CHAPTER 15 Past Events II: A Sword of Blooming Spring

When he finished writing, he pulled Yanming into his arms, his heart was at peace.

After a while, the person in his arms stirred. Fu Changling immediately came back to his senses and hastily repeated “Ah, ah” to attempt waking up Yanming.

Yanming finally spoke, “Water.”

Fu Changling quickly gave him the water sachet and helped Yanming up after he’d taken a few mouthfuls of water.

Yanming hadn’t warmed himself up. Fu Changling carried him and, with him as his guide, they headed towards the city.

Yanming was leaning against his back and Fu Changling felt that his heart was beating exceptionally fast. He didn’t know why Yanming hadn’t woken up just now, nor did he know whether Yanming knew what he’d done. For countless times he wanted to ask, but the courage would fade away a second before he could open his mouth.

They were in the suburbs of the city during that night. They’d hastily build a fire and then both of them sat next to it, drinking mouthful after mouthfuls of the wine from his spiritual sachet.

He thought that Yanming didn’t know how to drink. It was during that night that he realized Yanming’s tolerance for alcohol was quite impressive.

They drank as they talked. Mostly, he was writing and Yanming watched him write.

Fu Changling had drank too much and begun talking nonsense. He could feel the chill in the wind and sighed, then lowered his head to write in Yanming’s palm, “It’s a pity.”

“What’s a pity?”

“I don’t like winter. I like spring.” Fu Changling took another sip of wine and continued to write, “It’s a pity that my last time drinking is on a cold winter night.”

Yanming didn’t say anything. After a long time, he calmly said, “You won’t die.”

He added, “I’ve said before that I will bring you out.”

Fu Changling was stuck in astonishment for a while, then he heard Yanming say, “Don’t think too much. Let me give you a gift.”

Fu Changling was confused. Yanming stood up and took two steps forwards, appearing to have drawn his sword. He heard the sound of a sword swishing; the wind it casted swept through the mountain rivers and vast lands. After a while, the snowstorm stopped, a warm air began to rise in that moment, urging a thousand spring flowers to bloom. The flowers bloomed abundantly and a clear fragrant wind billowed, gently caressing Fu Changling’s cheeks and making his eyes widen abruptly.

“This is a secret technique from my sect. In the past, shifu used to do this to make me happy. Now that the flowers have bloomed, it’s a pity you can’t see it. When we get out,” Yanming spoke as he returned to his side and sat next to him, drinking the final mouthful of wine., “After I finish my task, I will look for you. I will heal your eyes and when the spring flowers bloom again, we will drink together again.”

As he listened to this, Fu Changling smiled and emotionally said, “A promise is a promise.”

Yanming answered, “A promise is a promise.”

They lingered in the city suburb for a few days and tended to their wounds.

With the Soul-gathering Pagoda, they had a chance of winning a battle against the god of the Hidden Realm of Xuanji.

They couldn’t find the laws, so the only way was to destroy the Hidden Realm of Xuanji and force their way out.

And so, they allocated their tasks as the day of the sacrificial ritual approached.

According to plan, Yanming was in charge of drawing the god’s attention and Fu Changling was in charge of finding ways to destroy the array.

They’d made preparations only to discover that their enemy was far more powerful than they ever thought of.

Yanming was very powerful among the core formation cultivators, but regardless of how powerful he was, it was impossible for him to challenge a hidden realm that was remarked to be “dangerous”.

And so, again and again, Fu Changling heard dull groans from Yanming.

Fu Changling knelt on the ground, his entire body shivering. He closed his eyes and fumbled the array on the ground. The patterns his fingertips touched were all slick with fresh blood.

He repetitively told himself that he needed to calm down and not think of anything. He knew that Yanming was covering him at his back. He could feel that person’s blood spraying on his body and heard the sickening sound of something piercing the other person’s body.

He forced himself to calm down, but his emotions were already toiling in his heart.

It was under such a scenario that he had a breakthrough about the seal arrays of the hidden realm. He forcibly broke his golden core and then, holding the Soul-gathering Pagoda, he lent spiritual energy from it and directed it into the array.

He could feel his blood and spiritual energy gradually filling up the patterns of the array. He also felt that his golden core was cracking from sustaining inward flows of spiritual energy that were far too powerful.

But he couldn’t stop. It doesn’t matter whether it was for himself or Yanming, he couldn’t stop.

Next to him, Yanming realized the odd situation he was in. He howled at him, “Changling, stop!”

He couldn’t stop.

Regardless of what the conclusion would be, regardless of what he had to sacrifice, he needed to get Yanming out.

He needed Yanming to live. Yanming must live.

Thoughts filled his head, and it was at that moment, a sharp wind burst into the air. Unable to withstand the force, his entire person fell forwards.

