“Oh, boundless azure heavens, how you have treated me so unfairly!”
Fang Jueqian swayed on the edge of the cloud, almost tempted to just jump right off.
“Sister-in-law, watch out.” Qiu Haoqing was startled by his antics, hurriedly slowing down the cloud and tenderly asking if the flying speed was too fast and causing him discomfort.
Just look at this helpfulness, this politeness, this character!
How on earth had he mistaken [As Open-Minded as a Valley] for this guy?
Fang Jueqian was utterly crestfallen. The past chat logs with [As Open-Minded as a Valley] replayed scene by scene in his mind, and with every single recollection, it felt as though a giant deep-sea carp was angrily slapping him across the cheeks with its tail.
Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack!
The Carp King was already on a killing spree!
“Sister-in-law, what is wrong with you?” Qiu Haoqing’s voice also began to tremble faintly.
Clutching his face which felt phantom-pain from the slaps, Fang Jueqian sniffled and wiped away his tears.
“Do not worry, it has nothing to do with you. I just thought of a stupid thing I once did. I have another question to ask you. How did you ever think of picking that online handle of yours?”
During the remainder of the journey to the peak of Qingjing Peak, Qiu Haoqing recounted the origin of his online handle with a complicated expression.
After about the duration of a story, they reached the summit of Qingjing Peak.
Servants came forward with smiles to welcome the guest, but catching sight of Fang Jueqian’s tear-stained face, absent-minded expression, and look of having suffered a massive calamity, they were so frightened they did not know what to say, repeatedly casting sideways glances at Qiu Haoqing.
Embarrassed, Qiu Haoqing called a servant over to whisper an explanation, finally clearing his name.
Looking like this, he obviously could not meet the Daoist Lord, so Fang Jueqian was dragged off to wash up and even change his clothes.
The clothes here were extremely high-grade. Being lightweight and smooth was just the basic standard, and the most marvelous thing was that they could automatically adjust their size based on the wearer’s figure.
This was the first time Fang Jueqian had encountered such clothing since transmigrating. Touching the exceptionally soft fabric, even his previously depressed mood improved quite a bit.
After changing into the fresh clothes, he continued to grieve while stroking the soft fabric, but his stomach let out a rumble, betraying its master’s hunger.
A little boy covered his mouth and chuckled: “Does Madam wish to have a meal first?”
Fang Jueqian listlessly asked: “May I?”
The boy nodded.
He asked again: “Then will the Daoist Lord be dining together?”
The boy smiled and said: “The Daoist Lord has practiced Bigu for many years and no longer partakes in meals.”
His death sentence had been pushed back a little longer. Fang Jueqian perked up slightly, ready to taste how the food at Lord Lingxiao’s place differed from what he usually ate.
The result left him deeply disappointed because there was fundamentally no difference.
The summit and the foot of Qingjing Peak seemed to share the exact same cook.
While feeling disappointed, Fang Jueqian still had someone serve him a third bowl of rice.
Although the novelty of the dishes was slightly lacking, the flavor remained as flawless as ever.
After finishing the meal, Fang Jueqian rose from his seat, preparing to meet his impending doom.
He felt that his state of mind had now grown as cold and hard as a stagnant pool of water, immune to being moved by anything.
Yet when he was led by the little boy across the water corridor bridge and caught sight of the white-haired youth admiring flowers under a tree from afar, a strange fluttering slowly awakened deep within his heart.
The youth possessed a slender posture with straight shoulder lines. As his hair and clothing fluttered together in the wind, he looked just like a crane in the forest preparing to spread its wings and take flight.
Fang Jueqian’s eyes lit up once more, as if watching glaciers thaw, barrenness recover, spring breezes ruffle a pool of water, and red apricot blossoms stretch out over a high wall.
Without even needing the child to lead the way in front, he quickened his pace on his own and walked toward the direction of the youthful Daoist Lord, adding a trace of small eagerness and anticipation that he himself had not even noticed.
Fang Jueqian could not help thinking: Even though he had mistaken the person, the Daoist Lord actually did not point it out on the spot, nor did he coldly ignore him, and he even spared no effort to help him. Did that mean he held a place for him in his heart?
