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A hundred paces along the stone path were enough for Chu Yunsheng to finish reading and digesting all the plot and memories.
Just as he had inferred moments ago from Xie Chengyun's words, this world was indeed a wuxia realm forged from a novel—a place of swords, vendettas, and martial honor.
Strictly speaking, the martial arts of this world fell into the low-to-mid wuxia range. There were three major realms in total: Hanshen, Dingdan, and Youxian—the latter also known as Heavenly Outsiders or Land Immortals.
Hanshen formed the backbone of the martial world and was home to the greatest number of practitioners. Failing to enter Hanshen meant one had not truly crossed the threshold of martial arts and could not be called a hero of the jianghu. Dingdan, on the other hand, was usually the domain of elders from major sects, or the heads and leaders of mid-tier powers. Those at this level had already reached the status of grandmasters: their every move stirred the forces of heaven and earth, and their actions drew the attention of countless eyes.
As for Youxian—there were so few of them in the entire world that they could scarcely be counted.
They roamed heaven and earth, their whereabouts unfathomable, long since beyond the realm of the mundane. Each possessed peerless, awe-inspiring power.
The rankings composed of such figures were known as the Ascension Immortal List, implying a single step to immortality. In addition, there was the White Dragon Ranking for those in the Hanshen realm, and the Astonishing God List for those in the Dingdan realm—each recording powerful elites and exceptional talents.
Across the world at large, the Great Xia Dynasty stood strong, its territory vast. South of the Ping Shuo Desert and north of Jiaozhi, west from the Jade Gate to east as far as Penglai, it cowed the Northern Desert and the Western Regions alike. Yet even in all of Great Xia, there were no more than ten Youxian.
The Northern Desert was bleak and desolate, with flat sands swallowing the sun. Children of three could ride horses; even the elderly could draw bows. There, too, there were only six Youxian.
In the Western Regions, many small states stood side by side. Heterodox sects flourished, demonic paths ran rampant, and religions were numerous and chaotic. Miao Territory specialized in the Gu Dao, skilled in poisons; its lands were harsh and perilous, shrouded in mystery and seclusion. In these two regions, there were few martial arts recognized across the world as supreme, and thus producing Youxian was even more difficult—over the past several decades, each had only managed three.
Great Xia, the Northern Desert, the Western Regions, and Miao Territory—such a vast expanse of heaven and earth formed a sweeping, magnificent backdrop, from which emerged one martial prodigy after another, giving rise to legend upon legend in the jianghu.
Among these many prodigies was the protagonist of this book: Rong Ange.
In his previous life, Rong Ange had been an ordinary university student. After dying in a traffic accident, he transmigrated from the modern world into this one, becoming a young Daoist attendant at Taixu Temple in Yanzhou of Great Xia.
This child had no parents. When he was still swaddled in infancy, a Daoist priest from the temple found him abandoned on a mountain path and brought him back, giving him the name Rong Ange.
At four years old, Rong Ange received his vows and formally entered the order. He apprenticed under a master to study the scriptures, grew out his hair and tied it into braids, and only then truly shed his secular identity, becoming a novice Daoist in earnest.
Taixu Temple was one of the three great sects of Yanzhou, and moreover ranked second among the Four Great Temples of the realm. Its foundations were profound, its talent abundant. Though it had no Youxian, the Abbot of Taixu Temple was a veteran Dingdan cultivator who had trained for many years and stood at the brink of the peak. He possessed true Grandmaster-level strength and wielded the famed Taixu Sword, a celebrated blade ranked near the very top of the Weapons Register. By any measure, he was one of the world's foremost experts.
Yet despite being born into such a major martial sect, Rong Ange showed little aptitude for martial arts.
From the age of six, when he formally began training, Rong Ange was like the hundreds of Daoist youths of his generation: practicing diligently day after day, tempering his body, and devoutly reciting cultivation methods.
However, over the following three years, the other youths who shared his quarters all succeeded one after another in comprehending martial arts and entering the Hanshen realm. Only he remained stagnant, forever unable to cross the threshold into Hanshen. It was not until he was twelve that he finally succeeded, opening his apertures and entering Hanshen.
