Vol.2-Chapter 22 – Heart to Heart

There was a cluster of weed-like plants on the ground. Their bodies were emerald green and the tops were fluffy and covered in dew. Their oval shape was surrounded by raised green burrs. The was the White Dew Frost, it looked exactly like what Instructor Li had shown them.

“It's such a big cluster, there must be at least a dozen of them,” Zhao Jiuge said with excitement in his eyes as he looked at Bai Qingqing with joy on his delicate face. His eyes were wide open—this was the first time he saw a real White Dew Frost.

Unexpectedly, Bai Qingqing was even more excited than Zhao Jiuge. Her red lips were slightly open and her face was red from excitement, looking very cute. She was yelling and pointing at the White Dew Frost. “Quickly, put all the White Dew Frost away. I didn’t expect to find it so fast, and so many as well.”

Zhao Jiuge didn’t even wait for Bai Qingqing’s order; he quickly put the herbs into the storage ring on his finger. Looking at the ring, he couldn’t help but think of his cheap master, Ye Wuyou. Aside from leaving him the Sanskrit Heart Sutra, the only other thing was this storage ring with nothing inside. Zhao Jiuge had studied it for a long time and found nothing special about it. When he wore it, it looked very ordinary, nothing that would attract any attention.

After collecting the herbs, Zhao Jiuge looked at Bai Qingqing, whose face was red from excitement. He wondered why she was excited from just finding one herb out of seven. It was currently late at night, and once it became bright, one day would have passed. They only had three days total.

Zhao Jiuge knew that even though Bai Qingqing had a good family and therefore never had to worry about food or clothes and never lacked any cultivation materials, it was because of this same family background that she never had the opportunity to go out alone. Much less something as exciting as going out alone to find herbs. Although she was 16 or 17 years old and had a powerful cultivation, she had a child’s view of the outside world. Her thoughts were relatively simple and she didn’t know much about human relations.

As it became later and later in the night, the mountain became even colder. Zhao Jiuge cultivated the Sanskrit Divine Body, so he didn’t feel it much. The spiritual energy he absorbed subconsciously was transformed into spirit force to replenish the spirit force consumed by the Sanskrit Divine Body. Bai Qingqing had calmed down from the excitement of finding the White Dew Frost and now felt the cold even more. It chilled her to the bone, but she stubbornly refused to use her spirit force.

Because this was an unfamiliar place, Bai Qingqing was very alert. No one knew what kind of dangerous situation would suddenly arise. From the words and solemn expression of the instructors today, she knew there would be danger here. Although it was not danger from people, but the unknown environment and unpredictable spirit beasts.

Therefore, Bai Qingqing wanted to save her spirit force for the right time rather than waste it prematurely. Bai Qingqing had been nurtured since she was a child and therefore understood things better. In contrast, Zhao Jiuge had to crawl his way through cultivation without any guidance. No one was even there to tell him the most basic information; he had to depend on himself to find the way.

Girls had yin nature, so the cold wind in the mountains was like needles to her. Bai Qingqing subconsciously grasped Zhao Jiuge’s arm even tighter under the moonlight. Zhao Jiuge clearly felt Bai Qingqing’s body trembling slightly. He didn’t expect the weather in the mountain to be so fickle and felt a bit of pity in his heart.

Although he desperately wanted to find the herbs to get the 100 sect contributions, he still gently asked Bai Qingqing with a questioning gaze, “How about we find shelter from the wind and cultivate in the night? We can’t see anything at night anyways, we can search tomorrow morning.”

The cold wind caused the surrounding trees to rustle and the shadows created by the moonlight to sway. Bai Qingqing nervously looked around, and when she heard Zhao Jiuge’s words, she quickly nodded. She just wanted the night to pass quickly. When she was at home, even when she went out, she always had guards with her. Plus, she had never been to such a remote place. If she knew it was going to be like this, she wouldn’t have come to find the herbs. She originally thought it was going to be an interesting mission.

After finding one herb, Zhao Jiuge was in a good mood. He was feeling like everything was going smoothly. Seeing Bai Qingqing’s sorry state, he felt like gloating for some reason. He looked up at the sky and pretended to talk to himself, but his eyes had a teasing gaze.

“Hehe, I originally thought Miss Bai was great. She even said that with her here, we would safely take first place. Look at her now, look at how pale her little face is. Why is the contrast so big?”

“You… You…” Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s irritating expression and hearing his despicable words, Bai Qingqing shot Zhao Jiuge an angry stare. She gnashed her teeth but couldn’t find the words to refute him for a long time. Finally, she turned her head with a snort and decided to ignore Zhao Jiuge.

Seeing Bai Qingqing being knocked down a peg, Zhao Jiuge let out a triumphant laugh. This was the first time he had seen her suffer a defeat like this. When he first met Bai Qingqing on the stairs, he felt scared to interact with her. However, after interacting with her for a while, his impression of her had changed.

Bai Qingqing was sulking in her heart with her head turned. She didn’t look at Zhao Jiuge, but she was still clinging to his arm. Her attractive lips were pouting and her long, black hair was scattered by the wind on her blue sword robe.

