“Hey, who is that? Why would a mortal appear here…?”
On the mountain path, amidst the secluded green bamboo, a figure in blue stood out. From time to time, disciples of the Tianyan Sect passed by, all showing expressions of confusion. They couldn’t help but glance back frequently, and for a time, a stir of discussion arose.
The one causing this anomaly was, naturally, Jiang Xuning, who had arrived with Yu Heng not long ago.
As for why he suddenly appeared here alone, that story starts a short while back.
Having just recovered from a serious illness, Jiang Xuning’s body had not fully recuperated. The mountain paths of the Tianyan Sect were rugged and steep; before they had traveled very far, his body could no longer hold up.
Yu Heng felt distressed seeing this. He originally thought of carrying him up the mountain on his back, but such an act would look too unseemly in the eyes of others. Jiang Xuning was unwilling. Furthermore, a message suddenly arrived from the Hall of Discipline. Having no other choice and not wanting Jiang Xuning to suffer, Yu Heng had to let him rest and wait here while they went ahead first.
The discussions among the crowd were by no means quiet. Even though Jiang Xuning did not intentionally listen, he heard them clearly. Initially, to avoid drawing more attention, he specifically found a relatively secluded spot. But as the chatter grew, he realized that with his mortal body, it was impossible to hide from the eyes of cultivators. Eventually, he simply gave up, letting the voices continue while he acted as if he heard and saw nothing.
He shifted his attention to the beautiful scenery before him. It happened to be sunset; the residual glow of the setting sun poured down, refracting through the layers of clouds and across the mountain ranges. It was dreamlike and ethereal, possessing a unique beauty. Jiang Xuning took in this vast scenery, and for some reason, his originally restless heart became calm.
That was until a glimmer of ghostly light caught his attention. He instinctively looked over and discovered that not far from where he stood, clusters of starlight were flickering continuously.
This couldn’t help but pique Jiang Xuning’s curiosity. He followed the light, and as he drew closer, he realized the light he had seen was emitted by flowers that looked like Epiphyllum (Night-blooming Cereus).
Such a wondrous sight increased his curiosity and confusion. For no other reason than the fact that he had seen Epiphyllums in Yue City, but it was his first time seeing one that glowed like this.
Pale yellow stamens, deep blue petals, with faint starlight dotting the space between them. The tender branches swayed with the breeze, flickering with grace and adding a touch of charm. An intense desire for knowledge forced Jiang Xuning to lean closer, wanting to see them clearly.
However, before he could make a move, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
“Don’t touch!”
The voice was cold and carried a hint of a reprimand. Caught off guard, Jiang Xuning was startled by the sudden change and immediately withdrew his hand. Looking toward the source of the sound, he discovered that at some unknown point, a youth dressed in blue-and-white robes had appeared behind him, his face full of solemnity.
Thinking the newcomer was the owner of these flowers, Jiang Xuning immediately pursed his lips, stood up, and performed a gentleman’s salute. With a hint of apology, he said, “My apologies. I did not know these flowers had an owner. I did not intend to offend.”
He was prepared to be scolded. After all, he had trespassed onto someone else’s grounds without permission. Although he hadn’t touched the flowers, he was in the wrong, so he held no resentment.
But to his surprise, the newcomer did not scold him. Instead, he spoke with a deliberate softness.
“I did not mean to berate you.”
The blue-robed youth spoke, his cold face showing a rare trace of awkwardness.
“These flowers are called ‘Dream Night Ghost Epiphyllum.’ They were found in a secret realm by the Elder of Affairs. Seeing they were beautiful, he specifically brought them back to plant here. However, these flowers are timid by nature. When they sense a threat, they like to use light to attract the enemy to deliver a fatal blow. If it were a cultivator, there would be nothing to fear, but for an ordinary mortal, it would be certain death.”
He explained meticulously, his face also showing some confusion. “But you are an exception. Just now I saw you standing so close to them, yet they did not actively attack you. On the contrary, they seemed to have an intention to be close to you. Truly strange…”
The youth had never seen such a situation before.
Upon hearing that such beautiful flowers were actually “man-eaters,” Jiang Xuning felt a momentary lingering fear. However, since he was someone who had been reborn once, he calmed down quickly. When he spoke again, he even mocked himself with a couple of sentences.
“Perhaps they saw that I am but an ordinary mortal and in poor health, posing no threat to them, so they didn’t hurt me.”
As he spoke, he subconsciously distanced himself from the cluster of Dream Night Ghost Epiphyllums. Even though he knew the flowers hadn’t hurt him, he truly couldn’t afford to gamble now. In a place he didn’t notice, because of his intentional avoidance, the originally blooming Epiphyllums suddenly became withered, their heads drooping as if they had suffered some grievance.
“What you say makes sense.”
The blue-robed youth, who was originally confused, felt that Jiang Xuning’s explanation was quite logical. After all, the Dream Night Ghost Epiphyllum only attacks when it perceives a threat; it naturally wouldn’t strike if there was none. Thinking this, he felt it made more and more sense and nodded in agreement.
That appearance in Jiang Xuning’s eyes had an indescribable cuteness, bearing some resemblance to the A-Heng in his memories. He couldn’t help but curve his eyes and chuckle softly.
At first, seeing the newcomer’s cold face and his “majestic without being angry” look, he thought he would be difficult to get along with. But looking at him now, that wasn’t the case. He likely didn’t come to look for trouble. Thus, Jiang Xuning softened his voice and said warmly, “I wonder if the Immortal has business here? If so, I shall not disturb you.”
Jiang Xuning bowed again. After finding a random excuse, he turned to leave. He knew well that although the youth before him seemed kind, he was a cultivator, while he was just an ordinary mortal. They were worlds apart, and it was better not to have any entanglements.
“Wait.”
Seeing Jiang Xuning about to leave, the blue-robed youth instinctively moved to stop him. But after stopping him, he didn’t know what to say for a moment. He had heard reports from disciples that there was an anomaly here and came to check it out, only to find it was just an ordinary mortal. That would have been fine, but strangely, he was born with a cold personality and disliked socializing; his only interest was cultivation. Yet, from the first moment he saw this mortal, he felt a strange sense of goodwill. His subconscious told him he wanted to befriend this person.
It was just that this matter was too foreign to him. He had always been alone and had never made friends, so he was very bewildered about how specifically to befriend someone. Coupled with the confused gaze coming from the other side, he appeared even more uneasy.
However, he didn’t show it on his face, remaining calm as he said, “Why would a mortal like you appear here? Just now I saw you seemed to be waiting for someone?”
It was a question asked out of kindness, yet it inexplicably carried a hint of interrogation.
Hearing this, Jiang Xuning was stunned for a moment, but then he understood. After all, the Tianyan Sect was the number one immortal sect in the cultivation world; the sudden appearance of a mortal was bound to be strange. There was nothing wrong with being cautious. Thus, he didn’t think much of it and bowed once more.
“Replying to the Immortal, I came with my younger brother. He was temporarily called away by your sect’s Disciplinary Elder, so he asked me to wait for him here.”
He answered honestly. Seeing this, the blue-robed youth felt another surge of annoyance, knowing the other had misunderstood his meaning, but not knowing how to explain. He could only say moodily, “You don’t need to be so polite with me…”
As he spoke, he was about to continue asking if the other needed help to find his brother, when suddenly another voice rang out, interrupting him.
“Young Master.”
Jiang Xuning instinctively looked over. When he turned back, the blue-robed youth who had been speaking to him had already quietly departed at some unknown moment.