Watching the Mountain

[3]: A Glimmer of Light

Only after the third sounding of the morning bell did Ye Qingxue slowly emerge from behind a pillar of the Divine Sword Peak disciples’ quarters.

She wore a simple white dress, her features so delicate they looked as if they had been outlined with the finest, water-dipped brush tip.

She walked with a light step, as if afraid to disturb the unseen dust motes in the air.

Today was her first time leaving the mountain with her senior brothers and sisters for a patrol mission.

There were reports of a Low Tier Demon Beast causing trouble for the common folk in the South Slope Mountain Pass. It wasn’t considered dangerous.

The team leader, Senior Brother Liu, was a gentle person. Before they set out, he even made a point to comfort her, "Junior Sister Ye, just stick with us. There’s no need to be nervous."

Ye Qingxue nodded, feeling no particular ripples in her heart.

Qi Introduction, Object Control, Basic Sword Formulas—whenever the instructors tested her, she could always answer fluently.

Her master, Nine Profound True Monarch, had said her steadiness was her greatest strength.

’Then I’ll just be steady.’

But when she truly came face-to-face with the bared-fanged, red-eyed Iron Claw Wolf, the clear techniques in her mind suddenly fell into disarray.

She wanted her feet to move faster, but her body was sluggish. She wanted to turn her wrist, but the sword felt heavy.

She only had time to block with a horizontal sword. A loud CLANG vibrated through her hand, making the web of her thumb go numb. The wolf’s claw barely grazed her cheek, severing a few strands of hair.

In the end, it was Senior Brother Liu who finished off the Demon Beast with a single strike.

"It’s like that for everyone the first time. You’ll be fine with more practice," Senior Brother Liu said, sheathing his sword and patting her on the shoulder.

Senior Sister Zhao smiled as well. "Junior Sister’s control over her Spiritual Power is very steady. It’s just that the transitions between her moves are a bit unpracticed."

Senior Brother Li, who was also with them, said nothing, only nodding.

Ye Qingxue looked at the motionless Iron Claw Wolf on the ground, and the usually placid lake of her heart gently rippled.

They encountered three waves of Demon Beasts that day. Ye Qingxue fought each time, but it always felt as if she were separated from the battle by an invisible film.

Her movements were precise and her Spiritual Power stable, yet she was always half a beat too slow at the critical moment.

On one occasion, Senior Brother Li’s sleeve was torn open by a wind blade as he moved to protect her.

On the way back to the mountain, everyone continued to comfort her in gentle tones. Ye Qingxue listened quietly, nodding.

She truly didn’t pay it much mind.

Her master had said that cultivation was like climbing a mountain; some people are faster, some are slower.

Her steadiness needed time.

「Three days later.」

She went to the Scripture Pavilion to return a Jade Scroll. As she passed a tea stall outside a side hall of the Instructor Hall, she overheard several disciples she didn’t know sitting around and chatting idly.

A hushed sentence drifted to her ears on the wind:

"Did you hear? That Junior Sister Ye from Divine Sword Peak, she held everyone back again on a mission a few days ago."

"Her again? It’s been almost two years since she started going on missions, hasn’t it? How is she still..."

"Shh, keep it down. She was personally brought back by Ancestor Nine Profound. Her talent is said to be one in a million."

"One in a million at what? Acting so sluggish? She just adds unnecessary risk to a perfectly fine mission. It’s a good thing Senior Brother Liu and the others are so good-natured."

"Sigh, it’s rough for Ancestor Nine Profound, too. A dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch... what a magnificent figure he was back in the day. And now he takes on a disciple like this. I heard Junior Martial Uncle Zhou from Purple Mist Peak even mocked him in public, saying Ancestor Nine Profound is clueless about teaching and raised a... *cough*."

The voices gradually faded.

Ye Qingxue stood frozen in place, her fingertips ice-cold.

Embroidered pillow, tarnishing his legacy, holding everyone back... The words were like tiny ice needles, piercing the vast, quiet lake of her heart.

The surface of the lake didn’t ripple, but deep beneath, something quietly cracked.

She remembered the expression on her master’s face the day he brought her back to the Sect—how he had crouched down, looked into her eyes, and told her that this would be their home from now on.

She remembered the sight of her master’s silent profile as he sometimes gazed at the northern starry sky.

’I always thought that as long as I did what Master said—walk slowly, walk steadily—it would be enough.’

But now, it seemed she had become a stain on her master’s reputation.

That evening, Ye Qingxue didn’t go to the Instructor Hall for the evening lecture.

She walked alone to the cliff at the back of the mountain where Ye Shan often practiced his swordplay. She sat on a green rock some distance away, hugging her knees.

The setting sun burned the clouds orange-red, and the mountain wind was strong.

She gazed at the layered mountain ranges in the distance, feeling a strange, heavy weight pressing on her heart for the first time.

"Senior Sister?"

A clear, bright voice came from behind her.

Ye Qingxue turned around.

Ye Shan stood a few steps away, a Wooden Sword in hand. His bangs were stuck to his temples with sweat, and his eyes were as bright as if they had just been washed by a mountain spring.

He had just finished his sword practice, the sleeves of his green robes rolled up to his elbows.

"What are you doing here?" He walked over and sat down beside her naturally. "Enjoying the view?"

Ye Qingxue didn’t answer, asking instead, "Why are you here?"

"To practice my sword," Ye Shan said, pointing toward the cliff’s edge with his Wooden Sword. "It’s peaceful here, but it looks like Senior Sister claimed the spot today."

He spoke with such frankness, completely unaware that he might be intruding.

Ye Qingxue was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Ye Shan, what do you think of my performance on missions?"

Ye Shan blinked. "It is what it is."

Ye Qingxue turned her head away. She felt that talking to him was exhausting. She went back to watching the mountains. "I held everyone back."

"Oh," Ye Shan grunted, showing no particular reaction.

After a couple of seconds, he added, "Then don’t hold them back next time."

Ye Qingxue was left speechless.

The mountain wind howled.

Ye Shan didn’t say anything more either. He just sat there, poking at the grass with his Wooden Sword for a bit, then looking up at the sky.

After a long time, Ye Qingxue finally said softly, "They called me an embroidered pillow. They said I’m tarnishing Master’s legacy."

Ye Shan stopped poking the grass and turned to look at her. The light of the setting sun caught his eyes, making them burn with a startling brightness.

"Who said that?"

"People I don’t know."

"Well, there you have it." Ye Shan pursed his lips. "Why do you care what a bunch of strangers say? Do they know you? Do they understand you? Do they have any idea how Master teaches you?"

The barrage of questions left Ye Qingxue a little stunned.

"But..."

"But what?" Ye Shan stood up and brushed the grass clippings from his robes. "Senior Sister, you just think too much. If you listen to every little thing other people say, how are you ever going to cultivate?"