A Promise

The mother-and-child twin peaks of Mount Tianyuan stood towering and verdant. High atop the mother peak, distant silhouettes could faintly be seen gliding on flying swords and descending through the empty air. The child peak was covered in rows of majestic buildings, with countless flying beasts ascending and descending among them. Zhuyuan Pavilion, where the Sect Master's family resided, was a rare place of peace within the Sword Sect. Birds sang and cicadas hummed among lush green bamboo and clear murmuring streams, while the chill of late autumn showered the ground with fallen leaves. With lotus boots treading upon fallen leaves, two figures followed the gentle voice of a mature woman, walking deep into the mountains along a winding flagstone path through the woods. "...Actually, your master has his reasons for not taking you to the Imperial Capital. Don't be so angry with him." Ran Qingmo walked with her head lowered, sword in hand, staring at the patterns on the stone pavers without answering. Looking at the silent young woman beside her, Luo Wei's eyes curved slightly. She raised a hand to ruffle Ran Qingmo's hair, her gaze filled with motherly affection. "Young men yearn for beauty, and young women dream of love. Our Qingmo has reached that age as well. That Xu Changtian is handsome and has a way with women. That you've taken a liking to him comes as no surprise to your shiniang." Ran Qingmo raised her eyes. "Shiniang, have you seen him?" "Never." Luo Wei smiled and shook her head. Seeing the doubt in her disciple's eyes, a trace of reminiscence surfaced in hers. "Though I've never seen him, I did meet his father and mother. Naturally, their child couldn't possibly be unsightly." Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered. "Curious?" "Mm..." Ran Qingmo nodded. Leaning closer to Ran Qingmo's pristine, indifferent face, Luo Wei said with a beaming smile, "It's been so long since I saw our Qingmo smile." Ran Qingmo remained expressionless for a moment, then pulled the corners of her mouth into an awkward, strained smile. "Pfft..." Luo Wei seemed amused by the expression and reached out to pinch her tender cheek. Ran Qingmo blinked in dissatisfaction, turning her face away to brush off her shiniang's hand. Doting affection filled Luo Wei's eyes as she murmured, "All right, I'll tell you. When Chancellor Xu first entered the capital, his fame was far greater than Xu Changge's today. He was as handsome as an immortal descended to earth, and he placed first in all three imperial examinations. When the imperial rankings were posted, if not for his astonishing cultivation, those great merchant clans and noble families might have kidnapped him on the spot to force a marriage." At this, she paused, then added with a touch of wry bemusement, "Though the outcome ended up the same anyway." "It was Xu Yuan's mother?" Ran Qingmo asked softly. "Who else could it be but that boy's mother?" Amusement dancing in her eyes at the girl's curiosity, Luo Wei smiled. "I know nothing of their private family affairs. Back then, your master and I weren't close to their circle. When we learned of their betrothal..." "Shiniang, did we kill his mother?" "..." Luo Wei's gaze hardened. Ran Qingmo's ink-wash eyes stared unblinkingly at her shiniang, filled with a hint of nervous tension. "Well... it depends on how you look at it." Luo Wei did not avoid the subject. Catching a bamboo leaf drifting in the autumn wind, she lightly rubbed it between her fingers. "Just like this falling bamboo leaf—if failing to stop it from hitting the ground makes one an accomplice, then we killed her. If not, then we didn't." Ran Qingmo blinked twice, only half understanding. Luo Wei tossed the bamboo leaf aside and said with regret, "Qingmo, your master and I had no direct hand in it, but we were indeed aware of what was happening. Feng Qinshu's death was inevitable. She was extraordinarily capable, but precisely because of that, what she did touched upon everyone's forbidden nerve." Sunlight pierced through the bamboo grove, casting dappled spots of light across her. A barely perceptible gloom flitted through Ran Qingmo's beautiful eyes. "...The martial academies?" "That was the main reason," Luo Wei nodded. Her eyes flickering, Ran Qingmo recalled what she had seen and heard during her travels and asked in a low voice, "Shiniang, if there are martial academies, there will be more cultivators. Wouldn't that resolve the threat of demonic beasts?" This world held more than just prosperous megacities; it also held impoverished villagers in mountain hamlets who struggled to find two meals a day. Luo Wei's footsteps rustled over the fallen leaves. "Is that what Xu Changtian told you?" "..." Ran Qingmo fell silent, tightening her grip on her ink sword. Luo Wei smiled softly, her gaze sweeping across the bamboo grove like the autumn wind. "The martial academies of today are actually digging out the foundations of the noble clans, the sects, and even the imperial dynasty." "..." Ran Qingmo looked baffled. As the two walked on, the bamboo path opened up ahead. A clear stream and a roaring waterfall poured into a secluded pool, bringing a bamboo pavilion into view. The master and disciple did not head inside immediately. Luo Wei led Ran Qingmo to the edge of the lake and sat down, turning her smiling eyes toward her. "Take off your boots. The water