Pure Land

But she hadn't walked far before she ran into her master coming towards her.

The master was still wearing his gray Taoist robe, though the cuffs were dusty, and his usually straight spine seemed a little bent. He saw Yunxiu, and his eyes darkened. "Where have you been? I just called you to a meeting, why aren't you here?"

"Disciple...disciple is going to deliver medicine to senior brother." Yunxiu subconsciously put his hands behind his back, his heart pounding.

The master stared at her and said, "I heard that you were asking about the martial arts tournament?"

Yunxiu's heart tightened. Her thoughts darkened, and she simply said, "Yes, I want to participate in the martial arts competition."

"Nonsense!" The master's voice suddenly became stern, and his brows were twisted into a "川" shape.

"The barrier has just been broken, and the black-robed men are still roaming nearby. If you go down the mountain, you'll be walking into a tiger's mouth! Besides, your immortal power has always been unstable, which is why I haven't allowed you to go down the mountain for so many years. You know that. You just got injured, why are you going to join in the fun now?"

"But Senior Brother's injury requires the Soul-Condensing Jade Marrow," Yunxiu retorted.

"The sect's elixirs have run out, and this is our only chance! I also want to take this opportunity to inquire about Senior Sister Jing Er and find out the origins of the man in black..."

"That's enough!" Master interrupted her, his tone undeniably firm:

"If I say no, then it's no! Stay on the mountain and wait until the barrier is repaired!"

He turned around to leave, but Yunxiu grabbed his sleeve.

"Master, are you hiding something from me?"

Yunxiu looked at his tense profile. "You know the man in black, right? You know about the ancient gods, right? Why can't you tell me?"

The master suddenly shook her hand away.

His lips trembled, and several emotions tangled in his eyes, but in the end, they turned into a sigh:

"Some things are better for you if you don't know them. Be obedient and don't go."

After saying that, he fled away, leaving Yunxiu standing there alone.

In the evening, Yunxiu passed by Yan Xiu's residence.

Yunxiu looked in through the window. He was already able to sit back on the couch and practice Qigong and regulate his breathing, but his face was still pale. Seeing Yunxiu, he actually practiced Qigong and pushed Yunxiu into the house.

Yunxiu let him do what he wanted without saying anything. Yan Xiu opened his eyes, and the coldness in his eyes faded a little: "Master said you wanted to go to the martial arts competition?"

It was like this again. After Master's questioning, Yunxiu had become somewhat numb.

She nodded and walked to the couch: "Brother, I must go."

Yan Xiu's brows knitted together instantly, and the aura around him turned cold again:

"Until the Black Robe Man is eliminated, it's not safe down the mountain. You can't even control your own strength, so going there will only lead to trouble."

"I'll be careful," Yunxiu said with a faint emotion in his eyes.

"What's the point of being careful? Didn't you see today..."

"Don't you really know what I'm going to do?" Yunxiu interrupted and asked suddenly.

Yan Xiu was stunned, but then he heard Yun Xiu ask:

"You and Master know everything, yet you refuse to tell me. You know who the Black-robed Man is, and you know the reasons for all the strange phenomena that have occurred so far—yet you refuse to tell me anything, only telling me 'it's dangerous, and this is for your own good.' Yet I watch helplessly as Yaoxi Mountain is reduced to ruins, and as my fellow disciples are injured and die... How can I possibly be good?"

Yan Xiu was about to speak, but stopped himself. He stretched out his hand, but stopped mid-move, his fingertips trembling slightly before finally falling weakly.

"Xiao You... Isn't it good to just live like this?"

Wouldn't it be nice to live out your life happily in this pure land, this paradise?

Should I continue living in ignorance, closing my eyes and ears, deceiving myself and others? Yunxiu thought expressionlessly.

"Brother, have you never seen me when I was still Little Skylark?"

Yan Xiu raised his eyes and saw Yun Xiu sitting calmly opposite him, narrating calmly:

"If you lock me up with the other little birds, I will definitely be the noisiest one, the one that sings the loudest every day. If I can't bite through the cage today, I'll try again tomorrow. If I can't get freedom today, I'll get it someday. Anyone could be trapped in a cage and wait to die, but I won't."

Yan Xiu looked at Yun Xiu and remained silent.

Why? He spoke so righteously, as if issuing a challenge or swearing a poisonous oath, but his eyes reddened against his will.

