A reunion and a nighttime talk

Gu Han knew where Liu S sui had gone using Sword Control.

Back when he had first succeeded in Sword Control on Sword Peak, he, too, had gone above the clouds.

Sword Flight was a cultivator's most wonderful imagining, and once achieved, it became the most wonderful experience. Who would not want to see just how high the sky was?

Cheers drifted faintly up from below. Gu Han looked toward the summit, thinking that the Green Mountain Sect had more than one innate Dao Seed.

Following his gaze, the fat man knew what he was thinking and tried to persuade him. "Junior Sister must have her own plans if she doesn't want to join Twofold Forgetting Peak. Don't be angry, Senior Brother."

Gu Han did not respond to that. "S sui is at a crucial stage in his cultivation. Don't let him meet that good-for-nothing and be influenced by him."

The fat man froze for a moment before realizing that he meant Jing Jiu.

Jing Jiu returned to his cave abode.

Unlike the layout at South Pine Pavilion, with courtyards in front and stone chambers behind, his current cave abode was a real one.

The cave abodes lay in the cliffs on either side of Sword-Washing Creek. They were very peaceful, free from disturbance, and the scenery was beautiful.

Every morning, a plate of precious fruit and a jug of fresh water appeared outside his cave abode. Naturally, this fruit was much better than what he had received in the outer sect, and distribution was no longer handled by stewards, but by Sword Boxes.

As the foremost sword sect on the continent, the Green Mountain Sect possessed foundations and accumulated resources that were truly difficult to imagine.

Jing Jiu had seen far too much of such displays to feel anything about it. He chose a good-looking fruit and ate it, tossed the remaining fruit to the monkeys in the woods behind the cave, and lay back down on the bamboo chair.

He took the Sword Scripture from inside his robe, glanced at it twice, then stopped reading.

Much as things had been at South Pine Pavilion, his Spirit Sea was too vast and deep. To turn it entirely into nourishment for his Dao Seed, until it bore Sword Fruit, would take time and more time.

Fortunately, the time required would be much shorter on this occasion. Besides, if he wanted to go among the peaks to retrieve a sword, he did not need to form a Sword Pellet.

He picked up a grain of white sand and was about to place it on the porcelain plate when he realized his mind was somewhat unsettled today.

This was very rare for him, so he put both the porcelain plate and the grain of sand away, closed his eyes, and began quietly contemplating to nourish his mind.

After an unknown length of time, he opened his eyes again.

The sun had set, and the stars shone brightly.

S sui stood before the bamboo chair.

It was as though they were still beside the pond three years ago.

"Young Master."

Liu S sui happily bowed to him. Thinking of what had happened during the day, he explained, "Don't blame Senior Brother Gu. He's a good person, just a little strict."

Listening to this, Jing Jiu noticed something. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Senior Brother?"

Liu S sui smiled a little sheepishly. "I should call him Instructor Gu. He thinks I'm all right and said he would take me at the Sword Inheritance Assembly. He lets me call him Senior Brother in private."

He felt neither pride nor self-satisfaction. He was simply very happy.

Jing Jiu smiled and said nothing.

Liu S sui thought he was laughing at him. His face grew warm, and, not knowing what to do, he stood up to make Jing Jiu's bed and tidy the things on the couch.

The innate Dao Seed whom the Green Mountain Sect valued most highly, the gifted disciple whom Twofold Forgetting Peak desperately wanted, was making the bed and folding the bedding for a disciple who had only just entered the inner sect-and doing it so naturally.

Anyone who saw this scene would surely have been struck speechless.

What was even more surprising was that Jing Jiu had no intention of stopping him.

After making the bed and sprinkling and sweeping the clearing outside the cave abode, he began telling Jing Jiu what he had done and whom he had met over the past year.

Jing Jiu listened quietly, occasionally smiling, occasionally replying.

He was not impatient, did not close his eyes, and certainly did not fall asleep. This was different from how he had been in the mountain village.

Liu S sui felt a little dejected, because he was the one doing all the talking.

He actually very much wanted to know how Jing Jiu had spent this past year at South Pine Pavilion. Why had he suddenly become diligent? How had he perfected the Spirit Embracing Realm and passed the examination to enter the inner sect?

Jing Jiu seemed uninterested in discussing these things.

Was it because they had not seen each other for a year and now felt a little like strangers?

