129 - Dungeon Growth Log

The sky was rather dark, with dense clouds gathered, occasionally allowing fragments of pitch-black void to seep through, casting slivers of moonlight. Chang Nian was on patrol. As he passed by the persimmon grove, he paused in his steps. Li Liu, who was patrolling alongside him, tilted his head slightly: "Junior Brother Chang?" Chang Nian said, "…Could you cover for me, Senior Brother Li? I have something to take care of." Li Liu assumed it was a personal matter and didn’t think much of it. "Alright, but make sure to come back quickly." With a hurried "mm," Chang Nian dashed into the persimmon grove. Li Liu glanced around, hugged his sword, and moved on. Once the area was devoid of people, a shimmering silver butterfly slowly fluttered up from beneath the leaves, joining a few other silver butterflies hovering in front of Chang Nian. They led him through the dense grove, around several bends. As Chang Nian walked on, he found the path increasingly rugged, an area he had never ventured into before. However, after traversing the treacherous mountain path, the scenery suddenly opened up before him. A stone cliff stretched ahead, under the dim sky. A girl in a blue-white skirt stood on the cliff, about three steps from the edge. Her wide sleeves embroidered with silver butterflies fluttered in the wind; her clothes billowed, with dense clouds overhead and an abyss below her feet. Moonlight trickled down, illuminating her fair cheeks with a subtle glow, creating a dreamlike illusion. Chang Nian stopped at a distance. The cliff appeared shallow and fragile, fraught with peril. He stood on safe ground, frowning. "…What are you doing over there? It’s dangerous." Chu Yi slowly opened her eyes. Those were a pair of pitch-black eyes, as if they had gathered the brightest moonlight in the world. Even though clouds obscured the stars and moon, in that moment her eyes opened, Chang Nian felt as if he were seeing a pair of stars capable of illuminating the entire sky. However, it was only for a fleeting moment. Like a fleeting flower of the night, a meteor falling from the sky, after blooming in all its brilliance, it quickly faded away, from vibrant to lifeless without any transition. Chu Yi's voice was soft and as sweet as ever: "Waiting for you." Chang Nian: "…" Chu Yi smiled, "Are you afraid?" The silver butterflies fluttered, reminiscent of a dream in the White Dream Cavern. Chang Nian didn’t respond to her, merely said, "Don’t stand in such a dangerous place. Come over here." Chu Yi: "…Is it dangerous?" The girl lightly stepped back, her heel landing on loose stones that silently tumbled down the side of the cliff. The sword-like peak rose, piercing the sky, and thus when the stone fell, not a sound echoed for a long time. The silence was somewhat eerie. Chang Nian said, "It is dangerous, come over." Chu Yi remained quietly serene, smiling softly, "It’s alright, I’m not afraid." Everything seen in the White Dream Cavern slowly resurfaced before him. ——Brother wasn't afraid when he was so little, why should she be afraid? Chang Nian: "…" "Do you believe," Chu Yi’s voice was sweet and soft, "someone could be so foolish, to climb a thousand-foot-high mountain to pick a blade of grass for someone else's eyes?" Chang Nian looked at her in puzzlement. "For her, she climbed a mountain taller than this." Chu Yi slowly stepped back again, a gentle arc forming at the corners of her lips, "Step by step, she climbed the mountain path, stepping on stones, clutching vines, using her barely learned light skills. She would fall and climb back up, gritting her teeth." That mountain pierced the clouds, inhabited by spirit beast skeletons, sinister apparitions, monsters and demons. Every step a thrill. "She had nothing at all." "But she was unafraid for that person." "How much did she love that person?" She loved enough to defy everything, to cut through thorns, to triumph undefeated. Silver butterflies fluttered, and the faint silver light illuminated beneath her thick eyelashes, her empty eyes and the hue of her reddish lips. "But she once loved her so much." "So, why does she now neglect her?" She stepped back again; behind her lay a vast chasm. One step, and she would plunge into the endless abyss. Chang Nian was alarmed, but remained composed, "Don’t step back anymore." Chu Yi lifted her eyes to him, the smile fading from her lips, beneath her bangs, her dark eyes gleamed faintly with a cold sheen. "…Do you also