After hitting a wall while trying to hold hands, Shen Zhuoqing went quiet.
Liu Ziyi still harbored resentment, so he simply followed closely behind Shen Zhuoqing all the way toward the cliff edge.
The cliff edge was where the sect master’s hall was located, as well as the courtyard where Shen Zhuoqing and Liu Ziyi had lived together for eight years.
Master Shen Qing was usually busy with administrative affairs, and when he had free time, he went to the back mountain for quiet meditation. This vast cliff area belonged entirely to the two of them. Ever since Shen Zhuoqing began deliberately avoiding him, however, this cliff edge was frequently left with only Liu Ziyi.
Gazing out from the cliff edge, everything that met the eye was a vast expanse of howling wind and snow. It was no wonder Liu Ziyi couldn’t stay put; a place where not a single other person could be found was probably far less enjoyable than the handyman peak.
Walking ahead, Shen Zhuoqing lowered his gaze, the perfect disguise he had worn in front of others crumbling away.
Even his earlier attempt to reach out and hold Liu Ziyi’s hand was driven by the panic and terror that threatened to overwhelm his rationality like a rising tide.
It seemed that only by grasping that pair of hands, which were still warm rather than icy and stiff, could he force himself to stay sober.
Five days ago, Shen Zhuoqing had awakened at an inn in Lingzhou. That was his third time returning to the year Liu Ziyi turned twenty, right before all the catastrophes occurred.
Unfortunately, even though the Dao gave him a chance to turn back time, it did not allow him to retain his clear memories.
This was the sole condition of the Heavenly Dao. It told Shen Zhuoqing that no one was allowed to possess complete memories when returning to the past, as that would be far too unfair to everyone else.
Thus, he had forgotten most of the details and the crucial places became hazy. Yet the memories carved deep into his spiritual core and hidden beneath the terrifying inner demons remained starkly clear.
Even just walking like this along the mountain path of the Fujian Sect, that mountain of corpses and sea of blood would appear before Shen Zhuoqing’s eyes like a hallucination.
That pale and bloody head had long since become a grievance ghost demanding his life day after day, calling out to him as senior brother and asking him through tears why he had abandoned him.
A cultivator’s pace was fast, and in less than the time it took to walk a quarter of an hour, the two returned to the Tianxuang Cliff edge.
This region was much colder than the mountainside. Even though Fujian Sect disciples had long since trained their bodies to withstand extreme cold, they would still shiver in this relentless, biting wind.
Liu Ziyi shrunk his shoulders and quietly formed hand seals, wanting to use spiritual energy to ward off the wind and snow, just as he had used spiritual energy to brush the snow off the steps while climbing earlier.
However, the moment he made the motion, his spiritual energy was batted away by a wave of force.
“Hey!”
Liu Ziyi raised his eyes to look at the culprit, Shen Zhuoqing, only to see him maintaining his usual calm expression as he said, “Use the warming body technique to defend against the cold. Using spiritual energy to make a barrier like that is nothing more than a waste of spiritual energy.”
The warming body technique was the very first spell Fujian Sect disciples learned. While it was indeed practical and saved spiritual energy, it ultimately depended on the physical constitution of the person executing it. In other words, a barrier-free defense was far stronger.
Moreover, the warming body technique was not just for staying warm; it was also a spell meant to clear out the meridians. Given his pampered habit of relying on a barrier every single day, his meridians would undoubtedly ache all over by the end of the day.
Yet this was merely the result of being pampered after years without supervision, and Liu Ziyi was too embarrassed to argue righteously, so he could only turn around and cast the warming body technique instead.
“I know!”
While reciting the warming body technique, Liu Ziyi still couldn’t help shivering a few times from the biting wind.
The wind at the edge of Tianxuang Cliff was no ordinary cold wind; not to mention ordinary mortals who wouldn’t even last a quarter of an hour before freezing to death, even cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage would get a thorough and brutal buffeting.
However, just as he finished irritably chanting the warming body technique and felt the aching of his meridians as the technique’s energy circulated through his body, he suddenly saw Shen Zhuoqing beside him raise a hand and cast a spell, wrapping a barrier around him instead.
“If you fell ill just from catching a little wind, goodness knows what kind of laughingstock you would become.”
