Chapter 28: How Much Longer?

Zora returned to the Fallen Stone Forest to find Zhou Shijin present, playing chess in the courtyard with a man. Seeing Zora return, she looked up and smiled. "How was it? How is that Vane doing?"

"He can come out tomorrow."

Zora looked at the white-clad man sitting across from her master, seemingly trying to recall if she had ever seen him before.

Seeing the dull look on her friend's disciple, Si Shaoyu couldn't help but speak up with an amused, leisurely tone: "I heard my disciple Song Zhihuai finally managed to make a friend, so I came to see which kind soul was willing to take him in."

Zhou Shijin said casually, "This is Immortal Si Shaoyu. He holds no specific office; he's the master of your teammate, Song Zhihuai."

Zora nodded. "Immortal Si."

Then she simply stood there, staring at him.

Si Shaoyu wore a beaming smile.

Zora remained expressionless.

"..."

"..."

Zhou Shijin placed a stone, looked up, and said to Si Shaoyu, "Are you done looking? —That’s what my disciple is saying."

Si Shaoyu maintained his smile as he looked at Zhou Shijin. "?"

After a long moment, he finally said, "Alright."

Zora walked back into the house to drink water, then headed to the woods to practice her sword.

As the sun set in the west, she retracted her sword and returned to the courtyard, slightly out of breath. The Immortal Si had long since departed, leaving only Zhou Shijin, who had reset the chessboard. The orange glow of the dusk draped over her like a thin veil, gilding her in warm gold.

Just as Zora was about to pass by completely, Zhou Shijin suddenly spoke: "Zora."

The girl stopped.

"Don't you dare start falling for Song Zhihuai," she said with a smile on her lips. "That is your master's advice. He is destined to walk the Path of Heartlessness. His master, Si Shaoyu, was not originally a Heartless cultivator. It was his parents who, while he was away slaying demons, secretly killed his wife to vacate the position so he could marry a woman who would benefit the family."

"In the eyes of his family, Si Shaoyu was merely a tool. They even secretly turned innocent concubines' children and commoners into medicinal conduits and blood primers; the only reason they let Si Shaoyu cultivate was to make his heart-blood purer, planning to cut open his chest once he reached the Core Formation stage."

"Everything was because their family head lacked spiritual roots and desired longevity. So Si Shaoyu killed his kin, wiped out his stagnant clansmen, but ultimately he is a kind cultivator who rids the people of evil. Killing was not a release but a deeper torture. He is tormented by pain every day, and to avoid falling into the Demonic Path, he chose to sever his emotions and enter the Path of Heartlessness."

"The Path of Heartlessness doesn't mean having no joy or sorrow, but those feelings are shallow. They cannot give, nor can they afford, anything deeper. They simply spend their lives following their Dao unto death."

Secret mysteries of years past were spoken by her in a nonchalant tone. Although Zhou Shijin could see that her disciple's servant, Vane, showed signs of a "young man's longing," her disciple was as steady as a rock, completely unmoved. As a master, she naturally worried that Zora might fall for the wrong person.

After all, "liking" someone doesn't necessarily require entering their heart or experiencing some world-shattering ordeal; it doesn't need a powerful reason at all. Sometimes, if it's that person, a single hand-hold, a gift, or even a greeting is enough.

However, when she lifted her eyes, she saw that the confusion on Zora's face was nearly overflowing. Zora had never liked anyone; in the Arena, she had only seen people seeking fleeting flings and momentary pleasure.

Zora asked seriously, "How can I tell if I like someone?"

Zhou Shijin waved her hand. "You'll naturally know once you've fallen for someone."

"Is it having the desire to be intimate with them?"

"Not necessarily," Zhou Shijin responded leisurely, completely unfazed by the girl's bluntness. "Appetite and lust are human nature."

Zora, who had never read that phrase before, nodded. In any case, she still had a mission... right, the mission. She realized she had been so absorbed in cultivation lately that she had almost forgotten the conquest mission. Besides stopping the villain from destroying the world, there was a conquest task.

She needed to be a good master and conquer him quickly. At this thought, she decided to check on Vane's injuries to see if he could return to his post as soon as possible.

"Here, Junior Brother Vane. Two hundred spirit stones."

In the laundry, the disciple recorded the account without looking up and handed him a set of new female clothing. Vane placed the spirit stones on the table and returned to his residence, only to find Zora and Turi Qi in the courtyard outside the Golden Wave Hall.

Zora had intended to see how Vane was doing, but encountered Turi Qi on the way. Turi Qi mentioned they had already accepted a mission in Ning'an County—the same place as last time—to train their team's rapport. Following Turi Qi’s one-sided chatter, they had arrived at the Golden Wave Hall.

Vane pondered for a moment. "Tomorrow?"

Turi Qi nodded. "Yes. But tomorrow, people from Drunken Man’s Bay are coming to the sect to check on the teams participating in the Great Competition, since this year's competition is being held there. So I might have to ask Junior Sister Zora and Junior Brother Vane to wait for me."

"I see."

Turi Qi then departed, leaving only the two of them. After staring at each other in silence for a while, Zora said, "Are you better?"

