GCCB Chapter 57

“Ah, stardew blossoms, they’re a custom of us from the Spirit Clan. If we find a lover whom we wish to spend the rest of our lives with, we plant stardew blossoms with our own hands, and when the first bud blooms we have our partners swallow it, this way the two of them can stay together forever after.”

Shu Yu could still remember, at the home of her outgoing and enthusiastic neighbor, the words He Su’er said the first time she saw those beautiful stardew blossoms.

“Look there, the buds of stardew blossoms bloom in a mixture of two different colors, purple and blue. It’s said that once upon a time, there was a goddess in the Divine Realm of Gods, her name was Zixing¹紫星 Zixing, her name means Purple Star., and she was in love with a devil named Lanchen²蓝辰 Lanchen, his name means Blue Day/Dawn, however it can also mean Star or a variation of it.. But gods and devil were sworn enemies, a relationship between both was impossible. There are many legends about what really happened between Zixing and Lanchen, but the most widely known legend is that Zixing, because she fell too deep in love, eventually fell from godhood, became a devil, and assimilated the devil Lanchen who never returned her love into her body, and then morphed herself into the dual-colored purple and blue stardew blossom.”

“Giving up her godhood and a long lifespan, she chose to become a flower with the one she loved— blossoming together and withering together. She left behind a divine message which says the stardew blossom represents inseparability and eternal entanglement, that’s how this custom came to be. If you want the person you love to be with you forever, then go plant a stardew blossom~ Although there are so many legends and they don’t have much credibility, it’s kind of like a play between lovers~”

As He Su’er had said this, she winked at her. “When my love and I first got together, I planted three stardew blossoms and stuffed them all in his mouth, look at how he can’t live without me now~”

Shu Yu wasn’t a fanatic of these kind of legends, because like He Su’er said, these kind of myths were too many. Even Fu Wang – who knew about so many things – most likely wouldn’t even care about these myths that only young ladies cared about. But although her mouth said one thing, when Shu Yu returned home, she still brought back a packet of stardew seeds and discreetly planted them in a corner of their yard.

Humu, she didn’t mean to have Fu Wang eat that flower, she just thought that it was pretty! This was what Shu Yu told herself. Afterwards, she would always remember to look at it three times every day, watering it and so on, and soon enough the stardew started to sprout. Every day she would crouch in front of those buds and think, Maybe they will be blooming very soon.

Then, she died.

She didn’t get to see those stardew seeds blossom, and she didn’t manage a forever after with Fu Wang.

…

Shu Yu stared at the large swathes of stardew blossoms, an indescribable ache welled up in her chest, unable to be suppressed.

Ninth martial uncle, Qing Lang, didn’t notice her abnormality, walking in front of her as he excitedly yammered. “Successive generations of the eldest disciples have lived here. I think the first generation’s eldest martial brother adored this kind of flower, so he planted a lot of them; afterwards, every generation’s eldest martial brother surprisingly came to love this type of flower, so slowly they planted more and more until these flowers’ growth exploded, spreading everywhere in this island. Our eldest martial brother is the same. When he isn’t cultivating, he loves to walk around the island and tend to these flowers.”

“Be careful not to step on them, otherwise eldest martial brother will become displeased.” Qing Lang said. He stopped in his tracks and pointed at a path hidden amidst the flowerbeds. “Take this path here, when you reach the end, you will get to where the eldest martial brother lives. You must go on by yourself; eldest martial brother didn’t summon me, so I cannot enter.”

Seeing Shu Yu’s slightly dazed and slow expression, Qing Lang assumed she was afraid and reassured her, “Don’t be afraid, eldest martial brother is the gentlest person I know, he rarely gets angry, and you’re also going to become his disciple, so he will definitely be kind to you~”

After the naive and cheerful ninth martial uncle left on his flying sword, disappearing through the sea of clouds, Shu Yu followed the path before her. Those purple blue stardew blossoms overwhelmed everything within sight. She assumed this flower didn’t have a scent, but with so many of them growing in a clustered place, she realized that this flower had a faint fragrance.

The faint scent was akin to a flowing stream, seeping into her body. She felt like she was submerged in a strange atmosphere, her entire body became sluggish involuntarily, her mind began to become fogged and messy, as if covered with a layer of mist.

What was she doing, again?

Shu Yu tried her hardest to recall. It took her a lot of effort to remember: That’s right, I was looking for someone.

Shu Yu walked forward in a daze until she saw a figure wearing cyan-green robes, holding a small wooden ladle, their body slightly bent as they watered the shrubs of blossoms.

So familiar. So very familiar.

It was the person she was looking for!

