Chapter 39

Morning.

The frost-laden sea air carried more floating catkins than usual. The towering pines stood rigid, dusted with a fine layer of white powder. A cool breeze drifted through the window.

Since reaching the Great Completion stage, An Wuxue’s body was no longer as sensitive to the cold as it once was. Instead, he had grown fond of the way the gentle breeze wisped through the room, and he no longer closed the windows at night.

Feeling the faint air, he slowly opened his eyes and sat up, sensing that something was amiss.

It was too quiet.

Where was Yun Wan?

Although Yun Wan did not know his true identity, she had sensed during their time at the Cloud Sword Sect that he was concealing something. Since following him, she would usually ask him questions about cultivation. He had essentially taken her on as a student of sorts, often offering her guidance. Yun Wan was remarkably sensible and always rose earlier than he did; every morning, he would wake to the sound of her practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

Not today.

He reached a hand out from under the quilt, exposing it to the breeze. Feeling the temperature—which was colder than usual due to the influence of the Everlasting Immortal spiritual energy—he gathered his thoughts. He rose as he always did, draped a robe over his shoulders, and performed a cleaning spell with measured movements before slowly pushing the door open.

The moment he saw Xie Zhefeng sitting in the courtyard, he feigned surprise. "Immortal Venerable," he said, sounding astonished.

Xie Zhefeng turned at the sound of his voice. The man’s expression did not seem as cold as it usually did in front of others. Now that his inner demons had been suppressed, the lingering malice in his eyes had quietly vanished, replaced by a layer of clarity. He wore the white robe with cloud patterns that An Wuxue had gifted him in his previous life, sitting there with perfect, upright poise.

For a moment, An Wuxue felt dazed, as if he had been transported back to the past. He remembered returning from a campaign against demons, covered in the dust of the road and the blood of his enemies, too ashamed to face his junior brother and rushing to his room to wash. Once he was cleaned up and dressed, he would walk out to find his junior brother waiting in the courtyard to discuss important matters. Upon hearing the door open, his junior brother would turn to look at him.

Just like now.

Xie Zhefeng’s gaze flickered, as if he were remembering the same past.

An Wuxue averted his eyes. He did not see Yun Wan, who had likely been dismissed by Xie Zhefeng. He walked over to Xie Zhefeng’s side and realized that the Immortal Venerable had prepared warm tea and pastries himself, with a trace of spiritual energy circulating around the furnace to keep them hot.

"Sit," Xie Zhefeng said, his tone even and lacking its usual frost. "I have been in seclusion for many days. I did not expect you to have reached the Great Completion stage already."

A question asked with the answer already known. Given Xie Zhefeng’s cultivation level, how could he have missed Lou Shuiming gifting his spiritual energy to An Wuxue within the sword formation?

An Wuxue replied, "I do not know why it happened. I simply woke up with this surge of spiritual energy. I thought it was the Immortal Venerable’s grace..."

Xie Zhefeng, as if he had never repeatedly doubted An Wuxue’s identity, responded calmly, "Immortals are not omnipotent. The energy you received was because Lou Shuiming felt you resembled his Senior Brother. Before his remnant soul dissipated, he sent the excess energy from the formation into your body, granting you a stroke of fate that helped you reach the Great Completion in one leap."

The man began to pour tea for himself, his movements casual.

What was this? Was he, as he had been when they played chess before, caught in memories of his past-life Senior Brother and had come to see if Su Xue was a suitable substitute?

An Wuxue could not be sure. He had a habit of fiddling with something or snacking when he was lost in thought. Seeing the immortal fruits and pastries on the stone table, he reached for one instinctively.

"Then when I have the chance, I must return to Zhaoshui to pay my respects to City Lord Lou..."

As he spoke, he reached out, his hand subconsciously moving toward the plate of ice cakes on the edge of the table.

Xie Zhefeng watched him, his eyes softening.

An Wuxue suddenly remembered what Qin Wei had said earlier. Xie Zhefeng had not abandoned his suspicions.

At that very moment, his junior brother’s gaze was fixed on his hand. The ice cakes had been placed there deliberately. No, the entire spread of fruits and pastries had been arranged simply to display that one plate of ice cakes.

