After much debate, decided to post this here as well. (RRL link: http://royalroadl.com/fiction/12458/clear-river-flowing-silently) Genres: Romance, Tragedy, Xianxia, BL Synopsis: One is the small An Family's blind Young Master, the other was a high up immortal, dominating over the hundred worlds. One was gentle like still water and kind like the warm spring breeze, while the other was cold and dignified like the plum tree standing solitarily on the snowy mountaintop. The two should not have had anything to do with each other, but fate is laughable, entwining their destinies until neither could live without the other. The clear river flows silently; the red plum tree flowers bloom in stark contrast to the white of snow. The gods are endlessly cruel. What he desired, in the end, could never be his. He lamented how he was the one who was truly blind despite having eyes that could see. Regret has no cure, the past cannot be undone, and his wishes are forever unanswered by the cold and indifferent heavens. *This is BL/yaoi/danmei. If you don't like it then don't read. You have been warned *This is the first time I'm trying to write something on the more serious side, so please don't kill me if I fail miserably. *Cover art isn't mine, found it off of Pinterest Chapter 1 - Clear River Flowing Silently, Red Plum Blossoms Blooming Coldly Spoiler An Qinghe waved his bamboo blind walking cane back and forth, the wood making crisp and clear sounds when it hit against the flooring of his family’s mansion. As he walked by, servants stopped to dip their heads at him. Although he was blind, he was still the respected Young Master of the family after all. Even disabled, he was the greatly treasured young grandson of the Clan Master and the only son of the Clan Master’s talented first son. Because of this, even if An Qinghe couldn’t see, the servants still didn’t dare treat him with disrespect. If someone of importance came by, it wouldn’t end so simply for them - daring to slight the Young Master of the household, now this was a crime that they couldn’t afford to commit. That being said, even if the servants didn’t bother to bow to him, or even stop and pretend to bow, An Qinghe wouldn’t have minded. In the first place, his personality was not one to pay attention to such things, and secondly, he was currently too preoccupied to pay any attention to the servants. An Qinghe was currently heading toward the mountains behind his family’s estate, which was all a part of his family’s private property. His family, the An family, was the number one family in this Silent Jade City, a major trading city in Soaring Cloud Kingdom. Of course, in regards to the bigger picture, they couldn’t be said to be a major family on the world scale. After all, in the end, Silent Jade City wasn’t even the capital of Soaring Cloud Kingdom, while Soaring Cloud Kingdom wasn’t even a major empire, only a middling kingdom. But, it didn’t change the fact that in Silent Jade City they were treated as tigers and dragons amongst men, not to be slighted in the least. That being said, the An family was an extremely famous merchant family, known to be honorable and righteous, with businesses scattered throughout the kingdom. Their total worth even exceeded many noble families, having amassed a great amount of wealth. It was only a pity that An Qinghe was blind. If not, then he would have been able to inherit his family businesses without any issues. To top it off, as a very intelligent and capable young man, he would have made a great merchant. The only problem was that, as a blind man, he was incapable of doing so. After all, without his eyes, how would he be able to completely and thoroughly judge the quality of a product or read a contract? Of course, aside from becoming a merchant or business owner, there were other paths in life that he could take. One such path would be becoming a cultivator. In this world, cultivators were highly respected individuals and many children desired to become one, to be able to slash apart mountains and overturn oceans with but the flip of a single hand. But, alas, this was too a path that was closed off for An Qinghe. In the first place, An Qinghe was not suited for cultivating. Disregarding the fact that he was born with a weak heart, his personality was also gentle like calm water and warm like the spring breeze, incapable of surviving in the cutthroat cultivating society where strong ate the weak and betrayal for treasures was as common as trees in a forest and rocks on a mountain. As a result, An Qinghe could only live the life of a prodigal son, depending on his parents until death. Even so, he wasn’t like other prodigal sons who wasted money like water and visited brothels and gambling houses daily. Of course not - after all, even if he was a blind man who couldn’t inherit his family’s businesses nor cultivate, he was still the same gentle mannered, upright, and intelligent An Qinghe. Where other prodigal sons wasted money, An Qinghe saved it. Where other prodigal sons would visit brothels and gambling houses daily, An Qinghe would practice playing the qin (seven string zither), guzheng (zither), or dizi (flute). Either that, or he would visit the back mountains or relax in his own courtyard where many beautiful flowers and trees had been planted. For An Qinghe, what he loved most was music - whether it be the man made music that flowed from his own hands or clear and sweet voice, or whether it was the music of nature that came from the rustling of leaves, trickling of water in the streams, or sounds of birds singing in the morning, he loved it all. Currently, he was heading toward his family’s scenic back mountains to enjoy said sounds once again. Although he was blind, he had no servants accompanying him - this was because even if he couldn’t see, he disliked being treated as incapable due to this. He, after all, was not a child. To top it off, An Qinghe’s memory was extremely good, and his senses were capable of rivalling a cultivator in the Body Refinement Stage (a stage where cultivators could still only be considered as martial artists stepping onto the road of cultivation, having yet not gathered Heaven and Earth Qi into their bodies). Having constantly visited these back mountains many times in the past years, he was as familiar with them as he was his own backyard. Therefore, even if he didn't have a servant accompanying him, he would not get easily lost. With all that being said though, An Qinghe was still the An family’s precious Young Master, and one never knew if any unexpected situations might occur. So, he had ten guards from the An family’s secret forces protecting him at all times. An Qinghe knew this in his heart, but as a normal mortal, he couldn’t sense these men who already had the ability to silence their steps and stop their breathing and heartbeat, not even visible to the eye in broad daylight and open ground. In this case, he could acknowledge that this was not his parents and grandfather treating him as a child, but rather concerning themselves over his safety should he encounter harm to his life. An Qinghe took a step onto the winding mountain path, the familiar feel of the earth beneath his feet warm and comforting. The lush greenery was flourishing, scent of flowers and herbs thick in the air, morning dew glittering beneath the sunlight. It was still early, but not too early. His parents should have already awoken - especially his father who would take time early in the morning to practice his swordsmanship. Even though they were traditionally a merchant family, this was still a society that worshipped the strong, and even merchants were required to have some semblance of strength to truly achieve anything. Of course, as extremely successful merchants, the An family was very familiar with this notion. His father and grandfather were both cultivators, though they were only considered independent cultivators and unaffiliated with any major cultivation clan or sect. As a result, there was a limit that they could reach - but this limit was already enough as a merchant in the middle-sized Soaring Clouds Kingdom. The handsome young man’s milky eyes were peacefully closed as he meandered about. It seemed like he was blind, yet not blind at the same time. An Qinghe was very sensitive and was able to catch even the smallest of sounds and even sense the airflow through the trees, or the heartbeats of living beings nearby. As a result, he was able to generally picture the appearance of the scenery before him and avoid any major obstacles in his path - this was possible since he had only gone blind when he was eight until now, to the age of eighteen, for ten whole years. His experience as a blind person and seeing person had combined together in order to accomplish such a feat, appearing to be blind yet not at the same time. He stopped to rest in a valley, sitting in an open pavilion by a calm and beautiful pond, the water glittering while lotus flowers bloomed. Even though he enjoyed coming here constantly and was healed by the refreshing air of the mountain, he was still someone with a weak body and heart. He easily tired himself out from just walking a few hundred feet, let alone the distance required to reach this lotus pond. He let out a relaxed sigh, feeling extremely peaceful as a cool spring breeze gently