of Tianqing Pool is wonderful for nourishing the skin." "..." Hearing this, Ran Qingmo obediently slipped off her lotus boots, neatly folded her black silk stockings to set them aside, and dipped her snow-white, translucent feet into the water. The cool, skin-soothing sensation made her eyes flicker, but she soon asked softly, "Shiniang... why did you say that just now?" Sitting on her heels on the grassy bank, Luo Wei watched the ripples stirred by the waterfall. "Don't be nervous. I wasn't denying what Xu Changtian said. More cultivators could indeed resolve the current plague of demonic beasts, but one must also remember that the chivalrous use force to violate prohibitions." "..." Ran Qingmo seemed to realize something. Luo Wei looked up at the azure sky and said leisurely, "It is widely said among mortals that cultivators are fiercer than tigers. "Once most people in this world gain power, they will not risk their lives drawing their blades against the strong, nor will they risk hunting demonic beasts—because both of those things can get them killed. "Oppressing the weak and poor is far easier than taking bounties to hunt beasts. Grain by grain, sand forms a tower. In time, these unregulated low-ranking cultivators become a far greater disaster than the beasts themselves." With that, Luo Wei turned her gaze to the black-clad young woman dangling her bare feet in the clear pool with lowered eyes. "You must have seen such things during your travels, right, Qingmo?" "Shiniang... Xu Yuan spoke to me about this," Ran Qingmo answered softly. "Oh?" Luo Wei's eyes flashed. "What did he say?" Ran Qingmo thought for a moment, mimicking his original tone: "All new and burgeoning things bring turmoil in their infancy; guided by imperial policy and governed strictly by law, order is restored in time. It is only a pity..." Here, Ran Qingmo stopped. "A pity that the sects interfere?" Luo Wei supplied. "...Mm." "That boy certainly knows how to spin words." Luo Wei narrowed her eyes with a smile. "Everything has two sides. From his stance, what he said isn't wrong. But have you thought about this, Qingmo? Enforcing such imperial decrees requires the cooperation of sects like ours. There are countless sects in the world. How do you draw the boundaries between them? How do you divide authority and responsibility between court and sect? Who pays the gold, and who bleeds the sweat? With interests clashing at every turn, how could anything in this world be that simple?" At this point, Luo Wei rubbed her brow, her tone turning grave. "No matter how noble their stated purpose, at their core, those so-called martial academies are merely tools used by Li Yaoxuan and Xu Yinhe to shatter the existing order of the realm." Ran Qingmo looked at her shiniang. Many emotions flashed through her limpid eyes, eventually settling into confusion. Seeing this, Luo Wei sighed helplessly and simplified it: "The imperial court wants to tear up the thousand-year pact and destroy us sects, but they lack the strength. So, they used the martial academies to throw the world into chaos." "Oh..." A glimmer of understanding dawned in Ran Qingmo's eyes, but confusion quickly returned. "Then Shiniang, why did I... back then..." "You mean Xu Yinhe's plot against our Sword Sect?" Luo Wei asked with a smile. Ran Qingmo nodded, resting her hands on the curves of her snow-white knees, which glistened alluringly in the sunlight. A smile crossed Luo Wei's charming features. "Because Li Yaoxuan is dying. The moment he dies, the conflict between the imperial family and the Prime Minister's Manor can no longer be contained." "..." Ran Qingmo bit her lip, looking as though she wanted to speak, yet held her tongue. The Prime Minister's Manor did harbor designs against the Sword Sect; Xu Yuan had discussed this with his father. Moreover, there was Tianyan... Noticing her disciple's expression, Luo Wei said gently, "If there's anything on your mind, you can speak directly to me." Ran Qingmo silently shook her head and murmured, "Is Master traveling to the capital soon because of this?" Luo Wei laughed softly. "Do you still want to follow your master to the capital?" "Mm..." Ran Qingmo hesitated, then nodded. "Mm." Luo Wei let out a helpless breath and gently drew the girl into her embrace, just as she had when Ran Qingmo was a child. "Qingmo... your master's journey to the capital is fraught with danger. That is why he refuses to take you." "Danger...?" Ran Qingmo's eyes widened slightly, flickering with concern. "Because the Emperor is dying?" Luo Wei glanced back toward the direction they had come from and said quietly, "Qingmo, you are indifferent by nature, but you should understand some things. Every year, the northern sects demand vast sums from the Sect Alliance under the pretext of holding off the Barbarians and the imperial court. Now, they have been abandoned. Their destruction will likely come in a month or two. Coupled with the emergence of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and Li Yaoxuan's impending demise, blood will inevitably flow in Di'an City. Accompanying that old man of yours would simply be too dangerous." Ran Qingmo lowered her head. "But I still want to go..." "To see that Xu Changtian?" Luo Wei teased. Resting her head against her shiniang's generous chest, Ran Qingmo clutched the folds of her skirt and whispered, "And to accompany