Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“What are you doing running around out here?”

“You absolutely mustn’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret too.”

…

Ginkgo leaves carpeted the ground, their gold set against the lingering red.

Nineteenth Miss opened her eyes in the gently swaying rocking chair.

She had dreamed the same dream again.

It had happened when she was eight.

Raised in seclusion since childhood, Nineteenth Miss had, for the first time, the urge to go out and see the world.

She cleverly slipped away under Nuo Niang’s nose, crawled out through a hidden hole in the wall that no one else knew about, and made it outside Yong Palace.

She did not truly want to leave; she was simply too curious about what the world outside looked like.

She had often heard people speak of the vastness of the Four Domains and One Realm. How could she, the dignified daughter of a sect master, have lived this long and still be so sheltered, having breathed only Dongze’s air?

Shijiu was brimming with ambition, but she had rushed out too quickly and forgotten that there were several layers of barriers outside Yong Palace.

She was someone who possessed Blessed Power but could not wield it. Staring at the dense web before her, woven with Inner Force, she suddenly felt like a fish laid out for slaughter.

Disappointed, Shijiu snapped off a foxtail grass stem beside her and took out her frustration on it.

It was then that a man wearing a Rabbit Mask quietly appeared behind her.

“What are you doing running around out here?”

Shijiu whirled around. She was frightened, but she stubbornly clung to her pride and demanded, “Who are you?”

The man did not answer. His voice from beneath the mask was steady and unhurried, almost deliberately softened.

“Does your father know you sneaked out?”

One sentence struck straight at the heart of the matter.

Shijiu immediately panicked.

Her constitution had been unusual since birth. Unlike her older brothers and sisters, who could begin cultivating at age three, she still had not been able to learn any techniques to defend herself.

Her father had warned her over and over not to step outside Yong Palace even once.

“You are precious, and you are fragile.

“Once you leave Dongze, no one will protect you the way we do.”

But she hadn’t even left Dongze yet, had she?

Shijiu forced herself to calm down and twisted the hem of her skirt as she studied the man closely.

His clothes were plain rather than ornate, but neat and composed, giving him a very cultured air.

Though he wore a bizarre Rabbit Mask, his manner of speaking was rather kind.

Could this man come and go freely near Yong Palace because he was her father’s friend?

At the thought, Shijiu secretly relaxed a little, though she remained wary.

“Will you go tattling to my father?”

The man under the mask clearly froze, then laughed. “No. If you want to go out and play, I can take you.”

She knew it was poisoned honey, and yet she still took it.

She had lived within these four walls for far too long and was truly growing weary.

Yong Palace was actually vast, but ever since she’d heard all sorts of stories, it had seemed very small.

Shijiu slowly placed her hand in the man’s, silently showing that she was willing to take the risk.

At the same time, her other hand tightened around the bell chain at her neck.

She thought that if this man harbored any ill intent, she would immediately ring the bell and call Nuo Niang to deal with him.

Fortunately, her worry was unnecessary.

The man in the Rabbit Mask had not lied to her.

Disguised as a father and daughter, they strolled openly through the streets of Dongze, going into shop after shop and browsing stall after stall.

Just as Nuo Niang had said, Dongze was full of Blessed Cultivator practitioners.

The ones carrying dishes in taverns and the ones hawking goods along the streets all carried the aura of Blessed Power.

But they were the sort who chose not to cultivate.

Nuo Niang had said that people in this world came in many kinds; some were ambitious, others content with a life of peace and simplicity, and that was perfectly normal.

But Shijiu thought these people were terribly uninteresting.

They could clearly become stronger, yet they spent all day steeped in grease, salt, and wine dregs, bowing and scraping to others.

Did they even understand the hardship of not being able to cultivate? They were simply born into blessings and didn’t know it!

Prejudice aside.

Shijiu was not at all indecisive when choosing from the pastry shop.

“I want this, this, and this. Mm… I’ll take a little of everything!”

The plainness of the treats only made her more interested.

She stuffed a large oil-paper bundle away contentedly and picked through it one item after another while seated.

“Not bad.”

“This one’s good. Try it too!”

“…What is this? It’s awful.”

“It’s a steamed bun.” The man smiled at her, the light reflected in the eyeholes of his mask full of affection. “You’ve lived in Yong Palace, so it’s normal if you’ve never had one.”

“Fine.” Shijiu no longer cared about elegance and awkwardly spat out the bun in her mouth. “Do people actually like eating this?”

“Yes. My disciple isn’t picky.”

“Then he’s pretty impressive.”

She had wanted to ask a few more questions and probe his background.

But the man only smiled politely and turned to look elsewhere.

Until they parted ways, Shijiu never found a suitable chance.

“Can we really not go out and take a look beyond Dongze?”

She pointed at the lake surface not far away, sounding very regretful.

