Chapter 1 Farewell to the Bright Moon - Important Notes In a daze, one could almost mistake...
The expected knocking sounded at the door.
Jiang Geyun fastened her belt and resignedly opened the door.
The sky outside was not yet light, and a hazy blue-green hue enveloped the person knocking on the door, which should have given them a somber and cold appearance.
But the newcomer was full of energy, and his vibrant energy overshadowed the lingering darkness of the night.
Jiang Geyun stared at the other person and calmly asked, "What time is it now?"
After a moment of confusion, the visitor laughed and said, "It's the hour of Yin!"
Jiang Geyun then asked, "What should we do now?"
After saying that, she thought to herself, without a doubt, she should go to sleep.
The visitor replied with an unequivocal tone: "To do morning prayers!"
Before she could finish speaking, a warm hand grabbed Jiang Geyun's slightly cool wrist without warning.
Seeing that she did not resist, Su Guang said with satisfaction, "Doing morning prayers is not a strict rule for us, but given your physique and the recent activities at the temple..." She paused and emphasized, "It's always good to practice more!"
What's wrong with her health?
She has a very good constitution!
Isn't it just occasionally staying up late, having irregular meals, pushing yourself to the limit when deadlines are approaching, and then sleeping through your days off?
You ancient people don't understand. Let me tell you, you simply don't understand, you simply don't comprehend, you simply can't imagine it. I don't even know how to explain it to you, you know?
...
Forget it, it's no use.
Jiang Geyun responded weakly and let Su Guang pull her away.
On the way from the dormitory to the Sanqing Hall, one inevitably encounters groups of two or three temple people or those seeking lodging.
Su Guang, with an air of familiarity, greeted everyone she met with a smile.
Jiang Geyun nodded in agreement.
A pale blue shadow flickered as the girl skipped and hopped along, the bamboo-shaped hairpin in her hair swaying with her movements.
The scene has an almost slumbering tranquility.
It's like waking up to find there are still a few hours until your scheduled wake-up time, and you can go back to sleep.
Of course, it would be great if I could really go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, not only can we not go back, but the sense of peace was also quickly shattered.
A middle-aged male Taoist priest in plain clothes stood with his hands in his pockets across a corridor and teased the person next to him, saying, "I saw Miss Suguang so early in the morning. Miss Suguang is just like the mistress of the temple."
At first glance, it sounds like a compliment, but in reality, it has a very obvious sarcastic tone.
Su Guang was a skilled doctor and often practiced medicine in the dining hall. Everyone in the temple had a good impression of her, and even the abbot would occasionally take care of her.
The middle-aged man considered himself the most important person after the abbot, and not only the Yunshui Temple, but even the magistrate of Jinghu County would have to give him some face.
Seeing that a young girl who had only recently arrived was gaining momentum over him, he had already begun to feel resentful.
Jiang Geyun sighed softly.
Ugh, trash talk, ugh.
Su Guang's smile froze, her expression blank with a hint of bewilderment.
Seeing this, Jiang Geyun lazily said to Su Guang, "Su Guang, you once told me many stories about the abbot, do you remember?"
With her attention diverted, Su Guang's initial embarrassment and discomfort lessened somewhat. Upon hearing this, she replied earnestly, "Of course I remember. Why did A-Yun suddenly bring this up?"
Jiang Geyun looked over Su Guang's shoulder and said calmly and coldly, "It's nothing, just a sigh. The abbot's demeanor is truly extraordinary. He doesn't speak nonsense or look down on others. This is a true enlightened person. Some people are different."
Having said that, before the middle-aged man could angrily cross the corridor and come to the two of them, she pulled Su Guang into the hall.
Inside the hall, the abbot of Yunshui Temple was already there.
The old abbot had a kind face and smiled at everyone who entered the hall.
Jiang Geyun did have some respect for the old abbot, so she bowed to him from a distance.
The old man noticed her, smiled and shook his head at her, then winked.
Jiang Geyun instantly understood.
It seems the abbot already knew about what happened earlier and even forgave her. She thought the abbot had extraordinary magnanimity. So she lowered her head as if admitting her mistake, looking remorseful.
Laughing, they'll do it again next time.
The process of chanting scriptures is obviously not very interesting, especially for modern people like Jiang Geyun.
Halfway through the recitation, she covered her face with the scripture, secretly yawned, and involuntarily began to drift off.
To be fair, Jiang Geyun's health was not bad, either before or after she wore the costume.
It's only natural for modern people to work late into the night; the body has its own resilience!
However, when Su Guang first met her, he said that she carried an aura of death and was very ominous, and that coming to Yunshui Temple to cultivate was the right thing to do.
At that moment, Jiang Geyun looked around and saw only graves everywhere. She thought that the ominous sign was probably someone else.
Yes, a graveyard.
