When Zhuang Wei finished telling his story, Xu Ziqing let out a long sigh. “That you were finally able to meet Palace Master Yuezheng again truly is an extraordinary coincidence.”
Perhaps this was a bond of fate ordained by heaven.
A trace of melancholy passed through Zhuang Wei’s eyes, but there was much more happiness there. “Ever since reuniting with Hezhi, I’ve felt that my life is already complete.”
He had never wanted much. The warmth he had received in childhood had endured in his heart for years. Now that Yuezheng Hezhi treated him so well again, he had no lingering regrets.
As for the small secret realm, the fifth-grade sect could certainly have regarded it as a blessed land. Yet it contained a great many spatial rifts, and even Yuezheng Hezhi had to exercise caution. If he were caught in one, he might survive but be hurled somewhere entirely unknown.
Thus, after Zhuang Wei agreed to accompany him, Yuezheng Hezhi noticed that the spatial rifts were gradually expanding. If one swallowed the whole small secret realm, it could eventually affect the space beyond. Though he could not seal the rifts, he exerted tremendous power before leaving and destroyed the entire secret realm.
In any case, small secret realms like that were countless in the Qianyuan Great World. He did not consider its destruction a loss, and that formidable man wiped it out completely.
The remaining spatial rifts were not large. They were swiftly absorbed and closed by the laws of the outer world, vanishing from existence.
The rift connecting the secret realm to the Qingyun Great World disappeared as well.
The fifth-grade sect in which Zhuang Wei had once lived had expended all that effort for nothing, ultimately failing to enter the so-called blessed land.
But those matters no longer had anything to do with Zhuang Wei.
Zhuang Wei followed Yuezheng Hezhi back to the Ice and Snow Immortal Palace and became his attendant, looking after his daily needs. The two were almost inseparable.
Yuezheng Hezhi treated him exceptionally well. After examining his meridians, he chose a cultivation method particularly suited to him, and provided all the resources he needed in abundance. Compared with Zhuang Wei’s earlier life, the difference was beyond measure.
Filled with gratitude, Zhuang Wei found his old feelings for “Miss Ziluo” returning. Now that he knew he had mistaken the person’s identity, he would not misdirect his devotion again. Instead, he felt ashamed of his own ignorance and foolishness. His love was impossible to suppress, and even though the difference between him and Yuezheng Hezhi was as great as that between heaven and an abyss, he buried his feelings silently and treated the man with ever greater care. Many years passed in this fashion.
After their conversation, Xu Ziqing and Zhuang Wei had spoken to each other with complete sincerity. Each now knew the other’s innermost secret, and their friendship had grown still deeper.
Before they knew it, four hours had passed.
Just then, everyone sensed an extraordinarily dangerous aura approaching from outside, the overflowing presence of a being of tremendous power.
Zhuang Wei looked briefly surprised, then rose. “Hezhi is back.”
Sure enough, the hall doors opened wide and a purple-clad figure swept inside, his long hair flying and his presence overwhelming.
He glanced arrogantly around the room, then fixed his eyes on Zhuang Wei. “You still have work left unfinished.”
Zhuang Wei smiled good-naturedly. “I talked with Brother Ziqing for too long and neglected your affairs, Hezhi. It was my fault.”
Yuezheng Hezhi’s gaze remained cold. “Someone will show them to their guest room. Come with me.”
Zhuang Wei nodded and turned apologetically to the guests. “Brother Ziqing, I’m afraid I must leave you now.”
Xu Ziqing rose with a smile. “Go on and take care of your work. There’s no need to worry about us.”
After this brief exchange, Yuezheng Hezhi turned and strode out, his sleeves billowing. His anger seemed ready to erupt, yet almost at once it was suppressed as though beneath a glacier.
His emotions appeared unpredictable, but there was also a hint of greater control within them, as if a tempest had entered the sea, or fire had merged with ice.
Xu Ziqing watched the two leave and breathed out. “Palace Master Yuezheng truly has an unusual temper.”