This was the edge of Dongze, where a barrier spread across the lake. The radiance of Inner Force blended with the shimmering water, creating a scene of striking, vivid beauty.

And she was certain that even more beautiful scenery lay beyond the barrier.

“Sorry, I can only take you this far.” The man crouched down and comforted Shijiu helplessly. “It’s not the right time yet. If we go too far, we’ll be discovered.”

“When will it be the right time?”

“One day.”

Shijiu blinked. She felt his line was too clumsy to fool a child, but she didn’t press him further.

After all, she also believed she wouldn’t be trapped in Yong Palace for life.

One day, she would set foot on the path of cultivation and leave Dongze on her own.

As she was about to crawl back through the wall hole, Shijiu glanced back at the man, and he just happened to call out to stop her.

“What happened today, you absolutely mustn’t tell anyone, okay?”

Shijiu nodded obediently, though inwardly she was grumbling.

She wasn’t stupid enough to blurt it out and make Nuo Niang angry, only to get punished for it.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret too,” the man said.

The way he looked at her was so gentle that it seemed to give even the mask warmth.

After thinking it over, Shijiu walked back a few steps to stand before him and said in an affectedly mature tone:

“Rabbit Uncle, we’re already friends.”

“Next time you come to play with me, you don’t have to wear Rabbit Mask.”

The man gave no response. His broad, warm palm settled over the top of her head and patted her, so lightly it was almost imperceptible.

He had done that many times today.

Each time, Shijiu felt a deep, solid force pour into her body.

It felt just like that snowy night, when Nuo Niang had wrapped her up tight in the blankets. It made her feel utterly safe.

And the final time, it even left her a little drowsy.

When she woke again, Nuo Niang scolded her for being so careless, asking how she could just sprawl on the ground in the back courtyard and fall asleep. Only after checking her over from head to toe did Nuo Niang reluctantly let her go.

For the next seven years, Shijiu carried a secret in her heart and waited for a man with Rabbit Mask.

But he never came again.

And just like that, she turned fifteen, still without ever setting foot outside Yong Palace a second time.

However, someone else did come to see her often.

Yu Qingshi arrived not long after Shijiu woke, his timing so perfect it seemed deliberate.

When he entered, he wore his usual flawless smile. A few ginkgo leaves on the ground flipped over in the wind stirred by his steps, then rolled away into the distance.

“Still upset?”

The young man stopped in front of her and looked down, waiting for her to lift her eyes. Shijiu deliberately refused to look at him.

“What are you here for? To laugh at me?”

“How could I?”

Yu Qingshi was used to Shijiu’s temper.

He moved behind her, placed both hands on the back of the rocking chair, and pushed it patiently.

“Today isn’t over yet. It’s still early. Right now, you’re still fifteen.”

Shijiu gazed at that half-disc of fading red sun. She knew full well it was useless comfort, yet warmth still rippled faintly through her heart with the motion of the chair.

In truth, she understood very clearly that in the few short hours remaining, the possibility of Blessed Power granting her Dao Conferral was vanishingly small.

She had read through many ancient texts, so she knew this much:

To become a Blessed Cultivator, one had to meet two conditions.

First, one had to sense and possess Blessed Power. This was the inborn talent of every Blessed Cultivator.

Second, one had to receive Blessed Power through Dao Conferral. Once Blessed Power was conferred upon a Dao, the Basic Twelve Realms would simultaneously open to the cultivator, and the Dao that received the conferral would manifest the highest number of realm layers.

As for when Dao Conferral happened, it varied from person to person.

Three years old, seven years old, twelve years old, even at birth… In any case, it would never be later than fifteen.

For the past fifteen years, Shijiu’s greatest wish had been to become a Blessed Cultivator capable of standing on her own, just like her brothers and sisters.

They had inherited Father’s talent, and none of them had received Dao Conferral later than the age of three.

Only she was the exception. She was about to turn sixteen and still had not begun cultivating. Looking across the Four Domains, there probably wasn’t a second person as unlucky as her.

Because of this, Shijiu was deeply dejected. Every time Father came, she would cling to him and ask:

“When can I become a real Blessed Cultivator?”

Father would affectionately hold her in his arms, and when he spoke, his thick long beard would poke her forehead again and again.

“Our Shijiu is so amazing. In the future, you will definitely become Dongze’s pride.

“Don’t rush. Father will wait with you.”

And so, Shijiu’s long, lingering anxiety had been smoothed away piece by piece, sustained by her hopes until now.

That was why she found it even harder to understand why Father, who had always supported her, would pronounce her sentence ahead of time and erase the last bit of hope in her heart.

“There is no longer any hope for Dao Conferral. You should calm down and properly consider your marriage.”

Ten days had passed, but Shijiu still remembered the weight of every syllable when Father said those words. They were like a dull blade wielded with effortless precision. Though not sharp, they struck exactly where she was weakest.