Earlier that night, Jiang Geyun opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room.
Memories flooded her mind like lukewarm water, sending a chill down her spine for no apparent reason.
After digesting the memories, all that remains is a sense of bewilderment.
There is no system, no task, no crisis.
Two sets of memories lay quietly in Jiang Geyun's mind.
The original owner was also named Jiang Geyun, and was the same age as her. She was from Yingzhou, had lost her parents, and had a personality and style of doing things that were quite similar to hers.
After her parents passed away, the original owner followed her mother's instructions and came to Lianzhou alone with a token to find the young master of the Cheng family with whom she had made a verbal promise when she was a child.
After running out of money, the original owner temporarily stayed at Yunshui Temple, sweeping and cultivating with the other cultivators in exchange for free food and lodging.
What an amazing time travel story! Let's see what the person involved has to say!
The person involved is very dissatisfied!
The person involved said they wanted a refund—no, they wanted to get rid of the person!
The person involved, in a fit of anger, realized that all they could do was vent their anger.
Jiang Geyun originally had few relatives and didn't have much of an opinion about her family background.
But she was just about to receive her scholarship and internship salary, and just about to pay off her student loans.
Forget everything else; refusing offers from big companies could give her a few more years to live on. But what about her money?! The money she earned through hard work and internships?!
Jiang Geyun couldn't stand the feeling of being in debt. If it weren't for her divorced parents remarrying and ignoring her, she would hate being asked for money and wouldn't want to take out a student loan either.
The crucial moment of finally paying off the debt has arrived, but...
Unable to sleep at all, Jiang Geyun pushed open the door and began to take a aimless walk.
Based on her past experience, forcing yourself to sleep when you have insomnia is useless. It's better to move around and expend your energy. Once you're physically and mentally exhausted, it's not too late to sleep.
This is how it should have been if we hadn't ended up in a cemetery.
The faint sound of weeping could still be heard from the graveyard.
No matter how much sleepiness I managed to cultivate, it all vanished at this moment.
Jiang Geyun paused, then followed the sound of crying with great interest.
The night was deep and dark, with layers of light and shadow.
After passing by trees, tombstones, and other objects, Jiang Geyun saw the source of the light.
It is a lantern that exudes warmth.
The lantern looked to be of good quality, but the candlelight remained unlit as the night breeze blew.
The source of the sound was a girl curled up nearby, sobbing with her head down.
This was different from what Jiang Geyun had expected.
Ugh... This feels even more embarrassing than seeing a ghost.
Before Jiang Geyun could decide on her next move, the girl looked up in alarm and saw Jiang Geyun.
This was Jiang Geyun's first encounter with Su Guang.
After each of them gave a chaotic explanation, Su Guang chuckled, then looked worried and said that Jiang Geyun had just startled her because Jiang Geyun "carried death energy".
She then asked Jiang Geyun which room she was staying in, claiming that she had studied medicine since childhood and possessed exceptional medical skills, and that her diagnoses were always accurate. She insisted that Jiang Geyun listen to her advice and that she would urge her to cultivate herself starting tomorrow.
Haha, do you really get up on time every morning to call another stranger to do morning exercises together? Who can keep that up?
Elemental light energy.
Unaware of her future fate, Jiang Geyun remained silent for a moment.
After weighing the necessity of discussing the relationship between medical skills and the abstract death aura with Su Guang, she only managed to come up with one question: Why are you crying in a place like this?
With this recollection, the chanting concludes.
The 108 morning bells that signaled the end of the day at Yunshui Temple were all dispersed in the morning light, and Jiang Geyun's mind, which had wandered off to who knows where, finally returned.
Su Guang stood up abruptly.
Jiang Geyun slowly got up and leisurely tidied the silk book in her hands.
She wasn't in a hurry; if they assembled a little later, they could do the exercises a little later.
The usually proactive Su Guang didn't rush over. Instead, she glanced at Jiang Geyun several times during this interval, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
As Jiang Geyun continued tidying up, she said, "So polite?"
Su Guang choked for a moment, then stopped dwelling on it and said, "I have to go back to my room. A-Yun, you go patrol the mountain by yourself first."
This is quite unusual. Su Guang is never absent from anything related to cultivation, and is even more diligent than some of the junior Taoists in the temple.
Speaking of which, although she had maids attending to her, Su Guang neither entrusted her cultivation to others nor forced them to accompany her, as if she didn't know them at all. The only one Su Guang forced to stay with was Jiang Geyun.
Jiang Geyun considered it for a moment, and seeing that Su Guang's expression was normal, she didn't ask any more questions and nodded, saying, "Okay."
Su Guang was still worried and emphasized, "You really have to go! Cultivation is very important!"
*
The sky was turning white, and birds were chirping all around.
