Watching the Mountain

The morning bell had rung for the third time when Ye Qingxue finally ambled out from Divine Sword Peak.

She wore a plain white dress, her brows and eyes lightly touched up.

She walked to the plaza outside the Instructor Hall, where newly initiated disciples were practicing the Basic Sword Form. The entire plaza was filled with the sound of Wooden Swords slicing through the air.

As she watched, however, her gaze grew distant.

An image kept flashing through her mind: the sun was setting, dyeing the Martial Arts Arena a shade of orange-red. A young man in a green shirt pushed through the crowd, a hint of exhaustion on his face, but his eyes were startlingly bright. He walked up to her and said, "Go on, call me Senior Brother."

She did.

That "Senior Brother" was as light as the wind, yet it stirred a tempest in her heart.

From that moment on, the image was seared into her heart, impossible to erase.

When she ate, she would remember him grinning, revealing a row of white teeth. When she practiced her sword, she would remember the spirited look on his face as he held his sword and declared, "I do what I say."

Even at night, as she sat on a green rock on the back mountain gazing at the stars, she would recall him saying, "What’s wrong with walking a little slower if you have a mountain in your heart?"

This left her feeling a little flustered.

’Something’s not right.’

In the past, she would often think of Ye Shan—how infuriating he could be when he spoke, how he looked when he practiced his sword—but never like this. The thoughts were now invasive, catching her completely off guard.

She went to the spring to meditate, trying to return her mind to its usual state of empty tranquility.

But the water reflected her image, the light mole between her brows shimmering faintly. As she stared, she suddenly found herself wondering what Ye Shan was doing right now.

It had already been seven days since he left on his mission.

Inside the Instructor Hall, the lecturer was explaining the variations of a Defense Array. On the sand table, lines of Spiritual Power intertwined, as intricate as a star chart.

Ye Qingxue listened intently, her fingertips lightly tracing patterns on the table. This was her specialty; she could always grasp the core of an Array quickly.

Just then, the lecturer mentioned an Array that used terrain to trap enemies, explaining that it required one to use a Body Technique to move quickly and seize the Array Hub.

Ye Qingxue’s fingertips paused for a moment.

She was suddenly reminded of the fluid Body Technique Ye Shan practiced. With every shift and turn, his robes would flutter, like a crane flying through the night.

He had said back then, "Tomorrow, I’ll practice a beautiful form for you."

He was always making grand boasts, but it seemed like all those boasts eventually came true.

"Junior Sister Ye."

While she was lost in thought, a female disciple beside her gently nudged her elbow.

Ye Qingxue snapped back to reality and saw the lecturer looking at her, apparently waiting for her to answer a question.

She stood up and began to speak slowly, her voice soft, reciting the key points of the Array without a single mistake.

The lecturer nodded slightly, his eyes full of approval, but he didn’t say anything more.

After class, Ye Qingxue silently walked back, hugging a Jade Scroll.

When she passed the Martial Arts Arena, it was empty except for a few Servant Disciples who were cleaning.

She stopped and looked at the central dueling platform.

Not long ago, it was right there that Ye Shan had fought one challenge after another. His green shirt was torn and his hair was slick with sweat, but the hand holding his sword was as steady as a mountain.

In the end, he won. He walked up to her and grinned, laughing like a child who had won a fight and gotten some candy.

A mountain breeze blew past, carrying the fresh scent of early summer plants.

Ye Qingxue lowered her head and took a soft breath.

’I can’t keep thinking about this.’

She turned and quickened her pace, as if she were fleeing from something.

But when she returned to her small courtyard on Divine Sword Peak and pushed open the door, she saw half an oil-paper package on the table. Inside were a few uneaten green jujubes.

Ye Shan had picked them from the back mountain last time. He’d said they were sweet. She had eaten a few and casually left the rest here, forgetting to put them away.

She picked one up. The green jujube was already a little shriveled.

She took a bite. It wasn’t sweet anymore, just a little tart.

She chewed slowly, and the habitually calm surface of the lake in her heart rippled gently once more.

’It’s been ten days.’

Missions usually don’t take this long unless there’s trouble.

She couldn’t help but recall her last mission, when she had missed the crack in the Array Hub. She then remembered the serious look on Ye Shan’s face when he said, "You really are a bit too weak."

’What if he’s in danger...’

But as soon as the thought emerged, she pushed it down.

’That’s impossible.’

He had said that no one in this world could be his, Ye Shan’s, opponent.

It was an arrogant thing to say, but it seemed... to be true.

She walked to the window and gazed at the layered mountain ranges in the distance as twilight crept up, inch by inch.

’So this is what it feels like to wait for someone to return.’

’There’s a constant weight in your heart that never settles, and you can’t focus on anything.’

A few more days passed, and she went to the Scripture Pavilion to return a Jade Scroll.

The Steward Disciple managing the Jade Scrolls recognized her and struck up a conversation with a smile. "Junior Sister Ye, returning another Array-related Jade Scroll? You’re so diligent."

Ye Qingxue gave a soft "mhm."

While registering the return, the disciple added casually, "Oh, right. I heard the mission to exterminate the Evil Cultivator stronghold in the south is complete. The disciples who went should be back in the next day or two."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxue’s fingertips tightened slightly.

"Which... which senior brothers and sisters went?"

"I’m not too sure. Some were from Divine Sword Peak, I think. Oh, did Senior Brother Ye Shan go too? Didn’t he just become a True Inheritance disciple? He was probably sent out for some practical experience."

Ye Qingxue didn’t ask any more questions. She took the token the Steward Disciple handed back to her and turned to leave.

Her steps were a little faster than usual.

As she walked out of the Scripture Pavilion, the setting sun was perfectly positioned, stretching her shadow long before her.

She looked down at her shadow and suddenly stopped.

’What’s the hurry?’

’Even if he is back, it’s not like he’ll definitely come find me first.’

’He’s probably off practicing his sword somewhere, or maybe he ran to the dining hall to see if they’re serving extra meat tonight.’