think I have no way out?" The mountain wind howled. Chang Nian hadn't understood her previous words, but now, indeed, she couldn't retreat further: "You really can’t step back anymore—you should move forward." ——With no way back, the only option is to move forward. Chu Yi stood still. Suddenly, she laughed. A faint light flickered in her eyes. "…Indeed." With no way back, she could only move forward. "But if I’m reluctant to move forward, what should I do?" Chu Yi murmured to herself, "If I move forward, someone will be in pain." Chang Nian: "…" What the hell are you talking about? Though utterly perplexed, with a mind to comfort her, Chang Nian patiently continued along her train of thought, "If you don’t want to move, just stop. Wait till someday you’ve figured it out before moving forward… Anyway, you can’t step back anymore." …If you don’t want to move, just stop? Could she… stop? Yes… if she stopped, no one would be in pain. No one would suffer. But likewise. She would still be, empty-handed. The person who doesn’t love her would still not love her. "I can endure it." Chu Yi’s voice was faint, "I can have nothing." But she couldn’t endure it if that person no longer loved her. She paused for a long time before slowly moving forward. Would someone be in pain? …But what did it matter to her? As long as her brother didn't suffer. It didn’t matter… Her brother had a little butterfly who loved her. Her brother wouldn’t suffer. As long as her brother loved her, the little butterfly would also come back to life. By then… there would be no pain. There wouldn’t be anyone she needed to seek arduously, no monstrous specters chasing her everywhere, nor the hardship of hiding, wondering where the next meal would come from. There would only be the little butterfly who loved her brother. As if realizing something, the girl with a gentle smile on her lips walked to him and produced a token. It was the Lingxi Sword Peak Command she had used when "visiting" the former sect leader of the Demon Sect in the mountain prison. Chang Nian accepted the token and sighed with relief, "You’ve finally decided to return it to me. I was thinking of looking for you. Fortunately, my brother doesn’t often use this, so I could slip it out to you. How did the investigation at the mountain prison go? That person… Did she provide any clues?" Chu Yi appeared troubled, "She didn’t say anything." Chang Nian felt a bit disappointed, but said nothing more, "I see." Actually, Chang Nian wanted his bell back. Chu Yi casually suggested, "Let me borrow your bell first. Maybe I can try asking her again next time." Chang Nian hesitated, "Alright…" Chu Yi’s eyes glimmered subtly, "Besides that, there’s something else I want to ask you." Chang Nian looked puzzled. Chu Yi’s lips curled into a gentle smile, "My sister is going back tomorrow." Chang Nian’s expression remained unchanged, though a flicker of light crossed his eyes. Chu Yi spoke casually, "I once heard a rumor…" "That more than a decade ago, the head of the Chu family and the head steward of your family arranged a betrothal…" Chang Nian: "…" "Later, that betrothal was canceled." Chu Yi chuckled softly, a chilling coldness fleeting in her eyes beneath her bangs. Chang Nian hesitated, "I had heard something about it." "Do you know why it was canceled?" Chu Yi mused casually, the mountain wind was chilly, while her voice was soft. Chang Nian shook his head. "Because, the daughter from the Chu family originally set to marry into the Chang family was a concubine-born daughter who might inherit the position of head of house." Chu Yi's tone was nonchalant, "And how could a legitimate daughter be casually married off to an insignificant family, right?" Chang Nian was stumped, unsure of what to say. On the surface, each family seemed endlessly glorious, yet there were still serious issues of class and hierarchy. Simply put, it was a matter of mutual disdain, neither side truly considered itself more noble than the other. Except for one family, which had the right to condescend over all others. That was the Chang'an Chu family. Royal blood was merely one aspect of their self-declared nobility. More importantly, they were the only family at the time to possess the ancient Yi Mei. They wielded supreme power, and this often entailed privileges others did not have. Thus, when the Chu family’s head easily wiped away the betrothal, the Chang family wouldn’t utter a word. He’d heard this story from his family, his