ruffled his long and silken black hair. His figure suddenly seemed to grow distant and vague, becoming one with the background as he immersed himself with nature. Even he was not conscious of his actions. It was a good thing that the guards were used to such a mysterious occurrence and also focused deeply on his figure, thus being able to keep him in their view. If not, then they feared that with the blink of an eye they would be unable to locate him again. Suddenly, the guards tensed up. From the other side of the pond, two cultivators flew in parallel, one with white robes and the other with black, looking like yin and yang as they faced the other, a flurry of bright lights unleashed from both sides as each attempted to gain the advantage. Although An Qinghe’s senses were sharp, because these two immortals were so quick, by the time he had noticed them, they were already battling over the water, the aftermath of their attacks leaving ugly scars on the earth and felling trees in their wake, the pond seeming to boil, great waves rolling as if a great storm had arrived. An Qinghe was completely shocked as immediately three of his guards materialized themselves, two protecting him while the other grasped his arm. “Young Master, we must quickly leave!” Although these guards were the powerful secret forces of the An family, in the end, they could not compare to the immortals who had begun battling it out in the An family’s private property. Even if An Qinghe’s father, An Yun, and grandfather, An Guang, came, they would definitely not be a match. Just from the domineering auras being released, one could tell that those two figures were definitely not ordinary - An Qinghe guessed that they must be from an ancient clan or powerful sect. Of course, even if they were from a middling sect, to An Qinghe, they would be completely beyond his reach, like true tigers and dragons amongst men, nothing like the An family, who could only stand proudly before ordinary mortals. As for cultivators of small sects, An Qinghe had actually met several before as the An family had done business with them, and they certainly could not match up to the auras he felt coming from those two immortals. Although it is said that cultivators would not concern themselves with the ongoings of the mortal realm, this was actually untrue - the mortal realm and the Jianghu were inexplicably tied, and as such, there was a surprising number of cultivators who would do business with mortal merchants. Of course, many kingdoms, in order to assert their dominance in the world, would also be backed by sects or ruled by ancient clans. Soaring Cloud Kingdom was considered to be supported by the Soaring Qilin Sect - despite having the name of the legendary and powerful Qilin, as could be seen from the position of Soaring Cloud Kingdom in this continent, this Soaring Qilin Sect was only a middle-ranked sect, and simply not worth the attention on a world scale. As for why cultivators didn’t abuse their powers when dealing with mortals, this was firstly due to the general laws imposed on cultivators (after all, if all cultivators went about mindlessly killing, then where would the mortals who support cultivators with the mundane tasks all go to?), as well as the fact that many cultivators found it beneath themselves to lift their hand against a lower being. Those who needlessly killed mortals were considered demonic cultivators and were largely discriminated against and looked down upon by other “righteous” cultivators. While this was all being said, An Qinghe had already retreated with his guards, who were taking care to not let their Young Master be harmed by the aftershocks of the attacks from the two men. Even though they were only the aftershocks of the attacks, they were still extremely powerful and it took all of the combined efforts of the guards to resist being blown away, red cuts appearing on their bodies. An Qinghe shot a worried glance at the guards who had followed him for his entire life. Although they were only guards and servants, and An Qinghe rarely even had the chance to see them make an appearance, they were still his family’s extremely loyal and devoted secret force members, having followed his father for many years now. Of course, An Qinghe only had good feelings toward them who protected his life from the shadows and was truly worried about their wellbeing. They quickly retreated from the Lonely Mist Valley, reaching the Purple Cloud Mountain that stood between the valley and the family’s main house. Even so, they could still hear the sounds of battle from afar, which continued to escalate. It was like the sound of mystical dragons and tigers could be heard roaring, illusions soaring into the sky. Although An Qinghe couldn’t see these illusions, he could still imagine just how fierce the battle between the two immortals was. Seeing An Qinghe stop, the guard beside him spoke, a hint of urgency in his voice as he said, “Young Master, we must hurry and continue. It’s too dangerous to continue staying here. If your heart can’t handle it, then I can carry you.” The beautiful young man didn’t reply at first, his head turned toward the direction from where the sounds came from, seemingly deep in thought. “Young Master!” The urgency in the guard’s voice increased by half a step as he furrowed his brows, thinking he might really need to commit offense and drag the Young Master away! “It’s fine! There is a small courtyard further up, let us rest there.” An Qinghe said, turning back around. “Young Master?” The guard was completely baffled. He knew the courtyard that his Young Master spoke of - the Grand Master had built it especially for An Qinghe to relax when he came here and it was filled with a unique beauty and elegance, not at all lacking compared to the family’s main residence. But, this courtyard was simply too close to Lonely Mist Valley, and there was the chance of them getting caught up in the fight between the two immortals. “Hei San, you worry too much.” An Qinghe said, even as the aura from the two immortals caused goosebumps to appear on his skin as it continued to suppress him, sending out waves of power, clearly indicating the danger of the situation. Hei San really wanted to cough up blood. He worried too much!? Young Master, you simply don’t worry enough, having no sense of danger preservation! He would most likely treat the assassin after his life for tea when they encountered each other! Thinking up to here, he really was about to prepare to knock out his Young Master and forcefully carry him back when there was suddenly a fierce burst of power, as if the fight was reaching its last stretch and both parties were throwing in their all to unleash a final, powerful attack. The black clothed guard immediately shielded An Qinghe with his own body, a trickle of red appearing at the corner of his mouth as he stopped himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood onto the Young Master. His internal organs were injured, and he would probably need half a year or more to recover! He didn’t blame his Young Master though, as he knew that even if An Qinghe hadn’t stopped, they would still have been within the range of these aftershocks, and he would still have to suffer this injury anyways! That was simply just how powerful and far reaching it was. To top it off, he was extremely loyal like all the guards of the An family, and it absolutely would never cross his mind to blame his Young Master in the first place. All the guards still in hiding had to exercise the entirety of the Qi in their body to just barely defend against it, still suffering injuries. As for the weak An Qinghe, even though he had been protected by Hei San, he was still a delicate mortal with a weak heart, immediately coughing up bright red blood and breathing heavily, his heart having been shaken by those powerful waves of Qi. “Young Master!” An Qinghe waved off Hei San, wiping off the blood from his mouth with a silk handkerchief, his snowy skin looking even paler than before, his body slightly trembling as he had on a weak and exhausted expression. He touched the blue engraved jade ring on his finger, and with a flash, a smooth white bottle appeared in his hand. Opening it, he took out a small emerald green pill, the faint fragrance already seeming to cause others to inwardly relax and feel a bit better. These were a few Heart Stabilizing Pills that his grandfather had taken great pains to obtain for him, just in case he suffered something similar today. Taking it, his heart soon calmed down, the color returning to his face. “I wonder who won?” He said, tilting his head curiously. Hei San immediately knew where this was going, having followed the Young Master for so long already. “Absolutely not! Young Master, you absolutely mustn’t!” He immediately said, his face stern as he inwardly panicked. Why is it that his Young Master was like this? Despite being an intelligent and wise young man… he was simply still brimming with so much innocent curiosity that he would certainly get killed from it one day! “Hei San, you shouldn’t be like this. Who knows, maybe we can get some good fortune out of this.” An Qinghe said with a gentle smile as he headed back to the source of the powerful auras, which had already faded and died away. That last attack had seemed to truly be the two immortals’ final “ultimate”, and no attacks had been made afterwards. A few steps later, they entered the Lonely Mist Valley, which had already been rendered completely unrecognizable, soil overturned and broken trees blown away, as if a tornado had passed through. Which, one could say, really did happen - immortals really could be compared to natural disasters, devastating nature wherever they went… Since the land had practically been completely flattened, it wasn’t hard to see the entirety of the valley with one glance for the guards. Of course, An Qinghe couldn’t even see in the first place, so it had nothing to do with him. But for the guards, they were able to sweep their eyes through the scenery and saw that the two immortals had already left. An Qinghe headed in the direction where he recalled where the lotus pond was, but because the environment had changed so much, he couldn’t quite be sure. In frustration, he finally had to ask Hei San to guide him. Reaching the location of the lotus pond, all that was left were a few trampled and muddy petals, while the pavilion had already been turned into dust on the wind. Truly, cultivators were way too powerful. Qinghe let out a small sigh of admiration, but at the same time, there was still no desire in his heart to become one - he had never felt such a desire, and equally felt that he never would. Like people had told him before, just as he himself deeply knew, he was simply too unsuited to become a cultivator. Granted that with the number of cultivation techniques in the world it wouldn’t be hard to find something that did suit him, he still had neither the interest nor the drive - and his parents and grandfather would simply be unable to bear it if their innocent treasure of the family was thrown into the cultivating world. Hei San glanced around, seeing that the place had been totally wiped clean. “Young Master, there isn’t anything here. It would be better for us to head back. Hei Qi already went to notify the Grand Master and Master. If you’re too late, you’ll worry them.” An Qinghe nodded. Although he had extraordinary senses, they were still limited, so he could only trust in Hei San’s words at the moment. Just as they took the steps to leave, the young man suddenly came to a stop, tilting his head. He had felt… something? Like mentioned before, An Qinghe’s senses really were out of the ordinary, to the point where it could be claimed that he possessed a fairly strong “sixth sense”, though in this world, this was really nothing too special and many people had this supposed sixth sense. But currently, with this sixth sense, he was feeling a very faint, but warm feeling coming from behind him. He turned, his face directed at an angle toward this very faint feeling, as if there was a faintly shining little light flickering in the wind in the far off distance. Without even thinking, he followed his heart, walking toward that “light”. “Young Master?” Hei San was surprised. Just when he thought the Young Master was finally listening to him, he goes off and… He sighed. It was a pity, but he was only a guard, and really couldn’t interfere with his Young Master’s actions unless they posed direct danger to his life - although it was still a dangerous period in which one still needed to remain cautious after facing such a life threatening event, it could also be said that the danger had already passed, and as such, he could only helplessly follow his Young Master. He disappeared, hiding himself so that he could protect the Young Master from the shadows. An Qinghe continued on his way, blind walking cane gently sweeping the earthen ground in front of him as he took each step carefully. He would pause every few moments to take a short rest, and like this, was able to soon make it to the one of the mountains that bordered Lonely Mist Valley, which was to the northwest of Purple Cloud Mountain, known as Fragrant Jade Mountain. “Hmm, it should be on this mountain,” An Qinghe murmured thoughtfully. The flickering little warmth had gotten closer, and he predicted that, although it was still a decent distance away, he had already traversed more than two-thirds of the distance. He began walking, and following this feeling, he reached a cave a third of the way up the mountain. The moment he faced its wide and dark opening, a cold and domineering presence burst out, greatly resembling one of the auras of the two immortals. The two immortals had clashing, yet similar auras, both being cold and domineering, yet one was dignified and elegant like the plum blossom on the snowy mountain top, while the other was cruel and devilish, like the seductive scent of a poisonous flower, leading others to their demise! The one that this aura belonged to was precisely the first of the two, the prideful and dignified plum blossom on the snowy mountain top! Endlessly charming, yet absolutely beyond reach! Of course, those nonsensical thoughts were all just from An Qinghe’s wild imagination, and he did not know if this was truly the case. But, who knew that An Qinghe’s thoughts were actually completely on the mark? The immortals that he described were the extremely famous Yue Bingluo and the extremely infamous Ye Ying. One was the renowned genius and direct disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Sect Master, the number one virtuous sect on the continent, while the other was similarly a person with a matching identity, also being a renowned genius and direct disciple of a Sect Master… only his Sect Master was the master of the number one demonic sect, the Nine Realms Sect! The two of them had always been like fire and water, constantly at each other’s throats and fighting with life and death on the line. Normally the two of them would not be able to obtain even an inch from the other, forced to both withdraw with losses but no gains… except for today! Shockingly, it seems that Ye Ying had recently obtained some fortune or another to have progressed by half a step, and thus being able to suppress Yue Bingluo to this extent! As a result, Yue Bingluo could only use a profound technique to escape to this cave on Fragrant Jade Mountain after launching a final attack, hiding away. Ye Ying, having also incurred injuries, could only let the man go for now and retreat. “Stand down,” An Qinghe said, raising his hand. He knew that the guards wouldn’t be the immortals match, even injured, and even with the ten (well, currently nine) combined. And he wasn’t here to push a person after they had already fallen either. Thinking up to here, although the guards sent various complaints to their Young Master with their inner Qi, they could only obey his orders to retreat back several meters. Even so, they remained on their guard, ready to intervene and sacrifice their life to grant their Young Master the small chance to escape, should the person inside decide to make a move. An Qinghe clasped his hands together, bowing as he spoke in a respectful tone of voice. “Honorable Immortal, we mean no harm. This little one’s habit is to take a walk here every day, only to encounter the two immortals battling today. This little one definitely means no harm.” The person inside the cave remained silent and cold for several moments before speaking. “A blind man taking a walk on the mountains with a group of hidden guards?” His voice appeared slightly sarcastic, and An Qinghe could almost imagine him raising a brow at him. But, An Qinghe didn’t take it to heart, nodding with a gentle smile. “Yes, these mountains belong to this little one’s family. My family’s main estate is not very far, if Honorable Immortal need any help, we will exert all efforts to aid you. Just say the word.” An Qinghe’s thinking wasn’t too deep, and he had no ulterior motives, being a naturally kind person at heart. But, Yue Bingluo was not like this. He was the honored genius disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, having encountered all sorts of kissing up and scheming. In his mind, An Qinghe’s good intentions had naturally been twisted to that of a mortal trying to make a good impression on his honorable self, and he scoffed. Since when had he dropped low enough to require the aid of a weak mortal? If not even he could help himself, then how could a simple mortal family help him! Although An Qinghe was like that, he still wasn’t an idiot - rather, he was an intelligent and scholarly young man. How could he not know what Yue Bingluo was thinking? So in the end, he did not insist. “If Honorable Immortal wishes, he can come to the small estate at by the mountain southeast of here. This little one will not insist to stay and ruin Honorable Immortal’s rest.” The man was a bit surprised, but he didn’t think much of it. He was only a bit satisfied that this person wasn’t a complete idiot, knowing when to retreat. An Qinghe, like he had said, didn’t stay any longer and returned back to his home. His grandfather and parents had been anxiously waiting, just barely restrained by the servants from rushing out. Of course, seeing An Qinghe return safe and sound allowed them to relax, but they didn’t forget to scold him. They only said a few words, unable to bear to say anything overly harsh, and could only sigh and let him leave as Hei Yi, the oldest of the ten guards, reported to the Clan Master. “An injured immortal residing in a cave on Fragrant