Jiang Qiao’s junior brothers and sisters were barely adults, and this was their first time descending the mountain. On the mountain, they were surrounded by fellow disciples, and the Sword Sect held extremely strict moral requirements. Thus, although their cultivation levels were significantly higher than their peers, their lives in the sect consisted only of diligent practice, they had almost no experience with intrigue or deception.
The few disciples standing directly in front of Jiang Qiao were slightly better, but the further back one looked, the more their eyes were filled with a kind of “crystal clear stupidity.” They actually believed Wen Chiyue was praising them, scratching their heads with silly grins. “It’s nothing, really. Fellow Daoist Wen, you are so young, yet your cultivation…”
After all, she was Senior Sister Jiang Qiao’s friend. When they first met, they didn’t dare to probe her.
But now, as they prepared to return the praise, they swept their senses over her and instantly fell into silence.
Qi Refining stage. She hadn’t even reached Foundation Establishment. One couldn’t even speak of “profound cultivation.”
It was transparent at a single glance.
The disciples were thin-skinned, and a light blush immediately crept up their faces. They exchanged glances until one quick-witted disciple chimed in, “For Fairy Wen to have this level of cultivation at her age, it would be rare even in the Sword Sect.”
Curiously, although Wen Chiyue’s cultivation wasn’t high, the Sword Sect disciples could feel an overwhelming sword intent emanating from her. It was as if she had already achieved the state of “Man and Sword as One” while still in the Qi Refining stage, holding no sword in her hand, but possessing one in her heart. It was truly bizarre.
As expected of Senior Sister Jiang Qiao’s friend.
Fearing Wen Chiyue might think they were mocking her, the disciples turned their gaze toward Jiang Xiechen, who was sitting nearby composedly sipping tea.
When they tried to probe Jiang Xiechen’s cultivation, the expressions on their faces became even more dazed.
With this scan, they couldn’t detect a single trace of cultivation from Jiang Xiechen. Even the sword at her waist looked so plain it seemed like an iron blade one could buy anywhere in the mortal world.
Yet, seeing Jiang Xiechen sitting on the most ordinary wooden chair, her light gauze dress fluttering leisurely in the breeze, every movement possessed a unique charm. Her eyes were covered by a white cloth, and though she clearly couldn’t see anything, she exuded a deep-seated steadiness. Even without saying a word, she gave off the impression that everything was within her grasp.
As soon as this thought appeared, their probing senses trembled, then drained away as if encountering a natural predator.
The disciples’ hearts jolted. They quickly withdrew their scattered senses and praised with genuine sincerity, “As expected of Senior Sister’s friends, you are truly extraordinary.”
Wen Chiyue giggled, her body swaying like a trembling branch. It was unclear what she was laughing at, but her slender waist bent as she leaned softly against Jiang Xiechen, whispering, “Master, they called me ‘Fairy Wen.'”
“Fairy.” Wen Chiyue repeated the title, her eyes curving like crescents as she grinned. “No one has ever called me that before. They even praised my high cultivation!”
Wen Chiyue’s cheeks were soft, and as she leaned close to Jiang Xiechen, her warm breath made Jiang Xiechen frown slightly.
Then, as if she finally couldn’t take it anymore, Jiang Xiechen sighed softly and extended a single finger, pressing it against Wen Chiyue’s forehead.
Wen Chiyue didn’t dodge. Showing two sharp little tiger teeth, she tilted her head and smiled. “Hmm?”
Her voice was syrupy, as sweet and clingy as maltose.
Even a “cold-hearted person” like Jiang Xiechen, who was usually able to turn a blind eye to Wen Chiyue, felt her hand pause slightly upon hearing that sound.
The pause wasn’t obvious, but Wen Chiyue knew Jiang Xiechen so well that she captured it instantly. Her eyes suddenly erupted with brilliant light, bright as stars.
Wen Chiyue licked her tiger teeth with her tongue and hugged Jiang Xiechen’s arm even tighter, acting spoiled. “Master, they praised me!”
Jiang Xiechen regained her composure.
And ruthlessly pushed Wen Chiyue away.
Jiang Xiechen reminded her coldly, “You are older than them. They only call you that out of politeness.”
Wen Chiyue looked at Jiang Xiechen suspiciously, unconvinced. “Hmph, you’re just lying to me.”
