CW; mentions of suicide
The summer cicadas had departed as the weather began to cool. Their usual chirping was replaced by the distant song of a bird and the soft conversation of other people within the inn. At this time of night, most people had already turned in, but one room remained illuminated with a few soft candles.
A man sat in silence as a sword levitated in front of him. The sword bobbed as if it were in contemplation. A moment later, it shot straight between the man’s brows and paused without piercing through. Slowly, like a predator that just came upon a delicious meal, it began to circle around the man.
“Don’t you feel bitter? Don’t you want revenge?”
The voice had an enchanting, breathy quality to it. It was neither masculine nor feminine and the words were meant to draw a person in, to seduce them to submit to their deepest desires.
The sword changed its position. “Think about it—think about how they treated you! They abandoned you—left you for dead. You put down your pride and begged them to believe you, but did they ever take your words into account? No! They disregarded you and you and I both know that wasn’t the first time. People like these—how could you even think that they deserve to live?”
Seeing that the man remained unmoving, the sword circled around him again. “Yu Lan Sword Immortal, just let me become your soul bound sword. I can see the potential in you. No one would be able to stop us. With me by your side, you’ll be the ruler that stands above millions. All those that wronged you will be nothing by the ants below your feet for you to dispose at will.”
The spiritual energy settled in the room and Wu Lingtian opened his eyes. He looked at the enthusiastic sword in front of him. “Rui Sword (瑞剑), it’s been three days. Aren’t you tired?”
Hearing this, the anticipation the Rui Sword initially had plummeted. It shot off at an unseeable speed, causing the window panels and the beaded curtain to flap loudly until it settled back down in front of Wu Lingtian.
“What is wrong with you!?”
Wu Lingtian suppressed his urge to sigh. “I already told you, nothing you say appeals to me.”
“No! I’m not wrong! These are desires in your heart! Why haven’t you reacted yet!?”
The sword plunged forward and poked Wu Lingtian a few times in the chest. “Do you cultivate the Way of the Heartless or something?”
Wu Lingtian pulled the Rui Sword away from him and held it at arm’s length. “I didn’t cultivate the Way of the Heartless, I just think your temptations aren’t all that tempting.”
“But it’s what you want in your heart! I’m never wrong!”
Wu Lingtian listened to the Rui Sword’s childlike tantrum, but remained unfazed. “You’re right. I am bitter. I want to destroy the ones who hurt me, but I want something more than that—I just want peace.”
The Rui Sword fell silent.
“I’m not a saint,” Wu Lingtian said, his gaze darkening as he recalled those nights in the dark cell. “There’s no reason for me to forgive so easily, but so what? I’m powerless right now. And I have people I want to protect.”
“But this is about you!”
“It’s never been about me,” Wu Lingtian laid down on the bed without bothering to change or undo his hair. He stared up at the ceiling. His eyes slowly closed and he took a deep breath. “It’s never been about me.”
Wu Lingtian felt a new weight on his chest and slowly opened his eyes again.
On top of him was a teenage boy with hair falling past his shoulders in inky waves. His were like gilded gold, appearing like the patterns that would be find on a sword’s sheath. He had the appearance of a human, but something about him gave him a deadly feeling.
Wu Lingtian reached for the covers beside him and threw them over the naked teenager. He closed his eyes again. “I’m tired.”
“You’re always tired. All you ever do is laze around and sleep,” the teenager scoffed as he tugged the blanket tighter around himself. He glared at Wu Lingtian. “I thought you were supposed to be all powerful! Where’s all that now?”
“Lost it. It’s gone. Now I just like sleeping. Is there something wrong with that?” Wu Lingtian yawned. He placed his arm over his eyes. “Get off me, Rui Sword, I get claustrophobic easily.”
The Rui Sword clicked his tongue and stood up. “You know what’s worse than a useless human?”
“Enlighten me.”
“A human who obviously has the capabilities, but chooses to be a slug instead,” the Rui Sword sat back down beside Wu Lingtian.
“Help me find my Yu Lan—then I’ll gain my motivation back.”
“Why do you keep looking for Yu Lan?” the Rui Sword snapped and glared at Wu Lingtian. “What about me? I’m an artifact! I’m more powerful than your Yu Lan Sword by tens of thousands of times! It’ll take that little brat another thousand years before it can reach my level. Just accept me as your soul bound sword.”
