A Figure on Jade Steps in the Wind and Snow 104

Chapter 104: The Rebirth Sect

The mountain peak where the manor was located was shrouded in clouds and mist. Every morning when Shen Zhishu came out of her room, she would sit on the stone stool in front of the room and gaze into the distance for a while.

Jiang Yu would sometimes sit beside her, and sometimes she would go up the mountain alone, it was unclear what she was doing.

Shen Zhishu did not ask, but on the third day, she followed her up in silence. She saw Jiang Yu walk through the flowers and the forest, and leisurely reached the edge of the cliff. Then she stopped, did not turn back, but called out, “Youshu.”

Shen Zhishu said, “Mm,” “How did Your Highness know I was here?”

“You’re asking the obvious,” Jiang Yu tilted her head. “The General did not hide your aura, and deliberately let me know that you were following me, right?”

Shen Zhishu laughed, moved a little closer, and stood side by side with Jiang Yu.

At that time, the wind blew through the treetops, and the mist under the cliff was vast. The stray hairs on Shen Zhishu’s forehead were blown away by the east wind.

She stood quietly for a long time, but she still did not see Jiang Yu make her next move. She couldn’t help but be a little surprised, “Did Your Highness come here just to get some fresh air?”

Jiang Yu glanced at her faintly, “Please open your heavenly eye, General.”

So Shen Zhishu waved her hand and formed a seal, and pushed it forward.

In an instant, the east wind passed, and sand and stones flew up.

The souls were still dense, covering the entire mountain peak. Among them, there were a few whose colors were rich. They probably had endless attachments and their obsessions were too deep, so they could not go to rebirth on their own and were waiting for someone to enlighten them.

Shen Zhishu watched in silence for a while and then turned to ask, “Does the Rebirth Sect have a successor?”

If there was no one to take over, and they came to enlighten a batch every once in a while, there would be more than just these few souls on the mountain peak that could not be reincarnated on their own.

Jiang Yu shook her head and said, “I don’t know,” “Most of those who died in the immortal sect war back then were immortals. Perhaps there were still a group of people who had not yet cultivated to become immortals who survived, and they have been passed down from generation to generation until now.”

Shen Zhishu: “Then these few…”

“I won’t go in person,” Jiang Yu said. “I’ll wait here and see if anyone comes. Does the General want to go with me?”

Shen Zhishu naturally said yes.

They sat from morning to noon, but they still did not see anyone come. So Jiang Yu left a voice-recording spell here, and if there was any movement, she would know at the first moment, and then she walked back to the room side by side with Shen Zhishu.

But as soon as they entered the room, they saw Lantiao and Hongli bickering.

“I said I would go and get water, and I asked you to watch the General and Her Highness here. How could you lose sight of them?” Hongli said in a loud voice. “And you even said ‘they disappeared in a flash.’ I see that you were clearly just being playful and not paying attention!”

“Why are you blaming me!” Lantiao said. “Can they get lost? No one in this world can do anything to them. They must have gone out for something and will be back in a while—Your Highness, General!”

Lantiao was halfway through her argument when her peripheral vision caught sight of Shen Zhishu and the other two, who were eavesdropping at the door. She immediately became excited, turned her head, and said to Hongli, “What did I tell you? Look, aren’t they back safe and sound?”

“You’re lucky this time!” Hongli said. “What if the General and Her Highness are kidnapped next time? Or if a ghost in the mountains catches them? Or if they fall into the sea and are eaten by fish? At the very least, what if they get lost? At that time, they will be dismembered by some unknown little ghost and scattered here and there, without even a complete corpse. Will you be responsible?”

Shen Zhishu: …Can you wish me well?

Shen Zhishu laughingly pulled Hongli away, patted her on the back, and said with a smile, “I’m back, aren’t I? Don’t be so angry.”

“It’s a good thing the General is back,” Hongli said with her cheeks puffed out. “If the General had not been seen after noon, I would have definitely had a big fight with this little girl.”

“It’s alright,” Jiang Yu comforted her from the side. “I know you were worried about us. This hairpin and this string of agates are for you. You don’t have to be so worried next time. Nothing will happen to your master and me.”

“You can have this silver ingot too,” Shen Zhishu also said. “We’ll let you know next time we go out, so you won’t have to worry.”

Hongli, half-pushing and half-accepting, stuffed all the reward money into her pocket, said thank you, and retreated.

Lantiao also retreated a moment later, as if she were listless.

“These two children,” Shen Zhishu shook her head and said with a smile. “I wonder if the two of them will still argue after they go back to their room. Shall we go to the corner of the wall and listen?”

Jiang Yu nodded in agreement.

They quietly walked to the side of the side room and heard a burst of laughter from inside.

“It seems they’ve made up,” Shen Zhishu said with an old-fashioned air. “Let me listen carefully to what they are saying—”

“Quick, quick, you said you would give me half of the reward. By the way, your acting just now was really not bad,” this was Lantiao’s voice.

“You’re not bad either. It’s a good thing you came up with such a dirty trick,” Hongli said. “This hairpin and this piece of silver ingot are for you. I’ll keep this string of agates.”

Lantiao: “Alright.”

Hongli: “Alright.”

Shen Zhishu: …

Shen Zhishu turned her head and said to Jiang Yu with a serious air, “Hongli seems to have been corrupted by your Lantiao.”

Jiang Yu said in a faint voice, “The General is slandering me. Lantiao has always been good before.”