Taixu Temple's core method, the Taixu Scripture of Contemplation, was easy to begin but difficult to master. Those who found even the entry exceedingly hard, like him, were not unheard of—but they were certainly few.
Rong Ange knew he lacked talent for martial arts and was not someone with ambitions reaching the heavens. After entering Hanshen, he therefore took up an assignment to patrol the Rear Mountain's Cliff of Reflection. Aside from the daily morning and evening martial practice and scripture recitations, he almost never appeared in the Service Courtyard or the Hall of Martial Reverence.
It was precisely this reclusive way of life, with little interaction with others, that led to tragedy. On a storm-lashed night of torrential rain, Rong Ange slipped and fell from the mountain cliff, failing to draw the timely attention of the other Daoist youths assigned to patrol the Cliff of Reflection.
By the time his roommates realized something was wrong the next day, discovered that he had not returned overnight, and went out to search for him, Rong Ange was already dead—leaving behind nothing but an empty shell for the soul that came from the modern world.
No one noticed that this insignificant Daoist youth had already been replaced by another consciousness.
The Rong Ange who transmigrated from the modern era inherited all of the original body's memories. Yet because the original owner was only fourteen years old, taciturn and fond of solitude, with no close friends or family, the memories in his mind were monotonous and narrow. Even so, Rong Ange still gleaned some crucial information from them—for example, that this was a wuxia world, and that people comparable to immortals truly existed within it.
Martial arts, when cultivated to their pinnacle, could indeed produce peerless, world-defying powers.
Learning all this, Rong Ange could not help but yearn for it, nor could he help but feel exhilarated.
He loved reading wuxia novels and had dreamed of becoming a great hero—roaming the jianghu and upholding justice. Yet once the excitement passed, he grew all the more cautious.
The Youxian of this world truly sounded like beings of unfathomable depth and peerless might. As someone who had borrowed another's body, if any oddity about him were discovered, the only outcome would likely be death. Thus, cherishing his life above all else, Rong Ange made a firm resolve: until he had fully integrated into this world and become a top-tier expert, he would not take a single step outside Taixu Temple. If he could lie low, then he would lie low.
Judging by the original body's aptitude, it would likely take ten or even twenty years before he could reach the peak of Hanshen, or even step halfway into Dingdan. With that in mind, Rong Ange set himself a small goal: go into seclusion for ten years first, and see what came of it.
Having made this decision, Rong Ange did not rashly alter the original body's course of life. He continued to live alone, keeping to himself, fading quietly into the crowd.
The difference was that Rong Ange—the protagonist—possessed a cheat.
That cheat lay in his extraordinary comprehension of martial arts.
The original body had spent days and nights in meditation, refining his cultivation method, yet understood those obscure scriptures only dimly, which led to painfully slow progress and every step being a struggle.
Rong Ange, however, merely reviewed the Taixu Scripture of Contemplation a few times within the original body's memories and grasped its essentials. Within a single year, he broke through two levels in succession, advancing into the third level of the Hanshen chapter of the Taixu Scripture of Contemplation, leaping far ahead of his peers in the temple.
The same was true of swordsmanship. A full year of bitter practice by the original body could not compare to the progress Rong Ange made in just over a month of seemingly idle, half-hearted training.
Naturally, Rong Ange soon realized his talent for comprehending martial arts. From time to time, he would sigh to himself that if not for the original body's mediocre foundations dragging him down, he might well have become one of the most outstanding geniuses in the jianghu.
Occasionally, he would also think of the shifting winds and clouds of the martial world beyond the mountain. But first, having long been accustomed to the life of a homebody, he was content to think about it and too lazy to actually go anywhere. Second, the rules of Taixu Temple were strict—one could not simply descend the mountain at will. Only Daoists of the An generation who had achieved minor completion of the Hanshen chapter of the Taixu Scripture of Contemplation were permitted to go down the mountain and enter the jianghu. Though Rong Ange's progress in this technique was rapid, he had yet to reach the fourth level, the stage of minor completion.
There was also another reason: Rong Ange still lacked confidence in his own martial prowess. The splendor of the jianghu might be alluring, but it was filled with flashing blades and bloodshed. A single careless move could cost one's life. The pain of being sent flying by a car in his previous life still cast a long shadow over him, and he cherished this rebirth dearly—he had no wish to descend to the Yellow Springs (underworld) so soon.