"Yes."

Zora patted his shoulder. "Then you can continue being a servant."

"Mhm..."

The next day, he arrived as usual. Passing through the Fallen Stone Forest in the early morning, he met Zhou Shijin, who said in surprise, "You're better?"

Vane gave a salute. "Yes, Immortal Zhou."

"..." She gave him a meaningful look. "A truly dedicated servant. Go on then."

He wasn't oblivious to the teasing in her voice, but he gave another composed salute and headed to Zora's residence. After a long-awaited hair-combing—ox-horn buns at the sides with the rest of the black hair loose—Zora noticed him finally inserting a hairpin into her hair. She touched it; it felt like the old one, so she didn't pay it much mind.

Since they had to wait for Turi Qi, the four of them decided to wait outside the hall. When they reached the Hall of Immortal Pursuit, only a few people were waiting.

Yiling Ke walked over, looking toward the horizon. "I heard the visitors are extremely obnoxious. Many disciples didn't want to come to welcome them."

Turi Qi stood at the very front alongside the Sect Leader; He Songning was also there, though he stood far apart. Zora stared at the Sect Leader's profile for a while; she looked like a kindly old grandmother.

Hearing Yiling Ke's words, a disciple curled his lip. "More than just obnoxious. He’s been out there saying our December Sect is a name without substance, that we're in decline. He’s been shooting his mouth off everywhere. I don't know what Drunken Man’s Bay is thinking, always sending him."

Yiling Ke, filled with sect pride, fumed, "Then we ought to give him a good thrashing!"

"Right! And he’s the one who made Senior Brother He..." Before the disciple could finish, silhouettes appeared in the distance.

A man looking like a refined gentleman arrived atop the mist, a smile on his lips, as gentle as a spring breeze. Fang Lijia first saluted the Sect Leader: "Sect Leader Ling."

...

The Sect Leader and the others had already entered the Hall of Immortal Pursuit. The bored Yiling Ke chattered for a long while, but the responses she got were all dry. She looked at her remaining teammates.

Frosty Song Zhihuai.

Taciturn Vane.

Zora, who couldn't hold a conversation.

"..." She turned back around with an unchanged expression.

Hmph.

With Yiling Ke silenced, Zora spaced out for a moment, only to catch a sudden, muffled snort of laughter by her ear.

"?" She turned around. It was the cold He Songning, his expression indifferent. She turned back. Then she heard another tiny sound of suppressed laughter.

Zora: "??"

Zora asked directly: "Senior Brother He, are you laughing?"

He Songning's face remained calm. "No."

Vane shot a glance over. Zora turned back again. She didn't hear any more strange sounds because He Songning had moved away from them, standing at the very edge of the group.

Once Turi Qi finished her business, the five of them headed to Ning'an County. Having heard about the matter with He Songning, she sighed. "It's because Senior Brother He used to be a cheerful person who loved to laugh."

Sitting behind Turi Qi, Yiling Ke gasped. "Who are you talking about!"

"He just laughed too much..." Turi Qi said euphemistically. He Songning’s sense of humor was incomprehensibly low; if someone pointed at a mushroom and said "mushroom," he could start laughing.

"Until that Fang Lijia grew tired of it and said bluntly that he was quite repulsive. No one in our sect had ever spoken to him so harshly. Senior Brother He went home and had a good cry that day. Ever since, he has stayed away from crowds and never laughs anymore."

Zora thought for a moment. "How do you know he went home and cried?"

Turi Qi was euphemistic once more: "Because the next day, Senior Brother He's eyes were red and swollen... he forgot to use spiritual power to clear it."

"..." Yiling Ke opened her mouth several times but couldn't find the words.

Song Zhihuai, listening with great excitement, flew on his sword with his hands behind his back. Wanting to join the conversation, he said, "Since then, Senior Brother He has been single-minded, and his cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds."

Turi Qi: "..."

They arrived at Ning'an County and slayed the demons in the wild one by one. While dodging a demon's attack, Zora's hem was sliced, though she successfully avoided the blow. As she flipped through the air, a spear thrust past her hem, crushing the demon's skull.

Since some demons would only emerge on the night of the full moon the following day, they found an inn in the county to rest. Zora sat alone in her room. Being in the mortal realm made her want to eat something sweet. Vane, who should have gone to buy it for her, was in the next room, but when she went in, he wasn't there.

She decided to go herself. Ning'an County at night was very lively. she bought a bag of osmanthus cakes and ate as she walked. Near a stall selling women's head ornaments, a familiar silhouette made Zora stop in her tracks.

...

Vane had repainted the old hairpin with fresh colors. Since he was down the mountain today, it was the perfect time to buy a new one. Before painting the old one, he had first found a piece of immortal wood and carved the base of a hairpin. He originally didn't know how to do such things, but he was too clever; after a few tries, he had mastered some of the tricks.

A nearly finished flower was nestled in his palm. When the sunset glow hit it, the youth suddenly stopped.

...What was this? Doing something like this without even thinking—it was loathsome.

