What transpired within the illusion realm was known only to the individual who experienced it.
Ji Zhixing felt the heat of Lu Qing’an’s body and her gentle, persistent trembling. She extended her palm and gently patted Lu Qing’an’s back, patiently waiting for the girl in her arms to compose her emotions.
“It is alright. Senior Sister is right here,” Ji Zhixing said in a soft, soothing tone, her voice carrying a gentle cadence like a warm, slow breeze.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Lu Qing’an let go of her.
In the illusion just now, she had seen herself fail the trial and be coldly banished from the mountain peak by Ji Zhixing. The normally gentle woman had drawn her silver sword, pointing the sharp blade directly at her throat: “Anyone who fails the assessment cannot remain in the Flowing Cloud Sect.”
The coldness in Ji Zhixing’s eyes was something Lu Qing’an had never seen before. Dazed, Lu Qing’an had stood frozen in place, not knowing how to react.
Seeing that she did not move, Ji Zhixing thrust her arm forward. The tip of the sword pierced her skin, and fresh blood poured out.
Lu Qing’an felt a sharp pain in her throat, as if ice water had been poured over her, leaving her entire body freezing cold. Under Ji Zhixing’s supervision, she was forced to leave the Flowing Cloud Sect without a single personal belonging.
After leaving the sect, Lu Qing’an hurried in the direction of her home. It took her three to five months to finally reach Lin’an City, only to find the Lu Manor dilapidated and completely deserted.
After asking a passerby, she learned that Mother Lu had offended the Emperor, and the entire family had been exiled.
Lu Qing’an stood on the steps beneath the fallen plaque, frozen for a long time.
As time flowed on, the central location of the Lu Manor meant that people constantly passed by the entrance, and someone soon recognized Lu Qing’an’s identity.
“Isn’t that the daughter who was said to have gone off to cultivate immortality? She really does look a bit like an immortal.”
Someone quickly picked up the conversation: “What is the use? She offended the Emperor.” He did not dare utter the last two words aloud, but continued, “What good is an immortal? Her family is still ruined all the same.”
The crowd was bustling, mostly onlookers gathering to watch the commotion, mixed with rustling jeers and ridicule. Lu Qing’an heard them, but she did not care to pay attention.
She turned around to face the crowd.
Right at that moment, a person dressed in shabby clothes, whose face was completely smeared with black charcoal and ash to disguise her appearance, suddenly rushed out from the crowd. She grabbed Lu Qing’an and dragged her into a small alleyway.
Lu Qing’an recognized the person and asked anxiously, “Mother, what on earth happened?”
Mother Lu felt around her pockets and pulled out five or six money pouches of different colors and sizes, taking out silver coins from each of them one by one.
Without stopping her hands, she said, “I offended His Majesty and was supposed to be exiled, but I found someone who looked like me to swap me out of prison. Only then could I wait here for you.”
After listening, Lu Qing’an’s gaze fell upon her mother’s practiced, skillful movements of untying the pouches and counting the money. Her eyes flickered slightly, and after a long silence, she spoke:
“You are not my mother. She would disdain to commit such acts of theft.”
Her mother had her own pride, her own strategies, and her own means of survival.
In an instant, the scene before her shattered like broken glass.
After telling Ji Zhixing the story of what she saw in her illusion, Lu Qing’an’s eyes were bloodshot. The tears in her eyes had not yet faded: “Senior Sister, I want to go home and take a look.”
Lu Qing’an had been pampered since childhood. Though Mother Lu would discipline her, she still cherished her like a precious treasure, afraid she would melt in her mouth or break in her hands. This was the first time Lu Qing’an had been away from her mother for so long.
Seeing the tip of her nose turned red from crying, Ji Zhixing reached out her index finger and wiped away her tears.
“Alright,” she answered softly.
Having received the answer she wanted, Lu Qing’an should have felt happy, but even larger teardrops welled up. She hugged Ji Zhixing tightly once again, as if trying to melt into her very bones, terrified that she might run away.