In his previous life, he had loved ice cakes, and his junior brother, whose spiritual energy was icy and cold, had often made them for him when they were young.

In the blink of an eye, without his hand faltering, An Wuxue picked up an immortal fruit next to the ice cakes instead.

A flash of disappointment crossed Xie Zhefeng’s eyes, as expected.

But he quickly restrained his thoughts and said calmly, "Before the Zhaoshui Sword incident, you witnessed my inner demons flaring up."

"...Elder Qin warned me about this. I swear I will never speak of it to anyone."

"I do not care about that. You already saw it once in the pine forest of the Frost Sea."

"Immortal Venerable—"

"I bring this up because I want to ask: after my inner demons flared, and right up until the Zhaoshui Sword incident, did you notice anything unusual about Zhaoshui?"

"No. I was by Elder Qin’s side the entire time. It would be more reliable to ask the Elder. This concerns the two realms; what could a mere furnace like me possibly know..."

He lowered his head slightly and took a bite of the fruit, watching as Xie Zhefeng reached out to pick up an ice cake.

Those hands were accustomed to holding a sword and were perpetually chilled; they were long, slender, and as elegant as jade or bamboo. When Xie Zhefeng had first joined the sect, he had held those hands to teach his junior brother the sect’s sword techniques. His junior brother had been very well-behaved; even when the sword hilt rubbed his hands raw, he made no sound. It was only after they finished that An Wuxue saw the blood on the hilt. Not having been raised by anyone who knew how to care for others, An Wuxue had used a precious bone-knitting medicine and wrapped his junior brother’s hands into large, clumsy bundles.

Looking at his own pathetic attempt at bandaging, he had said with embarrassment, "Junior Brother, take a rest tomorrow. Let's not practice for these next two days."

His junior brother, quiet by nature, had simply nodded.

The next day, while An Wuxue was slacking off, leaning against a tree branch to enjoy the breeze, he was surprised when his junior brother appeared, still bearing those bandaged hands, carrying a plate of ice cakes. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for tending to my wounds," he had said.

From then on, they were his favorite treat.

Seeing Xie Zhefeng pick one up and take a bite, An Wuxue was momentarily lost in time.

Xie Zhefeng swallowed slowly and said, "Within the Cloud Sword Sect, I intended to search Yun Zhou’s soul, but a curse had been placed upon it; it would have shattered at the slightest touch. Later, when the Zhaoshui sword formation was shaken by turbid energy, it conveniently unsealed a Great Demon. This does not seem like something a Transcending Tribulation cultivator from a minor sect like Cloud Sword could have orchestrated."

An Wuxue’s thoughts sharpened. This was also what he had been thinking...

"...After I left seclusion, I carefully combed through the spiritual pouch Yun Zhou left behind. I found a book recording the patterns and sealing methods of the furnace seal on your body. There were also pages about puppet arts, but only the beginning remained; the subsequent pages had been torn out."

"Was it because he obtained this book that he could plot all this? Could it be that he, too, was merely being used..."

This was also a concern of An Wuxue’s, and he began to ponder it involuntarily.

Xie Zhefeng clutched the half-eaten ice cake, listening intently. His expression shifted slightly as he said slowly, "I studied that book carefully. It contained nothing else, nor were there any other ways to break the furnace seal. However, the method of the book’s manufacture and the materials used all originated from the Northern Underworld."

The Northern Underworld? Could someone be manipulating Yun Zhou, attempting to shake the Four Seas Ten Thousand Sword Formation?

Just as he was about to ask for details, Xie Zhefeng continued, "The Great Demons of the Transcending Tribulation stage have all been executed, and the remaining riff-raff should not be a threat. Yet, in recent years, one small sect after another has met with misfortune—either wiped out or disturbed by turbid energy. When searching for the root cause, it always appeared to be an accidental rupture in the spiritual veins, leading to a leak. I suspect these events are all connected. Perhaps they are the remnants of the demon cultivators. What do you think, Senior Brother?"

"I—"

An Wuxue froze.

