Volume One: A Thousand Years of the Stream Chapter 37: Miss Mou

Sun Zikai and Cheng Xu waited for four days by the shores of Lake Dole before the disciples from the other sects finally arrived. Regarding the two’s reckless attempt to confront the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros, which resulted in Cheng Xu’s broken leg, the other three disciples were mostly resentful. Even if they felt scorn or mockery, they did not show it on their faces.

It seemed that the strongest disciples of each generation in the sects were no ordinary individuals; their methods of concealing their inner thoughts were highly sophisticated. Only Sun Zikai, who could perceive the flow of energy that shifted with different human emotions, could see through whether their thoughts were kind or malicious.

The most adept at deception was likely the disciple from the Chixi Sect, a man of plain appearance and five-stage Qi training named Deng Xinqiao. He only complained once, yet his tone was filled with feigned concern, and he even offered his own medicine. However, the energy flowing around him reeked of ridicule and schadenfreude; he was waiting to watch the two make fools of themselves and to see the Yanming and Dongchen sects become a laughingstock.

The Tianyao Sect sent a young woman, thirteen years old like Sun Zikai, and at the ninth stage of Qi training—already prepared for Foundation Establishment. She was the highest-leveled disciple among those present, named Luan Yu. Luan Yu also felt disdain but remained coldly indifferent. She was resentful that the Yanming Sect had not sent Ma Yuhong, but instead a fool at the first stage of Qi training. In fact, following the last meeting of core sect disciples, Ma Yuhong and Luan Yu had been betrothed by their respective families.

The Wuchen Sect sent a disciple from their eccentric branch, which caught everyone by surprise. It was a young man carrying a snakeskin bow, at the fourth stage of Qi training, named Xie Jiaming. He was the only one of the three who showed no emotional response or thoughts regarding Sun Zikai and Cheng Xu. Although he gave a perfunctory complaint at first, he quickly sat alone in silence. His demeanor was much like Gao Yang of the Yanming Sect; perhaps all those who practiced weapon crafting had to achieve a state of mind as clear as still water.

The elder sent by the Chixi Sect was surprisingly young, barely in his early twenties. He was a man who seemed to have just been promoted to the rank of elder, with a cultivation at the second level of the Solidifying Essence Realm. His name was Ge Liang.

Ge Liang sternly criticized Sun Zikai and Cheng Xu, stating that he would inform all five sects of their conduct. Sun Zikai then requested permission from Ge Liang to carry Cheng Xu on his back and return him to the Dongchen Sect.

Ge Liang agreed. After all, there was only one Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros in the Xiake Mountains, and it never required so many people to hunt it; this was merely an opportunity for the strongest disciples of the same generation to interact.

Sun Zikai carried Cheng Xu on his back and set off toward the Dongchen Sect. He ran for over thirty miles without stopping.

Cheng Xu urged him, "Junior Brother Sun, we have been on the road for so long, let’s rest for a while. How can your body handle this?"

"I don't feel tired at all." Sun Zikai was indeed not tired, but Cheng Xu felt he was risking his life and insisted that he was in no rush, saying there was no harm in slowing down.

The two talked about everything, mostly exchanging techniques regarding spiritual energy. Cheng Xu was not angered by the fact that Sun Zikai had learned his sect's secret arts; on the contrary, he was willing to impart even more, though due to the relationships between the sects, Sun Zikai could not truly learn them.

"Brother Cheng, is there a girl named Wen Yiru in the Dongchen Sect? She joined about two years ago."

"Yes, you know her? She is a disciple of Elder Li Si. Last time at the Acquaintance Pavilion, she asked Ma Yuhong about someone in the Yanming Sect—another girl, what was her name again?"

"Jiang Yujin."

"Right, that’s her. Do you two know each other?"

"We do. I was the one who sent her to the Dongchen Sect. Jiang Yujin and I originally wanted to join as well, but unfortunately, I wasn't qualified."

"That is the Dongchen Sect's loss. A talent like you, Junior Brother, would be welcomed by any sect." Cheng Xu sighed and added, "Elder Li Si rarely takes on disciples. His taking in Wen Yiru this time was truly out of ulterior motives."

"Oh? Is he a lecher?"

"No, no," Cheng Xu hurriedly explained, "He is greedy for wealth. Junior Sister Wen seems to come from a noble family a thousand miles away, and she possesses many treasures. Elder Li Si had his eyes on that."

Sun Zikai probed, "When I sent her, she didn't seem to have much with her."

"She was carrying a large parcel; everything was inside it. I heard that the parcel has long since fallen into Elder Li Si's hands."

Sun Zikai breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Wen Yiru was not as foolish as Jiang Yujin; she had not exposed the secret of her bracelet, but instead used the treasures within to secure her status.

Their path did not pass through the barbarian territories but circumvented them from the other side. On the way, Cheng Xu spent money to buy a carriage. After three days of hard travel, they switched to horses, and six days later, they finally arrived at the north side of Qunying City.

The prosperity of Qunying City surpassed any city before the Yanming Sect. Sun Zikai did not linger in its luxury, but skirted the city walls, traveling all the way to the Dongchen Sect located at the far east of Qunying City.

Thanks to Cheng Xu's status, they passed through without obstruction. The Dongchen Sect was what Sun Zikai considered an ideal sect; there were no divided factions, but there was a clear and distinct class system. The structure of inner and outer disciples was the same as the Yanming Sect, but those in the outer sect were also allowed to cultivate.

This was because the Dongchen Sect upheld a policy of secrecy outside the sect and openness within. Any disciple could read the introductory methods of spiritual energy, take on sect missions, and exchange them for higher-level cultivation techniques.

