I can't rest easy
“Your formation is so intricate and the challenges are so complicated.” Yun Qian sat down on the chair next to her, rubbing her slightly throbbing temples. “I just managed to get through the first challenge, and it took me a lot of mental and physical effort.” She looked at Bai Ji and added confidently, “You can rest assured. With the complexity of your exquisite formation, unless someone’s cultivation is far superior to yours and they can force their way through like I have, an ordinary cultivator would be trapped inside and would hardly be able to escape for at least ten days to half a month.”
"Really?!" Upon hearing this, Bai Ji's eyes lit up with surprise. He looked up at Yun Qian, only to suddenly realize that Qin Wu had also silently appeared in the library. This unexpected figure startled him. "Holy crap! When did you get here?!"
Qin Wu's face remained expressionless. He held his sword with both arms, leaned against the door frame, and said succinctly, "Just now."
In just over a decade, Qin Wu's growth rate has been terrifying. He has now reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, just like Bai Chuan and Bai Ji. However, among those of the same level, sword cultivators often hold an absolute advantage in combat power. Qin Wu deliberately concealed his aura, so with Bai Ji's cultivation level, it was naturally difficult for him to detect his approach.
"What are you doing here?" Bai Ji asked irritably. "Having a change of heart, you want to help me test out the new formation?"
Qin Wu shook his head, his gaze passing directly past him and landing on Yun Qian: "I've come to find my senior sister."
"Why are you looking for your senior sister?"
"Practicing swordsmanship."
From the day he stepped into Cangmin Mountain, Qin Wu had always been this cold and aloof, a man of few words. After more than a decade of getting along, Bai Ji had long since gotten used to it, but she still couldn't help but want to banter with him every time.
What's more, ever since Qin Wu arrived, every time Yun Qian accompanied him to study formations, this guy would either silently follow by and watch, or try to find an excuse to call his senior sister away! This made Bai Ji very unhappy!
"Why do you always have to practice swordsmanship with your senior sister?! She's not your only senior sister!" Bai Ji's tone involuntarily rose.
"My senior sister promised to help me test the formation today, so go find your second senior brother to practice with you!"
Qin Wu remained expressionless and stated the facts in a calm tone: "Second Senior Brother is not in the mountain."
"I don't care if he's here or not! Today, my senior sister has to accompany me to test the formation!"
"Haven't we already tried it?"
"That doesn't count! You interrupted me before I even finished trying!"
One was impatient and jumping up and down, while the other remained calm. They went back and forth, and after several rounds, the argument not only failed to subside but instead escalated.
Yun Qian, whose head was throbbing from their noise, finally couldn't take it anymore. With a flick of her wrist, two beams of light flashed, and she accurately placed two silencing talismans on Bai Ji and Qin Wu's mouths respectively.
The world became quiet in an instant.
After Yun Qian finished affixing the talisman, she calmly patted non-existent dust off her hands, looked at her two junior brothers who could only stare wide-eyed, and said, "You two, calm down here and think about what the bond between fellow disciples is."
After saying that, she ignored the two pairs of eyes filled with accusation, made a hand seal, and her figure disappeared from the library in an instant.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease today, making her restless and uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen.
With a thought, Yun Qian appeared in the forbidden area behind the mountain, outside the stone gate where Bai Yan was in seclusion.
Master's seclusion this time has been exceptionally long; he hasn't shown his face for six months, nor has he revealed a single trace of his presence. Yun Qian's worries grew daily. She stared at the tightly closed, heavy stone door that seemed to blend into the mountainside. Her fingertips lifted several times, then slowly lowered again. After much hesitation, she ultimately decided not to push it open rashly.
It's snowing again on Cangmin Mountain.
Snowflakes, like goose feathers, fell in a flurry, quickly covering the ground with a layer of silvery white. Yun Qian didn't leave; she simply sat down silently in the snow in front of the stone gate, tilting her head back to gaze at the gray sky that seemed to be pressing down.
Involuntarily, she recalled the plot of the original book—shortly after Bai Ji suffered a qi deviation, Bai Yan exhausted all his spiritual power to save Bai Chuan, and ultimately…
Over the years, she had repeatedly reminded Bai Ji to stabilize his mind and proceed step by step during cultivation, and never to be greedy for quick results. Bai Ji had been quite obedient, and his cultivation had grown steadily and solidly over the past few years, without any signs of going astray.
Even though everything seemed calm and peaceful, why did her unease not lessen but instead grow heavier?
The snow fell heavier and heavier, landing on her shoulders and the tips of her hair, bringing a biting chill.
Will the tragic ending depicted in the book really come to pass as predicted?
She gently raised her hand, letting a few cool snowflakes fall into her warm palm, watching them melt little by little into glistening water droplets, just like her gradually dissolving composure.
No matter what, I can't feel relaxed.
Amidst a jumble of chaotic thoughts and a heavy premonition, Yun Qian sat quietly outside the stone gate where her master was in seclusion, amidst the swirling snow, for an entire night.
The next day, the snow on Cangmin Mountain showed no signs of stopping.
Inside the stone gate lies another world.
Outside, a fierce snowstorm raged, but inside, it was warm and cozy, keeping out all the chill. Bai Yan sat on the floor, wearing only a thin white undergarment. In front of him was a chessboard, on which lay an unfinished game, black and white pieces intertwined, the situation tense and deadlocked, as if countless moments had been frozen in time.
The silver mask still covered his face, concealing his features. However, the skin exposed at this moment, especially his jaw and neck, was even paler than the cold mask, an almost transparent, bloodless white that conveyed an indescribable weakness and decay.
Bai Yan's gaze fell blankly on the unfinished chess game, a bitter smile forced onto his lips, his low, hoarse voice echoing in the silent room: "This game... you and I, in the end, can never finish it."
Before long, the biggest secret buried deep in Cangmin Mountain will likely be known only to him.
Thinking of this, he felt little fear of his own fate, only a heavy worry weighing on his heart.
He was just... a little worried about the children.
Are they truly ready to shoulder the mission of protecting Cangmin Mountain, and even more so?
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