Fu Juan lowered her eyes and said coolly, “You two can try it next time you have the chance.”
Zhao Sujie looked at Jiang Yiguang expectantly.
Jiang Yiguang: “…” She politely refused. “I actually don’t really like eating out.” After a pause, feeling her excuse wasn’t very convincing, she added righteously, “Those of us on the path of cultivation do not let desires for food disturb our Dao progress, nor let the five grains corrupt our spiritual bodies.”
Zhao Sujie looked confused.
Jiang Yiguang offered no further explanation. Saying “Good afternoon,” she closed her eyes.
Though visits from others brought liveliness, she still wanted to be discharged and go home, away from the disinfectant and clamorous noises.
–
Time passed quickly.
A week later, Jiang Yiguang successfully completed her discharge procedures. She declined the enthusiastic Zhao Sujie and didn’t wait for Fu Juan either. Instead, she called her close friend, Lu Yaotiao, who was off gallivanting who-knows-where.
Lu Yaotiao moved extremely fast. Soon, she was driving up to the hospital entrance, supporting Jiang Yiguang while muttering softly. She hadn’t known about this until Jiang Yiguang was being discharged; as a good friend, she felt a bit remiss.
“It mainly involves the supernatural world, so I didn’t mention it to you.” Jiang Yiguang covered her mouth as she yawned.
“Alright.” Lu Yaotiao didn’t press further. Most of the rich “death-seeking tendencies” lurking within her had vanished after the fright of the Southern Mountain incident. Knowing too much wasn’t necessarily a good thing; she might be perceived by some unknown existence. Just as the car was about to start, Lu Yaotiao spotted a familiar figure in the rearview mirror. She let out an “Eh,” and turned to Jiang Yiguang, asking, “Isn’t that Fu Juan? She can stand up now?” Frowning, Lu Yaotiao thought of something and asked, “What a coincidence, is she here for you?”
A smile flickered in Jiang Yiguang’s eyes. She only chose one question to answer: “Yeah, she can stand up now.” Fu Juan recognized Lu Yaotiao’s car; she probably already guessed her whereabouts. Yet after contemplating for a moment, Jiang Yiguang still pulled out her phone from her pocket and sent a message.
Jiang Yiguang: 【I’m heading back with Yaotiao.】
Fu Juan: 【Mm.】
Jiang Yiguang looked down at her phone. It was Fu Juan’s typically curt text. From that single square character, one could almost sketch Fu Juan’s cold, detached features. Her fingertip absently poked the phone screen, keeping the display lit. After a moment, Jiang Yiguang exhaled lightly, quickly flipped the phone face-down beside her, leaned against the car seat, and emptied her mind completely.
Unknowingly, she drifted into slumber, only to be woken by Lu Yaotiao gently patting her shoulder.
“You can sleep even in such a short time?”
Jiang Yiguang stretched and said, righteously, “I’ve been too tired lately. I underwent high-intensity training at Azure Hill, then went straight to Baling without resting after returning, and even suffered internal injuries from Jiuying. Not dying outright means I’ve got a tough life.”
Lu Yaotiao asked again, “What did you dream about?”
Jiang Yiguang glanced at her sideways, puzzled: “Why are you curious about even this?”
Lu Yaotiao gave a strange, peculiar smile at this. Before Jiang Yiguang could grow impatient, she finally spoke: “I heard you call Fu Juan’s name.”
Jiang Yiguang: “…”
That brief dream wasn’t bizarre or thrilling. It was merely those memories settled deep in her consciousness replaying. Her childhood self was like a little tail, running after Fu Juan round and round. No matter how she chased, no matter how she shouted, Fu Juan never stopped, walking forward into the hazy, indistinct fog, never to return. “I don’t want to do meaningless things.” Jiang Yiguang pursed her lips and said.
Lu Yaotiao smiled and asked, “Such as?” Without waiting for Jiang Yiguang to answer, she answered herself, “Such as chasing after Fu Juan?”
Jiang Yiguang glared at Lu Yaotiao, displeased: “You’ve got a big mouth!” With Lu Yaotiao’s support, she slowly returned home. Only when she sank into the sofa did she let out a satisfied sigh. Then she roused the drowsy Bo Qi from his deep sleep and ordered him to entertain the guest. She herself squinted, saying, “Actually, thinking carefully, I didn’t actually like Fu Juan that much.”
Her close friend had escaped a bitter sea, and Lu Yaotiao naturally felt relieved for her, though she always felt things weren’t quite as Jiang Yiguang described. Sorting out her thoughts, she asked, “Then what was that before? Because Fu Juan is your ‘childhood sweetheart,’ and you couldn’t tolerate anyone else coveting her? Was possessiveness at play?”
Jiang Yiguang countered, “Would you want to imprison your ‘childhood sweetheart’?” She clasped her hands together, her expression grave. “I was under a hex!”
Lu Yaotiao burst out laughing. Under Jiang Yiguang’s embarrassed and annoyed glare, she stifled her clear, bright laughter, straightened her back, and nodded: “Fine, you were under a hex.” She stared at Jiang Yiguang, dead serious. “So now, what do you think of Fu Juan?”
Jiang Yiguang hesitated: “…Friends?” The drawn-out tone revealed emotions even she wasn’t sure about.
This reaction was within Lu Yaotiao’s expectations.
Lu Yaotiao eyed her sideways and asked, “If Fu Juan and I fell into the water, who would you save first?”
Jiang Yiguang answered without hesitation: “Fu Juan.”
Lu Yaotiao snorted with dissatisfaction: “Do you have to be so blunt?”