Thus, no matter how the outside world or the temple itself changed, and regardless of what events transpired, Rong Ange remained at his post in the patrol dwelling by the Cliff of Reflection, calm and detached.
And so these days truly passed—ten whole years.
Those who had once taken vows alongside him, the most outstanding of their generation, had all gone down the mountain and become celebrated young heroes on the White Dragon Ranking. The Daoists assigned to patrol alongside him were replaced time and again, and Rong Ange's name gradually faded from the memories of those in the temple.
Yet it was precisely in this year, when the ten-year term was reached, that disaster struck.
The old Abbot of Taixu Temple failed in his attempt to break through to the Youxian realm. Invaded by external evil, he fell into qi deviation and madness, and began a massacre within Taixu Temple—slaughtering disciples at will. All the Dingdan elders joined forces to resist him, yet they were unable to suppress the old Abbot while he wielded the Taixu Sword.
Wails echoed endlessly through the temple. Worshippers and Daoists alike scattered in flight, everyone gripped by despair, clinging only to the hope that a Youxian might come to their rescue.
Yet all of them knew full well that Great Xia was simply too vast. Unless a Youxian who had already achieved the realm of short distance becoming the horizon were to intervene, even the closest Youxian—Master Huineng, the abbot of Great Compassion Temple in Jinzhou—would still need to cross two provinces to arrive, taking at least half an hour.
And in that half hour, it would be more than enough time for the Outer Demon to slaughter most of Taixu Temple.
Just as everyone in the temple stood on the brink of the abyss, their hearts utterly despairing, a streak of sword light suddenly flared from the Rear Mountain's Cliff of Reflection. Its momentum soared to the heavens, dazzling beyond compare, causing heaven and earth themselves to change color.
Countless drifting clouds surged back and gathered, the raging wind and rain stilled in an instant. Only this resplendent sword remained—spanning Taixu's three peaks like a mighty river, vast and surging, as it cleaved downward in a single, indomitable strike.
On that day, the old Abbot died. Rong Ange of Taixu Temple stepped into the realm of a half-step Youxian, and his name shook all fourteen provinces of the realm.
The following month, when the Astonishing God List of the Dingdan realm was reordered, Rong Ange ranked eighth. With one sword, he had slain on the spot a half-step Youxian wielding the Taixu Sword, his might awe-inspiring.
With one foot already across the threshold of the Youxian realm, Rong Ange finally felt a sense of solidity and ease settle in his heart.
As the strongest figure in Taixu Temple, second only to the old Abbot, Rong Ange had in fact discovered the mishap during the old Abbot's breakthrough and the tragic devastation within the temple long before. However, he had lacked the confidence to kill the old Abbot outright, and did not wish to expose his own strength prematurely before truly becoming a Youxian.
Yet if Taixu Temple were to be destroyed, he himself would become a rootless drifter, with nowhere to go—unable to continue living such a leisurely, tranquil life. Moreover, as the Outer Demon grew ever stronger with each act of slaughter, its qi and blood condensing ever closer to the Youxian realm, there was no guarantee it would not turn on him after killing everyone in Taixu Temple and come to the Cliff of Reflection to eliminate this last survivor.
After weighing all these considerations, when the Outer Demon was momentarily held in check by more than a dozen Dingdan elders, Rong Ange finally seized the opportunity to act.
With a single sword strike that exhausted all his strength, he annihilated both the old Abbot and the Outer Demon—and Taixu Temple was saved.
Despite suffering such a calamity—with countless disciples killed or wounded, the loss of a half-step Youxian, and the Taixu Sword tainted by demonic qi, resulting in grievous damage—Taixu Temple did not fall from its position as the world's second-ranked temple. This was entirely due to the meteoric emergence of the genius Rong Ange.
At only twenty-four years of age, he had entered the top ten of the Astonishing God List, a feat that truly lived up to the term astonishing.
As Taixu Temple's greatest contributor and strongest combatant, Rong Ange was, as a matter of course, forcefully promoted to Abbot of Taixu Temple. He took charge of the Taixu Sword and was given the title "Taixu, the Pillar of the Sea."