The chill he had been fighting against a moment before was instantly blocked outside the barrier, leaving Liu Ziyi dumbfounded.
So using a barrier wasn’t a waste when you did it?
Seeming to understand Liu Ziyi’s look, Shen Zhuoqing continued, “I practice morning and evening cultivation every day, and I never forget to practice diligently in my free time. This little bit of spiritual energy is nothing.”
The unspoken implication was that only slackers like him who loafed around all day couldn’t sustain such consumption.
Liu Ziyi was about to defend himself by saying he wasn’t someone who never cultivated for three years, when he caught a glimpse of Shen Zhuoqing’s peripheral vision shifting back in a subtle manner. Unconsciously, he swallowed back his original words, a hint of gnashing teeth in his voice.
“Then I really must thank Senior Brother.”
If Shen Zhuoqing understood him, how could Liu Ziyi not understand Shen Zhuoqing?
Hmph, was he simply unable to bear seeing him freeze, yet incapable of uttering a single kind word?
Though Liu Ziyi hated his strictness, he also understood that as the newly minted leader of the righteous path recognized by the immortal families of Luozhou, Shen Zhuoqing would never deliberately make things difficult for him.
The morning and evening lessons lasted for two full hours before finally coming to an end.
Unsurprisingly, the first sparring match ended in Liu Ziyi’s defeat.
Liu Ziyi put away Xiliu and raised a hand to touch the spot on his waist where the flat of the sword had struck him, wincing and baring his teeth in pain.
Every part of his body, which had grown lazy over the years, felt both aching and relieved. He hadn’t sparred with anyone like this in a long time, and unfortunately, he had run into Shen Zhuoqing, who absolutely refused to hold back.
While checking his injuries, Liu Ziyi thought to himself: It has been several years since we last crossed swords, but Senior Brother’s sword techniques seem to have changed a lot. They are both piercingly sharp and vicious. A person’s sword wind almost never changes throughout their life. What on earth did Senior Brother experience in Lingzhou?
No matter how patient Shen Zhuoqing had appeared when making up for his morning lessons at first, he showed zero mercy during actual combat.
After rubbing his waist, Liu Ziyi rolled up the sleeve of his arm to take a look, discovering a large patch of bruising on his right arm.
It reminded him of when he was fourteen or fifteen years old, when he had taken a whim to go to the back mountain and dig up a spiritual herb that an elder had cultivated for seven or eight years. The herb had withered away less than half an hour after leaving the back mountain, and by the time the elder discovered it, Shen Zhuoqing had already brought his sword over to beat him up first.
That single incident had left him bedridden for more than half a month.
However, Liu Ziyi only learned much later that Shen Zhuoqing hadn’t left his side for a single moment during those half a month of meticulous care, personally managing his meals and treating his injuries.
During that time, he had also blocked the elder from coming to vent his anger on Liu Ziyi countless times. Only then did Liu Ziyi realize that the only reason Shen Zhuoqing had been able to harden his heart and beat him personally was so that he wouldn’t be subjected to the elder’s vengeful discipline.
“Senior Brother, you really don’t feel sorry for your junior brother at all,” Liu Ziyi said with those words, though the small dimples at the corners of his lips were hovering on the verge of appearing. “With my hands injured like this, I won’t be able to copy the sect rules.”
Shen Zhuoqing felt a trace of helplessness, but hesitated slightly when his gaze fell upon the bruises Liu Ziyi exposed on his arm.
Could it be that he really went too heavy with his strikes?
He had clearly controlled his strength, but unfortunately, Liu Ziyi hadn’t been beaten in years, and even these sword moves executed at thirty percent power were enough to leave someone black and blue.
This sight caused Shen Zhuoqing’s brows to furrow once more.
No matter how pampered he is, it’s all Master’s fault.
Silently plotting in his heart to add extra physical training regimens for the boy, Shen Zhuoqing pulled a prepared medicinal bottle out of his storage ring with a deadpan expression.
Applying medicine to the other person’s arm while speaking, he said, “Your swordsmanship has improved, which means you must have been practicing. It’s just that neglecting physical conditioning will eventually lead to bottlenecks on your path of cultivation. The martial arts tournament is in a month. Does Xiao Liu still wish to participate?”
Liu Ziyi tilted his head away, clearly feeling awkward about Shen Zhuoqing applying medicine for him, and immediately shook his head upon hearing the question.
