Having received her master’s encouragement, Wen Chiyue’s intended rant came to a halt. She lifted her eyes in wild joy, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents that radiated intense heat. Even though she lacked human form and was merely a sword, Jiang Xiechen could feel the scorching temperature emanating from the Autumn Frost Sword.
It felt almost hot enough to melt her.
Unaware of the cause behind Wen Chiyue’s drastic emotional shift, a flicker of confusion crossed Jiang Xiechen’s eyes, though she quickly suppressed it.
Had she said something wrong just now?
Or had Wen Chiyue discovered she had lost all her spiritual power and thought she saw an opportunity to take advantage?
Jiang Xiechen continued walking out of the cave at an unhurried pace, saying indifferently, “Is someone coming? Your emotions seem to be fluctuating quite violently.”
A sword spirit’s perception was typically sharper than its master’s.
Wen Chiyue shook her head vigorously, her voice as crisp and pleasant as a bell. “No, I just think Master’s voice sounds so wonderful. Master!”
She suddenly raised her volume on the last word. Even someone as steady as Jiang Xiechen was startled.
Almost instinctively, Jiang Xiechen drew the Autumn Frost Sword and assumed a defensive stance.
The autumn breeze was cool, rustling the leaves. In the sky, a flock of birds crossed the vast blue expanse.
Aside from that, there was no movement.
Wen Chiyue nearly bit her tongue. “Ma-ma-ma-master, is there a situation?!”
Realizing she had made a mistake, Jiang Xiechen’s expression remained unchanged as she sheathed the sword with a sharp clack. She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I was being oversensitive.”
As a devoted fan of Jiang Xiechen, Wen Chiyue naturally didn’t think twice. She nodded understandingly and said, “We’re in the wilderness and Master has lost her cultivation, so it’s only right to be vigilant. It’s all my fault for being so useless. I didn’t even think of that. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll be careful next time. Paper… pen… I need to write this down.”
The tips of Jiang Xiechen’s ears turned slightly red. “…Mm.”
She noticed a detail in Wen Chiyue’s words and asked in surprise, “Where would you get paper and pen?”
Wen Chiyue was equally confused. “I don’t have any.”
Jiang Xiechen asked, “Then how will you record it?”
Wen Chiyue didn’t know either. She scratched the back of her head, looking annoyed with herself. “I don’t know. I just let it slip without thinking. I have nothing here, it’s dark and quiet, quite boring.”
It was said that a life-bond sword and its master shared similar personalities. Jiang Xiechen couldn’t understand how her life-bond sword could have such a scatterbrained temperament.
Jiang Xiechen nodded subtly.
If Wen Chiyue had never used paper and pen, how could she have said such a thing?
Jiang Xiechen bent down, moving branches aside before covering her tracks again. Every step she took was precise, either placed where no footprint could be left, or amidst a confusing mess of tracks that made them impossible to distinguish.
Wen Chiyue couldn’t keep her mouth shut, perhaps fearing Jiang Xiechen would be bored. Like a newborn child, she had a mountain of things to say about every flower, blade of grass, butterfly, or insect she saw.
Amidst her chatter, Jiang Xiechen suddenly asked, “When you called out to me earlier, was there something you wanted?”
“What?” Wen Chiyue forgot as soon as she spoke. It took a few reminders from Jiang Xiechen before she remembered her unfinished thought. She followed up smoothly: “Oh right, I wanted to ask, did Master agree to my request?”
“Agree to what?”
Wen Chiyue let out an “Eh?” of surprise. “About what I said, wishing Master would talk more. I knew it, Master still treasures me.”
Jiang Xiechen found it difficult to comment.
With a shift in footwork, she bent down and entered another cave.
There were many paths within the cave. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Xiechen took the one on the far left.
Wen Chiyue heard the sound of water dripping from somewhere within the cave. At first glance, it seemed like ordinary running water, but listening closely, one could hear a melody in the rhythm of the drops. She listened intently for a while before muttering to herself, “The Soul Beguiling Tune?”