Outside the door, a young maid in yellow approached and bowed. “Honored guests, please follow me.”
Xu Ziqing naturally did not make things difficult for her. He took Yun Lie’s hand, and the two followed.
Yuezheng Hezhi had arranged guest rooms for them within the same small hall. They were around the back and not particularly close to Zhuang Wei’s quarters.
When Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie entered, a wave of cold air struck them. The room too was fashioned from ice and jade. Luxurious though it was, it was exceptionally cold.
From the bed and wardrobes to the tables and chairs, everything radiated bitter cold.
The Second Young Palace Master clearly held such a lofty position that even when entertaining guests, he insisted upon his own rules. He was unwilling to set up a formation to keep out the freezing air.
After the maidservant quietly withdrew, Xu Ziqing said nothing more. He merely stamped his heel lightly.
In an instant, a current of extraordinarily warm wood qi spread throughout the room. It was as though spring had returned to the earth, sweeping away all frost.
Yun Lie cultivated the Ruthless Slaughter Sword Dao and was unaffected by the cold in any case. Nor did he respond when Xu Ziqing warmed the room.
Everything was perfectly natural between them.
Xu Ziqing walked to the bedside and sat down with a faint smile. “Palace Master Yuezheng really does treat Brother Zhuang well.”
Yun Lie had been silent earlier, but he was willing to speak to Xu Ziqing now. “Zhuang Wei worries too much.”
Xu Ziqing’s gaze softened. “When I first fell in love with Senior Brother, I was just as anxious.”
Yun Lie replied, “There was no need.”
Xu Ziqing laughed. “Senior Brother, your heart is so steadfast. When you suddenly told me we should marry, you gave me quite a fright.”
There were probably few lovers in this world as frank and unblemished in heart as his senior brother. When Yun Lie awoke from his demonic state, Xu Ziqing had believed he had forgotten the ambiguous affection between them. Yet later, Yun Lie said only one sentence, and all Xu Ziqing’s defenses crumbled.
Thinking of it now, he found the memory very amusing.
Yun Lie walked to Xu Ziqing’s side and rested a hand gently upon his head. “To cultivate immortality is to cultivate one’s true self. If that is what one’s heart desires, there is no need to conceal it. Ziqing, in the future, you must keep your Dao heart free of dust if you are to attain the Great Dao.”
Xu Ziqing smiled still more. He rose, stood slightly on tiptoe, and leaned forward to kiss Yun Lie on the lips. “Senior Brother is right.” The warmth of his lips touched Yun Lie’s, his smile gentle. “Right now, I want to be close to Senior Brother. What do you think?”
Yun Lie lowered his eyes and drew Xu Ziqing into his arms. Parting his lips slightly, he took Xu Ziqing’s lips and tongue into his mouth.
In an instant, their breaths mingled as they held one another tenderly.
Although they had been Dao companions for many years, moments of such intimacy still filled them with boundless happiness.
Xu Ziqing smiled into Yun Lie’s eyes, their breaths meeting.
After so many years of danger and hardship, it had not been easy for them to reach their happy union. Thinking now of Zhuang Wei’s troubled love and comparing it with his own experience, Xu Ziqing felt all the more fortunate.
They might endure countless trials, but his heart and his senior brother’s were always in accord. That alone was more than enough.
They slept soundly together upon the ice bed, undisturbed by dreams.
When morning came, Xu Ziqing smiled at his senior brother. Yun Lie’s eyes softened faintly, and they rose together.
Dawn had not yet fully broken. Yun Lie walked into the courtyard and closed his eyes.
Several trees and plants in the courtyard resembled ice and snow, entirely translucent and white, as though carved from frost.
But Xu Ziqing cultivated a legendary wood-attributed technique. How could he fail to see that these were simply extraordinary ice-attributed plants, not false imitations?
Their wood qi was unmistakably real.
Seeing his senior brother absorbed in contemplating his sword path, Xu Ziqing did not disturb him. He thought that this unusual environment might be useful for tempering Yun Lie’s sword cultivation.
