Martial Cultivator

This winter, the north was still covered in heavy snow. It was much the same as in previous years; the snow fell thickly over the Divine Capital, burying the entire city beneath a blanket of white, as though a tall woman were dressed in a long gown of pure snow.

In the south, however, there had only been a light snowfall during the coldest days. Those few snowflakes, let alone covering the land in white, could not even form a thin layer. With a single step, they mixed into the mud, leaving no trace of their original form.

That little bit of snow vanished completely not long after the new year. Though the mountains and wilds had yet to show signs of greenery, the landscape looked more like late autumn than deep winter.

The young temple master had once gone north to the desolate plains and seen a far grander snowfall. Now that he was back on the mountain, he found it somewhat dull.

That day when the light snow fell, he had even thought about using some means to summon a heavy snowfall himself.

But on second thought, though he had cultivated many daoist techniques over the years and his cultivation had grown formidable, bringing about a snowfall would still not be an easy task.

Thus that young temple master’s thought vanished as quickly as it came.

Yet in the days that followed, as he waited on the mountain and no second snowfall came, the young temple master began to regret it. He thought that if he had known, he might as well have used some means to summon a proper snowstorm. Now, without any snow, even with his current realm, it would be difficult to see one again.

The higher a cultivator’s realm, the closer his connection with heaven and earth became. Even so, truly influencing the world’s workings was still no simple feat.

The disciples in the temple could all see that in recent days their young temple master had much on his mind. Otherwise, he would not be wandering around the mountain day after day.

But no one dared to ask the reason. Though he was young, and was either the senior or junior brother to many daoists, he was now the temple master.

They could no longer be as close as they could see him visually.

That afternoon, the temple held its regular monthly discourse on the Dao. The lecture was given by an old daoist whom even the young temple master had to address as grand martial uncle, so nearly all the daoists not in seclusion were gathered there to listen with reverence.

The young temple master arrived a little late. The discourse had already begun, and the old daoist was halfway through his explanation of a certain scripture. Standing outside the window, the young temple master paused and heard a line: “When the Great Dao contends, there can be no retreat.” He nodded slightly, then turned and walked away into the distance.

Before long, he came to a stream behind the mountain. Standing atop a blue stone, he looked down at the small fish in the water, fish that never seemed to grow.

“It’s been so many years, yet whenever you have something on your mind, you still come here to watch the fish.”

Behind the young temple master, a young woman spoke softly. Her tone was calm, but in her eyes lay a trace of concern and tenderness that could not be hidden.

When the daoist who already stood as the leader of Daoism at this young age turned around, the concern and tenderness in her gaze faded away, becoming as clear and still as water.

”Senior Sister.”

Yun Jianyue smiled faintly, and it was as if a spring breeze appeared upon his face - gentle, slow, and soothing.

Ye Zhihua looked at this junior brother, who had already walked a very long path ahead of her, and said nothing.

Yun Jianyue thought for a moment, wanting to say, I’m fine.

But Ye Zhihua just shook her head.

Her meaning was clear enough: You can tell everyone else in the world that you’re fine, but you can’t tell me that.

If you don’t tell me when something’s wrong, then who else can you tell?

Yun Jianyue could only fall silent, sighing inwardly.

Ye Zhihua said softly, “If you’d only wandered around the mountain for a few days, if you hadn’t come here to watch the fish here, I wouldn’t have asked. I know you think more deeply and further than I do, you’re no longer that little boy who used to cry when bullied. But even after thinking so much and doing so much, that doesn’t mean you understand everything or care about nothing. If something’s troubling you, can’t you tell me?” Ȑ𝓪Nꝋ𝖇Е𝐒

After saying that, Ye Zhihua paused for a moment and added, “Even if I can’t help you, you could still tell me. I can at least offer a few words of comfort. Ayue, if you keep everything to yourself, it won’t do you any good, and it won’t do me any good either.”

Hearing this, Yun Jianyue nodded toward his senior sister and gestured at a large bluestone not far away, where the two of them could sit side by side.

After Yun Jianyue slowly sat down, Ye Zhihua sat beside him. After a brief silence, Yun Jianyue said, “In those years when I liked Senior Sister but didn’t dare tell you, I often sat here thinking, if one day Senior Sister could sit beside me, that would be enough.”

Ye Zhihua thought for a moment and asked, “Then why didn’t you say it sooner?”

Yun Jianyue shook his head and said, “Liking someone takes courage. Telling her you like her takes even more. Because liking someone is your own matter, but the moment you say it aloud, it stops being just yours. Then you start to wonder whether you’re worthy of her, whether you’re a good match. You think about a lot of things, so before the words come out, nothing feels easy.”

Ye Zhihua smiled and said, “So you only dared tell me after breaking through your realm?”

