The Star Lords of Xingqing Palace belonged to the path of cultivation, yet they were somewhat different from other cultivators.
Xingqing Palace had a palace-guarding treasure called the Book of Star Fate. Usually, it looked like an unremarkable stone. Once every three years, its seal would open and reveal its true form, choosing among mortals those capable of shouldering great responsibility and granting them a star fate, allowing them to govern the fortune of the world.
Fortune was a mysterious thing. An ordinary person, if blessed with good luck, could soar to great heights; even the mightiest hero feared ill fortune. To govern the world’s fortune was to faintly possess the bearing of a deity.
Yet among other cultivators, there were at least a few who could ascend and become true immortals. But becoming a Star Lord meant forever standing between mortal and god, living and dying like any ordinary person. They were closest to divinity, and yet furthest from it.
Moreover, if a Star Lord failed in their duties, they would be judged unqualified by the Book of Star Fate and have their life taken. In truth, it was also a dangerous title.
Back when Ji Xi had concealed her identity and infiltrated Xingqing Palace, she had listened to Senior Brother Bai Qing explain the origins of Xingqing Palace and said disdainfully, “What’s that supposed to be? Those cultivators outside can summon wind and rain or turn stone into gold at the drop of a hat. Xingqing Palace has Star Lord this and Star Lord that, but aside from living a bit longer and keeping your looks, you’re not that impressive. Aren’t you just the mascots of the hundred immortal sects?”
She immediately angered Senior Brother Bai Qing so badly that his eyebrows stopped looking like eyebrows and his nose stopped looking like a nose. Pointing at Jü An, he said, “Junior Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face, but this child’s temperament is too wild and wicked. Wherever you got her from, send her back there!”
Si Wei also joined in, squeezing Ji Xi out and telling her to leave.
Jü An merely smiled faintly and replied, “Ji Xi isn’t wrong.”
At that time, the sixteen-year-old him was already the most renowned Lord Tianji, presiding over the force of goodness. As long as he lived in this world, people would retain kind thoughts, and the world would rarely see wars or man-made disasters.
When Ji Xi woke from the dream, she remained dazed for a long while, unable to understand why she had dreamed of things from so long ago—Bai Qing, Jü An, Si Wei, and herself from more than ten years earlier.
She patted her cheeks, turned over, got out of bed, washed up, and tidied herself. Ji Xi picked up a bronze mirror and looked at the flower-like beauty reflected in it. Clicking her tongue in admiration, she sighed that Su Jixi was truly far too beautiful. Even she wanted to pay to sleep with herself.
Although Star Lords did not age in appearance, the Palace Master of Xingqing Palace was old enough to be Su Jixi’s father. For a famous beauty like her to desperately marry over here only to become a widow—what exactly was she after? Xingqing Palace was wealthy, but the Su family was not short of money either. Besides, according to Xingqing Palace’s rule of “doing everything personally,” aside from not having to cook, all other domestic matters had to be handled by oneself. There was not a single servant in the entire palace. For a pampered young lady like Su Jixi to marry over, she would most likely be all alone without even one maid. It was truly too pitiful.
Ji Xi had always hated seeing beauties go to waste. She could not help stroking the bronze mirror in deep distress, wishing she could summon Su Jixi back, shake her by the shoulders, and ask what on earth she had been thinking.
If she had revived as someone else’s widow, Ji Xi could have given them a performance of shamelessly climbing over the wall to find a lover the very next day. But this was the widow of Xingqing Palace’s Palace Master—the honoured shimu of all the disciples.
For the time being, she really did not want to die a second time…
Ji Xi sighed, rummaged through the cabinet for clothes and a hair crown. In the five elements, autumn belonged to metal, so Xingqing Palace’s autumn robes were white with golden patterns, embroidered with chrysanthemums like phoenixes spreading their wings. Xingqing Palace maintained its usual fairness: aside from Star Lords’ robes being additionally embroidered with star maps, the disciples’ palace robes were all exactly the same—even the robes of her, the honoured shimu, were no exception.
She shook out the clothes and dressed herself with practised ease. Pushing open the door, she stepped into the warm autumn sunlight, stretched her limbs lazily, then wandered around with her hands behind her back. Ji Xi turned a corner and reached the back of the lecture hall, where she saw a tall, sturdy hawthorn tree covered in fruit.
Wasn’t this tree one she had planted a long time ago?
Ji Xi’s eyes abruptly lit up. She tied her skirt at her waist, climbed up the tree in a few quick movements, and began happily picking hawthorns.
According to her childhood friend He Yicheng, Ji Xi was a terribly vulgar person: she loved beauties and song and dance, loved money, wine, and food. Among foods, she especially loved sweet-and-sour things, particularly candied hawthorn skewers.
