A Will Eternal

All of the disciples in the area had stopped walking, and were now looking at Bai Xiaochun.

The envelope he was holding in his hand was most certainly a love letter!

Of course, Bai Xiaochun didn’t have much experience getting love letters. As for the surrounding disciples, from the looks in their eyes, they all seemed to be wishing him well over the matter, and some of the male disciples even seemed a bit jealous.

Bai Xiaochun’s hands were trembling as he held the envelope, and his heart surged with emotions. Then, his eyes widened, filling with excitement.

“This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve been given a love letter! The only letters I got in the past were fighting notices!” He was so moved that tears began to seep out of the corners of his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the young woman who’d given him the letter, who was fleeing as quickly as a frightened bunny.

“Although I don’t even know your name,” he murmured, “I will definitely cherish this love letter, the first one that has ever been given to me in my entire life. Years from now, I’ll show it to my descendants so they can appreciate how charming their patriarch was in his youth!” Even as he sighed deeply in his heart, he realized that all of the surrounding River-Defying Sect disciples were looking at him, and he felt even more wonderful than before.

“I love the River-Defying Sect,” he thought, “and I love all of my fellow disciples….” It was with some difficulty that he collected himself and then oh-so-carefully placed the love letter into his bag of holding. With that, he stuck his chin up, flicked his sleeve, and prepared to make a little speech. But then…

Another female disciple of the Profound Stream Division bit her lip as she made a big decision. Without any more hesitation, she hurried over to Bai Xiaochun, head lowered and cheeks flushed as she pressed an envelope into his hand and then rushed off.

Bai Xiaochun’s jaw dropped at the sight of this second love letter resting there in his hands. Instead of a heart drawn onto the surface of the envelope, it showed two little clasped hands.

Bai Xiaochun wasn’t the only shocked one. The other disciples who’d begun to gather to see what was happening all began to cry out in shock.

“There’s nothing strange about the junior patriarch getting a love letter. But I can’t believe he actually got two of them!”

“Aggghhhh! Everybody knows that I, Xu Xiaoshan, am one of the most handsome guys in the sect! How come nobody’s ever given me a love letter!?”

Even as the discussions broke out, Bai Xiaochun’s hands began to shake, and then he threw his head back and let loose a long cry of joy. His eyes were sparkling, and he was trembling visibly. At the same time, he was deeply and profoundly moved, down to the core of his being.

“This is only the second love letter I’ve ever received in my entire life! I never could have imagined that I would actually receive two love letters!” Bai Xiaochun couldn’t be more excited, and he was virtually panting as he looked at the retreating form of the young woman who’d just given him the letter. After carefully putting the love letter away, his eyes began to gleam with unprecedented determination.

“I shouldn’t be so selfish as to just worry about my own affairs. Ever since I became the junior patriarch, I’ve become the complete center of attention. All of the disciples are watching me, and that includes the female disciples!” Brimming with righteousness, and eyes glittering, he decided that now wasn’t the best time to go visit Song Junwan. Instead, he began to stroll through the mountains of the Profound Stream Division.

Before he’d gone very far, a third female disciple hurried over to him and shyly handed him an envelope.

Then there was a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth….

Over the course of the following hours, Bai Xiaochun continue to feel more and more moved. He had received dozens of love letters, all of them hand-written. He was now filled with deep and profound emotions.

In response, the disciples who had begun to follow him devolved into pandemonium.

“Heavens, another one!”

“How could this be happening? He’s gotten so many love letters. Th-th-this….”

“Are those girls all blind or something? He might be the junior patriarch, but I’m a Chosen too!!”

Bai Xiaochun was already in a bit of a daze. The first few love letters had left him moved, but now he had dozens of them, and almost couldn’t believe it. The sight of so many blushing female disciples caused waves of emotion to batter his heart.

“Am I… am I really so outstanding?” he thought giddily.

Eventually, he left the Profound Stream Division’s mountains and headed into the Pill Stream Division. Unexpectedly, the first thing that happened was that a female disciple ran over bashfully and handed him a love letter.

In fact, one of the particularly creative female disciples had concocted a medicinal pill which she had carved with countless lines of text….

It was evening before he returned to Mount River Defiance. Never could he have been prepared for the events of the day, and they left him feeling more blessed than ever.

“I guess I really am just too outstanding. Hahaha! I guess that’s what happens when you’re dashing like me. Well, like I’ve always said, only dashing people can get special treatment like this.” Bai Xiaochun’s giggling laughter filled his immortal’s cave as he sat down cross-legged, pulled out all of the love letters he’d received, and spread them out in front of him. It was almost as if a whole group of attractive female disciples were all standing there, bashfully expressing their love to him….

After studying the drawings on the envelopes, he began to open and read each letter.