Rong Ange had thought that the truly good days had finally arrived. He was not versed in mundane administration, so he delegated all affairs to the elders. In the future, he only needed to serve as a symbolic figurehead to uphold the temple's prestige; beyond that, he intended to live as freely and comfortably as he pleased.
But matters were far from that simple.
The inheritance upheld by Taixu Temple was governed by strict precepts: once ordained, marriage was forbidden.
Rong Ange had merely transmigrated into the body of a young Daoist; he had never intended to truly become an ascetic of pure heart and few desires. After suppressing himself for ten years in seclusion, emerging at the height of his vigor, he naturally found himself fond of beauty.
Those far away were beyond reach. Nearby, however, he set his sights on a young Daoist responsible for attending to his daily needs.
This Daoist was named Ji Anbai. Like Rong Ange, he belonged to the An generation, only two years his junior. He was tall and upright, resolute and handsome, and Rong Ange often found himself staring at him in a daze.
Ji Anbai's cultivation stood at the peak of Hanshen, just one step short of Dingdan. He ranked among the top three talents of the An generation and was listed nineteenth on the White Dragon Ranking. Because his sword intent carried the vast, boundless meaning of rivers and seas, he was known as "One Sword, Beholding the Sea." He had long since officially descended the mountain to walk the jianghu.
Knowing that Rong Ange's swordsmanship also embodied the imagery of great rivers and oceans, the elders of Taixu Temple had sent Ji Anbai to attend to him—on the chance that he might receive some guidance in the process.
But no one could have imagined that Rong Ange would harbor such intentions toward Ji Anbai.
Bathing and wiping his back, keeping watch at night and sleeping together, guiding sword techniques, breath mingling with suggestive intimacy—day after day, it finally led the other to break his vows and cross the forbidden line, indulging in pleasure.
Yet it was precisely this moment of shared intimacy that made Rong Ange realize something was amiss with Ji Anbai.
It turned out that when Rong Ange had struck down the old Abbot with that single sword, he had indeed killed him—but had failed to completely annihilate the Outer Demon. In its desperate flight, the demon slipped into Ji Anbai's body, slowly eroding his consciousness and gradually replacing it.
Rong Ange tried to act, attempting to strip the Outer Demon away, only to discover that it had already fused with Ji Anbai's consciousness, inseparable from it. Even Ji Anbai himself had failed to notice that, day by day, he was becoming more and more different—from strict observance of discipline to indulgent abandon, from upright single-mindedness to selfish self-interest, from never listening to one side alone to placing emotion above reason, from diligent cultivation without rest to complacent enjoyment of ease.
When Rong Ange restrained Ji Anbai's mind and examined the Outer Demon, the demon's consciousness was briefly isolated. The original Ji Anbai awoke, and in shock and agony, refused to accept his relationship with Rong Ange. He begged Rong Ange to destroy his consciousness entirely—believing that if he were erased, the Outer Demon would surely perish with him.
Seeing the true Ji Anbai's rejection of him, Rong Ange was left momentarily lost, unable to tell whether the one he had fallen in love with—and who had fallen in love with him—was Ji Anbai himself, or the Outer Demon.
Rong Ange told Ji Anbai that he would not kill him, but neither could he save him—for now. However, he could use a secret technique to allow Ji Anbai's consciousness to control the body for half of each month. When Rong Ange himself reached the realm of Youxian, he would then separate the Outer Demon from him. At that time, whether Ji Anbai chose to stay or leave would be entirely up to him.
If he did not have to die, Ji Anbai naturally did not wish to. Feeling that this arrangement was careful and fair, he chose to place his trust in Rong Ange.
After that, in order to break through as quickly as possible and become a Youxian, Rong Ange raised the banner of "testing his sword against the world" and descended the mountain to roam the jianghu. He fought battle after battle against peak Dingdan experts and half-step Youxian, and even withstood a full strike from a true Youxian without dying. Three years later, he firmly established himself as the undisputed number one beneath the Youxian realm.
For the ten years that followed, the top position on the Astonishing God List was continuously occupied by the name Rong Ange, revered by all under heaven. Ten years later, when his name disappeared from the list, it was only because he had successfully broken through to the Youxian realm and ascended beyond the mortal world.