Zhao Jiuge had grown up near the mountains and often went deep into the mountains to hunt, so he was very familiar with this environment. He led Bai Qingqing through the mountains and soon arrived at the wall at the foot of the mountain.

The wall here blocked the wind. Without the cold wind howling, Bai Qingqing felt better. She didn’t mind the dirt when she sat down on the ground. Her legs curled up and her cute chin was leaning on her knee. She wrapped her arms around her knees and looked at the starry sky. No one knew what she was thinking, and she seemed to be lost in thought.

Seeing Bai Qingqing’s movements, Zhao Jiuge also copied her. He was curious about what Bai Qingqing was looking at and also looked up at the sky. Looking at the shining stars, Zhao Jiuge sighed at the arrangement made by destiny for him to meet this strange girl and for them to spend the night under the starry sky like this.

As he thought about it, his dark eyes seemed to become lost in thought as well. The two of them didn’t speak for a long time, and each of them was immersed in their own thoughts. After a while, Bai Qingqing turned her head and looked at Zhao Jiuge. This strange silence made her uncomfortable, so she cleared her throat and a crisp voice echoed.

“Hey, what are you thinking about in a daze?”

Zhao Jiuge didn’t know how to speak for a long time. It took him a long time to slowly say a few words. “I miss home.” At this moment, he lowered his head, and his expression seemed a bit lonely. His originally bright eyes became a bit dim.

Zhao Jiuge missed home. He thought about that dilapidated brick house and the old man who had lived with him for more than 10 years. Although the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect was good, it was not as good as the home he grew up in. He took a long breath of cold air as if he wanted to use the cold air to numb himself and freeze his emotions.

Bai Qingqing’s beautiful eyes blinked. Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s expression, she seemed to understand something, but she didn’t ask. Her voice was still soft, and in the howling wind, it was a bit difficult to hear.

“My family is not from the inner part of the Huaxia Dynasty, but the east coast near the Eastern Sea. Since I was a child, I had no mother, so my father raised me. He spoiled me and did everything to satisfy me—he held me in his palm. I have been like a princess since I was a child. Everyone revolved around me, attending to my every need. My life looked beautiful, but I slowly became unhappy after I came to understand more. I saw that other children had mothers, and I often secretly shed tears at night. My father had to support the family and was already exhausted enough, so I didn’t want to cause more trouble for him. Many people envy me, but in fact, I’d rather not have all these things. I just wish we could live happily together as a family, but what seems like a simple wish might never be fulfilled in this life. My Bai family has too many enemies because of its strength. I’m afraid that my father will leave me someday. So after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to come here to find a teacher. Once I become strong enough, I’ll go back to help my father. Only when a person has something they are invested in, has desire, and has a goal can they walk down the path they chose with determination.”

Bai Qingqing talked to herself for a long time as if she was venting to Zhao Jiuge. Zhao Jiuge didn’t ask anything, he just patiently listened. Bai Qingqing’s words brought Zhao Jiuge back to his childhood.

It took a long time for Bai Qingqing to finish her story, but this whole time, Bai Qingqing’s expression didn’t change much. It was as if she was talking about something completely irrelevant to her. Only at the end did her voice choke a little.

At this moment, Zhao Jiuge’s impression of Bai Qingqing changed completely. She no longer had that alluring temperament, and this shocked Zhao Jiuge.

Seeing her current pitiful appearance, she looked like the little girl next door. Zhao Jiuge wanted to say a few comforting words, but he didn’t know what to say. His lips moved for a long time before he finally weakly said something.

“At least you still have a father. I have never even met my father or mother. I was picked up by an old man, and I lived with him for more than 10 years. Then, in the end, even my last relative left me.”

After Zhao Jiuge’s spoke, Bai Qingqing, who was secretly feeling sad, was shocked. She raised her head and looked at Zhao Jiuge with an incredulous expression. She hadn’t expected the somewhat mysterious Zhao Jiuge to have such a story.

Bai Qingqing still had a few drops of tears on her eyelashes when she suddenly smiled. She stretched out her white and tender right hand and gently stroked Zhao Jiuge’s cheek. Her voice was gentle.

“Don’t worry. In the future, with Big Sister here, I promise no one will bully you.” Her smile was like a bud blooming in spring. The sharp contrast shocked Zhao Jiuge, but what shocked him the most was Bai Qingqing’s words. They were overflowing with maternal love, like a lioness protecting her cub.

Zhao Jiuge’s delicate face revealed an astonished expression as he stared foolishly at Bai Qingqing.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s expression, Bai Qingqing laughed happily to the point of tears. Deep in the mountains, the young boy and girl told each other their inner thoughts as the wind howled. Of course, this was merely friendship, not love.

Just as Zhao Jiuge was about to speak, a mournful scream broke the silence of the night. Zhao Jiuge and Bai Qingqing’s expressions suddenly changed and they became tense. The two of them quickly released their spirit force to protect themselves. The originally harmonious atmosphere became tense.