A small valley shrouded in spiritual mist, quiet and serene.
A tiny two-story bamboo lodge, two Crimson Blood fruit trees that had blossomed but not yet borne fruit, three mu of spirit fields, and—built into the mountain right beside them by her father, an early-stage Golden Core cultivator, when he first settled the valley—a small medicinal herb garden. Everything was so familiar and dear.
The sect had not actively reclaimed Xiaohe Valley, and Gu Chengshu certainly had no intention of giving up the place where she had grown up. In fact, she had long since prepared to advance to the Golden Core stage and move back here permanently.
Gu Chengshu walked toward the spirit fields.
When she was very small, long before her Qi Guidance into the Body, her parents would bring her here while she was still toddler-walking unsteadily, treating the farming like a game.
By now, the spirit rice in the fields was long since ripe. The slightly purplish rice ears were heavy and plump.
This was top-grade purple rice—not the ordinary spirit rice that could be harvested twice a year. At current market prices, a single spirit stone could only buy half a catty of it.
Those three mu of spirit fields yielded a steady harvest of over eighteen hundred catties of hulled, pure purple rice every single year. Just from these fields alone, the annual income was close to four thousand spirit stones.
By rights, she should have been quite wealthy. Yet, apart from the first two years, all the subsequent harvests of spirit rice had been sent straight to the small kitchen on Tianxiang Peak.
Although she ate her meals there as well, later on... she had grown increasingly reluctant to go. Free of medicinal toxins, requiring no cultivation, and transforming automatically into one's own Spiritual Power upon consumption, that top-grade purple rice had almost entirely benefited those ungrateful ingrates.
A flash of murderous intent crossed Gu Chengshu's eyes.
Her Spiritual Energy transformed into a blade in her hand, sweeping frantically across the rice paddy. Stalk after heavy stalk of rice floated into the air, and a moment later, the spiritual light on Gu Chengshu's hands split into two streams, slicing through the grain ears.
...
"She hasn't returned?"
Yin Zhenghai, having just returned from the Punishment Hall after drinking two cups of tea and securing the Yinyuan Grass, frowned deeply. "Yin Cheng, go to Xiaohe Valley and look for her."
For the past two years, that girl had basically spent all her time in Xiaohe Valley. Yet she used to be quite close to Feng Lan, and now that Feng Lan was back...
"If she's not in Xiaohe Valley, she's bound to be in Mingfeng Valley."
It was just as well; let them all see him discipline Yin Cheng.
"Yin Cheng, your Uncle-Master Gu perished because of me. You are my son, so you bear the responsibility of looking after Chengshu."
At this, Yin Zhenghai's gaze turned heavy. "If I hear again that you bullied Chengshu for the sake of some outsider... don't blame your father for being merciless and sending you to the Cliff of Reflection. Chengshu spent three months there; you... don't expect to come out for three years. If you can't figure things out, make it thirty years, three hundred years... Do you hear me clearly?"
"..."
Yin Cheng's mouth trembled. "I'll go... look for Junior Sister Gu."
With an overly pale face, he bolted all the way to Xiaohe Valley.
"Chengshu!"
Holding the restriction token for Xiaohe Valley that Gu Chengshu had given him long ago, Yin Cheng flew right in without meeting the slightest obstruction.
"When you came back to Xiaohe Valley, why didn't you say anything to my father?"
So she had come back to harvest the spirit rice.
"Or you could have called for me; I could have given you a hand."
Seeing her loading the crystal-clear, plump grains of purple rice into a jade storage chest, his tone involuntarily softened. "Are you still angry with me? I know I went a bit too far the other day, but it was only a stalk of Yinyuan Grass. Uncle-Master Gu is gone, and if you can just get along well with Ruoqi, Senior Brother-Uncle Geng is magnanimous and might let go of his prejudices regarding Uncle-Master Gu. You..."
"Get out!"
What?
Yin Cheng stared in disbelief at Gu Chengshu, whose anger had still not subsided after all this time.
"Did you not hear what I said?"
Murderous intent blazed in Gu Chengshu's eyes. "Give me back Xiaohe Valley's restriction token, and then get the hell out of here."
"You're serious?"
Yin Cheng tossed the restriction token back to her. "Gu Chengshu, without my father, do you think this Xiaohe Valley would still be yours? The sect would have reclaimed it long ago! Fine, your father died for my father, but is that any reason for you to do whatever you please?"
At this, he looked utterly heartbroken and disappointed. "Uncle-Master Gu was such a good person; how did you turn out like this?"
*Whoosh!*
The Phantom Fan instantly pressed against his throat. A chilling, razor-sharp sensation locked tightly around his windpipe, and Yin Cheng could not help swallowing hard. "What... what are you doing?"