“I’m afraid if I accept you as my soul bound sword, I’ll be annoyed to death,” Wu Lingtian said honestly.
The blanket fell from the Rui Sword as he shifted and leaned against Wu Lingtian’s chest again. “That definitely wouldn’t happen! If you become my master, I’ll be a good sword that will listen to whatever you say! I won’t run off on my own and I won’t try to destroy the world in your name—don’t I sound obedient? Don’t I?”
“Claustrophobic.”
The Rui Sword awkwardly sat back up and coughed. He glared at Wu Lingtian. “…Why’s someone like you so claustrophobic anyway…?”
“I got locked up in closets a lot as a kid,” Wu Lingtian suppressed a yawn that appeared part way through his words.
“They even dared lock you up!? This is why you should get your revenge on—”
Wu Lingtian’s eyes snapped open. “Will you help me find Yu Lan, or not?”
The Rui Sword clicked his tongue again. “How are you so sure that piece of junk is still around? Didn’t you say it broke?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wu Lingtian looked at the Rui Sword steadily. “I don’t think it was the real Yu Lan Sword.”
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The Rui Sword’s brows furrowed tightly. “They’re just a sword.”
“Yu Lan has a spiritual essence.”
“So? Even if they have a spiritual essence, they’re still just a tool for humans to use,” the Rui Sword stood. “I don’t understand why you’re so attached. Or is it just because you’re scared that someone was scheming behind your back?”
Wu Lingtian sat up and looked at the Rui Sword. “Will you help me?”
“If I help you, will you let me be your soul bound sword?” the Rui Sword looked over his shoulder.
“That would be an unreasonable request,” Wu Lingtian frowned slightly. “If Yu Lan is still around and is only lost, then Yu Lan would still be my soul bound sword.”
The Rui Sword pursed his lips and harrumphed. “…Then can I just follow Lord Immortal? I don’t have to be a soul bound sword.”
“That won’t do. An artifact should have a proper master,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Then, are you just planning on abandoning me once you find Yu Lan and send me back to the vaults?” the Rui Sword asked.
The Rui Sword threw the blankets back onto Wu Lingtian and transformed back into his sword form. A moment later, without even waiting for Wu Lingtian to react, the sword flew from the inner room and placed itself furthest from Wu Lingtian in the outer room on the tea table.
Wu Lingtian looked down at the blanket and then glanced at the partition as if he could see the sword resting on the tea table.
He let out a sigh and massaged the spot between his brows.
Before he left, Tian Xiewen had already warned him—the Rui Sword had the temperament of a child but had the temptation power of a demon. One had to be wary around it at all times, for it was always seeking out a master. However, this type of seeking out a master reminded Wu Lingtian more of a child who had been abandoned one too many times. And it wasn’t something that Wu Lingtian was unfamiliar with.
“I’m going to check on the disciples tomorrow,” Wu Lingtian announced before turning in. “Please don’t go off wandering.”
The sword didn’t give a response and Wu Lingtian didn’t give it a second thought.
When morning came, the sword was right where it should be and Wu Lingtian left in a flash of light to search for the disciples.
Saying it was an assessment was a bit overboard, but it was indeed a way for the elders of the sect to observe the disciple’s skills. Wu Lingtian had gone ahead with his light travel, leaving the five disciples behind to slowly make their way to their meeting point. Now it had been four days, so Wu Lingtian would discreetly go to check on their progress.
He followed the tracking device given to Liang Jun to find them at a small town where they were getting rid of a very small haunting problem. Wu Lingtian looked down at them from the trees and observed in silence.
“You’re just gonna sit here?”
“This is their evaluation. I’m not supposed to help,” Wu Lingtian got comfortable against the trunk of the tree.
“This is boring.”
“We can go through some of our own missions after this,” Wu Lingtian said. There was little he could do if the disciples didn’t use the communication talisman to ask for help or for guidance.
Besides, the missions that Wu Lingtian had chosen for them may have been marked for Golden Core cultivators, but they were simple to solve and there was little danger to any of them. The missions Wu Lingtian selected on the other hand was a bit stranger, so he wanted to wait until the disciples seemed settled before he went off on his own.
