. How can you talk about modesty? If he wants to see you, let him come himself. If he isn’t willing to put in this effort, how can you expect him to support you in the future?”
Li Fei was once again left dumbfounded by her senior sister’s words. “What do you mean by ‘supporting through storms’?”
Zhao Min replied coolly, “A man should shield his woman from the storms of life, protecting her like a delicate flower. For now, you should focus on your cultivation and appearance; don’t think about other trivial matters.”
Li Fei stared blankly for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Senior Sister, are you mistaken? Xiuyuan and I are friends! Friends should care for each other. If only one side is giving, that doesn’t count as friendship!”
Zhao Min regarded her thoughtfully. “Friends? Then you should focus on your own cultivation. Only when you are evenly matched can you call each other friends. If he can fly back and forth between the north and south before noon, can you? If you neglect your cultivation to repay his kindness, making your elders worry about you, then such a friend is better off without.”
Li Fei dreaded her senior sister’s lectures. Zhao Min was wonderful in every way, but she loved to preach. She nodded repeatedly, “You’re right, Senior Sister. I’ll get back to my cultivation right away.”
With that, she quickly summoned her little white cloud and flew towards Zhuoyu Peak, eager to escape any further dizzying remarks from Zhao Min.
Unexpectedly, her senior sister spoke again. “You’ve wasted nearly half an hour. You must fly back and forth between the two peaks five times before noon today; otherwise, you won’t be allowed to have lunch.”
No lunch again! Li Fei’s little white cloud immediately sped up. For the sake of lunch, she had to push herself!
Time flew by, and before she knew it, it was already April. The countless elders’ residences atop the cloud sea of Wuyue Court were filled with the sounds of birds and blooming flowers, basking in the warmth of spring. Only Zhuoyu Peak remained bitterly cold and desolate, buried under ice and snow.
One morning, Li Fei opened her door to face the raging wind and snow, shaking her head and sighing. After spending over half a year in this icy world, she had nearly forgotten what red flowers and green trees looked like.
As she walked towards the main hall, she found Senior Sister Zhao Min already there, having breakfast. Upon seeing her, Zhao Min suddenly took out two letters and placed them on the small table. “Li Fei, these are your letters.”
Letters? Li Fei was surprised to pick up the two envelopes, noticing they were signed by Ye Ye and Ji Tongzhou. She was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly opened Ye Ye’s letter. It turned out that Ye Ye and Chang Yue had been cultivating at the Dizang Sect for over half a year and had performed exceptionally well, earning permission from their respective masters to communicate with the outside world. The letters were delivered by the Dizang Sect’s unique messenger birds.
After opening Ji Tongzhou’s letter, it was clear that this young prince had only remembered to write to them after receiving Ye Ye’s letter. His letter boasted of his exceptional talent at Xingzheng Pavilion and how much he was favored by his master, Wu Zhengzi, while also inquiring about Lei Xiuyuan, reminding him not to forget their six-year agreement.
Li Fei’s spirits soared, and she quickly began to write a reply. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Senior Sister, can I send a reply? How do I send it to them?”
Zhao Min thought for a moment and nodded. “You can. Follow me.”
Wuyue Court also had its own unique method of sending messages. It required knowing the cultivator’s name and location, along with a personal item from the sender, the most common being a strand of hair. As long as there was a single hair, and the name and location were written on the envelope, the letter could be burned along with the hair, and it would appear directly in front of the recipient.
Li Fei felt troubled. “But I don’t have their hair. What should I do?”
“Then we’ll use the most common messenger bird.” Zhao Min pulled out a piece of talisman paper, and with a surge of spiritual energy, it transformed into a small white-headed eagle. “Write your letter. The messenger bird will take four days to reach the Dizang Sect and ten days to reach Xingzheng Pavilion.”
Li Fei immediately took up her brush to write, making sure to remind them in the letter to send her back some hair. She wrote several pages before handing the letter to the messenger eagle to send off.
In April, Yaoguang Peak was covered in flowers and lush greenery, a beautiful sight that rivaled the academy.
