Descending Again

Seeing this, Du Yu felt a little more at ease.

"Sun Bin's a pretty decent guy," Du Yu said. "Pretty much how I pictured him."

"You make it sound like you know him."

"Of course. He's one of the few historical figures I actually know." Du Yu stretched. "First day successfully wrapped up. Time to clock out."

"Clock out? Come over here first. There are a few more important moments you need to see." Dong Qianqiu selected several points in time, explaining as she played them:

"After Zhongli Chun joined him, the Master of Ghost Valley taught her neither the art of diplomatic persuasion nor military strategy. Instead, he gave her a set of teachings called the Tranquil Heart Formula."

"Oh? The Tranquil Heart Formula?"

Du Yu watched the screen as Guiguzi spoke earnestly to Zhongli Chun. "Wuyan, to cultivate yourself, you must first cultivate your heart. You were born with an incomplete soul. This technique will allow you to cultivate your remaining four po. No matter how long it takes, once you have all seven po, I will help you become a dragon or phoenix among mortals."

Zhongli Chun accepted the technique without expression and said, "Fine."

Guiguzi pressed a hand to his forehead. "It seems I'll have to wait until you have all seven po before you learn humility and courtesy."

Dong Qianqiu pressed fast-forward, skipping a full twenty years.

"Wait, Sister Qianqiu!" Du Yu was bewildered. "Why did you skip twenty years in one go? Isn't that a little much? When's my next descent?"

"Exactly twenty years later. You'll have three days this time," Dong Qianqiu said. "This is the year Sun Bin and Pang Juan leave the mountain and formally enter the turbulent world."

"Then... then..." Something felt wrong to Du Yu. "Doesn't that mean it's almost time already?"

"You have ten minutes to rest. Your second descent begins in ten minutes."

"Good grief!" Du Yu gave a bitter laugh. "Nobody ever told me this mission would be such a rush."

Du Yu hurried off to the bathroom. He had also wanted to see Zhongli Chun, but he couldn't find Dong Qianqiu's office.

By the time Du Yu stumbled back into the control room, Dong Qianqiu had already grown impatient. "Hurry up. You're the only one we're waiting for."

"Coming, coming!" Du Yu climbed into the machine as he spoke. "This is way too sudden..."

"Have you decided what to bring this time?" Dong Qianqiu asked.

"When would I have had time to think?!" Du Yu replied irritably. "You only gave me ten minutes..."

After a moment of hurried thought, Du Yu asked, "Sister Qianqiu, when a man and a woman reunite after a long separation, what kind of gift do they usually bring?"

Dong Qianqiu sneered. "You're asking me? Do I look like someone who understands romance?"

"Well..." Du Yu was stumped. After thinking it over, he said, "How about flowers?"

"Flowers...?" Dong Qianqiu sounded distinctly displeased. "Fine. Got it. Hurry up and go."

Era: the turmoil of the Warring States.

Location: the Qi-Lu Land.

Household servant A-Wu descended.

It was the depths of winter, and cold winds swept relentlessly across the mountain.

After arriving, Du Yu couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had clearly descended onto Ghost Valley Mountain this time, yet he was still wearing a household servant's clothes and holding a broom.

"Sister Qianqiu, did I log into the wrong account? Why am I still a servant?"

"There's no other option," Dong Qianqiu said. "Hardly anyone comes here, and you can't play Guiguzi or any of his five disciples. You'll have to make do."

Du Yu opened his Crossing Starter Pack. It was empty apart from a single little white flower.

"A little white flower..." Du Yu pursed his lips. "Sister Qianqiu, do you girls like getting flowers like this...? White is one thing, but there's only one..."

"So what?!" Dong Qianqiu snapped. "You're lucky you got anything. Give it to her or don't!"

"Strange..." Du Yu was too frightened to say anything more. Why is she angry now?

Out of habit, Du Yu tossed away the broom as though that would stop him from being a servant, then headed toward the bamboo cottages uphill. Having seen the terrain on the screen before, he easily found the Master of Ghost Valley's dwelling. He was still considering how to make an entrance without awkwardness when he heard a commotion inside. Du Yu quietly approached the window and listened.

"Wuyan?! You... how did you end up like this?" The moment the Master of Ghost Valley spoke, all five disciples fell silent.

"Master, what's wrong with our junior sister?" Sun Bin asked anxiously.

Du Yu slowly lifted the bamboo window and looked inside.

Zhongli Chun knelt on the floor, her four senior brothers standing around her. The Master of Ghost Valley sat opposite her, his fingers moving constantly as he calculated.

