Several days later.
A thoroughly ordinary old fishing boat passed through the thin morning mist and slowly approached the shallows outside Sunset Village.
The hull rocked gently beneath the waves.
Old Jiang stood at the stern, pushing the boat along with a long pole, and still found time to complain.
“Sit still.”
Shui Hua sat at the bow, hugging her knees as she let the sea breeze wash over her.
At once, she turned at the sound of his voice.
“Can I still fall into the sea now?”
“The whole ocean adores me.”
Old Jiang let out a cold laugh.
“Then have the ocean cook you dinner.”
Shui Hua fell silent immediately.
Tantai Jingyue stood quietly on the other side of the stern.
The Divine Maiden’s white robes had been replaced by a simple plain dress. Her long hair was no longer crowned with a divine headdress; instead, it was loosely tied back with a pale-blue ribbon.
She gazed at Sunset Village as it drew nearer and nearer.
Her eyes moved from the old boats resting on the shallows to the low houses at the entrance of the village.
Fishing nets hung out to dry by the sea.
A crooked wooden frame leaned outside one of the courtyards.
Behind the village, a bamboo grove lay shrouded in the morning mist.
In the memories she had lost for so many years, these sights had once been nothing more than blurred outlines.
Now, they had become clear once more.
This was her home.
The fishing boat struck the shallows.
Shui Hua was the first to jump down.
Her foot slipped when she landed, and she nearly fell into the water. She flailed her arms wildly before finally regaining her balance.
Old Jiang’s eyelids twitched at the sight.
“The sea adores you?”
“I’d say it looks eager to make you eat some mud.”
Shui Hua pretended not to hear him.
She turned and stretched out a hand toward Tantai Jingyue, who was still standing aboard the boat.
“Sis.”
Morning light fell across her smiling eyes.
“We’re home.”
Tantai Jingyue lowered her gaze to that outstretched hand.
Many years ago, she too had held Shui Hua’s hand as they ran back and forth across these shallows.
Then she had let go.
One release had meant more than ten years apart.
After a moment, Tantai Jingyue gently took Shui Hua’s hand.
Shui Hua pulled hard.
The sisters stepped onto the shallows together.
…
By the time the three of them returned to the little courtyard, the smile on Shui Hua’s face had quickly stiffened.
Most of the courtyard wall had collapsed during their earlier clash.
The gate had been broken clean in two.
Broken planks, torn nets, and stones overturned by sword qi were scattered everywhere. Even the large water jar they had used for many years had been reduced to half a broken base.
Shui Hua stood at the entrance, dazed for quite a while.
“Where’s my water jar?”
Old Jiang pointed at the ground with his smoking pipe.
“Isn’t that it?”
Shui Hua stared at the half-shattered jar and immediately sucked in a pained breath.
“And my fish basket!”
“What about my little wooden stool?”
“The seashells I hid by the wall are gone too!”
Old Jiang snorted.
“Isn’t that what you two did?”
Shui Hua reacted with astonishing speed and immediately pointed at Tantai Jingyue.
“My sister did it.”
Tantai Jingyue glanced at her.
“You used your sword too.”
Shui Hua replied with perfect righteousness, “But I didn’t win.”
Tantai Jingyue fell silent.
Shui Hua continued, “How can the loser be responsible for paying for the damage?”
Old Jiang raised his smoking pipe and made as if to rap her with it.
“One piece of twisted logic after another.”
Shui Hua immediately ducked behind Tantai Jingyue.
“Sis, save me!”
Old Jiang brandished his pipe and cursed under his breath.
“If you have the guts, don’t hide!”
“You’ve been running to your sister whenever you lost a fight since you were little. How old are you now, and you’re still doing it?”
Shui Hua poked her head out from behind Tantai Jingyue.
“If I have a sister, why can’t I go to her?”
Tantai Jingyue stood between the two of them.
One was scolding, while the other was hiding.
For a brief moment, the more than ten years of separation seemed to vanish.
In the end, Old Jiang did not bring the pipe down.
He turned around and said sternly, “Stop standing there.”
“Get to work now that you’re back.”
