200: Chapter 69: Love’s Parting, Desires Unfulfilled 200: Chapter 69: Love’s Parting, Desires Unfulfilled Chen Ke, chronic illness.
Xie Xuanyi, Jiang Miaoyin.
All over the world, people said that this was a match made in heaven.
One was the once-in-a-millennium Da Sui Sword Immortal, the other was the beauty of Qing State that came once in a thousand years.
They also grew up practicing together on Lotus Peak.
The so-called childhood sweethearts were indeed a perfect match.
Back then, everyone was so optimistic about this pair… there were even some who had prepared the betrothal gifts early, just waiting for the two to become Dao companions.
But.
No one expected.
The story of this pair… would end in such a somber manner.
Probably, even fewer could imagine that the tragedy of Xie Xuanyi’s fall at the North Sea was intimately linked to Jiang Miaoyin.
After the Da Sui Sword Palace was sealed, everyone thought it was because Jiang Miaoyin was overly heartbroken.
Over the years.
Indeed, many nobles tried to visit or sent letters expressing their affections, only to be rejected at the gate.
Now that the Sword Palace had unsealed, many people came to visit Yujing Peak,
Hoping for a glimpse of this Jiang Family female Sword Immortal’s charming grace, yet they did not dare to offend the Da Sui Sword Palace and disrupt the protocol…
These people were naturally driven out from the gates of Yujing Mountain.
Perhaps what they coveted was not only Jiang Miaoyin’s beauty.
If one could unite with Jiang Miaoyin, it would mean connecting with the powerful families of Qing State as well as forming ties with the Da Sui Sword Palace.
They did not know.
The moment Xie Xuanyi plunged into the North Sea, Jiang Miaoyin had also “died” with him.
But dead ashes can still reignite.
The first glance at “Xie Zhen,” Jiang Miaoyin’s Heart Lake felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.
She uncharacteristically did not turn this youth away but instead invited him to climb the mountain and share a tea with her.
Obviously, she harbored unrealistic fantasies about “Xie Zhen’s” identity.
These past few days, the Grand Ceremony of Sword Qi had been dramatic and full of twists and turns.
Although she was in seclusion… Jiang Miaoyin’s thoughts were always with Xie Zhen.
After harvesting the Xuanshui Cave Heaven, the dust settled.
Her unrealistic fantasies, too, shattered along with the settling of Xuanshui Cave Heaven, like bubbles bursting.
But now…
But now, the youth had taken off the appearances of all living beings.
Jiang Miaoyin’s dead heart kindled a faint, fragmented light.
She looked at the face before her in a daze, afraid to reach out and touch it.
As if all of this were just a dream.
If touched… it would burst.
“That battle at the North Sea, I was lucky enough to survive,”
Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes and said slowly, “and after that… many things happened, too many to recount.”
He had come to Yujing Peak tonight for one reason.
To reconnect with Jiang Miaoyin.
A whole ten years.
Jiang Miaoyin had confined herself within the mountain; the incident at the North Sea had struck her too deeply, becoming a psychological barrier.
When Ye Qinglian asked for a duel, no matter what, she refused to draw her sword.
The reason was simple.
This sword carried guilt.
As a Sword Cultivator, before one cultivates the sword, one must first cultivate the heart.
Jiang Miaoyin couldn’t get past the barrier in her “heart” for even one day and thus couldn’t cultivate the Sword Dao for even one day.
But how could she overcome this barrier?
A great wrong was already committed, and the deadlock was irrecoverable.
Every wisp of Sword Qi that roamed Yujing Peak was an “apology” for regrets.
The Sword Energy Waterfall rushed fast and furiously.
Jiang Miaoyin stared blankly at the young man before her.
She dared not speak, dared not make any motion… she just stared, and stared.
The two greatest blessings in life.
Are to be alarmed by a false fear and to regain what was lost.
In these ten years, she often thought of Xie Xuanyi’s vibrant face during quiet moments, and then thought of the immensely cold seawater… this scene had become a nightmare, lingering persistently.
Meeting again today.
She dared not wish this to be an awakening from a dream, only hoping that this imaginary dream could last a bit longer.
Seeing Jiang Miaoyin’s expression.
Xie Xuanyi knew that this news was too shocking for her.
He took a few steps forward, allowing Jiang Miaoyin to see him clearly, to see him truly.
All of this was not fake.
