The road eventually has an end, but Hua Yan’s memories can go on forever.
Everyone in the sect watched her grow up from a young age and knew these stories well. It was rare to have someone completely unaware of them. As Hua Yan recounted her childhood antics, she often burst into uncontrollable laughter, not forgetting to gesture at Lu Chengsha, afraid he might miss the humor.
Lu Chengsha listened to her attentively, occasionally responding with an “hmm” as if everything she said interested him greatly.
Snowflakes began to drift down again on the mountaintop, falling intermittently and lingering softly.
By the time Hua Yan reached the stories from when she was ten years old, she was finally tired and decided to take a break. Wrapping herself in a blanket, she went to the stone bed for a short nap.
When she woke up, Lu Chengsha was once again sitting outside, having sealed his inner strength.
Hua Yan thought this person was really stubborn!
Clearly, the Meditation Cave was much warmer, yet he insisted on staying outside in the cold.
Unhappy, Hua Yan said, “Come inside!”
Lu Chengsha glanced at her but said nothing.
Forget it, she decided not to ask. She knew the answer would definitely be no.
Hua Yan tugged hard on Lu Chengsha’s sleeve, determined to drag him back into the stone cave herself. Considering that Lu Chengsha, though an adult male, couldn’t be that heavy, she thought she could easily pull him. However, after a great effort, she only managed to move him a small distance.
Hands on her hips, she fumed, “Are you doing this on purpose?”
Finally, Lu Chengsha said, “You don’t need to worry about me.” He seemed to find it difficult to explain to Hua Yan, “I made a mistake, so I must be punished. It’s only right.”
“But I haven’t finished talking…” The more Hua Yan thought about it, the more it seemed off, “Do you actually not want to listen?”
Lu Chengsha immediately replied, “No.” He paused, “I want to listen.”
“Then come inside!” Hua Yan insisted.
Lu Chengsha fell silent again.
Hua Yan had never met someone so stubborn. Most people in their sect were adept at adapting to circumstances, seizing opportunities without suffering losses, and Xie Yingxian himself was slippery as an eel. How could anyone be this foolish?
She wanted to be angry but felt it wasn’t Lu Chengsha’s fault. She could only curse Tingjian Manor’s punishment as overly harsh and unreasonable, ultimately ending up sulking alone.
Seeing her run down the mountain again, Lu Chengsha remained seated outside.
This punishment was originally intended to help him focus on martial arts, with a clear mind and no distractions. For the former Lu Chengsha, this would have been simple. Pain and cold were just external factors; he practiced the way of the sword. With the sword in his heart and nothing else, these things didn’t matter.
But now, it was truly hard to remain calm.
After a long while, Hua Yan came running back. She had found a long umbrella with a canopy like clouds and set it up next to Lu Chengsha.
The umbrella had a large frame, and when fully opened, it cast a wide shadow. Snowflakes slid off the umbrella ribs, creating a scene reminiscent of a small pavilion.
Lu Chengsha: “…”
Hua Yan was still catching her breath. “You stay here and don’t move. It took me a long time to buy this from a vendor down the mountain.”
Saying this, she produced a small charcoal stove, with the charcoal rattling inside. Hua Yan took out a fire starter, lit the charcoal stove, and even brought out a small teapot, filled it with clean snow water, and set it on the stove to boil.
The stove’s heat melted all the snow around it, even warming the area around Lu Chengsha.
Hua Yan had changed her clothes. Underneath, she still wore her usual light red dress, but over it, she had draped a long peach-red brocade cloak adorned with butterflies, with a circle of snow-white fur at the collar. Strands of black hair framed her face, giving her beautiful features a delicate, almost carved-from-jade appearance.
Lu Chengsha, coming back to his senses, noticed he also had a dark cloak draped over him.
Hua Yan sat down on the ground next to him, just like he did, and stretched her hands towards the charcoal stove for warmth. Although she had inner strength, it couldn’t compare to the comfort of real fire.
She closed her eyes in contentment and said, “Alright, Great Hero Lu, you just sit here. Now, where was I? Oh right, when I was ten…”
This clearly wasn’t going to work.
Lu Chengsha touched the cloak on his shoulders and felt a vague sense of fear.
It was like a person who was used to eating leftovers and scraps suddenly being faced with a table full of steaming delicacies. The first reaction was not joy, but caution and unease.
In the end, he took off the cloak.
Seeing this, Hua Yan paused in her endless chatter for a moment, then just mumbled to herself and continued talking.
That evening, when they heard the footsteps of the disciple bringing food up the mountain, Hua Yan quickly and skillfully put away the umbrella and hid the stove.
Unexpectedly, the disciple was even more perfunctory than she imagined.
He placed the steamed buns and water bowl from the food box on the ground from a distance and shouted, “I-I brought the food!” before hurrying down the mountain, as if someone was chasing him.