The Dongchen Sect also had the most elders of any sect, which had become a form of grading. Beneath the Sect Master, there were six levels of elders. The latter four levels of elders served as mentors who provided unconditional support to disciples, with all expenses covered by the sect. Only the top two levels of elders were specially assigned as one-on-one or one-to-many masters.

Under such a system, the Dongchen Sect granted the greatest possible freedom to practitioners. When disciples joined, they might rely mostly on wealth, but once inside, they relied on talent and effort. As a result, the Dongchen Sect was known as a "nest of geniuses," producing countless experts.

Sun Zikai was considered a guest from another sect, and as the representative of the strongest disciple sent by the Yanming Sect, he received decent hospitality. But everything changed after a woman arrived.

Sun Zikai finally met Cheng Xu's master, Fu Zhe's fiancée—a woman with skin like snow, a figure like a willow, an air of sandalwood, and a coldness in her eyes. Her name was Mou Qiuhe.

Mou Qiuhe had come specifically for Sun Zikai. She yanked him up from the stool and dragged him out of the room. The hosts inside looked at each other, but no one dared to provoke that woman.

Sun Zikai sensed Mou Qiuhe's terrible mood, but he did not resist, following closely on his tiptoes. About half an incense stick later, he was tossed into a courtyard.

Kneeling in the courtyard was one person: Cheng Xu, who had just been carried out before Sun Zikai's eyes for treatment. While being treated, Cheng Xu had recounted what happened in the Xiake Mountains, but true to his word, he had not mentioned Sun Zikai's brutalization of the Ghost-Horned Rhinoceros, claiming only that he had been careless and was saved by Sun Zikai at the risk of his life.

Who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, he would be grabbed from his bed by Mou Qiuhe and thrown into the yard to kneel. She was angry that Cheng Xu had ignored the elders' warnings to be cautious, but she was even more incensed that the one who saved him was Fu Zhe's disciple.

Even with his legs broken, Cheng Xu endured the pain and knelt, casting a look of schadenfreude at Sun Zikai. Mou Qiuhe sat at a table in the courtyard.

Sun Zikai said nothing and knelt before Mou Qiuhe, shouting, "Greetings, Senior."

"Hmph, why are you kneeling to me? Your master is not me." Mou Qiuhe sneered.

"My master is certainly not you, but you are my master's fiancée, which naturally makes you my master's wife. A disciple kneeling to his master's wife is only right and proper."

Mou Qiuhe slammed the table and snapped, "Nonsense! Slap yourself!"

Sun Zikai slapped his own right cheek, then asked, "Did this disciple say something wrong?"

"You dare insult me!" Mou Qiuhe was furious.

Sun Zikai looked serious and replied, "Where is the insult? Who in the Yanming Sect does not know that my master Fu Zhe's fiancée is Miss Mou of the Dongchen Sect? Even if my master is a bit of a wanderer..."

"Who are you calling a wanderer!"

"Er, no," Sun Zikai wiped the sweat from his forehead, "My master has spent all these years in the Yanming Sect without a single maidservant. He has lived a refined and detached life, untainted by the world."

"Hah," Mou Qiuhe let out a cold laugh.

Sun Zikai continued, "Although my master and Senior Wu Lanmu were close when they were young, Senior Wu Lanmu only had eyes for the beasts. My master treated her as a soulmate, but a confidante is merely a fleeting glimpse; as time passed, it faded. My master often tells me that he has made many mistakes in his life, but he has no chance to start over. He often drinks to drown his sorrows. That night in August, he was alone in the bamboo forest, weeping at the moon, and that night he painted a portrait of autumn lotuses in his room."

Mou Qiuhe looked dazed, and it was a long time before she asked, "Really?"

"Yes, Master kept that painting inside that book of miscellaneous records. I discovered it while cleaning his room. There seemed to be a line of small text written on it, but unfortunately, it was blurred and I could not read it."

Sun Zikai looked very sincere. Mou Qiuhe knew Fu Zhe best; she knew what kind of disciple a man like him would take on. She did not realize that the brat before her was a master of improvisation and play-acting, and she assumed that Sun Zikai, like Fu Zhe, was of a scholarly style that strictly adhered to tradition.

Sun Zikai struck while the iron was hot: "When I joined my master's tutelage, I was meant to change my common name. My master bestowed the name 'Regret' (Hui) upon me, but he later gave it up, telling me that life has no path to turn back. He hoped I would never be like him, making one mistake after another. After I became betrothed to Miss Jiang of my sect, my master called me in that night and told me that a man must never be treacherous. He told me I must never fail Miss Jiang. Although my master didn't say it explicitly, I, who am by his side day and night, know how much he regrets what happened back then. It's just that he has no way to fix it, so he visits you often to express his remorse."

"Real...ly?" Mou Qiuhe asked skeptically, "But every time he comes, his words and actions are very different from what you say."

"Hehe," Sun Zikai gave a bitter laugh, "Master's wife, don't you know what kind of person my master is? He could sit on a steel blade without changing his expression. Getting him to bow his head is difficult. He just lacks a dignified step down. Sigh, in truth, he hasn't seen Senior Wu Lanmu in a very long time; they have long since become strangers. Everyone in the Yanming Sect knows that my master’s heart is set on Miss Mou of the Dongchen Sect."

Mou Qiuhe blushed, her hands clenched tight, and for a moment, she didn't know what to do.

Cheng Xu's face was turning red, his head tilted as he stared at Sun Zikai in disbelief. He couldn't understand how this kid could spout such nonsense with such a straight face. Didn't he fear his master's wrath for slandering his reputation like this?