His Adam's apple rolled, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he just turned his head away.

Yunxiu looked at his tense profile and suddenly focused.

Sure enough, she could still vaguely sense the emotions surging in Yan Xiu's heart.

Heavy... anxious like a trapped beast...

“…will die.”

Death? Who will die? Yunxiu only heard these words clearly, and his heart was shaken.

Yan Xiu seemed to sense something and turned to look at her. But he quickly calmed down:

"Don't act on your own. Yaoxi Mountain hasn't reached that point yet."

Yunxiu looked at him quietly without refuting.

She turned and walked quickly out of the room, leaving Yan Xiu alone on the couch.

In the next few days, Yunxiu appeared to be staying in the mountains to practice martial arts, but he was secretly stepping up his preparations.

She took the opportunity of delivering medicine to each courtyard to secretly observe everyone in the sect - and sure enough, outside her master's study, she heard his conversation with Senior Sister Yingtang.

"We must keep an eye on her and never let her go down the mountain." It was Master's voice, heavy with fatigue.

"But she's stubborn, I'm afraid I can't stop her..." Senior Sister Yingtang's voice was filled with tears: "Last time she was..."

The rest of the words were choked with sobs, but Yunxiu heard them clearly. Last time?

What last time? She had never left the mountain since she transformed into a human and could remember. Where did the last time come from?

Senior Sister Yingtang wept until she was almost broken down. Yunxiu's senses grew heavier. Unable to bear it any longer, she quietly fled.

Yunxiu became increasingly silent and kept to himself.

She began to practice martial arts by the cold pond in the back mountain before dawn every day, trying to control the strange power in her body.

Every time she tried to mobilize that power within her, she failed without exception. It seemed she could never repeat her success in blocking the attack of the black-robed man.

The pendant on her neck would always feel hot, and occasionally fragmented images would flash through her mind: the broken Frost Sword, the sky full of glass shards, the cold red vertical pupils...

What was that? Yunxiu had no idea.

On the eve of departure, the moonlight was like water, sprinkling on every inch of Yaoxi Mountain.

Yunxiu sat on the highest peak, looking down at the entire mountain.

She rarely went up the mountain alone. There were restrictions here, but because Yan Xiu was injured and the barrier in the mountain was weak, she was able to sneak up with the help of Wu Yi's map.

She transformed into her original form and disappeared into silence.

Her hometown and her relatives are all here.

Senior Sister Yingtang sat by the window again, gazing into the distance in a trance. A little rabbit hopped over, rubbing against her and sniffing. This time, Senior Sister Yingtang didn't pick it up. Instead, she suddenly covered her face and went back to the house. Yunxiu knew there were still wounded waiting for her.

Yunxiu watched her back disappear completely before looking to the other side.

Through the window lattice, one could still see Yan Xiu meditating and regulating his breathing. The bandage on his shoulder had been freshened, but blood still seeped through it. Wu Yi was helping him heal his wound, applying layers of herbal compresses with no effect, yet he diligently brewed a thick, dark medicinal meal.

Higher up, the master watched over the unconscious Yu Wei, sighing as he flipped through ancient books. The immortal light in the room flickered, then dimmed, clearly ineffective.

Yunxiu pocketed the map and the phoenix leaf talisman Wu Yi had given him, and also hid half of Senior Sister Jing Er's jade pendant close to her body. Avoiding the patrolling disciples, she flew by moonlight towards the secret passage in the back mountains.

The mountain breeze blew past my ears, carrying with it the fragrance of grass and trees and the coolness of the night dew.

She flew over the familiar peach grove, along the bluestone paths, and through the mist shrouded in the night. The entrance to the secret passage beyond the barrier was hidden behind a waterfall, and the water crashed against the rocks, splashing her delicate feathers.

Yunxiu was at the entrance of the secret passage and looked back in the direction of Yaoxi Mountain.

Under the moonlight, the outline of the mountain gate is looming in the clouds and mist, like a gentle yet heavy dream.

What Yunxiu didn't know was that at the moment she flew out of the waterfall and rushed out of the mountain gate, Yan Xiu and Wu Yibian quietly landed beside her master.

The master opened his closed eyes slightly: "Xiao You went out?"

"Yes." Yan Xiu replied with his head lowered.

"You guys go too." Master closed his eyes again.

The two of them bowed their heads for a moment, then replied, "Take care, Master."