Riding on Ji Zhixing’s flying sword felt entirely different from riding on Qi Manmeng’s.
Standing on Ji Zhixing’s sword, Lu Qing’an felt as though she were enveloped in waves of gentle warmth. Neither fierce winds nor the scorching sun could penetrate it; it was as warm as the breeze during the transition between spring and summer.
By the roadside, some distance away from the gates of Lin’an City, Ji Zhixing came to a stop.
“Sword-riding is forbidden above the city,” she explained to Lu Qing’an.
Lu Qing’an expressed her understanding. She looked around to the left and right, a sense of familiarity surging in her heart.
She was all too familiar with this place.
Taking hold of Ji Zhixing’s wrist, she said, “Senior Sister, I know this place as well as my own home. I will show you around!”
At the city gate, a guard dutifully standing at his post suddenly spotted a youth dressed in white appearing before his eyes. The soldier immediately closed his eyes, wishing only to pretend he had not seen the person in front of him.
Lu Qing’an tapped his helmet: “Quick, tell me, has anything fun happened in the city recently?”
Hearing her words, the soldier thought for a moment before opening his eyes: “Miss Xia seems to have been looking for you constantly lately.”
Lu Qing’an instantly felt a wave of aching teeth; she had completely forgotten about that formidable Buddha!
Seeing the expression on her face, Ji Zhixing found it amusing. She had seen a distressed, frightened, and happy Lu Qing’an, but she had never seen a Lu Qing’an so helpless.
As soon as Lu Qing’an entered Lin’an City, she immediately bought a bamboo hat with a veil, putting it on to cover her face completely. Seeing her like this, Ji Zhixing could not help but feel curious about who this unseen Miss Xia might be.
“Senior Sister, see if you like this!”
Lu Qing’an held a long, smooth, blue-green tassel in her hand, holding it up against the silver sword Ji Zhixing was carrying. It was a perfect match.
“Shopkeeper, this item of yours is really nice!” Lu Qing’an patted the shop owner’s shoulder, praising it repeatedly.
The person being patted felt as if that part of his shoulder no longer belonged to him, aching terribly. He looked suspiciously at the customer in front of him, though it was a pity he could not see her face clearly due to the veiled hat.
However, this strength and this feeling were truly just like Miss Lu.
A genuine smile unique to businessmen appeared on his face: “If the customer likes it, I will give you a discount. Look at this material, it is top-quality silk that even the imperial concubines in the palace use. I will take a bit of a loss and charge you fifty taels of silver.”
For an ordinary household in Lin’an City, ten taels of silver was enough to live on for an entire year. Yet Lu Qing’an paid the silver without hesitation.
This tassel was simply too suited to Ji Zhixing’s sword.
Lu Qing’an waved the tassel in front of Ji Zhixing’s eyes, her eyes glowing brightly: “Does Senior Sister like it?”
The blue-green threads swayed between Lu Qing’an and Ji Zhixing’s gazes. Through the veiled curtain created by the tassel, Ji Zhixing’s eyes settled on the face behind the threads: pure, clear, and innocent. Like a child who had found a good item and come to claim credit before her master, her dark, lustrous eyes reflected the blue-green shade.
Ji Zhixing smiled unconsciously: “I like it.”
“What are you two doing?!”
An angry voice, carrying the distinct sharpness of a young girl, rang out.
Lu Qing’an felt her back tense up immediately. She intentionally forced her voice lower and raspy, mumbling, “You have got the wrong person.”
Seeing this, Ji Zhixing looked toward the newcomer.
The girl’s eyes were fixed dead on Lu Qing’an, her cat-like eyes unreservedly filled with rage, as if she wanted to burn Lu Qing’an alive. She trotted quickly over to Lu Qing’an, stood on tiptoe, and yanked off her veiled hat in one swift motion.
The street fell silent in an instant.
