Opening it, she saw orange-red fruits.
Li Yin said, “Thank you for the kind gesture, senior, but… I don’t really like persimmons.”
The youth paused. “Is that so.”
The girl asked, “Senior, why did you take off the mask? And sheath the sword?”
Yun Jian touched his cheek. “To get some air. It’s safer in the city; no need to carry the sword at all times.”
In truth, the black and white dual swords were too distinctive.
Who knew the girl would say, “The black and white knots are a pair, just like the swords. They look nice hanging at your waist, senior.”
After she spoke, she saw the Sword Venerable before her pause again.
He drew the sword and refastened it. “…I was handling some matters earlier; it was inconvenient to carry it.”
The girl smiled brightly. Then she heard him continue, “Actually… I only need one sword. Since this extra one is fated and you like it, why not take it?”
He offered the white sword, along with the black sword tassel on its hilt.
His lifebound sword and token of affection—he wanted to place them both in her hands.
Sword cultivators treated their swords like life; who would give them away lightly?
The girl seemed oblivious and accepted the longsword in mild surprise. The moment it entered her hand, it hummed.
The object returned to its original owner; the lifebound bond renewed.
She stroked the blade. “This sword is truly beautiful. Actually, I liked it at first sight. It couldn’t be that I knew this sword in my previous life, right?”
Li Yin intentionally said some ambiguous words. After admiring the sword, she smiled brightly at him. “Senior, what’s its name?”
Yun Jian answered, “Dustless.”
His hand rested on the black sword at his side. “This is Shadow Full.”
The girl said, “Nice names.”
Yun Jian stroked the sword tassel with his fingers, then suddenly lowered his voice. “…Little friend, do you know what these paired knots are called?”
The girl seemed not to have heard clearly. “What?”
The youth’s lips curved slightly. “Nothing.”
When the black-robed youth revealed himself and displayed the black and white swords, the people at the tea stall couldn’t help staring at the two.
High-level cultivators even erected barriers while speaking to block others’ ears. Now, though they could see the figures clearly, they couldn’t hear what he and she were saying.
The Sword Venerable often secluded himself in Sword Pavilion to guard his chastity—a fact known to any cultivator with some knowledge. But as for what the Sword Venerable actually looked like, not everyone knew. There were only rumors that he wore black robes and carried black and white dual swords.
It matched the youth before them perfectly.
However, some in the Cultivation World imitated famous cultivators’ styles, so the people at the tea stall weren’t sure if this was really the Sword Venerable.
Noticing the frequent glances and some people shifting as if to approach and ask, it wasn’t suitable to linger.
He feared she might misunderstand. If his identity as Sword Venerable was exposed, how to explain his affections?
He had sheathed the sword precisely to avoid recognition, but her two sentences had made him draw them all and hand them over.
Seeing someone about to come chat, after giving the gifts, the youth smiled faintly. “Little friend, rested enough? No time to delay; let’s continue our journey.”
His smile wasn’t exaggerated, but with his sword brows and starry eyes, handsome as jade, even a mere smile was brighter than his usual somber chastity—like a sun.
Li Yin stroked the lifebound sword back and forth, agreed, and left with him.
After leaving the city and resuming their journey, the girl suddenly said, “Senior, after taking off the mask, your temperament seems completely different. I thought you were the kind of senior who keeps strangers at arm’s length, but I didn’t expect you to look so handsome when you smile.”
She did it on purpose, but Sword Venerable Yun Jian didn’t catch on.
The youth slightly turned his face away, seemingly vigilant of the surroundings or perhaps spotting something that caught his attention. In reality, he averted his gaze so she wouldn’t see the hidden emotion at the corner of “Senior’s” eye.
“Mm.” Senior responded. Thinking of something, he turned back with a serious expression and reminded her, “When traveling alone, young friend, you must be more cautious. I gave you that gift out of affinity. If it were anyone else, don’t accept items of unknown origin so easily.”
The girl blinked and hugged the sword as she looked at him. “Senior is right, but is this sword really for me? Then your knot won’t match anymore.”
“How could it not? Black and white—even apart—they form a pair…” As he spoke, Yun Jian lightly coughed. “By the way, you like swords. If you’re also interested in sword techniques, once we reach Hidden Sword Mountain, you could consider studying there.”
The girl was surprised. “Really? I thought sect techniques were never taught to outsiders. Did Senior learn swordsmanship at Hidden Sword Mountain too?”
The youth replied, “Yes, I learned my sword arts precisely at Hidden Sword Mountain.”
Right now, he was leading her toward Hidden Sword Mountain.
Yun Jian looked into the distance toward Hidden Sword Mountain.
At his side, the kind-hearted senior seemed to mutter to himself, “Hidden Sword Mountain is a place for sword cultivators. Staying there would be safer than outside.”
Li Yin fiddled with the sword hilt. In truth, she was pondering when to perform supplementation on him and didn’t pay attention to the youth’s murmur. After playing with it enough, she finally put the sword away.
Along the way, they encountered demonic cultivators again, and Yun Jian drew his sword to deal with them.
Li Yin saw some injured people lying on the ground. She stepped forward and pressed their acupoints to help stop the bleeding.