A beaming smile spread across Shu Yu’s face. She ran towards that person, her skirt swooshing over the swathes of stardew blossoms, sweeping the petals onto the ground. The fragrance of the flowers became thicker within an instant. Shu Yu couldn’t think of anything. She only had that familiar figure in her eyes. She only knew that she’d been looking for him, and finally, she had found him.

“Fu Wang!” She laughed as she jumped into that person’s embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck. The scent on his body was so very reassuring, she couldn’t help but nuzzle her head against him.

Shu Yu mumbled his name, whining his name a few times before she heard that person softly hum in response. Shu Yu immediately brightened up, hugging him without relinquishing her hold, and said, “I missed you so much.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” Shu Yu’s unhesitating answer seemed to please him. He finally reached out and hugged back, crushing her within his embrace.

Shu Yu raised her head and looked at him, she struggled to remember his face clearly, it was all a blur, and she couldn’t help but reach out to touch his face. That person did not move, he let her touch however she wanted. Shu Yu patted him for a while and then cheered up again. She got closer and kissed his chin, but after kissing him she got shy, ducking her head as she said, “I missed you.”

Her face was lifted. That person lowered his head and gave her a kiss, lingering and needy to the point her breath began speeding up and she almost melted into a puddle of goo, sinking entirely into his arms. That person released her lips and moved to her neck, leaving a red mark on the side of her neck.

Shu Yu pulled his hand. Her face was full of joy. “Let’s go home, we have to see…” Here, she stopped, she didn’t know what she was about to say either.

“See what?” That person asked.

Shu Yu’s expression was dazed. See what, indeed? The words just came out of her mouth, but she herself didn’t know what she was supposed to say. Her head was swimming, there were so many things she couldn’t make sense of, everything was so blurry.

But it didn’t matter, this person was by her side, so everything must be fine.

So, she uncharacteristically started whining petulantly, “I can’t remember. Let’s go home, let’s go home, okay? Come home with meeee~”

That person only smiled and didn’t answer. Shu Yu started to get flustered, pulling his sleeves with slightly reddened eyes, “Aren’t we going home?”

“We will.” He answered, his tone as gentle as that within her memories.

Hearing his reply, Shu Yu instantly quieted down, but the relief just made her realize she felt tired. She leaned against him in a daze, saying: “Fu Wang, I’m a bit sleepy.”

“Mn.” That person stroked her hair, again and again, soothing and calming.

Shu Yu closed her eyes against his embrace.

…

Dazedly staring at the field of stardew blossoms around her, Shu Yu was a bit confused.

Just now– just now, she seemed to have seen Fu Wang?

But there was no Fu Wang here. It was only her, standing foolishly in the path. It was like the scenery just now was her having a fuzzy dream. But what kind of person suddenly started dreaming while standing?

Shu Yu was still feeling puzzled over the strange, vague dream she just had. At that moment a small bird made of origami flew in front of her and a smooth, clear voice came from that bird.

“These flowers have a fragrance that will cause humans to fall into an inescapable illusion where they will see what they desire. It’s harmless to cultivators, but they have a considerable effect on ordinary humans. A talisman will protect you from its effects, the origami bird will lead you towards me.”

Shu Yu felt dizzy. When she saw the small origami bird’s mouth closed around a talisman, she quickly held out her hand for it and the little bird put the talisman on her palm. Holding the talisman, Shu Yu instantly felt her heavy and dizzy brain start to clear up, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly dejected.

As she thought, that was merely her imagination; Fu Wang, she still hadn’t saved Fu Wang yet.

Shu Yu didn’t notice at all that on the side of her neck, there was a slightly reddish hickey.

As she followed the origami bird, Shu Yu arrived at a small valley. The towering mountain walls on both sides of the valley were covered in stardew blossoms, looking like rolled up flower carpets made of purple-blue flowers, or perhaps like upturning waves that looked like they would crash against the valley’s dips at any moment.

There was a simple wooden house there, as well as a person wearing white, the only splash of out-of-place color in this purple-blue world.

That was probably the respected and acclaimed eldest martial brother of the Malice-Suppressing Sect.

However, this eldest martial brother who in the eyes of martial uncle Qing Lang was gentle and kind like an elder brother or a father, as well as knowledgeable and nearly omnipotent, was currently repairing the house like an ordinary mortal.

Originally, he was perched on the roof hammering and hammering, but when he saw her arrive, he climbed down through a ladder, his actions were very down to earth. He didn’t look like the image of a legendary disciple of a great sect. It didn’t match with his identity at all.

But this person didn’t look like he cared at all, his every action was natural and self-assured as well as visually pleasing. When Shu Yu saw his face clearly, she had no choice but to admit that he was just a tiny little bit less pretty than Fu Wang.

Moreover, no matter how she looked at this, this Master who seemed keen on taking her as a disciple really made a good impression on Shu Yu when it came to how he held himself, because he was too much similar to the Fu Wang in Shu Yu’s memories. Even Ye Linhuai who looked slightly similar to Fu Wang appearance-wise was not as similar as this eldest martial brother when it came to aura.

