Chapter Thirty-Five: The Master’s Wife Lives

In the Valley of Recollection, Master had just finished performing the ethereal Soaring Wild Geese Palm and now stood with eyes closed by the Still Reflection Lake... Gradually, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and with a soft chuckle, he sighed, "Fei'er is not like Biyou."

On the mountain behind, my Eleventh Senior Brother, who always brought me meals, ran into Master. "Ah! Master! How could we trouble you with picking fruit?" Without waiting for a reply, he eagerly took the large pears from Master’s arms.

While gathering up the pears, Eleventh Senior Brother grumbled, "Normally, it’s Little Junior who picks the fruit. Since he’s reflecting in the Beast Garden, I should do it in his stead. I was just going to bring him his meal—shall I deliver two pears as well? Master, you should return and rest."

"Very well, go on," Master replied, with a serene and dignified smile befitting a true immortal.

Eleventh Senior Brother left in high spirits, unaware that his flattery sometimes missed the mark.

In the Beast Garden, I quietly gnawed on the pear my senior brother brought, dutifully facing the wall in contemplation. I would never forget the horrors witnessed in the Netherworld.

Even the bodies of immortals, without the blessing of eternal life or having overcome countless tribulations, are not truly everlasting. There will be an end, a day of extinction. Among immortals, some die lightly as a feather, others as heavily as a mountain. As a disciple of the Brilliant Star, in this sacred land of light, I knew I must cultivate even more diligently. Even if destined for tribulation, I could not allow myself to be so weak again.

From then on, I ceased sneaking out and resolved to train earnestly with Master, striving to refine my skills as diligently as Dongfang Mo.

One day, in the Tower of Ten Thousand Scrolls, I came across a book describing a technique called "Soul Capture." The explanation was vague. Its name was similar to "Soul Bewilderment," and I wondered if both could drive people mad, so I went to ask Master.

Master explained the Soul Capture technique to me:

Long ago, during the great battle on Mount Buzhou between Gonggong and Zhuanxu, the Heavenly Pillar was toppled, shattering the thirty-three heavens and plunging the world into chaos. The true gods who maintained order all perished in tribulation to preserve the world. Nuwa then performed the Soul Capture, drawing the primordial spirits of several heavenly gods back, and passed this technique to them and to Master's uncle. Nuwa herself was transformed into five-colored crystal to mend the heavens.

To perform Soul Capture, the living must grievously wound themselves to the brink of death, cause their spirit to leave the body, and, using powerful willpower, tether their spirit to their own form while reaching out to seize the spirit of the newly dead. Once caught, the link cannot be broken except by drawing the deceased’s soul back into its restored body with sufficient willpower, reviving both at once.

The peril of this art lies in the fact that if the living lacks the strength of will or magic, and the deceased has no attachment to the world, once their spirits are joined, the soul of the living may be dragged away with the dead, resulting in both perishing. If the deceased has been dead longer than half a stick of incense, the technique fails, and not even the living’s return is possible.

After Nuwa, five more immortals attempted this art—four perished, one succeeded, but even that one suffered severe backlash. Soul Capture is thus forbidden, its very existence kept secret.

I asked if Master knew this technique; he laughed, advising me not to dream of sneaking out and risking my life, expecting him to save me.

So, Soul Capture was nothing like Soul Bewilderment.

Killing is easy; saving is difficult. Life is so precious—how could I be reckless again?

When I asked Master how he would handle the Netherworld's slaughter of living beings, he replied that such matters spanned both realms and required a decision from the Celestial Palace. Yet, knowing the current Heavenly Emperor, he would not start a war lightly, likely issuing only a warning.

But such forbearance would only embolden the Netherworld, leading to war in the end. Master said that should war break out, the dead would be far more numerous; for now, our only recourse was to bide our time and minimize harm.

After that, Master began teaching me the Seven-String Zither, saying that on the battlefield, I need not charge into danger; it was enough to remain steady, to strategize, and hold the rear.

Thus, my days in the Jade Purity Realm became ones of diligent cultivation. The more I learned, the more responsibilities I took on—catching wild beasts, rescuing flood victims, curing plagues, relieving the suffering...

As my powers grew, I no longer needed to act as a secret hero; I could openly descend to the mortal world with Master to bring blessings. Master doted on me, my brothers shielded me, and Spring Breeze remained as eccentric as ever. Life was beautiful.

Spring gave way to winter, and I had watched the snow fall on the Cliff of Pursuing Immortality two thousand times.

I thought such happiness would last forever; that the entanglement with the departed Lady Lu Xue was long resolved by Master’s generosity; that I could forever pick pears in the Valley of Recollection to feed the birds, my friends, and myself; that Kunlun’s Jade Purity Realm would always be my home...

Until that year, on the Cliff of Pursuing Immortality, amid flying snow, a single word—"Hanqing"—brought my tranquil life to a sudden halt...

On the day the heavens were mended, Master and I stood back to back atop the cliff. He gazed into the celestial waters; I watched the sea of clouds. We did not disturb one another.

"Fei’er, are you cold?" For two thousand years, Master had never spoken to me here, treating me as if I were but the rocks, the snow, the mist.

"Not cold, Master," I replied, glancing over at him. He still did not turn to look at me, so I turned back and continued to watch the clouds in the exquisite snowfall.

We fell silent once more.

Then a clear, melodious voice called out "Hanqing" from the cliff.

Master and I both started, turning in unison.