As she recalled that scene, the warmth that had just risen in Shijiu’s heart vanished in an instant.

She turned her head and glared fiercely at Yu Qingshi, who lowered his eyes with a helpless smile.

“What did I do this time?”

How was this not his fault?

He was the one she was supposed to marry. Taking her anger out on him was entirely reasonable.

Besides, for him to appear at this particular moment was no different from adding another stab to her heart.

Shijiu looked away and slumped back into the chair.

Wretched heavens, why are you so unfair?

They were clearly close in age and equally matched in family background. Why did she have to obediently accept her fate after exhausting all hope, while this person was extraordinarily gifted and always so high-spirited?

“Yu Qingshi,” Shijiu said in a muffled voice. “What layer have you cultivated your Mind-Heart Dao to?”

Yu Qingshi pondered briefly, then answered with casual indifference.

“I recently hit a bottleneck. I’ve been stuck at the fortieth layer for some time.”

Shijiu nearly spat at him.

The fortieth layer?!

One had to understand that this person had received Dao Conferral into West Ridge’s specialty, the Mind-Heart Dao, the moment he was born. Like his sect leader father, his highest realm reached fifty layers.

Right now, he was only eighteen, yet he was just ten layers away from the full realm.

Shijiu felt a humiliated sort of fury.

“Leave. I don’t want to see you right now!”

She abruptly jumped down from the rocking chair and headed straight into the room.

But before she had taken more than a few steps, someone caught her arm from behind.

Yu Qingshi looked helpless, but the force in his hand was the complete opposite of his earnest tone.

“Uncle Fu didn’t send me here. I came to see you on my own.

“You haven’t seen me for days. I was worried.”

The moment he opened his mouth, Shijiu inexplicably felt as though some animal’s tail had brushed across the tip of her heart, making her uncomfortable.

And once he finished speaking, she could hardly hide her shock.

“Did you take the wrong medicine today…?”

Otherwise, why would he be so honest?

They had known each other since childhood for many years, and this was the first time Shijiu had ever heard Yu Qingshi speak so directly.

Yu Qingshi simply pretended not to hear her teasing. He pulled her back to the rocking chair, took a small object that looked as if it were made of jade from his sleeve, and placed it in her palm.

“This is for you.”

“I don’t want it.”

Shijiu impatiently pushed it back.

Aside from the Mind-Heart Dao, West Ridge also had considerable expertise in mechanisms.

Yu Qingshi loved researching them and often showed her the new mechanical devices he invented.

The mechanism in her hand was delicate and compact, only the size of a pill, and it was a type she had never seen before.

On any other day, she would have eagerly asked what it did.

But right now, she was in no mood to help him test it.

Shijiu flung his hand away and was about to leave, but Yu Qingshi seemed to have anticipated it. He activated the mechanism directly, and it melted into her chest.

She was so startled that she raised a hand and shoved him away-only for a tiny cluster of sparks to flare from her fingertips with the motion and shoot straight out.

Fortunately, Yu Qingshi reacted in time. He tilted his head aside with effortless grace and dodged it, leaving only a few stray hairs at his temple slightly singed.

A charred black gash was burned into the trunk of the ginkgo tree, and shattered flecks of gold scattered through the air.

After a faint rustling, silence lingered between them for a long, long while.

Shijiu had no attention to spare for Yu Qingshi. She stared at her own fingers in a daze for ages.

She could actually cast a simple spell now?

Had the damned heavens finally opened their eyes and remembered to grant her a Dao Conferral?

But before Shijiu could get properly excited, Yu Qingshi had already poured cold water over her hopes.

“This is a new mechanism from West Ridge. It is called a Storage Pill. Once a spell is infused into the mechanism, it can be sealed inside.

“It is made from material shaped by Blessed Power. To use it, one only needs to merge it into the body and let it blend with one’s own Blessed Power.”

In other words, only someone who possessed Blessed Power could use a Storage Pill.

“The spell you released just now was one I infused into it beforehand.” A composed smile curved Yu Qingshi’s lips as he added leisurely, “As I expected, you did very well.”

After that soaring rise and crushing fall, Shijiu’s heart pounded wildly. She could not quite describe what she felt.

Of course she was happy. After all, this mechanism seemed practically tailor-made for her.

Only…

She hesitantly lifted her eyes and met the young man’s clear, bright gaze.

Shijiu had no choice but to admit that Yu Qingshi had the sort of eyes that could look at a dog and make it seem like deep affection.

When they first met as children, she had been drawn in by those eyes and, as if possessed, invited him to Xuanxiao Pavilion to play.

Later, after it happened too many times, Yu Qingshi started entering Xuanxiao Pavilion as if he were returning to his own home. That, in turn, made her a little displeased-

No. Very displeased.

He was good-looking, stealing praise that should have belonged to her.

He was graceful, polite, upright, and tolerant. Compared with her spoiled temper, he was far more likable.