Yun Jianyue said, “I always felt that one day, sooner or later, I would surpass Senior Sister. Back then, watching you walk ahead of me, I couldn’t bear it a little. But then I thought, if I never walk ahead of you, then I’ll never have the courage to say those words to you. So I quickened my steps.”

Ye Zhihua smiled without replying. Twin Pillars of Daoism - that title wasn’t wrong. After all, she truly was a genius. But her junior brother was a genius among geniuses.

“So, at first you were afraid I’d be hurt, and later, you were afraid you’d be hurt.”

Ye Zhihua glanced at Yun Jianyue and said softly, “But if you had stayed behind me forever, that’s when I would’ve been sad. You know, when we first came up the mountain, everyone said Martial Uncle was lucky to have picked up a natural talent for cultivation. I also thought you’d surpass me soon. But I didn’t expect it to take so many years.”

Yun Jianyue smiled and said, “Sometimes, it takes years to understand the smallest of things. As for the truly important matters, it looks like you might spend your entire life trying to figure them out.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhihua hesitated and asked, “What deal have you been making with Chen Chao again?”

Yun Jianyue glanced at her and slowly shook his head.

Ye Zhihua let out a breath of relief.

Yun Jianyue said calmly, “I asked him to do something for me.”

Ye Zhihua frowned slightly, for she had noticed that the word he used was asked, not any other.

Yun Jianyue didn’t continue on that topic. Instead, he asked, “Senior Sister, if one day I lead all the disciples of this temple to the desolate north and most of them die there, perhaps even causing the Infatuation Daoist Temple to never recover, what would Senior Sister think?”

Ye Zhihua froze for a moment, then frowned and said, “If our ancestor manifests, he’d surely scold you.”

Yun Jianyue just brushed it off with a smile.

Ye Zhihua thought for a moment, then said, “As a disciple of this temple, I’d think it’s something you shouldn’t do, mustn’t do, shouldn’t even think about doing. But as your senior sister, if you did it, then so be it. If someone scolds you, I’ll scold them back. If someone wants to hit you, I’ll hit back. After all, I have only one junior brother.”

Yun Jianyue smiled and reminded her, “Senior Sister has more than one junior brother.”

Ye Zhihua spat out a turbid breath and said, “Junior brothers may all be called the same, but they’re not the same.”

Indeed, there was only one Yun Jianyue in the world. And the junior brother Ye Zhihua liked, wasn’t there only one of him too?

Yun Jianyue asked doubtfully, “When did Senior Sister’s thoughts change?”

After all, in the past, though his senior sister treated him differently, she still couldn’t understand the things he sought to do, nor the meaning behind them.

Ye Zhihua answered calmly, “Even now, I still don’t quite understand what you’re trying to achieve, or why you’d willingly wade into muddy waters. But I did come to understand one thing.”

Yun Jianyue raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“My junior brother would never act recklessly. Everything he does is after deep thought and deliberation. Since that’s the case, if I can’t understand, then I simply won’t try to. Whatever he does, I’ll just follow.”

Her words sounded so natural, but at this moment, she was nothing like the cold, distant senior sister she used to be.

Yun Jianyue sighed softly. “Senior Sister, when did you suddenly become such a gentle and understanding woman?”

Ye Zhihua arched an eyebrow and looked at Yun Jianyue, a sharp glint in her eyes.

Yun Jianyue chuckled. “Not that you’ve suddenly changed, you’ve always been this way. It’s just that your junior brother never looked closely enough before. That’s my fault. If we were down the mountain right now, I’d punish myself with three cups.”

Ye Zhihua suddenly said, “Junior Brother seems to be a native of the Divine Capital.”

Yun Jianyue nodded and smiled, “Yes. Walking out of the mundane world, after a few days of cultivation one thinks oneself superior to others, thinking those people are different from oneself, no longer to be treated as humans.”

Ye Zhihua said, “You think yourself not human, and you think they are not human either.”

Yun Jianyue was taken aback, then said with some delight, “Senior Sister?”

Whether his senior sister could support his decision mattered. But for Yun Jianyue, that was not the most important thing; what he wanted was for his senior sister to understand what he was thinking, and if she sincerely felt things should be so, that would be best.

True like-mindedness is like that.

Ye Zhihua said calmly, “I thought about it. Before I came up the mountain my family should be over in Xinliu Prefecture; not far from you.”

Yun Jianyue smiled, his eyes relieved.

Ye Zhihua said nothing, only looked at Yun Jianyue; the meaning in her eyes clear.

Yun Jianyue spoke plainly, “Martial Uncle did not die at sea, he is returning soon.”

Many could make Yun Jianyue call someone martial uncle, but when it involved matters out at sea... Ye Zhihua quickly understood: Daoist Wuyang was coming back.

Ye Zhihua fell silent for a moment; she understood the causes and consequences clearly. That martial uncle had been harmed by Chief Enforcer and should have died overseas.

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