“Xuanyi… you really are Xuanyi…”
Jiang Miaoyin, trembling, reached out her palm and gently touched the young man’s cheek in front of her.
Brother Xuanyi’s features seemed to have changed somewhat.
But the general contours of his face were still those from her memory.
This was not an illusion.
This was real.
“The calamity at the North Sea was fated.
I couldn’t escape it, couldn’t hide from it, perhaps if it happened again, the outcome would still be the same,”
Xie Xuanyi said calmly, “So, I harbor no resentment in my heart.”
“Miaoyin, even though I know the truth, I don’t blame you… My visit today is to tell you, there’s no need for guilt, no need for self-blame.”
Before coming here.
Xie Xuanyi had thought long and hard about what to say to Jiang Miaoyin.
Ten years of separation between life and death.
Reuniting today, there should have been countless words to say.
But at this moment.
Xie Xuanyi found he couldn’t say much more.
“…”
He silently watched the woman, weeping tears, unwilling to disturb this peace.
Perhaps no one on Yujing Peak knew that Master Miaoyin still had such a side.
After a long time.
Xie Xuanyi took a step back.
He spoke softly, “Junior sister, from today onwards, pick up the ‘chronic illness’… This is the Lifebound Flying Sword that you begged so hard from the master those years ago.”
“As a Sword Cultivator, you shouldn’t let your Lifebound Flying Sword gather so much dust.”
After speaking.
Xie Xuanyi didn’t linger any longer.
He turned and left Jade Screen Peak, the stream of Sword Qi Lotus tracing a long line in the night before ultimately fading away.
…
…
Xie Xuanyi returned to the small courtyard alone.
A moment later, Zhao Chunyang, draped in his wide lotus robe, also returned to the courtyard.
“You’re back just like that?”
Zhao Chunyang sighed, “Aren’t you going to say more?”
“I…”
Xie Xuanyi was silent for a long while, finally shaking his head.
Since his identity had been revealed, there was nothing more to be said.
“Miaoyin was crying alone on Jade Screen Peak, looking very desolate.”
Zhao Chunyang softly asked, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her like this…
When was the last time?”
“It should have been in the second year of joining the Sword Palace, when she secretly descended the mountain and was punished by the master.”
Xie Xuanyi remembered it clearly.
That year, Jiang Miaoyin was still a naive young girl, sent by the Jiang Family to train at the Da Sui Sword Palace.
The Jiang Family, a renowned clan in Qing State…
As Jiang Lie’s daughter, Miaoyin’s training at the Sword Palace was arduous; she practiced the sword day and night, sat quietly in meditation, defeating many peers, and successfully entered Lotus Peak.
However, those days were unbearably dull, and although Miaoyin was extremely resilient, she could hardly endure it anymore.
Thus, Xie Xuanyi, who was two years her senior, took her down the mountain on a trip.
After returning to the mountain.
They were caught in the act.
Zhao Chunyang punished both, having them face a wall on the back of Lotus Peak to reflect on their actions, and it was during that time…
that Miaoyin wept bitterly.
The reason Xie Xuanyi remembered that scene so vividly,
was that at that time, despite being inexperienced, Jiang Miaoyin, even in tears, looked strikingly beautiful.
“This girl, for a whole ten years, dared not shed a single tear.”
Zhao Chunyang, sitting on a wooden chair, remarked sentimentally, “On the day she learned of your ‘death by the Dao disappearing,’ she didn’t cry…
She just went silently to Jade Screen Peak and locked herself away.”
Xie Xuanyi’s expression was incredibly complex.
He looked at his master, at a loss for words.
As the Sect Leader of the Da Sui Sword Palace, Pure Yang Master held in his hands the supreme Sect Leader decree, capable of monitoring every movement within a hundred miles of the Sword Palace.
“So…
You’ve been watching all this time?” Xie Xuanyi asked.
“I’ve seen more than you could imagine,”
Zhao Chunyang said meaningfully, “What you said at Jade Screen Peak was right…
the calamity in the North Sea, you couldn’t escape it.
Even if you hadn’t ‘died’ in the North Sea, you’d most likely have ‘died’ somewhere else.
All beings must face their tribulations when cultivating; even changing one’s fate line only alters the nature of these tribulations, not erase them.”
This principle, Xie Xuanyi understood.
All beings have their calamities.
