Chapter 33: Farewell

Two months later.

Outside Changning City, a small village named Gu Family Village welcomed the first light snow of the year.

The world was dressed in pristine white, as if dusted with crystalline grains of salt. Each breath exhaled by the villagers turned into a plume of white mist. Beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance, a parting was taking place.

"Take care on your journey."

Yu Xian hugged Chen Yi, whispering softly in her ear. Today was the day Chen Yi and Chen Xiao were setting off for the world of immortality. They should have left days ago, but the departure had been delayed again and again. Now, with the first snow falling, if they didn't leave, they would miss the safest window to cross the Sea of Death.

The region separating the Yue Kingdom from the world of immortality was known as the Sea of Death. It was not a sea, but an endless, vast desert, hiding dangers that were fatal to ordinary people: quicksand, sandstorms, sand beasts, venomous insects, scorching heat, and water scarcity.

When he had crossed the Sea of Death himself, he had exhausted every spirit stone he had saved up in the cultivation world, which was why he had arrived in the Yue Kingdom penniless. Even a martial artist at the mid-stage of the Innate Realm like Chen Xiao was no more than an ant when faced with the forces of nature, with no way to resist.

Take the most vital necessity in the desert: water. No matter how strong Chen Xiao’s martial arts were, he could not conjure water, but a cultivator could. Even a first-layer Qi Condensation practitioner like Chen Yi, as long as she had mastered the Lesser Cloud and Rain Spell, could summon clouds and bring rain. Even a rain cloud less than thirty centimeters wide could save a life.

Over the past two months, under the guise of teaching her "sect techniques," Yu Xian had taught Chen Yi spiritual arts such as the Lesser Cloud and Rain Spell. Chen Yi proved worthy of her aptitude. Although performing spiritual arts in a mundane environment consumed a vast amount of mana and was far less effective than in the world of immortality, she had still managed to perform them with reasonable skill. Only aggressive spiritual arts like the Fireball Spell required too much mana, draining her entire reserve in one go, which made practice ineffective.

"Keep these things close to your person; they may save your life when necessary."

Beyond the spiritual arts, he gave Chen Yi three spirit talismans he had obtained from the Lin family cultivators—a Lightness Talisman, a Stealth Talisman, and a Blazing Flame Talisman. The first two could be used repeatedly, while the latter was a one-time use item, but its power was equivalent to a full-force strike from a peak Qi Condensation cultivator. It had been the Lin family cultivator's trump card for survival, one he never had the chance to use. Lastly, he gave her two spirit stones. His bond with the Chen siblings had begun because of these very stones; now, it was a return to their rightful owner.

"Okay..."

Chen Yi held Yu Xian tightly, whispering softly, unwilling to let go for a long time. Eventually, she pulled away and stepped back a few paces. Looking at Yu Xian, who was smiling at her with such gentleness, she recalled the last six months they had spent together; it felt longer than the first half of her life combined. Biting her lip, she took one last deep look at him, said nothing, and climbed into the carriage.

"Brother-in-law, safe travels. The poison in your system has no cure in the mortal realm, but it is nothing in the world of immortality. I hope we have the chance to meet again."

Yu Xian waved at Chen Xiao, offering his well-wishes.

Chen Xiao spat on the ground and retorted, "Don't you worry, I'll be living just fine! We're off, no need to see us any further."

"Giddy up!"

Chen Xiao cracked his whip. The wheels began to turn, carving two long, thin ruts into the earth that stretched toward the invisible horizon.

"Master, Sister Yi wanted to stay. If you had just said one word, she wouldn't have left."

Yulan, her entire body tucked into a hooded fox-fur cloak, leaving only her small, rosy face exposed, spoke up. As a woman, though she was sometimes naive, she was highly sensitive to matters of the heart. She knew Chen Yi had fallen for her master, and a woman would do anything for the man she loved.

Yu Xian brushed the white fur on Yulan’s hood and laughed. "You’re even speaking up for your rival? Your Sister Yi is much smarter than you. If I only favored her in the end, I'd cast you far away."

"Hey, now that you put it that way, I'm starting to regret it. Should I go chase her back?"

"Don't!" Yulan hurriedly tried to stop him, but seeing the playful glint in Yu Xian's eyes, she grew annoyed and bumped her head into his chest. "Master, you only know how to tease me—"

Yu Xian laughed heartily, pinching Yulan's chilled cheeks. "Alright, it's cold out here. Go inside. If you catch a cold, who will look after me?"

Yu Xian took Yulan’s hand and walked slowly back into the village. His reason for not asking Chen Yi to stay was simple: he could not afford the burden. The cultivation resources he currently possessed were nothing even in the world of immortality, let alone the mortal realm. If he were to keep Chen Yi, he could not treat her as just another ordinary woman—he could have as many of those as he wanted without investing so much of his heart.

So, Chen Yi had to leave. Either she would emerge as a butterfly from her cocoon in the world of immortality, or she would perish. It was cold, and it was cruel.

...

In the departing carriage, Chen Xiao felt a growing, inexplicable restlessness. He yanked the reins, slowing the carriage down.

"Yi, if you really love that guy, we can turn back. Compared to the elusive world of immortality, your happiness is more important."

Inside the carriage, Chen Yi stroked an amber-colored yellow-skin wine gourd—the very one Yu Xian rarely kept from his side. It was the last gift he had given her, claiming that since her cultivation was low and the journey long, her body wouldn't be able to handle the strain, and a sip now and then would keep her warm and healthy.

"Brother, there's no need," Chen Yi said softly. "This is my own choice, and I won't regret it even if it means death. I don't want to be a man's subordinate for the rest of my life; I want to live for myself."

If he had said the word to stay, she would have stayed, but she also knew she would have regretted it. This was the freedom he gave her, and it was his form of love.

"He always says I'm a genius," Chen Yi added, her voice suddenly lighter. "If I truly am a genius, once I reach the world of immortality, I will cultivate diligently. When I become the great cultivator he speaks of, I will come back for him. Then he will be mine alone, and no one will be able to take him away!"

Hearing his sister's spirits lift, Chen Xiao felt his own mood improve, though he couldn't resist a jab. "It's not as if all the men in the world are dead; why are you fixated on an old man? Once you reach the cultivation world, there will be no shortage of young talents. I'll pick someone better for you then, just to spite him!"

At that moment, he had completely forgotten his earlier promise to Yu Xian to look after his sister.

Chen Yi giggled, imagining the scene. "That's right. Maybe by then he'll be so old his teeth will have fallen out. I'll bring a young, handsome man in front of him and ask if he regrets not keeping me that day."

Chen Xiao grew interested. "Haha, I’d love to see what he looks like then, and what words that sharp tongue of his will spit out."

"Even if he’s so old that his teeth fall out, I’m still going to marry him!" Chen Yi said earnestly. "I will become his wife—his true wife!"

Chen Xiao: "..."

*Damn it, what kind of love potion did that old brat feed my sister?*