Chapter 111: A Promise Fulfilled
Luo Nianshang jumped into the well, passing through the watery curtain. She found Fang Xin sitting on her own grave.
She had been visiting frequently lately. This place had become her sanctuary, a place where she could finally share her burdens, although a thousand years of solitude had transformed her into a quiet, introverted individual.
But Master Fang Xin was different from the one in her memories. Although time could distort memories, she still remembered Fang Xin’s perpetually grumpy expression.
Fang Xin, seeing her beloved disciple, her face lighting up, her voice cheerful, said, “My dear disciple, what delicious treats have you brought me today?”
Luo Nianshang, seeing the eager anticipation in her master’s eyes, opened the food box, carefully arranging the dishes before Fang Xin’s grave.
She then placed an incense burner before the grave, lighting three sticks of incense.
The food was still warm, its aroma mingling with the incense smoke. Fang Xin inhaled deeply, her eyes sparkling. “Delicious,” she said. “Is this made by that Fu Yuan girl again?”
Luo Nianshang was still getting used to this talkative version of her master, but seeing Fang Xin happy made her happy too.
She nodded. “Fu Yuan is an excellent cook.”
Fang Xin nodded in agreement, then, remembering Fang Yue Lian’s cooking, she chuckled. “Your Master Yue Lian was also a good cook,” she said. “But she loved those medicinal dishes. You used to get nosebleeds after eating them.”
If Fang Xin hadn’t mentioned it, Luo Nianshang would have forgotten that embarrassing detail. Thankfully, they were alone.
But the mention of Master Yue Lian brought back a painful memory: the image of her leaping from the cliff.
Her increased cultivation had allowed her to control her dreams, to suppress those painful memories that had once plagued her sleep.
But she wasn’t the only one trapped in a dream. Master Yue Lian was still lost in her own memories, her heart unable to let go.
Luo Nianshang wanted to help her, but the dream had lasted too long. It had become something far more complex.
She had been holding onto this question for a long time. Seeing that Fang Xin was in a good mood, she finally asked, “Master, why did you avoid me before?”
Fang Xin, having finished her meal, floated closer to Luo Nianshang, her gaze lingering on her face, its features so similar to Zhu Er’s. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see you,” she said, her voice laced with a hint of sadness. “I simply couldn’t risk being discovered. I had to hide.”
Luo Nianshang’s brow furrowed. “Hide?”
She was the strongest cultivator in the world. Hearing that her master had been avoiding her, her heart filled with a cold anger, she asked, “Who was threatening you? I’ll deal with them.”
Fang Xin, staring at her beloved disciple, her expression fierce, her aura intimidating, felt a pang of unease. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Luo Nianshang had still been a child when Fang Xin had died.
Her memories were of a small, quiet child, clutching her sword, her lips pursed, seeking comfort in Fang Xin’s arms.
Time was a cruel sculptor. Luo Nianshang was no longer that soft, vulnerable child.
But this wasn’t something Luo Nianshang could handle, not yet. Fang Xin returned to her grave, settling down, her voice laced with a hint of fear. “It wasn’t a person,” she said. “There’s something wrong with the Heavenly Dao of this world. To save me, you would have to defy fate itself.”
She sighed, staring into Luo Nianshang’s eyes. “I avoided you because I was afraid of being discovered,” she said. “But lately, the Heavenly Dao has been weakening, its grip loosening. That’s why I called out to you.”
Luo Nianshang was confused. “The Heavenly Dao?”
Fang Xin nodded. “Perhaps a new god has appeared,” she said.
This was a lot to process, but Luo Nianshang immediately thought of the statue that had caused so much chaos in the Demon Realm. Perhaps it was connected.
She seized upon the key word. “A god?” she asked.
“Yes,” Fang Xin said. “Before you were born, the evil god made a deal with the Xuan Tian Sect. She used an external force to end her own life, separating her soul, her body, her divinity, and her power. That’s why the world has been at peace for so long.”
“Those fragments were scattered randomly, but the evil god’s destiny always seemed to settle upon unworthy individuals. It was as if the Heavenly Dao was resisting her influence. But lately, something has changed.”
She didn’t understand it, but it had granted her more freedom. She could finally speak freely.
Luo Nianshang thought back to Bai Jingxue’s explanation. It seemed her master and Bai Jingxue were talking about the same thing.
