Cooking!
In the kitchen, Ye Xuan began heating the wok to prepare a meal. Although it had been a very, very long time since he last cooked, his hands showed no trace of rustiness.
At that moment, Ji Anzhi suddenly stepped to his side. She picked up a pair of fire tongs and said softly, “Let me help you.”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Alright.”
Ji Anzhi started tending the fire while Ye Xuan began chopping vegetables.
Ji Anzhi glanced at him, then asked in a quiet voice, “If, back then, we had lived like this at Canglan Academy for the rest of our lives, would you have wanted that?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “I would.”
The corners of Ji Anzhi’s mouth lifted slightly.
Ye Xuan looked at her and smiled. “Anzhi, you look truly beautiful when you smile.”
Ji Anzhi lowered her head a little. “Then I’ll smile more from now on.”
Ye Xuan laughed heartily. “Good!”
Half an hour later, Ye Xuan and the others sat around the table.
This time, Ye Xuan had prepared a lavish spread: more than a dozen dishes, extremely sumptuous.
Mo Yunqi and Bai Ze remained silent.
Ye Xuan glanced at the two of them and grinned. “Dig in!”
With that, he started eating.
Mo Yunqi and Bai Ze also picked up their chopsticks, yet they still said nothing.
Ye Xuan grew a little dissatisfied. “You two, stop making the atmosphere so heavy. Yes, a great battle is coming, but it’s not as if we’re going to die! The way you’re acting makes it seem like I’m definitely done for!”
Mo Yunqi gave a wry smile. “It’s mainly because you’re acting too out of character. You’re normally so busy, yet now you’re suddenly cooking for us. Don’t you think that feels strange?”
Ye Xuan was momentarily speechless. “You don’t actually believe this is my last meal for you, do you?”
Mo Yunqi smiled. “Let’s not say such inauspicious things. Come on, it’s rare for us to gather like this. Let’s enjoy ourselves properly today!”
Ye Xuan laughed loudly, raised the bowl of wine in front of him, and declared, “Bottoms up!”
Everyone drained their bowls in one go.
Soon, Mo Yunqi and Bai Ze completely relaxed. Laughter and chatter filled the table.
“Ye Bandit, you were really rotten back then. Not only were you full of schemes, you were always tricking us. I honestly wanted to beat you senseless, haha…”
“That bandit was truly awful, always thinking of ways to cheat people, absolutely terrible! Still, Ye Bandit was loyal… a good brother…”
“…”
Late at night.
Ye Xuan left the great hall. Walking beside him was Ji Anzhi.
Ye Xuan looked up at the sky. There was no bright moon, but the heavens were filled with stars.
He took the initiative to hold Ji Anzhi’s hand and slowly walked into the distance. In a soft voice he said, “This feeling is really nice.”
Ji Anzhi said nothing.
Ye Xuan turned to the beauty at his side and smiled. “Don’t worry. In this world, nobody can kill me.”
Ji Anzhi nodded slightly. “Alright.”
The two continued walking slowly into the distance, talking and laughing, the scene full of warmth.
At some point, Ye Xuan suddenly said softly, “After this battle, I will marry you. Is that alright?”
Ji Anzhi’s body trembled faintly. After a moment, she nodded gently and whispered, “Yes.”
…
Early morning.
In a certain part of the academy, a woman clad in silver armour with a broken blade at her waist was training a group of soldiers.
Jiang Jiu.
Now she commanded an imperial guard of over a hundred thousand troops.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Jiang Jiu turned around. Not far away stood a man.
It was Ye Xuan.
All the soldiers behind Jiang Jiu fell to their knees in unison and said in trembling voices, “We greet the Sword Master!”
Ye Xuan waved his hand with a smile. “You may leave.”
The soldiers saluted respectfully and withdrew.
Ye Xuan looked at the woman before him and smiled gently. “Little Jiu.”
Jiang Jiu stared at Ye Xuan for a moment, then broke into a radiant smile. “You came to find me?”
Ye Xuan laughed. “Of course!”
Jiang Jiu rolled her eyes at him. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”
Ye Xuan stepped in front of her, opened his palm, and a golden blade appeared in his hand. Softly he said, “The kindness of the blade you gifted me, I, Ye Xuan, will never forget for as long as I live.”
Jiang Jiu smiled, but as she smiled, tears began to fall.
Ye Xuan walked up to her and gently wiped the tears from her face. He laughed. “Why are you crying?”
Jiang Jiu grinned through her tears. “Because I’m happy!”
Ye Xuan burst into loud laughter that thundered across the sky.
…
Inside a tavern, a woman sat behind the counter, tapping on an abacus, calculating something.
Suddenly she looked up. When she saw who had entered, she froze. The next instant, mist rose in her eyes and tears streamed down.
Ye Xuan walked to the counter, leaned over it, and gazed closely at the woman before him. He smiled. “Little Dao, it’s been a long time.”
Little Dao lowered her head slightly. Tears kept falling onto the counter, shattering into tiny droplets.
Ye Xuan asked softly, “Why didn’t you come looking for me?”
Little Dao answered just as softly, “You are now the Sword Master of the mortal world.”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Were you angry with me?”
Little Dao nodded. “I was angry just now.”
Ye Xuan smiled again. “And now?”
Little Dao lifted her head to look at him. “I’m not angry any more.”
Ye Xuan leaned forward and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
Little Dao lowered her head a little. “It doesn’t matter.”
Ye Xuan took her hand. “I knew you would wait for me here.”
Little Dao turned her hand to grasp his tightly. “And I knew you would come.”
…
On a certain island, beneath a tree, a woman leaned against the trunk, holding an ancient scroll.
She was reading with great interest.
Then footsteps sounded nearby.
The woman turned her head. When she saw who approached, she froze on the spot. The scroll in her hand slowly slipped to the ground.
Ye Xuan smiled. “Dao Yi, it’s been a long time.”
Dao Yi picked up the scroll, turned away, and said quietly, “Sword Master Ye, why have you come here?”
Ye Xuan walked to her side. “I knew you were here, so I came to find you.”
Dao Yi lowered her head slightly and said nothing.
Ye Xuan took the scroll from her hands. When he saw the title, he was stunned: Biography of the Mortal Sword Master!
Curious, he flipped through it. A moment later he laughed in spite of himself. “They really know how to make things up!”
Dao Yi snatched the scroll back and glared at him without speaking.
Ye Xuan asked softly, “Why didn’t you come looking for me?”
Dao Yi countered, “Then why didn’t you come looking for me?”
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. “Am I not here now?”
Dao Yi looked at him. As she gazed, tears inevitably streamed down her face.
Ye Xuan gently wiped her tears away. “I’m sorry.”
Dao Yi shook her head slightly, then slowly stepped into his embrace. “I thought you had forgotten me! I thought you would never come here again! I thought… we would never meet again!”
Ye Xuan held her gently. “How could that ever happen?”
As he spoke, he slowly raised his head to the sky. At that moment, his heart ached for no apparent reason.
From Qingcheng until now, in his relentless pursuit of cultivation, how many people close to him had he neglected?
He had experienced much, grown much, yet he had also lost much.
While leaving his enemies far behind, he had also left old friends behind.
But those days had truly been hard.
If he had not cultivated with everything he had, even surviving would have been difficult.
…