"Ever heard of a life for a life?"
What?
Yin Cheng's eyes widened as an inexplicable terror rose from the depths of his heart, as if she truly dared to disregard their past affection and take his life. But how could that be?
"What life for a life?" He swallowed hard again with some difficulty. "Chengshu, stop messing around, will you?" Remembering the ruthless way she had struck him at the marketplace that day, as well as his father's warning, he had no choice but to soften his tone. "We still have a betrothal, and you're still my own junior sister. Control your temper a bit, and we—"
*Bang!*
Gu Chengshu kicked him flying several yards away. Yin Cheng hit the ground; though the spot on his abdomen where she had kicked him hurt intensely, he didn't dare look down, as the Phantom Fan was still pressed tight against his throat.
"Cough! Cough, cough..."
A few uncontrollable coughs made him feel as though his neck had been pierced and blood might even be seeping out.
"Gu Chengshu, what on earth are you trying to do?"
"You're talking to me about a betrothal?"
Gu Chengshu stepped up to him one pace at a time. "Do you take me for blind, both in heart and eye? You like Geng Ruoqi, and the Yinyuan Grass was clearly something I found by sheer luck. Yet you, my so-called fiancé and senior brother, forced me to sell it to Geng Ruoqi at bargain-bin prices! Go out and ask around: is there anyone in this world with a fiancé and senior brother like you?"
"..."
Yin Cheng opened his mouth several times, but no words of rebuttal came out. Yet in the past... whatever he said, she had always listened!
"Yin Cheng, in the past I kept in mind that you were my fiancé and senior brother, and I yielded to you in everything. But that doesn't mean I'm going to yield to you forever."
"You—! Do you think I actually enjoy having you yield to me?"
He was infuriated by her as well. "Everything of my father's belongs to me, but once you showed up, I was left with nothing! Besides, the one I've always liked is Ruoqi; you're the one who wedged yourself between us—"
Gu Chengshu interrupted him harshly. "Then let's call off the betrothal! If Master won't dissolve it for us, we'll ask the Sect Master to step in."
Ask the Sect Master?
"..."
Yin Cheng's heart could not help leaping. But his father's words still echoed in his ears, and he didn't dare!
"You don't like me, and as it happens, I don't like you either."
What?
Yin Cheng found it hard to believe. But seeing her earnest expression, his heart suddenly surged with a mixture of excitement and... an indescribable sense of loss. What excited him was that if Gu Chengshu strongly resisted their engagement, his father would most likely agree to break it off, allowing him to be with Ruoqi. The loss...
"Get up, we're going to Lingyun Hall right now!"
This matter brooks no delay.
Gu Chengshu raised her hand in a summon and recalled the Phantom Fan. "Rest assured, I'm the one calling off the marriage; whatever blame Master hands down, I'll take it for you!"
Yin Cheng let out a sigh of relief.
Having been fellow disciples for thirteen years, she had indeed never kicked him when he was down in front of his father, always stepping up to shield him whenever trouble arose. He touched his neck and found there wasn't even a scratch; she had simply used an illusion technique on him. "...You're the one who said you wanted to call off the wedding, you..."
"Whoever backs out is a dog."
Gu Chengshu scooped up the jade storage chest filled to the brim with purple rice. "Straighten your robes and walk faster."
Yin Cheng pressed the spot where she had kicked him, cast a Cleansing Spell on his dharma robe where her footprint had been left, hurried to keep up with her, and bolted out of Xiaohe Valley toward Lingyun Hall.
Both of them moved at the fastest speeds of their lives. When they reached Lingyun Hall, the Sect Master, Dantai Shuo, was enjoying a rare moment of leisure in the middle of the month.
"Gu Chengshu..."
"Yin Cheng..."
"Greetings, Uncle-Master!"
"It's the two of you! No need for formalities, rise!"
Seeing Gu Chengshu, Dantai Shuo's gaze flickered. He shot a glance at the attending disciple and smiled, saying, "How is Junior Brother Yin? Is there something on your minds that brings you here?"
"Uncle-Master, Junior Brother Yin and I are incompatible in temperament. Please help us dissolve our betrothal!"
What?
Dantai Shuo blinked and looked at Yin Cheng.
"Uncle-Master!"
Gu Chengshu dropped to her knees. "Everyone says my betrothal with Senior Brother Yin was a matter of leveraging a favor to force a match, and Senior Brother Yin has always deeply resented it—just as I have. After three months on the Cliff of Reflection, I've thought it through. I cannot trade my father's life just to compromise and purchase something that would only bring me misery for the rest of my days."
Wan Linglong, who had rushed in intending to persuade them to leave so her master could have some peace, paused mid-stride and froze right outside the hall.
The other attending disciples could not help pricking up their ears as well.