So cold… so cold…
It was snowing?
Was snow in the mortal world merely like this?
As soft as a goose feather, fluttering across the whole sky.
Qiu Yutong’s left hand carried a jade-muslin lantern, in his right was a stick of crystal red tanghulu* as he gazed at the snowing sky in curiosity.
[T/N: Tanghulu is a kind of sweet]
He had just arrived in the mortal world and felt that everything was very novel. Just now, he bought a jade-muslin lantern and a stick of tanghulu.
Right… according to divination*, that little prince was fleeing and should be nearby this forest.
[T/N: From what I researched, this was basically calculating a person’s fate using their eight numbers (birthday etc)]
Qiu Yutong looked down and saw the messy footprints on the snowy ground of the forest then guiltily looked at the tanghulu in his hand. Don’t tell him that when he was queueing up for tanghulu, he had delayed for too long and the little prince had been captured by Jiang-shi’s people?
Eh, let’s go in a bit and see.
He walked on the snow with difficulty and his shoes were gradually soaked, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He thought that since he was not afraid of the cold, why not just throw the shoes away and walk barefoot on the snow?
After a moment, he suddenly heard a voice in front of him.
F*ck, this bast*rd really runs fast!”
“I’ll hold him down, you break his head then we can head back early to report!”
“You better hold him properly, don’t let this bast*rd bite me again!”
That’s right! Qiu Yutong’s spirits roused, and he quickly went over.
Passing through the small forest, ahead was a vast expanse of white snowy ground. A dark-faced man swore while holding down a young boy while the other yellow-faced man held a dazzling steel knife and was about to chop down.
The boy didn’t look past eight, his entire face was dirty as he was pressed firmly into the ground. He closed his eyes tightly, neither crying nor screaming, as if he had already accepted his fate.
The yellow-faced man raised his steel knife and ruthlessly dropped it!
In a split second, Qiu Yutong casually raised his hand! The bamboo tanghulu stick broke the sky, and it let out an extremely sharp whistling sound!
The eyes of the yellow-faced man who was wielding the knife protruded.
Then, the steel knife dropped to the ground with a loud clatter.
The yellow-faced man softly fell to the ground.
The bamboo stick inserted into one side of his temple, the tip protruding from the other side. It was an ordinary stick without a sharp edge.
The other dark-faced man didn’t know what happened and was still firmly holding down the boy, looking around in a panic, “Who? Who is it?! Get out here!!”
“Let go of that child,” Qiu Yutong unhurriedly walked out from the dark
He was barefoot with his deep black hair hung loosely, snow-white robes with a jade-muslin lantern in one hand, looking like he didn’t belong to the mortal word.
The dark-faced stared at him and muttered, “Demon?”
“You’re the demon,” Qiu Yutong wasn’t happy.
He was a sword cultivator, not a demonic cultivator! These amateurs, if they didn’t understand then they shouldn’t spout nonsense!
The boy seemed like he could perceive a peculiarity and slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at Qiu Yutong.
Qiu Yutong paused in his steps and felt a little embarrassed.
According to the divination, the child in front of his eyes was the ninth prince of the Dachen dynasty and was his future disciple. But, his appearance today, forget his loose hair and the fact that he had no shoes, he had even used a tanghulu stick to kill someone.
This was a little too sloppy.
Originally, he had even wanted to build a reserved image as a shizun… Ai.
But the situation was already like this so Qiu Yutong had no choice, he could only walk over slowly and say to the dark-faced indifferently, “Leave.”
The dark-face man was stunned. Then, he suddenly roared and picked up the steel knife on the ground, chopping towards the boy’s head!
People really won’t shed a tear unless they see their coffin.
Qiu Yutong casually brandished his hand and the bamboo stick, like a living thing, pulled out of the yellow-faced man’s head with a whoosh and then thrust towards the dark-faced man’s groin!
The full four to five inches went in, without a single bit protruding.
The dark-faced man wailed then throwing down the knife, he fell to the snowy ground, rolling about as he screamed miserably.