Not far away stood an extraordinarily beautiful immortal woman. Her figure was graceful, her skin like polished jade, brows as delicate as mist, almond eyes sparkling, lips a cherry red. She wore a simple, elegant immortal gown, covered by a white fur cloak. She lifted her arm to remove the fur hood; the jade bracelet on her wrist glimmered.

The Crystal Sword! The one Spring Breeze had taken from me!

She gently smoothed the black hair disheveled by her hood, smiled faintly at Master, and seemed to merge with the swirling snow into a living painting.

"Lady Lu Xue!" I was startled—her appearance, her every gesture, felt exactly like her.

Master’s reaction confirmed it.

He stood frozen in the snow, gazing at her, neither speaking, for a long, long time...

Pearl-like tears slid down the immortal woman’s flawless cheeks.

"Hanqing, watch the Kunlun snow with me."

Master’s eyes reddened with unshed tears...

Spring Breeze came bounding over, beaming, grabbing Master with one hand and the immortal woman with the other. "Come on! Enough weeping—let’s talk inside. Yunxiao, I’ll explain everything. Little Crow, I’ll play with you later when I’m free!"

Alone on the snow-covered cliff, I stared after the three as they flew away, feeling as if something had been hollowed out of my heart, leaving it empty.

Could this all be a dream...

I returned alone to Jade Void Palace, where my senior brothers were already chattering excitedly in the back hall.

Eleventh Senior Brother dashed over. "Little Junior, Spring Breeze just dragged Master off with a stunning immortal! Did you see? What’s he up to this time?"

"I suppose... that immortal lady is our teacher’s wife," I replied, feeling downcast.

"Our teacher’s wife?" Eleventh Senior Brother exclaimed.

"Didn’t Spring Breeze show you the beauty he picked out?" I asked.

"No. Are you saying she’s the immortal he chose to resemble our teacher’s wife? Or is she really Lady Lu Xue?" Eleventh pressed.

I fell silent, out of sorts.

The others crowded around, all clamoring—who is she, where did she come from?

"She might be Lady Lu Xue," I finally said.

"No way! Impossible!" The brothers burst into argument.

At last, Eleventh Senior Brother pulled me under the window to eavesdrop on the three inside. The others crowded behind the door and by the wall.

Spring Breeze’s voice was the loudest and clearest. "The Crystal Sword suddenly started shining. I was puzzled, but it turned out she had come to my island! I was stunned when I saw her—her true form is a snow goose, right? She knows everything about you, even what I don’t! Amazing, isn’t it? How could someone survive after having their soul scattered?"

"My soul drifted to the Land of Eternal Night, where it slowly reformed over forty thousand years. When I awoke, I didn’t recognize Kunlun, so I went first to Brother Spring Breeze’s Hundred Flowers Island. Hanqing, you’ve suffered these forty thousand years." Lady Lu Xue’s voice, though choked with emotion, was still beautiful.

Master was silent for a long time before saying to Spring Breeze, "The boundaries of the world have grown unstable, and I have many affairs to manage. Do not cause a scene at such a time."

"It’s not a scene! She came looking for me! I swear on my soul!" Spring Breeze insisted.

Eleventh Senior Brother couldn’t help but laugh and hurried to cover his mouth. Spring Breeze was always jesting—no wonder his earnestness now seemed unconvincing.

"Who’s laughing?" Spring Breeze shouted. The brothers scattered in fright.

And so, the suddenly returned Lady Lu Xue took up residence in the Jade Purity Realm, and Master assigned her the guest palace.

After that, it became hard to even see Master, let alone speak with him. He even took his meals in the study, with Lady Lu Xue bringing his food and keeping him company. Bai Ze, ever solitary, dined alone in his own quarters. At the table, only the disciples and Spring Breeze, always there for a free meal, remained, and conversation flowed freely.

But I had nothing to say. I hunched over my food in silence; the exquisite immortal fare tasted like ashes.

"Uncle, can someone truly return from soul-scattering? Is this teacher’s wife just an immortal you found to stand in?" Eleventh Senior Brother asked, wary of flattering the wrong person.

"Why not? Your master waited forty thousand years—he moved heaven and earth! Maybe he was the only one who saw it, or perhaps, in his panic, he was mistaken! Can anyone impersonate her so perfectly?" Spring Breeze replied.

"But my keen instincts tell me she’s not quite..." Eleventh began.

"Keen, my foot! Are half your stories even true? Have you ever seen Lady Lu Xue? If not her, then who? Little Crow, perhaps?" Spring Breeze shot him a look.

I was eating absentmindedly when Spring Breeze’s sudden mention of me made me choke. I pounded my chest and gulped down water.

"Uncle, I’m not blind! Saying Little Junior looks like her is even more far-fetched than saying I do!" Eleventh laughed.

"Hopeless, all of you... Listen, don’t disturb your master’s private time. Especially you, Little Crow—your fate and Lu Xue’s are at odds," Spring Breeze warned, singling me out.

"I don’t even know my fate—how would you know I clash with her?" I retorted, annoyed.

"You split her grave open. If that’s not at odds, what is?"

"She’s not dead—why would she need a grave?" I protested.

"I’m telling you, just don’t bother your master," Spring Breeze said.

"When have I ever bothered him? If you’re so worried, why force me to become his disciple? Just bring Lu Xue to be his disciple instead!" I slammed my bowl down and left the table.

"Why is Little Crow so fiery today..." Spring Breeze’s voice softened.