Xie Zhefeng’s words were layered deep. He had almost begun to discuss the affairs of the two realms with his junior brother just as he had in his past life, and his junior brother had even slipped a "Senior Brother" into the end of his sentence.

Cold sweat broke out on his skin. Seeing the change in Xie Zhefeng’s eyes, he suddenly gave a light laugh.

He dug his fingernails into his palms, hidden within his sleeves, and wore a bright smile on his face. "I dare not comment on such great matters. But what did you call me just now, Immortal Venerable? You always refer to me as ‘Senior Brother’..."

He leaned forward slightly and reached out, resting his hand on Xie Zhefeng’s shoulder.

Xie Zhefeng seemed to stiffen.

An Wuxue was dressed in simple green robes, his hair bound only with a wooden pin. Even a common disciple of Falling Moon Peak was dressed more luxuriously than he, the companion of the Immortal Venerable living on the Frost Sea. Yet, as he leaned in, no matter how plain his attire, he was more dazzling than the daylight itself.

His peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, his dark pupils glistening with a smile, and his thin lips curled upward—exactly as they had in his past life.

He whispered, "I have now tasted the sweetness of cultivation progressing by leaps and bounds. If the Immortal Venerable truly wishes to treat me as that Head Senior and practice dual cultivation with me, I am willing to try..."

His voice paused, and after a brief silence, he softly uttered that long-lost address: "...Junior Brother."

Xie Zhefeng was dazed for a moment.

Suddenly, the man stood up abruptly. His immortal spiritual energy flared involuntarily, pushing An Wuxue away.

An Wuxue stumbled back a step, looking up to see a flicker of panic on the face of the Immortal Venerable of Coldness.

A cool breeze swept through the surroundings, and when he blinked again, he was the only one left in the courtyard.

Xie Zhefeng had just left.

The furnace was still burning, the tea was boiling, and the fruit and ice cakes sat undisturbed on the table. An Wuxue stood in place, listening to the sound of the boiling tea, dazed for a long time before he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Whether it was the ice cakes or that "Senior Brother," both had been subtle probes born of uncertainty.

Since that was the case, he would simply lean into Xie Zhefeng’s suspicions and play the part of someone willing to use dual cultivation to break through to the Transcending Tribulation stage, someone willing to be a mere substitute.

He knew Xie Zhefeng did not like this. This was not how his past self would have acted. Xie Zhefeng’s departure suggested he felt this was not the gentle, noble, and cautious Senior Brother of his memories.

He had likely managed to muddle through for now.

However, this method was a double-edged sword that hurt both the enemy and himself. He had almost been pulled back into his life with his junior brother a thousand years ago, and even now, he felt as if he could barely catch his breath.

Just now, he had almost answered to that "Senior Brother."

If he had truly answered... what would have happened? He couldn't even imagine.

At the very beginning, he had only wanted to avoid dying at Xie Zhefeng’s hands again. Now that he knew Xie Zhefeng would not kill him, he still did not want his identity exposed.

He walked slowly back to the stone table and sat down. With Xie Zhefeng gone, he picked up an ice cake and began to eat it, bite by bite.

The taste was very familiar. ...It was made by Xie Zhefeng’s own hands.

Suddenly, he didn't want to eat anymore.

As soon as he set it down, Yun Wan returned.

"The Immortal Venerable has left?"

"...Yes."

"Young Master Su, you and the Immortal Venerable...?" She hesitated. "I—I shouldn't have asked..."

He smiled. "It's nothing. You have always been discreet; just know what should be said and what should not."

"Yes..."

He stopped speaking. That "Junior Brother" from just moments ago had consumed too much of his mental energy. He was still feeling shaken and lingering in a daze.

Seeing that he was not in the right state of mind, Yun Wan simply stayed by his side and began to chatter about the trivial happenings on Falling Moon Peak over the past two days, keeping him company.

"...It was Immortal Song, who came to visit you that day. I heard from the disciples of Falling Moon Peak that he shared the past events of the Zhaoshui Sword Formation with all the living beings of Zhaoshui through a dream. The very next day, the Immortal Venerable followed up on this by having some of the things he had collected over the years regarding that Head Senior carved onto jade slips and transmitted to all the sects."