"Qiongqiong Jade Rabbit"
Jade Branch Jade Rabbit
Whenever she closed her eyes, Shu Fu could recall the overwhelming tide of rabbits in the Hidden Wood Forest, a vast expanse of white like an avalanche, sweeping over with a sky-swallowing, sun-drowning momentum.
Each little snowball-like rabbit possessed a mouthful of stark white, iron-hard teeth, capable of easily tearing through flesh and crunching bones.
In this avalanche, every snowflake had razor-sharp edges, like flying daggers descending from the heavens.
"Jade Branch Jade Rabbits, ah."
The little red panda, thinking she hadn't heard of them, enthusiastically explained, "It's said their clan is immensely populous, spread across all corners of the land. When they gather, it's a vast sea of white, just like a heavy snowfall up north. I've lived on the mountain since I was young and have never seen such a sight myself."
Shu Fu, you haven't seen it, but I have.
The little red panda added, "The Second Senior Sister is the clan leader's youngest daughter. If she sends up a single signal flare, within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, twenty thousand brothers and sisters will gather at the foot of the mountain. Impressive, right?"
Shu Fu: "..."
My apologies, this is not the Chinese version of Snow White.
This might be the dark fairy tale version.
At this moment, she couldn't help but sincerely doubt:
Am I, this weak, truly worthy of such a hardcore sect?
However, at this time, the mermaid senior brother with a mysterious background, and the Jade Rabbit senior sister who could summon twenty thousand siblings with one call, were still very distant existences for Shu Fu.
What still lay squarely before her were the Jiuhua Sect's entrance trials and the pair of "roast pork bun" Masters, "Heavenly Rooster" and "Heavenly Dog".
Since she had decided to do this, she couldn't let others look down on her.
After chatting with the various demons and spirits, Shu Fu followed their advice and boarded the painted boat in the center of the lake alone. She sat cross-legged at the bow, closed her eyes, and focused on regulating her internal energy.
According to them, this small boat's location and material were special, carefully chosen by Jiang Xuesheng. It had the effect of doubling the results of cultivation with half the effort, being more effective the lower one's cultivation level, hence it was always reserved for newcomers. Fellow disciples were civilized, courteous, and deferential, presenting a harmonious scene.
"..."
The moment Shu Fu closed her eyes, a wondrous sensation flowed through her entire body.
To describe it, it was like on a warm, sunny spring day, immersing one's whole body in a cool mountain stream, letting the creek water seep into the skin. Every pore all over the body opened up; every joint, every strand of muscle fully relaxed and stretched. Through every meridian and blood vessel, a pure, gentle spiritual energy gurgled like a clear spring.
In a word, it felt blissfully transcendent.
So high! Feeling like life has reached its peak!
Shu Fu, experiencing the euphoria of cultivation for the first time since crossing over, didn't know moderation. Reveling in the sensation, she unknowingly entered a state of deep meditation, experiencing the profound realm of "forgetting both self and surroundings" for the first time.
(From Shu Fu's perspective, relying purely on instinct, it was pretty much like sitting down and falling asleep.)
When Shu Fu awoke again, stars hung over the vast plain, and the moon was high in the midnight sky.
The serene night scene of Yaoguang Peak remained around her. She was still sitting at the bow, only her upper body was now lying flat, her hands touching something soft and warm, as if she was lying on top of some living creature.
"Huh?"
Startled, Shu Fu instinctively tried to sit up, but the back of her head was gently pressed down. A familiar, smiling voice drifted down from above her:
"You are quite the eager one. Your master hasn't even arrived, and you're already thinking of making a breakthrough on your own. This way, wouldn't I be rendered useless?"
"..."
Recognizing Jiang Xuesheng's voice, Shu Fu's mind settled slightly, but she still felt her posture was somewhat problematic. "Sir, isn't this... inappropriate for me?"
"Why?"
Jiang Xuesheng said lightly, "You didn't seem to mind this when you were lying on Ruyi."
Shu Fu: "..."
Liu Ruyi is a goose, are you?
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."
Jiang Xuesheng silently smiled, his brows relaxing. The hand cradling the back of her head gave a gentle pat. "I had just returned when I saw you sitting at the bow, about to topple over. I figured you had entered meditation on your own. With no one to watch over you, weren't you afraid of plunging headfirst into the cold pool? I've picked up quite a few disciples, but you, a frail human, are more carefree than a swan goose."
As he spoke, Jiang Xuesheng intended to let go, but his fingertips got tangled in Shu Fu's sleep-mussed, unruly long hair. Pulling hard would inevitably hurt her, so for a moment, he couldn't easily free himself.