Yunshui Temple is located in Jinghu, Lianzhou. This place has a long history, a large population, and a high safety index, so there are many people who seek refuge for spiritual practice, including relatives of wealthy families.
Daytime patrols, like morning prayers, are not imposed on those staying overnight; they simply need to help with some cleaning and tidying.
The mountain paths for those seeking lodging were all already prepared. All Jiang Geyun had to do was look along the way at the trees, birds, and animals, pick some wild vegetables and herbs, and guide those who got lost.
As Jiang Geyun was walking, she suddenly heard the calls of blackbirds coming from deep in the forest.
The blackbird not only has a unique call, but it can also imitate the calls of other birds, and even some environmental sounds, hence its nickname "mockingbird".
Tsk, I don't know how many times I've woken her up. There are birds all over the mountain, and their beaks are the most talkative.
But the chirping sound that Jiang Geyun heard this time was a bit strange, and it was different from usual.
She paused, mentally reviewing the route the group had taken on their patrol, and realized that probably only her route would have noticed the chirping.
If there is any danger, she will be the only one who can detect it in a short time.
Thinking that Su Guang would probably come looking for her soon, and feeling that she was relatively safe, Jiang Geyun followed the sound.
It really was a blackbird.
Its claws were caught in a thin rope left behind by some hunter on a branch, and it was making incoherent noises.
The dark brown bird and Jiang Geyun exchanged glances.
Jiang Geyun looked up and said, "Actually, I can't climb trees."
The blackbird remained silent. It was just a blackbird.
Realizing what she had done, Jiang Geyun couldn't help but chuckle, then sighed softly and studied the path she had taken to climb up.
Fortunately, the tree wasn't very tall, just the right height for someone who can't climb trees to awkwardly make their way up.
Jiang Geyun sat diagonally on the tree, took a branch, and leaned over to help the blackbird untie its rope.
Before long, the bird regained its promised freedom and ruthlessly flapped its wings and flew away.
Jiang Geyun breathed a sigh of relief, shakily sitting up straight, but the next moment—
Suddenly, it fell!
The difference in elevation wouldn't actually cause any serious injury to a human, but the dizzying sensation still left Jiang Geyun momentarily stunned.
Leave a rope in the tree, and dig a hole under the tree!
Which hunter is that?! So unethical!
She must...
Jiang Geyun sighed and remained motionless in the position where she had fallen.
Throughout her life, she always had clear goals, and even if some things had a very low success rate, she always managed to accomplish them.
It's really hard not to feel lost after being inexplicably thrown into a strange world and living a life without any direction until now.
Hmm, I'm so lost that I've started talking to birds.
Let her be down for a while...
Jiang Geyun briefly considered the possibility of taking a nap here. In her hazy state, she suddenly heard a gentle inquiry:
"How are you?"
Like water droplets falling into boiling oil, Jiang Geyun was instantly jolted awake!
Her body moved faster than her mind; her right hand instinctively reached for the dagger at her waist.
The dagger was chosen by the two mothers as a "betrothal token." It was made of excellent material and gleamed with a cold light, so Jiang Geyun gladly added the function of self-defense to it.
After confirming that the dagger was still at her waist, her wildly beating heart calmed down slightly.
Jiang Geyun looked toward the source of the sound.
The newcomer was dressed in blue, with gentle features and a somewhat familiar face. He had a natural smile and an air of elegance about him. He was as refined as jade and as distant as a mountain.
At this moment, the sky was bright, the sun had risen, but the moon had not yet set. The two stars, neither of them very bright, were scattered in the sky. From Jiang Geyun's perspective, they were so similar that one might mistake them for the sun and the moon.
Jiang Geyun sat up, a dull pain coming from her ankle.
She tried curling her toes and found she could still control them.
It's not a big problem, but...
Jiang Geyun looked up and stated the fact: "I can't go up by myself."
The visitor was not surprised and nodded slightly.
Jiang Geyun thought he would simply reach out and pull her up.
However, he took a branch and leaned out to offer it to her, just as she had done to save the blackbird.
Jiang Geyun was taken aback. Was she concerned about the gender distinction?
The practitioners in Yunshui Temple include both men and women, and their daily interactions are not as reserved as Jiang Geyun initially imagined.
She originally thought this world was different from the ancient times she remembered, but perhaps she was overgeneralizing.
Surely the other person doesn't have some kind of germophobia that prevents them from touching other people?
This person seems quite gentle; it probably isn't him.
Jiang Geyun stopped thinking about it, reached out and grabbed the branch the other person offered, and tried to get up.
This pit wasn't designed for humans, so it's not that deep; you can easily climb out with a little help.
But reality didn't go as smoothly as Jiang Geyun had imagined.
The soil beneath her feet was too loose. As soon as she put her left foot down, the seemingly solid soil collapsed instantly!
