Gu Chengming, for his part, had no idea what was going through Elder Yu's mind.
The two of them exchanged a few more pleasantries at the courtyard gate — or rather, Yu Wenqiu spent the time pressuring him for the next installment — before she finally tore herself away and said her goodbyes.
Just before leaving, she fixed him with a stare from those normally languid phoenix eyes, her expression so grave it was as if she were entrusting him with some classified sect secret:
"The moment it's finished, bring it to me first. Do not forget. Do not forget!"
Gu Chengming smiled and nodded, watching the elder dissolve into a streak of escape light and vanish into the sky.
.....
After that, life settled back into its familiar rhythm — monotonous and fulfilling in equal measure, a steady triangle of three fixed points.
Morning sword practice. Afternoon body tempering. Late into the night, brush in hand, spilling ink across paper.
But lately, Gu Chengming had been getting a strange feeling.
The feeling that someone was watching him.
It was faint — so faint it was nearly impossible to pin down. Not the sharp, hostile lock-on of a killing intent, but a vague, drifting gaze. It began during his sword practice, and later crept into his body-tempering sessions as well.
"Am I imagining things?"
He stopped what he was doing and frowned. The courtyard was perfectly still. A few birds swept past the treetops, their calls bright and clean in the quiet air.
He searched. Found nothing. And after a while, he let it go.
What he didn't know was this: a hundred zhang away, hidden deep in the canopy of an ancient towering tree, layered branches and leaves concealing him completely —
— an old man leaned against the trunk, his silhouette blending seamlessly into the night. He wore a battered bamboo hat and a rough cloth robe patched in several places, with a dark-red wine gourd hanging at his waist.
The unnamed old man lifted the gourd and took a long swig, his clouded, aged eyes flickering with a trace of surprise.
"Hm?"
He smacked his lips, savoring the sharp burn of cheap spirits, his gaze never once leaving the small courtyard below.
"This kid... actually sensed me?"
He hadn't gone out of his way to conceal himself with any profound technique, but nor was this something a trivial First Realm junior should have been able to perceive.
That moment when the boy had turned his head — it had clearly been instinct. A gut feeling of some kind.
"Interesting."
That kind of instinct didn't come from the divine sense. It felt more like it came from... the sword.
"Could it be Lucid Sword-Heart?"
Lucid Sword-Heart — a state of being acutely alert to any disturbance, a kind of intuition native to the sword path itself.
The old man wasn't certain whether the boy had truly achieved Lucid Sword-Heart, but the thought alone made him privately admit: this time, he might have stumbled onto something extraordinary.
Truth be told, if he had wanted to approach Gu Chengming, he could have shown himself long ago.
The reason he had held back this long was twofold.
First, he needed to assess the boy's character. Talent was one thing; character was another matter entirely. If the boy turned out to be crooked at heart, then no matter how gifted he was, the old man wouldn't spare him a second glance.
Second, he had to be careful of the old fogies inside Wenjian Sect. He was an outsider, after all. Approaching a disciple without warning could easily ripple the sect's grand formation — or catch the attention of those elders who had nothing better to do than snoop around.
He'd need to wait for the right moment.
The old man's gaze drifted toward the direction of Wenjian Sect's main peak.
"Wait a few days until that disciple examination kicks off. The grand formation will be running at full capacity, people everywhere, chaos all around — all those old fossils scrambling to poach the best seedlings. That's when I make my move."
Still, a note of urgency had crept into his chest.
A few days ago, he'd seen with his own eyes a young sword cultivator in a blue robe come calling on the boy.
The visitor had disguised his face and suppressed his cultivation, but the old man had seen straight through the act — Third Realm elder, no question.
"That blue-robed fellow was grinning ear to ear when he left. Must've gotten what he came for."
The old man let out a slow sigh and knocked back another mouthful of wine.
"Seems this uncut jade isn't buried quite as deep as I thought. Others are already starting to notice. I'd better move quickly — or this duck I've been eyeing is going to fly right off my plate."
.....
About a week passed.
One afternoon, as the final stroke of the brush came down, Gu Chengming exhaled a long breath and set the writing brush back on its rest.
The second part of the storybook — finished at last.
Almost the instant he put down the brush, the familiar panel flickered into existence in his mind, accompanied by a pleasant chime.
[The Qingxin Formula observed your creative process in its entirety, and expresses tremendous admiration for the plotline in this volume concerning 'inner demons and the true self.']
[It believes your portrayal of the inner state touches upon something essential. Though your brushwork is still shallow, the underlying vision runs deep.]
[Current Affection: 30 (Friendly)]
[Congratulations! Your relationship with the "Qingxin Formula" has advanced from 'Stranger' to 'Friendly.']
[Reward Granted: Spirit +2]
[Spirit Attribute increased: 12 → 14]
[Status Acquired: Crystalline Mind (Permanent Passive)]
Gu Chengming felt a soft hum resonate through his head.
A wave of icy-cool clarity swept through his entire body in an instant. The mind that had grown somewhat foggy from sustained creative work sharpened to a degree it had never reached before.
He glanced at the attribute panel.
[Spirit: 14 (Crystalline Mind: Enhanced cognitive speed; increased resistance to illusions and mental attacks; improved efficiency in comprehending cultivation methods)]
Gu Chengming blinked in mild surprise.
The Huiyuan Sword Art hadn't rewarded a status-type buff until Adoration — and here was the Qingxin Formula handing one out at Friendly?
Rich benefactor energy, through and through.