“You two wrecked the courtyard. Neither of you is allowed to slack off.”
…
Old Jiang began hammering the courtyard gate back into place.
Shui Hua was responsible for gathering up the broken odds and ends scattered around the yard.
Tantai Jingyue stood to one side and watched for quite some time, unsure what she was supposed to do.
Shui Hua came over carrying a wooden plank and simply shoved it into her arms.
“Sis, hold this.”
Tantai Jingyue obediently propped the plank upright.
Shui Hua crouched beneath it, picked up a hammer, and swung.
The first strike—
Smack.
The hammer landed squarely on her own finger.
Shui Hua sucked in a sharp breath.
“Hiss—”
Tantai Jingyue’s expression changed at once. She immediately crouched down and took Shui Hua’s hand.
“Are you hurt?”
Looking into her sister’s anxious eyes, Shui Hua suddenly failed to hold back her laughter.
“Got you.”
Tantai Jingyue stared at her in silence.
Shui Hua’s smile slowly froze.
Realizing that something was wrong, she stood up and tried to run.
But she had barely taken one step when Tantai Jingyue reached out and tapped her on the forehead.
“Ow!”
Shui Hua covered her forehead, her face filled with disbelief.
“How come you hit people too now? You’re just like Old Jiang!”
Tantai Jingyue said calmly, “I’m only teaching you to remember the lesson.”
“That’s exactly what he says too!”
…
By the time the courtyard had been more or less tidied up, it was already evening.
Old Jiang washed his hands and turned toward the kitchen.
Shui Hua wanted to go in and help, but he chased her out the moment she reached the doorway.
“Shoo, shoo.”
“Don’t flood the kitchen too.”
“When have I ever flooded the kitchen?”
Tantai Jingyue stood nearby.
“I’ll help you.”
Old Jiang glanced at her and waved her away as well.
“You too. Out.”
Tantai Jingyue paused.
“Grandfather, I can—”
“What can you do?”
Old Jiang pushed her out of the kitchen too.
“What kind of grandfather makes his children work on their first meal back home?”
With that, he slammed the kitchen door shut.
Tantai Jingyue stood outside without moving for a long time.
In this battered little courtyard, she was merely Old Jiang’s granddaughter.
Merely a child who had come home for dinner.
Shui Hua nudged her with her shoulder.
“Old Jiang makes pretty good fish.”
“His temper’s just awful.”
A furious shout immediately came from inside the kitchen.
“I can hear you!”
Shui Hua grabbed Tantai Jingyue and hurried away.
…
Dinner was not lavish.
There was a sea fish caught that very day.
A few dishes of pickled vegetables.
And a pot of steaming fish soup.
Shui Hua ate quickly.
One moment she was picking up fish, the next she was ladling soup, her mouth hardly ever stopping.
Tantai Jingyue, however, was much quieter.
She sat beside the wooden table, looking at the simple dishes before her. Even her movements seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
At the Divine Palace, she had eaten countless spiritual delicacies.
Each one had been carefully prepared by the divine officials.
Yet in her memories, what she had looked forward to most as a child was nothing more than Old Jiang frying one extra fish.
Old Jiang picked up a piece of fish.
He placed it in Tantai Jingyue’s bowl.
Then he picked up another piece of the same size and tossed it into Shui Hua’s bowl.
“No fighting over it.”
Shui Hua compared the two pieces with her eyes.
“Mine looks a little smaller than Sis’s.”
“If you don’t need your eyes, donate them to the fish.”
Unconvinced, Shui Hua leaned over for another look.
Tantai Jingyue lowered her head and gazed at the piece of fish in her bowl.
The corners of her eyes quietly reddened.
Shui Hua did not notice. She was still urging her on from the side.
“Sis, hurry up and eat.”
“Old Jiang may be useless at everything else, but he makes pretty good fish.”
Old Jiang’s face darkened.
“Can’t you keep your mouth shut while you eat?”
Shui Hua lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth.
“I’m only telling the truth. You won’t even let me say that.”
The familiar bickering began to echo through the little courtyard once more.
The sea breeze slipped through the sections of wall that had yet to be repaired.
