Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The first time Shang Wujiu met Li Jinxue was at Shattered Snow Mountain.

That year, he had just joined the Shangqing Sect, a young sword cultivator brimming with sharp confidence. His sect had sent him to Shattered Snow Mountain to retrieve Mystic Ice Grass. He had been badly injured and was caught in a blizzard halfway through his journey, nearly freezing to death in a mountain cave.

When he woke up, a red lantern was lit inside the cave.

Li Jinxue, dressed in a simple white padded jacket, was crouching by a fire brewing medicine for him. She looked up and saw him awake; first, she let out a sigh of relief, then she deliberately pulled a stern face. “Half an hour later and you would have truly become an ice sculpture.”

His voice was hoarse as he asked for her name.

“Li Jinxue.” She shoved the bowl of medicine into his hands. “And you?”

“Shang Wujiu.”

She paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

Outside Shattered Snow Mountain, the wind and snow filled the sky, but her smile was startlingly bright. “That’s a good name. Wujiu-no disaster, no blame. Safe and sound.”

It was only later that Shang Wujiu learned she was the last Phoenix Descendant of the Lamp-Keeping Lineage. She had lived in the mountains since childhood, tending the lamps, guiding souls, and delivering prayers for others. She had seen too many people come to pray for safety, but Shang Wujiu-covered in blood and pride, still refusing to bow his head-was the first of his kind she had met.

During those six months, he stayed in the mountains to recover from his injuries, practicing his sword by day and chopping wood and carrying water for her by night. Li Jinxue would complain that a sword cultivator’s cooking tasted terrible, yet she would secretly set aside the best bowl of soup for him.

That was when their feelings for each other began to grow.

When spring arrived, the snow on Shattered Snow Mountain melted, and a field of apricot blossoms bloomed at the foot of the mountain. Li Jinxue sat in a tree drinking wine and asked him, “If you become a great figure in the future, will you still acknowledge a girl like me, whom you picked up in the mountains?”

Shang Wujiu looked up at her, as solemn as if he were taking an oath. “If I ever dare to deny you, you can use your lantern to burn me.”

She laughed heartily, swinging her legs. “Then remember that. When the day comes for you to marry me, I want the reddest bridal robe, the largest wedding candles, and I want you to accompany me to the mortal realm to watch a spring rain.”

Shang Wujiu said, “Alright.”

But that winter, the Hall of Heavenly Secrets read the chart of fate.

He was born with the Abyss-Suppressing Bone.

According to heavenly fate, on the day of his ascension, he would be sent into the Sea of No Return to serve as the next Sea-Suppressor.

As long as the seal remained unstable, he would not be allowed to live.

That night, Shang Wujiu stood outside the hall for the entire night. By the time he returned to Shattered Snow Mountain, Li Jinxue already knew.

She said nothing, only wiped the snow from his sword inch by inch.

Amidst the flickering lamplight, she lowered her eyes and asked, “If someone must die… can it not be you?”