Hua Yan picked up the items, disdainfully squeezing the cold and hard bun.
Lu Chengsha didn’t seem to mind. He casually picked up another bun and was about to take a bite.
Hua Yan quickly grabbed his arm, “Are you really going to eat that?”
Lu Chengsha was puzzled, “Hmm?”
Hua Yan said, “Don’t you find it disgusting?”
Lu Chengsha honestly replied, “… It’s okay.”
He had grown up eating anything because he was often very hungry. When you’re starving, you don’t have the luxury of being picky. Later, he developed a taste where as long as it filled his stomach, it was good enough.
Hua Yan felt very frustrated!
She had taken Great Hero Lu to eat so many delicious things, but he still wasn’t picky!
Pouting, Hua Yan asked, “Tell me the truth, did you find the things I brought you to eat tasty?”
Hearing this, Lu Chengsha nodded sincerely and said, “Yes.”
Whatever she brought him, he found it very delicious.
Hua Yan finally felt a bit more balanced.
“Buns won’t fill you up. I’ll… I’ll get something. You wait here!”
***
Sometimes Hua Yan felt that time passed really quickly. She had spent several days, off and on, just talking about her childhood. At night, Lu Chengsha would take her down to sleep, and during the day, they would go back up the mountain together.
Having wandered around Tingjian Manor for a while, Hua Yan roughly knew the layout. Lu Chengsha’s courtyard was very secluded, and ordinary people would never come here, so they hadn’t run into anyone else for days.
She did, however, see Lu Chengzhao from a distance.
He was very imposing at Tingjian Manor, surrounded by attendants, and lived in a slightly eastern side room. That area also housed Lu Chengyang, Lu Huaitian, and his wife. It was always lively every night, and she had even caught a glimpse of the elder, Lu Zhenxing. He was tall and upright like a sword, with a full head of white hair, exuding a strong presence. However, since the distance was quite far, Hua Yan couldn’t be sure—it was too close for comfort, and she feared being discovered if she got any nearer.
She didn’t recognize the other miscellaneous people but felt it was all very bustling, though it had nothing to do with Lu Chengsha.
At midnight, the two sat on the rooftop. Hua Yan wanted Lu Chengsha to tell her some gossip, but unfortunately, Lu Chengsha truly knew nothing and couldn’t say anything interesting. The only things he could tell her were which martial artist was stronger or weaker.
This made Hua Yan deeply realize that Great Hero Lu was indeed Great Hero Lu!
She even discovered that in the Meditation Cave, there were traces of Lu Chengsha’s sword energy left over the years, some deep, some shallow, like rings on a tree trunk. Lu Chengsha seemed to know each mark intimately and could clearly tell her which year any given mark was made.
Hua Yan was amazed and felt she was really just fooling around with her martial arts training.
So, Lu Chengsha picked up a pine branch and asked her, “Do you want to spar?”
Hua Yan inwardly cried, “…Yes!”
However, while sparring with Lu Chengsha, who was going incredibly easy on her, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if Great Hero Lu fought with all his strength.
She didn’t expect to find out so soon.
One day, the snow stopped, and the sky was exceptionally bright and clear. Hua Yan was boiling a pot of rock sugar pear water on the charcoal stove, while Lu Chengsha sat in the snow nearby. Suddenly, his eyes changed—a rare occurrence for him.
Then, Lu Chengsha stood up and said to Hua Yan, “Go down the mountain.”
Hua Yan was puzzled, “What’s going on?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “Someone’s coming.”
Hua Yan still didn’t understand, “Then I’ll just hide.” She folded the umbrella, picked up the stove, and headed towards the Meditation Cave.
Lu Chengsha said, “It’s not safe.”
Hua Yan still couldn’t see what was unsafe about it. Could it be that Tingjian Manor’s arch-enemies were here—wait, wasn’t that their Zhengyi Sect?
Finally, Lu Chengsha said, “It’s my grandfather.”
Hua Yan was also shocked and hurried to pack up her things, ready to leave.
Lu Chengsha’s body tensed up, “There’s no time. Hide here.”
Hua Yan asked, “Oh… okay, he won’t come inside, will he?” The Meditation Cave had some depth, and as long as no one came in, they wouldn’t see the setup inside.
Lu Chengsha said, “No.” He was about to turn around but seemed a bit uneasy and added, “No matter what happens, don’t come out.”
Hua Yan was slightly confused.
Of course, she wouldn’t come out!
But… what could possibly happen?
Before her thoughts could finish, Lu Chengsha suddenly turned back and struck her acupoints. Hua Yan, caught off guard, realized he had even sealed her mute acupoint—wasn’t this a bit much, not trusting her at all?
Alright…
Hua Yan felt a bit aggrieved.