Before Shu Yu’s brain could react, she had already relaxed because of this extremely familiar presence. The nervousness she had felt because she was meeting a powerful person disappeared in a blink.

“I had some unfinished affairs just now, that is why I could not go and receive you, I hope you can forgive me.” He walked toward Shu Yu and stopped three paces away from her, smiling slightly. “I am the twelfth generation of eldest disciples within the Malice-Suppressing Sect, my name is Tian Jueming. You and I have a destined bond as disciple and master, I wonder if you will accept and join our sect as my disciple?”

“Is it okay to choose a disciple so casually?” Shu Yu’s tone subconsciously turned nicer. She felt apologetic towards this person. She came here with ulterior motives, perhaps in the future she would wrong the Malice-Suppressing Sect, but she had already decided— No matter how guilty she was, she would not regret this.

It was just that bittersweet for girls who fell in love. A lot of things one would be unwilling to do, when compared to the sole beloved, only meant that concessions would happen again and again. Shu Yu got worried about her own three views and sense of justice.

“Our Malice-Suppressing Sect has always chosen disciples in such a manner, destiny will naturally take its course. I still do not know your name, you are…?” Tian Jueming had a warm smile on his face. It was as Qing Lang said, he was indeed amiable and approachable.

Shu Yu swallowed the instinctive reply of Shu Yu down her throat and slapped away the Tianfeng Jinyu that popped in her brain. With a stiff face she replied, “Situ Jingjing.”

Tian Jueming seemed to smile again, but then his expression sobered. Although he still looked kind, his presence became a lot more severe in an instant. “The Malice-Suppressing Sect exterminates monsters and subdues evil; we brandish our sword for the sake of all living creatures under these heavens. If you join our Malice-Suppressing Sect, you must uphold the responsibility of eliminating evil and exterminating the wicked for the rest of your life. This is not an easy thing to do, or rather, it is in fact an extremely arduous path.”

“Unlike what the outside world claims, where becoming a cultivator means you will hold a more honorable standing than many others, you will bear responsibility corresponding to the power you will possess. If you are unwilling, then I will not force you into it, I will send you away. But if you are willing, then from today onwards you will become my disciple, I will guide you and impart all my knowledge on you and aid you on your path of cultivation.”

The aura of justice radiating from this person was nearly stabbing into Shu Yu. She felt even more guilty. But she still clenched her teeth and said, “I am willing.”

Afterwards she debated whether she should do an apprenticeship kowtow like in tv series and novels, she hesitated slightly before she said, “This disciple greets her Master.” At the same time, she moved to kneel.

Her knees didn’t even bend before she was gently held up and straightened. The newly appointed master’s voice was filled with mirth as his voice reached her ears, “You need not perform a kowtow. Within our sect, it’s tradition for there to be one master and one disciple, with such a close relationship, my disciple only needs to treat me as an older brother or a close friend.”

Shu Yu’s arms were gently held by his own, although he quickly retracted his hands Shu Yu could still feel that familiar and reassuring feeling of safety. So, what the heck was this? Could it be that there was something off about that ninth martial uncle? Why else would he be the only one who didn’t convoke these feelings? It was like her eyesight was getting blocked by leaves, her brain couldn’t turn up with any logical explanation, she couldn’t guess the reason for this at all.

Tian Jueming didn’t seem to see Shu Yu’s bewilderment. He pointed at the wooden house not far from them. “When I learnt from my divination that I would receive a disciple soon, I went and repaired this residence. Truthfully, this Master’s abode is painfully simple, it is not as comfortable or spacious as that of my younger martial brothers and sisters, the scenery is also somewhat monotonous. I hope my disciple can find it in her to not be disdainful.”

“Thank you, Master. And of course not, I really like it here.” Shu Yu hesitated as she looked at the smile on Tian Jueming’s face, which made her feel so familiar and endeared. She asked, “M… Master, why are so many flowers planted here?”

“They’re buds planted by my predecessor. Though I do not know of his thoughts, I do assume that it is, probably, because of an obsession which couldn’t be sated.” Tian Jueming said softly. His fingers brushed past a petal of stardew blossoms, then he said to Shu Yu, “This Master sees you don’t look very well, it seems you’ve barely recovered from an illness and have been tiring yourself out, why don’t you go and take a rest first.”

He pointed the way for Shu Yu and briefly explained some things. Tian Jueming’s lips were smiling slightly as he watched Shu Yu’s figure disappear behind the doors, he could not help the blood red muscle darting out and licking his lips.

His crisp and righteous presence disappeared, utterly and completely.

Chapter Description: Master-Disciple play. (Eh?)