"When has there ever been a year of unbroken peace and joy? Life, death, prosperity, and decline hang by a thread. I am not afraid for myself — I only worry whether the younger generations will prove worthy."
Li Xiangping smiled bitterly and dropped the subject. He brought out the cloth and ink brush, asking Li Chijing to write down the sword technique.
"This sword technique of mine only has a single movement. I'll call it..."
Li Chijing tilted his head in thought. The image of a moon-white arc of sword qi surfaced in his mind.
"The Lunar Crescent Sword Arc."
He picked up the brush and wrote across several sheets of cloth with sweeping strokes — the path of qi circulation, the distribution of spiritual power along the blade, the method of releasing the strike — recording everything in detail before setting down the brush with satisfaction.
"Once you're at the Immortal Sect, I'll copy it onto bamboo slips."
Li Xiangping collected the sheets of cloth as though they were treasures, beaming.
He glanced at the sky. Another hour had passed. Li Chijing taught Li Xiangping some key points of talisman arts, spent the night talking with Li Mutian, and used a few dharma techniques and tonics to nourish the old man's health. At last he departed for the pass at Lichuan.
---
Aboard the Cloud Ship of Shining Light, Li Chijing sat for a quarter hour, his thoughts still lingering on the family's affairs. Senior Sister Yuan Tuihuan noticed his distraction and asked quietly:
"How is the old man's health?"
Li Chijing recalled that he had returned under the pretext of visiting family. He tightened his grip on the slender jade-green bottle at his waist and replied with a muffled voice:
"He can still eat. I treated him with dharma techniques and tonics. He should manage a few more years."
Yuan Tuihuan sighed softly, assuming Li Chijing was grieving. She consoled him:
"Even cultivators cannot escape the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death — let alone mortals. The best we can hope is for them to suffer less."
Li Chijing answered in a desultory fashion while his mind was occupied with how to explain the origin of the Taiyin lunar essence to Si Yuanbai.
"Even the Golden Autumn in the Lake requires going through the sect to obtain. Just borrowing the Moon Lake Mirroring Autumn Art requires the Master's approval. There is absolutely no way to practice this technique in secret — I must clear the air with Master first."
With that thought, Li Chijing smiled at Yuan Tuihuan and asked softly:
"Senior Sister, is the Master at Qingsui Peak?"
"Oh, I received word from the peak. Master returned yesterday. I hear you were bullied — he hurled twelve Gathering Rain Talismans at Yuanwu Peak and nearly flooded the entire mountain!"
Yuan Tuihuan burst out laughing, her reply tinged with amusement.
"What?"
Li Chijing froze, then felt a surge of gratitude.
"In the end, disciples from surrounding peaks all came to watch the spectacle. The Master of Yuanwu Peak personally apologized and dispersed the thick cloud layer."
"Master has gone to too much trouble on my behalf."
Li Chijing laughed ruefully. He didn't feel wronged — it was Deng Qiuzhi who had come off worse. The Deng clan was a great and powerful family, and Li Chijing feared having offended them too deeply.
The Cloud Ship of Shining Light traveled swiftly. After another stretch of conversation, the gates of the Qingchi Sect materialized before them. Yuan Tuihuan set Li Chijing down at Qingsui Peak and piloted the ship toward the main peak.
Li Chijing landed and walked a winding path through the mountains. He found Senior Brother Xiao Yuansi gathering elixirs in the dawn light, just having sealed the pills into a bottle. Seeing Li Chijing, his eyes brightened:
"Your senior brother already avenged you — gave that Deng Qiuzhi a sound beating!"
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Li Chijing laughed and skipped up the stone steps:
"What elixir are you refining?"
"Just tinkering. Testing some new ideas of my own."
Xiao Yuansi shook his head, touched the still-warm elixir furnace, and said with a serious face:
"Master is at the summit. Go see him quickly."
"I was just heading there."
