Even though it was already the Minor Heat solar term, due to the location at the foot of Kunlun Mountain and being backed by the snowy mountains, Yutian City felt no trace of the summer heat, even in the peak of the season.
Su Luowei spread the books out in the courtyard to dry, noticing the clear skies and gentle breeze outside. She went back inside to grab a chair, placed it under the veranda, and settled down for a nap.
She had barely closed her eyes for a moment when a crisp voice rang out, "Hmph, Ah lin, you're slacking off again."
She opened her eyes and, unsurprisingly, saw a young girl standing in front of her. The girl's cheeks were puffed up in anger, resembling a squirrel preparing for winter.
"We agreed to listen to the tutor together, but you sneaked off halfway through."
Su Luowei glanced behind the girl and, seeing that no one else had followed, lazily remained seated in the chair. "Miss, did you forget? Madam instructed me yesterday to dry these books today."
Yuchi Shao thought for a moment, recalling that this was indeed the case, and her anger dissipated. She lifted her skirt and signaled Su Luowei to scoot over, squeezing in next to her on the chair. "But you still can't just slack off here. We agreed to face the hardships together."
Su Luowei wanted to ask her how studying could be considered a hardship but found it pointless to argue over such things, so she simply rubbed her nose and remained silent.
Yuchi Shao continued, feeling justified, "What are you going to do in the future if you keep this up? In a few days, we'll be going to the Kunlun Sect. If you don't train hard there, you'll be kicked out."
Her small face was filled with worry, "I won't be able to protect you then."
Su Luowei sighed in an old-soul manner, silently thinking: When we get to Kunlun Sect, who will protect whom is still up for debate.
The girl beside her, this seemingly innocent and naive young lady, was the youngest daughter of the city lord of Yutian City, Yuchi Shao.
It was she who had driven the carriage that knocked Su Luowei down six months ago.
Yuchi Shao had just turned fifteen this year and possessed spiritual roots, though she hadn't started cultivating yet.
On that snowy day six months ago, after she had accidentally knocked down Su Luowei with her carriage, she brought the unconscious Su Luowei back to the city lord's mansion.
Su Luowei spent a month recovering in the mansion, and when the city lord's wife saw that she was alone with nowhere to go, she asked if Su Luowei would like to stay.
Su Luowei readily agreed.
Not for any other reason, but because she currently had nowhere else to go.
During her recovery, she had inquired and learned that she was now in Yutian City, located at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, which was a hundred and eighty thousand miles away from Qingxu Mountain.
With her current mortal body, the idea of crossing half the continent to return to Qingxu Mountain was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Moreover, time had passed, and the world had changed.
It had been exactly one hundred and eighty years since the day Meng Shuying faced the tribulation.
After her "death," Su Luowei had drifted for one hundred and eighty years before Xiao Ba found her a suitable new body. Now, she was no longer the Golden Core cultivator of Qingxu Sect but an ordinary young girl with no cultivation.
When she first learned this, Su Luowei felt as if the sky had fallen.
She had just slept for what felt like a brief moment, only to wake up and find that one hundred and eighty years had passed.
No wonder Xiao Ba had told her she couldn't go back.
A century had passed in the blink of an eye; her old friends had likely all moved on.
Su Luowei originally wanted to ask Xiao Ba how everyone had been during these years and whether anyone still remembered her.
But before she could ask, she felt a sense of futility.
"She" had been dead for one hundred and eighty years, and her previous body should have long since turned to dust. Surely no one still remembered her.
And perhaps that was for the best, with time settling all things, ensuring that no one was left grieving her loss.
That would be ideal.
Despite telling herself this, she couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy. It took her several days to come to terms with it and start planning her next steps.
Staying in the city lord's mansion was the best option for now.
Although Su Luowei's current body was still young, it had been through hardships, much like a poor child who matures early. When Yuchi Shao brought her back, the city lord's wife could tell from her clothes that she was a street orphan from the city.
As such, the city lord's wife wasn't suspicious of Su Luowei's maturity, which seemed beyond her years, but instead found it pleasing.
Yuchi Shao, though fifteen, had been spoiled since childhood, resulting in a rather reckless temperament. Having such a steady maid by her side delighted the city lord's wife.
Thus, the city lord's wife decided to send Su Luowei to Kunlun Mountain with Yuchi Shao for cultivation so that they could look out for each other.
Yuchi Shao squeezed in beside Su Luowei and pulled out two pieces of candy from her sleeve, offering one to her.
Since Su Luowei's current body had not yet started cultivating and was still subject to the need for food, she popped the candy into her mouth. It was made of malt, sweet and sticky.
Yuchi Shao chewed the candy with some effort, her bright eyes and peachy cheeks giving her a lively, endearing appearance.
"Ah lin, what do you think cultivators are like? Do they always have stern faces, thinking of nothing but cultivation?"
The Yuchi family had a grandaunt who was a Nascent Soul cultivator, but she rarely returned home. Yuchi Shao had only seen her twice in her entire life, and each time, she had been cold and distant.
To Yuchi Shao, cultivators always seemed aloof and unapproachable.
Su Luowei thought back to the scenes on Yanmo Peak, recalling the faces of her junior disciples, and shook her head, "No, cultivators aren't much different from us. They have emotions just like anyone else."
Yuchi Shao bent her knees, pulling her legs up onto the chair, and rested her chin on them, "Honestly, I'm a bit scared of going to Kunlun Sect. But I'm glad you're coming with me. It's so fortunate you have spiritual roots."