Jiang Yiguang laughed: “If it were the Mortal Realm, Fu Juan couldn’t possibly fall into the water. As for you—you know how to swim yourself, so what’s there to save? If it were on a supernatural level and you both fell into the water simultaneously… hmm, fish Fu Juan out first, that increases the chances of saving you too. Me choosing this way is actually thinking of your best interests.”
“I am reluctantly convinced.” Lu Yaotiao said, raising a hand to point her finger at the direction of Jiang Yiguang’s heart in the air. “Actually, discerning your feelings is very simple. Ask yourself: do you want to be with Fu Juan?”
Jiang Yiguang frowned in contemplation. Only after a long while did she say, “Not really.”
Lu Yaotiao: “Then do you want to see her with someone else?”
In front of Lu Yaotiao, Jiang Yiguang didn’t bother to hide her feelings and honestly admitted, “Absolutely not.” Wang Xuanming? Or someone else? The moment she imagined Fu Juan with someone close by her side, although she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by inexplicable emotions again, the word “joy” would clearly abandon her.
Lu Yaotiao’s eyes widened: “…Jiang Jiang, you’re still a scumbag!”
Jiang Yiguang chuckled dryly: “Your judgment is flawed.” When Lu Yaotiao shot her a defiant look, Jiang Yiguang smiled serenely. “During the Southern Mountain incident, upon hearing that Senior Sister had a girlfriend, you didn’t react much either.”
Lu Yaotiao’s smile froze, then she quibbled: “Didn’t I complain a bit?”
Jiang Yiguang smiled faintly: “Anyone would have reacted like you did reading it.” Watching Lu Yaotiao rendered speechless, Jiang Yiguang made a “victory” gesture. She said, “That matter isn’t important. Yaotiao, in the future, we’ll probably rarely see each other.”
At these words, Lu Yaotiao’s playful mood vanished. Her expression turned serious, brows furrowed: “Hm?”
Jiang Yiguang sighed with emotion: “I originally thought that after resolving that matter, I could return to my salted fish life of eating, drinking, and traveling everywhere. But I’m not my own master.”
Lu Yaotiao understood. She blinked and asked, “You want to continue walking down that path?”
Jiang Yiguang nodded emphatically, a single “Yes” landing firmly.
“As a friend, I support you. You will definitely be invincible.” Lu Yaotiao raised her teacup. “Oh, and one thing I must say: If you become rich and noble, don’t forget about me.”
Jiang Yiguang’s smile faded. Her voice gradually lowered: “If I don’t make it back, you must remember to visit me.” Once a person’s name disappears from the heart of the last person who remembers them, their traces in the world are completely gone—just like the “original self” under the control of fate. But emotions came quickly and dissipated just as fast. She clinked her cup against Lu Yaotiao’s and smiled freely, “Of course, there’s no way I’ll die. Being mediocre and useless early on, mocked and scolded by others, then suddenly rising up one day, like a great Roc soaring with the wind—isn’t that a textbook protagonist script?”
“Following novel development, Fu Juan fits that better.” Lu Yaotiao muttered, then her face broke into a smile again. “Of course, Jiang Jiang, you’re also a protagonist. Everyone is a unique existence, the leading role in their own life’s script.”
Jiang Yiguang’s smile was radiant. Dimly, she seemed to hear a faint, subtle sound, as if some invisible, intangible shackle had loosened.
–
Within the Dragon Vein.
Wind gently stirred the spiritual radiance within the Dragon Vein. The brilliant golden light flowed like a galaxy of stars, dazzling and magnificent.
Jiang Li sat cross-legged within the Dragon Vein, tapping the River Map and Luo Writing lightly with a bent finger, asking, “Has the final fetter of fate disappeared?”
The River Map and Luo Writing replied, “Yes, similar to the form of ‘seeking approval.’ Someone affirmed her, shattering that final trace of imposed fate.” Humans are the spirits of all living things. When spirits and monsters hit a bottleneck in their cultivation, they would seek out humans for approval. A positive answer would smooth their cultivation; a negative one would bring failure. At least half the incidents of monsters causing trouble in Shenzhou were caused by “seeking approval.”
“Mm.” A smile appeared on Jiang Li’s face. She looked at the River Map and Luo Writing and asked, “The whereabouts of the Nine Cauldrons can’t be deduced, so what about the remaining Hundun Fragments?”
The River Map and Luo Writing glowed faintly with spiritual light. After a moment, it said pitifully, “Better to just smash me.”
“Most matters within the Mountains and Seas Realm cannot be deduced. So what can you deduce?” Jiang Li tapped the River Map and Luo Writing, her tone laced with a hint of disdain. Did Emperor Xuanyuan and King Yu know that the Sacred Origin Text would turn into this in later ages?
The River Map and Luo Writing said, “One thing: Bai Ze has emerged from the Mountains and Seas.”
Jiang Li’s eyes flickered. She murmured, “Bai Ze? The all-knowing beast that understands the past and comprehends all things, then.”
“Clouded Summit Seven Slips: Annals of Xuanyuan” records: “The Emperor toured and hunted, eastwards to the sea, ascended Heng Mountain, and at the shore obtained the Divine Beast Bai Ze. It could speak, understanding the nature of all things.”
–
Meanwhile.
In the rustic Crabapple Alley, a white figure darted swiftly, crashing heavily into a plump black mass.
Immediately, a miserable cat’s yowl echoed through the alley.
Cat Demon Ah He, just as she was carrying her bundle and preparing to find Jiang Yiguang based on an address, had encountered a “great enemy” attack!