The veiled hat fell onto the ground with a thud, acting like a drop of water falling into a hot frying pan, instantly causing an uproar.
“Miss Lu is back! Things are going to get lively now!”
“Isn’t that the truth? This past month, my shop was almost trampled to pieces by Miss Xia!”
“Tell me about it! Who told Miss Lu to favor your shop so much? You must have made a fortune during this period!”
Hearing the chatter among the crowd, Lu Qing’an subconsciously glanced at Ji Zhixing, feeling a rare moment of embarrassment.
Xia Qingyi opened her eyes wide, waiting for Lu Qing’an to give her an explanation.
Lu Qing’an tucked the unaccepted tassel into her bosom and released her grip on Ji Zhixing’s wrist. She leaned close to Xia Qingyi and whispered, “Can I explain to you after we get home? There are so many people here.”
Xia Qingyi took a step back, crossed her arms over her chest, let out a hmph, and shook her head.
She intentionally spoke loudly in a voice everyone could hear: “Lu Qing’an, what is the meaning of this? You went out for a few days, and now you are going to abandon your love?”
Hearing her say such reckless words, Lu Qing’an hurriedly covered her mouth: “Do not talk nonsense!”
At the same time, she used her other arm to wrap around Xia Qingyi’s waist, pinning her under her arm. Xia Qingyi kicked her feet wildly, mumbling something unintelligible. Lu Qing’an pretended not to hear, and in this position, she carried her all the way back to the Lu Manor.
Ji Zhixing walked quietly alongside them without saying a word, her grip tightening firmly on her silver sword.
“Young Master Lu, Miss Xia,” the servant at the entrance bowed respectfully in greeting. Looking at the awkward posture of the two, there was no surprise in his eyes.
“Inform Mother that I am back, and that this lady is my Senior Sister,” Lu Qing’an instructed the servant.
“Mother Lu, look at her! She bullied me as soon as she came back!”
After being released by Lu Qing’an, Xia Qingyi immediately clung to Mother Lu’s arm to lodge a complaint. Her lips were slightly pouted in mock anger, though her actual attention remained entirely on Lu Qing’an.
Mother Lu sat in the primary seat. Xia Qingyi and Lu Qing’an sat on the left, while Ji Zhixing sat on the right.
“What happened, Qing’an?” Mother Lu asked, playing along with Xia Qingyi and feigning anger.
“Mother, you cannot blame me for this. She was talking nonsense on the street, saying things like abandoning love. If others hear it, what will they think of me?” Lu Qing’an looked at Ji Zhixing sitting across from her, feeling an inexplicable rise of irritability in her heart, which made her tone somewhat sour.
“Qing’an.”
Mother Lu called out Lu Qing’an’s name once more, her voice sounding no different from before. Yet Lu Qing’an acutely realized that her mother was somewhat angry.
Accustomed to being scolded, she knew what would happen next. Having experienced it many times, Lu Qing’an knew how to stop the impending punishment of running laps.
She walked over to Xia Qingyi, putting on a coaxing smile: “Qingyi, do not be angry with your sister anymore, alright?”
“Sister apologizes to you. Sister should not have treated Qingyi like that.” Lu Qing’an bowed low in apology. “Please forgive your sister just this once.”
Normally, after completing this routine, Xia Qingyi would tilt her head up, let out a patronizing snort, and say, “I will let it pass this time, but if there is a next time, I definitely will not let you off so easily.”
This time, however, Xia Qingyi did not look back. She kept holding Mother Lu’s arm, turning her head away, refusing to look at Lu Qing’an.
At this, not only was Lu Qing’an puzzled, but even Mother Lu felt somewhat bewildered.
“Qingyi, did Lu Qing’an do something else to wrong you?” Mother Lu pondered for a moment, finding this to be the only remaining possibility.
Only after a long while did Xia Qingyi make a sound, speaking with a muffled, nasally voice: “No.”
It was only then that Lu Qing’an and Mother Lu were startled to realize that Xia Qingyi was actually crying.