He was the young master admired by everyone in West Ridge, and even in Dongze, he did not lack for praise.

Especially after their engagement was arranged three years ago, the people of Xuanxiao Pavilion were always unstinting in their compliments of Yu Qingshi in front of her.

He was so outstanding that there was almost nothing to criticize.

As if it were only natural for her to like him.

But she refused to let him have his way.

“Do you think bringing something like this to tempt me will make me obediently marry you?

“Dream on! I’ve found you unpleasant for a long time!”

After Shijiu said this, she tried to take a step back, only to discover that her waist had long since been firmly caught in his grasp.

Yu Qingshi was not angry. Instead, he laughed and raised a brow at her.

“Is that so? How exactly do you find me unpleasant?”

“Don’t think I don’t know. You act humble and respectful, but inside you’re actually very arrogant, aren’t you?”

“What else?”

“When I usually lose my temper at you, you’re actually furious inside and want to scold me too, but you just love pretending to be magnanimous!”

“Go on.”

He even gave a soft hum of agreement. The corner of Shijiu’s eye twitched, and she nearly stumbled over her words.

“A-and also, I have dozens of siblings, but Sect Leader Yu only has you as his son… Why?”

This was the thing Shijiu felt most unreconciled about, and also the thing she could do nothing about.

They were both children of the Four Domains Sect Leaders, yet from the moment she was born, she had eighteen elder brothers and sisters above her, and as she grew up, more and more younger brothers and sisters kept appearing.

Yu Qingshi, however, was honored as the only young master and alone enjoyed the love of both his parents.

“My mother passed away after giving birth to me. I’ve never even seen her, but you can see yours whenever you want.”

When Sect Leader Yu came to visit Dongze, he always brought his wife with him.

Madam Yuan was gentle and elegant, with a soft, refined way of speaking. Husband and wife were deeply in love, and their intimate gestures seemed to ignore everyone around them.

Shijiu admitted that every time she saw the three of them standing together as a family, an impossible-to-calm feeling would surge up in her heart… jealousy.

“Why did my father have to fall in love with so many women?” Shijiu could not help complaining. “But your father doesn’t.”

“I won’t either.” Yu Qingshi lowered his eyes and brushed away the loose strands of hair by her cheek. “If we marry, I will always treat you well.”

Shijiu’s mind instantly went blank. She could not understand why he had suddenly turned so tender.

Certain that her face had gone red, and unwilling to let him notice, she hurriedly turned away and feigned anger.

“Who said I was going to marry you?!”

“I’m serious.” The smile vanished from Yu Qingshi’s face, and he gazed at her solemnly. “Whether or not you can become a true Blessed Cultivator, I will always stay by your side.

“In the future, if you want to go out and see the world, I can take you anywhere in the Four Domains and One Realm. Whatever spells you like, I will do everything I can to infuse them into Storage Pills for you. I promise you, in this life, there will only be you. Whatever you want to do, I will accompany you. I won’t let you be sad.”

He paused, his gaze lingering over her face before coming to rest on her slightly stunned eyes.

After catching that instant of hesitation, he hesitated no longer. He bent down and moved closer, their breaths tangling so faintly it was almost imperceptible.

“We’ve known each other for so many years. Let’s both be a little more honest, all right?”

This was the first time Shijiu had ever faced a scene like this, and she was somewhat unable to withstand it.

Her heart pounded madly. A tingling numbness spread from her chest through her entire body, nearly making her lose her footing.

At some point, the sky had darkened. Not far away, the light at the tip of Xuanxiao Pavilion’s tower had been lit.

Shijiu had seen Yu Qingshi’s shadow beneath that light countless times.

As children, they had held hands as companions, chasing each other and playing.

Later, they had stood on opposite sides, testing each other again and again.

She could no longer remember when she had started needing to lift her head whenever she spoke to him.

Now he still stood before her, but his shadow had grown so tall that it completely enveloped her.

And in that oppressive enclosure, she unexpectedly felt a familiar trace of peace.

A long while later, Shijiu took Yu Qingshi’s words to heart. Bravely, she became honest for once, reaching out a finger to lightly hook it around his.

A low, muffled laugh sounded by her ear. Annoyed, Shijiu flung his hand away and sat down below the steps. Yu Qingshi followed and sat close beside her.

The two leaned quietly against each other until dawn.

That night, Shijiu understood clearly that she no longer had any possibility of cultivating. But because Yu Qingshi was there with her, she was not as sad as she had imagined she would be.

She only cried hard for a few days before rallying herself and beginning to prepare a birthday gift for her father.

There was less than half a month left until her father’s birthday.

Because they had quarreled, the two of them had not seen each other for some time.

At first, Shijiu had intended to ignore the matter altogether, to throw caution to the wind and just become an unfilial daughter.

But now that her state of mind had changed, guilt welled up in her once more.

