Chapter 3: The Scroll and the Three Swords
Chen Yin didn’t usually live on the mountain.
He and Xiang’er both lived in a small wooden hut they built at the foot of Mount Yu.
After all, Master was a very clean person. If he messed up her cave dwelling, she would fly into a rage.
It was better to live at the foot of the mountain for peace and quiet.
When Chen Yin returned to the hut, Xiang’er was sitting by the pond in front of the hut, her embroidered shoes cast aside, her white, tender, and smooth little feet dangling back and forth in the water.
Seeing Chen Yin’s return, Xiang’er’s face lit up with joy:
“Senior Brother, you’re back.”
Chen Yin smiled and rubbed Xiang’er’s head.
“What did Master call you up the mountain for?”
“To discuss my marriage with Xiang’er.”
“…Senior Brother is teasing me again.” Xiang’er’s lively eyes showed a hint of resentment.
“It was just a trivial matter.” Chen Yin said casually. “She went to some tavern and didn’t pay her bill again. I had to clean up her mess.”
Xiang’er couldn’t help but giggle.
“Master isn’t as bad as Senior Brother makes her out to be.”
“Be careful, if Master hears you, she’ll take off Senior Brother’s pants and hang you on a tree to spank you.” After saying that, Xiang’er pouted.
…This was actually true.
When he first arrived at the mountain as a child, Chen Yin angered Master several times because he didn’t understand the rules.
Each time, he was hung on a tree and spanked.
Fortunately, there were only Master and Xiang’er on Mount Yu, so no one saw Chen Yin’s embarrassing moments.
Thinking about it, Chen Yin felt a little irritated and turned to Xiang’er, extending his “evil claws” menacingly:
“Oh, so my little Xiang’er has learned to snitch!”
“Before Master punishes me, I’ll spank Xiang’er’s butt first!”
“Ah! Senior Brother, no!”
The pond water was clear and cool. The two of them joked and played, getting themselves all wet.
It wasn’t until Xiang’er was panting and blushing, begging for mercy, that Chen Yin stopped his “evil claws” and turned to lie down on the side.
They both fell silent, lying on the bank, quietly watching the clouds in the sky.
…For the past ten years, every day had been a carefree life like this.
So carefree that it made one feel reluctant to let it go.
“Um, Senior Brother…”
“Hmm?”
“Senior Brother, don’t always tease me.”
“How is it teasing? Can’t it be that Senior Brother really wants to marry Xiang’er?” Chen Yin turned his head, propped up his head with his hand, and smiled.
A cute blush appeared on Xiang’er’s face, and she said shyly, “I-I don’t want to marry Senior Brother.”
“Eh? Why? Doesn’t Xiang’er like Senior Brother?”
Chen Yin looked hurt: “You clearly promised me when you were little that you would marry me when you grew up.”
“Th-That was when I was young and didn’t know better! It doesn’t count!”
Xiang’er explained anxiously, the blush on her face deepening.
“Senior Brother just knows how to bully me. If I marry Senior Brother… won’t I be bullied to death every day?”
Chen Yin loved to see her shy and blushing like this, unable to speak.
He couldn’t help but lean in and scrape her nose, laughing: “Then it’s not up to Xiang’er anymore.”
“I’ve made up my mind, I’m definitely going to bully Xiang’er for the rest of my life.”
Xiang’er’s breath quickened.
But the next moment, the light in her eyes dimmed for a second, and she turned her head, pouting slightly.
“Hmph. I don’t want to.”
“When I become stronger than Senior Brother one day, you won’t be able to bully me anymore.”
A flash of sadness crossed Chen Yin’s eyes.
But the next moment, he changed the subject in a lighthearted tone:
“Speaking of which, isn’t it time for the market again tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Xiang’er blinked. “We’ve just run out of spices and salt at home. Let’s go to the town tomorrow to buy some.”
“So that means I can eat Xiang’er’s homemade braised pork when we get back tomorrow night?”
Seeing Chen Yin licking his lips in anticipation, Xiang’er mumbled, “I won’t make it for the bad Senior Brother.”
But the corners of her eyes were filled with sweetness and a smile.
***
That night, after nightfall.
In the next room, Xiang’er’s breathing had become even, and she must have fallen asleep.
Chen Yin sat silently in front of his bed.
…Tomorrow was the day Xiang’er went to the market.
Before his rebirth, Chen Yin hadn’t noticed anything unusual. He only knew that Xiang’er occasionally liked to go to the market in town and spend the whole day there.
He thought she would come back with bags of things, but every time she only brought back some simple daily necessities.
He didn’t know what she did for the whole day.
At that time, Chen Yin thought it was just Xiang’er’s childish nature, liking to window shop but not buy anything.
Now that he thought about it… the only opportunity for Xiang’er, who was with him day and night, to have contact with the demonic path was during the time she went to the market.
Chen Yin decided to follow Xiang’er tomorrow.
He wanted to find out what was happening to her. What was her connection to the demonic path?
And, at this point… could he still rewrite everything?