Jiang Qiao laughed and tried to smooth things over. “It’s not just politeness, it’s respect. Fellow Daoist Wen is indeed powerful, didn’t she just drive away that fool?”
As soon as she spoke, the Sword Sect disciples realized who was responsible for the disastrous state of the surroundings.
Wen Chiyue tilted her head up. “Mhm, mhm, mhm.”
As a nascent sword spirit, she couldn’t handle praise well. Being complimented by Jiang Qiao, she looked at the mess in the tea shop and rubbed her nose, feeling she had lost some of her “great hero” style.
Wen Chiyue swayed her head and said, “I am the type who won’t provoke others unless provoked. But that person was just asking for trouble and insisted on bothering me. It’s a good thing he ran fast, or I would have definitely gouged his eyes out.”
By the end, her tone turned fierce.
Then her tone shifted again as she continued, “But then again… the shop owner is innocent. I’ll help him clean up the battlefield.”
During the fight, Wen Chiyue had seen the owner and his wife hiding behind the curtain, not daring to come forward.
Originally, Wen Chiyue didn’t care, but hearing the praise from the Sword Sect disciples made her feel wonderful. Her tone softened instantly. Without waiting for the owner to clean up, she bent down and picked up a scattered chair from the floor.
RUMBLE!!!
The Sword Sect disciples pressed their hands onto their sword hilts, nervous. “What was that sound?!”
Jiang Qiao also looked at Wen Chiyue immediately, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Wen Chiyue, still holding a chair leg in her hand, said blankly, “It wasn’t me! I’m a good person!”
Wait, why did those words just slip out of her mouth?
Jiang Xiechen watched the ripples in her teacup and took a faint sip of tea.
Outside the tea shop, the sky was covered in dark clouds, filled with lightning and thunder, feeling exceptionally oppressive.
Another RUMBLE sounded, as if the lightning intended to split the sky in two.
Jiang Xiechen: “The secret realm has opened.”
As her last word fell, as if to cooperate with her, the tables and chairs in the tea house shook violently. Fortunately, everyone was a cultivator, after the initial panic, they quickly regained their composure.
Wen Chiyue wobbled along with the shaking until she reached Jiang Xiechen’s side. She pulled the fan from her waist and slammed it onto the table. “Master, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
Just as she said that, she stumbled, nearly hitting her chin on the table.
Jiang Xiechen moved quickly, taking the fan from the table. With one hand, she snapped the folding fan open to catch Wen Chiyue’s chin, while her other hand grabbed the back of Wen Chiyue’s neck to pull her up.
Wen Chiyue dressed simply, even her hair ribbon was a solid color. Even Jiang Xiechen’s white clothes had some faint hidden patterns, yet Wen Chiyue had none at all.
She looked like an immortal.
However, it wasn’t until Jiang Xiechen opened her fan that everyone saw the painting on it.
It wasn’t the elegant landscape painting one would expect. Instead, the colors were extremely thick, large splashes of red, black, and gold forming a scene that looked like hell itself.
Cultivators didn’t believe in such things, but they couldn’t help but think, if hell really existed, it probably looked like the image on this fan.
Paired with Wen Chiyue’s crimson eyes, everyone involuntarily took a step back, gasping. Indeed, one cannot judge a person by their appearance.
Wen Chiyue hadn’t expected this image to be on the fan either. she looked around blankly before finally fixing her gaze on Jiang Xiechen. She pinched her sleeve, trying to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
This damn fan, this damn human form… who was setting her up? She, the dignified Fairy Wen, how could she have such eerie things on her person?
Wen Chiyue smoothly thought to herself: It must be the doing of the Moonlit Pavilion! They want to drive a wedge between me and Master.
Wen Chiyue gave an awkward smile, stepped forward two paces, and called out, “Master…”
Jiang Xiechen seemed completely unaware of the surrounding reactions and snapped the fan shut with a clack.
This woke the others from their stupor.
Jiang Qiao laughed. “Fellow Daoist Wen’s fan… hiss, the imagery on this fan is truly unique. I didn’t expect you to like this kind of thing.”
“I don’t,” Wen Chiyue said indignantly. “This fan isn’t mine. Someone forced it on me. I thought the casing looked good, so I just used it. I didn’t expect the inside to have such a scene… what kind of people are they?”
Her tone was so genuinely angry that Jiang Qiao believed her instantly, nodding repeatedly. “In the future, you must check things given by others carefully.”