Li Chijing nodded, produced ten spirit stones from his storage pouch, and smiled:
"I forgot — the family still owes Senior Brother ten spirit stones. Now I can repay the debt."
Xiao Yuansi waved it off with indifference, took the spirit stones from Li Chijing's hand, tossed them into his storage pouch, and lowered his head back to his alchemy manual.
Li Chijing bowed and took his leave, drifting along the narrow path until a pale white pavilion veiled in mist appeared in the distance.
As he ascended the summit platform, he saw a man in azure robes — appearing in his thirties or forties, handsome, with a gentle smile, a gleaming white sword at his waist, standing among the buildings with an ethereal bearing.
Li Chijing clattered up the stairs and bowed respectfully:
"Master!"
Si Yuanbai's eyes held a warm light as he said:
"That Deng Qiuzhi came to Qingsui Peak in person to apologize to you, but you'd already gone. I heard you went home to see your father."
At the mention of Li Mutian, Si Yuanbai's expression turned slightly odd as he looked down at Li Chijing.
But Li Chijing lowered his head and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Master, please forgive me! I lied to Senior Sister and Senior Brother — my true reason for returning to Moonview Lake was something else!"
Si Yuanbai's expression changed. He hurried forward to help Li Chijing up:
"There's no need for this! Rise at once and speak."
Li Chijing kept his head lowered and said with trepidation:
"I received a letter from home earlier this year. My family discovered a predecessor's cave dwelling. After tremendous effort, they breached the formation barrier, only to find the cave swept clean — except for a single jade-green bottle."
"The family examined the bottle and found a portion of natural and spiritual qi inside — white as frost, flowing like water."
Si Yuanbai frowned:
"White as frost, flowing like water?"
"Frost qi from snow? Pine-Grove North Wind? No... it couldn't possibly be..."
Si Yuanbai shook his head, then his eyes flew wide open:
"Taiyin lunar essence?!"
Li Chijing nodded emphatically:
"I went to the Scripture Pavilion and searched for a long time, finding it unbelievable. So I made an excuse to go home and check. It truly was the Taiyin lunar essence!"
"Show me!"
Li Chijing quickly presented the slender jade-green bottle. Si Yuanbai accepted it, nodded, and said:
"This jade-green bottle is indeed a style from a century ago."
He closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then opened them abruptly with undisguised surprise:
"It truly is the Taiyin lunar essence! Well done."
Si Yuanbai compared it carefully for a while, then looked down at Li Chijing and said softly:
"This Taiyin lunar essence is exceedingly precious. You must think carefully about how to handle it."
"I leave the decision entirely to Master!"
Li Chijing answered with a respectful bow.
"You are a clever child — too clever by half."
Si Yuanbai laughed heartily and patted Li Chijing's head, then said with a serious tone:
"Your cultivation has reached the peak of Embryonic Breathing. If you wish to cultivate the Moon Lake Mirroring Autumn Art, this Taiyin lunar essence absolutely must not be reported to the sect. Only your Senior Sister can borrow the technique. I will then request the Golden Autumn in the Lake allocation. First, you cultivate the technique — once the rice is cooked and the dish is ready — then we report to the sect."
"If word leaks, even if the sect's old ancestors restrain themselves out of respect, the people of Moon Lake Peak will scheme endlessly to take this essence from you."
Si Yuanbai's eyes were filled with concern, as though worrying about something unspoken. He added quietly:
"The Qingchi Sect has been severed from this lineage for three hundred years. They have waited far too long..."
Hearing these words, Li Chijing gritted his teeth with a pang of guilt, his mouth assent even as his heart churned. Both Li Xiangping and Li Chijing were suspicious by nature. Li Chijing had left home young and was vigilantly alert to everything around him. Now, gazing at the warmly smiling Si Yuanbai before him, he felt deeply moved — and at last let down his guard toward Qingsui Peak and his fellow disciples.
"Thank you, Master!"