She couldn’t become a Blessed Cultivator, and her father surely felt terrible about it too. The fact that he had spoken up early to douse her hopes was, in truth, for her sake.

So after several days of hard thinking, Shijiu came up with a brilliant plan.

She asked Yu Qingshi for several Storage Pills with novel techniques, then practiced the moves tirelessly.

Her strange behavior left even the self-styled worldly-wise Young Lord of Xilong at a loss, but no matter how he asked, he still couldn’t pry the truth out of Shijiu.

“Secret.” Shijiu narrowed her eyes and smiled at him. “I’ll tell you on the day of my father’s birthday.”

…

Fu Zhenqian, the Dongze Sect Leader, was the eldest of the Four Domains Sect Leaders, so his birthday banquet was naturally the most magnificent of all.

To preserve harmony among neighbors, the Four Domains would send respected figures from each sect to attend and offer their congratulations.

Even the powerholders of the Central Realm, though often slighted, would hunt down good gifts from everywhere and force themselves to show up and pay respects.

Countless experts came one after another, and priceless treasures piled up like mountains as if they cost nothing.

That day, Yong Palace became the place on Wuwang Continent where Blessed Power gathered most densely.

That made Shijiu rather nervous.

But precisely because of that, she was able to conceal her aura, hide inside an unremarkable gift chest, and be carried into her father’s room together with the other presents without anyone discovering her.

“Sect Leader, this was sent by Nineteenth Miss.”

“Set it down.”

After her father gave that brief instruction, the sound of the door closing followed.

Shijiu covered her mouth inside the gift chest.

Just thinking about what was about to happen next nearly made her laugh out loud.

What kind of expression would her father have when he saw that she could use Blessed Power?

He would surely be shocked and delighted, thinking she had become the first person on this continent to receive Dao Conferral after the age of fifteen.

But unfortunately, she was only taking a shortcut and borrowing Storage Pills to put on a little fireworks display for him.

It was a performance with more than a little regret, but it would resolve the knot in their hearts as father and daughter.

She would tell her father that even if she couldn’t become a Blessed Cultivator, she would still work hard to be someone who could protect herself and her family.

And from then on, there would be one more person like him, someone who would always support her.

Shijiu held her breath, pressed her ear to the partition, and waited for the gift chest to be opened.

But at that moment, she unexpectedly heard another voice.

“Brother Fu, is that really true?”

The speaker was Yu, the Sect Leader of West Ridge and Yu Qingshi’s father.

He was on good terms with her father and never put on the airs of an elder, so Shijiu always affectionately called him Uncle Yu.

“Yes, Qingshi knows about it too. He was right beside Shijiu at the time.”

Hearing her own name, Shijiu’s heart gave a sudden jolt. Only then did she realize there was a fourth person in the room.

Yu Qingshi had sent word that he would arrive later, so it turned out he had come here instead.

They seemed to be discussing the matter of her not having received Dao Conferral.

Shijiu listened with rapt attention, not even bothering to wipe the sweat that had formed on her forehead.

“That’s indeed so.” The young man’s voice was clear and cool, his tone calm. “She did not receive Dao Conferral, but she still retained Blessed Power.”

Shijiu’s throat tightened.

It had been half a month. Though she had already regained her spirits in front of others, she still found it hard to fully accept this fact.

Now that she was hearing it mentioned again, her eyes couldn’t help but turn moist.

Afraid of disturbing the people in the room, she didn’t dare raise a hand to wipe away her tears. She could only let them silently slide down her cheeks.

The tears gradually soaked her collar. Just then, two sharp bursts of laughter cut off her stifled sobs.

Shijiu’s breathing stopped. She recognized those as her father’s and Uncle Yu’s voices.

“Good, good.” Uncle Yu said with evident delight. “So Shijiu being a Nest Blessed is finally confirmed.”

Nest Blessed?

Shijiu vaguely felt that she had heard the term before, but she couldn’t remember it for the moment.

Could it be some peerless divine art she possessed, which was why they were so overjoyed?

“Yes, and it hasn’t been for nothing that we’ve waited so many years.” Her father answered with a strange laugh, then changed his tone, sounding troubled. “However, I asked Brother Yu and Qingshi to come here today for another matter as well–

“Could Qingshi and Shijiu’s engagement be postponed for now?”

A startled cry nearly escaped her lips, but Shijiu forcefully swallowed it back down.

She was used to listening to her father. Even if she was confused, she would still act according to his wishes.

Her father had his reasons.

Right now, she was even more curious about Yu Qingshi’s reaction.

To her disappointment, the one who answered was not Yu Qingshi.

“Brother Fu, are you having second thoughts?”

There was a slight strain in Uncle Yu’s teasing tone. Shijiu couldn’t see his expression, but she could hear his displeasure.