Jiang Xiechen turned to avoid the stream ahead, moving through the gaps in the water flow. With her robes fluttering, she landed lightly on a stone ahead.
She looked up slightly and asked casually, “You’ve heard it?”
The usually boisterous Wen Chiyue was slow to answer.
Jiang Xiechen didn’t press her.
There were many stones ahead, and she jumped between them quickly. It seemed she had traveled this path countless times, as she was intimately familiar with the terrain.
Wen Chiyue watched Jiang Xiechen’s movements, her mind a bit muddled. It wasn’t until Jiang Xiechen moved from one path to another that she finally snapped out of it. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she said with a hint of confusion, “I don’t know. Is this really the Soul Beguiling Tune?”
Jiang Xiechen didn’t answer directly. Instead, she said slowly, “The Soul Beguiling Tune is a melody used to deal with the Demon Race. But since the previous Demon Lord passed away, the demons became leaderless and fell into internal strife, fighting to the death. Even now, no new Demon Lord has emerged to unify them. Naturally, the Soul Beguiling Tune lost its use and became a lost art in the cultivation world.”
“…Ah, is that so?” Wen Chiyue tilted her head, her watery eyes widening in disbelief. “That’s the most Master has ever said at once! This is a major event. I definitely need a paper and pen to record this!”
Jiang Xiechen asked, “Do you know how many years it has been since the previous Demon Lord?”
For it to vanish from the cultivation world, it must have been a very long time. Wen Chiyue guessed, “A thousand years? Five thousand?”
“Wrong.” Jiang Xiechen stated the answer curtly. “Thirty-two thousand, three hundred and twenty-one years.”
In other words, the Soul Beguiling Tune had been lost to the cultivation world for just as long.
Given that the Demon Race was such a distant memory, Wen Chiyue was shocked that Jiang Xiechen could state the time so accurately and specifically. She let out a surprised “Ah,” looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
The thoughts of the Autumn Frost Sword naturally couldn’t escape the perception of its master.
Jiang Xiechen: “Mm?”
Wen Chiyue guessed that her master’s words held a deeper meaning.
But she was just a newborn sword spirit who didn’t understand the ways of the world. How could she discern the true intentions within a complex human heart, especially since her master was so formidable?
Encouraged by that simple prompt, a spark of realization flashed in Wen Chiyue’s mind. She declared loudly, “Master!”
Wen Chiyue continued, “You truly are well-informed and knowledgeable! To know the lost Soul Beguiling Tune and the long vanished Demon Race so clearly, there is no sword cultivator in the world more powerful than you!”
Jiang Xiechen: “…”
She didn’t quite understand the logical connection between the Soul Beguiling Tune, the Demon Race, and being a sword cultivator.
However, that didn’t stop Wen Chiyue from boasting about her master, the “rainbow farts” (flattery) poured out without a second thought.
Jiang Xiechen’s foot slipped, nearly sending her off a stone and into the water.
Fortunately, her reactions were swift. Even without her cultivation, she used the pommel of the Autumn Frost Sword to brace against a stone, using the leverage to leap into the air. She managed to double-jump in mid-air with fluid grace, landing on a stone to the left.
A leaf fell into the water from a crack in the wall.
With a sizzle, it was instantly dissolved without a trace.
Before Wen Chiyue could react to this series of events, a vine thicker than a human thigh suddenly lunged from the rock wall, whistling through the air as it struck toward the stone where Jiang Xiechen stood.
BOOM!
At that exact moment, Jiang Xiechen’s feet had just left the stone.
Debris splashed into the water, kicking up droplets.
Wen Chiyue had just seen the power of this “ordinary” water. She lost her voice in a scream: “Master, look out!”
The Autumn Frost Sword trembled violently in Jiang Xiechen’s hand. It actually broke through its master’s constraints, flying behind Jiang Xiechen without hesitation to block the splashing water.