In high spirits, Gu Chengming gathered the freshly written manuscript into a bundle and, carrying this weighty "tribute," set off for the Hidden Sword Pavilion.
.....
Wenjian Sect. Hidden Sword Pavilion.
Behind the counter, Yu Wenqiu had been idly spinning a jade slip between her fingers when something seemed to catch her attention. Her head snapped up at once, eyes lighting up.
"Gu —"
She caught herself. Other disciples were still present in the pavilion. She wrestled her excitement back down with visible effort, though her faintly trembling fingers gave away everything she was trying to hide.
Gu Chengming caught her meaning immediately. He stepped forward and patted the front of his robes without expression, signaling that he had the goods.
"Ahem."
Yu Wenqiu cleared her throat, rose to her feet, and turned to the young female disciple diligently sorting through scrolls beside her.
"Xiao Lan, watch the counter for me. I have some... important business to attend to, and need to take this disciple back to my chambers for a detailed discussion."
The disciple called Xiao Lan lifted her head, revealing a pretty face carrying the weary, long-suffering expression of someone who had seen this scene play out one too many times.
She looked at Yu Wenqiu. She looked at Gu Chengming. Her eyes spoke volumes: Elder, you're skipping out on duty again.
But under the crushing authority of an elder, she could only nod in meek resignation.
"Yes, Elder."
Gu Chengming was mildly surprised.
The last time he'd come looking for Yu Wenqiu and hadn't found her — hadn't it been this same female disciple covering for her?
So this was the legendary dedicated stand-in. The personal errand-girl.
Gu Chengming offered her a glance of heartfelt sympathy, then fell into step behind the impatient Yu Wenqiu as she swept out of the Hidden Sword Pavilion.
.....
Bamboo forest path, same spot as last time.
The moment they stepped inside, the ward formations sealed shut.
Yu Wenqiu dropped all pretense of elder dignity in an instant and spun around with her hand outstretched.
"Give it here!"
Gu Chengming didn't waste a second. He reached into his robes, pulled out the manuscript — still fragrant with fresh ink — and handed it over.
Yu Wenqiu snatched it up, ran her fingers carefully over the cover, and broke into a deeply satisfied smile.
She didn't open it right away, though.
After all, she was the elder here. When a junior gave you something, the dignified thing to do was at least acknowledge the gesture.
She tucked the manuscript safely away and turned to look at Gu Chengming, as though something had just occurred to her.
"Oh, right — Xiao Gu."
"The sect's disciple examination is coming up in a few days. I've noticed how hard you've been training lately — I'm sure that's why."
She paused, then continued in a casual, offhand tone:
"If you're short on any cultivation resources, just say the word. I may not be much for fighting, but I've accumulated quite a stockpile of odds and ends in these chambers over the years."
That was no exaggeration.
As an elder, her annual stipend was already generous. Add in the fact that she was a confirmed homebody who rarely left to train in the field and burned through almost no resources on her own, and her personal treasury was, to put it mildly, extremely well-stocked.
Gu Chengming understood perfectly.
And he had no intention of being politely modest. This wasn't the moment for false humility — being coy here was just sabotaging his own future.
He folded his hands in a respectful bow and spoke plainly:
"Many thanks for your generosity, Elder. This disciple has been training in the Hundred Bones Resonance of late, and is in urgent need of some body-tempering salve to aid in forging the bones and sinews."
"Body-tempering salve?"
Yu Wenqiu thought for a moment, then casually drew her hand across the storage pouch at her waist.
A flash of light, and a small, elegant white jade vial appeared between her fingers.
"Here."
She tossed it to him as carelessly as one might toss aside a worthless trinket.
"That's 'Spiritlink Bone-Tempering Dew.' It's refined primarily from the bone marrow of the Third Realm beast known as the Spiritrhino."
"The medicinal properties are gentle, and it has remarkable effects for cultivators tempering their skeletal structure — not only reinforcing bone density, but also repairing hidden injuries."
Gu Chengming caught the vial. It sat heavier in his palm than he'd expected.
He worked the stopper loose. A rich, concentrated medicinal fragrance surged out at once — a single breath of it sent a faint heat spreading through every bone in his body.
His mind reeled.
Third Realm beast bone marrow?!
That was elder-tier material. On the open market, a vial this size would fetch an astronomical price!
This Elder Yu — she was absurdly, unfathomably wealthy.
"Many thanks for Elder Yu's gift!"
Gu Chengming hastily pressed the stopper back in and offered his most earnest thanks.
Yu Wenqiu waved him off with total indifference, her gaze already drifting toward the sleeve where she'd tucked away the manuscript.
"Yes, yes, it's nothing. A trifle."
"But mind this: gentle as the medicine is, it's still quite high-grade. Use it in small amounts, frequently. Dilute it with water before applying. Don't be greedy and overdo it — you'll wreck yourself."
Having delivered that warning, she waved him off a second time.
"Right then. I've given you what you needed and said what needed saying. If there's nothing else, head back and get to training. Aim for a good result in the examination."
Gu Chengming could read the room perfectly well. This elder was itching to hole up somewhere private and devour her reading in peace.
He smiled knowingly, clasped his hands in one final bow of thanks, and said:
"Then this disciple shall not disturb Elder's cultivation any further."
With that, he turned and took his leave.
As the chamber doors eased shut behind him, Gu Chengming reached up and touched the warm jade vial tucked against his chest.
With this vial of Spiritlink Bone-Tempering Dew... the Hundred Bones Resonance should finally be within reach.
.....
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