Opportunities in the martial arts tournament had to be fought for, and he had suffered enough during his last participation when he was tricked into joining.
Not only was he dragged out of bed before dawn every day by Shen Zhuoqing to practice swordsmanship, but after finally earning his spot fair and square, he ran into Qin Xiaoyi, that absolute blade maniac, at the tournament!
Once the winner was decided, the guy actually still wanted to drag him off for another match.
Sparring was exhausting; did you cultivation madmen understand that or not?
Liu Ziyi originally expected Shen Zhuoqing to reprimand him for lacking drive, but instead, Shen Zhuoqing simply focused on dressing the wound and said in a calm voice:
“If Xiao Liu does not participate this time, the opportunity will likely fall to Qin Xiaoyi.”
Liu Ziyi raised an eyebrow, probing, “If I don’t go, Master and Senior Brother won’t blame me?”
“Of course not. The martial arts tournament is only a triennial gathering of the Fujian Sect; participation is not mandatory. If Xiao Liu is not yet ready, Senior Brother will discuss it with Master and transfer the opportunity to someone else. Besides, Junior Brother Qin has also performed exceptionally well lately. I believe Third Uncle-Master Fuye would also like to give him a chance to shine.”
“That’s wonderful then. I won’t have to see that guy at all.” Seeing that Shen Zhuoqing didn’t look like he was joking, Liu Ziyi’s mood improved significantly, and he no longer kept as far away from Shen Zhuoqing as he had earlier.
“It’s a deal, then. Senior Brother must make sure to work it out with them.” Liu Ziyi smiled, the dimples beneath his lips deepening.
“Of course.”
Shen Zhuoqing nodded in serious agreement, his gaze falling upon the other’s smile, causing time itself to seem to pause for a brief moment.
After a long while, Shen Zhuoqing finally lowered his gaze and spoke in a low voice: “I will go discuss this matter with Master later. The injuries on your arm will only recover by tomorrow, so you won’t need to do any copying today. Go back and rest.”
He didn’t make him go back to cultivate, nor did he mention anything about going down the mountain again. It was practically over-the-top gentleness.
Although Liu Ziyi couldn’t quite wrap his head around it, he trusted that Shen Zhuoqing wouldn’t lie about something like this, so he was more than happy to prop his chin in his hand and watch Shen Zhuoqing tend to his injuries.
Being this close, Liu Ziyi caught a whiff of the aura radiating from Shen Zhuoqing.
It was rich with spiritual energy, yet somehow slightly unstable.
How strange.
Thinking this, Liu Ziyi couldn’t help unconsciously leaning a bit closer, quietly drawing a wisp of aura away from Shen Zhuoqing’s vicinity and hiding it inside his storage ring, planning to study it alone later.
Liu Ziyi remained completely unaware, but Shen Zhuoqing clearly felt the warmth radiating over as the other leaned in.
His body instantly stiffened, even his breathing pausing for a split second, while the movements of his hands naturally slowed down.
Greedily, he hoped this moment would turn into eternity, that no bad things would ever happen, and that they could simply live peacefully on Tianxuang Cliff like this forever. That would be enough.
After treating Liu Ziyi’s injuries, Shen Zhuoqing found an excuse to return to his room, leaving Liu Ziyi feeling baffled.
However, after such a long-overdue sparring session, Liu Ziyi was somewhat fatigued, so he contentedly headed back inside his room to rest.
He didn’t expect that right as he finished washing up and settled onto the bed, Xiliu would begin vibrating noisily on the tabletop.
Only then did Liu Ziyi remember that he had placed a seal on Xiliu right before their sparring match earlier, and he hadn’t undone it yet.
He raised a hand to summon Xiliu to the bedside, simultaneously pulling out the two different wisps of Shen Zhuoqing’s aura from his storage ring to examine them while stroking the scabbard to soothe Xiliu’s temperament.
“Quiet down. Let me release my spiritual sense to inspect these auras first.”
With that, Liu Ziyi closed his eyes, released his spiritual sense, and probed into the two slightly differing wisps of aura.
Scarcely two seconds after making contact with the aura, Liu Ziyi opened his eyes wide in shock, catching one of the wisps tightly in his palm.
“Demonic Qi?”