From the moment he fell, a pair of hands held on to him. The other person seemed to have been lifted by a gust of powerful wind. He had no time to speak. Clutching tightly onto him, he pressed a spiritual pouch into his hand and yelled, “Fu Changling! Leave this place alive! You must leave this place alive! I will search for you out there!”

Hearing this, Fu Changling couldn’t help himself smiling.

The other person, whose hand was grabbing onto him with extreme force, was being pried open. Ever since he grabbed onto Fu Changling, Fu Changling had begun writing on his palm, finishing the final stroke the moment the other person was pried off of him.

He had written: I’ll wait for you.

This was the crush he had when he was in his younger days. It was so pure and innocent that it made his heart quiver each time he thought about it.

Fu Changling fumbled the piece of jade and inhaled a deep breath of air and closed his eyes.

These feelings, though they had begun with deeply intertwined passion, they did not have a good ending.

After he left the hidden realm, he was struck by lightning the moment he stepped out of the Shangguan Manor due to a forced formation of his golden core. He had no choice but to take out the spiritual pouch Yanming had given him and throw out all the relics inside of it.

He managed to survive the strike.

But Yanming’s items were struck into such a crisp by the thunder that nothing was left. After his heavenly tribulation, he stood alone amid the desolated land that the thunder had struck. It was only then that he realized, not a single trace of Yanming was left in his world.

And so, he waited for him.

Although he’d forced his golden core, it was cracked. An imperfect golden core was almost useless. In those days, he sat quietly in his clan’s manor and treated himself, then sent someone to roam across all the lands looking for a young sword cultivator by the name of Yanming.

After a long time, he couldn’t find him.

Taking Yanming’s skills into consideration, if he wasn’t hiding himself in deep isolation, he could have been known across the lands by now. He overturned Yunze and still, he couldn’t find him. Afterwards, Fu Changling became known as Huayang-Jun, he still hadn’t met him. There were only two possibilities: he was either hiding in deep isolation, or Yanming was an alias to begin with.

He had no clues, so his only option was to wait day after day.

At first he was filled with hope, but then it gradually turned to sourness. And finally, his heart was as dead as ash and he could think of nothing except that this person had either lied to him or that he was dead.

Regardless which answer was the truth, he shouldn’t be missing him any longer.

On an autumn night one year later, there was a drizzle on that night, he heard some movements. He grabbed his unlined garments. Back then, he wasn’t any different compared to an ordinary mortal. The night rain seeped into his bones and he couldn’t help coughing twice.

Once he walked out of the room, he saw that outside the window, there was a Flower of Rebirth[9], quietly sitting atop the windowsill.

It astonished Fu Changling.

As the legends go, the Flower of Rebirth would only bloom in the Ten Thousand Bones Cliffs from the white bones of the living dead. Its effects go against the mandate of Heavens and so naturally, it was difficult to obtain it.

His heart was originally dead, but now it came back to life. He rushed out of the door and yelled into the empty space, “Yanming! Yanming, please come out! Yanming!”

No one answered him.

He stood in the rain for a very long time, but that white-robed youth was nowhere to be seen.

He thought that if he could see him again, even if it was only a glance, he could recognize him.

But he never saw him again.

Until after long years had gone by, until Fu Changling’s death wholly forty-two years later, this person never stepped into his life ever again.

He said he would come back, but he didn’t.

As Fu Changling kept watch all those years, he felt that it didn’t matter whether he came back or not.

After all, when he used the Flower of Rebirth to mend his golden core; when his name became known after a single victory at the Stage of Lords; when the demonic cultivators of the Avici came to commit their crimes; when Qin Yan allied with the demons and the entire Fu Clan had died in the hands of the demonic cultivators; the world had fallen into turmoil and Yunze was in primal chaos.

That light from his childhood turned dimmer. After a long time, he could not even remember Yanming’s voice clearly.

He only remembered that he sounded cold, as cold as the white snow atop high mountains.

Almost as if, the way Qin Yan was.

However, it seemed like this was how most sword cultivators were like.

Fu Changling held the jade in his hands and drifted into sleep.

On the morning of the second day, sun rays fell upon his body and someone kicked him awake. After that was Wu Sisi’s displeased voice saying, “What's wrong with you!”

Fu Changling blearily woke up and upon seeing Wu Sisi, he was shocked into shrinking into a corner hugging his blanket. After that, he painfully slapped a hand to his head. “My god, don’t you knock the door while going into a man’s room in the morning?!”

“Qin Yan opened the door for me.”

Wu Sisi answered righteously but changing the subject didn’t make her forget her goals of coming here. She grabbed Fu Changling’s collar and angrily said, “Where’s the pagoda?! Qin Yan said you guys went to get the Linglong Pagoda, but someone else had taken it?”

