DDAM 10

Mount Shuangwu, Qingyun Sect.

Due to the strange phenomena in the sky over recent days, Daoist Fu Feng had gone down the mountain with several elders a few days ago to investigate, and had yet to return.

A gentle breeze blew through the mountains. Outside the stone chamber where disciples secluded themselves in the back mountain, a youth in teal Daoist robes tiptoed and peeked inside for a long while. He eventually could not resist calling out, “Shixiong.”

There was no reply from within.

Xuan Qing was not discouraged. He called out a few more times before a clear voice echoed from inside, “What is it?”

“Shixiong, come out for a moment,” Xuan Qing coaxed with a grin as he leaned against the door. “Master has gone down the mountain and won’t be back fo a few days. Why don’t we take this chance to go down and have some fun?”

Silence fell over the chamber.

Chu Huaiji sat cross-legged on a prayer mat and slowly opened his eyes. Ten years had passed, and while his appearance remained the same, his cultivation had skyrocketed from Nascent Soul all the way to Soul Formation, an unprecedented feat among the disciples of Qingyun Sect. Over these ten-plus years, he had barely set foot outside the mountain, cultivating day and night, a stark contrast to his lazy youth.

Others thought he had suddenly seen the light and chosen to work hard, but only Xuan Qing and Fu Feng knew the true reason.

“No,” he said flatly.

“Come on, please?” Xuan Qing sighed inwardly, but he refused to give up. He squeezed his face against the crack of the door, and lowered his voice. “Shixiong, think about it. You haven’t gone down the mountain in over ten years! Aren’t you curious about how the outside world has changed? The senior brothers in the front courtyard said the town at the foot of the ​Read on​mountain is so lively right now. There’s candied hawthorn, osmanthus cake, and so many novel trinkets…”

Chu Huaiji said nothing.

Seeing that he hadn’t immediately refused, Xuan Qing perked up. He started listing a long array of delicious food and fun activities down below, whining from “Shixiong, just keep me company” to “Shixiong, you’re the best.”

Nursing a headache from the chatter, Chu Huaiji finally let out a sigh.

“…Just for one day.”

Outside, Xuan Qing nearly jumped into the air. He barely managed to lower his voice so he wouldn’t scream with joy.

“It’s a deal then, just today!” He clung to the crack in the door. “Shixiong, you have no idea, today happens to be the Forget-Worry Festival down below. There’s a night market, and it’s bound to be bustling!”

…

“The Forget-Worry Festival?”

“Mm, the town’s Forget-Worry Festival.”

In a guest room on the second floor of the inn, Li Zhuochen presented two masks to Jun Jiewu. One was pitch-black with dark red patterns etched along the edges; the other was pure white as jade, elegant and refined like spring willows.

“Don’t you think it’s lively outside today? The innkeeper said there will be a lantern festival tonight, and everyone wears masks. On this day, no one cares who you are. Free from status and [stolen content]etiquette, you can simply follow your heart and do whatever you wish.”

He fiddled with the white jade mask, and leaned in slightly, “Once tonight passes, none of it has to count.”

“What do you think, my dear?”

Jun Jiewu’s gaze lingered on the masks in his hand for a fraction of a second before he unobtrusively looked away. “I think nothing of it.”

“Don’t reject me so quickly.” Li Zhuochen chuckled as he spun the mask deftly between his fingers before placing it over the beauty’s eyes and brow. He said unhurriedly, “If you agree today, I won’t pester you again until the day we enter the secret realm. How about it?”

Jun Jiewu startled slightly; he looked at him solemnly through the mask. “Really?”

The mask concealed his cold features, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes, rarely so earnest and clear, like an innocent deer in the forest stumbling into the hunter’s arms.

Caught off guard by this breathtaking beauty, Li Zhuochen’s heart skipped a beat. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat. While he mentally cursed himself for being so useless, he adopted a solemn attitude: “A gentleman’s word.”

Jun Jiewu fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.

…

When night fell, the town at the foot of Mount Shuangwu completely transformed from its daytime self.

Both sides of the long street were hung with colorful lanterns, their warm yellow glow turning the cobblestone path into a gentle sea of light. Crowds surged like woven threads, shoulder [visit our site]to shoulder. Young and old alike wore masks, some alluring, some simple, some ferocious, some friendly. In this night of woven light and shadow, no one could tell what kind of face lay hidden beneath each mask.

The sweet aroma of roasted chestnuts and osmanthus wine wafted over, mingled with the calls of street vendors, the laughter of children, and the distant music of pipes and strings coming from some alleyway.

Chu Huaiji wore a half-face silver mask as the tide of people pushed him forward. Xuan Qing had long since been swept away by the crowd. He sighed and stood still for a moment, but when he saw no sign of him, he simply decided to stop looking and explore on his own.

–After all, the kid was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage; in a realm full of mortals, nothing should go wrong.

It had indeed been many years since he had last visited such a lively place.

The last time was probably when he was five years old. At the Lantern Festival near his home, the lights had been just as brilliant, the crowds just as thick. His father held him with one arm while holding his dad’s hand with the other. The family of three had squeezed through the crowd while he leaned on his father’s shoulder, watching the lanterns light up overhead one by one, feeling as though all the finest colors in the world belonged to that single night.

He remembered seeing a sugar painting stall that evening. The craftsman scooped a spoon of golden liquid sugar and, with a few moves, drew a lifelike dragon. He took advantage of his father and dad’s conversation to escape from his father’s arms and ran over to watch. By the time he turned around, happily holding his sugar painting, his father and dad were nowhere to be found.

The five years old stood in the middle of the crowd, crying.