“Yesterday was the first time I saw Senior Brother Sect Leader wearing red. He looked way too handsome.” A young, lively female voice drifted over.
Ji Xi looked down and saw several female disciples in palace robes gathered beneath the tree, chatting idly. Of course, they had not discovered that someone was lying in the tree above their heads.
The one who had just praised Jü An seemed to be the youngest among them, probably thirteen or fourteen, her face full of admiration. Ji Xi deeply agreed with her comment. She had always known Jü An had outstanding looks, but she had never imagined what he would look like in wedding robes.
After all, from the age of ten, when she infiltrated Xingqing Palace, until she slipped back to Xuanming Tower at seventeen after being named Lord Tanlang, she had spent seven years watching Jü An reject countless pursuers—thin ones, plump ones, men, women, young, old, basically covering every known variety of human. Nor had Jü An ever shown any particular preference for animals, demons, ghosts, or monsters. As a result, Ji Xi had always thought he was destined to grow old alone.
At least he had worn wedding robes once, even if it was to marry her, the fake shimu, on behalf of his master.
Ji Xi leaned against the tree trunk and decided to eavesdrop.
Another slightly younger girl said with a pained expression, “Yesterday, when Senior Brother reached for the silk and missed it the first time, my heart clenched. Before I came to Xingqing Palace, I had no idea Senior Brother Jü An was blind. How could this have happened?”
Good question!
Ji Xi straightened, pricking up her ears so as not to miss a single sound.
A slightly older girl sighed. She had probably entered the palace earliest, and her manner carried a hint of authority as she slowly said, “About three years ago, Senior Brother lost his sight overnight. No one knows the reason, and Senior Brother is unwilling to mention it. It has remained a mystery until now, but…”
Ji Xi stretched her neck, waiting for what came after the “but.”
“But think about it. If sudden illness caused blindness, there would definitely have been signs. Senior Brother was perfectly fine before and after losing his sight, so it shouldn’t have been caused by illness.”
The younger girls nodded in agreement. Ji Xi also nodded along.
“As for cultivation deviation, if a Star Lord became unqualified, there would certainly be a reason. During those days, Senior Brother didn’t go anywhere and lived as usual, so it couldn’t have been disqualification either.”
“Yes, yes…”
“With Senior Brother’s skills and his Buzhou Sword, who could possibly assassinate him?”
“Yes, yes…”
“So there is only one possibility—the Yinghuo Star of Calamity must have cursed Senior Brother!”
“Yes, yes…”
“Yes… ah?”
The girls under the tree were startled by the voice coming from above and all looked up. They saw a beautiful young woman hanging from the tree, her expression extremely twisted.
“With such serious reasoning, how did you arrive at such a completely ridiculous conclusion?”
The older girl took a few steps back and glared. “Who are you! You… you actually dare to climb Senior Brother Sect Leader’s tree and steal fruit!”
That was fresh. Since when had the tree she planted become Jü An’s?
Ji Xi leaned lazily against the trunk. “This tree belongs to Jü An? Tell him to call out to it and see if the tree answers.”
The older girl became so angry that she drew her sword, intending to drive Ji Xi down. A younger female disciple tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “She’s so beautiful. Could she be Shimu…?”
“What shimu? Even if Su Jixi is unreasonable, she’s still a noble young lady from a great family. How could she be this kind of local ruffian?”
Oh ho. This little girl said Su Jixi was unreasonable?
Although Ji Xi also felt this marriage was practically a forced transaction, she was now living under this identity, so naturally she had to say a few words on Su Jixi’s behalf. She bent down and tossed several hawthorns to them.
“Don’t be angry, eat some together. Although Su Jixi is a little wilful and troublesome, she was deeply and helplessly in love with Lord Ziwei. Even after he died, she still wanted to be his wife. What’s wrong with such deep affection? Little girl, you admire Jü An so much. If there were a way for you to marry him, would you?”
The younger girls caught the fruit, unsure whether they should eat it or whether wasting it would be worse. Then, seeing Ji Xi point at them while speaking, their faces flushed red.
The older girl grew even angrier. “That’s not it! At first, the one she fancied was Senior Brother Jü An. Later, when she learned Senior Brother Jü An had gone blind, she despised him for being unable to see and turned to marrying Master instead.”
What?
That damn Su Jixi dared to despise Jü An?
Ji Xi instantly burned with rage and nearly jumped three chi high, like a cat with its fur exploded.