father was deeply displeased. Anyone could deduce that Chu family hadn't merely annulled a marriage, they had affronted the head of the Chang family’s dignity. "Eventually, we’ll reclaim it." "Our family and theirs." His father had once said, "We’re only short of one garment." Back then, he hadn’t understood why his father sounded so confident, but now… with the emergence of the Shining Sky. He vaguely understood. ——How could a legitimate daughter marry into an insignificant family so easily? But when that family was no longer insignificant. Chu Yi chuckled lightly, "But now, none of that matters." Clouds dispersed, leaving the moon dim and a few stars weakly twinkling. Chang Nian belatedly realized, "What do you want to ask me?" "I want to ask you, between you and your brother..." The girl's smile was gentle, "Who will marry my eldest sister?" —On Brother's side, wait a little longer. Let her stand in the same place. Although she desires that person deeply. But she's also afraid her brother might cry. Even though he says he won’t, if he feels sad, even the little butterfly that has passed would feel bitter. The night is long, but as long as she can see her brother, there’s still starlight. Yet, she is already itching to see the person who took everything from her suffer. Debts incurred must be repaid one by one. She won't spare any who caused her pain. Chang Nian left, and Chu Yi stood in the gusting mountain wind, gently kissing the dragon horn pendant at her chest, "…Brother, you have to wait for me." Right now, she stands at the starting point towards him, not retreating into the abyss, nor pursuing forward for the moment. So, he must wait for her. Perhaps... the longer she waits, the more reluctant she will become. Chu Yi thought. Maybe if she waits long enough, her brother will look back. If her brother turns back. How wonderful that would be. Because everyone else in the world just makes her hurt. Only her brother can bring her both pain and sweetness, like honey attached. How can there be such a person in this world? How can there be someone who makes every step so difficult? = = The bamboo house shattered by Chu Yao's swift stroke of a sword had not yet been repaired due to the sudden attack from the Demon Sect, so Chu Yao temporarily lodged in the side wing of the Hall of Affairs. The high and mighty Hall of Affairs, whose tiles Xia Ge had kicked bare, had been expertly repaired by Chu Yao, leaving no trace of damage. Within the side wing, candlelight flickered, casting a bright glow. "Miss..." Xiao Qing said uneasily, "Why is Master summoning you back over such a small matter?" Chu Yao replied carelessly, "Tsk, those debts need to be paid." Xiao Qing was bewildered, "…Miss?" Chu Yao glanced at her, speaking lazily, "Alright, alright, off you go. I need rest..." Her voice paused momentarily, then a slight smile crept over her lips. Xiao Qing was baffled, "Miss, what are you smiling about?" Resting her chin on her hand, Chu Yao idly swayed the multicolored stone bracelet on her wrist, then extracted a jade-inlaid silver hairpin, "A little mouse has come." These scattered trinkets were what she'd need to wear when returning to the Chu family. Annoying. But... amidst so many troubles, finally, there was something to be happy about. Xiao Qing was taken aback, "A mouse?!" Chu Yao: "..." Chu Yao: "Please just leave." Xiao Qing: "But Miss, if there’s a mouse in the room—" The impatience on Chu Yao's face was visible to the naked eye, "I was joking. Just go." Xiao Qing: "..." Xiao Qing left, feeling aggrieved. In the flickering candlelight, after about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, a sneaky shadow pried open the window. Chu Yao lifted her eyelids and, with a flip of her hand, sent the hairpin flying! The sharp silver hairpin struck decisively, creating a hole in the "little mouse's" newly bought nightwear, and didn’t stop there. Accompanied by an unexpected "Ouch" from the "little mouse," it tumbled awkwardly, and with a "snap," the new nightwear was yanked into a large tear against the wall by the pinned hairpin. Then, a bunch of apples, pears, and jujubes rolled out from the "little mouse's" arms, scattering across the floor. Xia Ge: "..." Chu Yao wanted to suppress her laughter, but after holding it in, she couldn't help but let out a "pfft," her almond-shaped eyes warm in the candle glow, "It's only been a few days since we last met, no need for such grand gestures." Xia Ge: "..." Goodbye.