Mu Jianli

The two walked side by side, slowly making their way out of the Hundred Flowers Garden's bamboo grove and back onto the broad streets of the Capital City.

The city was still as bustling as ever. Vendors' cries drifted through the air, and not far away, people were still fighting in the ring.

In truth, he had only been in this world for three days. Nothing had changed, and yet why did it feel like so much time had passed?

Yue Xiaochan smiled sweetly. "Xue Mu..."

She hadn't called him "Uncle." Xue Mu actually froze for a moment. "Hm?"

Yue Xiaochan didn't seem to think anything of it. She asked casually, "Don't you think time is strange? Sometimes it flies by in a flash, and when you try to look back, you can't even remember what you were doing all those years. But sometimes every moment is filled with so many things, so many thoughts. You want to talk about them, but your thoughts are a tangled mess, and you can't explain them clearly."

It seemed they were thinking along the same lines. Xue Mu sighed. "Yes. These past three days feel like they've lasted forever."

Yue Xiaochan asked offhandedly, "How long do you think it takes to remember someone?"

Xue Mu thought for a moment, then answered softly, "Perhaps just one glance."

Yue Xiaochan continued, "Then how long does it take to forget someone?"

Xue Mu fell silent.

"That's how strange time is." Yue Xiaochan turned to look at him, her smile unchanged. "Just as it takes only one glance to remember someone, it can take an entire lifetime to forget."

Xue Mu felt a thunderclap in his heart. A thousand words clogged his throat, yet he couldn't utter a single sound.

Yue Xiaochan spoke as if nothing had happened. "Don't be so quiet. You're always trying to keep your distance from me. We're uncle and niece, after all, aren't we?"

All Xue Mu could say was, "Those words are profound. I don't know how to respond just yet."

"Uncle isn't usually so stiff and speechless." Yue Xiaochan suddenly called him "Uncle" again, grinning. "People don't like dullards like that. Take so-and-so, for example... Look."

Xue Mu followed her pointing finger and turned to look.

A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl in white carried a long sword on her back. Slim and graceful, she walked slowly toward the city gate. Her white clothes were made of coarse cloth, faded from washing and patched in places. The straw sandals on her feet had holes in them, too. She looked terribly poor, like a typical ascetic cultivator. Yet no one dared show her the slightest contempt. Instead, they held their breath in solemn silence.

That was because she was like a drawn sword, every inch of her. Her phoenix eyes shone with a fierce resolve, and each determined step was accompanied by a soaring sword intent that radiated coldly, making passersby's faces sting. Before that fierce sword intent, all her poverty and plainness seemed utterly insignificant. Even the most magnificent finery couldn't compare.

In that moment, Xue Mu could truly understand why even Xue Qingqiu, with her peerless cultivation, had said she couldn't guarantee his safety.

That overwhelming sword intent seemed to seep into his very bones, and this was with five-tenths of her power suppressed by the formation. He had no doubt that outside the city, a single glance from this girl could leave him riddled with holes. Not even the gods could save him.

Yue Xiaochan clicked her tongue. "She actually came to the Capital City... Is she just passing through on her Ten-Thousand-Li Sword Pilgrimage, or did she come to make trouble over the attempted assault?"

Xue Mu's expression turned grave. "Who is she?"

"Mu Jianli, the foremost of the Ten Hidden Dragon Prodigies of the Righteous Path. She's the most outstanding disciple of the Sword Inquiry Sect—and of this entire generation of the Righteous Path. A genius with the greatest chance of uniting with the Dao through the sword."

"So that's Mu Jianli." Xue Mu remembered Qianqian's outfit from the day before yesterday. It really had been identical to this one. But that kind of sword intent was impossible to imitate. Qianqian couldn't manage it, and neither could anyone else.

Seeing Xue Mu's serious expression, Yue Xiaochan giggled. "You don't need to be so nervous. Mu Jianli hasn't completed her sword cultivation yet. And even if she does, she'll return to simplicity. She won't keep looking like a human sword."

Xue Mu couldn't help asking, "Can you beat her?"

