Zhu Xian: They've all been reborn

Jiang Xiaochuan discovered something.

Every time he met Lu Xueqi, his luck would improve for the next few days.

You won't cut your hand while chopping bamboo, you won't choke while eating, and you won't get a stitch while practicing martial arts.

Although I will still fall and have bad luck, it will be much less severe.

It's like... they've received some kind of good fortune.

He couldn't figure it out.

Lu Xueqi is an ice queen, a genius, and the future leader of Xiaozhu Peak.

And him? An ordinary disciple, at the first level of the Jade Purity Realm, who has been cutting bamboo on Dazhu Peak for two years without making a name for himself.

The two people are completely unrelated, how did they end up...?

He shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

Six months have passed.

Jiang Xiaochuan is nine years old.

He's grown a little taller, but his face is still round, with a touch of baby fat.

The cultivation level of the first level of Jade Purity has been stabilized, but there is still a little distance to the second level.

He had long since finished cutting down the black bamboo, but he was used to going to the back mountain every day.

It's quiet there, with bamboo trees and a little white dog for company.

That afternoon, he had just finished practicing a set of punches and was sitting on a rock, panting. Little White was lying on his lap, its tail swishing back and forth.

A whooshing sound came from the sky.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked up and saw a streak of light descend and stop in front of him. Lu Xueqi stood on the wooden sword.

Nine-year-old Lu Xueqi had grown quite tall, and the moon-white Taoist robe she wore made her figure appear even more slender.

Her hair was neatly combed and secured with a wooden hairpin. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes, looking at him, held a light within them.

"Senior Brother Jiang," she said.

"Junior Sister Lu," Jiang Xiaochuan stood up, "What's wrong with you...?"

"As we agreed last time," Lu Xueqi jumped off the wooden sword, "I'll take you to Heyang City."

Jiang Xiaochuan was stunned. "Now?"

"Yes," Lu Xueqi said, "Now."

"But..." Jiang Xiaochuan looked at the sky; the sun was setting in the west. "It's getting dark."

"Sword riding is very fast," Lu Xueqi said, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Are you going or not?"

Jiang Xiaochuan hesitated.

He wanted to go. He desperately wanted to go. After being cooped up in the mountains for so long, Heyang City felt like a place straight out of a legend.

But then he remembered that he should tell his master and mistress, or at least Tian Ling'er.

"Um, I need to go talk to my master..."

"No," Lu Xueqi interrupted him, taking a step forward to be very close to him. "Don't tell them."

Why?

"If we tell them, they won't let us go," Lu Xueqi said, her voice softening as if coaxing a child. "So we go secretly and come back secretly. Nobody knows."

"But……"

"Don't you want candied hawthorns?" Lu Xueqi tilted her head. "Don't you want steamed buns? Don't you want to listen to storytelling?"

Jiang Xiaochuan swallowed hard. He thought. He wanted it so badly.

"But... what if we get discovered..."

"We won't be found out." Lu Xueqi reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Trust me."

Her hands were cold, but she was holding them tightly.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her, at the expectation in her eyes, that... what was it again? He couldn't tell. But he nodded.

"it is good."

Lu Xueqi smiled. It was a genuine smile; her eyes crinkled, the corners of her mouth turned up, and her whole face lit up. Jiang Xiaochuan stared, momentarily stunned.

The wooden sword floated up. Lu Xueqi stepped on it first, then pulled him up.

Jiang Xiaochuan stepped onto her, his footing faltered, and he quickly grabbed her waist. Xiaobai jumped off his shoulder, stood on the ground, and looked up at them.

"Xiaobai, wait here..." Jiang Xiaochuan didn't finish his sentence.

With a light leap, Xiaobai jumped onto the wooden sword and landed on his shoulder. The movement was as light as a feather.

Lu Xueqi glanced at Xiaobai. She frowned, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

That fox... that leap just now, it didn't seem like something an ordinary fox could do. But she didn't have time to think about it further.

"Hold me tight," she said.

Jiang Xiaochuan hugged it tightly. The wooden sword rose into the air and soared into the sky.

The wind was strong. Jiang Xiaochuan closed his eyes, his face pressed against Lu Xueqi's back.

He could hear the wind whistling and feel the vibrations of the wooden sword as it moved through the clouds.

Little Whitey perched on his shoulder, its claws gripping his clothes firmly.

After flying for a while, Lu Xueqi's voice came.

"Open your eyes."

Jiang Xiaochuan slowly opened his eyes.

He saw mountains, rivers, and fields beneath his feet. Houses looked like matchboxes, and people looked like ants.

The sun hung in the west, turning the clouds golden.

In the distance, the outline of a city became increasingly clear.

The city walls were grayish-blue, the roofs were of varying heights, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys.

Heyang City.

The wooden sword began to descend. Their speed slowed, and the wind died down. They landed in a small grove of trees outside the city.