Yet just as he completed his breakthrough and turned back, intending to strip the Outer Demon from Ji Anbai, he discovered that Ji Anbai and the demon had already fused completely. At that point, Ji Anbai was the demon, and the demon was Ji Anbai—their consciousnesses no longer at odds in the slightest.
The two had loved each other for many years, their bond already unimaginably deep. Rong Ange could not bear to kill his beloved with his own hands, nor did he wish to see all living beings plunged into suffering. And so, with a single sword, he pierced the firmament and departed beyond the heavens together with Ji Anbai.
No matter that demonic energies later resurfaced, that north and south went to war, that heavenly demons descended and celestial immortals appeared once more—Rong Ange and Ji Anbai never returned. They left behind only a mysterious legend of defying harsh precepts and crushing all the world's greatest experts.
Rong Ange's life could truly be described as smooth sailing, everything going as he wished. The only person who ever brought him even a trace of frustration was the peak Dingdan expert he encountered during his testing the sword against the world—the "Snow-Taming Sword," Xie Chengyun, whom he met in the Upper Capital of Great Xia.
Xie Chengyun, styled Snow-Taming Sword, was the youngest legitimate son of the Xie clan, a aristocratic houses of the Upper Capital. He had practiced the sword since childhood. At eight, he entered the Hanshen realm; at fourteen, he achieved minor completion of Hanshen and ventured into the jianghu. In the Heavenly Mountains of the Northern Desert, he slew the Hanshen major-completion expert Song Yao, known as the Seven Star Official, making his first appearance on the White Dragon Ranking at rank thirty-seven.
At twenty, he reached the peak of Hanshen, left the Upper Capital, and challenged the heroes of the White Dragon Ranking one by one—ascending to first place on that list. At twenty-two, he was hunted across ten thousand miles by a late-stage Dingdan expert of the Western Regions' demonic path. He survived without dying and broke through to Dingdan in the process.
Later, at twenty-eight, at the peak of Dingdan, he consecutively defeated three half-step Youxian, rose to first place on the Astonishing God List, and assumed the position of head of the Xie family.
Another year passed. Rong Ange descended the mountain, and Xie Chengyun accepted his challenge. The two fought a decisive battle on Mount Mei in Yuzhou.
A clash between grandmasters drew the eyes of all under heaven. One man's sword was like startled geese amid drifting snow, freezing the land for a thousand miles; the other's momentum was like rivers and seas overturning, scattering clouds and surging unchecked. They fought until victory and defeat were impossible to distinguish, until heaven collapsed and earth split apart.
In the end, Rong Ange lost to Xie Chengyun by a single move.
Although victory and defeat are common matters in battle, Rong Ange was a half-step Youxian. He had always taken pride in his prodigious talent and comprehension, and for a time he found it difficult to accept the outcome of that defeat. After descending Mount Mei, he sought out a wine house, poured and drank by himself, and drank himself into a stupor.
Yet when he awoke, what he heard was not the ridicule of the world, but news that Xie Chengyun, while descending Mount Mei with injuries, had been ambushed by one Youxian and two half-step Youxian, and had perished on the spot.
The shock of this news far surpassed that of Rong Ange's duel with Xie Chengyun. After the ensuing turmoil gradually subsided, Rong Ange pulled himself together once more. He went on to defeat several renowned veterans in succession and became the undisputed first place on the Astonishing God List.
Occasionally, there were those who muttered that Rong Ange had merely benefited from circumstance—that if Xie Chengyun had not been ambushed and killed, it would never have been Rong Ange's turn to claim first place.
Others, however, refuted this view. They argued that whether in achievements or battle record, Xie Chengyun fell short of Rong Ange. Though Xie was indeed a once-in-a-century genius, a twenty-eight-year-old at the peak of Dingdan was still inferior to a twenty-four-year-old half-step Youxian like Rong Ange. Even if he had won by a single move, it was only that—one move. If they fought again, the outcome would be far from certain.
Such debates persisted until Rong Ange broke through to the Youxian realm at the age of thirty-eight. Only then did they finally die down.
Before Rong Ange, the youngest person to reach the Youxian realm dated back more than a century—and even that prodigy had only succeeded at forty-three.
From that point on, the name Xie Chengyun gradually faded with the passage of time, leaving behind little more than a sigh of heaven envying talent.
