Xiaoyao Sect, nestled in the heart of the peaks of Mount Buzhao, was a peaceful sect. White-clad disciples diligently cultivated through meditation or swordplay, but some could also be seen frolicking around, playing cards, and eating merrily. It was the most laidback of all the sects in the immortal realm, where everyone was free to pursue their hearts' desire.
"Brother Jiumin!"
Cang Jiumin turned to the disciple calling him. "Brother Zhang Hai."
Zhang Hai pulled Cang Jiumin towards their group, who were merrily grilling some fish and meat. "Join us for lunch, Brother," he said cheerily. "You're getting awfully thin, and Master might scold us if you're still like this when he comes back."
Cang Jiumin let himself be pulled to the group. "Master will scold me anyway for not learning properly the last sword technique he taught me," he replied as Zhang Hai pushed him down to sit.
"Then since you're going to be scolded either way, you might as well enjoy this fish fully," Zhang Hai grinned, handing Cang Jiumin a grilled fish. Then he turned to the others to join in the cheerful talk.
Cang Jiumin looked down at the skewered grilled fish.
"It's not poisoned."
Ye Xiwu rolled her eyes at him. "I know. That's why I gave it to you."
With a small, sad smile, he took a bite of the fish.
It had been a hundred years since Tantai Jin first came to Xiaoyao Sect, brought in by the Master of the sect, Immortal Zhaoyou, bruised and bleeding and burned from the water of the Nether River. Zhaoyou complained it took a lot of precious drugs and artifacts to completely heal his wounds and nurse him back to health. Despite the master's benevolence, however, Tantai Jin initially wanted to leave and return to the Nether River, but as Zhaoyou pointed out, the entrance to the Nether River opens only once in 500 years, and he had already missed the chance. Still, even if it took another 500 years, he was determined to wait and return to the Nether River. Seeing that he was stubborn, Zhaoyou let him go.
Then on the way out, Tantai Jin happened to see a disciple clad in white robes embroidered with gold patterns, who looked so similar to…
"Xiao Lin," Tantai Jin couldn't help but call out.
The disciple turned to him with a quizzical look. "I'm sorry, were you talking to me, brother?" He smiled, and even in the smile Tantai Jin saw Xiao Lin. "You must be mistaking me for someone else."
Tantai Jin looked contrite. "I'm sorry. I must be," he replied. "You look so much like someone I know."
The disciple made a sign with his fingers by way of greeting, like how Tantai Jin saw other disciples greet each other. "I am Gongye Jiwu, a disciple of the Hengyang Sect," he introduced himself. "I am here for a visit, to consult Immortal Buxu."
"Immortal Buxu? Who is he?" Tantai Jin asked.
He should have remembered that Pang Yizhi had mentioned many times that he was a disciple of this sect. The former chamberlain of the Sheng Kingdom, Xiao Lin's friend, had ascended to becoming an immortal, but for some reason, he had ceased to exist before Tantai Jin could meet him again. It was only through an immortal spell called Cloud, Pang Yizhi's own creation, that he was able to communicate with the scholar's consciousness.
Seeing Gongye Jiwu and Pang Yizhi, however, determined Tantai Jin's fate to remain in Xiaoyao Sect.
After completing a mission, to comfort an old woman in her last days, Zhaoyou took Tantai Jin in as a disciple, and gave him a new name, Cang Jiumin.
Thus, Cang Jiumin lived quietly in the steady and patient guidance of Master Zhaoyou, and proved that he was an exceptional disciple, a quick study, and a diligent student. His fellow disciples had no jealousy over his talents, and instead praised him readily for every progress he had made, even if he had surpassed a few of them who had already been in the sect longer. But that was precisely the charm of Xiaoyao sect, that everyone who followed its way were free to do as they will, with purity of spirit, and goodwill for all.
So this is the kind of immortal sect that you were born in, Ye Xiwu, Cang Jiumin thought at times. Peaceful and carefree…
This is the immortal sect that you died for in order to save.
