After the winter rain, the forest was filled with the fresh scent of grass and leaves.
Ye Anping woke up to the sound of birds chirping in the forest and slowly sat up. Feeling that his body, scarred by the thunder tribulation, had recovered overnight, he naturally understood what had happened last night.
He sighed, feeling somewhat helpless, looked at a simple clothes hanger placed next to the bed, then opened his collar to check his body.
On the hanger hung the clothes he had worn during yesterday's tribulation.
However, the clothes that should have been stained with mud and dust had now become as clean as new.
His body was also spotless clean as if he had just taken a bath.
It seemed that after Si Xuanji helped him fix his body riddled with wounds, she even wiped him clean and also used her spiritual power to wash and dry his clothes.
"That's a big favor I owe now."
Ye Anping sighed, got off the bed, and went to the table where he left the letter.
The tea and pills he had placed on the table, as well as Si Xuanji's small cloth strip, were gone, replaced by a letter written in feminine calligraphy.
He took the letter, scanned it line by line, and a smile involuntarily spread across his face.
"Master Tianji..."
If he remembered correctly, this name was one of the countless aliases that Si Xuanji had when she was young, and it was also one of the few aliases that had not been exposed so far.
There were not many descriptions of Si Xuanji's past in the game, and they were quite fragmented.
Just like in archaeology, when players completed side quests or collection achievements, they could find various identities of Si Xuanji in many ancient sites in the four regions.
Pieced together, they could offer a rough glimpse of her life.
Si Xuanji was born into a wealthy merchant family in the mortal world and grew up in a favorable environment, practicing martial arts from a young age. But when she was in her teens, war suddenly broke out in the mortal world, and martial arts were in high demand, so she simply ran away from home with a green bamboo sword and went to a place called "Jianghu", determined to become a famous martial arts hero of the world.
A few years later, by chance, she obtained a cultivation technique from a cave of a deceased cultivator and began to study on her own, training her body and refining her Qi. Relying on this cultivation technique, she set off a wave of shock in the mortal world.
But not long after, she was targeted by a cultivator.
That happened because of an unwritten rule among the immortals-- cultivators cannot stir up trouble in the mortal world.
Seeing that Si Xuanji was a cultivator who perfected Qi Refining, that man thought that she belonged to some Immortal sect, so he took action and brought her back to the Immortal Realm for interrogation.
After the interrogation, it was discovered that Si Xuanji was one of the few cultivators in the world who had transformed from a mortal to an immortal by relying on her own abilities and luck.
Since then, Si Xuanji stayed in the Immortal Realm's four regions, no longer as a mortal, but as a cultivator, and was sent to a now-defunct Immortal sect to begin her training.
And since she officially became a cultivator, the path to becoming the hero she had dreamed of as a child was completely cut off.
"Jianghu" and "Being a Hero" had now become Si Xuanji's unfulfilled obsessions.
Ye Anping thought about it for a while, then took out a pen and a paper and wrote:
"The world is full of ups and downs. I dare to invite you to step out of the shadows. If you don't mind, can you wait for me to wake up the next time you come? I will prepare tea and thank you in person.
---Little Warlord Ye"
He then took a box of tea and pressed it onto the paper.
After that, he changed his clothes, left the room, and came to the courtyard, taking out his sword.
Swish---
In the small courtyard in the forest, a cold light flashed.
Ye Anping held the Snow Jade Spirit Sword horizontally, and his fingers caressed the fine scratches left on the blade after thousands of years.
Then, he pointed the sword diagonally at the ground, took a deep breath, and began his practice...
...
Silver-gray clouds galloped across the sky. Between the cold currents rolling, the winter sun set and rose, and the snow came down in torrents before stopping.
Grass and trees withered, and beasts went into hibernation.
Twelve days later, the golden thunder roared down.
Si Xuanji also appeared in the small courtyard in the forest on time.
Seeing Ye Anping covered in wounds, she helped him inside the house, bathed him, changed his clothes, and put him to bed.
After seeing the letter left by him, her eyes showed a little smile. She pursed her cat lips and looked at him lying unconscious on the bed. "Very cute... Little Warlord."
She wrote a reply letter and left it on the table.
"It's just a small favor, why should I need a kid like you to repay me? I will come every twelve days, just remember to prepare snacks and tea."
Then, she undressed and climbed on the bed.
Jinglingling...
At dawn the next day, Ye Anping also got up and came to the table. He smiled and put the letter into the storage bag. After thinking for a while, he wrote a reply.
"I don't know why Master Tianji is unwilling to show up? Could it be that Master is suffering from some hidden disease? Please be at ease. You saved my life. No matter what you look like, I will never look down on you."
Then, he went to prepare the medicine powder for the fourth thunder tribulation and to condense his energy.
As time went by, Si Xuanji came to the house twelve days later. Seeing the letter left by Ye Anping, a little emotion was revealed in her eyes. She glanced back at the unconscious Ye Anping and wrote:
"Kid, don't you want to live anymore? Do you believe that I won't come again? You're the one with a hidden disease! Hmph!"