Not particularly bothered, he took the opportunity to bury his slender fingers in her hair, slowly, gently, pretending to be unintentional as he combed downwards from top to bottom.
"Speaking of which, since you arrived at Yaoguang Peak, I haven't yet welcomed you properly."
He said this, then fell into thoughtful contemplation for a moment. Suddenly, he flipped Shu Fu over like a salted fish, reached out to brush aside the bangs on her forehead, and lightly tapped his fingertip on the smooth skin between her brows.
Shu Fu felt a cool sensation between her eyebrows, like a snowflake drifting down, melting instantly against the warmth of her skin.
"Sir, what was that just now?"
She looked up at him somewhat bewildered.
Jiang Xuesheng raised a slender index finger to his lips, making a "shh" gesture.
"I slightly amplified your five senses. Now, you should be able to hear it."
"Hear what?"
Not understanding, Shu Fu clumsily propped herself up on one elbow, trying to extricate herself from this cheap master's hold.
This time, Jiang Xuesheng didn't stop her. He just watched her with a slight, squinting smile, indescribably serene and gentle, as if looking at a small sapling straining to grow branches and leaves, his expression almost tender.
Under his gentle gaze, Shu Fu straightened up, sat properly, turned her head, and then immediately crashed into a sky and earth filled with dazzling starlight.
"..."
Drunk, I know not the sky is in the water; the boat is full of clear dreams, pressing down the Milky Way.
In the vast, boundless night, stars glittered in the water, jewels seemed to fall like plates in the sky, breathtakingly beautiful enough to steal one's breath away.
Amidst this brilliant galaxy spanning sky and water, Shu Fu heard a faint, elusive strand of song.
It was a beautiful male voice, clear and penetrating in timbre, its sound shaking the trees, halting the drifting clouds. It trailed with a long, intricately winding cadence, like the lingering echo of a mountain wind through forest leaves.
"That's your Third Senior Brother, Si Fei."
Jiang Xuesheng said with a smile. "Mermaids are skilled in song, but seldom sing. Even I only hear it occasionally on nights with bright starlight. This is your first night on Yaoguang Peak; your luck is good."
Who would have thought?
This sect has one who plays the qin, one who plays the harp, and now a professional lead vocalist.
Thinking this, Shu Fu simply leaned back against the gunwale, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Xuesheng, listening to her senior brother's soaring song on their little boat of friendship.
Before long, she began to feel something was off.
Third Senior Brother, with his innate racial talent, possessed a naturally clear, melodious, and excellent voice, his singing technique beyond reproach. But the lyrics sounded stranger the more she listened.
He was singing:
On Yaoguang Peak lies Yaoguang Pool, in Yaoguang Pool floats a leaf-like boat.
Bright moon surrounds the boat, river waters cold; when will the bright moon shine upon my return?
Meeting is hard, parting is harder too; a hundred turns, nine bends twine round the cliff's ridge.
Wishing to cross the Yellow River, ice blocks the stream; a lone city stands against ten thousand towering peaks.
In fine rain, dreams return, the frontier fowl-fort far; the spring breeze does not pass the Jade Gate Pass.
Shu Fu: "Who taught him these lyrics?"
Jiang Xuesheng: "No one taught him. Your third senior brother is a guileless fish, not very adept at human speech. When others recite a line of poetry, he memorizes it, and later strings them together to sing, creating a new tune."
He'd fail his language exams.
Just like Master Jinghai, just like Master Jinghai.
Shu Fu struggled to keep this thought bottled up inside, forcing a twitching, fake smile onto her face. "Third senior brother is truly a unique merman."
A prodigy singer, you've really found a treasure.
Jiang Xuesheng nodded, then casually added, "Every person I've taken a liking to is naturally unique. You are no exception."
"..."
Shu Fu felt her calf muscles cramp from his sheer audacity. Between amusement and exasperation, she couldn't help but voice a long-brewing, heartfelt opinion. "I think, sir, you should pay a bit more attention to your choice of words."
Jiang Xuesheng lowered his gaze. "Hmm?"
Shu Fu said tactfully, "Speaking like that can easily make people develop... inappropriate ideas."
"What ideas?"
Jiang Xuesheng smiled dismissively, his gaze drifting into the distance towards the endless expanse of starlight and lake light, as if he could see beyond them to the azure seas and skies, the vast mountains and rivers.