The boy didn’t even spare him a look. His pair of pitch-black eyes were staring unwaveringly at Qiu Yutong.
“Cough cough!” Qiu Yutong was suddenly aware of something and couldn’t help coughing in embarrassment.
He was unorganised, and acted as he pleased, without abstaining from much, so he was frequently nagged by Zhangmen-shixiong… He could ignore Zhangmen-shixiong’s nagging, but in front of this child, was the move just now not too good?
If he had known, he would’ve switched.
Qiu Yutong felt regretful as he squeezed out a fake warm smile, then bent down to stroke the boy’s hair, trying to direct the other’s attention somewhere else, “It’s fine now, don’t be scared, be good.”
The boy said hoarsely, “You… Are you an immortal?”
……
Qiu Yutong slowly opened his eyes slowly, staring at the snow-white bed curtains, and felt somewhat absent-minded.
It was only after a long while did he wake up.
He had dreamt of the past again.
The Lu Xiao of that time was still a brat, lying dirtily on the snowy ground, both pitiful and cute.
Now, that brat had grown up and actually gave him eighty flogs just because of a low-grade spiritual sword, and even made him kneel on the snowy ground… Evil disciple.
Qiu Yutong couldn’t help gnashing his teeth, but he had no other way and could only comfort himself. Forget it, forget it, anyway he could count it as profiting from disaster. Forget opening his spiritual acupoint, he had even absorbed nature’s spiritual energy.
When he goes to Juanlian Alley to find San-shixiong, and return to North Snow City to recover his cultivation, then come back to sort out this evil disciple who offended and deceived his teacher.
As Qiu Yutong fantasised, a pleasantly surprised voice suddenly arrived, “Xue Rong, you’re awake!”
“You’re finally awake!” Liu Bitao ran over to the bed with heavy footsteps then suddenly thought of something, turning around to shout towards the door, “Xiao Xizi, stop boiling the medicine, hurry up and call the imperial physician, your Young Master is awake!”
“Ai, ai!” Xiao Xizi repeatedly answered, throwing the medicine bowl down and running off.
‘How do you feel? Cold? Hungry? You slept a full three days. We all thought you wouldn’t make it!” Liu Bitao carefully and cautiously helped Qiu Yutong up, leaning him against the headboard.
Qiu Yutong got a headache listening to him and said hoarsely, “Water.”
Liu Bitao quickly poured water and came back. Qiu Yutong only took a sip when he spat it all out, luckily he hadn’t been burnt to death.
Liu Bitao said in embarrassment, “That, I don’t really know how to serve someone.”
Qiu Yutong said dispiritedly, “It’s fine. Just now you said that I slept for three days?”
Liu Bitao stamped his feet and said, “Exactly! You made us worry to death. Luckily, Zhang-gonggong sent over those wild ginseng. I also had some deer antlers and Xiao Xizi cut some of it to make soup everyday, which was how your life was forcefully maintained.”
Qiu Yutong’s heart slightly warmed. Xiao Xizi needn’t be mentioned, Liu Bitao had a sharp mouth but a soft heart, and Zhang-gonggong had always treated him pretty well.
As the two of them were talking, Xiao Xizi and Zhang Defu brought an old imperial physician in.
After the old imperial physician took his pulse, he stroked his white beard, “Young Master Xue Rong’s pulse has steadied, and the wounds on his back have become much better. He should not catch a cold, change the medicine on his back on time, do not allow his wounds to get wet and supplement this with a bowl of medicine everyday. He will be a lot better after spring.”
Zhang Defu heaved a sigh of relief and sent the old imperial physician off, then put a box of wild ginseng on Qiu Yutong’s bedside. “Ai, Young Master Xue Rong, this slave does not use these things so you should use them as supplements… Ai.”
Qiu Yutong thanked Zhang Defu before seeing his face full of worry and couldn’t help asking, “Zhang-gonggong, what is it? Did something happen?”
Zhang Defu sighed, “After Young Master broke His Majesty’s beloved sword, His Majesty had shut himself in… Immortal Master Qiu’s previous bedroom. It’s going to be three days soon and he hasn’t eaten.”
