When entering Bairen Alley, Sang Dai had already sensed the burning heat of the seal, along with the aura of the Tianyu Stone. Having wielded Zhiyu for a hundred years, she was intimately familiar with the stone’s aura. However, she had suppressed her reaction and remained silent. It wasn’t until later that night, after Su Xuan had gone to rest and Shen Ciyu reached out to her via the seal, that she left to meet him.
Shen Ciyu said, “I’ll retrieve the Tianyu Stone for you. It belongs to you.”
Sang Dai’s expression turned icy. She met his gaze, devoid of any emotion.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll retrieve it myself.”
Someone approached.
Shen Ciyu’s vision blurred for a moment, and when he focused again, all he saw was the flutter of Sang Dai’s skirt. Despite her weak spiritual power and his own cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage, he couldn’t track her movements. In just a blink, she had vanished from before him.
Sang Dai reappeared in front of the newcomer. A startled cry rang out from a woman.
When Shen Ciyu came to his senses and followed the sound, Sang Dai’s Binding Ribbon had tightly restrained someone.
The one bound…
was Shi Yao.
“Sang Dai!” Shen Ciyu hurried forward, reaching out to grab Sang Dai’s arm, but she effortlessly evaded him, leaving his hands grasping at air.
Shen Ciyu froze in shock.
Sang Dai looked up at him and said, “Shen Ciyu, don’t touch me.”
It was as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. One hand clenched tightly over his heart, the sharp pain spreading from his chest like icy needles.
Shi Yao appeared panicked, her beautiful eyes filled with fear. “Senior Sister Sang, please let me go. It hurts so much.”
But Sang Dai showed none of her previous tenderness.
“Shi Yao, where is my Tianyu Stone?”
Even her voice was ice cold.
Shi Yao froze in place.
What had happened to Sang Dai? Why had she suddenly become like this toward her?
Shi Yao’s face turned pale as she forced a smile, tears welling up in her eyes as she said timidly, “Senior Sister, I was so worried about you. I’m just glad you’re alright.”
In the past, Sang Dai couldn’t resist Shi Yao’s submissive demeanor. Sang Dai, too sentimental and overly focused on relationships, had always indulged Shi Yao because of the fabricated stories by Sang Wenzhou.
But now, Sang Dai only looked at her with an expressionless face.
Shi Yao felt uneasy and resorted to her usual tactics. “Senior Sister Sang, my health is poor, and my chest feels so tight. Could you please—”
Before she could finish, a sharp pain spread from her wrist, abruptly cutting off her words.
Even Shen Ciyu couldn’t react in time to stop it. Sang Dai had swiftly pulled out a hairpin and slashed through the bracelet on Shi Yao’s wrist.
She didn’t hold back. Shi Yao, pampered and never having tempered her body through training, couldn’t withstand such a rough action. The broken threads of the bracelet scratched her skin, leaving blood-red marks. Fresh blood seeped from the wounds.
It wasn’t until this moment that Shen Ciyu and Shi Yao realized what Sang Dai had done. Both were stunned.
Everyone in the Sword Sect knew Sang Dai for her gentle temperament, especially her exceptional care for Shi Yao.
Shen Ciyu spoke softly, “Sang Dai…”
Shi Yao, regaining her senses, dropped her pretense and shouted angrily, “Sang Dai!”
Her body trembled, her lips quivered, but she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.
Sang Dai took the Tianyu Stone from the shattered bracelet. Whether out of deliberate humiliation or simple disdain, she pulled out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped the Tianyu Stone several times before putting it away.
Her expression remained indifferent. Retrieving Changmang, which had been binding Shi Yao, she said nothing, turned around, and began to leave.
Shen Ciyu called out instinctively, “Sang Dai!”
But the glance she gave him was too…
cold.
It was as if she didn’t recognize him. Worse, he caught a flicker of disgust in her eyes.
How had they come to this point?
“Sang Dai…”
This time, he didn’t try to stop her.
The sword cultivator walked farther and farther away. Her long black hair, loose at the back, was lifted by the night wind. The tassels hanging from the hairpin swayed gently. The warm yellow glow of the lanterns fell upon her figure, a color meant to be soft and gentle, yet Shen Ciyu felt an unbearable chill.
She was gone.
And she would never look back.
—
The night wind picked up, carrying a hint of coldness.
Changmang hovered close to Sang Dai, using its spiritual power to warm her body.
Sang Dai, clutching the Tianyu Stone, walked through the dense bamboo forest. The sound of a nearby stream whispered and murmured softly in the quiet night. She stopped at a certain spot.