Ordinary people, unlike cultivators, couldn’t resolve intense spiritual energy or medicinal properties. She wasn’t a medical cultivator, so she didn’t dare use spiritual medicines recklessly.
While she helped stop the bleeding, the youth finished off the demonic cultivators cleanly. Seeing many injured people and ordinary folk, he sent out a spirit message to summon aid from nearby cities.
Amid the busyness, the demonic cultivators’ corpses lay nearby. The blood soul shattered by the sword spilled across the ground. Suddenly, those liquids stirred and boiled, exploding outward like thorns in all directions.
It happened abruptly. The girl was a step slow, but the Black-Clothed Sword Cultivator stepped forward first. He blocked with his sword and then counterattacked swiftly. In the blink of an eye, his sword intent swept through, reducing everything to nothing.
Li Yin slowly regained her senses and immediately felt restrained.
The youth held his sword in one hand and extended the other across her front, gripping her shoulder tightly and pressing her back into his embrace as if to lock her in place.
His chest heaved forcefully against her back, pressed so tightly there were no gaps. His breathing was heavy, perhaps from a racing heart.
His sword intent was sharp and murderous. Whether it was the demonic cultivators’ corpses or the spilled blood soul, everything was utterly destroyed. The wet, cold, sticky stench of blood lingered, making it hard to breathe.
After a moment, seeing the girl dazed and unresponsive, the youth suddenly released his grip. “Sorry, I didn’t scare you, did I? Demonic cultivators are truly detestable. I got anxious and couldn’t control my strength.”
“No, it’s fine.” Li Yin inexplicably felt that he seemed scared of something too.
Unable to discern the source of his fear, the Player stayed vigilant.
Little Junior Brother probably still couldn’t accept demonic cultivators. If she revealed her demonic cultivator identity, would he turn his sword on her too?
She fell silent amid her hesitation. The sudden event had left the nearby commoners too frightened to speak.
Moments later, the relief team arrived and handled the ordinary people’s evacuation. The youth broke the silence.
“Calamity Birth Mansion’s methods are insidious. I’m not at ease. Young friend, were you injured just now? I’m worried about hidden poisons or covert evil arts.”
“This…” Li Yin looked down at herself. There were indeed some scrapes, probably from the blast. “Does Senior want to check for me?”
She naturally extended her hand, and the youth gently lifted her fingers, examining them carefully.
He applied medicine again. Once the small wounds healed, he cast a cleansing spell, meticulously cleaning her hand, her cheeks, and her hair before stopping.
A spiritual breeze brushed her face. Li Yin looked up at him. “Senior is truly meticulous.”
The youth smiled faintly, his lips pursed. “As long as you don’t find me troublesome.”
Rather than meticulous, he was overly cautious. Whenever something unusual happened on the road, the youth would instruct her first. “I’ll go check. Wait here for me.”
Li Yin had no intention of getting involved. In truth, she was conflicted about whether to perform supplementation on him.
That sense of restraint was genuine. He was watching her too closely, making her vaguely sense something amiss.
She felt that if they truly headed north to Hidden Sword Mountain with him, he probably wouldn’t let her leave again.
Li Yin paced back and forth in conflict. As she pondered, she tentatively walked a short distance away. A golden little sword silently followed her.
Senior Sister.
Little Senior Sister.
“Young friend…” Soon, the youth followed her footprints, parting the branches to reveal a bright, smiling face. “Why did you walk ahead alone? It’s dangerous outside. Don’t stray too far from me.”
His expression was one of pure concern, his smile bathed in the tree shade.
“Mm, I just… seemed to see a butterfly fly by, so I came to look.” Li Yin glanced around.
“Is that so.” The youth’s smile didn’t change as he scanned the surroundings. He did spot some butterflies.
The butterflies danced by the water, flitting up and down along the stream—nothing unusual. His gaze swept over and landed on Little Senior Sister. “Shall we continue on our way?”
The girl didn’t respond.
Realizing he had been pursuing too closely, Yun Jian relaxed a bit. “The scenery here is nice indeed. If you want to rest a while, young friend, that’s fine too.”
“Mm.” Li Yin found a piece of bluestone to sit and rest on, sorting out the situation. The youth stood nearby, hugging his sword to guard her.
Sword Venerable Yun Jian, Little Junior Brother—she was a bit worried that if she really performed supplementation, she might not be able to extricate herself afterward without trouble.
The stream rippled gently amid butterflies of various colors, the butterflies dancing in the serene environment. With matters weighing on her mind and butterflies flying about, when a green one approached, she subconsciously raised her hand.
The green butterfly steadily landed on her fingertip and fluttered its wings.
A green butterfly felt more reassuring than the Purple Butterfly.
Li Yin had just thought that when the butterfly on her fingertip stirred.
Its shades of green suddenly dissolved into floating light, scattering like windblown mist. Amid the floating light, a man’s pale fingertip appeared. In an instant, from fingertip to pale wrist bone, a hand fully materialized and clamped down on her wrist.
The floating light vanished in a flash as the Purple Butterfly transformed. A familiar voice, mixed with crisp bell tones, echoed chillingly.
“Caught… you.”