Hu Jiaping lay sleeping under a tree early in the morning. He was responsible for teaching the new disciple, Lei Xiuyuan, cloud flying every morning. However, this young disciple was so talented that he hardly needed any guidance. After only half a year, it seemed he would soon be able to move like the wind, surpassing even Hu Jiaping’s own abilities from when he was a disciple.
If this continued, he might really be surpassed by this kid in a few years, and Hu Jiaping felt the pressure mounting.
As he turned over on the ground, he saw Lei Xiuyuan’s little white cloud gathering beneath him, flying quickly around Yaoguang Peak for two laps. It finally looked like he was getting the hang of soaring through the sky. Hu Jiaping tilted his body and offered a half-hearted compliment, “Not bad, not bad. Keep it up; cultivation requires this kind of focus.”
Lei Xiuyuan flew back to his side, glanced at him, and replied coolly, “Senior Brother, you sleep soundly every morning. You must be very focused on your cultivation.”
Hu Jiaping was left speechless. How had he never noticed how sharp-tongued and annoying this kid was before?
“Just now, it seemed that the disciples from Fengshou were looking for you,” Hu Jiaping yawned. “They probably want you to fetch water and do laundry. You can handle it on your own.”
Since arriving at Yaoguang Peak, Master Guangwei had taken great care of Lei Xiuyuan, providing meticulous guidance and various favors. Hu Jiaping had stayed at Yaoguang Peak for half a year for this kid, while previously, no one else had received such treatment.
As a senior brother, Hu Jiaping couldn’t do much about it. Fengshou and the others couldn’t do anything either. Lei Xiuyuan was young, slender, and appeared easy to bully, yet he had a cold demeanor and sharp words, making him quite unlikable. If Fengshou and the others weren’t going to pick on him, who else would they bother? They asked him to fetch water today and do laundry tomorrow; it wasn’t really bullying. After all, these were the chores that new disciples were expected to do.
Sometimes, Hu Jiaping would take an interest and help out, but most of the time, he was too lazy to get involved. Learning how to interact with others was something these young disciples needed to adapt to. While youthful recklessness was inevitable, being overly prickly was not a good thing.
Seeing Lei Xiuyuan remain silent and about to leave, Hu Jiaping suddenly said, “Xiuyuan, the principle of combining softness and strength isn’t something to remember only during cultivation.”
Lei Xiuyuan lowered his head in thought, then suddenly smiled. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother?” Hu Jiaping chuckled. If this kid could always be this likable, it would be wonderful.
Unlike Master Chongyi, Master Guangwei had ascended to immortality at a young age and was quite famous. Yaoguang Peak was the largest mountain in Wuyue Court, with ten direct disciples and hundreds of elite disciples under Master Guangwei. In contrast to the cold and desolate Zhuoyu Peak, the bustling Yaoguang Peak truly felt like a prestigious sect.
As Lei Xiuyuan soared along the mountain path, he entered the disciples’ quarters and saw Fengshou and a few others moving dirty clothes to the well. There were at least three or four large basins. Upon seeing him, Fengshou smiled and said, “Xiuyuan, you’ve come at the right time. The weather has been warm and sunny lately. Please wash all these clothes quickly; we’re waiting to change.”
Fengshou had arrived eight years earlier and was now a robust young man. He seemed to come from a noble family in some country and often acted quite flamboyantly due to his wealth. He had gathered a few elite disciples who frequently followed him around.
Unlike the academy, at Wuyue Court, if a disciple’s talent was insufficient in the later stages of cultivation, their master would not teach them higher-level immortal techniques. If they wanted to learn, they had to pay for it. Thus, even elite disciples often worried about money. With only three to two taels of food allowance a month, a single volume of immortal technique in the library could cost hundreds of taels. Who could afford that? Therefore, wealthy individuals were never short of sycophants around them.
Lei Xiuyuan smiled slightly. He was naturally handsome, and when he smiled, he appeared even more innocent and likable, his voice softening considerably. “Is it really necessary for Senior Brother Fengshou to move them out? Just leave them in the room.”
Fengshou was taken aback to see him speaking so kindly. As he watched Lei Xiuyuan walk over, roll up his sleeves, and begin to wash the clothes, Fengshou was astonished. “Have you finally come to your senses? You’re being so obedient today?”
—