Three old stools sat around the table, occupied by three people.
Not a single place was empty.
…
After dinner, Old Jiang lit an old lantern.
He led the sisters toward the bamboo grove behind the village.
It had rained the night before.
The bamboo leaves had been washed a deep, quiet green, and tiny droplets still clung to their tips.
Deep within the bamboo grove, two graves stood side by side.
One belonged to Jiang Ruoshui.
The other belonged to Tantai Jinghuan.
Tantai Jingyue stopped before the two tombstones.
For a long while, she did not step forward.
This was her first time standing before her parents’ graves.
Old Jiang handed the prepared incense to the sisters.
Shui Hua took it, deftly lit it, and then knelt before the graves.
“Father. Mother.”
She sniffed.
“I brought Big Sister back to see you.”
Tantai Jingyue’s body trembled faintly.
A moment later, she knelt beside Shui Hua as well.
She gazed at the names carved into the tombstones.
Her throat felt as though something had lodged in it.
Only after a long time did she speak softly.
“Father.”
“Mother.”
“Your daughter has come home.”
The bamboo forest held nothing but the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.
No one answered.
Yet the incense smoke before the two tombstones rose slowly, curling around the sisters and refusing to disperse for a long while.
Shui Hua planted the incense in the earth.
Just as she had done every time she came to the bamboo forest in the past, she began chattering on.
“Big Sister is incredibly impressive now.”
“She’s the Divine Maiden of the Divine Palace, and she’s very skilled with the sword too.”
“Though she nearly killed me a few days ago.”
Tantai Jingyue turned to look at her.
Shui Hua pretended not to notice.
“Father. Mother.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Big Sister is back.”
“I won’t be alone anymore.”
Tantai Jingyue reached out and gently took her hand.
Shui Hua sniffed.
Then she clasped her sister’s hand even tighter.
Old Jiang stood behind the sisters.
As he watched them kneel side by side before the graves, the sight of Jiang Ruoshui in her youth seemed to appear before his eyes once more.
The two children his daughter had entrusted to him all those years ago—
both had returned.
…
Before leaving the bamboo forest, Tantai Jingyue remained behind with Old Jiang.
Shui Hua had run back to the village ahead of them, saying that she wanted to see whether the fishing boats had been damaged by the waves.
Only grandfather and granddaughter remained among the bamboo.
Tantai Jingyue bowed solemnly to Old Jiang.
“Grandfather.”
“These years, I have been an unfilial granddaughter.”
Old Jiang glared at her.
“You were taken away when you were six. What did you know about filial piety?”
Tantai Jingyue lowered her voice.
“But afterward, I forgot you all.”
“So you forgot. What of it?”
Old Jiang leaned on his tobacco pipe and looked beyond the bamboo forest.
His voice still sounded as stern as ever.
“Forgetting wasn’t your fault.”
“If you can remember, all the better.”
“If you can’t, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my granddaughter.”
Tantai Jingyue’s lashes trembled faintly.
…
Tantai Jingyue could not remain in Luoxia Village forever.
The seal left behind by the current Hairuo would eventually weaken.
She and Shui Hua had to discover the true method of suppressing the power together.
The ancient records of the Divine Palace, the sacrificial formation, and the condition of the Sea Eye all required her personal attention.
Shui Hua likewise could no longer continue pretending to be an ordinary girl without cultivation.
Once seventy percent of Hairuo’s divine nature ran out of control, it would be enough to destroy the entire Luoxia Village.
Yet Shui Hua was unwilling to move permanently into the Divine Palace.
In the end, the sisters sat beside the shallows and made an agreement.
Shui Hua would continue living in Luoxia Village, where Old Jiang would teach her the fundamentals of cultivation.
Whenever she needed to study the Hairuo sacrificial arts, she would go to the Divine Palace.
As for Tantai Jingyue, she would return to Luoxia Village at least once every month.
Shui Hua stared at her sister.
“What if you don’t come back again?”
Tantai Jingyue said, “I won’t.”
“You said that before too.”
Tantai Jingyue fell silent.
Shui Hua immediately narrowed her eyes.
