Watching the Mountain

The crowd below the stage fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an uproar.

Ye Qingxue sheathed her sword and bowed.

Her palms were slick with sweat, and her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest.

She had won.

Not by playing it safe, not by sticking to the rules.

It was because, in that one instant, she had forgotten how she was supposed to fight and only thought about winning.

Below the stage, Senior Brother Liu and the others were beaming with surprise, clapping vigorously. Senior Sister Zhao gave her a thumbs-up.

Ye Qingxue walked down from the stage, her steps feeling a little unsteady.

On the edge of the crowd, she saw Ye Shan leaning against a tree, talking with a few disciples he knew.

He seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look over. He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, then raised his hand and gave her a wobbly thumbs-up.

It was a simple gesture, even a little goofy.

But as Ye Qingxue looked at that smile, at those searingly bright eyes, the painful pounding in her chest suddenly began to subside.

A mountain breeze swept by, carrying the crisp scent of early summer plants.

She lowered her head, the faintest of smiles touching her lips.

’So... this is what it feels like to win.’

「A few days later.」

Ye Qingxue went down the mountain for another mission.

The destination was again South Slope Mountain Pass. Before they set out, Senior Brother Liu gave his usual gentle reminders, and a new senior brother smiled at her kindly.

With her sword on her back, Ye Qingxue nodded lightly.

Not long after entering the mountain, they encountered a small herd of Fire-Bristled Boars.

Senior Brother Liu laid out the tactics. Her job was to rove and cover any gaps.

When the battle began, Ye Qingxue gripped her sword. She no longer rushed to find the perfect position, nor did she fixate on her forms.

She stared at the nearest boar, a single thought in her mind: ’Stop it.’

Her feet moved, taking the steps that felt smoothest and fastest to her. Her sword thrust out from the angle she felt would best force the creature back.

The Fire-Bristled Boar was blocked by her and angrily turned to charge.

Ye Qingxue sidestepped the charge, the tip of her sword slicing across its hind leg.

The cut wasn’t deep, but it was enough to make it stumble in pain.

In that single moment of hesitation, Senior Brother Liu’s sword arrived.

The battle ended quickly.

The two senior brothers sheathed their swords and gave her a thumbs-up. "Junior Sister Ye, great teamwork."

Senior Brother Liu also smiled and nodded. "You’ve improved a lot."

Ye Qingxue wiped the sweat from her temple and looked down at the sword in her hand.

That evening, she came across her master, Nine Profound True Monarch, brewing tea by the spring on the back mountain.

"I heard you won the tournament," her master said, pushing a cup of tea toward her.

"Yes." Ye Qingxue cradled the warm teacup. "I won... with a bit of luck."

"Luck is a part of strength," her master chuckled. "However, I also heard that your final sword strike was not quite your usual style."

Ye Qingxue’s fingertips traced the side of the cup. After a long moment, she said softly, "I... tried a new way of fighting."

"Oh? And what way is that?"

"Just... not thinking about the forms. Only about winning."

Nine Profound True Monarch’s hand, holding his teacup, paused. He looked up at her, a complex mix of emotions in his eyes that finally settled into a gentle smile.

"It seems someone has enlightened you."

Ye Qingxue didn’t deny it.

Master and disciple drank their tea in silence for a while.

The sun sank in the west.

"Master," Ye Qingxue said suddenly. "Will I... bring you shame?"

Nine Profound True Monarch set down his teacup and looked at her, his gaze peaceful and profound.

"Qingxue," he said. "Remember this—I brought you back not for you to become someone’s pride, nor because I feared you would become someone’s disgrace. I brought you back hoping you would find your own path and walk it steadily."

He paused, his voice growing softer. "As for what others say, that is their path. Your path is yours alone to walk."

Ye Qingxue looked into her master’s eyes, those eyes as eternally serene as a deep pool, and saw her own reflection within them.

The ripples in the lake of her heart finally stilled completely.

By the time she returned from the spring, the sky had already darkened.

Passing the bamboo forest behind the Instructor Hall, she heard the sound of a wooden sword slicing through the air.

Her steps faltered for a moment before she turned and went inside.

Ye Shan was there, just as she’d thought.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on him.

He was practicing a new Body Technique. As he dodged and turned, the sleeves of his robe fluttered, making him look like a crane taking flight in the night.

Sensing someone’s approach, he stopped and turned around.

"Senior Sister?" He seemed a little surprised, then broke into a smile. "Out so late?"

"Mhm." Ye Qingxue walked over and sat down on a nearby rock. "Watching you practice."

"This set isn’t very impressive. It’s too soft," Ye Shan said, slinging the Wooden Sword over his shoulder. "Tomorrow, I’ll practice a cooler set for you to watch."

Ye Qingxue didn’t respond, just watched him quietly.

In the moonlight, the young man’s silhouette was sharp, his eyes still astonishingly bright.

"Ye Shan," she said suddenly, using his name.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" Ye Shan blinked, a look of confusion on his face.

Ye Qingxue opened her mouth, wanting to thank him for telling her not to hold back next time, wanting to thank him for his clumsy version of the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, wanting to thank him for that goofy thumbs-up.

But when the words reached her lips, none of them felt right.

In the end, she just shook her head lightly. "It’s nothing."

Ye Shan didn’t press the issue. He sat down on the rock beside her and pulled an oil-paper packet from his robes.

This time, it wasn’t pastries, but a few green jujubes.

"Want one? I picked them on the back mountain. They’re sweet."

Ye Qingxue took one and bit into it.

It was indeed sweet, with the crisp coldness of having been washed in mountain spring water.

The two of them sat side-by-side like that, neither saying a word.

The bamboo forest rustled, and the chirping of insects could be heard in the distance.

After a long time, Ye Shan suddenly said, "Senior Sister."

"Hm?"

"You’re actually really strong, you know."

Ye Qingxue turned her head to look at him.

Ye Shan wasn’t looking at her. He was staring up at the stars through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, his tone as casual as if he were saying, "The moon is pretty full tonight."

"The first time I saw you, I thought you were incredible," he said. "So many people were chattering away, but you were the only one who was completely quiet, as if nothing could disturb you. Later, when I heard you were so steady in everything you learned, I thought to myself, ’She must have a mountain inside her heart—the kind the wind can’t move.’"