“How could I dare? West Ridge is willing to help Dongze eliminate those Brood scourges, and I’m grateful beyond words. It’s just that Four-Dao Blessed Cultivators are so formidable that no sect in the Four Domains wouldn’t covet one. More than ten years ago, Northern Plains was so arrogant, wasn’t it because they had Xiang Suize?

“But they didn’t know how precious a Nest Blessed is, and they didn’t know how to care for one. In the end, a Nest Blessed only gave birth to one Four-Dao Blessed Cultivator before falling ill and passing away. What a pity.”

What a pity.

The air inside the gift chest grew more and more stifling. Curled up within it, Shijiu silently repeated those four words.

Vaguely, she remembered that a long, long time ago, her father had said exactly the same thing.

Back then, she had only been four or five years old. Her siblings had already begun their cultivation lessons, while she alone had nothing to do and spent her days cooped up in the library to pass the time.

One day, on a whim, she went to her father’s study and found a booklet on the desk.

It recorded many things about the Brood.

Shijiu knew about the Brood.

They were a group of vicious monsters who hated Blessed Cultivators, persecuted ordinary people, and ran rampant across Wuwang Continent.

Nuo Niang often frightened her, saying that if she misbehaved, the Brood would come and drag her away.

The characters on the page were densely packed. Shijiu began reading from a familiar name.

At that time, the entire Yong Palace was talking about Xiang Suize, mocking him for having left Northern Plains years ago to sit alone atop Xiangwu Mountain, and for still having the nerve to turn around and seek goodwill from the Four Domains now, trying to make connections.

Shijiu wasn’t interested in what mountain Xiang Suize had founded. What drew her attention was his background.

The booklet said that he came from a branch of the Northern Plains sect lineage, but it was only an obscure offshoot. It was because of his extraordinary talent that the sect leader chose him and took him under his wing.

Because of him, his parents basked in reflected glory as well. Their status rose, and their treatment became comparable to that of the sect elders.

When she reached this part, Shijiu noticed that Xiang Suize’s mother’s name had been circled in vermilion ink. Beside it, someone had written the two words: Nest Blessed.

Before she could figure out what that meant, a dark shadow suddenly swept in from behind her and snatched the booklet from her hands.

“Daddy!” Shijiu cried in delight. “I wasn’t done reading yet. What’s a Nest Blessed?”

She asked without the slightest hesitation, but her father said nothing. Instead, he stared straight at her, as if trying to read something from her face.

Only after a long while did he slowly close his eyes, then reveal the smile Shijiu knew so well.

“A Nest Blessed is someone who can give birth to a Four-Dao Blessed Cultivator.”

“Is that very impressive?”

“Very impressive. And they are exceedingly rare.”

Shijiu had an instinctive worship of strength.

At that moment, her curiosity about Xiang Suize’s mother had already surpassed her curiosity about Xiang Suize himself.

“Then can I meet her?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

For some reason, her father showed a look of pity. He crouched down, stroked Shijiu’s head, and sighed.

“Because she died not long after giving birth.

“A true pity. Those fools in the Northern Plains wasted a Nest Blessed for nothing.”

Shijiu had still been ignorant back then. She did not understand the obscure meaning hidden within those words, and only treated it as a trivial story to feel sorry over.

More than ten years later, when those words entered her ears again, a horrifying possibility immediately surfaced in her mind.

In her father’s eyes, what would it take for a Nest Blessed not to be “wasted”?

Her uncontrollable imagination spread like countless claws, mercilessly dragging her into a winter lake. She felt herself sinking, suffocating.

Amid that bone-piercing cold, Shijiu heard their next words without the slightest preparation.

“Brother Fu, you mean…?”

“Dongze also needs a Four-Dao Blessed Cultivator.” That voice carried a smile, but also an authority that brooked no refusal. “Only then can cooperation between the two domains endure. Brother Yu, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Since Brother Fu has already made up his mind, what room do I have to object?”

“Of course I must ask. After all, this concerns the children’s marriage.”

The two men went back and forth, their tones calm, yet the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Then, someone asked, “Qingshi, what do you think?”

The person named fell silent for only a moment before replying mildly, “I leave everything to Uncle Fu and my father.

“As long as, in the end, she marries me and comes to West Ridge.”

Those words eased the situation in the room, but they also slapped Shijiu across the face from afar, jolting her awake from her endless confusion.

She could not believe that was Yu Qingshi’s voice.

In front of her, he had always spoken gently and softly. Even when he teased her, he merely pretended to lower his voice.

Never had he sounded as he did now-cold, decisive, and utterly detached.

The murmur of conversation rose again outside the gift chest, as though coming from a very distant place.

Shijiu could no longer make out what they were saying. She sensed her own breathing becoming labored, the back of her head tightening in waves, and her stomach beginning to cramp and spasm.

Yet in the midst of that painful stimulation, all her thoughts suddenly became clear.

A Nest Blessed was someone who could give birth to a Four-Dao Blessed Cultivator.