Jiang Xiechen narrowed her eyes, her lips thinning into a straight line. Her sharp gaze fixed on the Autumn Frost Sword. Beneath her icy facade, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Wen Chiyue couldn’t care about Jiang Xiechen’s expression right now. She had only one thought: Master is now a mortal body of flesh and blood. I absolutely cannot let this water hurt her, even if the Autumn Frost Sword is damaged.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the sting of the water.
A crisp snap of fingers echoed in the air. She waited for a long time but felt no piercing pain. She opened one eye a crack.
The water was frozen in mid-air. Then, as if encountering a terrifying beast, it retreated rapidly. Within a few breaths, it returned to a trickling stream, flowing harmlessly and peacefully through the cracks in the rock.
Even the Soul Beguiling Tune that had been echoing in the cave went silent.
Wen Chiyue’s first reaction was to look at Jiang Xiechen. She let out a sigh of relief. “Scared me to death, scared me to death. Master, are you okay?”
Jiang Xiechen withdrew her hand and crossed her arms, slowly sizing up the Autumn Frost Sword. She said softly, “Even if a life-bond sword has a spirit, as long as it is in the master’s hand, it must only follow the master’s command.”
Wen Chiyue blinked, failing to grasp the deeper meaning. “Eh?”
Jiang Xiechen said, “I was not controlling the Autumn Frost Sword just now.”
Previously, she had left the sword in a “free range” state, allowing it to move according to the spirit’s whims. However, in that moment of crisis, she had clearly maintained her hold over the sword, yet the sword had acted on Wen Chiyue’s will, even overstepping her own as the master.
Jiang Xiechen almost suspected the sword had defected and recognized someone else as its master.
Wen Chiyue looked miserable. “I don’t know, Master, believe me! I really don’t know. I was just in a panic and wanted to protect you. A life-bond sword should prioritize the master’s life above all else. Maybe the sword recognized my intention and moved with my heart.”
Wen Chiyue looked up cautiously. Seeing the cold sneer on Jiang Xiechen’s face, she thought, Oh no.
Knowing her master’s temperament, she feared Jiang Xiechen would rather abandon the sword than carry it further.
As a tiny sword spirit, just born and already facing my master’s suspicion, is there a more tragic sword spirit in this world?
Wen Chiyue tried again: “Is there really no exception? Out of all the cultivators, isn’t there even one, or even half an exception?”
Jiang Xiechen was cold and ruthless: “No.”
Wen Chiyue squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was resolute. “It seems I am destined to be the exception. Master, it’s true, my loyalty to you far surpasses that of any other sword.”
She didn’t forget to disparage other swords: “Hmph, the life-bond swords of those other cultivators are all trash, all useless. Master, you and I are probably the greatest duo in the history of sword cultivation.”
Jiang Xiechen: “…”
She really shouldn’t have given Wen Chiyue the chance to speak.
Seeing Jiang Xiechen’s attitude soften, Wen Chiyue began to feel aggrieved. She said pitifully, “Master, were you not trusting me and testing me on purpose? To think that after all our deep bonds, you would still test me! I… I am truly, so full of admiration for Master! At a time like this, one truly cannot trust anyone, not even one’s own sword. I’ve noted it down.”
Jiang Xiechen: “…”
Jiang Xiechen said meaningfully, “Do you not remember where this is?”
She brushed her hand against the stone wall, pressing down gently on a specific spot.
The ground vibrated as a mechanism was activated. The Soul Beguiling Tune began to play again, and the river surged with hidden undercurrents.
A hidden stone door creaked open.
Moonlight streamed through a small opening at the top of the cave, illuminating dust particles floating in the air.
And right in the center of that moonlight stood a massive sword-forging furnace.
After Jiang Xiechen entered, the heavy stone door slammed shut behind her.
Jiang Xiechen introduced the place word by word: “This is the place where you, the Autumn Frost Sword, were born.”