The next day, when Ye Anping got up to change his clothes, he saw a "turtle" drawn on his forehead. He felt helpless and also wanted to laugh at the same time, so he took his pen to reply:
"I apologize for what I said before. In my imagination, you, Master Tianji, should be exceptional and independent, and your beauty could topple a country. You are petite and delicate, with long hair, have starry eyes, and you're as pretty as a peach in the spring..."
Twelve days later, Si Xuanji came to the house as usual. Seeing the exaggerated praises, she curled her lips and wrote back:
"So this is how I look in your imagination? I am not small! I am as tall as a seedling, and my chest is as round as the full moon."
Ye Anping, wearing a heavy winter coat, smiled and replied:
"Master Tianji, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Usually, only small girls would brag like this."
Si Xuanji pouted and stomped her feet angrily, twisting Ye Anping's face hard until it was swollen and leaving a long row of teeth marks on his shoulder.
"I'm angry, hum! I won't come anymore! You're on your own!"
Ye Anping slightly panicked when he saw this, thinking that he had really pissed off Old Loli with his jokes, and he quickly apologized.
"Please forgive me for overstepping my boundaries. I have personally baked some snacks in exchange for your forgiveness."
On the night of the twelfth thunder tribulation, Si Xuanji still came on time, ate the cookies he had prepared beforehand, and wrote:
"You want to get rid of me with just a snack? I'm not that easy to please. I'll turn around and leave every time I come if I don't see your snacks. You can do whatever you want..."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Master. I asked someone to go to Nantian in the Western Region some time ago to buy some local spiritual tea and melon seeds. I specially left them for you to enjoy."
"Tianzhu Mountain tea and melon seeds are the best in the four regions, not bad. Spring has passed, I brought you two sets of clothes to change into and put them next to the pillow. Don't forget to change into them."
...
The conversation every twelve days had never stopped since the first thunder tribulation in early winter.
From time to time, Liang Zhu and Ye Waner would bring Ating and Tong Zilan over to visit Ye Anping when they delivered spirit stones and pills to him, easing a bit of his loneliness on the isolated mountain.
The content of the letters exchanged with Si Xuanji gradually changed from greetings and thanks to something like a diary.
Ye Anping had Liang Zhu bring him some flower seeds, and when he wanted to chill out, he worked in the small flower field he set up in the courtyard.
From the initial failure to sprout to the first flowering seedling grown by Si Xuanji, several more months passed as the flowers bloomed and withered.
Every time Si Xuanji came, she would always bring him a little something, like a small potted plant, a change of clothes, or some small toys to relieve his boredom, and even gave him some questions or couplets to test him.
A few times when she saw his bangs had grown to cover his eyes, she even took advantage of his unconsciousness to trim his hair.
Feeling that his hair was cut strangely, Ye Anping had no choice but to trim it himself with the scissors, but then Si Xuanji scolded him again.
"I cut it so nicely for you, what are you doing cutting it yourself?!"
Sometimes, Si Xuanji would drop some underwear or a hairpin here and there.
And Ye Anping would wash it for her and put it next to the letter, reminding her to take it away when she came.
...
Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, a year flew by like an arrow from a string.
Ye Anping gradually understood the expectations of the 'Cowherd and the Weaver Girl'*.
The conversation with Si Xuanji every twelve days had become the thing he looked forward to the most during his days of seclusion on the lonely mountain.
If he didn't know that the person who answered his letters was Si Xuanji, he reckoned that he would have already fallen for that person.
Winter turned to spring, spring turned to summer, summer turned to autumn, and autumn turned to winter again.
Unknowingly, the original seventy-two thunder tribulations were down to the last eleven.
...
Dark clouds covered the moon and a light snowfall arrived unannounced.
Snowflakes swept like flying poplar fluff across the mountain that was already filled with spiritual heavenly energy. As usual, Ye Anping woke up in his bed the next day after the thunder tribulation.
Looking forward to Si Xuanji's reply this time, he quickly sat up from the bed.
And just as he sat up, a small golden figure poked her head through the wall. "Anping, are you here?"
Xiao Tian looked around the room with a worried look, as if she was hesitant, until her eyes finally fell on his face.
After confirming that it was Ye Anping, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she flew over with a golden trail, plastering onto Ye Anping's face. "Anping, I missed you so much!!"
"..."
Ye Anping was speechless for a while, but seeing that Xiao Tian was quite emotional, he did not shoo her away but let her hold his face and rub it for a while.
"Xiao Tian, how is my sister's and the girls' Core Formation going?"
Xiao Tian circled excitedly around Ye Anping like a mosquito before sitting on his shoulder. "Seven days ago, Miss Pei formed her golden core. She was the last to come out. When Yu Die saw her coming out, she immediately asked me to come over and tell you the news."
"Did anything happen during the Core Formation process?"
"No. The Black Star Sect had two late Nascent Soul Elders, Elder Qin from Heavenly Cloud Peak and Master Shu from Moon Spring Peak, accompanying them, and neither of them had any accidents. For the past two years, the three of them have been living inside Elder Qin's cave residence."