Jade Mountain?” An Guang mused, stroking his chin in thought. Hearing more though, he soon discarded any thoughts he had of scheming against the immortal - normal immortals from small sects he already had to take care when trading with, let alone this immortal, who was certainly someone powerful from a great sect. Just listening to Hei Yi describe the aftershocks of the immortals attacks made An Guang shiver. Clearly, for such an immortal, nothing they had would be of any interest. After all, anything they had, the immortal would certainly also have, and more. But… An Guang suddenly paused. Even if they didn’t have anything of interest, they could at least obtain information of items of interest! An Guang wasn’t sure what might interest the immortal, but considering that he was currently injured, he decided that he would search for information of powerful healing pills and herbs. Although they couldn’t compare to those big cultivating sects and families, being a merchant family, they still had a very impressive information network and such matters should be simple enough. Several days later, An Guang had finally gotten the information he wanted. Since he didn’t think Soaring Cloud Kingdom would have what he desired, he had extended his net to beyond the reaches of the kingdom, going so far as to check the auctions and great stores of the nearest Empire and surrounding kingdoms. There was a great kingdom that bordered the territory of the demonic race, and as a result, gathered cultivators of all sorts. Its foremost border city, Black Iron City, was, as a result, a lawless place that sold many treasures daily. It seemed that a month from now, there would be an amazing auction selling off the tier 7 Nine Transformations Pill, and several amazing tier 5 to 6 healing herbs. It was already lucky enough for the An family to have tier 1 herbs, which were several steps higher than the tierless common herbs. As for tier 2 herbs, these are already treated as extremely precious resources, while they had never even had the chance to see a tier 3 herb before. It could be seen from this that this tier 7 pill and tier 5 and 6 herbs were extremely precious. Of course, they would never be able to afford it even if they sold all their family possessions a hundred times over. But, who was to say that the immortal couldn’t? An Guang called over his precious grandson. Although he really didn’t want his grandson to go over there, potentially placing him in a dangerous position, he was the one who had met the immortal previously. And An Qinghe had already expressed the intentions of wanting to be the one to deliver any messages to the immortal, so An Guang could only grit his teeth and helplessly have him do so. An Qinghe happily trekked past the mountains to journey to the cave where the immortal was recuperating and where the source of the little light was. Although he himself had little interest in cultivation, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t interested in those immortals who did cultivate. It was like how many people enjoyed watching sports, but didn’t want to play the sports themselves. An Qinghe was the same. It took him almost half a day to reach the cave, in which he once again proceeded to bow respectfully. “Honorable Immortal, this little one’s grandfather wanted to alert you that Black Iron City has an auction in one month in which they are selling off a tier 7 Nine Transformations Pill, a tier 5 White Sun Flower, a tier 5 Thorny Purple Rose, a tier 5 Ice Heart Jade Lotus, and a tier 6 Fairy Wing Peony.” Yue Bingluo was only half-heartedly listening. After all, he wasn’t lacking in these sorts of things. Tier 7? He even had tier 8 and tier 9 pills! But then, he suddenly straightened up at the last one, a tier 6 Fairy Wing Peony. Of course, normally such a thing was not anything important to him. But the key point was that this Fairy Wing Peony was something that he currently didn’t have on him, but was perfect in subduing the foreign Qi in his wound. Usually he carried all manner of things, especially those herbs and pills that could perfectly counter Ye Ying’s arts, but who knew that that bastard had recently picked up some profound technique from who knows where, and was thus able to severely injure him like this? After a few days of analyzing, Yue Bingluo now knew the tier 7 Fairy Queen Peony, of which was the evolved form of the tier 6 Fairy Wing Peony, would be able to perfectly counter the peculiar Qi that infested his wound. Of course, the tier 6 version would work, only that the effects would be lesser than what Yue Bingluo desired. Who knew that this little mortal family actually had some use? With a flash, the beautiful white clothed man appeared at the mouth of the cave, glancing down at the blind An Qingluo, who was tilting his head, a puzzled expression on his face as he was suddenly grabbed, almost shocking the living daylights out of him. “H-honored Immortal?” He asked, waving a hand at his guards, who were about to launch themselves at the cold and dignified man. Yue Bingluo snorted. “Don’t worry, we’re going to your family’s estate.” He said, and with what seemed like a single step, he had disappeared, leaving the guards far behind as he reappeared in the middle of the estate. “Young Master!?” One servant exclaimed, shocked as she saw her Young Master carried under the arm of a devastatingly handsome immortal dressed in all white. Another servant quickly went to notify the Grand Master and Master, who were here in a heartbeat, already having been pacing about the entire half day anxiously waiting for An Qinghe to come back. Who could have expected that he came back… carried by the white robed immortal like a sack of flour? Father and son looked gaping at the handsome man who had under his arm a delicate beauty, like a demon king kidnapping the princess - not! “H-Honorable Immortal, if my grandson has…” An Guang began with a nervous expression, his eyes continuously glancing toward An Qinghe worriedly. Yue Bingluo frowned. It wasn’t like the boy was a virgin sacrifice and he the Beast Emperor, so what were they so worried about? He scoffed, setting down An Qinghe carelessly, leading to the young man coughing up blood violently. After all, An Qinghe had a delicate constitution, already shocked from being teleported here by the immortal, this rough handling was a bit too much for him! His poor, weak little heart completely couldn’t take it! Meanwhile, Yue Bingluo was stunned silly. This handsome immortal had never dealt with humans before, and all those who surrounded him were talented cultivators. He obviously didn’t know that just a little carelessness from him could lead to injury! Just how delicate was this person!? He felt inwardly frustrated, frowning as a cold aura leaked out from him, causing An Qinghe to tremble and forcefully repress his coughs. As for the father and son duo, their hearts were wrenched with worry, but they didn’t dare come forward to help An Qinghe, the little bit of aura leaking out already completely suppressing them. Yue Bingluo coughed, reigning in his aura once he noticed. These mortals were really too delicate, extremely bothersome! Even so, they had truly helped him out, so he scanned the three generations of An family with his cold and perceptive eyes. With a flash, he had taken out three items - two were beautiful pale green jade slips, and the third was a pill bottle. He tossed all three items to An Guang, saying with a cold voice, “The jade slips are the Misty Rain Flowing Water Sword Technique and the Heaven’s Essence of Life Cultivation Technique. The pill bottle contains a life saving pill. As long as the person is not dead, and the one who inflicted injuries does not exceed the Heavenly Lord realm, then that pill will heal them.” In other words… that pill could be counted as another life? Heavenly Lord realm, he says it so easily, but everyone knew that Heavenly Lord realm experts were experts amongst experts? Cultivation in the world went from Body Refinement, Qi Gathering, Qi Manipulation, Heavenly Scholar, Heavenly Lord, Heavenly Creation, Divine Heart, Divine Emperor, and finally, Divine Immortal. Of these, only the Divine Immortal could be considered truly reaching immortality, while the others only had extended lives - even so, mortals all referred to cultivators at the Heavenly Scholar realm and above as “immortals”. Body Refinement cultivators could only be considered martial artists at best, while one truly stepped into cultivation in the Qi Gathering realm. From there, there was yet another large turning point when ascending to the Heavenly Scholar realm, as Heavenly Scholar realm experts could fly! Then, surpassing the three Heavenly realms were the Divine realms, which were once again another turning point, as Divine realm experts were beings who could overturn the heavens and earths with a single flip of the hand. Of course, to a family like An Qinghe’s, they would rarely ever have the chance to even interact with a Heavenly Scholar, let alone someone as great as a Heavenly Lord expert. Thinking up to here, the worship in the eyes of the family increased by tenfold, thinking that they had truly encountered a dragon amongst dragons! Wouldn’t they be scared silly if they knew that the man before them was actually a Heavenly Creation expert? An Guang