“Let me explain…”

“What’s there to explain? The other person is a good person and your heart bloomed after seeing how good-looking he is?”

“Don’t be silly.” Fu Changling felt his head hurt even more. He thought that women’s instincts were quite scary. He quickly raised both his arms and said, “It’s definitely not because he is good-looking. I’m confident in getting the sword. Rest assured, today I will go look for him and we'll take it back.”

These words reassured Wu Sisi and after a while, Wu Sisi finally released Fu Changling and urged him, “There’s not much time left. Don’t delay. There are other things to be done.”

“Relax, Sis, my wonderful sister,” Fu Changling swore, “Today I will bring the Linglong Pagoda back for you.”

Wu Sisi withdrew completely listening to that, then she slapped the bed and turned. “Be quick.”

After she finished, Wu Sisi turned and left the door. Qin Yan had already finished washing and was standing next to Fu Changling’s headboard. Fu Changling lifted his gaze and quickly got to his feet. “Fine, fine, fine. Let’s leave the door. I’ve given in to you people.”

Fu Changling got to his feet and after washing he led Qin Yan out. The both of them went onto the streets. Qin Yan was holding his sword, watching the people going to and fro and said, “How do we start searching?”

“There’s a tracking spell on him.” Fu Changling yawned. “I know how.”

Speaking, he led Qin Yan across a small alley and into an inn. Fu Changling gave the waiter a piece of spiritual stone and walked to the rear courtyard in broad daylight with Qin Yan. When they arrived at the rear courtyard, Fu Changling suddenly felt nervous. He turned to Qin Yan and said, “You look so fierce, it’s easy to pick a fight. Why don’t I go up and have a chat while you wait for me here?”

“Remember the sword.”

Qin Yan urged him but added nothing else. Fu Changling nodded his head and headed upstairs. Standing in front of Yanming’s room, he hesitated for a while before finally knocking on the door and carefully said, “Er, Young Master Yan, I am a cultivator from Yunze, Fu Changling, and am plotting to leave the hidden realm. There are some things we needed to work together with Young Master Yan, so why doesn’t Young Master Yan offer us courtesy and open the door so we could chat?”

There was no sound from the other side of the door. Fu Changling stood by the door and sighed, “Young Master Yan, I know that we have some misunderstandings between us, but please rest assured. I really am a good person. My heart to you is witnessed by the heavens and earth, the mountains and rivers.”

“Truth be told,” Fu Changling spoke alone, careless and sloppy with his speech, and as he was speaking he couldn’t help himself reminiscing about the events from the past, “Yesterday night, I couldn’t help recalling an old friend of mine that I admired when I saw you. Young Master Yan looked identical to that old friend of mine and I thought that if Young Master Yan could give me a chance, we could surely become friends…”

Before he could finish, the door opened. Fu Changling lifted his gaze to look and saw Yanming staring coldly at him from the door. Fu Changling broke into a surprised smile. He hadn’t thought that he’d open the doors so easily and happily said, “Young Master Yan?”

Yanming said nothing. He reached out to grab Fu Changling and pulled him into the door.

Qin Yan lowered his head to look at him and Fu Changling lifted his head to see Qin Yan. First, he was stunned, then he awkwardly laughed. “A misstep…”

Qin Yan didn’t listen to him explain. Grabbing his sword, he turned around and leapt up. Fu Changling quickly climbed to his feet. Because he’d just been beaten, his body hurt all over . He soothed his nerves and inhaled a sharp air before saying, “Qin Yan! Wait, wait! Let me try again! Qin…”

Before he could finish, Fu Changling saw Yanming, similar to himself just a moment ago, being kicked out of the window.

And then, a young man wearing white-robes with embroidery of cranes fell down from the second floor. The ebony box with flower engraving in his hand, while his other hand was holding his sword tainted in scarlet, pointing its tip at the neck of Yanming who’d just gotten up.

Yanming was breathing frantically, a face full of fury as he looked expressionlessly at Qin Yan. Fu Changling’s heart contracted and he quickly persuaded, “Uhh, Qin Yan…”

“Wrap him up.”

Qin Yan calmly spoke. Fu Changling felt a little puzzled, “Ah?”

Qin Yan turned to him, eyes full of warning. “I said, wrap him up.”

Author’s Notes:

Q: What is your impression of your first love?

Fu Changling: Extremely good at bugging others. Cold on the outside and hot on the inside. When he’s bugging others without showing it, he’s the most dangerous. No bodies of water could attract me when I’ve seen the depths of the sea, no clouds could impress me when I’ve seen the beautiful clouds of Wushan[10]. I was only in love with two people my entire life, other than someone so spectacular like Qin Yan that I am unable to stare directly at, there is only Yanming.

Qin Yan: ...