The youth's eyes darkened instantly, and he crushed the immortal wood into powder in his palm. He didn't know what he was frustrated about, but he refused to carve it personally. After reaching the inn, he walked out and stood before the dazzling array of hairpins and ornaments.

With his eyes lowered, ignoring the vendor's flattery, Vane looked from shop to stall, feeling all these ornaments were crudely made; she wouldn't be satisfied. Stopping before yet another stall, he scanned the various vulgar hairpins without a word. Just as he was about to leave, a faint scent of osmanthus cakes drifted from his side. Looking over, he saw Zora swallowing a bite of food, her slightly puffed cheek smoothing out. She was staring at the hairpins with a calm face.

"What are you doing?"

"..." For some reason, he didn't want to tell the truth. But after a pause, the youth still said, "Your hairpin was old. I'm buying a new one."

Old? Zora stuffed the remaining cakes into his hands; Vane instinctively caught them. She reached up and removed the hairpin from her hair. The color of the daisy seemed deeper, looking brand new compared to before. She didn't see where it was old.

However, since he was being so proactive as to fill in the gaps for his master, Zora thought of the conquest mission.

Does this mean the servant is becoming more sincere?

She asked the Oracle.

"Oracle, what counts as a successful conquest?"

The Oracle, having no idea about her master-servant context, answered in real-time: [Naturally, it's when his every thought is of you! His heart and eyes are full of you! He is willing to live for you and die for you—his whole person and heart are yours!]

Mhm... I see.

Zora picked out a flower hairpin at random. "Then this one."

The vendor immediately began to heap praise on her taste and appearance. Vane paid. Seeing that the hairpin Zora inserted was a bit crooked, he instinctively raised his hand to help. His warm fingertips inevitably brushed against her cool knuckles. Vane’s lashes flickered for an instant, but his hand followed through, helping her insert the new hairpin into her hair.

The style he had found vulgar a moment ago suddenly looked so beautiful on her head.

He let go. Zora tilted her head up to stare at his face and asked sincerely, "Since you can proactively buy me ornaments now without me commanding you, how much longer until you take it a step further? More proactive? More obedient? Thinking what I think?"

"...What?"

Vane was slightly dazed, looking at her fair face under the warm lights.

Zora repeated, "When will you reach the point where you are thinking of me every second, doing what I want to do, proactively doing what I want—not just because of the Master-Servant Covenant, but out of true loyalty?"

If the Oracle were awake, it would have screamed, "You're going about this the wrong way!" Unfortunately, after answering, it had gone to sleep with the happy thought that "The host is finally being proactive!"—tossed aside by Zora after use.

"...Thinking of you every second..." He repeated it deliberately, his dark eyes reflecting the flickering lantern light. Vane stared at her for a moment, then suddenly turned his head to look at the ground beside them, pursing his lips before looking back at her with a seemingly relaxed smile. "As long as there's the Master-Servant Covenant, you don't have to worry."

Zora wore an expression of "did you not understand me?": "No. I want you to be like this even without the covenant, even more loyal, with your heart and eyes full of me." She recalled the situation and felt she had been a very kind and merciful master, so now the servant just needed to work hard.

"..."

She was too direct. The smile on the youth's lips gradually dissolved, his mouth pulling into a straight line. Shedding his gentle disguise, his expression was entirely still, carrying an innate ferocity. He asked, "Why."

Why did she insist on him taking it further?

Zora was confused. "Because I want to."

Vane's knuckles tightened abruptly. He naturally wouldn't make a fool of himself by thinking she had any feelings for him. Because the girl's eyes were as clear as a mirror, containing no trace of sticky emotion—open, matter-of-fact, almost innocent.

She looked at him as calmly as the first time they met, as if he were no different from the grass and flowers on the ground. Yet she asked for his heart and loyalty, wanting to occupy his every thought. This was humiliation, a top-down cruelty. He should have smiled and agreed in pretense, while hating her a bit more in his heart.

But as the youth looked at her, it was as if another person had crawled into his skull and crushed it; all his thoughts came to a halt. The desire to loathe her remained stuck at the stage of "desire," unable to be implemented. Thus, that poisonous, thick hatred and disgust had nowhere to vent, turning back upon himself instead. It made him want to eradicate his current self immediately, to slaughter the self that was acting this way, to vent, to prove something.

Unaware, she continued, "Do I need a reason? So, how much longer until you're like that?"

Vane opened his lips. He thought he would pretend and say "right now," but instead he heard his own voice say, "...I don't know."

As the words fell, his heart contracted sharply. Without using spiritual power, he experienced the hallucination of the death-warning from the cave days ago.

Zora nodded and urged him seriously, "Then remember to be a bit faster."

She then walked toward the inn, brushing past him. Her sleeve swept across the youth's stiff hand. It was cold. That chill gradually climbed upward, seeping into his marrow.

He left her completely unmoved.

Yet he stood there alone, his mind in a tempest, unable to find the reason he had become like this, unable to fathom her thoughts. He had thought he was different from those of the Demon Realm, yet he was just as lowly.

The fragmented chatter of passersby was loud, while the spear within his storage bag let out a trembling hum.