"The heavens are high, the earth is broad, and the human heart is free. In this world, there is no idea that is 'inappropriate'."
"Well, for example, developing some... improper thoughts about you?"
Shu Fu felt the situation was profoundly odd, never expecting that she, a modern person, would need to explain this. "Think about it, heavenly principles, human ethics... cultivation usually frowns upon these things, right? Especially in a major sect like the Jiuhua Sect, the rules must be very strict, surely placing great importance on the boundary between master and disciple. Sir, you're so... unrestrained—I mean, you're so open-minded. Aren't you worried at all?"
It wasn't strange for her to overthink; after all, who hadn't read a certain... flower and bone story? Falling for one's own master, or being liked by a yandere, those are major taboos for novel heroines, often leading to severe torment later—definitely a top-tier minefield.
But—
Jiang Xuesheng was clearly not a normal master.
"I have never set boundaries for my disciples, so how can there be talk of 'improper' thoughts? However, if it truly were so... that would depend on my intention."
He tilted his face slightly, half illuminated by moonlight, his tone calm and serene, as natural and taken for granted as the vast starry sky above.
"If I am uninterested, naturally I will speak clearly, to help the disciple give up and seek a suitable match elsewhere."
"If I am interested, then I would do as any couple in love under heaven would."
"I cultivate the Dao, seeking freedom of heart and contending with fate, not to listen to others setting rules for me. If even my own heart and mind must be constrained by external things, then what immortality am I seeking, what Dao am I inquiring about?"
"Remember this saying, now that you have entered my tutelage."
"..."
Shu Fu unconsciously held her breath, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on him.
Then, she heard that unshakable, immutable, consistently upheld by all on Yaoguang Peak, simple, crude, and almost wild motto.
"The will of heaven has always been lofty and hard to question. In all matters of this world, we, people of our kind, inquire of our own hearts, our own feelings, and our own sense of righteousness. We need not be dictated by others, nor by heaven."
And also—
"Speaking of which. I'm not even human, what meaning do human ethics hold for me? If a disciple minded, I could simply release her from apprenticeship with a word."
Shu Fu: "..."
So you're not human either. Well, that settles that.
By the way, just how many people on this mountain peak are actually human? Could you introduce them first?
Jiang Xuesheng, however, did not continue that topic, nor did he seem inclined to introduce his race. Instead, he thoughtfully looked down at her, then suddenly relaxed his brows and gave a faint smile.
"It seems I have given you the answer you wanted."
Shu Fu jolted, immediately stiffening her face and sitting up straight with seriousness. "What wanted answer? I didn't... I haven't... Don't talk nonsense."
"If you haven't, why be nervous?"
Jiang Xuesheng's expression grew even more teasing, the laughter in his voice more pronounced. Shu Fu saw again that hint of youthful exuberance in his eyes. "Rest assured, I can tell that currently, there is no such intention in your heart. It was merely a casual question. Should you ever develop such an intention, do not hesitate because of any person or any matter. Speak to me anytime, and I will certainly give you an answer."
"Ah. Oh, oh. I'll definitely ask, definitely ask."
This is bad, Shu Fu thought.
Although she currently had no such intention and didn't know if she ever would, she had to admit that Jiang Xuesheng's naturally smooth, audacious talk truly had a shocking power that went straight to the heart.
Forget minefields; even if there were a field of landmines before her, it would probably be hard to control herself from stepping in.
Stop exuding charm, big brother!
You're playing with fire!
But Jiang Xuesheng continued as if nothing were amiss.
"On Yaoguang Peak, every word you speak, every sound in your heart, will surely receive a response. If not, then it is I, the Peak Master, who is unworthy of my position, merely occupying a post without fulfilling its duties."
His manner of speaking had a unique "Jiang-style" flair. Whether delivering bizarre statements with utmost seriousness or innovatively cursing someone out, he was always unhurried, clear-headed and composed, as if narrating a captivating legend.
On one hand, utterly irreverent; on the other, infinitely sincere.
As he spoke the final sentence, he suddenly flicked his sleeve. Then, the stars reflected in the lake transformed into ten thousand points of flowing light, rising together to intermingle with the starry sky above, like fireflies on a summer night.
Amidst the floating light and shadows, his face was indistinct, only his clear voice coming from within the light.
"Shu Fu, welcome to Yaoguang Peak. I am very glad you were willing to come with me."
That was the beginning of everything. Everyone, remember to bookmark the website or keep it in mind. The website is free, no theft, no anti-theft. Report errors in chapters, seek books, find books, and chat with fellow readers about books.