glanced once again at his grandson, thinking… could the pill heal his grandson’s weak heart and blind eyes? This glance did not escape Yue Bingluo’s eyes, and he also turned to look at An Qinghe, his eyes sweeping the young man up and down with a measured and calculating gaze. A faint flicker of surprise flashed past his face for a single moment as he soon turned thoughtful, pondering on something momentarily. “That pill cannot cure your grandson,” he said, immediately turning An Guang’s hopeful expression into one of disappointment, which he quickly hid in fear of angering Yue Bingluo. “Your grandson’s weak heart and blind eyes are the result of a very rare and unique physique, difficult to detect and even more difficult to awaken. I never thought that I would encounter such a thing here.” Of course, even if it was difficult to detect, Yue Bingluo was a Heavenly Creation expert, the proud head disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, a genius amongst geniuses! What had he not seen? Under his eyes, even such a rare and hard to detect physique was lay bare before him, clear as day. Yue Bingluo continued, not giving An Guang or An Yun a chance to interrupt. “Even if his constitution is awakened, at this point in time it is highly unlikely that he will recover his sight. But, if he is able to awaken his physique, then no matter what, all the sects will fight over him to become their disciple!” Hearing this, An Guang and An Yun were not happy at all, and had completely paled, glancing at each other. They were surprised to find that An Qinghe actually had such an amazing constitution, unawakened he was like a weak carp, but once awakened he would become a dragon! But, this didn’t make them happy at all! An Qinghe, in their eyes, had always been the weak and delicate young child who needs protection, too good and innocent for the harsh and cold world! Of course, this was a great exaggeration, as even if An Qinghe was more innocent and kind than others, he was certainly not an idiot. But, for An Guang and An Yun, who doted on An Qinghe with all their hearts, this matter always seemed to escape them and in their eyes, An Qinghe was still the cute and innocent little bun who had still yet to walk, never growing up in their eyes. Even if they admired the strong cultivators in their hearts, they knew that the cultivator’s world was not for the weak! Yue Bingluo was surprised at the reaction of the two, but after thinking for awhile, he realized why. An Qinghe had been born with a weak heart and even later becoming blind. Together with the clear loving treatment of his father and grandfather, his delicate body that had probably never experienced hardship… One could tell that he was treated as an extremely precious pearl, fiercely doted on and spoiled! It was clear that they were worried that he would be unable to survive in the dog eat dog world of cultivation, where one must shed blood, sweat, and tears to climb to the top. He thought for a moment before finally deciding that he wouldn’t say anything more. After all, although those little things he had already given them were not much in his eyes, they could be considered precious treasures for the An family, enough to repay them for their work. In the end, it was just information of the tier 6 Fairy Wing Peony, and it was not like they had directly saved his life. After another moment’s thought though, he took out another two jade slips, handing them to An Qinghe. “The first jade slip is the Observing the Hundred Worlds Cultivation Technique. This is, though not especially suited for your physique, currently the best cultivation technique for you, being gentle and stable, not requiring much effort, and though slow, still able to cultivate to a high level. As for the second jade slip, this has the Spirit Eyes Technique, which has the chance of being able to cultivate the Divine Eyes. Although it won’t allow you to regain your sight, you will be able to see Qi, making it so that you can perceive your surroundings. Although this technique is extremely difficult to cultivate, combined with the cultivation technique I am giving to you and your innate physique, it will be much easier for you. Even if your physique is unawakened, it should still have some effects.” He didn’t mention anything else, even though he knew that the last fact was the most important… If, on the off chance he was actually able to cultivate in the Divine Eyes, then he would be able to see fate itself, thus becoming a figure that all the great sects of the hundred worlds would kill to obtain! This wasn’t even mentioning his special physique, that would already have the sects in this world fight over him. Once he was done giving them these items, he left, not thinking any further. To be honest, despite this man’s great fate, it would only bring him misfortune and not fortune. It was also part of his own kindness that he didn’t offer An Qinghe a place in his Heavenly Sword Sect. An Qinghe rubbed the jade slips, which seemed to radiate an inner warmth that comforted his very soul. “In the end, he never even revealed his identity…” Chapter 2 - What He Desires, Not Even He Himself Knows Chapter 3 - Eternal Pill Pavilion
*sprinkles prosperity towards the author* Grow. Grow. Grow. I shall return when you're ripe for the picking ლ(｀∀´ლ)
Chapter 2 - What He Desires, Not Even He Himself Knows Spoiler An Qinghe was sitting on a chair overlooking his courtyard, peach blossoms waving in the light breeze. He seemed to be doing what he normally did, intaking the sounds and beautiful fragrance of his peaceful courtyard, but he was actually cultivating! Reading the cultivation technique that Yue Bingluo gave him, he was greatly surprised. This can actually also be considered a cultivation technique? Such thoughts went through his head. This is because the technique was literally him… living his normal life! Of course, there were demerits to such a technique, in that it was a very slow cultivation method and required an immense amount of patience and someone with a gentle and stable personality - but this was especially suited for An Qinghe. His body was one that couldn’t stand those more violent cultivation methods anyways, so peacefully cultivating like this was good too. That being said, the pros still exceeded the cons. Only, there was no cultivator willing to patiently gain strength this way, thus leaving this cultivation method almost completely undesired! It had already been a month since the immortal had left, and An Qinghe had only cultivated to the first level of Body Refinement. This was actually very good considering he was using the slow moving Observing the Hundred Worlds Cultivation Technique. As for the Spirit Eyes, he had come to the point where he could somewhat vaguely sense strong condensations of Qi… but like Yue Bingluo had said, it was truly a difficult technique to cultivate, improving at a snail’s pace, even worse than Observing the Hundred Worlds. That being said, he could truly feel the two techniques resonating with each other and enhancing their effects, speeding up - what Yue Bingluo had told him had not been a lie. At the moment though, he had yet to cultivate the eyes to the point where it could be said that he had already overcome his previous style of sensing movement in the air and the flow of blood and heartbeat to tell the locations of things. He stood up, stretching lazily as he yawned. His grandfather and father were both in closed door cultivation, pondering on the mysterious of the sword and cultivation technique that Yue Bingluo had given them. On the other hand, it was only An Qinghe who was still as leisurely as before. Even his mother, Xue Mingyue, was busy, handling the family affairs in place of the two who had closed themselves off from the world. Even if An Qinghe wanted to help, he knew that it was inconvenient for him to do so and as a result, was the only one left idling about (though, he was technically cultivating). These days, aside from pondering the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he had also been thinking about the identity of that all powerful immortal. He felt that someone with such aura and power must be a high figure of the cultivation world, but he knew that in the eyes of a mortal, even a Qi Gathering expert was someone to be worshipped, let alone Heavenly or Divine realm experts, who were practically gods. Grandfather had agreed with him, though, that the man was certainly, at the very least, beyond Qi Manipulation realm and must be in the Heavenly realms. To top it off, casually handing out a life saving pill that could heal injuries inflicted by those below Heavenly Lord realm… he definitely couldn’t be any ordinary cultivator. Is he from one of the nine great sects? An Qinghe thought. In this world, there were a total of nine great sects who fought for dominance. Amongst them, the Heavenly Sword Sect was unquestionably number one, but the Celestial Azure Dragon Sect came in a close second. The others were the Fragrant Jade Pavilion Sect, the Seven Colored Cloud Sect, the Underwater Palace Sect, the Painting Pavilion Sect, the Great Thunder Pavilion Sect, the Yang Divine Fire Sect, and the Thousand Travelling Wind Sect. Aside from these sects, there were also the five great demonic sects, of which the Nine Realms Sect ruled