Regret ate away at him whenever he found himself feeling happy and content as he lived with his brothers and his master at the sect, because this was how Ye Xiwu would have lived, if not for his cursed destiny as the Devil God. Whenever he sat under the trees to meditate, he wondered if she did the same, or if she would fall asleep, just like how she fell asleep in the middle of their lesson on the Sketch charm. Whenever he practiced his swordplay, he remembered her movement back at the Mohe River, as she fought off his soldiers, and wondered if she was actually performing her sect's swordplay back then. Whenever he read about new spells and formations, he remembered how skillful she was in casting charms even as a mortal, and smiled fondly as he read about the charms he had seen her perform.
She could have lived simply like this, if only…
"Brother Jiumin, come join us for a game!" Zhang Lin called out, breaking Cang Jiumin's reverie. He smiled, and walked over to the group, who quickly made space for him to join the game.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The visit to Hengyang Sect was a fruitful one.
Master Zhaoyou took Cang Jiumin to visit his friend, the Master of Hengyang Sect, Qu Xuanzi. "You need to broaden your horizons, Jiumin," Zhaoyou said. "You can't always stay at Mount Buzhao, and there are other sects that may teach you more than Xiaoyao Sect could."
"Xiaoyao Sect is enough for me, Master," Cang Jiumin replied. "I could not ask for a better sect to belong in."
"Flatterer," Zhaoyou said with a smile. "Nevertheless, let's go see that old man Xuanzi and let me show you off to him."
Needless to say, Qu Xuanzi was impressed with Cang Jiumin.
"I must congratulate you, Zhaoyou," Qu Xuanzi remarked as he looked at Cang Jiumin's respectful but intelligent demeanor. "Jiumin is the most normal disciple you have ever taken on in a hundred years."
Zhaoyou scoffed. "You really know how to complement and insult at the same time," he said, pretending to be offended, but smiling broadly at Cang Jiumin. "He's all right. Not as brilliant as Gongye Jiwu, of course, but then, he's only just begun his cultivation."
Cang Jiumin watched the two old men chat together, a small smile playing on his lips. He remembered that day on the tower, using the power of the World Overturning Jade, Ye Xiwu had shown him the bleak fortunes of the people in front of him.
One she called uncle, and the other she called Father. The man in front of him, laughing and smiling with his Master, was the person she dreamed about and cried for in her sleep. His Master himself was the one who had sent her back to the past where he was, dying in the process.
Ye Xiwu, look at them, he thought. They are both happy and safe here at Hengyang, and so is your Senior Brother, Gongye Jiwu. Your sacrifice was not in vain.
You're the only one who isn't here.
"I apologize, Jiumin," Qu Xuanzi's voice broke through Cang Jiumin's thoughts. "My daughter, Li Susu, had just left for Mount Changze, where she resides. Perhaps I could introduce her to you sometime?"
Cang Jiumin smiled politely. "I would like that very much, Senior Elder," he replied mildly, "but for now, I would like to improve on my cultivation."
Your father even has a daughter, Ye Xiwu, Cang Jiumin thought sadly. You would have had a sister.
Qu Xuanzi nodded in approval, and looked sideways at Zhaoyou as if to say I like this one. Zhaoyou answered with a wink.
"I have heard that Hengyang Sect has a comprehensive library, with more books than the one in Xiaoyao," Cang Jiumin said. "May I use it?"
Qu Xuanzi nodded. "Of course, Jiumin," he said. "As long as you stay here in Hengyang, you are free to use the library as you wish."
"Many thanks, Senior Elder," Cang Jiumin replied. Thank you for allowing me to search for the spell that will call Ye Xiwu's soul.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The smell of acacia flowers arrested Cang Jiumin.
He stopped in his tracks. That scent… He never thought he would recognize the scent of acacia flowers after 500 years, let alone smell it here in the immortal realm.