"That's good."
Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up, walked to the table, and looked at Si Xuanji's letter.
Si Xuanji also hinted to him in the letter that his sister and the others had successfully formed the core.
"Little Warrior, a few days ago, the radiance of three successive cores appeared in the sky of the Black Star Sect. It seems that there are three more Heavenly Dao Core Formation cultivators in the Western Region. I'll go and inquire about it in a few days."
It seemed that Si Xuanji wanted to put his mind at ease.
However, he had never worried about them. Whether it was Xiao Yunluo or his sister, their qualifications were far beyond his, not to mention Feng Yu Die.
Not only did they have better qualifications than him, but their resources were also no less than his.
So how could they fail to form the core?
Ye Anping was silent for a while, then he picked up a pen and paper and wrote:
"The three people in the Black Star Sect are all my acquaintances. If you don't mind, could you please convey my message to them: "The Core Formation is going smoothly, but it just takes a little more time. I'll meet you as soon as the core is formed."
Putting down the pen, Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other hand, Xiao Tian, with a puzzled look, tilted her head to ask. "Anping, who are you writing to?"
"Master Tianji."
"Hmm? Tianji..." Xiao Tian frowned, then asked again. "Who is this?"
"She is a master who helped me to form the core. Thanks to her help in the past two years, I have been able to live safely until now. Otherwise, I could have died in the Heavenly Dao thunder tribulation."
"Heavenly Dao thunder tribulation..."
Xiao Tian was shocked when she heard this. Without saying anything, she flew up and plunged her head directly into Ye Anping's belly.
?
Ye Anping's face darkened. This scoundrel was always so curious.
After a while, she poked her head out in astonishment, flew to Ye Anping with a frown, and scolded him. "Anping! ... Why would you go through the Heavenly Dao thunder tribulation? Although... the Heavenly Dao Scroll recognizes you as its master, you still have dual spiritual roots. Do you know how dangerous this is?!"
"I know..."
"What do you know?!" Xiao Tian cursed anxiously. "According to the Heavenly Dao Scroll, there were only two people who wanted to form the Heavenly Dao golden core with dual spiritual roots in the past thousand years. Moreover, one of these two people failed the inner demon tribulation and died soon after the core was formed because of the pain he suffered during the process."
"Don't worry. I'm fine, aren't I?"
"What's fine? You..."
Xiao Tian seemed to be about to cry when she suddenly realized that Ye Anping had been living under the ravages of the heavenly thunder tribulation for the past two years. She felt so distressed.
Just one heavenly thunder tribulation was enough to make him feel the excruciating pain of thousands of needles piercing his bones, and it had been two years...
Xiao Tian hurriedly went up to him and patted his head, comforting him. "Anping, are you okay? If you have something to ask, tell me... I'll help you."
"Look at my face now, does it look like something's wrong?" Ye Anping shook his head helplessly, then added, "Two years have passed, and there are only eleven thunder tribulations left, so it will be over soon."
"Woo... my heart aches! Yu Die will also be heartbroken when she hears about it."
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow. "Heartbroken that no one will buy her roasted chicken in the future?"
"...Of course not! Anping, let me tell you, Yu Die has been talking about you every day for the past two years." Xiao Tian imitated Feng Yu Die's tone and said, "How is Master Ye? I haven't seen him for a long time. I miss him so much... and so on! She says that every day."
Ye Anping looked at Xiao Tian, unimpressed. He didn't believe a word she said anyway.
Xiao Tian had always wanted to set him up with Feng Yu Die, and now she was probably just playing tricks.
Sighing slightly, he then turned around and put on his clothes, picked up a garden trowel from the corner of the room, and walked into the yard.
"Ah? Anping, don't ignore me, I'm telling the truth! Yu Die misses you so much..."
"..."
"Yu Die really talks about you to me every day."
Ye Anping squatted down and started tending to the lush garden in the yard that he spent two years planting with his own hands. He felt that Xiao Tian was like a bee buzzing in his ears.
So annoying!
"Xiao Tian."
"Huh? ~What?"
"Why don't you go back? I don't need you here."
"...I'm not going back! I miss you! It's just as well that Yu Die has completed her Core Formation, so I'll stay with you now. You need someone to talk to when you're here alone, right?"
"Other people can't see you. If Brother Liang and the others come and see me talking to you, they will probably think I'm crazy."
Xiao Tian pouted and quickly got into Ye Anping's collar and hung on his chest.
"No! I won't go back! No matter what, I won't go back! I'll just stay here with you! You can't get rid of me! Hum~~"
"Hey--"
Ye Anping shook his head and said nothing, continuing to take care of his garden.
However, after thinking about it, he added. "Xiao Tian..."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"The 'Tianji Master' I mentioned before will sneak into my room and sleep with me every night after I pass the thunder tribulation. You'd better be mentally prepared and don't make a fuss when the time comes."
?
Looking confused, Xiao Tian tilted her head. "What?"