From her Qiankun Pouch, she retrieved the Zhiyu Sword. Over the past few days, she had polished it daily. The sword still gleamed brightly.
But it no longer responded to her.
Sang Dai didn’t know how to use the Tianyu Stone, but she couldn’t bring herself to give up on Zhiyu.
She cautiously opened the round slot on the hilt of the Zhiyu Sword, the space meant for spirit stones. Swords that had awakened their spiritual consciousness loved spirit stones, using their energy to nourish their sword spirits. Sang Dai had spent nearly all her money over the years feeding Zhiyu.
She placed the Tianyu Stone into the slot.
Holding Zhiyu in her hands, Sang Dai felt her heartbeat almost stop as she stared unblinkingly at the sword.
But nothing happened.
She waited for a long time, so long that the chill of the night seeped into her, yet Zhiyu still showed no reaction.
“Zhiyu…”
She reached out and carefully touched the sword.
Cold. Lifeless.
“Zhiyu, can you stay with me a little longer?”
But the Zhiyu Sword no longer responded.
Sang Dai lowered her gaze, standing silently for a moment. Her nose stung, a wave of sadness washing over her.
“You’ve worked hard, Zhiyu.”
She sighed softly, about to put the sword away when Changmang, coiled around her wrist, seemed to sense something. It suddenly tightened in excitement, losing control of its strength.
The unexpected force caused her pain. With a low cry, her left hand lost its grip, and the Zhiyu Sword slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground and sliding into a nearby stream.
Changmang let out a distressed sound, “Ying!”
Realizing it had made a mistake, it was about to retrieve the sword when footsteps echoed from the edge of the forest.
Sang Dai turned toward the sound.
The warm yellow glow of lanterns fell on his silver hair, each strand bathed in light. His figure was upright and imposing, cold and dignified.
Su Xuan’s gaze first landed on her pale face, and his brows furrowed instantly.
Her complexion was terrible, her eyes faintly red, and her entire demeanor was one of defeat and exhaustion.
Then his gaze shifted downward…
Su Xuan noticed the Zhiyu Sword lying in the stream, its tassels stained with mud.
In that instant, Sang Dai could feel the faint pressure radiating from him. Su Xuan’s expression darkened.
Sang Dai was puzzled. “Su Xuan, you—”
Before she could finish, he interrupted her angrily.
“What’s the matter? The esteemed lady of the Sword Sect gives up so easily? Just because your meridians are injured and you can’t wield a sword, you abandon your own sword and give in to despair?”
Sang Dai was stunned. “…What?”
Su Xuan looked genuinely furious. “Sang Dai, you are unrivaled in the way of the sword. No one can compare to you. And yet, just because you can’t practice for now, you would throw Zhiyu away?”
Sang Dai treasured Zhiyu above all else, polishing it multiple times a day. She had cared for it so meticulously, but now it lay in the mud. Seeing her defeated expression, Su Xuan could only think that she had suffered a tremendous blow.
Su Xuan raised his hand, and the Zhiyu Sword was lifted by his spiritual power. Without a care for the dirt, he roughly cleaned it and then unsheathed the sword, tossing it back to Sang Dai.
Sang Dai hurriedly caught it.
“Useless! Pick up your sword and come kill me!”
Sang Dai: “…I didn’t—”
“Don’t you hate me? How did you fight me all those years ago? Now take up your sword and fight me!”
But what Sang Dai also heard was:
[“I’m going to skin those Sword Sect bastards alive! My Dai Dai is clearly the most outstanding sword cultivator in the world!”]
Sang Dai finally understood what Su Xuan had misunderstood.
“…Su Xuan.”
“What is it now, Miss High-and-Mighty? Thinking of throwing away Zhiyu again? If you dare abandon the way of the sword, I’ll go and skin the Sword Sect disciples alive right this moment.”
He was clearly threatening her, but his eyes were even redder than hers. He was furious, yet beneath the anger, there was a deep sadness and heartache.
Because Sang Dai could hear his truest thoughts.
[“How can you give up the way of the sword? You love Zhiyu so much, and swordsmanship is something you chose yourself.”]
[“You fought me so many times, your hands steady as you wielded your sword, your sword heart so clear. Why would you abandon the way of the sword?”]
[“Dai Dai, you can’t…”]
The two of them stood a short distance apart, gazing at each other. Sang Dai suddenly curved her eyes into a smile.
“Su Xuan, I promised you. I will return to the peak of swordsmanship and have a duel with you.”
Su Xuan thought she was lying.