supreme, followed by the Thousand Venoms Sect, Ice Heart Sect, Netherworld Flames Sect, and Thousand Demons Palace Sect. These sects composed up of the strongest forces in their world, the Empty Sky World, one of the more powerful worlds amongst the hundred worlds known to be in existence. This ranking of powers had actually not changed for the past ten thousand years, and the era was currently said to be the Golden Era of Cultivation! Even An Qinghe, who could be said to be relatively clueless about the cultivating world’s state of affairs, knew this. To be honest, one would be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t at least recite the nine great sects by heart, or at least know one of the big demonic sects. Even if information of the cultivating world was a bit harder for mortals to get their hands on, it was not like they were completely ignorant. “Young Master, Young Master. It seems that the information you wanted has arrived.” A maid said excitedly, in such a rush that she even forgot to announce herself. “Calm down,” An Qinghe answered with a warm smile, standing up as she realized how improper she had been, immediately bowing respectfully. “Apologies to the Young Master,” she said in a humble manner as An Qinghe quickly helped her up. “No need, no need,” he said, before turning his attention back to what the girl had said previously. “The information?” He asked, his face brightening. The information that he had been desiring was precisely that of the immortal. To be exact, the results of the auction that they had told the immortal of. “It seems that the tier 7 pill had gone to the Heavenly Gate Sect, the tier 6 pill to a mysterious man of unknown background, and the tier 5 pills to a few smaller middle-sized sects.” The Heavenly Gate Sect, though sounding as impressive as the Soaring Qilin Sect, was only a second rate sect and not something that An Qinghe felt the immortal could considered to be a part of. It was the “mysterious man of unknown background” that caught his ear. He was certain, this was the immortal that they had encountered a month ago. “So he disguised his identity…” An Qinghe murmured, the gears in his head proceeding to slowly turn as he puzzled it out. Two mysterious immortals… He sighed. In the end, he was not part of the cultivation world, so what he knew was truly too limited to find out the identity of the man. But, An Qinghe knew that if he went through the trouble of disguising his identity… he must be too high profile of a figure, not desiring others to know his identity, especially the fact that he is currently injured. “We can come to the conclusion that he is a well known character, powerful, presumably a figure from one of the great sects…?” He muttered, sitting back down and tapping the bamboo staff on the ground repeatedly in deep thought. “... Could he have been fighting a demonic sect member?” He then said, his eyes briefly fluttering open, the milky pupils staring blankly at the ground. That aura of the man who had faced off against Yue Bingluo was both ice cold, extremely tyrannical, and very much demonic. He had never encountered a demonic cultivator before, but he felt that this would certainly be the feel they gave him - he really couldn’t be sure though. He pursed his lips together. “Two high profile characters facing off, one seemingly a demonic sect member?” For many people, the first thing that would come to mind would be several famed rivalries known throughout the Empty Sky World. Of course, the most famous would be that between Yue Bingluo and Ye Ying, these two geniuses of the younger generation. But, at the same time, this thought was immediately discarded… simply because they were too high profile! Just imagine, was there anyone who would think that a world famous superstar would suddenly appear in their backyard? Obviously there weren’t any! That would simply be too delusional, if a person really believed this could happen, then An Qinghe would, out of the kindness of his heart, guide them straight to the nearest doctor! “Sigh, how great would it be if it was really Yue Bingluo?” He said, slightly wistful. Even if a superstar like that appearing in his backyard was too unbelievable, that didn’t mean people couldn’t wish for it to happen. The little maid girl, Xin’er, seemed to pause in thought before speaking. “Young Master, it seems that the recruitment time for the nine great sects is coming up…” She finally couldn’t help but say. Although she knew that the Master and Grandmaster were against the Young Master entering the cultivating world, ever since she heard the words of the great immortal, she had been secretly proud, and wanted the world to acknowledge that her Young Master was not a blind and useless wastrel, but a person of great talents! Of course, everyone who served the An family knew the greatness of their Young Master, but they had always felt unsatisfied with the rumors that flew about outside. It couldn’t be helped though, since their Young Master was not only blind, but he also didn’t cultivate and had been born weak. So, even though they knew in their hearts the kindness and intelligence of their Young Master, they couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied, wanting to prove to those people outside, the ones who were really blind, that they were wrong! Obviously, what would be the better way than to see their Young Master entering one of the great sects? The servants, most of them being relatively simple common people, didn’t really understand why the Master and Grandmaster were so against the Young Master entering a sect and cultivating. Of course, there were many more intelligent or older servants who understood the worries that the Master and Grandmaster had, but for the young servants like Xin’er, their train of thought was very simple and couldn’t understand the deeper thoughts of their masters. An Qinghe blinked. Even if Xin’er couldn’t understand the deeper thoughts of An Guang and An Yun, how could An Qinghe not? But, when thinking of that immortal, he couldn’t help but feel extremely curious, wanting to meet him again - to know his true identity. Of course, he still had no particular interest in entering the cultivation world. Actually cultivating the two techniques he was right now was already his limit, as for joining a big sect or clan? Such thought never went through his head, not even when the immortal had briefly mentioned how sects would fight over it. In fact, he could only think of that as bothersome! Yet, yet, in spite of all that… I wonder if I’ll be able to meet the immortal again…? He had on a slightly wistful expression, gazing into the distance. Xin’er didn’t interrupt her Young Master, but was inwardly happy that he was actually thinking about it. Who didn’t know that previously the Young Master had no interest in cultivation? She thought it was a big improvement know that he was actually considering it. An Qinghe, at this moment, suddenly realized something. “I haven’t even thanked him,” he said, his eyes slightly widening. He himself didn’t even know if he had simply been searching for an excuse to see the man again, but at this time, he had already solidified his will, coming to a decision. “I’ll just go to take a look…” He, of course, knew that the immortal probably wouldn’t be there, simply being wishful thinking on his part. But, he held onto this little hope and had decided to go anyways. Soaring Cloud Kingdom’s Royal Capital, approximately a two week travel by carriage from Silent Jade City. For the first time in five years, the recruitment of the great sects would once again happen here. People arrived in droves, bringing with them hope, determined to change their fates and become the great immortals that they could only once dream of. Amongst them was a single young man whose goal was different from all the rest, but who knew that his arrival, his meeting, would bring about the start of a new age... Almost forgot to put the name meanings here, if anyone is interested: Spoiler An Qinghe: An (calm/peaceful), Qing (clear/quiet/pure), He (river) An Guang: Guang (light) An Yun: Yun (cloud) Hei San, Hei Yi, Hei Qi: Hei (black); San, Yi, and Qi are numbers (3, 1, and 7 respectively) Yue Bingluo: Yue (moon), Bing (ice), Luo (gathering) Ye Ying: Ye (Night), Ying (to reflect (light), to shine) Xue Mingyue - Xue means snow, Ming means clear/bright, and Yue means moon. Xin'er - Xin means heart, while 'er is a term of endearment, usually seen when calling only one character names. Side note: I just want to say that these are not the only meanings for the names, as there can be several characters with the same pinyin reading, these are just the meanings of the characters that I have specifically chosen c:
I like what I'm reading so far but I am bothered by the Mary Sueness of An Qinghe. Doting and over protective family members are fine, but the implication that An Qinghe is actually being held back when he is portrayed as a very competent young man rubs me the wrong way. If he were female, An Qinghe would be a perfect cookie cutter cutout of the multitude of YA Novels with female MCs. Its like I can already see the schism that will form between him and his family with Yue Binglou supporting his choice to be independent. Anyway, there have only been two chapters so it too early to form any judgments.