Bai Xiaochun was left trembling, and his face was even a bit flushed. That night, his heart burst with emotion over and over again. By the time he finished reading all of the letters, the light of dawn was rising up over the horizon.

After the sun was up, Bai Xiaochun rose to his feet, straightened up his garments, and then hurried out of his immortal’s cave, a broad smile covering his face. However, even as he stepped into the open, he stopped, then went back inside to change into his official junior patriarch’s robe.

It was a very ornate Daoist robe, ocean-blue and seemingly filled with rippling waves. It had five golden dragons embroidered on it, all of them very vivid and lifelike. Every move he made in the robe caused mysterious light to ripple around him, making him look even more heroic and impressive than before.

This particular Daoist robe had been prepared for him specifically for the grand ceremony earlier, and he’d only worn it for those seven days. Back then, he’d believed it to be a bit too uncomfortable. But now, he quickly donned the robe, and then examined himself in the mirror. Pleased with how incredibly handsome he looked, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, then finally opened the door and stepped outside.

As the day went on, he strolled through the four divisions of the sect, his chin stuck up as high as ever. Of course, his attire instantly attracted the attention of the River-Defying Sect disciples. During the night, the news about the love letters had spread, and was now the subject of much discussion. As of now, many people were looking over at Bai Xiaochun with odd expressions on their faces.

Of course, most of those odd expressions could be seen on the faces of the male disciples. On the other hand, the female disciples’ eyes shone brighter than ever when they saw Bai Xiaochun in his junior patriarch’s robe.

In one short hour, Bai Xiaochun was delighted to find that more girls were giving him love letters. They came from the Profound Stream Division, the Pill Stream Division, and even from the Blood Stream Division!

Yet again, the onlookers were completely taken aback, and the male disciples began to cry out in distress.

“Wh-what… what exactly is going on here!?”

“Heavens, the junior patriarch must have received over a hundred love letters between today and yesterday!!”

“Crazy! This is just completely crazy….”

Bai Xiaochun struggled to keep himself under control. Maintaining a soft and warm expression, he accepted the love letters, and then gave slight smiles to the female disciples who delivered them.

When he heard the cries of shock and the exclamations of envy, his heart burst with joy. That was how he spent the following days. During the night, he would spend his time reading the love letters. The matter quickly became the talk of the entire sect.

Everyone had different perspectives on what it meant for Bai Xiaochun to have garnered the affections of almost all the female disciples.

The gossip in the sect was almost all about Bai Xiaochun; everyone was talking about him. People like Xu Baocai and Big Fatty Zhang were fairly jealous. As for Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan, when they heard the news, grim expressions appeared on their faces, and their anger began to burn.

“371 letters!! Hahaha! That’s only in the past couple of days! I can’t believe I actually got 371 love letters!!” Even as the sect was in an uproar, Bai Xiaochun was sitting in his immortal’s cave, looking at his piled-up collection of love letters.

“Am I… am I really so outstanding?” Bai Xiaochun was nearly drunk with pride. Waving his right hand, he produced his little copper mirror and began to examine himself. Sighing emotionally, he realized that he needed someone to share this moment with.

“Copper mirror, what do you think? Who is the most outstanding person in the entire River-Defying Sect?!”

Of course, imposter Nightcrypt was inside the copper mirror. As soon as he heard Bai Xiaochun talking, he promptly continued to pretend to be unconscious. He had heard such words uttered by Bai Xiaochun numerous times in the past few days. Considering how terrified he was of Bai Xiaochun, he didn’t dare to respond, fearful that if he bungled his response, he would be punished.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened into a glare. “You think I don’t know you’re awake, copper mirror!?” he barked. “Answer the question!!”

Terrified, imposter Nightcrypt opened his eyes and then fawningly said, “Master, you are definitely the most outstanding person in the entire River-Defying Sect!!”

“You’re lying!!” Bai Xiaochun said angrily.

Imposter Nightcrypt was so frightened by Bai Xiaochun’s response that he nearly passed out. That was especially true considering how bloodshot Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were. He seemed to be brimming with anger. Imposter Nightcrypt immediately gave a piteous cry and then said, “I’m not lying! I… I hereby swear an oath! I swear I’m not lying at all. You’re not just one of the most outstanding persons in all the lands of Heavenspan, you’re the most, most, most outstanding!!”

“Really?” Bai Xiaochun asked suspiciously.

Imposter Nightcrypt knew what Bai Xiaochun was trying to do. Therefore, it was with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron that he quickly replied, “Absolutely. Positively! It’s true from many points of view!!”

Bai Xiaochun sighed. Looking very pleased, he put the mirror away, and then began to organize the love letters.

“Well since you put it that way, I guess I understand. No wonder so many Junior Sisters love me. So that’s how it is!”