Lu Chengsha said, “I’ll release you later.” His voice held a clear note of apology.
Hua Yan decided to settle the score with him afterward.
Before he finished speaking, Lu Chengsha had already gone out.
Almost as soon as he left, she heard another set of footsteps, heavy and steady, with the weight of a mountain, indicating unfathomable inner strength—wasn’t he already seventy? Hua Yan was a bit bewildered.
However, the newcomer seemed in no mood for idle talk.
“Draw your sword.”
The voice, infused with inner power, sent a tremor through Hua Yan’s heart. Despite being far away, she could still feel the residual force of the command.
Previously, she had thought Lu Huaitian’s voice was imposing, but upon hearing Lu Zhenxing’s voice, she realized it was a poor imitation. While Lu Huaitian’s voice was an attempt at intimidation, Lu Zhenxing’s voice instilled genuine fear, as if the very air around them tightened, ready to immobilize them.
Lu Chengsha naturally drew his sword.
In an instant, Hua Yan heard terrifying sounds of battle.
It was terrifying because, if she didn’t know it was two people fighting outside, she would have thought the earth was shaking, mountains crumbling, the sky changing color, and the sun and moon darkening. The deafening clashes and near-breaking sounds of metal made her heart tremble, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the outside had already turned into a wasteland.
Hua Yan gritted her teeth and listened carefully.
She then heard Lu Zhenxing’s voice, severe and heavy.
“Not focused enough.”
Lu Zhenxing commanded, “Don’t think about anything else! You need to focus solely on how to kill me!”
Then came Lu Chengsha’s voice, “Yes.”
The subsequent sounds were even more intense, like the sky collapsing. Without being able to see, Hua Yan had no way to tell how Lu Chengsha was faring, only feeling her heart tighten with anxiety as she listened.
Lu Zhenxing’s voice continuously boomed.
“Faster, stronger, again… Have you achieved so little during your seclusion? Where is your sword intent, your killing aura? How many times have I told you, you must show no mercy! Cut off all those distracting thoughts!”
His voice made Hua Yan’s eardrums throb.
She heard Lu Chengsha’s voice, clearly wounded and trembling slightly, “Yes.”
“Do you think you’re already strong enough? No, far from it! With your current level, if you were to fight against the Demonic Sect, you would only face certain death! I have personally trained you for so long, and this is all you can achieve?”
“Do you think my punishment is too harsh? I didn’t punish you because you wanted to kill that Demonic Sect demon. All members of the Demonic Sect deserve to die; killing him was justified. I punished you because you shouldn’t have any selfish distractions. Those things will only hinder your swordsmanship!”
As he spoke, the sound of the battle didn’t cease but intensified, making it seem as if the mountaintop was about to collapse. The clashing of swords was so intense that it made one’s teeth ache, and there were frequent sounds of heavy impacts, along with the sound of sword wind cutting through pine branches, heavy snow, and rocks falling to the ground.
“The highest state of swordsmanship is to have no distractions.”
“The sword is you, and you are the sword.”
“… Chengsha, don’t disappoint me.”
Lu Chengsha’s voice was deep and devoid of warmth or emotion, like a sword itself.
He said, “Yes.”
How could it be like this?
Hua Yan wanted to move, but with her acupoints sealed by Lu Chengsha, she couldn’t even make a sound. She could only continue listening to the sounds outside, which made her anxious and agitated, wishing she could rush out immediately.
Unable to do anything else, Hua Yan closed her eyes and started using her inner strength to break the seal on her acupoints. Fortunately, Lu Chengsha hadn’t used excessive inner strength to seal her.
She didn’t know how long she had waited, but the sounds outside gradually ceased.
Lu Zhenxing said, “I will come back in half a month. I hope you will have improved by then.”
His footsteps slowly faded away, and from the sound, it seemed he was also somewhat injured.
Hua Yan thought Lu Chengsha would come and release her acupoints soon, but after waiting a while, she finally heard Lu Chengsha’s footsteps, moving slowly, unlike his usual pace.
He walked into the Meditation Cave, step by step approaching her.
Hua Yan’s heart tightened, and she managed to break the seal on her acupoints just as Lu Chengsha arrived. She quickly stood up and grabbed his sleeve, wanting to ask how he was. Unexpectedly, Lu Chengsha, unprepared for her touch, stumbled and fell onto Hua Yan’s shoulder.
Thankfully, with her inner strength, Hua Yan was able to catch him.
But soon, Lu Chengsha stood up, swaying slightly.
“I’m fine,” he said softly.
Hua Yan immediately pressed her hand on his back and pushed him back onto her shoulder.
“No, you’re not,” she insisted.
Hua Yan immediately pressed her hand on his back and pushed him back onto her shoulder.
“Idiot!” Hua Yan said, feeling the weight on her shoulder, her nose suddenly tingling with emotion.