Chapter 4 Untitled
The Cloud Recesses always carry a crisp chill after the arrival of autumn. Shortly after Si Zhui's release from confinement, he encountered the Lan Clan's triennial "Cold Pond Trial"—a crucial ritual for inner disciples to refine their spiritual power. It requires three days of meditation in the cold pond in the back mountains, harnessing the water's chill to stabilize their cultivation.
The night before leaving, Wei Wuxian stuffed a thick fox fur coat into Sizhui's bag. "The water in the cold pond is very biting. You are weaker than others. If you feel cold at night, put it on. Don't force yourself."
Lan Wangji took out a jade pendant engraved with the word "tranquility" and tied it around his waist. "In the cold pond, inner demons are easily born. Hold this pendant tightly. If you feel your spiritual energy is disturbed, abort the trial immediately."
Si Zhui felt a pang of pain in his nose as he touched the warm jade pendant. "Father, don't worry, I will definitely pass the test successfully."
Wei WuXian ruffled his hair, his eyes filled with reluctance. "Silly boy, stop trying to be so stubborn. In our eyes, your safe return is more important than anything else."
Before dawn the next day, Si Zhui followed several elders to the Cold Pond. The water was as black as ink, steaming with a white, cold air. The very first moment they approached the shore, their teeth chattered with the cold. Several Lan family members were also participating in the trial. Among them, Lan Jingyi, the oldest disciple of Lan Qiren, couldn't help but shiver. "This water is too cold! Do we really have to stay in it for three days?"
Si Zhui took a deep breath, remembering his father's words, and bent down to step into the pool. A biting chill instantly spread through his limbs, like countless ice needles piercing his bones. He gritted his teeth and channeled his spiritual energy according to the mantra of his mental method, trying to resist the chill. But after a moment of concentration, he felt a tightness in his chest—the hidden danger left by his last forced power surge was now throbbing.
The first day was peaceful. On the second night, a sobbing sound suddenly emanated from the depths of the cold pond, as if someone were whispering in his ear. Sizhui closed his eyes, but couldn't help but recall the memories of the mass grave—those muffled cries, those cold rainy nights, and the look in his parents' eyes before they died.
"You are a homeless soul, why do you stay in the Cloud Recesses?"
"Han Guang-jun and Senior Wei are just pitying you. If you're no longer useful, you'll be kicked out sooner or later..."
His inner demons followed him like a shadow, roiling his spiritual energy. The jade pendant at his waist grew hot, but he remained possessed, gritting his teeth and refusing to surrender. He wanted to prove he wasn't a burden, to make his father and his father proud. He ignored the jade pendant's warnings and forcibly channeled his spiritual energy to fight his inner demons.
It was not until the early morning of the third day when Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian arrived that they discovered Si Zhui had passed out in the pool, his lips had turned purple from the cold, and his spiritual energy was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
“This child!” Wei Wuxian was so distressed that he jumped into the pool and picked him up. The skin that his fingertips touched was frighteningly cold.
Lan Wangji quickly sealed several of Si Zhui's acupuncture points, his brow furrowed. "The inner demon has entered his body, and his spiritual power is exhausted. Bring him back to the quiet room immediately and provide treatment."
When Sizhui awoke, he found himself lying on a couch in the quiet room, covered in a thick quilt. His father was sitting beside him, feeding him spiritual energy. Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, was standing by the stove, brewing medicine, his eyes red from not sleeping all night.
"Father... Daddy..." His voice was hoarse, and just as he was about to sit up, he was held down by Lan Wangji.
“Lie down and don’t move.” Lan Wangji’s voice was emotionless, but Si Zhui could sense the suppressed anger from his trembling fingertips.
Sure enough, after his spiritual power stabilized a little, Lan Wangji stood up in front of the couch, looking at him solemnly: "Who told you to ignore the jade pendant's warning?"
Si Zhui lowered his head, twisting the corner of the quilt with his fingers: "I... I don't want to give up halfway..."
"You don't want to give up halfway, so you're going to gamble your life?" Lan Wangji's voice suddenly rose. "The purpose of the Cold Pond Trial is to sharpen your mind, not to force you to show off! You don't even care about your own situation, and you can't even remember the words 'know when to stop'. Have all these three years of teachings been wasted?"
Wei Wuxian put down the medicine bowl and sighed: "Sizhui, your father doesn't blame you for not passing the trial. We are angry because you clearly had a way out, but you chose to go down the road of death. Do you know that when you were unconscious, your spiritual power was almost dissipated. If it was half an hour later..." He couldn't continue, his eyes were red again.
Si Zhui's tears fell: "I was wrong... I just wanted to make you happy..."
"We are most happy to see you safe and sound." Lan Wangji's voice softened, but still held an undeniable seriousness. "If you are not severely punished for what happened today, you will sooner or later be punished for your stubbornness."
He turned around and took out the ruler, but did not ask Sizhui to kneel down. He just said in a deep voice: "Stretch out your hand."
Si Zhui looked at the sorrow in his father's eyes and slowly reached out his hand. The ruler came down with a lighter force than before, but each blow felt like a blow to his heart.
"One. Remember, doing what you can do is not cowardice."
"Second. Remember, it is wise to preserve yourself."
After ten strokes, his palm was only slightly red. Lan Wangji put down the ruler and suddenly bent down to embrace him in his arms: "Next time, don't make us worry so much."
Si Zhui stood there in a daze, his nose rubbing against the cool fabric of his father's clothes, and suddenly he understood - those harsh scoldings, those painful punishments, were never because he didn't love him, but because he loved him too deeply, so deeply that he was afraid that if he was not careful, he would lose him.
That night, Wei Wuxian brought a bowl of steaming ginger soup and sat beside Sizhui's bed, telling him a story: "When your father was young, he spent seven whole days in a mass grave to solve a strange case. His spiritual power was exhausted, but he stubbornly refused to leave. In the end, I carried him back. After returning, he had a high fever for three days and almost fainted."
Si Zhui blinked: "Then... was father also punished by the master?"
"He was punished. He was made to kneel in the ancestral hall for a whole night." Wei WuXian laughed. "You see, even the most powerful people can make mistakes sometimes. The important thing is that there is someone by your side to hold you back and prevent you from falling headfirst into it."
He stroked Sizhui's head, his eyes as gentle as moonlight: "We punish you to let you know that there are always more important things in this world than winning or losing. For example... we are waiting for you to come home for dinner."
Si Zhui held the bowl of warm ginger soup, looked out the window at the moonlight, and suddenly smiled. He thought, he is really the luckiest person in the world - he has a strict father who always cares about him, and a gentle father who always can enlighten him.
The scars from the Cold Pond Trial gradually faded, but he wore the jade pendant with the Chinese character "静" (quiet) around his waist day and night. The warmth of the jade pendant was a constant reminder to him: true strength is not about being aggressive or competitive, but about knowing when to stop and turn around, knowing that no matter how far he goes, there are always two people waiting for him to come home.
The days flowed slowly through morning lessons, sword practice, occasional mistakes, and lessons. Sizhui gradually lost his youthful impetuousness, his features becoming more tranquil. However, the kindness hidden in his bones remained as warm and bright as the spring sun.
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian watched him grow up, feeling both happy and reluctant. They knew that no matter how long they stayed in the Cloud Recesses, one day they would have to let this child face the storms alone.
Unbeknownst to them at the time, the gears of fate were already quietly turning. A sudden change would drag them into a completely unfamiliar world, and the rules and principles they had learned in the Cloud Recesses would face unprecedented tests in this new world.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