Chapter 3 - Eternal Pill Pavilion Spoiler An Qinghe knew that his parents and grandfather would be very much against him going, especially for fear that someone would be like the immortal, seeing through his physique with a single glance. So, currently, An Qinghe was in the midst of a large argument with his parents and grandfather for the first time in his life. That being said, it actually didn’t take long for them to give into his request, truly being a family that loved him a bit too much, unable to deny one of his very rare requests. So, An Qinghe ended up setting off for the capital of Soaring Cloud Kingdom, to observe (note: only observe) the recruitment process of the great sects. Of course, he would not be joining, only observing! This was something that had been continuously hammered into An Qinghe’s head multiple times before he had left, to the point where he really felt a bit helpless, only able to smile wryly over the excessive worry that his mother, father, and grandfather had showed him. The next two weeks passed by uneventfully, and they smoothly found a good hotel to stay at before the recruitment would begin in another five days. In the meanwhile, An Qinghe went out, accompanied by a servant and two guards, along with another two of his hidden guards, to tour the capital and do some shopping. An Qinghe had been to the capital once before with his father when he was still young, before he had gone blind. He still recalled even now the majestic buildings and bustling streets, the scent of food and perfumes lingering in the air. To be honest, although his young self back then had been struck with awe, he currently was in a slightly bad mood, his head hurting. For a blind person, in placement of their missing sense of sight, all their other senses became much stronger and more sensitive. As a result, what had once been the delicious smell of street food had now become the thick stench of sweat, oil, and rotting sewage. What had once been the sound of people bustling about, was now like an intense out of harmony symphony playing right by his ear, and he was feeling sick to the stomach as a result of it. He was guided by the hand by his personal servant, Lu Chen, and they made their way slowly through the crowd. They were currently headed to the capital’s number one pill and herb store, Eternal Pill Pavilion. His grandfather, due to An Qinghe’s weak heart, had always been a frequent customer and was well acquainted with the people there and close friends with the Elder in charge. Of course, now that An Qinghe was visiting the capital, he would make sure to pay them a visit to gift them some things and also intending to replenish his stock of Heart Stabilizing pills as well as buy some things for his aging grandfather. Reaching the Eternal Pill Pavilion, one could tell with a single glance that it was the number one pill and herb store of the capital, looking extremely prestigious and suffused with an almost mystical aura, having a sort of heavy and stern dignity to it. There weren’t many people here, as not everyone could, firstly, afford the goods inside, and secondly, have the chance to obtain the membership to the store. Entering, An Qinghe was immediately greeted by a store employee, who had on a polite expression as he bowed respectfully while the young man flashed the store badge, its pale blue glow indicating his VIP status. The employee widened his eyes in surprise and became even more respectful, almost to the point where he couldn’t bow any deeper. “Please, please, come in Young Master. Would you like to enter the VIP room?” “Mm,” An Qinghe nodded. “I’d like an audience with Grandpa Mu,” he also said, as he followed the server deeper inside. “Of course, of course,” it turns out that it was possible to bow even deeper, as the server proceeded to do so, completely filled with respect. What sort of person could call the overseeing Elder of the Eternal Pill Pavilion as grandpa!? Not even the princes of the kingdom dared to do something so overfamiliar! As An Qinghe was guided to the VIP room, he passed by two men, one with a serene and honorable appearance, his handsome face radiating a heroic aura, while the other appeared almost as if he was a part of the background, cleverness flashing through his eyes. “Hm? Who was that, being treated so respectfully? I don’t think I’ve seen him before,” the handsome man said, his eyes following An Qinghe for a slight moment as he appeared intrigued. “Your Highness, I think that should be the only son of the An family. It’s well known that his grandfather is old friends with Elder Mu.” The servant beside him replied respectfully, also turning to look at the gentle young man who soon disappeared into the inner parts of the building. “... An Qinghe?” The man, Yun Lu, had on an odd expression, but the servant took it as him not knowing who An Qinghe was. “Yes, this An family is an extremely successful merchant family based in Silent Jade City. This An Qinghe, there are quite a few rumors about him. Because he was born with a weak heart, and even later became blinded at the age of eight, his parents and grandfather are extremely overprotective and spoil him quite a bit and he never leaves the An family’s main estate in Silent Jade City since he went blind. I’m surprised that he would come out to the capital, it can’t be to test into one of the great sects? But, from just now it could be seen he is only on the first level of Body Refinement, this is just way too…” The servant, Yang Ming, suddenly had on an odd expression. “No, wait, there were sayings that his parents and grandfather didn’t want him to cultivate, so he had never cultivated since young… could it be that he only recently started cultivating? For what reason…” At this moment, he realized that he was being rude to his Master and quickly apologized. “It’s fine, I am quite amused.” Yun Lu replied with an amused smirk, waving his hand. “It is true that this is odd, though.” Actually, Yun Lu was quite familiar with An Qinghe, his expression turning slightly heavy. He didn’t know that An Qinghe had gone blind… But, that could also be considered his own fault. He was 11 when he had met the 7 year old An Qinghe back then, and they had made a promise to meet once a year. Who knew that An Qinghe would not come the next year, or the year after that, or even the year after that? At that time, Yun Lu was a very prideful and easily angered young boy, and in his anger, had simply not questioned a thing about why An Qinghe would no longer come to meet him. He would occasionally still think about him, but because it had already been so long, he had nearly forgotten about An Qinghe, this person. Yun Lu shook his head. In the end, this was a story from almost 11 years ago, already something of the past. An Qinghe had probably already completely forgotten him. Thinking up to here, Yun Lu said in a wistful voice, “Let’s go,” his eyes continuing to linger on the door that An Qinghe had disappeared through. He turned around, beginning to walk out. “Eh? Your Highness, wait, what about the pills you were going to buy for His Majesty??” Yang Ming exclaimed in confusion, hurriedly catching up to his master, who soon stopped in his place. “Ah… I almost forgot. Yang Ming, hurry up and buy them.” He said, his voice domineering. Sigh, in the end, he was still someone who had once been this arrogant, don’t look at his honorable and heroic expressions and appearance now, people really don’t easily change… Meanwhile, An Qinghe was currently seated in one of Eternal Pill Pavilion’s VIP rooms, the inside decorated even more luxuriously than the outside, yet still remaining elegant and not gaudy at all. He picked up the tea cup, lifting the lid to inhale the flowery fragrance. Perhaps because the server had seen that he was blind, he had taken care to choose a tea that didn’t have an overly strong fragrance, and An Qinghe could feel his body relaxing as he took a sip. Mm, it was actually spirit tea, as expected of the Eternal Pill Pavilion! This spirit tea was something really good, not even his own family had much of it, steeped with tiered herbs, a burst of Qi flowing through his body. “Little Qinghe!” A boisterous voice soon said, the door opening and a middle aged man walked in. Although he looked