Leaning against the green bamboo outside the mountain gates, with his dark hair secured in a jade crown and an air of unrestrained, effortless grace, was his disciple; by the clear Jade Pool, the capable youth catching and skewering fish was also him; and whenever troubled by vexing matters, the scholarly, gentle, and warm companion who invited him to ascend a tower for a shared drink while gazing silently across the six frigid frosts was likewise him.
Immortal Yunzhou realized that the frequency with which he thought of Shi An was increasing day by day, and the space Shi An occupied in his heart was expanding until it filled every corner.
When Shi An was injured, the one filled with frantic tension and aching heart-pression was himself; when Shi An failed to return past the appointed hour, the one consumed by burning anxiety and heavy worry was himself; and upon learning that Shi An’s late return was due to preparing a gift for him, the one whose bubbling joy could not be concealed was likewise himself.
Immortal Yunzhou knew that he had fallen for Shi An, and more than that, he had fallen deeply in love with him, wishing to walk hand in hand with him through life.
Yet both of them harbored unexpressed secrets within their hearts. When they went out on leisure trips, the azure dragon would carry the white fox across the drifting mist, but the atmosphere would gradually grow silent, with words left hanging on the verge of speech becoming their shared state.
Having accompanied each other for many years, they possessed an innate and flawless tacit understanding, naturally sensing that the other held unspoken words. However, both were experiencing romantic love for the very first time, their hearts overflowing with tender affection yet completely at a loss for how to voice it aloud.
Immortal Yunzhou did not shrink back or evade his feelings upon realizing his affection for Shi An; rather, whenever he wanted to speak out, he would constantly doubt whether he had misinterpreted Shi An’s intentions all along. Perhaps Shi An was merely misjudging boundaries, and if he spoke up only to be rejected, how would they face each other afterward?
Shi An longed to lay bare his heartfelt emotions directly to his master, yet repeatedly weighed his words out of fear that his sincerity might fall short. He wondered whether, regardless of whether his master consented or not and if he refused he could simply abduct his master back to his own cave dwelling and take things slowly. At the same time, he dreaded startling his master, causing the words perched on the tip of his tongue to lose all courage.
Hesitant and indecisive though they were, both were actively drawing closer to one another through their actions.
The relationship between Shi An and Yunzhou grew increasingly intimate, frequently enjoying moments alone together. Every time the junior disciple came to pay his respects, he would invariably experience a flash of spiritual intuition.
As long as Shi An was present, the junior disciple would skillfully find an excuse to take his leave early and return to handling official duties.
Mostly, even though Shi An constantly spent time with his master, he was an absolute romantic fanatic. If Immortal Yunzhou so much as spoke a bit more with someone else or displayed a radiant smile, Shi An would quietly jot that person down in his little ledger and wait for an opportunity to pick a fight.
Afterward, he would shamelessly act spoiled and throw tantrums before his master, having already lost count of how many sparring matches he had endured as a result.
Those past episodes were too unbearable to recall; staying far away from a romantic fanatic was truly the proper path to take.
Yunzhou felt the timing had finally matured for them to pour out their mutual feelings to one another.
Yet during a routine divination and deduction of Shi An’s destiny chart, he abruptly sensed an impending fatal tribulation descending upon Shi An. After multiple calculations even at the cost of depleting his own cultivation he discovered only that Shi An was destined to perish under a lightning tribulation. As for the underlying cause, it remained shrouded in bewildering obscurity.
At that moment, Immortal Yunzhou had no spare capacity to dwell on matters of romance; his entire focus was consumed by his disciple’s mortal peril and how on earth to break this deadly impasse.
Sleepless through days and nights with endless divination, he realized the sole method to break the curse lay in a single character: “Substitution.” If he wished to keep Shi An safe and sound, he needed to make the heavenly Dao believe that Shi An had already perished.
Utilizing the residual aura lingering on the jade pendant gifted by Shi An, and aided by arcane arts, Yunzhou masked his own aura entirely. Then, locking his destiny chart with a forbidden spell, he summoned the lightning tribulation, intending to trade one of his own nine lives to substitute for Shi An’s fate.
Knowing that Shi An would never consent if he learned of the plan, and unwilling to let his beloved disciple expose himself to mortal danger, he fabricated an excuse about going out on leisure travels to attend to some personal matters, coaxing Shi An into promising not to follow him.
Yet Shi An quickly sensed something amiss. By the time he rushed to the scene and caught sight of the nine-tailed white fox hanging by a thread beneath the wrathful heavenly lightning, his eyes split with fury, and the boundless panic that could no longer be contained within his chest overflowed beyond measure. However, with the destiny chart locked, the heavenly lightning continued to mercilessly pound down upon the white fox, displaying an unrelenting stance that would not stop until it obliterated its target, driving Shi An to the brink of demonic madness.
Desperate to know what he could do to rescue his master, Shi An forced himself to calm down. He probed the fragmentary memories lingering within his master’s consciousness and uncovered the entire plan.
Grief and tenderness, remorse and hatred intertwined within his heart. He felt resentment toward his master for recklessly throwing himself into danger, tenderness for the immense sacrifice his master had made, remorse for his own utter lack of awareness, and self-hatred for arriving a step too late.
Exquisite and complex dark-gold patterns blossomed at the corners of his eyes, and the spiritual energy within him gradually stained with a desolate black, transforming into swirling wisps of ghostly demonic qi. His master was still enduring the fury of heavenly might, and the blood before his eyes stung Shi An’s sanity. His thoughts spun with lightning speed as he replicated the exact same method.
Leveraging the moment his cultivation surged upward, the exact instant he entered the demonic path served as the definitive dividing line. He split his divine soul in two one half representing the past, the other representing the present. Borrowing the surging demonic qi of his breakthrough, he materialized his past avatar, successfully shattering the destiny lock Yunzhou had established. Both the avatar and his true form stepped forward together to block the remainder of the heavenly wrath.
The avatar shattered and dissipated, the divine soul fragments contained within it reduced once more to dust, barely managing to drift back into his sea of consciousness where he intended to mend them once the dust finally settled.
Staggering and stumbling, he rushed toward his master. The moment Yunzhou dazedly blinked open his eyes before slipping back into unconsciousness, Shi An knew returning to the sect in time was impossible; instead, he carried him straight to his private cave dwelling, where he stored his hoarded magical treasures and weapons, and tended to him day and night.
Three years slipped by. When his master finally awakened, all the previous panic, helplessness, remorse, and agonizing pain transformed into gentle, cautious care.
Now, as long as his master remained safe and sound and slowly recovered, that in itself was absolute peace.