Chapter 348: Chapter 228: Wanting to Forever be Your Dan Wulan, the Peach Blossoms on No-Sword Peak Have Bloomed_2
A tenderness she had never shown before emerged in her cool, clear eyes.
Perhaps, beneath the clear sky and bright moon, as she gazed at him, so gentle, that trace of apprehension in her heart began to gradually melt away.
He was who he was. Was that unique title truly so important to her?
The meticulous care he’d shown when she was injured, how he’d entered the Southern Border for the sake of the Evil Qi within her...
Between them, there was no need for so-called societal expectations, unconcerned with favors, status, or etiquette.
Unbound by any constraints.
Even if it meant letting him off easy, beneath this starry sky, she could hear his heart.
She was in his heart.
And her place there was profound.
Su Bei was slightly taken aback, his eyes then rapidly dilating as if he had understood something; no more words were needed.
That word—forever—bore far more weight than merely liking someone.
Su Bei’s throat quivered, and then at last, he responded to her words, "I will also always be your Su Bei..."
A slight smile appeared on Dan Wulan’s face. Then, she took the initiative, pinning Su Bei to the ground and pressing her crimson lips to his.
The evening breeze was fresh, and the river’s surging waves rolled on. Perhaps it felt too boisterous there, or maybe too gloomy.
Su Bei suddenly stood up, then princess-carried her towards the secluded woods in the distance. He gently set her down on the sandy beach, his eyes brimming with boundless tenderness.
Filled with stirring emotions, she watched Su Bei with a hint of nervousness, her delicate eyebrows gently furrowing, her slender fingers tightly clutching the hem of her skirt.
A moon-white dudou lay beside her, with scattered silk stockings, embroidered shoes, and an intoxicating fragrance.
Her white hair fluttered, intertwining with Su Bei’s black hair, as if composing a perfect Chapter beneath the moonlight.
Her cool, clear eyes shimmered like autumn waters, her red lips slightly parted, emitting puffs of white breath. Her teeth gently bit her lip as she endured her overwhelming shyness and unspoken reproaches.
"You are truly beautiful."
Perhaps today was just a moment of impulsive passion, without the usual rationality, a natural stirring of deep feelings?
But she did not want to sober up.
And would not regret it.
Dan Wulan struggled for a moment, then her hand tightly gripped Su Bei’s larger one.
Whether intentional or accidental, the center of her palm covered the unhealed bite mark on Su Bei’s hand.
She didn’t want to see it.
With a wave of Su Bei’s hand, Spiritual Energy instantly filled the surroundings, leaving only the two of them in this world, enveloped in silence.
CLANG!
The cry of a sword echoed.
The Sword Box flew open.
The Qingping Sword leaped from its sheath!
Dan Wulan’s eyes widened, her brows furrowed, and the world seemed to spin around her.
In a dazed moment, she understood—she was already his.
「Sword Sect, No-Sword Peak.」
BURP!
Jun Wuxie, a large gourd of wine in hand, belched from the alcohol, his steps staggering as he clumsily ascended No-Sword Peak.
He arrived at the pigsty, his hands on his hips, his eyes dull, seemingly lost in thought.
"Tomorrow... tomorrow Senior Brother will fight Tong Xiu, huh..."
BURP!
One long, foul-smelling belch followed another.
His eyes gazed at the peach orchard nearby, where most of the trees had withered despite his meticulous care.
By now, only one remained standing in the center. As spring approached, its flower buds were already showing signs of gradually opening.
The warm breeze blew. He mimicked Su Bei’s posture, hands clasped behind his back, pretending to admire the expanse of dead trees and the distant promise of flowers before him.
Perhaps in his mind, his silhouette at this moment resembled that of Fifth Senior Brother—elegant and carefree!
"It’s time to water them..."
He looked sleepily at the withered peach trees in front of him.
Then, he strode forward with determination, meticulously pouring his treasured wine, bit by bit, onto every inch of soil around the peach trees.
Pushing aside dry twigs that snapped at a touch, his silhouette steady and unchanged, he walked toward the lone peach tree that still stubbornly lived in the center.