The two of them thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out where the training plan had gone wrong. In the end, Shen Zhishu slapped her forehead, “I know! Didn’t the two of them share a carriage with the First Concubine before?”

Jiang Yu’s eyes widened slightly, and she had a sudden realization.

The First Concubine, who was on the other side, was playing mahjong with the Second, Third, and Fourth Concubines. Halfway through, she sneezed loudly.

“Who’s thinking of me?” She shook her head and didn’t think much of it. She slammed a jade tile down with a smack, “Two of circles!”

**

After lunch, Jiang Yu’s voice-recording spell took effect—

There was a noise at the edge of the cliff.

Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu immediately flew over and saw a young girl in a Daoist robe standing on the mountain peak, her hands quickly forming seals, and she was chanting something.

The trees around them wanted to be still, but the wind would not stop. The birds flew in all directions, and sand and stones rose into the air.

Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu exchanged a look, hid their auras, and watched quietly.

The girl’s ten fingers danced, and her Daoist robe fluttered. After a joss stick’s time, she took a deep breath, clasped her hands, and suddenly pushed forward—

A dark soul not far away gradually dissipated.

She then continued to enlighten the other souls in the same way.

By the time all the dark souls on the mountain peak had disappeared, the sun was already setting in the west.

Jiang Yu and Shen Zhishu stood side by side, their arms touching. They had not said a word during the enlightenment process, and it was only now that they began to talk in a low voice.

“This girl is a promising talent,” Shen Zhishu said. “Judging by her demeanor, she seems to be of your school.”

There were also several factions in the Rebirth Sect. One was for talismans, one was for formations, and then there were seals, and there were also various miscellaneous cultivators.

Jiang Yu was noncommittal and gestured with her head towards the mountain peak, “Let’s go and see.”

The girl seemed to be exhausted and did not go down the mountain immediately, but instead sat down against a tree trunk not far away.

When Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu approached, the girl was taking out a water gourd that she carried with her and drinking water.

She sensed someone approaching, suddenly raised her head, and then her eyes widened like copper bells.

“What’s with that expression, Your Excellency?” Shen Zhishu smiled.

“General Shen!” the girl exclaimed, and then turned to Jiang Yu, her mouth open, “Grandmaster.”

Shen Zhishu, Jiang Yu: ?

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, “Are you a person of the Rebirth Sect?”

“You really are the Grandmaster! This student is indeed a person of the Rebirth Sect! There is no one in the Rebirth Sect who does not know you!” The girl hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully. “Your portrait is hanging in the Hall of Repose. It is said that the Rebirth Sect has only produced one high immortal, you, but you died in the immortal sect war tens of thousands of years ago—wait, you’re not dead! No, I don’t mean that I wish you were dead, I just…”

The girl’s tongue was almost tied in a knot. Shen Zhishu smiled and patted her on the shoulder, “Speak slowly, there’s no need to panic.”

The girl blinked her eyes, “I knew that the Grandmaster had great divine power and would definitely not be gone so easily!”

Jiang Yu said in a faint voice, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t do as you wished. I am indeed dead.”

“Really?” The girl turned around in a circle and then pinched her thigh hard. “Am I having a hallucination now because I’m tired?”

“Just treat it as a hallucination,” Jiang Yu said.

The girl said, “Oh,” as if she understood but didn’t, and muttered, “It seems I should rest well these past few days…”

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, “How many did you enlighten last month?”

“Not many, just over a hundred. My senior sister has enlightened three hundred.”

As she spoke, she suddenly showed a cunning smile, “Since it’s a hallucination, I suppose it’s fine to be a little offensive—the Grandmaster is so beautiful, I really want to touch her head…”

Shen Zhishu, Jiang Yu: …

Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu left decisively.

But after the two of them had returned to their room, they heard Lantiao and Hongli bickering again.

The words were still the same as at noon.

Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu exchanged a look and both nodded.

So Shen Zhishu took a step forward, deliberately put on a straight face, and said in a displeased tone, “Why are you arguing again? Is it proper to argue all day long? Hongli, give me back the silver ingot I gave you during the day.”

The suddenly stopped Lantiao and Hongli: ??? Why has the General changed???

Hongli stammered, “The silver ingot is… spent.”

“Nonsense,” Shen Zhishu finally couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud. “In this mountain gully, where can you spend silver?”

And then her back was patted by Jiang Yu.

Shen Zhishu coughed twice, suppressed her smile, and said seriously, “This time is fine, but you are not allowed to argue again next time. If you have anything, just tell me and Her Highness, and we will decide.”

Lantiao and Hongli lowered their heads and said, “Yes.”

Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow, “Did you hear me?”

Lantiao and Hongli drew out their voices, “We heard—”

Shen Zhishu nodded with satisfaction, “That’s a good baby.”

As she spoke, she untied her purse, took out two small gold ingots from it, and handed them forward, “There’s a reward for being obedient.”

Lantiao and Hongli’s eyes widened, and they shouted, “Long live,” and were sent to the side room by Shen Zhishu on the grounds of being “noisy.”

Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu then followed closely behind and eavesdropped at the corner of the wall again—

Hongli: “That was a good idea of yours. We really got another reward.”

Lantiao: “Of course. I said long ago that if we argued again, the General and Her Highness would probably be displeased and might get angry with us. As long as we act a little aggrieved, they will be soft-hearted, and the reward will come again, right?”

Shen Zhishu, Jiang Yu: …

The Dao is one foot high, and the devil is one zhang high!

***

1 zhang : 3.3 meters