Du Yu studied Zhongli Chun. Aside from having grown taller and more strikingly lovely, she seemed unchanged.

She's already thirty, so why does her face still look like a young girl's...? Du Yu wondered.

"How strange..." Guiguzi kept counting on his fingers, his face full of puzzlement. "Wuyan has cultivated all seven po, but apart from anger, sorrow, and aversion, why are all four remaining po love po?"

Guiguzi calculated for another long while. Once he was certain there was no mistake, he asked, "Wuyan, where are your joy, fear, and desire po?! What were you thinking about while practicing the Tranquil Heart Formula?!"

"One person."

"One person?!" Guiguzi asked, worried and angry. "Who could possibly matter so much to you that he could directly affect your soul? What is his name, and where is he?"

"I don't know."

"You... ah!" Guiguzi was at a loss. He had intended to teach Zhongli Wuyan the Vertical and Horizontal Arts and military strategy once she had cultivated all seven po. But now, although she had all seven, she was still incomplete. For the rest of her life, she would never know joy, fear, or desire.

"And another thing," Guiguzi asked. "How long has it been since you last ate?"

"I don't remember. Thirty-something days, probably."

"What?!" Su Qin and Zhang Yi cried. "No wonder we can never find you at mealtimes! Aren't you hungry, junior sister?"

"No. I've felt very full lately, but I can't burp," Zhongli Chun answered seriously.

"Wuyan, come closer. Let your master examine you," Guiguzi said.

Zhongli Chun rose expressionlessly and walked up to Guiguzi. Beside her towering figure, he looked almost like a child.

Guiguzi took hold of Zhongli Chun's fair wrist and began checking her pulse. Before long, shock covered his face.

"Wuyan... have you already entered the qi refining realm?"

"Qi refining?" Neither Zhongli Chun nor the other four disciples understood. "What's that?"

Guiguzi was baffled. He had clearly taught Zhongli Chun a technique for cultivating the heart. How had she ended up on the path to immortality?

"Wuyan, tell me, what changes have you noticed in your body lately?"

"Hmm..." Zhongli Chun spent a long time considering how to explain it. Then she pointed at her lower abdomen. "It felt a little swollen here. Then it went 'bang,' and I didn't need to eat anymore."

"Huh?" That sounded familiar to Sun Bin. "Isn't that an upset stomach? When my stomach acts up, I let one of those..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Guiguzi scolded. "She has drawn qi into her body! Your junior sister has already taken her first step into the realm of immortal cultivators."

"What?! An immortal cultivator?!" The four senior brothers could scarcely believe their ears.

"No wonder I never see our junior sister carry an axe when she chops firewood. She just uses her hands..." Zhang Yi murmured.

"Zhang Yi, I've chopped firewood with my hands since I was little," Zhongli Chun said coldly.

"Huh?!" Zhang Yi looked embarrassed. "Well... junior sister... how many times have I told you? Call me senior brother..."

"Master, isn't this a good thing?" Sun Bin said, recovering from his shock. "The Ghost Valley Gate is going to produce an Immortal!"

"Alas..." Guiguzi shook his head. "Heaven truly envies great talent. Wuyan possesses extraordinary aptitude for immortal cultivation, enough to turn a heart-nourishing technique into an immortal art. But without a complete set of seven po, she cannot become immortal. She is destined to remain mortal. I fear this rudimentary cultivation will do no more than strengthen her body and preserve her looks..."

"What?"

Three of her senior brothers deeply regretted this, but Pang Juan merely sneered from the side. "I knew it. Nothing that good could happen. A stupid woman dreaming of becoming immortal."

"Pang Juan, how long has it been since I last beat you?" Zhongli Chun glanced at him and asked coldly.

"Hey?! Let's get this straight first. A gentleman uses his fists, not his mouth." Pang Juan hurried behind Guiguzi. "Master, look at her. She's rebelling again."

"Ah... that's what you get for always talking about our junior sister like that," Sun Bin said, shaking his head. "She's never hit me."

"Hmph." Pang Juan snorted. "Master, forget this stupid woman. You called us here today for something else, didn't you?"

"Yes..." Guiguzi nodded, collected himself, and said, "Indeed. The four of you have studied here for many years. With the world now in turmoil, have you considered leaving the mountain?"

"Leaving the mountain?" It wasn't that the four senior brothers had never considered it. They simply hadn't known how to bring it up with their master. Now that he had raised it himself, this was a perfect opportunity. What hot-blooded young man wouldn't want to rise above the crowd in such troubled times?

"Master, I want to leave the mountain!" Pang Juan dropped to his knees with a thud.

Seeing Pang Juan kneel, Sun Bin, Su Qin, and Zhang Yi knelt as well.