A possibility occurred to Liu S sui. He stood up excitedly and said to Jing Jiu, "Young Master, let me introduce you to Senior Brother Gu! With your talent and understanding, you're certain to win his appreciation. Even if he won't promise to recruit you to the peak at the Sword Inheritance Assembly, he'll certainly be very willing to guide you in learning the sword. Then we can cultivate together."

Without even thinking, Jing Jiu shook his head. "No need."

Liu S sui paused. "Young Master, you might not know this, but Twofold Forgetting Peak is the most remarkable place in our Great Green Mountain. Everyone on the peak is a young third-generation disciple. There's no peak master or elders, but instructors from every peak go to Twofold Forgetting Peak on appointed days to teach. That means any disciple of Twofold Forgetting Peak can study all the Sword Arts of the Nine Peaks..."

His voice grew softer and softer until it faded away.

Because Jing Jiu still showed no interest whatsoever.

Liu S sui felt a little disappointed.

Seeing the expression on his small face, Jing Jiu offered a few words of explanation.

"I really am not interested, because I don't like Twofold Forgetting Peak. Mm, or that Senior Brother Gu of yours."

Liu S sui was shocked. He had never imagined that anyone could actually dislike Twofold Forgetting Peak!

"Twofold Forgetting Peak is Green Mountain's sword. Its disciples patrol everywhere to prevent infiltrations by the Never-Old Forest and the fiends of the Nether Department. They also represent Great Green Mountain at the Plum Gathering held every ten years. You could say that their cultivation consists of constant battle. Every year, many shed blood and sacrifice their lives, yet not a single disciple has ever backed down. How could a Green Mountain disciple dislike such a place?"

He looked at Jing Jiu and earnestly tried to persuade him. "And Senior Brother Gu really is a good person."

"'How could you dislike it?' That statement itself is wrong."

Jing Jiu said, "Take that Senior Brother Gu of yours. I don't care whether he's a good person. Even if he were a saint, I could still dislike him."

Liu S sui paused. Though these words sounded unreasonable, he could not find anything wrong with them.

"Anyway, I can't win an argument with you."

Liu S sui felt a little aggrieved, because he truly could not understand why Jing Jiu disliked someone as good as Senior Brother Gu.

Was it because Senior Brother Gu had punished him under the Peak Rules during the day?

Then what about Twofold Forgetting Peak?

The more Liu S sui thought about it, the more he felt there was only one possibility. He fell silent.

Only after leaving the cliffside cave abode and walking half a li along the mountain path did Liu S sui rise on his sword.

He did not want Jing Jiu to see this, for fear that it would upset him.

The flying sword climbed along the cliff, soon breaking through several scattered clouds and reaching high into the night sky.

The cold wind struck his face. Liu S sui had not used Sword Essence Protection, yet he did not feel cold. Instead, he felt a little hot.

For him now, Sword Flight was unquestionably the most exciting thing there was.

Looking at the clouds beneath the starry sky, at Sword-Washing Creek below, and at the nearby peaks, he could not help crying out. Then he came to his senses, hastily covered his mouth, and looked around.

Jing Jiu raised his head and looked into the night sky.

That cry had come from the high, distant night sky. None of the inner sect disciples beside the creek should have been able to hear it, but to him, whose hearing far surpassed that of his peers, it was as clear as if it had sounded right beside his ear.

He recognized S sui's voice, and could hear the excitement in it even more clearly.

He was not surprised that Liu S sui had advanced so swiftly in cultivation, becoming capable of Sword Flight in just one year.

The advantages of an innate Dao Seed only truly came into play after entering the inner sect.

Twofold Forgetting Peak had begun making arrangements early, hoping to secure Liu S sui at the Sword Inheritance Assembly. Those fellows did have some discernment.

It was just that the flavor of Twofold Forgetting Peak as it was now really was somewhat distasteful to him.

He touched the bracelet on his left wrist and thought, All right, I never liked Twofold Forgetting Peak from the very beginning. Here's the proof.

"Senior Brother? A good person? What nonsense..."

(A couple of lines in the earlier chapters could easily cause misunderstandings and be taken as tasteless humor, such as the rice planting and Jing Jiu entering the inner sect. I thought that was inappropriate-of course, the fault was mine-even though I really hadn't thought of those things while writing. So I simply deleted them. Just letting everyone know.)