Fang Xin, seeing Luo Nianshang lost in thought, added, “There’s both good and evil in humans. And it seems this world has two sides as well. The souls of the dead are being taken to another world. I almost ended up there, but I escaped.”
She conjured an illusory hourglass, its sand flowing from the top chamber to the bottom. Once the top chamber was empty, she flipped it over.
“Souls are like grains of sand,” she said. “They simply flow from one space to another. But the sand in the bottom chamber doesn’t move. It’s stagnant.”
But that was all she knew. She sighed. “That resurrection method you mentioned,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about it. Perhaps it involves retrieving a soul from that other world.”
She paused, her voice filled with wonder. “It might be one of the evil god’s abilities.”
Luo Nianshang understood. The world had started to unravel when the Demon Lord had transferred her destiny to her. That was why the statues had appeared.
But the statue had been able to split into multiple fragments. There were probably more of them out there. This wasn’t over.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache. She felt a surge of pressure, the weight of the world settling on her shoulders.
Fang Xin, seeing her beloved disciple’s troubled expression, her heart aching, but also filled with pride, wished Yue Lian could see this.
But they had discussed enough serious matters. She smiled, her voice teasing. “My dear disciple, do you have a partner?” she asked. “Bring her to me sometime. I want to meet her.”
The abrupt shift in topic caught Luo Nianshang off guard. The word “partner” made her think of the Demon Lord.
But she couldn’t understand the Demon Lord’s feelings, nor could she understand her own.
She thought about it for a long time, then said, her voice hesitant, “I’m not sure.”
She hadn’t denied it. Fang Xin’s eyes lit up. She circled Luo Nianshang, noticing that her disciple’s ears were slightly pink.
“You like her, but she doesn’t like you?” Fang Xin asked, her voice filled with a mischievous glee.
Luo Nianshang wasn’t sure, but after some consideration, she nodded.
Fang Xin was stunned. With Luo Nianshang’s power and status, who wouldn’t like her? Perhaps she was simply too quiet and introverted, her personality unappealing?
She instantly transformed into a worried mother hen. Her dear disciple was perfect, except for her inability to communicate.
Luo Nianshang, however, was lost in her own thoughts. Did she like the Demon Lord? And did the Demon Lord like her?
These questions were too subjective. She couldn’t find the right answers. She preferred slaying demons. It was much simpler.
Fang Xin, seeing Luo Nianshang’s increasingly troubled expression, afraid of offering bad advice, since she herself was a cautionary tale, suddenly thought of someone who could help.
Relieved, she returned to her grave, settling down. “Why don’t you ask Bai Jingxue?” she suggested. “Or Lü Qingyan? They might have an answer.”
It was a good idea. Those two were inseparable, yet they refused to acknowledge their relationship. But anyone could see they were in love.
Luo Nianshang filed away this suggestion, then she gathered the food box and the incense burner, standing before Fang Xin’s grave. “I’ll be going now, Master,” she said.
Fang Xin felt a pang of reluctance, but she knew Luo Nianshang was busy. She suppressed her loneliness, waving a hand dismissively. “Go,” she said. “But if you do find a partner, bring her to me sometime. I want to meet her.”
“I will,” Luo Nianshang said.
She then flew through the watery curtain.
She Yuwei, who had been drawing water from the well, startled by Luo Nianshang’s sudden appearance, dropped the bucket, its contents splashing across the ground.
Luo Nianshang, glancing at her pale face, her heart filled with a strange mix of emotions, remembered that this was the disciple who had written those stories, the stories she had read, the stories she had inadvertently acted out with the Demon Lord.
But it wasn’t She Yuwei’s fault. Luo Nianshang knew her own weakness was to blame.
Seeing She Yuwei’s terrified expression, she said, her voice calm, “Focus on your cultivation.”
She Yuwei nodded vigorously, her expression filled with a feigned sincerity. “Don’t worry, Ancestor,” she said. “I’ve reformed.”
Her performance was so exaggerated that Luo Nianshang didn’t believe a word of it, but she couldn’t say anything.
She simply nodded and left.
She Yuwei, watching her go, her fear subsiding, couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, “Hmph, you cold-hearted monster. Just wait. I’ll write you into my next story.”
She picked up the bucket, her mind racing as she imagined the punishments she would inflict upon the fictional Sword Saint, then she paused, her hand freezing.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Someone like her shouldn’t be slandered.”
Bai Jingxue, in her cat form, perched on a nearby tree, having overheard She Yuwei’s mutterings, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Luo Nianshang. But it seemed She Yuwei had a conscience.