After a moment, Chen Yin slowly took out a scroll from his bosom.
The scroll was black and old, as if it had been pulled from ashes.
This was the item Chen Yin brought out from the secret realm back then.
After he recognized the scroll with his blood, he kept it hidden in his dantian, and no one had ever seen it.
Its only special feature was that there was an independent space within the scroll.
Only someone with a Boundless Root bone like him could enter.
Inside that space, time was completely frozen. Chen Yin couldn’t even control his own body.
The only thing he could do was practice swordsmanship.
The scroll only recorded three sword moves and some miscellaneous, not very useful cultivation techniques.
Each of the three sword moves was simple and unadorned, showing no extraordinary features.
But Chen Yin was trapped in that space for who knows how long.
Maybe it was only a few months, maybe it was thousands of years.
It wasn’t until he could barely execute all three sword moves that he emerged from the scroll and truly became its master, able to freely enter and exit that space.
He didn’t know the exact power of these three swords because he hadn’t tested them.
He only knew that if he truly unleashed them completely, it would probably be quite outrageous.
If he accidentally messed up Master’s beloved Mount Yu, he would definitely be hung up and spanked again.
However, since Xiang’er might come into contact with the demonic path tomorrow, he had to be prepared to use his sword in the worst-case scenario.
So Chen Yin sighed and silently apologized in his heart:
…I’m sorry, Master. I’ll buy you good wine as compensation another day.
Then he stealthily ran up the mountain.
***
Mount Yu in the evening was particularly serene and clear, with the starry river overhead and Mist Yu flowers swaying in the wind.
Chen Yin tiptoed to a rockery outside the cave dwelling and carefully cast a spell on it.
After a moment, his figure vanished from in front of the rockery and appeared in a dark room.
The room was filled with various large boxes, all seemingly covered in dust, untouched for a long time.
…This was Master’s treasure vault.
All the rare and precious treasures that Immortal Yu Ling had collected over countless years were thrown here.
Of course, those treasures were indeed useless to Master. She only collected them with a child’s mentality of gathering toys, basically throwing them into the vault and never bothering with them again.
When he was young, Chen Yin accidentally learned about this and the incantation to enter the vault from Master when she was drunk, so he had sneaked in a few times.
But at that time, it was more out of mischief, just secretly taking a few small items back to amuse Xiang’er.
But this time, he truly needed to find two things.
After rummaging through a pile of boxes, Chen Yin finally found the first item.
It was a sword case.
…To use sword moves, he naturally needed a sword.
But Chen Yin’s own swords were all inferior goods that Master bought in bulk for ten copper coins a piece.
They couldn’t withstand his sword moves at all.
Gently wiping the sword case, Chen Yin opened it, and inside lay a jade sword, entirely made of glazed glass, as clear as crystal.
The sword’s name was “Eternal Light.”
Having practiced swordsmanship for so long, Chen Yin had a subtle connection with swords.
This sword was enough.
After recognizing the sword with his blood, Chen Yin put it away and turned to find the second item.
He had seen this item when he was young.
It was a mask.
A mask that could change one’s appearance.
At that time, Chen Yin just thought it was fun, able to transform into Master’s appearance to tease Xiang’er.
But later, he realized that even in the cultivation world, this kind of item was a rare treasure.
In any case, it wasn’t something a small cultivator like him could keep.
So after playing with it a few times, he put the mask back in its original place.
But now, it was time to take it out.
After making all the necessary preparations, Chen Yin slipped out of the treasure vault and went back to his room down the mountain.
Quietly waiting for dawn.
***
The next morning, when Xiang’er was still half asleep, Chen Yin had already prepared the water for her to wash up.
“Lazybones, time to wake up. Or you’ll miss the market.”
Xiang’er opened her eyes sleepily, and upon seeing Chen Yin, quickly retreated back under the covers.
“Senior Brother, don’t come in! I-I haven’t washed up yet, and my hair is still messy…”
“By the time you finish washing up, the food will be cold.”
After thoughtfully preparing the water for her, Chen Yin smiled and rubbed her little head.
“I’ve prepared the water for you. Hurry up and wash up to cook. I’m hungry, Your Senior Brother is hungry.”
“Stay hungry then, I won’t cook for you.” Xiang’er glared at him fiercely, then snorted and turned to wash up.
Chen Yin could only shake his head helplessly.
After the meal, Xiang’er changed into a light goose-yellow dress and turned to bid farewell to Chen Yin:
“Then Senior Brother, I’m leaving.”
“Come back early.” Chen Yin smiled and waved.
Xiang’er looked at Chen Yin, her mouth opening slightly, but she swallowed her words, revealing a carefree smile, and then slowly left.
Watching Xiang’er’s departing figure, Chen Yin’s smile returned to calmness.
“Alright. Next.”
He slowly took out the mask from his bosom and put it on. In a few breaths, he had transformed into a hooded man in black clothes and a black robe, with a cold and aloof face.
“Let me see who’s behind this, targeting Xiang’er.”
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