More precisely, a woman who possessed Blessed Power, yet had not received a Dao Conferral and could not cultivate.

Shijiu found it absurd. At the moment she learned the truth, the first thing that came to mind was the scene of her father encouraging her.

He had said he would wait with her. He had said she would surely become Dongze’s pride. So this was what he had meant.

From beginning to end, she alone had clung to the fantasy of cultivation like a fool.

And of the two people closest to her, not one had truly been wishing her well.

While she yearned sincerely for it, they had been calling out wishes behind her back that were the exact opposite of hers.

They protected her and doted on her only for her ability-to give birth to powerful Four-Dao Blessed Cultivators, one after another, so they could bring glory to the sect.

It was all fake.

Desolation spread from the depths of Shijiu’s heart, making every limb and bone turn numb and stiff.

A quarter of an hour ago, she had still been imagining the expression on her father’s face when he saw her.

Now, she only feared they would discover her and force her to face this cruel reality head-on.

Fortunately, her worry proved unnecessary.

Her father did not urgently open the gift chest she had sent.

The gift chest containing Shijiu was delivered to a remote side courtyard. She climbed out of it with ease and returned to her Xuanxiao Pavilion.

Seeing her listless expression, Nuo Niang asked anxiously whether she was ill.

Shijiu could not hold it in. With a loud wail, she burst into tears.

What she wanted was to cultivate herself, to become strong herself.

Not to give birth to one extraordinarily gifted Four-Dao Blessed Cultivator after another, proving her own regret again and again.

Yet after only a moment, her sobs abruptly stopped. Shijiu had no mind to care about the tear tracks all over her face. She walked to the window and calmly looked toward the sky beyond the high walls, her mind clearer than it had ever been.

Before long, everyone in Yong Palace began discussing the Abandoned Blessings Uprising.

Today, they sighed over how many Blessed Cultivators had died in this place or that.

Tomorrow, they would assert with certainty that it was Xiangwu Mountain’s conspiracy, angrily condemning Xiang Suize for shielding the Abandoned Blessings.

In the past, Shijiu would certainly have joined in the excitement.

She could not step outside Yong Palace, so she would never let even the tiniest scrap of outside news slip by.

This time, however, she shut herself inside Xuanxiao Pavilion and refused to see anyone.

Nuo Niang noticed something was wrong. At first, she thought Shijiu was still grieving over the Dao Conferral and spoke many comforting words to her, but none of them had any effect.

Later, Nuo Niang even invited Yu Qingshi over, only for Shijiu to refuse him entry as well.

But he found the window to Shijiu’s room and forced it open.

“Are you going to ignore even me?”

Shijiu glanced at him. The cold tone from that day overlapped with the smiling face before her eyes, and she suddenly discovered another of Yu Qingshi’s talents.

All these years, he had played the part of the shameless, persistent suitor to perfection.

She found it ironic, and decided she would play along with him to the end.

“Why are you here?” she asked, curving her lips. “I thought you were busy with something else.”

For instance, eliminating the Abandoned Blessings.

Shijiu was exceedingly clever. She had guessed early on that the Abandoned Blessings Uprising must have something to do with Dongze and West Ridge joining forces.

Yu Qingshi was certainly playing his part in it.

“I’m really fine. You should go.”

She feigned ease, speaking in a gentle voice as she reached out and pushed him lightly in the chest.

Yu Qingshi frowned and stared at her without blinking for a long time, but in the end, he still left.

For the next several days, he came to see Shijiu as usual. Yet she remained lukewarm toward him, neither cold nor warm, as if every blow he threw landed on cotton.

It was starting to make Yu Qingshi lose the act.

The last time he came, he questioned her.

“Something is weighing on your heart. Why won’t you tell me?

“…We are about to be married.”

He flung those words down and swept his sleeves as he left. There was even a trace of grievance in his expression, as though she were the one at fault.

Shijiu was stunned.

It was so absurd that she could not help laughing. She turned to Nuo Niang beside her and teased,

“Isn’t he afraid he’ll fool even himself?”

Nuo Niang saw the cold, chilling smile on her face and was still hesitating over how to answer when Shijiu spoke again.

“Nuo Niang, are you the same as them too?”

Nineteenth Miss’s words were vague, but Nuo Niang’s body jolted violently. She looked at the young girl by the window in disbelief.

She had watched that lovely, lively face for sixteen years. She knew every curve of every frown and smile.

Yet the emptiness in those ink-black eyes now made her feel as if she were looking at a stranger, and fear rose in her heart.

Nuo Niang swallowed hard, trying to force down the bitterness in her throat.

“Miss… do you know everything?”

Shijiu slowly turned her head to look at her.

She nodded without speaking, and Nuo Niang burst into tears.

From that day on, Nuo Niang never saw Nineteenth Miss open her mouth again.

Not until more than ten days later, when a fire broke out in Yong Palace for no apparent reason.