The next instant, the youth seemed to sense something and turned around. When he saw Fang Jueqian staring at him from not far away with a silly grin, his brow furrowed, revealing a look of utter disgust.
Fang Jueqian: “Oh.”
And so the mountains and rivers froze over once more, the vegetation turned back to ash, and the northward-migrating swallows cursed the sudden weather anomaly while dragging their entire families to fly south again.
Fang Jueqian obediently walked up to Daoist Lord Lingxiao, hanging his head in dejection:
“Daoist Lord.”
The youth glanced at him.
Fang Jueqian choked back a sob and forced out a smiling face:
“Husband, I have arrived.”
Tap, tap, tap.
The silver-white boots stopped right in front of him, followed by the unfamiliar yet familiar youthful voice tone, exceptionally melodious, though carrying a bone-deep chill:
“It seems you found out.”
Fang Jueqian suppressed the impulse to look up at him and tried his utmost to appear calm:
“I found out. Many thanks, Husband, for your guidance. It is just that I was too foolish and failed to recognize you all along.”
A second or two passed, and a voice came from overhead:
“Only guidance?”
Was there anything else?
Fang Jueqian tried hard to think in accordance with the style of [As Open-Minded as a Valley], then tentatively said:
“And Husband’s tolerance toward me?”
The Daoist Lord let out a cold laugh:
“Consider yourself to have a shred of self-awareness.”
The silver-white boots embroidered with pale vine patterns took two steps toward the front left:
“To think there is actually someone in this world who could fail to recognize their own Daoist companion. You truly bring great glory to my face.”
To think there is actually someone in this world who could let their own Daoist companion mistake them for someone else, shouldn’t you also do some deep reflection, Daoist Lord?
Fang Jueqian muttered inwardly while appearing incomparably well-behaved on the outside:
“Husband, I was wrong. From now on, I will definitely carve your name deep into my bones and never dare forget it again.”
Daoist Lord Lingxiao remained silent for a moment.
Fang Jueqian secretly lifted his gaze to look at him, seeing that the Daoist Lord appeared to be deep in thought. He could not help indulging in the youth’s beauty for a brief moment, until he was caught red-handed by the owner and hurriedly lowered his gaze, putting on an expression of sincere repentance.
The Daoist Lord took a deep breath. “Do you know why I asked you to come here?”
What, was there something else?
Fang Jueqian raised his head, just about to speak, when he was nearly brushed in the face by the youth’s sleeve.
Daoist Lord Lingxiao slowly paced toward the tree:
“I called you here this time to tell you something. Your time is running short.”
“Huh?”
“I have recently sensed my realm showing signs of loosening, and I expect to undergo the heavenly tribulation and ascend within a few decades. After I ascend, my enemies will still remain in this world. Although the Guiyuan Immortal Sect and some of my old friends will look after you out of regard for me, absolute safety cannot be guaranteed. Depending on others is inferior to depending on yourself. You must raise your cultivation level as quickly as possible. Within ten years, I want to see you advance to the Nascent Soul stage.”
Fang Jueqian was stunned.
After a long silence, he asked in a trembling voice:
“Husband, do you have a lot of enemies?”
The youth smiled, his tone filled with disdain:
“Not many are still alive, of course.”
Before Fang Jueqian could manage to heave a sigh of relief, the youth added:
“But that might not be the case after I ascend.”
Fang Jueqian was dumbfounded.
He had originally thought he was clinging to an ultimate supreme thigh and would be carefree for the rest of his life, but who could have imagined that a few decades later, the thigh would flick its sleeves and ascend away, leaving behind a complex web of grudges and grievances for him to deal with in this world all by himself.
Recalling the shocking remarks of [As Open-Minded as a Valley], the enemies provoked by Daoist Lord Lingxiao certainly could not be a small number.
Fang Jueqian felt the urge to cry.
“Look at that expression of yours, I haven’t even ascended yet.” The youth Daoist Lord gave him a cold look. “Or do you not believe that I can send you to the Nascent Soul stage within ten years?”
Fang Jueqian shook his head; of course he believed in Daoist Lord Lingxiao.
“As long as I reach the Nascent Soul stage, will that be enough?”