“He locked himself in my… Immortal Master Qiu’s previous bedroom?” Qiu Yutong was slightly stunned.
The room opposite Lu Xiao’s, that locked up room, was his previous bedroom.
Zhang Defu exclaimed, “Young Master Xue Rong, you don’t know this but Immortal Master Qiu was His Majesty’s master. His looks and yours, and yours…”
He paused and didn’t continue, only saying, “This Night Rain, along with another sword, Heavenly Jade*, were originally a pair of spiritual swords. Immortal Master Qiu gifted Night Rain to His Majesty and His Majesty has always treated it as a treasure, always wanting to bring it with him everywhere. After Immortal Master Qiu left, and now Night Rain has broken, His Majesty, he… ai, ai.”
[T/N: I may have TL’d this as Heavenly Water Jade previously.]
Qiu Yutong was confused.
Naturally, he could see that Lu Xiao extremely cherished Night Rain. That’s right even though Night Rain was merely a low-grade spiritual sword, but with his sword energy sealed inside it, it had saved Lu Xiao quite a few times. No wonder, Lu Xiao cherished it so much.
But, for the sake of a broken sword, he had shut himself in the room for three days and nights, not eating or drinking?
How could this be? Lu Xiao had always been calm and powerful; he wasn’t such a weak person.
Zhang-gonggong looked at Qiu Yutong and said softly, “Young Master Xue Rong, this slave also knows that you’re angry. But, but… this slave will be bold and invite Young Master to take a look at His Majesty and advise him.”
Qiu Yutong shook his head, at a loss, “He won’t listen to me.”
Let’s not mention the insignificant “Young Master Xue Rong” of today, even the previous Qiu Yutong, Lu Xiao hated to the bone. What would he use to advise Lu Xiao?
Zhang-gonggong hoarsely said, “Just take it that this slave is begging you, okay?”
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a long while and in the end, he was still worried about his only student. He sighed softly, “I’ll try.”
“Many thanks, Young Master!” Zhang Defu was overjoyed.
Qiu Yutong was still injured and moving was extremely inconvenient. Zhang Defu called two eunuchs to bring a small sedan chair over and helped Qiu Yutong onto it.
The four of them left. IT was currently evening and small bits of snow fluttered through the sky.
After reaching the rear courtyard of Jingxin Palace, they only saw the previously locked bedroom doors were wide open. It was empty inside, completely devoid of people.
Qiu Yutong muttered, “Where is he?”
Zhang Defu panicked, “This, this… His Majesty was still here just now, where did he go? What do we do? His Majesty’s frame of mind isn’t very good, let’s hope nothing happens…”
The emperor was missing and the entire Daning Palace panicked.
The sky gradually darkened. The eunuchs and Jinwu guards carried torches calling out and searching through the entire palace.
This search lasted until midnight yet he wasn’t found.
The sky was pitch-black and the snow was getting heavier.
Qiu Yutong sat upon the sedan chair and looked up at the sky full of snow, thinking hard.
Where did Lu Xiao go?
Such a huge snowfall, where can he go?
It’s so cold. This was the twelfth month…
The twelfth month?
Qiu Yutong suddenly quivered, realising something and said sternly, “Hurry, bring me to Pure Frosted Jade Courtyard!”
Twelfth month… Today was the nineteenth of the twelfth month, Lu Xiao’s twenty-fourth birthday.
The twelve-year-old Lu Xiao kneaded the red string on his wrist that signified his zodiac year strongly, suddenly looking up, “Will Shizun always be with Xiao-er?”
“Of course,” Qiu Yutong smilingly kneaded his little disciple’s hair. “Xiao-er’s every zodiac year, every birthday, Shizun will always accompany you.”
Later, Lu Xiao built Pure Frosted Jade Courtyard and the tall Qixue terrace*.
[T/N: So the word for terrace here is 台, which can mean stage or platform as well. I’m inclined to think of it as a building though, kind of like a lighthouse-style one. Hard to decide with no context what it is so I’ll update this when given more information.]