The day Yuchi Shao had run into Su Luowei with her carriage, she had watched as Su Luowei was thrown through the air, landing in a pile of snow.
Though she was a bit of a troublemaker, her nature wasn't bad. The accident had happened because the road was icy and she couldn't stop in time. After the collision, she had taken Su Luowei back to the mansion and had the doctors treat her injuries.
Su Luowei's new body was too weak. Even after drinking countless medicinal concoctions, it took her three whole days to wake up.
When she did wake up, she didn't speak and just lay in bed staring at the ceiling every day. This made Yuchi Shao think she had turned Su Luowei into a fool, causing her to feel anxious for a long time.
Then one day, Yuchi Shao visited Su Luowei after being scolded by her mother. Seeing Su Luowei lying there in a daze, Yuchi Shao's eyes welled up with tears, and she started crying at the bedside. It was only then that Su Luowei's eyes shifted, her gaze finally settling on Yuchi Shao as she hoarsely asked who she was.
Su Luowei had told her that her name was Su Li.
"Li" as in "parting."
But Yuchi Shao found the word "Li" too sorrowful and took it upon herself to change it to the "Li" in "pear blossom."
Su Luowei didn't object, and from then on, the name stuck.
A few days later, someone from the Kunlun Sect arrived to take them up the mountain. Before their departure, Yuchi Shao clung to her parents and cried multiple times, soaking their clothes with her tears.
Because the Yuchi family had a Nascent Soul cultivator, the disciple sent to escort them was particularly patient, quietly standing aside to wait.
It was a task he handled every year, and he was accustomed to the tearful farewells. As he stood there, he noticed a girl standing beside him, though he hadn't noticed when she arrived.
The girl was about the same age as him, dressed in simple clothing, quietly waiting by his side. From her attire, she also seemed to be preparing to go up the mountain.
Seeing him look over, the girl raised her head to meet his gaze. She had delicate features and lively eyes but appeared somewhat frail.
"You're going to Kunlun Mountain too?" he couldn't help but ask.
The girl nodded, "I'm a maid from the mansion. I was fortunate enough to have spiritual roots, and the madam was kind enough to let me accompany the young lady up the mountain to cultivate."
Su Luowei had never been to Kunlun Sect before, so she was naturally curious about it.
She curtsied slightly, giving the cultivator a respectful salute, "Senior Brother, could you perhaps tell me quietly what the sect is like? Are there any rules we should be aware of?"
The sight of a gentle, beautiful girl bowing to him and calling him "Senior Brother" made the cultivator blush. He discreetly took a step closer to her, trying to maintain a serious expression as he quietly said, "You're descendants of Real Master Le Ping, so once you enter the sect, she'll help you awaken your spiritual roots. If your talent is decent, she'll take you in as an inner disciple. But if your talent is average, you'll only become an outer disciple."
Outer disciples received far fewer cultivation resources than inner disciples and were also responsible for managing the sect's mundane affairs, just like he was.
If Su Luowei had been an ordinary girl, she might not have picked up on much from his few words. But having spent time in Qingxu Sect, Su Luowei could already deduce much about the structure of Kunlun Sect from his brief explanation.
Kunlun Sect didn't have an Ascension Platform, and spiritual roots were awakened by the sect elders. Since Yuchi Shao had a grandaunt who was a Nascent Soul cultivator, there would be no issues for her.
But Su Luowei wondered about the spiritual roots of this body…
If her spiritual roots were mediocre and she ended up being assigned as an outer disciple, it would be impossible for her to ever reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
And naturally, she could forget about returning to Qingxu Sect to visit old friends.
Yuchi Shao cried for a while longer before finally bidding a tearful farewell to her family. The young cultivator produced a scroll, which unfolded into a door. On the other side of the door was the foot of Kunlun Mountain. Su Luowei and Yuchi Shao exchanged a glance before stepping through together into the snow-covered landscape.
Unlike Qingxu Sect, the path up Kunlun Mountain wasn't a narrow trail but a series of steep steps.
As Su Luowei climbed the steps, she could see the vast snow-covered mountains stretching out below her. Deep within the mountains, a wide river flowed quietly.
The weather was good today, and the sunlight made the snow glisten brightly.
At first, Yuchi Shao found climbing the mountain somewhat fun, but halfway up, she was exhausted and refused to take another step.
If she gave up now, wouldn't that mean losing her chance at immortality? There was no way Su Luowei would allow that, so she exerted all her effort to drag Yuchi Shao up to the top.
At the summit, someone was already waiting for them. As they arrived, the person approached with a smile and said, "It must have been tough climbing Kunlun Mountain for the first time. Welcome, Junior Sisters."
The person was a female cultivator, elegant and otherworldly, dressed in a plain, sleeveless cloak instead of the fur robes typical of Kunlun cultivators.
A persistent medicinal scent lingered around her, a scent Su Luowei had also smelled on Yun Fei. Based on this, she deduced that the woman was likely a medicine cultivator who spent her days working with pills.
Upon seeing her, Yuchi Shao immediately straightened up, her expression becoming uncharacteristically serious as she respectfully bowed, "Greetings, Senior Sister Muchen."
She then whispered to Su Luowei, "This is the first disciple under Auntie's tutelage, a Golden Core cultivator."
Muchen arranged accommodations for them and then said, "Normally, after you arrive, Master would help you awaken your spiritual roots. But as it happens, a distinguished guest is arriving in a few days, so Master needs to rest and prepare."
Meng Shuying the Distinguished Guest: Did someone call for me?