Yue Xiaochan lifted her head and thought it over. "Two days ago, definitely not. But now, it's hard to say."

"Huh?"

"The moment someone became Uncle instead of Xue Mu, I broke through the barrier between Spirit Return and Hua Yun. I became the youngest Hua Yun expert in the history of mankind." Yue Xiaochan spoke leisurely. "Mu Jianli is only seventeen, after all. Even as a genius, she's only a minor realm above me. I'm not afraid of that gap in cultivation. Even if I can't beat her, I can still give her a memory she'll never forget."

Xue Mu stood there with his mouth half open, staring at Yue Xiaochan in shock. The youngest in the history of mankind... What the hell did that even mean?

No wonder Xue Qingqiu had been so nervous back then. If he'd really ruined Xiaochan's hopes in the martial path, there'd have been no forgiveness even after a hundred deaths. Being hacked into mincemeat would have been the least of it.

But when he thought about Xiaochan's breakthrough, he himself had been the catalyst—and had witnessed the whole thing. He had no idea what to feel.

"Speaking of which, Uncle deserves a lot of the credit. So? How does it feel?" Yue Xiaochan asked, smiling sweetly, dimples showing.

Xue Mu struggled for a long moment before managing, "Is there room on your thigh for an accessory? I can shout 'Six-six-six.'"

"?" Yue Xiaochan didn't understand the joke, but she knew he was using humor to hide his feelings. She didn't press him, only smiled and said, "Master's the real thigh. You'd better hold on tight."

As they spoke, they passed Mu Jianli.

Mu Jianli suddenly stopped and said softly, "For someone so young, this little sister has already reached Five-Sense Soul Transformation. There's no one like her in the world. This Moon-Illusion Star-Concealment, with its dim, nocturnal aspect... could you be Yue Xiaochan, the young Sect Master of the Star Moon Sect?"

"Huh?" Yue Xiaochan didn't even look back. "Take care, Sister Mu. There's a weapon shop ten zhang ahead, with lots of swords inside. Hurry and pay your respects to them. Maybe you'll even comprehend a peerless art. Your little sister has something important to do. I'll invite you for tea another time."

As she spoke, she pulled Xue Mu gracefully out of the city. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Mu Jianli stood there for a while, her delicate brows knitting together. She muttered, "Strange... I thought my sword heart had awakened on its own, stirred by the sight of a powerful enemy. But on closer inspection, it was actually aimed at the man beside her... That man clearly has no cultivation at all. Why?"

She stood silently for a moment. Seemingly unable to figure it out, she shook her head and continued on her way.

Meanwhile, Yue Xiaochan pulled Xue Mu gracefully out of the city. Only after they were beyond the formation's range did she land lightly, turn to him, and smile. "You really need to start training. You're far too weak."

Xue Mu nodded. "I'll start as soon as we get back. Otherwise, I really feel like I won't live more than a few days. If she'd stabbed at me just now, you probably wouldn't have been able to protect me."

Yue Xiaochan smiled. "You think I meant your safety? No, no."

"Then what?"

"Master's physical cultivation has reached the absolute limit of mortal flesh. She has not a single weakness. To you, Master is practically a stone maiden. You wouldn't even be able to take her. Your long-cherished wish would remain unfulfilled."

"..." Though he knew the Star Moon Sect treated these topics as perfectly normal academic discussion, Xue Mu, a man from the modern world, was still left flustered. He protested, insincerely, "I don't have any long-cherished wish..."

"You don't?" Yue Xiaochan shot him a seductive sidelong glance. "Then what's the story of Qing'er and Xiao Mu?"

"Ahem... It's really nothing."

Yue Xiaochan didn't press him. Turning to look at the road ahead, she spoke languidly. "I want a story, too. One where I'm the heroine. And it has to be really steamy."

Xue Mu's mouth twitched. "That's not appropriate for a child."

"Is that so?" Yue Xiaochan smiled again, her expression so alluring it carried an unmistakable hint of mockery. "Then what is your hand holding right now?"

Xue Mu's heart leaped. Only then did he realize that ever since she'd led him out of the city, he had been holding her little hand the entire time without letting go once.