“Lord Immortal, I’m bored.”
“What can I do if you’re bored?” Wu Lingtian asked as he hopped to another tree.
“When will your duties end?” the childish voice rang in Wu Lingtian’s mind, but his gaze only fell on the disciples below.
“Not any time soon, I can tell you that much,” Wu Lingtian said. He glanced at the sword by his side and stroked the scabbard lightly. “If it’s a fight you want, we can do that later. Just be patient.”
The Rui Sword sighed and fell silent once more.
Below, the disciples were having their own set of conversations.
Liang Jun let out a long sigh and scratched the back of his neck. “I knew I should have tried harder to advance to Golden Core. These missions are always so boring.”
“What else do you want? For there to be an entire village eradicated?” Hua An’ting scoffed. “Use your brain a little. For there to be cases only at this level, it means the world is at peace.”
Liang Jun rolled his eyes to the heavens and fiddled with the golden thread wrapped around his fingers. His gaze fell on a girl, about their age, meandering past. His cheerful expression dulled slightly until he felt someone smack his back.
“What?” Liang Jun glared at Hua An’ting.
“You haven’t been the same since that conference,” Hua An’ting pointed out. “What’s up with you anyway?”
“Liang-xiong’s been spacing out a lot more recently,” another disciple pointed out. “Could it be that you have something on your mind?”
Liang Jun waved his hand. “What could I possibly have on my mind? My head’s always been empty. Not a thought up in there.”
The four disciples stared at Liang Jun.
“Is…that something appropriate to say about yourself?” one asked unsurely.
“If I say it is, then it is,” Liang Jun said, getting more and more impatient. “It’s nothing! Don’t even mention it.”
“If it’s nothing, then why can’t we mention it?” Hua An’ting mumbled quietly.
However, Liang Jun had already stomped off.
One of the disciples nudged Hua An’ting. “Hua-shijie, actually, I think I know what might be on Liang-shixiong’s mind.”
“What’s that?” Hua An’ting asked curiously. Rather than being worried, she simply wanted to hear gossip.
There was little that could rile Liang Jun up. If it was something that made him space out for nearly three weeks, then it must be something important!
“Before we left, I actually saw him arguing with a girl,” the disciples whispered.
Hua An’ting’s eyes widened. “A girl!?”
“She was wearing Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect’s uniform,” the disciple continued.
Hua An’ting gasped sharply. “Was her hair up in a ponytail and she had panda rings under her eyes?”
“Yes, that’s her!”
“X-Xiu Lan? He…Liang Jun was actually stewing over Xiu Lan?” Hua An’ting placed a hand on her forehead.
Wu Lingtian’s brows furrowed.
“Lord Immortal, you also know this Xiu Lan?” the Rui Sword asked curiously. If it couldn’t have fun, it could at least listen to some gossip.
“Xiu Lan was my shizhi,” Wu Lingtian showed a complex expression.
He knew that Xiu Lan and Liang Jun had a few altercations before, but just what had happened before the conference end to have the two of them yell at each other?
Although the two teenagers were equally as hot tempered as the other, they both knew how to be polite. Tempers were lost only during certain situations. And if it was something that was big enough for them to yell at each other, then the elders of their sects must have been alerted one way or another. However, not only did no one know, but Liang Jun was actively trying to keep it a secret from the others?
Had they gotten that close with each other?
“Is it young love? Perhaps it was a lover’s dispute! After all, they are from different sides of the cultivation world. Even if that Liang Jun kid isn’t a demonic cultivator, he’s still part of the sect that embarrassed Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect, right?” the Rui Sword enthusiastically weaved a narrative from absolutely nothing.
“How do you know all this?” Wu Lingtian asked as he maneuvered a few trees down.
“Everything in this world has life. I just had to snoop around a bit to know about the gossip this world has to offer.”
Hearing the Rui Sword’s upturned nose and snooty tone, Wu Lingtian could only let out an internal sigh. “You’re the greatest, just the best.”
“Of course!”
Wu Lingtian ignored its childish boasting and made sure the disciples knew what they were doing before flashing back to the room of his inn. He pulled out a communication talisman and lit it.
“An’ting, I’m going to be busy for a few days. Make sure to watch over everyone. If you need anything, make sure you contact me,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Alright! No problem, Shishu! Stay safe!” Hua An’ting’s voice came enthusiastically from the other side.