“So what if Jü An can’t see? Su Jixi has eyes but no discernment; she might as well be blind! There are thousands upon thousands of beauties in this world, but in three hundred years there has only been one Lord Tianji like Jü An. What kind of thing does she think she is, daring to nitpick Jü An? Bah!”
The girls were stunned speechless by how quickly Ji Xi changed her face. At that moment, Ji Xi heard someone call from afar, “Shimu?”
She looked up and saw two tall, jade-like men in white standing under the distant eaves. They were Lord Tianliang, Bai Qing, and Jü An. Bai Qing was staring at her in shock, while Jü An’s eyes were lowered, his expression calm.
The girls beneath the tree repeated the word “Shimu” in disbelief. Only then did Ji Xi realise that she had seemingly just cursed herself out rather thoroughly.
Ji Xi had not expected Bai Qing and Jü An to witness this scene. She considered that a noble young lady like Su Jixi really ought not to be climbing trees, so while thinking of how to smooth things over, she jumped down from the tree. Distracted for a moment, her foot slipped, and she tumbled down in a panic. She heard her own bone make a crisp crack.
…Was Su Jixi’s body seriously this fragile?
Since the beginning of the Jiazi year, Bai Qing had not had a moment’s rest. One incident after another had followed with no end in sight. His master had suddenly passed away, they had killed the Star of Calamity, the new shimu had made a fuss about marrying in, and now this new shimu had actually fallen from a tree and fainted.
He strode quickly around the corner of the long corridor and, between golden ginkgo trees and red walls, saw Jü An walking leisurely ahead with a wooden box in hand. Bai Qing walked beside him and said, “I heard Shimu has woken up. Are you going to see her too?”
Jü An tilted his head slightly, turning his gaze in Bai Qing’s direction. As though he could see, he nodded. “The Su family’s people have come too. Keep an eye on them.”
As Jü An spoke, he nimbly avoided a flowerbed in front of him. He seemed to know Xingqing Palace’s layout like the back of his hand, while Bai Qing almost tripped over a nearby branch. For many years, Bai Qing had been physically uncoordinated. Never mind bumping into trees and walls—even his left foot could trip over his right. Sometimes he wondered which of them, he or Jü An, was actually the blind one.
Just as Bai Qing was feeling privately gloomy, he heard Jü An say, “Has Hejia’s corpse been brought back?”
Bai Qing’s heart tightened, and even his words became unsteady. “It’s… it’s been brought back… We packed it with quite a lot of ice, so the body is still intact. Why?”
“Her reputation was poor. If her corpse fell into the hands of another family, it would probably be humiliated and trampled on. Since we brought her back, let us bury her properly.” After a pause, Jü An gave a faint smile and said calmly, “Why is it that every time I mention Hejia, you become so nervous? Could it be…”
For a moment, Bai Qing’s heart leapt into his throat again.
“…Could it be that you also think Master wasn’t killed by her?” Jü An’s second half of the sentence let Bai Qing’s heart fall back into his stomach.
Their master’s death had been strange and sudden. For a time, talk of the Star of Calamity’s curse had spread wildly. The hundred immortal sects had used this as a pretext to crusade against Xuanming Tower, and Xingqing Palace had practically been swept along into participating. In truth, Jü An had always held reservations regarding Hejia.
Bai Qing cleared his throat and said, “That day, you ordered the ‘Questioning Fate’ arrow to kill the person who murdered Master, and the Questioning Fate arrow went straight for Hejia’s life. With the arrow’s spiritual awareness, since it identified Hejia as the murderer, it couldn’t have been wrong.”
Jü An frowned and replied, “That is indeed true.”
“…Then why do you feel Master wasn’t killed by Hejia?”
“It is only a feeling. I have no evidence.”
“Haha… You don’t even know Hejia. Where would that feeling come from?” Bai Qing felt his voice go a little dry.
Jü An merely smiled. The Southern Dipper star map on the right side of his face appeared and disappeared faintly as he said, “That’s true.”
But Bai Qing could no longer smile. He looked at Jü An beside him, whose smile was calm and gentle, with a complicated expression, and felt a sorrow in his heart.
That day, when he saw Hejia’s corpse and discovered that she was actually an old acquaintance who had gone missing for many years, he had been so shocked he could not speak. Instinctively, he had tried to stop Jü An, who was walking over to ask about the situation.
But Jü An had only furrowed his brows in confusion, his expression calm and steady as usual. His eyes reflected that mangled corpse like a mirror no light could pass through. Then, in a tone that was calm, even innocent, he asked—
“What’s wrong?”
At that moment, as Bai Qing looked at the utterly unaware Jü An and the dead Ji Xi, he sincerely rejoiced for the first time that Jü An had already gone blind.
Some things were better left unseen and unknown forever.
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