Watching the Mountain

Xu Ran withdrew his gaze from the two statues. When he returned to Qing Xuan Peak, he was holding two statues as well.

They were carved from wood and a bit crude. On their backs, their names were engraved: Wang Xingye, Hao Daniu.

Ye Xingchen had given them to him.

Xu Ran looked at Ye Xingchen, whose presence was faint, like a candle flickering in the wind. He felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, pulling and tearing at it until he couldn’t breathe.

Not long ago, he had just given the Life Creation Pill to Ye Xingchen, allowing him to restore his severed arm. He had thought that from then on, his friend’s path would be smooth. But in the blink of an eye, he had been reduced to this state.

All his hair had fallen out, and his skin was covered in wrinkles, like parched earth devoid of nutrients and life.

"I failed my breakthrough," Ye Xingchen said, his voice weak as he forced a grin.

But what echoed in Xu Ran’s mind were the words he had spoken not long ago: "Senior Brother, I’ll go with you."

The memory was so vivid, it felt like yesterday.

"Actually, Xingye once left me with his last wishes. Before we set out to fight for the Awakening Liquid, he looked at the waning moon in the night sky and told me he felt he was too ordinary. That’s why he wanted to become a Spirit Plant Master and accomplish great things, so the world would erect a statue in his honor and remember him forever."

"But he couldn’t achieve that, which is why he wanted to go to the battlefield. He hoped to perform some great deed that would be recorded in the Sect’s history, so that everyone would remember him."

"That night, the few of us talked for hours about whether anyone would remember us in the future..."

Ye Xingchen was incredibly weak; it had taken him a long time to get those words out. He then coughed violently, spitting up a mouthful of fresh blood, and continued with a surge of emotion:

"If I hadn’t restored my arm, people would see my empty sleeve and remember what we did. They would remember Xingye and Da Niu. But I was selfish. I wanted to go further on my path, so I restored it."

"Failing my breakthrough... I suppose this is my punishment..."

He waved a hand, cutting off Xu Ran before he could speak, and continued:

"Senior Brother, if you truly manage to attain the Dao someday, you don’t have to gaze back at us from the distant future. Just... don’t forget us. That’s enough."

He cracked a grin. "Attaining the Dao seems impossible, I know. But right now, I really hope you can do it, Senior Brother. Because if you do, someone will remember us forever."

"To be forgotten is to be truly gone. Xingye said he hated that more than anything."

*

*

*

Since he began cultivating, Xu Ran had never felt it was particularly difficult. Everything had gone smoothly. Even among those around him who had passed on, none had truly died because they failed a breakthrough.

The only exception was the Little Witch, and she had only failed because her Path was already gone.

Ye Xingchen was the first.

In fact, looking back, he realized that many people he had known had quietly departed after failing to break through. He had just subconsciously ignored it.

That was because the people he was close to were all geniuses whose cultivation journeys had been smooth, including his own.

But in reality, the world was filled with ordinary people. For them, cultivation was truly difficult. Many spent their entire lives without making a single ripple, simply fading away into obscurity, completely forgotten.

Perhaps that was the greatest fear of ordinary people. The only ones remembered were the peerless geniuses like Ye Shan, who could light up an entire era.

And their fate was to be forgotten by all.

After returning to his Cave Mansion, he happened upon Ye Shu, who had just come back from the Scripture Pavilion. Ye Shu was holding a small knife and a piece of wood, carving the outline of a woman.

Ye Xingchen’s final words echoed in his mind:

’Senior Brother, Xingye told me that after he started cultivating, he once secretly returned home. There, he saw a faceless statue. It was of the modern-day Shennong who had developed high-yield Spirit Rice and regular rice to benefit the common people. He said that was the person he admired and aspired to be more than anyone.’

Xu Ran fell silent for a moment. He then walked over to Ye Shu and said slowly, "Could you carve a few for me, too?"

At his words, Ye Shu stopped carving. He looked up at him, and after a moment of silence, nodded.