From an ordinary perspective, Xie Chengyun could hardly be considered a villain. Yet Rong Ange had not first met Xie Chengyun on Mount Mei.
When he had first descended the mountain, he had once helped Ji Anbai search for his younger sister Ji Ling, who had been separated from him in childhood. Upon learning that Ji Ling had been dead for many years—and that her death was connected to Xie Chengyun—Rong Ange conducted a careful investigation into Xie Chengyun. During one act of tailing him, he personally witnessed how Xie Chengyun could be smiling warmly one moment, and then, upon turning around the next, become cold and gloomy.
He became convinced that Xie Chengyun was a hypocrite, a pretender to righteousness—by no means an upright figure.
From this, Rong Ange began to suspect that after Ji Ling was defeated at Xie Chengyun's hands and subsequently underwent a drastic change in temperament—killing her master, falling into demonic ways, and later challenging Xie Chengyun again as the Holy Maiden of the Nine Immortals Palace, only to be captured and die in confinement—there was likely something amiss. It might very well all have been Xie Chengyun's scheme.
Thus, despite having had no intention of challenging the top of the Astonishing God List so soon, Rong Ange resolutely sent Xie Chengyun a challenge, inviting him to a duel.
Afterward, when Xie Chengyun was killed by a Youxian who concealed his identity, Rong Ange was shocked—but at the same time, he felt a sense of relief. Those who commit many injustices will bring about their own destruction. It meant he no longer needed to take matters into his own hands, which suited him just fine.
And if one were to look at Chu Yunsheng's original body from Rong Ange's perspective, then it truly amounted to no such person existed.
That said, if one really examined it, the original body and Rong Ange did share a certain resemblance. The similarity lay in the fact that Chu Yunsheng's original body was also someone who cherished his life immensely and had likewise set himself a small goal of going into seclusion for ten years.
Unfortunately, while Rong Ange emerged from ten years of seclusion as a half-step Youxian and ascended to the top of the Astonishing God List, the original body, after ten years, was still only at the late Hanshen stage—having accomplished virtually nothing.
The original body was naturally not named Ji Ling. He bore the same name as Chu Yunsheng, had no sect and no affiliation, and came from the background of a wandering martial cultivator. It was only through the guidance of a kind-hearted elder from a declining sect that he managed to enter the Hanshen realm, transforming from a mere jianghu drifter into a true member of the martial world.
That benevolent elder, sighing at how similar the original body was to himself, passed on a fragmentary martial manual to him on his deathbed.
This manual was sufficient for cultivation up to the peak of Hanshen, but because it lacked what came afterward, it was impossible to advance into Dingdan. Even so, peak Hanshen already placed one among the first-rate experts of the jianghu; self-preservation was no issue, and the original body was quite content with that.
Aghast at the dangers of the martial world, after a cursory round of travel he hurriedly found a secluded mountain and went into seclusion, choosing to lie low.
Yet when a lone person remains cut off from the world for too long, day after day of loneliness and isolation inevitably grind away at the mind, giving rise to subtle but growing madness.
And so, on a night of howling wind and torrential rain, when he saw a stunningly beautiful yet unconscious young woman on the mountain path, he suddenly smiled.
He did not go to help her. Instead, he bent down to pick up one wet stone after another from the side of the path. Laughing wildly as he braced himself against the raging wind and rain, he hurled the stones one by one at the girl's body like a madman—beating her until she was covered in wounds, blood flowing all over the ground. Only then did he stop, panting heavily, loosening his belt and trousers as he walked toward her.
However, just as he stepped within one zhang of the girl, her figure suddenly vanished like an illusion. His vision went completely black in an instant, and his body lost all sensation.
When he awoke again, he found himself in a prison cell, dressed in a dark red woman's long gown, bound with God-Sealing Shackles.
He tried to struggle, tried to speak in his own defense, but discovered that his entire body was weak and that he could not utter a single word.
After that, he was starved for three days. Unable to endure it any longer, he rammed himself against the chains, drawing the attention of the Xie family guards. With the little strength he had barely recovered, he attempted to attack a guard and escape—but was killed on the spot.
At the moment of death, he heard a trace of a voice transmitted directly into his mind, lingering within his body:
"Scum like you, who humiliate women, deserve to die."
