These Stars Are Not the Ones from Last Night

Xue Qingqiu was now showing her full demoness colors, paying no mind to the strange looks from everyone else as she sat there, perfectly composed. After a long while, Xue Mu finally said, "I'll pass on being the libationer, but I can serve as an adviser."

Xiahou Di stared at him. "What do you mean by 'adviser'?"

"I advise when asked." Xue Mu continued writing. "Just come to me when you need something. Why bother giving me an official post? I've made no contributions, and if I suddenly take a high position, the brothers in the Six Fan Gates will have objections."

Where in the world was it the brothers in the Six Fan Gates who'd object? He was worried his sister would object, wasn't he? The three great figures of the Imperial Court exchanged glances, silently grumbling to themselves. But they didn't want to provoke Xue Qingqiu, either. After pondering for a moment, Xiahou Di handed Xue Mu a waist token. "Even as an adviser, you'll still be one of the Six Fan Gates. Keep this gold token; it'll make things convenient for you."

Xue Mu took it and saw a cauldron-shaped design on the front. On the back, "Xue Mu" had already been engraved, along with a lifelike portrait of him. He looked up at Xiahou Di. It seemed she'd prepared this in advance; he just didn't know why she'd waited until now to bring it out. Perhaps she'd been hesitating before, too.

Either way, Xiahou Di was right. The token would make things much more convenient. She knew Xue Mu was a clever man, and that he wouldn't refuse.

With this token tying him to them, Xue Mu would at least consider the Six Fan Gates' interests now and then. With this connection between them, perhaps they'd have a chance to bring him fully into the fold someday.

Xue Mu did not refuse again. He put away the token and cupped his hands slightly. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Chief Constable."

"We each get what we need." Xiahou Di sighed, then shot Xue Qingqiu a sidelong glance. "Having a sister like that must be hard on you."

Xue Mu replied softly, "No. Having this sister is my good fortune."

On the way back from the Six Fan Gates, the two of them remained silent. Neither said a word.

It seemed like all that stood between them was a sheet of window paper, something they could pierce at any moment. Yet neither appeared to want to pierce it, and neither knew what, exactly, was still missing.

Halfway there, Xue Mu finally sighed. "You miscalculated this time, Sister. If I'd really become their libationer, I could have had a legitimate hand in this publication and used its influence to achieve a lot. Now there's always a layer between us, and all kinds of things are inconvenient..."

"Xue Mu..."

"Hmm?"

"Xiahou Di was right. You're better suited to the court. Once you became libationer, you'd be a member of the Imperial Court... and sooner or later, you'd no longer belong to the Star Moon Sect. I'd rather have less say in this publication than see that day come." Xue Qingqiu spoke calmly. "I was selfish. I held back your future. You can blame me."

"I won't..."

"You won't what?"

"Even if I became libationer, I wouldn't stop belonging to the Star Moon Sect. And if I didn't become libationer, I wouldn't blame you."

Xue Qingqiu shook her head. "As libationer, you'd have Xiahou Di backing you and Xuan Zhe as an ally. With advantages like those, you'd easily make a name for yourself at court. Even becoming a prince or marquis wouldn't be a dream. How can you be sure you'd still belong to the Star Moon Sect?"

Xue Mu answered without hesitation. "Because you and Xiao Chan are there."

Xue Qingqiu laughed. "Then let's say I miscalculated. I failed to recognize a sincere man?"

"You were afraid of losing me. I should be happy."

At his words, Xue Qingqiu's steps faltered, but she soon continued as before. "How conceited. Even without your schemes, wouldn't I, Xue Qingqiu, still reign supreme beneath the heavens?"

Xue Mu smiled. "It wouldn't be the same."

"How wouldn't it? With you, I can surely build the sect up even more?"

"Why do you always have to talk about practical benefits? Without me, Xue Qingqiu would be nothing but a fearsome, bloodthirsty demon. No one would appreciate your peerless beauty. What a pity."

"Tsk..." Xue Qingqiu seemed amused. "There are countless outstanding young men in the martial world, yet few know how to talk like you. No wonder Xiao Chan..."

She abruptly cut herself off, and then they both fell silent.

After a long while, Xue Qingqiu finally said, "In martial cultivation, breakthroughs come when the time is right. Forcing anything spoils the flavor; often, it leaves you unable to advance an inch for the rest of your life."

Xue Mu easily understood the double meaning and returned one of his own. "Then when will you teach me dual cultivation, Sister?"

Xue Qingqiu finally laughed aloud and shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes carrying a hint of seduction. "Haven't I already practiced dual cultivation with you?"

Xue Mu was stunned. "When?"

"In the secret chamber, our skin touched, our true qi mingled. It flowed from me into you, back and forth between us, with neither of us apart from the other. If that isn't dual cultivation, what is?"

Xue Mu nearly tripped. "My dear sister, that's dual cultivation?"

A mischievous glint passed through Xue Qingqiu's eyes. "Who in the martial world could argue with me about martial cultivation? If I say it is, then it is."

Xue Mu laughed helplessly. "Yes, yes, you're the authority."

The mood grew more comfortable, taking on the leisurely feel of a nighttime stroll. Xue Mu looked up at the stars and stretched his arms, letting out a long breath. "You know, the last time I went with you to meet Xiahou Di, I still felt like you being beside me was an illusion. I couldn't even be sure you were real. Even though we walked side by side, I felt as if I were walking alone."