Later, a kind older girl crouched down and asked him, “Little boy, is your surname Chu?” He nodded through his sobs. The girl smiled and said two people were looking for a young master over there, one in white and one in black, both very handsome, and asked if they were his parents.

Led by the girl through the dense crowd, he caught sight of his dad from afar. Ji Heqing’s face was pale as paper, his eyes rimmed with red. The moment he saw him, he looked as if all his strength had been drained. He nearly stumbled. Frightened, Chu Huaiji ran over to hug his dad’s leg, but before he could even rub against him twice, his father pulled him away, set him across his knee, and gave him a spanking.

He hadn’t realized until then that his dad had always been in poor health. Thinking he was lost that day, the stress almost made him sick.

From then on, wherever he went, he would always inform his father and dad first.

…

Chu Huaiji’s steps slowed without him realizing it.

He was sensible now; he knew to report his whereabouts, knew not to worry the adults. Yet there was no longer anyone left to report to.

Father, Dad…

He repressed the surge of emotions back into the depths of his heart, and continued walking.

Suddenly, someone bumped into his shoulder.

Chu Huaiji’s body leaned to one side.

He reflexively reached out to steady himself against the person beside him. Just as his arm extended, a firm grip held his upper arm to steady him before he could fall into the crowd.

As Chu Huaiji regained his balance, a subtle, pure fragrance drifted past his nose. The scent was delicate, wrapped in the heaviness of roasted chestnuts and osmanthus wine, yet it made his heart skip a beat. Upon looking down, he caught sight of a corner of a moon-white robe swaying gently in the lantern light.

“Careful.” A pleasant voice like clinking jade sounded from above. The moment Chu Huaiji heard it, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning and lifted his head.

The person who helped him seemed to have done so only in passing. As the words faded, the moon-white figure had already vanished into the crowd alongside the black-clad figure beside him. Chu Huaiji caught only a glimpse of their backs, one tall and slender in [visit our site]black, the other refined as bamboo in white. They walked side by side where the lantern light waned, looking as though they had come out of an old dream.

His heart suddenly thudded.

Without time to think, he ran after them.

The crowd was dense. He squeezed past two couples walking side by side. His shoulder knocked into a young woman carrying a lantern. The girl cried out as her lantern wobbled, “What’s the rush–”

Chu Huaiji had no time to turn back and apologize. He pushed past a burly man who was in his way. The man stumbled and grumbled under his breath.

In an instant, he had reached the white-robed man’s back. He raised his hand to grab his sleeve.

In the next second, his wrist was seized.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The black-clad man had turned around at some point. His grip made Chu Huaiji’s wrist ache. The gaze behind the mask was cold.

The man in the white robe felt something behind him. He stopped and turned slowly.

The moment Chu Huaiji met his gaze, his heart leapt in his throat. Without a second thought, he reached up to strip off the mask.

Just as his fingertips brushed the mask’s edge, his wrist ached again. The black-clad man pushed his hand away without a shred of courtesy. The force sent him stumbling back two steps before he could regain his footing.

“Young sir,” the black-clad man spoke coldly, his gaze behind the mask sharp as a blade. “What is Read onthe meaning of repeatedly laying hands on my spouse?”

Chu Huaiji’s mind went blank.

The white-robed man watched him for a moment before raising a hand behind his head. He unhurriedly unfastened his mask and offered it to him.

“Do you like this mask of mine, young sir?” His voice was clear, polite yet distant. “Why don’t I give it to you?”

Beneath the mask was a plain, unfamiliar face.

Chu Huaiji stared blankly at the face; he felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head.

… He had gone mad.

How could it possibly be them?

He felt submerged by a wave of disappointment. After a long moment, he lowered his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, “There’s no need… I mistook you for someone else. I apologize for offending you, sir.”

The white-robed man looked at him in silence.

The black-clad man beside him patted his shoulder before whispering, “Shall we go?”

The white-robed man did not answer right away. After a moment, he stepped stolen content closer and gently placed the plain white mask on Chu Huaiji’s hand.

“The night is growing late. You should return and rest early, young sir.”

Chu Huaiji stared at the mask in his hand. When he looked up again, the two figures had already vanished into the depths of the lantern light, as though they had never been there.

…

Deep in an empty alleyway.

Jun Jiewu leaned against the wall. His chest heaved slightly as he tried to calm himself. After a long silence, he spoke hesitantly, “Could he be…”

Li Zhuochen took off his mask and hung it at his waist. He said softly, “You think that person was Huaiji?”

“It couldn’t be,” Li Zhuochen answered before Jun Jiewu could reply. “Counting by age, Huaiji should be in his early thirties by now. That kid looked twenty at most.”

Jun Jiewu was unwilling to give up. “But he was taken away by Daoist Fu Feng. If he has already achieved the Great Dao…”

Li Zhuochen let out a helpless sigh. “Jiewu, I fear you don’t understand mortal cultivation. To keep one’s appearance from aging requires at least reaching the Golden Core stage. Mortals might spend decades or even a century just to form a core. He only started cultivating at twelve. Did he manage to form a core at twenty?”

Jun Jiewu went silent.

He knew Li Zhuochen made sense, but that ​stolen content​fleeting flutter in his heart and the familiarity simply wouldn’t go away.

Li Zhuochen raised a hand to ruffle his hair. “Stop dwelling on it. Let’s head back and rest.”

Jun Jiewu pursed his lips. For once, he didn’t swat his hand away, and turned absentmindedly to walk back toward the inn.

Li Zhuochen sighed as he watched his back.

What he didn’t tell Jun Jiewu was that while ordinary people couldn’t form a Golden Core by twenty, he himself… had already reached Nascent Soul at twenty.

What good would telling him do anyway? It would only spark hollow hope and add unnecessary heartache.