"Master! We want to leave the mountain!"

Guiguzi smiled faintly, as though he had expected this all along.

"Each of you must pick a flower for me. Then I will grant you permission to leave."

"A flower?"

The four brothers looked out the window at the bleak winter landscape. Where could they find flowers on this mountain?

Pang Juan thought for a moment, then readily agreed. "Master! I'll go right now!"

Seeing Pang Juan disappear into the distance, Sun Bin and the others grew anxious. Such a wonderful opportunity lay before them; they couldn't simply watch it slip away.

In a flurry of activity, the remaining three disciples ran out of the cottage.

"Wuyan, you should go too," Guiguzi told Zhongli Chun gently. "You have cultivated all seven po now. Bring me a flower, and I will show you the road ahead."

Zhongli Chun stood without expression, feeling only that it was a bit of a nuisance. She glanced at Guiguzi, then turned and walked out.

A strange current of qi was gathering inside her now. Though she was growing stronger and could withstand bitter winters and scorching summers, there were still things she couldn't withstand.

It's already been twenty years since I came to Ghost Valley Mountain. Hasn't it been too long...?

Zhongli Chun rounded a corner with her head lowered, and a man dressed as a household servant appeared before her.

"Little Zhongli!"

"Hm?"

The moment Zhongli Chun looked at him, her expression grew complicated. Born without a joy po, she truly didn't know how to express the feelings of a reunion after a long separation. She furrowed her brow, then parted her lips. Her eyes were no longer cold, yet there was no visible joy in them either. Only after a long struggle did she squeeze out a faint smile and say softly, "You're here."

"Have you been doing well?" Du Yu asked. After hearing Guiguzi's words, his own feelings were complicated.

"I don't know." Zhongli Chun lowered her head. A moment later, she took something from inside her clothes. Seeing it, Du Yu's expression dimmed.

It was a cheap piece of candy in a faded wrapper. Over all those years, the candy inside had melted and hardened, hardened and melted, until it was completely misshapen.

With her head bowed, Zhongli Chun said, "You told me that when I felt sad, I should eat something sweet. That would make me feel better."

Zhongli Chun slowly placed her hand against her chest.

"But whenever I think of you, it hurts here." Zhongli Chun pointed to her heart, tears slowly spilling down her cheeks. She raised her head and looked at Du Yu with such wounded eyes that the fleeting glimpse broke his heart. "Why...? Why does it hurt so much here? Is wanting to see someone really this painful? I wanted to eat this last pill so I could feel better, but I was afraid you would never appear again. This pill would be all I had left to hold on to for the rest of my life."

The cold wind howled, and the entire bamboo grove crackled.

It was the first time Du Yu had heard Zhongli Chun say so much, as though she had poured out every feeling she possessed.

"Little Zhongli..." A strange feeling stirred in Du Yu's heart too. "I... for certain special reasons, I can't stay with you all the time. But you have to believe me. Everything I'm doing now is to let you become you."

"Let me become me?" Zhongli Chun didn't understand.

"That's right. If you don't do as I say, you might disappear, and we would never see each other again."

A barely perceptible light flashed in Zhongli Chun's eyes. "Will we be able to see each other again?"

"Yes. As long as you do as I say, you'll see me many times throughout your life. I promise."

"What do you want me to do?" Zhongli Chun slowly moved closer to Du Yu, and the atmosphere grew strange.

"What do I... want you to do?" Du Yu was puzzled.

Zhongli Chun slowly reached out and untied the sash of her dress.

"My senior brothers said I'm a woman. And when men see a woman like me, they all want to take off my dress. If I do this, will you stay with me forever?"

Zhongli Chun's dress slowly slipped to the ground, revealing her flawless white skin. The cold wind blew against her body as though passing over a jade statue, a statue gazing expressionlessly at Du Yu.

Because she had drawn qi into her body, Zhongli Chun's flesh would remain forever at its most beautiful.

The fresh scent of soap pods on her body mingled with the piercing winter wind and swept toward Du Yu, striking his face mercilessly.

Du Yu suddenly felt sad. Did Zhongli Chun become like this because I appeared? Was she like this before?

Du Yu picked up Zhongli Chun's clothes from the ground and draped them over her.

"You can't do this!" Du Yu said sadly. "I don't want you to do any of this. I only want you to live out your life safely. No one in this world can take off your dress..."

The words he was about to say caught in his throat.

Could no one take off Zhongli Chun's dress?

No. Du Yu knew one thing perfectly well.

Zhongli Chun would ultimately marry King Xuan of Qi. That was history, and it could not be changed.