"Drink up, little peach tree..."
Just as he was, as usual, letting the wine from his gourd spill over,
The next moment!
The drooping branches suddenly quivered. Then, a soft "SNAP!" was heard, as if something within the tree trunk had instantly burst open. The entire tree trembled, shaking loose the flower buds upon it.
And then—
He witnessed a scene he never expected to see in his life.
He stood motionless, in awe.
Upon the branches of the peach tree, buds that were yet to bloom suddenly burst forth into flowers! In a season not its own for blooming, they released an even richer fragrance. Petal by petal, they bloomed in the Snow State, where the snow had not yet melted. Within that frigid winter, they shone with a splendor not meant for their season!
Atop No-Sword Peak, that peach tree was growing rapidly. Then, Jun Wuxie suddenly felt his vision clear, revealing a small open space.
In the center of the open space stood an unbelievably tall peach tree! It had not a single green leaf, only brilliantly blooming pink peach blossoms. Their heavy petals weighed down the delicate branches, causing them to droop.
Crimson snow weighed upon the boughs.
A sudden gust of wind arose, and the peach blossoms danced in the sky.
Blossoms fell like rain.
It was a world apart, not of the mortal realm.
Jun Wuxie’s mouth hung half-open, his intoxication having largely subsided. Silently gazing at the tree laden with peach blossoms, he murmured to himself, "Prosperity and decline change easily; life and death are readily transformed. Doesn’t the meaning within these changes run much deeper than this tree full of peach blossoms?"
The surrounding Spiritual Energy instantly began to surge wildly towards him. He looked up at the sky and then fell silent once more.
After a while, he murmured to himself, "Am I about to break through?"
Perhaps he did not remember, or perhaps it was a careless remark he had made at that time. She, too, did not remember, but she had once heard his words from behind that door.
And so, that peach tree came into being, and so did that promise.
It seems only the mountain of No-Sword Peak remembered that four hundred years ago, beneath a pear tree, a little white-haired girl was held in his arms.
He had found them among a group of beggars, shelterless in the pouring rain. He picked up two little girls whose faces were covered in dust.
He personally carried one back to the Sword Sect.
Her voice, though still young, was exceptionally ethereal and pleasant to hear:
"Junior Sister, do you like pear blossoms? The pears they produce are very tasty."
"I don’t like them."
"Then what do you like? Cherry blossoms?"
"Peach blossoms!"
"I see..."
The man smiled and stroked her head. Then, looking at the sky and then the ground, he spoke as if promising a child, "Then Senior Brother will plant a whole grove of peach trees for Wulan, right here on this land!"
The little white-haired girl blinked her eyes, not understanding what he meant.
The man smiled, put her down, and spread his arms wide to gesture.
"The peach trees will be this thick!"
"Senior Brother will shake a tree full of peach blossoms for Wulan."
Rustle, rustle.
Su Bei held Dan Wulan’s graceful back, feeling the sharp pain where she had fiercely bitten his arm.
Dan Wulan’s eyes were no longer cool and clear; they brimmed with tears, yet also held a mixture of fear and shyness.
But still, she stared intently into Su Bei’s eyes and questioned, "Why are you so skilled!?"
Su Bei gently pushed her shoulders away, using the bright moonlight to appreciate her figure.
On her snow-white skin, a lingering blush... was still visible... a layer of deep crimson.
Seeing her clearly accusatory expression, Su Bei felt a bit awkward.
Some things, men just naturally understand, right?
"...Don’t you feel anything?"
Though embarrassed, at that moment, he couldn’t care less.
He looked at her expression, puzzled.
"All that talk..."
"..."
"They’re all liars."
Su Bei: "..."
Of course, Su Bei felt something must have gone wrong.
Even though she had already experienced it, why was her reaction still so strong?
He got up and stared blankly at the crimson stain on the white silk. For a moment, his mind went blank.
What... happened?
That earlier conjecture now forced him to face reality.
A thought surfaced in Su Bei’s mind.
That night, I was actually... taken by my disciple!!?
My innocence... gone just like that??
The night was vast and endless.