The line was cut and Wu Lingtian gave a sweeping glance over the room in his inn to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind before heading downstairs to check out of the room.
The innkeeper greeted Wu Lingtian with a gentle smile as he handed over the keys. “Is this Honored Cultivator heading out?”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“It was nothing. Nothing at all,” the innkeeper grinned. However, soon, a look of hesitation passed over his face.
Wu Lingtian glanced at him. “Is there something you would like to say?”
“Ah, well…it might seem impertinent of me to ask, but is there a way you could spare a few days of your time?” the innkeeper asked. “You see, it isn’t really my business, but I’m friends with a jeweler who has a shop not too far from here and something seems to be amiss with his dear daughter.”
“Amiss?”
“Yes! She had suffered a horrible heartbreak recently,” the innkeeper said with a slight frown. “Her fiancé left her for another woman, you see. It was the talk of the town—and you know how face and honor is important to a young woman. Not only that, she had sincere feelings for that mongrel. Up until a few days ago, she was screaming and yelling about needing to go find him.”
“And now?”
“Now…” the innkeeper looked at Wu Lingtian with a hint of confusion. “She did go out to find him a few days ago, but when she came back, she was a completely different person. Now…she refuses to speak, to eat, to sleep. She only stares blankly at a wall. No one can get through to her. But she isn’t the first one! I think…I think it all has to do with that forest.”
Wu Lingtian shifted the Rui Sword to his other hand. “What’s wrong with the forest?”
The innkeeper, seeing that Wu Lingtian was willing to hear him out, quickly rounded the counter and called for a waiter to get some tea. He enthusiastically found a table for the two of them to sit at and started the story from the very beginning.
“It started about five years ago,” the innkeeper said in a hushed voice.
Five years ago, the small Zhao Village was considered relatively prosperous. It was looked over by a family that was neither corrupt nor tyrannous and enjoyed a calming day after day. The Zhao Village, to say the very least, was a place of sanctuary that many people from nearby towns would come to in order to escape their day to day life.
During the spring time was when they were most popular, since that was when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. It was a sight to see, with pink flowers swaying in the wind and the sweet scent filling the air. Because of these lovely trees, it also attracted a lot of young tourists who enjoyed going to a waterfall nearby to pray for their eternal union.
Wu Lingtian listened to the innkeeper up till here. “There’s something like that around here?”
“There is!” the innkeeper nodded. “It’s what keeps tourists coming back year after year. You must have heard of it—it’s called the Edge of the World.”
This type of name made Wu Lingtian’s brows furrow. The Edge of the World? Seeing his perplexed expression, the innkeeper continued with a vivid description.
“There is little this area is known for, but everyone knows that in Jianshi, the most scenic spot is near our Zhao Vilage. Not only do we have cherry blossoms in the spring, but if you hike up the mountain not too far from here, you’ll come across a beautiful waterfall. This waterfall marks the beginning of a mountain’s ledge. If you look over the ledge, you’ll see the rolling clouds below as well as a mystifying few of the entire world. During sunrise or sunset, the clouds turn this lovely red and orange color. Some poet visited it once a long time ago and deemed it to be the Edge of the World.”
“And…young couples go there to pledge their eternal love?” Wu Lingtian confirmed.
“Yes! It’s become a tradition that if you want to stay with your lover forever, the best way to do it is to hike up the mountain together and make a vow as the sun is rising or setting,” the innkeeper said. He let out a long sigh, “What a romantic little story, don’t you think?”
“Have you done it?” Wu Lingtian asked curiously.
“I haven’t! Unfortunately, the missus and I are not that romantic. Although the hike up the mountain isn’t anything dangerous, it’s still a long way. The two of us valued our lives more than a silly promise,” the innkeeper said with a light chuckle. He seemed to have realized he went off track and lightly cleared his throat. “My apologies, I seemed to have lost the topic. Anyway, there is a spot like that, but to get there, you must go through this very specific forest path in order to find the safest route up the mountain.”
As such, many people traveled through that forest for many years and many people returned safely. Although there were a few that were injured along the way, it was obviously their own doing and nothing supernatural.
Until one day.