After viewing the original body's memories, Chu Yunsheng agreed with those words.
Though it is often said that those who are hateful must also be pitiable, pity can never serve as an excuse for doing evil or harming others.
The point at which Chu Yunsheng arrived in this world's storyline was precisely before the original body had been starved for three days and attempted to attack the guards.
Because he did not attack them, he instead lived long enough to meet Xie Chengyun.
"Here we are. From now on, this is where you'll live."
Stepping out of the stone passage and seeing daylight again, Chu Yunsheng followed Xie Chengyun through the Xie residence—past layered pavilions and soaring galleries, carved beams and embroidered pillars—until they entered a small courtyard called Heming Courtyard.
There were very few servants inside. Xie Chengyun stopped before the side room attached to the main house and spoke to Chu Yunsheng.
"Young Master."
At that moment, an elderly servant came forward and said in a low voice, "The master just sent someone over, asking you to go to Songtao Pavilion. He said there is an important matter."
A barely perceptible change flickered through Xie Chengyun's eyes, though his expression remained as gentle and composed as ever.
"Alright, I understand," he replied. "Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Fu."
The old servant hastily said, "Young Master, you flatter this old servant far too much."
"How could that be considered flattery?" Xie Chengyun replied with a smile. "If it weren't for Uncle Fu managing Heming Courtyard for me, who knows what state it would be in now, after I've been away for six years." He then added, "Uncle Fu, this is the sword attendant I've newly taken in. He will be staying on the side of my bedchamber from now on. I'll have to trouble you to help arrange the necessary things for him."
Only then did the old servant dare to lift his head and take a look at Chu Yunsheng, who stood beside Xie Chengyun—only to see a woman of striking beauty and exceptionally tall stature.
The old servant lowered his head again, worry showing on his face.
After giving his instructions, Xie Chengyun turned to leave for Songtao Pavilion.
Yet just as he took a step forward again, his expression froze for a brief instant, before returning to normal as though nothing had happened.
Others would have found it nearly impossible to notice such a subtle change, but Chu Yunsheng was far too familiar with him; at a single glance, he could see that something was off.
"Young Master was just practicing swordsmanship. Your clothes are already dirty—would you like to change into another set before going?"
Chu Yunsheng imitated a slightly low, pleasant female voice as he spoke.
This successfully stopped Xie Chengyun in his tracks.
He turned back to glance at Chu Yunsheng, his gaze naturally sweeping over the hem of his own robe. With a helpless smile, he said, "Chu-Chu is right. Going to see Father like this would indeed be improper."
Chu… Chu-Chu?
For the first time in his life, Chu Yunsheng truly understood what it meant to be struck by five bolts of lightning at once. The way Xie Chengyun called him "Chu-Chu" made even his battle-hardened mind shudder violently.
What a fine "Chu-Chu" indeed.
While Chu Yunsheng stood stiff and stunned, Xie Chengyun had already pushed open the door to the bedchamber. With a sigh, Chu Yunsheng snapped back to his senses and followed him inside.
Xie Chengyun cast him a glance but did not drive him away. He simply took out a fresh set of clothes, walked behind the folding screen, and began to undress and change.
Halfway through, his movements stalled. In a calm voice, he asked, "There's no time to wash it now. Do you have any other way to clean it immediately?"
To be honest, though Chu Yunsheng had accumulated no small amount of experience across many worlds, he had never dealt with a situation quite like this.
He pondered seriously for a moment, then walked around the screen and glanced about the room. At last, he picked up a soft silk handkerchief from Xie Chengyun's bedside cabinet and said evenly, "There's too much—cleaning it thoroughly would take quite some time. Better to wipe it off briefly first, then stop it up and leave the rest to be washed when we return. It's already late; the discussion likely won't last long."
Even Xie Chengyun, who prided himself on having a thick skin and a dark heart—far beyond that of ordinary people—felt a surge of shame at Chu Yunsheng's unruffled suggestion and the calm way he handed over the handkerchief. Feeling awkward, he turned his head aside, his ears reddening.
Lowering his gaze, Xie Chengyun did his utmost to drape a veneer of shameless composure over himself, then reached out and took the handkerchief.