“See? Even you feel guilty.”
Tantai Jingyue thought for a moment.
Then she extended her little finger.
Shui Hua froze.
It was a gesture they had made only when promising something to each other as children.
She immediately hooked her little finger around her sister’s.
“It’s a promise.”
“Whoever lies will never catch another fish.”
Tantai Jingyue said blandly, “Choose something else.”
“Why?”
“That threat has no effect on me.”
Shui Hua glared at her in outrage.
Yet a faint smile appeared in Tantai Jingyue’s eyes.
“Then how about this? Whoever lies will never be allowed to come home again.”
The anger vanished from Shui Hua’s face at once.
She firmly tightened her little finger around her sister’s.
“Then it’s a promise.”
“Neither of us is allowed to lie.”
“All right.”
…
The next day.
Jiang Qingwan, Xie Bugui, and Yun Zhuo arrived at Luoxia Village.
The crisis at the Sea Eye had temporarily subsided.
There had also been preliminary results regarding the twin Hairuo.
Jiang Qingwan had no reason to remain in Cangzhou any longer.
She had been away from Xuanzhou for quite some time.
Her master and friends at the Tianyuan Sect were still waiting for her to return.
When Shui Hua heard that she was leaving, she was clearly disappointed.
Clutching the sword Jiang Qingwan had given her, she stood with her head lowered before the courtyard gate.
“Sister Jiang.”
“Can’t you stay for a few more days?”
Jiang Qingwan said, “I’ve been away from Xuanzhou for a long time.”
“It’s time for me to go back.”
Shui Hua nudged a small stone with the tip of her foot.
“Will you come back in the future?”
Jiang Qingwan glanced at the sword in her arms.
“When you learn how to use it, you can come to Xuanzhou and find me.”
Shui Hua immediately raised her head.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then you have to wait for me.”
Tantai Jingyue walked up to Jiang Qingwan at that moment.
She bowed solemnly.
“Thank you for that sword strike in Luoxia Village.”
Jiang Qingwan knew what she was referring to.
If that strike had not stopped her at the time, perhaps everything would have ended differently.
Jiang Qingwan said, “I wasn’t doing it for you.”
“I know.”
Tantai Jingyue turned to look at Shui Hua.
“That’s precisely why I should thank you even more.”
To this day, she still could not be certain.
If Jiang Qingwan had not arrived in time, would she truly have driven that sword through?
Perhaps not.
Perhaps she would have.
But no matter which answer was true, she had already set foot on the wrong path.
It was Jiang Qingwan who had stopped her from taking that final step toward further wrongdoing.
Jiang Qingwan did not continue exchanging polite words.
“Remember this debt. You’ll repay me someday.”
Tantai Jingyue answered seriously, “I will.”
…
Yunmeng City.
Before the interregional teleportation array.
Huge silver-white patterns covered the plaza, while the power of space awakened layer by layer.
Jiang Qingwan, Xie Bugui, and Yun Zhuo stood at the center of the formation.
Shui Hua, Tantai Jingyue, and Old Jiang had come to see them off.
The spiritual light around the formation grew brighter and brighter.
The teleportation was about to begin.
Shui Hua stood outside the crowd, clutching the sword in her arms.
Just as Jiang Qingwan’s figure began to be obscured by divine light, Shui Hua suddenly stepped forward.
“Sister Jiang!”
Jiang Qingwan turned to look at her.
Shui Hua’s eyes were red.
Yet she forced herself to smile.
“Wait for me.”
“I’ll definitely come to Xuanzhou to find you.”
Jiang Qingwan smiled as well.
“All right.”
The spatial radiance shot into the sky.
In their final glimpse of one another, Shui Hua waved at her with all her strength.
Tantai Jingyue stood quietly beside her sister.
Old Jiang looked toward Jiang Qingwan and gave her a slight bow.
The sea wind of Luoxia Village seemed to blow from a distant place.
It carried moist sea air, along with the faint scent of fish.
Jiang Qingwan closed her eyes.
The silver-white divine light completely swallowed the figures of the three travelers.
Their journey through Cangzhou—
had finally come to an end.