the same age as An Qinghe’s father, he was actually already a hundred and fifty years old, more than twice the age of An Guang. “Grandpa Mu,” An Qinghe said respectfully, but there was a bright smile on his face. “Hahaha, it seems that you’re doing well. Good, good, good!” He repeated “good” three times, just that happy. He hadn’t seen An Qinghe since he was a small little bun, but his grandfather, in the manner of a true doting grandparent, would spend at least 70% of the time when they met boasting about his beloved grandson. As a result, Elder Mu couldn’t help but feel very familiar with An Qinghe, as if he was his own flesh and blood. “Grandpa Mu, grandfather had entrusted me with some gifts, wants me to ask you to take care of me while I’m here,” An Qinghe said, immediately placing his hand on his storage ring and bringing out the gifts. To be honest, these little things really couldn’t catch the eyes of Elder Mu, whose fortune could only ever exceed the An family’s, but as they say, it was the thought that counted. The items were a variety of trinkets, from Elder Mu’s favorite Rain Chrysanthemum Tea and Osmanthus Cake to some ancient texts and paintings. “What are you doing, there’s no need for all this, your grandfather and I are old friends, no need to stand on ceremony!” Elder Mu said in an angry voice, but his face was clearly one of happiness, showing that he truly wasn’t angry. “Even if you didn’t ask me, of course I would take care of you while you’re in the capital, this is truly a rare occasion. I am surprised that overprotective grandpa of yours would actually let you come here all by yourself.” An Qinghe smiled. Although he didn’t insist that Elder Mu take the gifts, he also didn’t take them back, simply leaving them there on the table as he spoke, “Indeed, it was a bit hard convincing grandfather. I am only here to watch the recruitment of the great sects, not staying for too long before heading back.” “You little kid, you never showed interest in cultivation even since young, what’s got you so interested now?” The middle aged man’s eyes swept across An Qinghe’s body, and he let out a sound of disbelief. “You’re also at Body Refinement level 1? I can’t believe your family would actually let you cultivate.” An Qinghe seemed to think for a moment, before deciding not to say anything about the immortal. Even though he really did think of Elder Mu like his second grandpa, he was wary about telling him of the immortal. This was because to An Qinghe it was clear that the immortal didn’t want others finding out of his identity or the fact that he was heavily injured. If he told Elder Mu and the immortal found out, then wouldn’t they both be screwed? As for how the immortal would find out, how would he know? The man was an immortal, mysterious in his ways. An Qinghe before this was only a simple mortal, and in his heart, he still thought of high ranked cultivators as godly beings, able to see through all and overturn the heavens with a single hand. Although An Qinghe tended to see the good in people and was a kindhearted young man, he still understood that even an immortal was still once human, and he understood that humans were not all kind and forgiving people. So, when he spoke, he purposely made his wording vague and slightly misleading. “I had a fortunate encounter, leading me to obtain a cultivation technique. Since my grandfather and father thought it was suitable for me, they allowed me to practice it. I am simply cultivating a little in my free time, nothing major.” To be honest, what he said really couldn’t be considered a lie, but it was obviously not the truth either. Elder Mu, as an old cultivator who was the head of the Eternal Pill Pavilion and an elder with some pull in the Soaring Qilin Sect, how could he not realize that An Qinghe was avoiding answering his question properly? He understood that it must be something that had some danger to it for him to not elaborate, so he didn’t say too much, just congratulating An Qinghe and giving him a few pointers for when he was cultivating. “Ah, this is just perfect,” Elder Mu suddenly said, his expression happy, “I always had a technique here that I thought would suit you very much, but never gave it to you since you never had an interest in cultivation. I will give it to you now.” He quickly ordered a servant on standby, who soon returned with a jade slip, which was handed over to An Qinghe. An Qinghe read the title of the technique, eyes widening. “This is… Song Compilation of the Hundred Worlds…?” He appeared slightly confused, but at the same time happy. He was happy because it was clearly a music based technique, and confused because he couldn’t be sure what sort of technique it actually was. “Now, now, just go ahead and read it first.” Elder Mu said, his expression one of confidence as he was sure that An Qinghe would like it, no matter how indifferent he was to cultivation. An Qinghe obediently did as Elder Mu said, continued to read it. Afterwards, he had on an amazed expression. “This is truly an amazing technique!” “Hahaha, that’s right! This technique is one from the Painting Pavilion, don’t underestimate this old man, I pulled quite a few favors - ah,” he paused, seeming to notice that he probably said too much, turning embarrassed. “Grandpa Mu, how could you carelessly give something so precious to me! Painting Pavilion, this is one of the nine great sects! You are only an elder of the Soaring Qilin Sect, you must have sacrificed a lot to obtain this!” An Qinghe said, feeling touched, frustrated, and slightly angry all at the same time. “This, Little Qinghe, it’s fine, it’s fine. You know that I like collecting all sorts of techniques, but giving it to you to use is better than just letting it gather dust in my collection room, right?” Elder Mu said in a slightly coercive tone, trying to calm down An Qinghe like he would a small child throwing a tantrum. At this moment, An Qinghe could only sigh and reluctantly accept Elder Mu’s kindness. After all, he liked this skill just that much. Like it’s name, it was actually simply a record of all the songs that had appeared in the Hundred Worlds, continuously evolving and noting down new songs. Only, it also provided a unique method in turning each song into a separate technique, useable with any instrument. An Qinghe thought that if Elder Mu acquired this, it must be a fairly minor technique from the Painting Pavilion, but even a great sect’s minor technique was this amazing? He sighed inwardly from wonder. The great sects truly were different! Hmm, shouldn’t he take this chance to buy a new guzheng? Ah, but a guzheng might be a bit troublesome to transport, it might be better to go with a qin… But wait, he also quite liked the dizi… Ai, who knew that shopping would be so troublesome? Might as well just buy all of them! Name Meanings: Spoiler Lu Chen: Lu (dew/syrup/nectar), Chen (morning) Yun Lu: Yun (cloud), Lu (road/path) Yang Ming: Yang (sun/like in yin and yang), Ming (bright/clear) Elder Mu: Mu (wood/coffin) I'll be totally honest with you, I wanted to call the chapter something funny like "Cannon Fodder Love Rival #2 Makes His Appearance", but in the end since this is supposed to be a serious story, I scrapped that and went for the boring chapter name. You ask who Cannon Fodder Love Rival #1 is? You ask why there are love rivals even though in the end they're simple cannon fodder in the face of the mighty male lead? You ask about the MCs gary stu-ness? Well... maybe I'll answer one day *looks off into the distance*
Enjoying this so far! Aaaaaaaaa I really love the fact that there's a Xianxia Danmei story ////-//// Please continue updating here. <3 <3 <3 Just a tiny bit of question, how does Qing he "read" the manuals? Is it transferred directly to his brain? Does someone else read it for him? Is it written in thick ink that he can trace with his fingertips?
Directly transferred into his mind, probably should have made that clearer... now that I think about it, most novels have people using spirit sense to read jade slips, so how would Qinghe read the jade slips from Yue Bingluo before he ever cultivated... oops... lmao, oh well >->
Maybe let's just say that Yue Bingluo directly transfers the cultivation method to his mind. So, without the jade slips. xD