Xue Qingqiu smiled faintly. "And today?"

"Today, I feel you beside me. Your fragrance is right here, and I can even feel the warmth coming off you."

"Even with your cultivation, if you tried to sense me, it would still be an illusion."

"Then why..."

"Back then, all you were thinking about was how to take advantage of the opportunity. I wasn't a real person to you, just an opportunity." Xue Qingqiu spoke softly. "Now that I've become real to you, your feelings have become real, too."

Xue Mu was silent for a moment. "The way you cultivate your own path sounds materialist, but what you just said sounds idealist."

Now it was Xue Qingqiu's turn to look puzzled. "What are materialism and idealism?"

"Hmm..." Xue Mu thought for a moment, then pointed to a small flower growing in a corner by the roadside. "Before I looked at this flower, it and I were both sunk in silence. Once I looked at it, its colors suddenly came clear."

Xue Qingqiu pondered his words, then chuckled. "This is something Xiao Chan needs to understand to reach her realm. It's close to seeking the Dao. It's strange that you've had this insight despite practicing only a little half-baked poison technique."

Xue Mu asked curiously, "Aren't you worried I'm spouting nonsense and leading you away from your Dao?"

"If you expanded on that idea, it might form a whole system. But as a single statement, similar views can be found in many schools of thought." Xue Qingqiu laughed. "In fact, that saying could be seen as the origin of contention over the Dao. Everyone believes that what they see is right, and takes their own understanding as the standard. Isn't that just saying the flower doesn't exist outside the mind?"

Xue Mu nodded, then suddenly found the idea rather interesting. Deliberately, he said, "But no matter how people understand it, it still exists objectively. Their perceptions can't change that."

"Exactly." Xue Qingqiu smiled approvingly. "The Dao is eternal. People argue back and forth, only to discover in the end that they've been using different names, or looking from different angles, or following different paths. Then they start seeking the essence, wanting to know what 'it' truly is. If existence can't be changed by consciousness, then what kind of existence is consciousness? What is the essence of 'existence'? Is 'nothingness' the opposite of 'existence,' or does 'nothingness' itself belong to a kind of 'existence'? Do you know?"

Xue Mu gaped. How the hell would he know? This was philosophy, wasn't it? He'd long since returned everything he'd learned in Marxist philosophy to his teachers. What could he possibly know? Besides, this world was anything but scientific, and you couldn't blindly apply what you knew to everything. Take Yin Ye's halo, for example. Even a staunch materialist might not be able to explain it.

"You don't know, but you want to. What do you do? You cultivate. You train until you can see through every grain of dust, until you soar through the nine heavens, until you hold the sun, moon, and stars in your hands. Then you'll know." Xue Qingqiu smiled and spoke slowly. "That is seeking the Dao."

So their martial cultivation wasn't philosophy; it was a path to seeking the Dao.

Entering the Dao meant touching it; the Void-Piercing Realm meant seeing through it; uniting with the Dao meant mastering it.

Xue Mu truly dared not underestimate the people of this world anymore, especially someone like Xue Qingqiu, who stood at its summit. In some areas, their understanding couldn't match his; in others, they could crush him into the dirt. Even if they were transported to the modern world, they might establish entire schools of philosophy. They weren't simply good at fighting.

And Xue Qingqiu really did have a broad mind and vision. Xue Mu admired her for it. "I thought the leader of the One Path Sect would be rather dogmatic. I didn't expect you to be so open-minded, or so unafraid of signs that I might have other ideas... Is this the bearing of a grandmaster?"

"I told you before: to pierce the Void is to perceive." Xue Qingqiu spoke leisurely. "There are countless schools contending over the Dao, each different from the next. Once you've perceived it, you'll naturally see that blindly rejecting them does nothing for the Dao. The stones of other mountains can be used to polish jade; we can learn more by comparing our views. Perhaps all paths lead to the same destination—that's not impossible. Contending over the Dao... Do you think the Dao itself is what we're really fighting over?"

Xue Mu's heart stirred. "Then what are we fighting over?"

"A thousand years ago, the hundred schools contended for the cauldron, and we lost. So the Righteous Path sects were granted territories, each becoming lords in its own right, while we hid away for a thousand years, unseen by the sun." Xue Qingqiu suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. "The dispute began because our Daos differed, but as it spread... What do you think we were fighting over?"

Xue Mu narrowed his eyes. After a long pause, he said, "The current emperor must have a lot of nerve, to cooperate with you." He paused, then laughed. "You really do trust me now."

"You're my younger brother. If I don't trust you, who should I trust?" Xue Qingqiu paused, then shook her head with a smile. "The martial world is but one corner of the realm. That's an interesting saying. I often feel you aren't from this world, but are watching it from somewhere far away. You seem out of place, yet you can hold every tangled thread of it in the palm of your hand."

What a terrifying intuition. Xue Mu didn't know how to answer for a moment. He was just about to change the subject when a familiar fragrance suddenly drifted through the air...

The scent of grilled skewers.

Xue Mu was stunned. Damn, did people in this world really sell barbecue on the street in the middle of the night? How was that possible? Did they have cumin, chili, and seasoned salt these days? Or was there some other unscientific, fantastical explanation?