278: A Long-Overdue Conversation (Bai Ye's Memory)

A Long-Overdue Conversation (Bai Ye's Memory)

The group of disciples dispersed in the end, but the scene they made soon became the latest gossip at Mount Hua, and the sword spirit's words of threat only made her reputation worsen further throughout the sect. Whenever she made a trip outside the hall and crossed paths with another disciple, whispers and glares would follow, frequently leading to more rumors behind her back.0

The sword spirit didn't seem to care. Bai Ye didn't either. He was too busy studying the new clue he found at that reclusive sect, trying to solve the puzzle for the only true fix to all their problems.

Fortunately, fate treated him with mercy. From the scattered records in historical texts that matched his latest finding, he was able to piece together the full ritual to cut off the sword spirit's tether to Twin Stars. It was the perfect solution they needed, as it would allow him to seal the swords once the girl could safely live without them, preventing the demonic power from reaching her any further. Withdrawing from that connection might be difficult for her at first, but he also found reliable ways to make the transition as smooth as possible. The only issue … was with the ritual itself.

It was an ancient one, requiring a tremendous amount of spiritual power to summon multiple symbols at the same time. One person couldn't do it alone, and Bai Ye had to turn to Chu Yang and Teng Yuan, the only other immortals at Mount Hua powerful enough to be able to help. But after the repeated incidents in recent years, their opinions of the sword spirit had grown even poorer than before, and neither of them was willing to offer a hand to the girl that they now saw as the enemy.

Bai Ye tried everything he could. He showed them all the methods he found to help the sword spirit adjust to new conditions after the ritual, reassuring them that everything would be under control. He modified the spell to draw most of the power from himself, so that they only had to channel it through him without overspending their cultivation effort during the summoning. He even started getting involved in sect business he had never paid attention to before, in the hope that they would understand his determination and return him a favor.

The last endeavor meant he had to spend even more time away from his hall than usual. He missed the girl, and he knew these errands were making them drift apart even further than they already had, but he told himself that the temporary separation was all for the purpose of getting everything back to normal sooner. He would reminisce about their happy days together whenever he was traveling. He would leave her a letter before his departure every time, and even though he didn't know if she ever ended up reading them, it gave him the comfort that she had something to remember him by, something to remind her of the reason why he was gone.

One drizzly morning, he was writing one of those letters again. The place he was traveling to this time was near a town he had visited with her before, and he wondered if she still remembered it. He gazed somewhat wistfully out the window, debating with himself whether he should mention their last trip there together, and he noticed then that the girl was standing right outside, peeking in somewhat hesitantly.

He blinked. "Is something wrong?" He put down his writing brush and stood up from his seat.

She looked at him for a moment. Then she shook her head and stepped inside. "You are writing again," she said. "Are you leaving so soon already? It's only been a few weeks since your last trip."

Bai Ye was caught off guard by those words. He wasn't expecting her to remember the last time he had left for a trip. The sword spirit had almost stopped acknowledging his existence recently, too busy even to spare a moment for farewells most of the time before he took off. A tinge of warmth suffused him as he realized she was still thinking of him. "Y-Yes," he stammered a little. "But it won't be for long this time. Chu Yang has been considering holding shared lessons with a few other sects, and he's visiting a group of masters to discuss the idea with them. Since both Teng Yuan and I are coming along, we'll make the trip as short as possible, so Mount Hua won't be running without a master for too long."

The sword spirit listened quietly. "You didn't use to join them for errands like this," she said after a little while. "But you're becoming more and more involved recently. Is it … because of me?"

Bai Ye blinked again. He hadn't told her about that ritual, mostly because she hadn't been willing to have a real conversation like this with him for a long time. He wondered why she suddenly became interested.

"I … asked for their help on a ritual," he said cautiously. Twin Stars was a difficult topic between them, and he didn't want to start this explanation the wrong way. "It could potentially help you with … adjusting your bond with Twin Stars. As in—"

He paused, seeing the look she was giving him. "You don't have to be so careful about saying it," she smiled faintly. "It's for the demonic influence from the swords, isn't it? Did they turn you down because they don't trust me?"

Bai Ye could only stare at her in surprise. Ever since he told her about his findings regarding the influence of Twin Stars on her, she had always been touchy on the subject, and she had never talked about it so calmly like this before. Somehow, she was acting too differently today, and he wasn't sure for a moment how to react.

She sighed at his hesitance. "I can't blame them," she said softly. "Can you tell me more about it? We … haven't really talked about this for a while, and I hope it's not too late."

pqdm.com