The evening Qixue Terrace was finished, the sunset coloured the sky.
The master and disciple pair climbed up this tall terrace together. Lu Xiao looked up at the osmanthus trees that were dyed red by the sunset and said softly, “Shizun, for all my birthdays to come, we will always be here, two of us together… Just us two, okay?”
At that time, how did he answer?
Qiu Yutong didn’t remember clearly, he seemed to have… nodded?
Today was Lu Xiao’s twenty-fourth birthday.
The two eunuchs carried the sedan seat and hurried to Pure Frosted Jade Courtyard. As the sedan continuously shook, Qiu Yutong’s back injuries gradually started to bleed, soaking the snow-white clothing.
But he didn’t seem to feel the pain, only worryingly pinching the sedan’s armrest. No wonder, no wonder Lu Xiao had been in such a bad mood these days, no wonder… no wonder he (LX) hated himself (QYT) so much.
“Hurry up!” Qiu Yutong urged hoarsely.
The sedan chair quickly reached Pure Frosted Jade Courtyard. The two eunuchs hesitated, not daring to enter. Qiu Yutong said severely, “Go inside, to Qixue terrace, I will be responsible for everything!”
Very quickly, the sedan chair reached the bottom of Qixue terrace.
An eunuch stammered, “Young Master, going up is prohibited. Even if you killed this lowly one, this one does not dare to go up.”
“Help me down and pass the lantern to me.”
Qiu Yutong endured the pain and stood up with extreme difficulty. He took a lantern from an eunuch and, propping himself against the wall, walked up the extremely precarious and narrow steps of Qixue terrace.
The night was dark and the light from the lantern was extremely dim. The north wind swept the snowfall directly into his face, scraping his face extremely painfully.
On the white marble steps of Qixue Terrace was an extremely thin layer of ice, making it both wet and slippery. He had fallen a few times in succession, in the end he took off his shoes, and climbed barefooted.
An unknown amount of time later, Qiu Yutong finally climbed Qixue Terrace, gasping for breath. He couldn’t care less about the sharp pain from his torn back injuries, nor did he care about the pain from the cuts on his feet, as he hurriedly surveyed his surroundings.
Qixue Terrace’s roof was an expansive platform with a tiny pavilion on it. Under the dusky light of the lantern, he could faintly discern a figure lying on the snow in front of the pavilion, a thin layer of snow having already accumulated on it, lacking even the tiniest hint of life.
Lu Xiao.
Qiu Yutong’s heart seized ferociously and he blurted out, “Xiao-er!”
Lu Xiao didn’t move.
Qiu Yutong staggeringly ran over and knelt directly onto the snow, gasping as he anxiously pulled Lu Xiao into his embrace, hoarsely calling, “Xiao-er, Xiao-er.”
Lu Xiao’s eyelashes, which were full of snow, trembled faintly, then dazedly opened his eyes, even his gaze seemed disorientated. He was still tightly holding onto the two pieces of Night Rain. The watery blood on the sword dripping onto the snow, congealing into a muddy puddle of light bloody water.
Qiu Yutong simply wanted to cry. “Xiao-er!”
“…” Lu Xiao stared at him, perplexed, his lips moving slightly, looking like he was in a dream and hadn’t fully woken up.
“You foolish boy, do you want to freeze yourself to death?!” Qiu Yutong tightly gathered his only disciple up, as if trying to use the tiny bit of warmth of his to warm up the other’s freezing body.
So cold…
He held Lu Xiao, his entire body couldn’t help trembling.
Was the cold poison flaring up again?
So cold… so cold…
His consciousness uncontrollably became distant. At the same time as he gradually sunk into the darkness, it seemed like he felt a pair of strong arms firmly embracing him. That pair of hands were like an iron hoop, with great strength, as if it wanted to blend him into their body. His ribs were bound so tightly it hurt and he almost couldn’t breathe, but he couldn’t even struggle even the tiniest bit.
A person called in a trembling voice by his ear, “Shizun.”