Instinctively, Jiang Geyun pulled the branch back, trying to steady herself.
This movement caused the person to lean forward uncontrollably, and just then, her wildly waving left hand caught his collar.
Their frantic breaths mingled for a fleeting moment.
Caught off guard, the newcomer's dark, star-like eyes flashed with surprise. His shirt was slightly loosened, making a small red mole between his right collarbones stand out.
It's very beautiful, in every way.
The panic lasted only a moment. The person quickly regained their balance, gently supported her arm, and helped her escape the trap.
Then he turned around and silently straightened his clothes.
Hmm... now even someone with OCD can't do anything about it.
The newcomer's waist appeared somewhat slender under the cover of his clothes, but in reality, his muscles were smooth and firm, concealing a sharp edge, far from the gentle and weak appearance he presented.
Jiang Geyun thought for a moment and then turned around.
The two stood back to back. Jiang Geyun stared at her palms in astonishment. Her palms were slightly sweaty, her hands were trembling slightly, her cheeks were hot, and her heart was beating rapidly.
strangeness.
He was very handsome, and he looked vaguely familiar, but Jiang Geyun wasn't the kind of person who would easily be attracted to a pretty face and say "we've met before"!
Her brow furrowed and then relaxed. She first thanked him, breaking the silence, and then asked, "May I ask how I should address you, sir?"
She couldn't see the other person's movements, only heard the rustling of fabric and the other person's response after a moment's pause.
The man said, "My name is Cheng Xi."
Cheng Xi?
Jiang Geyun seemed to be deep in thought, and then asked, "Where is Young Master Cheng going?"
Cheng Xi replied, "I'm going to Yunshui Temple to find my younger sister."
After a few words, Jiang Geyun heard that Cheng Xi had stopped what she was doing, so she turned around and went over.
She pointed in a direction and calmly said, "Follow this direction, and you'll soon see the mountain road. There aren't many forks in the road."
Even when viewed from a social distance, Cheng Xi's expression remained normal.
After thanking him, he did not leave.
Jiang Geyun understood the other party's unspoken meaning and explained, "My lord, there is no need to worry. I will rest for a while."
Rather than asking a stranger you've only met once for help, it's better to find some planks, tie them together, and slowly climb the mountain.
However, Cheng Xi seems to be a rather gentle person, so he will probably refuse at first.
"Then, when I arrive at the temple, please convey my message about the young lady's injury."
"No need... Ah, no, okay, thank you."
Jiang Geyun didn't think much of it and immediately refused. Unexpectedly, Cheng Xi had no intention of helping her any further.
This person clearly looks like a pushover!
As Cheng Xi turned away, Jiang Geyun noticed that he also had a bamboo-shaped hairpin in his hair.
It perfectly suits his refined and gentlemanly demeanor.
More importantly, it looks very similar to Su Guang's hairpin.
It also resembles the green bamboo emblem on her dagger.
Cheng Xi...
Are there any other Cheng families in Lianzhou?
Jiang Geyun pondered for a moment.
It seems, probably, indeed, that Su Guang never told Jiang Geyun her surname.
Cheng Xi had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped.
Jiang Geyun looked up and understood. Now it would be time to start the three rounds of refusing and declining.
Cheng Xi, who had turned back, looked down at Jiang Geyun, who was sitting on the ground. The backlight made his face look unclear, and his originally gentle expression seemed somewhat gloomy.
He said, "Young lady, it seems there is a fog in the woods."
Ah, no need for help... Hmm? A delusion?
Jiang Geyun frowned and looked into the distance.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Consumption Guide Plus (20251019):
1. This story is set against the backdrop of a certain era in reality, with many modified settings. For the sake of plot development, there are many fictional elements that do not conform to reality. It will deliberately create a sense of fantasy and fiction. Everything has no prototype, so please do not take it personally. Please do not mind.
2. In the early stages, the ratio of romance to plot is roughly 5:5. As the plot builds up, it will gradually shift to 7:1 romance and 3:3 plot. Adults with specific preferences may try to skip ahead, but they may not understand the plot development. If possible, it is recommended to watch in order.
3. It contains foreshadowing and suspense elements, but you can watch it even without thinking too much, and you don't need to rewatch it, as everything is explained in detail when it's resolved.
3. Typos/quoted poems/short phrases not yet marked/censored words, etc., will be corrected after completion. Adults can point out the errors first. Red envelopes will be distributed after completion. Section comments are open. Just collect the text and comments are welcome. Your comments are very important to me!
4. First released on June 14, 2025; minor revisions to pacing and plot arrangement on July 2, 2025; a revised "Reader's Guide Plus" on October 19, 2025. No major changes are expected, so you can read with confidence.
Hope the adults enjoy watching! [droopy-eared rabbit head]
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