275: Mutual Influence? (Bai Ye's Memory)

Mutual Influence? (Bai Ye's Memory)

She did manage to heal the fledglings in the end. The little creatures took off in early summer, healthy and eager to spread their wings. Bai Ye had long forgotten about the accidental negligence by then, and he was only glad that another pair of lives had been saved by her skillful hands.2

The nest seemed a bit too empty after the birds left though. Sometimes when the days were quiet enough, Bai Ye would start to notice the absence of familiar bird songs, and he would feel slightly wistful at the dwindling occupants in their shelter. It was because the season was late now, he told himself, and he tried to simply enjoy the rare quietness before the new wave of cubs and hatchlings rolled in again next spring.

The next spring was upon them before he knew it. But strangely, that corner of the garden remained quiet, with few added members since the previous year. Bai Ye grew more puzzled day by day, and finally, he had to ask.

"The animals?" the sword spirit blinked her big eyes a few times before the meaning of the question settled in. "Oh … I've been too busy to even notice … Speaking of which, come! Let me show you a new improvement to that technique I just found!"

Bai Ye looked at her, getting even more puzzled. He had always wished—especially in their earlier years together—that she could be more enthusiastic about swords, but he hadn't expected her to get so obsessed with it one day that she'd start to ignore all her other passions in life. Since when had things changed so drastically?

"Have you not been spending much time in the back hills lately?" he asked as she dragged him into the clearing of the practice area. Maybe he was just overthinking, and she simply hadn't gotten a chance to find more injured animals to save.

"Well … No … I've been experimenting with a few things related to Twin Stars, and that kept me kind of occupied."

Bai Ye cocked his head. "But you've still been disappearing during your regular afternoon time. If not for the back hills, then …"

She gave him a mysterious smile. "I'll show you that later as well. I found a cave in one of the lower peaks of this mountain range. It's small, but filled with spiritual power that's perfect for me. I'm thinking of moving my meditation sessions over there soon. With the help of that power, I might just be able to finally come up with a perfect version of my bonding technique."

Her bonding with Twin Stars was already perfect now, Bai Ye wanted to say. But he didn't want to disappoint her and dim that excitement in her eyes. So he smiled with a nod, and they went on to discuss the sword move she was all too eager to show him.

~ ~

Things continued that way for a few more years. The garden kept getting quieter, and Bai Ye would sometimes miss the presence of her fuzzy friends, along with the sweet scent of flowers that also became increasingly rare around him. He found it slightly ironic that he was now the one wishing for more "distractions" in their life, whereas the girl had gotten more and more into new sword techniques, or modifications to that cave to turn it into a more permanent meditation chamber.

Well, maybe that was just their mutual influence on each other. Besides, she was a sword spirit after all. Such endeavors were worth dedicating more time to anyway. As long as this dedication didn't keep her away from him for longer than necessary …

That was the thought on Bai Ye's mind as he made yet another solo trip to the hills one summer morning. The sword spirit was still getting busier every day, to the point that she had to stop joining him on these trips to gather the herbs for their medicinal baths. He felt a bit nostalgic, not being able to have her around him and hear her endless babbles all day like he used to. He placed another batch of freshly picked sophora into the basket somewhat absentmindedly, and was just about to start digging for some more roots when a rustle in the thickets behind him caught his attention.

"Is that you?" he asked, pleasantly surprised. Few people frequented this area except him and the sword spirit.

The shrubs shook, and the sword spirit stepped out. "I didn't know you were here!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I should've come a little sooner, so I could finish up my work quickly and join you."

Bai Ye was about to ask what brought her here when he noticed the bloodstain on her skirt. His heart suddenly stopped. "What happened to you?" He quickly dropped the herb basket and ran to her side. There shouldn't be demons on the hillside they were on, but the thought of her encountering one still terrified him. "Are you hurt?"

She stared at him for a moment before lowering her gaze and noticing the stains herself. "Oh, that's not my blood, don't worry. I was slaying a thousand-year-old snake, and it got a little messier than I expected."

"A thousand-year-old snake?" Bai Ye frowned a little. Ancient animals like that tend to be attracted to the strong spiritual power of Mount Hua and aggregate in the area, but they were usually harmless and rarely attacked anyone without being provoked. "Did you happen to stumble upon its nest?"

The sword spirit shook her head and gave him a proud smile. "I was searching for its nest, actually, and I found it with some work. Remember how Twin Stars needs demon blood to stay strong? We haven't found any demons to feed it in a while … and I'm worried that its power is going to start to decline. So I searched your books in the library about how to find nests of the less aggressive beasts that haven't reached demonhood. It worked! The blood of that snake should be able to sustain Twin Stars for quite a while until our next trip to search for a more powerful replacement for it."

The excitement on her face was unmistakable, but Bai Ye could only look at her in disbelief. "So the snake didn't attack you?"

Cultivators followed their own rules. Despite their power, they were never supposed to harm a beast that didn't pose a threat to humans. Not all demons were dangerous to people, after all, and a cultivator's ability wasn't supposed to be abused on killing the innocent.

"No, of course it did not. I didn't give it a chance. The bloodstain is only from it fighting back too hard, so don't worry about me."

Bai Ye could only nod numbly. He was relieved that she was unharmed, of course, but to think that someone like her would deliberately seek the life of an animal that hadn't threatened anyone …

She picked up the basket for him, nudging him to continue with the rest of the herbs. He watched her without a word, and he suddenly wondered if this was still the same girl with the purest heart he had ever seen before.

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