But Luo Nianshang could meet with Fang Xin now?
She was curious. She waited for She Yuwei to leave, then leaped down from the tree, landing gracefully beside the well.
She stared at her reflection in the water, then, without hesitation, she jumped.
To her surprise, she found Fang Xin waiting for her.
Fang Xin, seeing the cat, smiled. “It’s quite lively today,” she said.
Bai Jingxue transformed into her human form, staring at Fang Xin, her voice filled with a mix of emotions. “Long time no see,” she said.
“Long time no see,” Fang Xin replied.
Bai Jingxue, glancing at the incense ashes on the ground, asked, “Did the Sword Saint come here?”
Fang Xin, finding the title “Sword Saint” a bit awkward, nodded, then, after mentally calculating their relationship, she said, “Actually, she should be calling you ‘Auntie’ and Lü Qingyan ‘Second Auntie’.”
“Please don’t,” Bai Jingxue said quickly. “This is fine.”
Fang Xin, seeing her resistance, didn’t press the issue, but she was curious about Luo Nianshang’s partner. And now, she had someone she could ask.
“Who’s Luo Nianshang’s partner?” she asked, her voice eager. “What’s her name? What’s her cultivation level? What does she look like? Can she cook?”
Bai Jingxue, bombarded with questions, was stunned. She didn’t know Luo Nianshang had a partner. “Wait,” she said. “The Sword Saint doesn’t have a partner.”
Fang Xin, her excitement vanishing, her shoulders slumping, said, “You don’t know?”
Her disappointment made Bai Jingxue feel a pang of guilt.
Fang Xin had been trapped in this well for so long. She deserved to hear some interesting gossip. And masters always cared about their disciples’ romantic entanglements.
Bai Jingxue thought for a moment, then decided to tell her about the Demon Lord’s antics.
But she didn’t want to portray the Demon Lord in a negative light. She chose her words carefully.
“The Demon Lord… she’s a bit… playful,” she said. “She likes to tease people. But she wouldn’t actually do anything… inappropriate.”
Fang Xin listened intently, her curiosity piqued. She was intrigued by this Demon Lord. She had a feeling that this was the person Luo Nianshang was interested in.
“You said her name is Qiu Yingxi?” she asked. “How tall is she? Can she cook? She seems rather assertive. She’s not what I expected.”
Bai Jingxue held her hand slightly above her shoulder. “About this tall,” she said. “As for cooking… well…”
Only a true warrior could stomach the Demon Lord’s cooking. And Luo Nianshang was the only warrior she knew.
Fang Xin, understanding her hesitation, didn’t pry. It wasn’t her own partner, and cultivators didn’t need to eat anyway. It was Luo Nianshang’s choice.
Then she remembered something, slapping her forehead. “I forgot,” she said. “Luo Nianshang lost her sense of taste. So cooking doesn’t really matter.”
Bai Jingxue’s eyes widened. “She lost her sense of taste?”
Fang Xin, her chin resting on her hand, nodded. “Yes,” she said. “When she was young, her senior sister poisoned her. She has a unique constitution, so she recovered quickly, but she lost her sense of taste.”
Bai Jingxue was stunned. She hadn’t known this.
Fang Xin sighed. “Children are so naive,” she said. “She believed her senior sister’s lies, that it was an accident. But then, that same senior sister pushed her off a cliff.”
“She became a recluse after that.”
Her words echoed through the well, their sadness making Bai Jingxue’s heart ache, but she knew Luo Nianshang didn’t need pity. She simply sighed.
“But she’s happy now,” Fang Xin continued, her voice regaining its usual cheerfulness. “She has so many people around her. And I can tell you and Lü Qingyan truly care for her. That’s good.”
Bai Jingxue didn’t think she had done anything special. “She deserves a happy ending,” she said.
Fang Xin didn’t argue. She agreed. She simply smiled at Bai Jingxue.
She sensed Bai Jingxue’s anxiety, but she didn’t know how to comfort her. She had so little information.
“You’re a good person too,” she said, her voice gentle. “You deserve a happy ending too.”
“Don’t overthink things,” she continued. “Remember to relax. That’s my advice from a thousand years in the future.”
Bai Jingxue understood. “Thank you, Master,” she said.
“By the way,” Fang Xin added, her voice suddenly casual, “can you cook? Bring me some food next time.”
Bai Jingxue’s heartfelt gratitude instantly vanished.
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