Tengen

On Golden Ao Mountain, at the octagonal pavilion.

The heavy snow had started falling sometime earlier, swirling and blanketing the entire mountain in white. In the distance, Cibi Lake was hidden behind the snow curtain, leaving only a blurry blue outline.

On the stone table in the pavilion, a warm jade chessboard gleamed with a gentle light. Su Yao, holding the white piece, had been hovering between his fingers for a long time, hesitant to place it.

His gaze was fixed on the chessboard, but his eyes wandered far away. They drifted past the chessboard, past the snow falling outside the pavilion, and landed somewhere unknown.

Zilin, holding the black sword, sat quietly opposite him and watched him for a long while.

Su Yao seemed oblivious. His hand, holding the white chess piece, had slightly bent knuckles, and his fingertips unconsciously caressed the piece, again and again, as if he were considering something, or as if he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

A snowflake was blown obliquely into the pavilion by the wind, landed on the chessboard, and turned into a tiny water droplet, which landed precisely on the white chess pieces in front of Su Yao.

He glanced down, as if finally snapping out of his daze, and casually dropped the white piece that had been hovering for so long, landing it in an insignificant corner.

Zilin gazed at the chess piece, remained silent for a moment, and then softly said:

"Su Yao."

He looked up.

Zilin didn't look into his eyes. She simply put down the black pieces in her hand, collected the white pieces that were soaked with snow water for him, replaced them with a small cup, poured a cup of hot tea, and pushed it in front of him.

The tea has gone cold.

Su Yao looked down at the teacup.

Steam rose gently from the cup, clearly visible in the snow-covered pavilion, swirling and enveloping his cool, aloof face in a hazy mist.

He paused for a moment before taking the cup of tea and taking a sip.

Zilin stopped asking questions and simply watched the snow falling outside the pavilion. A thin, translucent snowflake clung to her temple.

Su Yao put down his teacup, his gaze lingering for a moment on her temple, hesitating to speak, but ultimately only said:

"I lost this game."

Upon hearing this, Zilin's heart stirred slightly, and she said softly:

I haven't responded to the move you just made.

Su Yao did not respond.

He slowly got up, straightened his clothes, and then walked to the pavilion, turning his back to Zilin and looking north.

Outside the pavilion, snow was falling heavily, covering his shoulders and quickly forming a thin layer of white on his plain robe.

Seeing this, Zilin was puzzled and was about to get up and follow him. She had only risen halfway when Su Yao suddenly spoke:

"Zilin."

She paused, halfway up, and abruptly sat back down. Her fingertips tightened slightly on her knees, but she forced a smile.

"What happened that made our Sword Immortal Su so serious?"

Su Yao did not turn around.

He gazed at the northern horizon, where the two rivers converged, the direction of Green Nuo.

The snow was so thick that nothing could be seen.

But his gaze seemed to pierce through the wind and snow, seeing something much farther away.

"Ever since you returned from Green Nuo a month ago," Zilin said, her voice softening as she watched his retreating figure, "I've noticed you often lost in thought. You don't play chess, you don't practice your swordplay, and you spend all day gazing north. What are you thinking about?"

Su Yao remained silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile:

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

But he still didn't turn around, his gaze still fixed on the northern horizon, where heavy snow blanketed the confluence of the two rivers in a vast expanse of white.

Do you think Yang Xiu is hiding something from us?

Zilin was taken aback upon hearing this.

She recalled the battle in the Great Void a month ago, where Mo Li fought alone against a Purple Mansion Middle Stage with three Divine Ability, while Xuan Yan used the Heavenly Chaos to entangle two Purple Mansion Second Divine Ability cultivators. Although his condition was not easy, he was still able to advance and retreat with strategy.

Yang Xiu, despite possessing numerous techniques such as the Golden Bell, Golden Armor Robe, "Calamity Befalls Fate," and "Karma Enshrouds the Body," always fought with restraint, as if he were guarding against something or fearing something. He only dared to use the Golden Armor Robe after she intercepted the Li Fire; before that, he had been holding back.

"You mean...?" Zilin carefully chose her words, "... the years he spent in seclusion at Green Nuo's place?"

Su Yao did not respond.

He thought back to that day.

That day at the confluence of the two rivers, while he concealed his aura with the Great Yin Feather Robe, he secretly used the Prism to check for any ambushes around him. Seeing that Yang Xiu's condition was not right, he then examined Yang Xiu's aura.

What he saw next made his heart sink.

Yang Xiu now possessed a True Qi Dharma Body unlike any he had ever seen before. Its aura was pure, noble, and aloof, completely different from the ethereal and otherworldly nature of Ancient True Qi. It exuded an indescribable Divine Dao aura, and the True Qi with such a Divine Dao aura could only be found in True Martial Mountain.

The Profound Qi that governs eons seems to be a better match for the True Qi Dharma of True Martial Mountain...

But since Yang Xiu didn't say, he didn't ask.

Between them, if you don't say anything, I'll pretend I don't know.

"He cultivated a True Qi Dharma Body," Zilin said softly. "He told me about it, saying it was a method bestowed by the Supreme True Person Being years ago. But he didn't elaborate on which specific method he cultivated, and I didn't press him further."

She paused, looking at Su Yao's retreating figure:

"But I feel it's not just about the physical body. In that battle, Fellow Daoist Yang clearly had many techniques, yet it seemed... as if he was afraid of being seen."

After saying that, Su Yao finally turned around.

He walked back to the stone table and sat down, picking up a white chess piece again and slowly twirling it between his fingers. His gaze was fixed on the chessboard, and his voice was so low it seemed he was speaking to himself:

"After he resisted the reincarnation of the True Lord, he rarely came to Golden Ao."

Zilin remained silent upon hearing this.

"After you broke through to the Purple Mansion, he came once. He left in a great hurry that time, saying that the Supreme True Person Being had issued a decree to allow him to enter seclusion to cultivate the Dharma. After that, I also went into seclusion. When I came out again, he had already achieved two Divine Ability in Green Nuo. But I always feel..." Su Yao paused, spinning the white chess piece in his hand, "... it's like he locked himself in some place, unable to come out, and unwilling to come out."

Zilin listened, her gaze falling on Su Yao's face.

She didn't ask "where" or "why we can't get out."

Some things are best left unsaid; saying them again would be going too far.

She said softly:

Everyone has their own difficulties.

She gently placed the black stone on the chessboard, in an inconspicuous spot, then picked up her teacup, took a sip, and continued:

"Moreover, people like you and him bear the weight of your family's traditions. There are things you don't want to say, but you don't know where to begin, or how the other person will perceive you after you speak. The more precious something is, the more you fear breaking it."

The white piece between Su Yao's fingers stopped.

He looked up at Zilin, his gaze deep and calm, as if he were trying to discern something.

Zilin didn't avoid his gaze, but simply put down her teacup, a slight smile on her lips, as if she were talking about something utterly ordinary:

"You and Fellow Daoist Yang each have your own responsibilities within the Daoist tradition. As long as he himself acknowledges what methods he practices and what path he follows, what can others say?"

Su Yao stared at her for a while before putting down the white piece in his hand and placing it on the chessboard. This piece landed right in the center of the board.

"Indeed," he said softly. "All paths lead to the same source. As long as one attains the right goal, why be bound by any particular route?"

Upon hearing this, Zilin nodded slightly.

Outside the pavilion, snow was falling heavily, covering the entire Golden Ao Mountain in a pure white blanket. The two remained silent, sitting quietly opposite each other, the black and white pieces of chess intertwined on the board, and the steam from their teacups gradually dissipating.