Jiang Xiechen asked out of the blue, “What is the image on the fan?”
Jiang Qiao: “It’s…”
Wen Chiyue quickly interrupted, “It’s hard to say. Anyway, it’s complicated. I’ll let Master see it for herself later. By the way, if the seal on the secret realm has opened, we should hurry in so we don’t fall behind.”
The imagery was indeed complicated. Thinking of Jiang Xiechen’s current inability to see, Jiang Qiao felt a surge of pity.
Jiang Qiao didn’t know when Jiang Xiechen had gone blind. If she used words that were outside of Jiang Xiechen’s “knowledge blind spots” while describing it, wouldn’t that be…
Based on what Fairy Wen said, their trip to the secret realm was specifically to treat Jiang Xiechen’s eyes.
Thinking of this, Jiang Qiao followed Wen Chiyue’s lead and nodded. “Yes, yes. It’s just some flowers and grass; it’s hard to describe in a moment. Better to wait until Fellow Daoist Jiang’s eyes are healed and see for yourself.”
The Sword Sect disciples recalled the image on the fan and hesitated.
What “flowers and grass”?! Did she mean those dark red blossoms and withered stalks?
The disciples who wanted to say something were glared back by Jiang Qiao. They could only keep their internal complaints to themselves and explained to Wen Chiyue, “This secret realm is different from previous ones, so everyone will act cautiously. They won’t go in immediately. Rest assured.”
Of course, Wen Chiyue was at ease.
After all, unlike the swords inside the secret realm, no matter how miraculous or indestructible they were, those were masterless swords.
But she… she already had a master.
Jiang Qiao intended to befriend the two, so she said, “Since Fellow Daoist Jiang finds it inconvenient to move, why don’t we travel together?”
Wen Chiyue pondered for a moment.
Considering Jiang Qiao was quite sensible, she nodded in agreement.
The secret realm wasn’t far from the tea house. Steep cliffs were no problem for cultivators.
Wen Chiyue “borrowed” the Autumn Frost Sword from Jiang Xiechen.
Since she was the sword spirit of Autumn Frost, controlling it was second nature. Once the sword was unsheathed, it hovered in mid-air according to her will.
Wen Chiyue stood on the Autumn Frost Sword, steadied herself, and after making sure it wouldn’t wobble, she turned and reached out to Jiang Xiechen. “Master, come up quickly, I’ll support you.”
Jiang Xiechen took Wen Chiyue’s hand and stood steadily on the sword.
After getting settled, Wen Chiyue waited for a moment. Seeing the young Sword Sect disciples still standing there in a daze, staring in their direction for some unknown reason, she shouted dissatisfiedly, “Hey, what are you looking at? Aren’t we leaving? If you don’t start flying your swords, I won’t wait for you.”
Jiang Qiao knew the nature of their relationship and smiled, explaining to the young disciples, “These two are Dao companions.”
Wen Chiyue’s face turned bright red. “Dao… Dao companions?!”
Her voice was so high it nearly cracked.
But that loud shout was swallowed up by the surrounding discussions.
The Sword Sect disciples blushed. “S-s-sorry, I didn’t know you two were Dao companions.”
Wen Chiyue’s face was red, but she didn’t explain.
One of the more old-fashioned disciples said with a serious face, “But even if you are Dao companions, you can’t just use a sword cultivator’s natal sword like that.”
In their hearts, Jiang Xiechen was already a young and promising figure, perhaps even more powerful than their Senior Sister Jiang Qiao. Naturally, the sword at her waist was assumed to be her natal sword.
They guessed correctly on that point. Wen Chiyue didn’t object, but asked curiously, “Why not?”
This… she actually asked why? Had Fairy Jiang never mentioned this to Fairy Wen?
The disciple closed his eyes and thought for a while, feeling he had to uphold the reputation of sword cultivators. He spoke righteously, “A natal sword is equivalent to a sword cultivator’s Dao companion. This… even if you two are already Dao companions, you can’t just touch the ‘little wife’ whenever you want.”
Out of all that information, Wen Chiyue accurately captured one point: A natal sword is the sword cultivator’s Dao companion.
Rounding that up… doesn’t that mean she is Jiang Xiechen’s Dao companion?!
Wen Chiyue said shyly, “This… isn’t this a bit too early?”
Sword Sect disciples: “???”