“Nascent Soul is merely the threshold. The Soul Formation stage is safer. If you manage to reach the Void Return stage, then you will have nothing to worry about. Those people are merely a bunch of clowns who wouldn’t dare crawl out while I haven’t ascended, and they wouldn’t amount to much anyway.”
Fang Jueqian secretly used his fingers to count how many stages there were from Qi Refining to Void Return. After finishing the count, he drew in a sharp breath:
“Husband, how long does it usually take to advance from Qi Refining to Void Return?”
The youth fell silent for a moment before saying:
“Everyone’s karmic fortune differs, so they cannot be directly compared.”
Fang Jueqian looked at him with a grievance-filled gaze.
“Generally, it ranges anywhere from several decades to several millennia.”
Fang Jueqian’s heart turned thoroughly ice-cold. He knew that for an ordinary person like him who possessed nothing extraordinary and lacked talent, he certainly wouldn’t be the former option.
The youth slightly averted his eyes: “Void Return might be a bit too difficult for you, so you should at least reach Soul Formation.”
How is this any different from telling a failing student, “Tsinghua and Peking University might be a bit difficult for you, so you should at least get into Fudan or Shanghai Jiao Tong University”?
Fang Jueqian had ten thousand complaints he wanted to voice, but constrained by Daoist Lord Lingxiao’s overpowering pressure, he dared not say a word and could only reply:
“Although it is difficult, I will work hard.”
Daoist Lord Lingxiao glanced at him and nodded:
“From now on, I will carve out half a day every ten days to answer your questions and clear up your doubts. Come prepared next time, and do not waste my time. If you have any other needs, you may tell me all at once.”
Fang Jueqian thought about it carefully.
His food, clothing, housing, and transportation here were all completely provided for, and now even his cultivation had someone guiding it. What other needs could he possibly have?
Just as Fang Jueqian was about to say none, he suddenly recalled a dream he had previously experienced, in which his dreaming self had shown an especially disrespectful attitude toward a youth whose face was unclear.
The time to verify whether his dream was real or fictional had arrived.
Thus, emboldened, he brought up a question:
“Husband, is your childhood nickname perhaps called Susu?”
The Daoist Lord immediately raised his eyebrows in anger:
“Shameless wretch, how dare you commit offenses against your superior!” He raised his hand and struck him with several bolts of lightning.
Before long, a section of charred wood named Fang Jueqian lay upon the ground, soon turning to ashes as a breeze blew past.
“You have no needs?”
The Daoist Lord’s icy voice rang out beside his ear once more, as if his patience was on the verge of running out.
Fang Jueqian hastily snapped out of his exaggerated imagination and guiltily put on a smiling face:
“Husband, I wanted to ask you a question, which is about your name. I mean no other offense! It is just that you are about to ascend very soon, yet I still do not know your name. Isn’t that a bit strange, hahaha.”
The youth’s expression darkened slightly, his gaze resembling sharp blades as if trying to poke several holes through him.
Fang Jueqian instantly regretted it: “Husband, if you do not wish to speak of it, you may stop.”
“Shut up.”
“Ah!”
“Extend your hand.”
Fang Jueqian obediently extended both hands, palms facing upward.
The youth flicked his sleeve, then halted vigilantly amidst the gaze that suddenly brightened in Fang Jueqian’s eyes.
He slightly pressed his lips together, the malevolent aura around him growing even denser.
The next instant, a gentle breeze swept past, and fallen leaves fluttered through the air.
A leaf that happened to land right in Fang Jueqian’s palm stood up like a person and slowly wrote three characters across his hand:
Su Nisheng.
“My name. Do not forget it this time.”
Accompanied by Su Nisheng’s icy voice, Teacher Leaf seemed to have its soul extracted and collapsed with a soft tap.
Fang Jueqian instinctively cupped his hands around the falling leaf, then flashed a smile at Su Nisheng, this time absolutely from the bottom of his heart:
“Don’t worry, Husband, I guarantee I will remember it this time.”
Seeing that the Daoist Lord remained silent, Fang Jueqian clasped his hands together and prayed:
“Husband, when does the cultivation training start?”
Su Nisheng raised an eyebrow.
Fang Jueqian gradually felt that things were turning ominous, yet still clung to a sliver of hope:
“Next week? Tomorrow? Surely not tonight, right?”