It happened to coincide with the second uprising of the Abandoned Blessings. Rumor had it that Xiang Suize’s eldest disciple had gone on a killing spree at Xiangwu Mountain, hunting down his own fellow disciples.

Some suspected that the Abandoned Blessings had sneaked into Yong Palace to cause trouble, so everyone was on edge.

To make matters worse, the sect leader and the elders had all gone out on business, leaving no one in charge.

The whole place descended into chaos.

It was then that Nuo Niang discovered Nineteenth Miss preparing to flee.

She carried only a simple bundle. A person who loved beauty as much as she did had not even brought a single hairpin or bracelet.

“Miss, where are you going?”

Shijiu did not answer. She pressed herself tightly against the wall, watching this person who had spent sixteen years by her side day and night with a guarded stance.

In the next instant, a streak of blazing light shot from her fingertips, aimed straight at Nuo Niang’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Nuo Niang.”

Shijiu watched that body collapse limply to the ground, bit down hard on her trembling lip, and crawled out through the hole in the wall.

She had no other choice.

From the moment she set fire to Yong Palace, it had already been decided that there was no turning back.

So she had to run forward.

Shijiu did not know where she should go. She only wanted to leave this suffocating prison.

She had saved up a large handful of Storage Pill, the ones that had gone unused at her father’s birthday banquet.

She planned to use them to break through the layers of barriers.

But things did not go as she wished. The barriers remained completely undamaged, and she alarmed the guards instead.

Shijiu had lived in seclusion within Yong Palace for many years, so naturally these people did not recognize her. They took her for an intruder, and a dense swarm of them chased after her relentlessly.

Shijiu had never seen such a scene before.

In her panic, the Storage Pill she had saved scattered all over the ground, and her bundle vanished as well.

But her resolve to leave was so firm that no matter what, she did not give up or stop running.

She did not want to live inside a lie.

She did not want to become a sacrifice.

She did not want to be reduced to a tool.

She screamed those words over and over in her heart as waves of pain from her body slowly scattered her consciousness.

Even so, she paid no heed to anything and kept sprinting toward the unknown end ahead.

…

When she came to, Shijiu was lying in the rain.

The sound of footsteps had become the sound of pouring rain.

The neat walkway had become a muddy mountain path.

She propped herself up, holding her head, unable to tell where she was.

Not far away, an elderly couple hurried over. When they saw the wound on her head, they pointed at it in horror.

“She’s bleeding so much!”

“How did you get hurt this badly? Whose girl are you?”

“I-”

She was actually at a loss for words. She could not answer.

Scene after scene in her mind was like rain suddenly falling, flashing past and vanishing before she could catch hold of any of it.

Shijiu’s head felt as if it were splitting apart. She could only cover her ears, lower her head, and murmur again and again, trying to make herself remember something.

Even a single name would do.

“My name is…

“My name is… my name is…”

…

“Tingtong.”

“Fu Tingtong.”

Thunder cracked across the horizon, smashing one burst of lightning after another through the dark curtain of the sky.

As if in a dream, amid the rumbling, I heard Father’s voice.

He always said he favored me and named me after the blazing sun.

He hoped I would rise slowly, brilliant and radiant, and become the most dazzling light in Dongze.

But I had never truly seen the sun.

Black ripples spread through my vision. Nuo Niang ran back into my consciousness, saying anxiously,

“Miss, with wind and rain this heavy, where are you going?”

Nuo Niang was strict with me, but her heart softened easily.

When I saw her, the pain throughout my body eased a little, and I wheedled,

“I-I have to go find my senior brother.”

Nuo Niang froze, then asked back,

“Since when does Miss have a senior brother?”

I grew anxious. “How could I not? The one who’s poor and loves scaring people, but gives me steamed buns every day!”

“Miss is precious and pampered. Why would you need to eat steamed buns?”

“I ate them. I’m not lying to you.”

“Miss, stop making trouble. Come back with me. Young Master Yu is still waiting for you.”

“Go back? Why should I go back?”

I instinctively took a step back and looked at her in terror.

But Nuo Niang pressed forward forcefully, reaching to grab my wrist.

Just then, a Qingque shot out from her chest like a sharp arrow, scattering her form and dissolving it into the rain curtain that was gradually coming to a halt.

The rain stopped.

The memories that had once dispersed surged back into me like a tide at that very moment.

I struggled to lift my eyes and looked toward the beam of light breaking through the clouds.

My head was so swollen and aching that it was almost unbearable, yet from deep within my body, an endless stream of power welled up, guiding me to dig up more of the past.

After a long while, Qingque landed on my shoulder and tilted its head, chirping twice in urging.

I brushed the mud from my body, tied up my disheveled hair again, and picked up the Mojian sword by my hand.

“Let’s go. We’re going back.” I poked Qingque on the head. “We’re going to find Senior Brother.”