This is why those who supervise destiny, even upon seeing ‘life threads’, do not disclose them.
To mention a minor calamity might turn it into a major one.
A major calamity could evolve into a deadly one.
The higher one stands, the farther one sees…
the more one must be “cautious.” Every life thread casually touched could stir up tremendous ripples in the boundless mortal world of the future.
“The hardship in the North Sea ten years ago was both your calamity and Jiang Miaoyin’s, both a lingering malady and a chronic affliction.”
Zhao Chunyang spoke calmly, “If she truly wants to be worthy of ‘chronic affliction’, she must endure this calamity.”
Xie Xuanyi couldn’t help but ask, “What if she had faced her heart head-on these ten years and spoken the truth?”
“Difficult.
Very difficult.”
Zhao Chunyang gently shook his head, “What one fears most will become their Heart Demon…
How can it be easy to face this demon, and break through it?
If Jiang Miaoyin has indeed done this…
this calamity will not simply disappear.”
What would Jiang Qihu think after knowing the truth?
Xie Xuanyi, upon his death and the loss of his Dao, was related to a betrayal by those closest under Jiang Miaoyin’s command…
When this news reaches the Dachu Dynasty, how will the whole world view the Jiang Family, and how will they view the Sword Palace?
Countless rumors would spread overnight.
“Heart Demon…”
Xie Xuanyi fell silent, recalling the battle in which he reshaped the Sword Qi Cave Heaven.
Yes.
Everyone has something they fear.
Now, he had something too.
“By the way, Jiang Miaoyin’s Heart Demon is ‘losing you’.”
Zhao Chunyang suddenly said, “She locks herself up in Jade Screen Peak, unwilling to accept reality, unwilling to believe the truth…
Throwing ‘Chen Ke’ into the Sword Washing Pool was in order to let herself endure the pain of Sword Qi constantly, thus distracting her mind to keep from overthinking.”
Xie Xuanyi was momentarily stunned.
“You should understand what I’m implying, right?”
Zhao Chunyang said in a deep voice, “Jiang Miaoyin, back then, begged me earnestly to gift her ‘Chen Ke’ as her Lifebound Flying Sword…
It was not because she truly believed in that sword, but because she truly believed in you.”
All the world, including Jiang Qihu, could only see Jiang Miaoyin’s distant and serious demeanor.
Because she is the daughter of Jiang Lie, the future female Sword Immortal of the Jiang Family.
It was only in front of Xie Xuanyi.
She was that younger sister Miao Yin who could cling to her robe hem, confidently entrust herself to her senior brother, and sneak down the mountain together.
“Disciple…
understands.”
Xie Xuanyi closed his eyes.
He knew his master was hinting at him…
Xie Xuanyi knew better than anyone about the rumors from those days.
A match made in heaven.
As for that rumor, he did not clarify, as there was simply no need to do so.
Everyone understood that Xie Xuanyi was a sword fanatic, competing in Dao with numerous geniuses and, by his twenties, had already reached the pinnacle as the Sword Dao Leader.
Where would he find the leisure and mental energy to dwell on other matters?
Upon opening his eyes again.
Xie Xuanyi’s eyes were clear and bright.
He solemnly said, “Xuanyi’s heart holds nothing but the Dao and nothing else.”
“The Dao is emotionless, people have emotions.”
Zhao Chunyang looked helplessly at his prized disciple and sighed, “Xie Xuanyi, you still don’t understand, that in this world, the ‘Dao’ isn’t the only thing one can pursue.”
Xie Xuanyi appeared somewhat confused.
“When I’ve grown old, only then do I start to reminisce about the ‘old friends’ who once walked alongside me through the lengthy years.”
Zhao Chunyang suddenly said, “People always reminisce about what they have lost, yet overlook what is in the palm of their hands.”
“That bald monk from the south said it quite right, life is full of aging, sickness, death, sorrows, frustrations, grievances, loss of loved ones, unfulfilled desires…
Throughout this long life, one will experience some suffering.
These sufferings…
are unstoppable and unavoidable.”
Zhao Chunyang reached out and gently touched Xie Xuanyi’s head.
Xie Xuanyi was puzzled and uncomprehending.
“Xuanyi.”
He gently said, “In this life, walk a little slower, the scenery you see, will also be more.”
…
…
(PS: Thanks for waiting.
Once again asking for monthly votes, if possible, I hope to make it into the top hundred this week.)