Sang Dai, exasperated, raised Changmang and recounted everything that had just happened to Su Xuan.
Her reasoning was sound, and Su Xuan glanced at Changmang. The weapon whimpered timidly in acknowledgment.
She was telling the truth.
Which meant everything he had just said…
The Beast King’s expression stiffened, and upon seeing the amused glint in the sword cultivator’s eyes, he felt even more uncomfortable.
“You—this has nothing to do with me! I just look down on people who wallow in self-pity.”
Sang Dai nodded along. “Alright, alright, I understand.”
Watching Su Xuan’s ears flush red and his eyes dart away, the heaviness in Sang Dai’s heart suddenly dissipated like smoke.
In a gentle tone, she asked, “So, Your Majesty, why are you here? Weren’t you resting?”
“Tch.” Su Xuan’s voice was still dripping with sarcasm. “Miss Sang, you underestimate me. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you sneaking out?”
The moment she left, Su Xuan had known.
Sang Dai asked again, “So, you’ve been following me the entire way?”
Su Xuan stubbornly replied, “I just got here.”
Sang Dai tilted her head to look into his eyes.
[“Of course I had to follow. The ghost cultivators in Bairen Alley are all eyeing Dai Dai. What if something happens to her?”]
Sang Dai felt amused.
With Changmang by her side, as long as she didn’t encounter a vengeful ghost, she could handle herself.
It turned out he had followed her the entire way, watching her enter the bamboo forest and then waiting nearby for her to come out.
When she didn’t appear for a long time, his worry got the better of him, and he came in to find her—just in time to witness the earlier scene and mistakenly believe she had given up on Zhiyu.
Sang Dai asked, “Don’t you want to know where I went?”
Su Xuan coldly replied, “I’m not interested. Your business is your own.”
[“Whatever Dai Dai wants to do is fine. Dai Dai is always right.”]
This time, Sang Dai couldn’t hold back her laughter.
She held up Zhiyu and brought it close to Su Xuan. “Su Xuan, this is my Tianyu Stone. I want to use it to repair the Zhiyu Sword. It’s the only way to save Zhiyu, and I have to try.”
Su Xuan’s gaze fell on the small piece of stone embedded in the hilt of the Zhiyu Sword.
He recognized the Tianyu Stone—it was what had been used to forge the Zhiyu Sword. It seemed she had indeed gone to see someone from the Sword Sect. But she hadn’t left with them.
The Tianyu Stone in Sang Dai’s hands had been resized to a smaller piece. In actual use, it was much larger and held incredibly pure spiritual energy, containing Guixu energy untouched by erosion for thousands of years.
From his angle, Su Xuan could see Sang Dai’s eyes brimming with joy, so lively and radiant it seemed to overflow.
She cradled Zhiyu in her hands, looking up at him like she was waiting for praise, entirely free of the earlier hint of dejection.
Su Xuan’s heart melted into a complete mess.
[“Damn it… so cute, so cute, so cute! I want to kiss her, kiss her, kiss her!”]
Sang Dai’s smile grew even brighter.
Su Xuan used every ounce of self-control to suppress the overwhelming urge to hug and kiss her. Maintaining his composed demeanor, he said, “It seems you still remember our agreement: to return to the pinnacle of the sword path and have a duel with me. I despise those who break promises.”
Sang Dai continued smiling. “Alright, Su Xuan. Let’s have another duel. I won’t go easy on you.”
Su Xuan: “…”
[“I can’t hold back anymore! Why is she so adorable!”]
Abruptly, Su Xuan turned around and strode forward with large steps.
But Sang Dai caught sight of the two fox ears poking out from his thick silver hair. The very tips of the ears were faintly pink.
Unbeknownst to him, his ears had slipped out at some point.
Sang Dai found the sight quite endearing, staying where she was, unable to stop herself from laughing.
She hadn’t laughed for long when she saw the person who had just walked a short distance ahead turn back and say, “What are you standing there for? Go back and rest. The Bairen Alley auction is tomorrow.”
Sang Dai put away the Tianyu Stone, took small steps, and ran to catch up, falling in beside him.
“Alright.”
The corners of Su Xuan’s lips curved slightly as he silently channeled his spiritual energy into her meridians.
The cold night wind was completely blocked out.
Sang Dai tightened her grip on the Tianyu Stone in her hand.
She would never return to the Sword Sect, nor would she ever give up on the way of the sword.
She would carry her sword and walk her own path.
A path she would never regret, whether it led to life or death.
We’re not gonna ask what the bracelet sensed?