“The Zhao family has always kept to themselves,” the innkeeper said. “They’re never too courteous nor too rude to the villagers here and everyone loves them. They have a lovely eldest daughter and a handsome son. Everyone says that the couple must have done some good in their past lives to have children as intelligent and likable as they do. One could say their entire life was a long, smooth journey.”
The innkeeper sighed emotionally and looked at Wu Lingtian sadly. “But one day, a visitor came to our village and this person changed the entire course of their lives.”
The visitor was actually a young, dashing cultivator. At first, the villagers had all been skeptically. All sorts of people travel in and out of their humble village for a variety of reasons, but this part of Jianshi rarely saw a proper cultivator—“proper” meaning a cultivator from Xianping.
However, this was indeed one of those “proper” cultivators. He carried himself with the pride of someone who practice the way of the Dao and he was polite and courteous to everyone he met. He stayed and mingled in the village for a long time. Apparently, he had been told by his shizun to travel and see more of the world, so that was just what he did.
“We’re a small village, so to receive such an honored guest meant that they would be staying with the overseeing family,” the innkeeper said. He smiled a bit sheepishly, “That was per custom back then.”
Wu Lingtian nodded in understanding and gestured for the innkeeper to continue.
“But who knew that such a custom would lead to such a horrible conclusion,” the innkeeper mumbled.
The cultivator was handsome—no one could deny that—and it turned out the young master of the Zhao family had cutsleeve tendencies. No one had ever berated him for such a thing and, although his parents were slightly disappointed, it wasn’t as if they weren’t in the position to have someone marry into their family, rather than marrying their daughter out. However, although the young master always fancied men, no one ever quite caught his eye until this cultivator came along.
As if his entire lifetime’s worth of love was saved for just this one moment, the young master fell and he fell rather hard.
Wu Lingtian frowned. So, this was a tragic love story.
The cultivator seemed to reciprocate his feelings at first. They spent nearly every day together, like a pair of lovebirds. They had even climbed the mountain and seen the Edge of the World at sunrise. All that was left was to say their vows, it seemed. But one day, peculiarly, the cultivator left without another word.
The young master fell into a frenzy. Every day, he would hike up the mountain to wait for his beloved and every night, he kept everyone in the household awake with his labored weeping. The young man was inconsolable and no one blamed him for it.
“Then, one day, like my friend’s dear daughter, Young Master Zhao headed into the forest. He disappeared for a day and when he came back, he was empty eyed and never spoke another word.”
“Is he still around?” Wu Lingtian asked.
The innkeeper shook his head. “He ended his own life not too long after. His last words were ‘Now we can finally be together forever’.”
Wu Lingtian fell silent. “And this has become an issue, because it’s happened multiple times before?”
The innkeeper nodded enthusiastically, terror flashing over his face. “Sometimes it’s family members departing and never returning, other times it’s already married couples—however, whenever someone falls into despair, they inevitably will want to go to the Edge of the World for comfort and will pass through that forest passage and they will return in this half alive state.”
“Why hasn’t anyone called for a cultivator?” Wu Lingtian asked.
The innkeeper sighed. “After the incident with Young Master Zhao, the Zhao family aren’t very fond of cultivators anymore. Besides, these events take place so far apart over the span of five years, it’s easy to say they aren’t connected.”
Wu Lingtian fell into a silent contemplation. “How do you know it isn’t the waterfall, but the forest path?”
“The thing is, I don’t,” the innkeeper admitted. “But the people tend to choose to end their lives on the forest path.”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “I understand. I will look into it right now.”
The innkeeper’s eyes lit up. “Oh, thank you, daozhang! Thank you so much! Every time a young person falls into heartbreak, this is the thing that keeps me up at night. To know that this fear will soon end puts me at peace.”
“I thought we were going to exterminate some ghosts and demons,” the Rui Sword vibrated irritably into Wu Lingtian’s hand.
Only once Wu Lingtian recovered his room again and set out into the streets did he mumble a response, “Those ghosts and demons will be eliminated whether we’re there or not, but this case is really strange.”
It had to be the work of a resentful ghost or a demon. If not, then it had something to do with that strange cultivator from five years ago.
I hope this case intrigues the Rui Sword enough to get it’s cooperation. Maybe reverse psychology – like if Wu Lingtian expressed some doubt in its competence 😄