As for Xu Ziqing himself, he stood before a huge tree and laid a hand upon its pure-white trunk. He slowly infused it with wood qi, exploring its internal structure.
Before leaving, if it would not inconvenience their host, he might ask his friend for a few seeds from plants like these, adding them to his subordinate woods to increase his own strength.
Both men became absorbed in comprehending their respective Daos and paid no attention to their surroundings.
Before long, Xu Ziqing withdrew his wood qi. Sensing a feeling of affection from the tree, he could not help smiling.
Yun Lie opened his eyes. A flash of black-gold light passed through them.
In an instant, a falling leaf was struck by that light and sliced cleanly in two.
Only then did Xu Ziqing turn around.
He had already sensed someone watching them from behind, but because he detected no ill intent, he had not been particularly wary. Now he saw Palace Master Yuezheng standing in the corridor beneath an icy pillar, his gaze resting upon them both.
Xu Ziqing smiled. “Greetings, Palace Master Yuezheng.”
Yuezheng Hezhi looked over and asked, “What realm has he reached in sword intent?”
Naturally, the question referred to Yun Lie.
Xu Ziqing glanced at his senior brother and smiled. “Even when Senior Brother was only at the Golden Core stage, his sword intent had already reached Great Perfection. As for how far his sword path has advanced now, I can sense something of it, but I couldn’t properly describe it.”
Yuezheng Hezhi nodded slightly, then looked toward Xu Ziqing. “Your cultivation method isn’t bad.”
Xu Ziqing was momentarily startled, then answered warmly, “There are countless cultivation methods beneath heaven. The best one is whatever suits a person most.”
Yuezheng Hezhi’s expression improved. The fierce quality remained between his brows, but some of his aloofness had faded.
Yun Lie stood beside Xu Ziqing without changing expression, his icy bearing seemingly even colder than Yuezheng Hezhi’s.
Though Yun Lie was still at the early Nascent Soul stage, he was never intimidated when facing this Soul Transformation expert.
He understood, however, that Yuezheng Hezhi was unlike the Soul Transformation cultivators he had met during the battle to defend the pillars. Born a favored genius, with aptitude and comprehension far exceeding ordinary people, this man would be no easy opponent. At the same time, a trace of fighting spirit rose within Yun Lie.
Yuezheng Hezhi suddenly smiled. His smile was like the bright moon emerging, bringing his cold, severe features vividly to life. “You want to fight me?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “The Dao I cultivate demands that I never retreat, even through a hundred battles.”
Yuezheng Hezhi moved and instantly appeared before Yun Lie. “What Dao do you cultivate?”
Yun Lie answered, “The Ruthless Slaughter Sword Dao.”
Yuezheng Hezhi’s eyes brightened. “Then I’ll suppress my cultivation to the early Nascent Soul stage and spar with you.”
Yun Lie said, “That would be excellent.”
Although being pressed by someone of a higher realm could make breakthroughs easier, Yun Lie understood that Yuezheng Hezhi wanted to see his sword path. Yun Lie also wished to see what the supreme cultivation method of the Ice and Snow Immortal Palace could accomplish, and just how far it could push him.
Their intentions coincided perfectly.
Seeing this, Xu Ziqing’s expression softened.
Although his senior brother and he loved each other deeply, Xu Ziqing’s cultivation was not yet high enough to spar with Yun Lie.
The Second Young Palace Master had accumulated astonishing strength over the years. Xu Ziqing wondered whether, when restricting himself to Yun Lie’s cultivation realm, he could offer his senior brother a truly satisfying battle.
Given Yun Lie’s aptitude, sparring with a Soul Transformation expert would surely bring him considerable gains.
Yun Lie’s sword path was lonely, his talent extraordinary, and few beneath heaven could match him. Even with Xu Ziqing always at his side, Yun Lie inevitably lost some of the joy of encountering worthy opponents. He might not mind, but Xu Ziqing could not bear the thought.
Yuezheng Hezhi possessed extraordinary bearing and character. If he and Yun Lie could become friends through combat, nothing would be better.