But he had to catch that immortal girl who had taken the Book of Demonology, and so, firmly ignoring the scent that brought back so many memories, he walked past the bookshelves and out of the library.
The immortal girl was now out of sight.
Cang Jiumin summoned a crow from the trees surrounding the library. "Follow the immortal girl who just left here," he commanded the crow.
How should I know who she is from all the immortal girls in this sect? the crow asked.
Cang Jiumin hesitated. "Follow the girl who has the scent of acacia flowers," he said. The crow nodded once and flew away.
Acacia flowers…
He must be thinking too much about her to actually imagine himself smelling that scent again. Meeting her father, Qu Xuanzi, brought back too many memories of her that he might have just conjured up the smell from deep within his memories.
The crow quickly returned to report that the immortal girl he was sent to track down lived in a house in Mount Changze. Cang Jiumin followed the crow's directions to a simple house perched on the slopes of the mountain.
"Excuse me," he said before the closed doors of the house. Noticing that there were no lights in the house, he opened the sliding doors and let himself in quietly.
The house was well kept, despite the various rooms that he had passed by. But there was no mistaking it: every step he took, the smell of acacia flowers accompanied him.
Cang Jiumin shook his head. Coincidence… he thought furiously.
He opened the door to what he thought was the girl's study quarters. Scrolls lined a wall, and a few opened ones were on the study table.
Atop them was the Book of Demonology.
He quickly opened the book to the page where the Soul-Gathering Array was. He read carefully the materials that accompany the casting of the spell, recognizing the heart blood of an enemy, and the tear of a lover that Pang Yizhi mentioned.
To gather the primordial soul of the deceased, a drop of blood from a pure immortal body is needed.
Cang Jiumin pondered. A pure immortal body? He recalled one of his conversations with Gongye Jiwu, about Li Susu having a pure immortal body.
I need to see Li Susu, the Goddess Yuling, and ask her for her blood.
Mind whirring with schemes to get close to the Goddess Yuling, Cang Jiumin closed the Book of Demonology and replaced it on the study table, lest the immortal girl miss it. It was only then that he noticed a door was open, leading out to a garden.
Maybe the immortal girl is outside. I ought to ask her forgiveness for barging into her home unexpectedly.
He stepped out of the house, and into the garden path. He followed the path down the slopes of the mountain, until he gazed at a lake near the end of the path.
"There was a lake that is pure and cool in summer, and reflected the moonlight at night."
A lake… that reflected the moonlight at night. It could have been any lake at all, but somehow, looking at this lake felt nostalgic, as if this was the lake Ye Xiwu missed dearly. He looked down, and saw fireflies flitting in and out of the grass.
He sighed. I don't know if this is it, but I'm here at the lake you wanted to see, Ye Xiwu.
But you're not here.
Cang Jiumin started to turn back, but a soft melody rose out of nowhere. It was the tunes of a harp, but it was unlike any harp he had ever listened to. The tones were crisp and gentle, and familiar…
Tantai Jin smiled at the strange sounds coming out of Ye Xiwu's harp.
"I don't know if she's trying to play some kind of music we haven't heard yet, or if she's really bad at playing the harp," he said to Nian Baiyu. He shook his head. "Chase her away from the pavilion. If she asks, tell her I'm going to send her outside of the palace to play in the city streets."
His smile never left his lips even after the music had already stopped.
His heart throbbed, but Cang Jiumin bit down the pain.
That harp…
His feet quickly moved towards the sound of the harp, down towards the lake. He ran as fast as he could, but when he reached the place where the music originated, it abruptly stopped, and a deafening silence replaced it.
The lakeside was empty, save for the fireflies in the grass.
Cang Jiumin sighed in anger at himself. Of course, she's not here. It can't be her, how can it?
She's gone.
He turned his back on the lake, on the fireflies, on the acacia scent that lingered in the air, and walked back towards sanity and reality.
In the middle of the lake, a faint light flickered.