Chapter 43

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Chapter 43: Title

"Young as you are, Qingshang—do you grasp what true affection means? Is distant admiration love? Is humble respect, rigid courtesy, love?"

"To you, I’m merely ‘senior brother’—a title that barely held a place in your heart. Had another held this role, it would be the same. This isn’t love."

"You blur these boundaries, confusing reverence with deeper feeling. I’ll disregard your earlier words. Reflect carefully hereafter: discover where your heart truly lies."

Mu Rongyan’s words echoed as Ye Qingshang gripped her teacup, heart adrift.

She had always thought she loved Mu Rongyan. She judged by looks and believed he was the one she wanted since their first meeting in her past life. Over many years, his kind and perfect treatment only made that belief stronger.

She did not realize that putting someone high up, untouchable and flawless, was not true love.

The tea was cold now, and as she thought, she remembered Qiu Huayi’s words.

"Liking someone… is probably when you see him, you feel happy, worried, and have feelings that aren’t your own; all your thoughts come from that person."

If her joy and worries came from him, it seemed her feelings for Mu Rongyan were not as deep as she thought. She was cold by nature, at least outwardly; except for Qiu Huayi, she treated everyone else the same.

No, there was one person who was different. Her feelings for Mu Huaiyun had always been…

From their first meeting in this life, they were tied together for many reasons. To use her spiritual power, she accepted Mu Huaiyun despite his "villain" name from her past life, and she even used a technique on both.

If it were someone else, not Mu Huaiyun, would she have done the same?

Maybe… her old ideas from her past life made her miss many things. She wrongly thought Mu Huaiyun stayed the same and was why he got hurt step by step.

Actually, Mu Huaiyun had shared his feelings long ago. Back then, she did not trust him and never thought of love; she rarely cared about his thoughts and would not or could not understand them.

Now, she could not even see her own heart.

"Mu Huaiyun…"

Ye Qingshang said his name slowly, and it felt like something pricked her fingertips, making her pull her hand back fast.

The pain in her heart grew sharper.

"Why are you crying? Who hurt you?" The talk from that day rang in her mind.

She pressed her finger to her heart.

No, no one had hurt her; she was just sad for Mu Huaiyun. She had put him in her heart without knowing, and it took root. Yet she did not get it or believe it, and in the end, she hurt the one she cared about deeply, leaving nothing.

What friendship, what misunderstanding… Ye Qingshang, oh Ye Qingshang, you are truly so annoying.

She closed her eyes, tears as if soaking into her, taking away the last warmth in her heart, her cries hidden under the sky.

Clearly, she could have stepped into happiness, but at the last moment, she pulled back, staying on the edge of the mist, not willing to move. That wrong step led to deep longing that lasted forever.

Four years later.

"Wow, senior sister, you are amazing!"

"Is this a spiritual weapon? I want one too!"

People gathered below the high stage, praising her over and over.

The senior sister they talked about stood tall on the stage, swinging her long sword to make a very pretty move, her actions sharp and graceful, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Then, with a light tap of her finger, the long sword came down gently, landing steady beside her.

"Qianyu’s spiritual power was strong. In the sect, there were limits on moves, so I could only show this much. Did you all see clearly?"

The crowd moved closer, "We saw clearly. Thank you for teaching us, senior sister."

"Alright, this ends today’s last lesson on spiritual weapons. If there are no more questions, you may go."

"Yes."

After the disciples left, Qiu Huayi came over from nearby. "A’shang."

"Are you tired?" Qiu Huayi wiped the light sweat from her forehead with a silk cloth.

"It was just a few sword techniques demonstrated; it wasn’t tiring."

Over the past four years, Ye Qingshang’s cultivation had advanced significantly. She became more skilled with spiritual weapons than she had been in her previous life as a grandmaster. For this reason, the sect leader chose her to teach the new disciples. Previously, such teaching was solely the responsibility of the elders, but Ye Qingshang was an exception, a great honor.

Although she had lost her spiritual power, it was precisely this loss that led her to discover how to awaken the intelligence of spiritual weapons during her four years of cultivation. Earlier, when Yin Huai captured her, it was Qianyu’s newly awakened intelligence that used its spiritual power to save her.

Now that she lacked her own spiritual power, she relied on Qianyu’s intelligence to draw upon its power. Though it was somewhat troublesome, it at least preserved her former glory, preventing her from feeling like a useless person who couldn’t even use spiritual power for those four years.

"That’s good to hear. A’shang, a month ago my master took on the responsibility of guarding the Sparrow Prison Tower. In a few days, I want to go see him, so I can’t accompany you. While I’m away, take good care of yourself."

The Sparrow Prison Tower… Ye Qingshang hadn’t heard that name in a long time. Suddenly, memories of events from her past life flashed through her mind.

At that time, she had been about as strong as she was now. While still in the sect, she heard alarming news: the top of the Sparrow Prison Tower had been damaged, and many monsters had escaped in the chaos.

The monsters imprisoned in the Sparrow Prison Tower were either those who hadn’t committed major crimes and still had a chance to repent, or those so powerful that even the ten major sects couldn’t kill them and could only imprison them. But regardless of the type, if these monsters escaped in groups, they would cause varying degrees of damage to the cultivation world.

The Sparrow Prison Tower was traditionally guarded by elders from various sects on rotation, so such a breach was unexpected. It shocked Ye Qingshang. But the situation was urgent, and repairing the tower couldn’t be delayed. She had to act as the vanguard, repairing the tower and suppressing the monsters within.

The materials needed for the repair were of the highest quality: spiritual weapons with water and wood attributes. There weren’t many such spiritual weapons on the ranking list. Second on the list was Moon’s Shadow, and first was Qianyu. Therefore, she and Mu Huaiyun worked together to repair the Sparrow Prison Tower. But then, he withdrew his support midway…

"A’shang, A’shang? What are you thinking about? Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, I heard." She recalled the dangers of repairing the Sparrow Prison Tower in her past life. Even though she knew they hadn’t happened yet, she still felt a pang of fear. She said, "That place is dangerous. I’ll go with you."

"Dangerous? But isn’t there an elder guarding the Sparrow Prison Tower? Besides my master, there’s also an elder from the Yunshan Sect. A’shang, don’t worry about me. I’ll return in ten days, okay?"

Ye Qingshang replied, "The Sparrow Prison Tower holds many monsters, and among them are those that can manipulate minds. If you are affected, it’s extremely hard to recover. Since I have nothing else to do, I’ll accompany you."

Seeing Ye Qingshang so insistent, Qiu Huayi stopped refusing. "Alright then, thank you, A’shang."