Master. It's so dangerous... Master, he..." Luo Wei burst into helpless laughter, her eyes brimming with love. Unable to resist, she pinched the girl's cheek firmly, leaving a patch of red. "You silly girl..." "Hahahahaha!" A hearty burst of laughter suddenly echoed from the bamboo path. Ran Jianli strode out with a colossal sword strapped to his back. His pure-white hair, beard, and robes billowed in the wind. Were it not for the colossal sword disrupting the overall grace, he would have looked like a sword immortal descending to the mortal realm. Luo Wei looked over and rolled her eyes. Ran Jianli walked up to the two women and drove the colossal sword diagonally into the soil. "I heard that the moment I walked up." Saying so, he sat down beside them on his own. "Mm... looks like in our Qingmo's heart, this old man is still more important." "Enough out of you." Luo Wei cast a sidelong glance at her husband's smug face. "Dare to eavesdrop on my conversation with Qingmo again, and you're barred from our bedchamber for a month." "..." After a brief silence, Ran Jianli selectively bypassed the topic. He placed a rough, heavy hand on Ran Qingmo's head and ruffled her hair. "Qingmo, if you truly wish to follow Master to Di'an City, it's not entirely out of the question." Ran Qingmo looked up, blinking. Ran Jianli withdrew his hand and stroked his long white beard. "As long as you break through to the Origin Realm before Master departs, I will take you. How about that?" Ran Qingmo silently lowered her head again, looking pitiably crestfallen. Breaking through to the Origin Realm was so hard... A pang of heartache showed in Ran Jianli's sharp eyes. He hesitated, then said, "Then how about just achieving Dao fusion? Tsk... if worse comes to worst, Qingmo, you can just use your Ice Spirit sword intent to..." "Jianli!" Luo Wei's brow furrowed as she glared at her husband. "If something unexpected happens and both you and Qingmo meet with disaster in Di'an City, do you expect me to spend the rest of my life alone here in Zhuyuan Pavilion?" Ran Qingmo's breath hitched slightly. She looked up at her shiniang and master, a flicker of panic darting through her limpid ink eyes. She understood the meaning behind her shiniang's words. Master... Was heading to the capital prepared to die. Luo Wei and Ran Jianli exchanged a glance, and she scolded him through voice transmission: "What nonsense are you spouting?" A look of innocence appeared in Ran Jianli's deep eye sockets: "Wait, weren't you the one who said it?" Her expression unchanged, Luo Wei transmitted with rising anger: "We agreed not to let Qingmo know about this! If you hadn't brought it up, would I have said anything?" His face similarly placid, Ran Jianli secretly transmitted back: "This old man was just making a promise! It's not like Qingmo could pull it off anytime soon anyway..." *Splash—* The soft sound of bare feet lifting from the water broke through the roaring spray of the waterfall. The young woman sitting between them had quietly stood up. "..." Luo Wei shot him a glare. "..." Ran Jianli smiled sheepishly. Amid the three's silence, Ran Qingmo bent down, gathered her silk stockings and lotus boots against her chest, and took up her ink sword. In a low voice, she said, "Master, Shiniang, I am going to cultivate. I... I will definitely achieve Dao fusion." With that, under the couple's gaze, the young woman walked toward the nearby bamboo pavilion without looking back, then shut the door behind her with a *thud*. After a long silence, Ran Jianli suddenly clenched his fists. Silently, the vast, deep pool before them was severed clean in two by invisible sword Qi, exposing the dark depths of the lake bed. The heartache in Ran Jianli's eyes was unmistakable, and he ground his teeth. "Xiao Wei, when this old man reaches the Imperial Capital, I'm going to give that little bastard a sound beating. If Xu Yinhe dares to stop me, I'll beat him too!" Luo Wei shot her husband a scolding glare. "What does this have to do with that Xu boy?" Ran Jianli let out a breath and pointed northward. "If Qingmo hadn't wanted to go to the Imperial Capital to see that brat, would she have found out about this now?" "..." Luo Wei was silent. "..." "..." "Achoo!" Sneezing without warning, Xu Yuan subconsciously wrapped his padded coat tighter around himself and looked up at the drifting snow. Standing high allowed one to see far, but it was also cold up high. Still, as a Soul Condensation expert, he shouldn't catch a cold, right...? Mm... someone must be thinking of him. Pondering these stray thoughts, Xu Yuan returned to the entrance of the commandant's tent, feeling a slight twinge of nervousness. He was somewhat worried that the moment he stepped inside, he would see Tianyan being bullied to tears by Li Qingyan again. Lost in thought, Xu Yuan reached out to lift the tent flap, but before his hand could touch it, the flap was drawn open from the inside. Three graceful figures stepped out one after another. Li Qingyan wore a muli veil, Tianyan was expressionless, and Xiao Bai trailed behind them with her head down. Seeing this trio, Xu Yuan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Li Qingyan cut him off, her voice cool and aloof: "Shut up. Get ready to move." "Huh?" Xu Yuan blinked, looking from Li Qingyan to the deadpan Tianyan, and licked his lips. "Wait... we're traveling together?"