Lu Xueqi sheathed her wooden sword and looked at Jiang Xiaochuan.

"arrive."

Jiang Xiaochuan steadied himself, his legs feeling a little weak. He looked around; the woods were quiet, and he could hear birds chirping.

The sounds of people coming from the other side of the city wall could be heard in the distance—noisy and bustling.

"Let's go," Lu Xueqi said, and walked outside.

Jiang Xiaochuan followed. Xiaobai jumped off his shoulder and followed at his feet.

Heyang City was larger than Jiang Xiaochuan had imagined.

The city gate was very high, and the gate opening was very deep.

As you enter the city, you see shops and stalls lining both sides of the streets.

There were cloth sellers, vegetable sellers, meat sellers, and general merchandise sellers.

The place was packed with people, and the air was filled with a cacophony of sounds. The air was thick with a mixture of smells—the aroma of burnt flatbread, the savory scent of braised meat, and the tang of sweat, animal odor, and dust.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked around, his eyes couldn't take it all in.

He saw candied hawthorns, bright red hawthorns coated in a glistening sugar shell, stuck on a bundle of straw.

Upon seeing the steamed bun shop, white steam billowed from the steamer. Lifting the lid revealed plump, white steamed buns.

Upon seeing the storytelling stall, a group of people surrounded an old man, who was spitting as he spoke and clapping his gavel.

"What do you want to eat?" Lu Xueqi asked.

"Candied hawthorns," Jiang Xiaochuan blurted out.

Lu Xueqi walked up to the candied hawthorn stall and took out a few copper coins. "Two skewers."

The stall owner took the money and handed over two skewers of candied hawthorn. Lu Xueqi took one and gave one to Jiang Xiaochuan. Jiang Xiaochuan took it and took a bite. The candy shell was crisp, the hawthorn was sour, and the sweetness melted in his mouth. He squinted his eyes.

"tasty."

Lu Xueqi smiled and took a bite herself. She ate very politely, taking small bites, unlike Jiang Xiaochuan who wolfed down his food.

They walked along the street. Jiang Xiaochuan wanted to try everything he saw.

Steamed buns, bought. Tofu pudding, bought. Fried cakes, bought. Lu Xueqi followed behind him, paying. Jiang Xiaochuan felt a little embarrassed.

"Um... I'll pay you back."

"It's okay," Lu Xueqi said. "If you really feel bad, you can pay me back slowly later."

As she spoke, she looked at Jiang Xiaochuan with a deep gaze. Jiang Xiaochuan didn't understand the meaning in her eyes. He simply nodded.

"Yes, I will in the future."

They walked up to the storytelling stall and stopped to listen.

The old man was telling a story of feuds in the martial arts world, his voice rising and falling with exaggerated gestures.

The people around listened intently, occasionally cheering.

Jiang Xiaochuan listened attentively. He recalled the days of reading novels in his previous life, and those thrilling plots.

As he listened, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Not familiarity with the story itself, but with the atmosphere. Crowded, noisy, and the air thick with tension. Like... like going to the market in his hometown in a past life.

He was stunned.

Lu Xueqi turned her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Xiaochuan shook his head and continued listening.

But they didn't listen for long. Lu Xueqi tugged at his sleeve.

"Let's go look around elsewhere."

They left the storyteller's stall and continued walking. They passed a cloth shop, a pharmacy, and a blacksmith's shop. Jiang Xiaochuan found everything fascinating. He saw children playing with spinning tops on the street, women drawing water from a well, and old men playing chess under a tree.

The sun slowly began to set in the west. The shadows stretched long.

They came to a bridge. Below the bridge was a river, its water murky and littered with debris. On the bridge were stalls selling trinkets, a blind fortune teller, and a monkey trainer.

Lu Xueqi stopped by the bridge railing and looked at the river.

"Is it fun?" she asked.

"It's fun," Jiang Xiaochuan said, still holding half a string of candied hawthorns in his hand. "It's just... there are too many people."

"Yes," Lu Xueqi said, "Heyang City has two hundred thousand people."

Two hundred thousand. Jiang Xiaochuan imagined that number in his mind. A densely packed sea of ​​heads.

"It's huge," he said.

"It's really small," Lu Xueqi said, turning to look at him. "When I want to find you, I can't find you anywhere."

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't understand. He blinked.

Lu Xueqi smiled but didn't explain. She looked up at the sky. "It's time to go back."

"So fast?"

"It's getting dark," Lu Xueqi said. "If we don't go back soon, something bad will really happen."

Jiang Xiaochuan nodded. He was a little reluctant to leave, but it really was time to go back.

They walked back. Through the crowds, through the streets, through the city gates. They reached a grove of trees outside the city. Lu Xueqi took out her wooden sword.

"Come up."

Jiang Xiaochuan stepped on it and hugged it tightly. Xiaobai jumped onto his shoulder. The wooden sword rose into the air and flew towards Qingyun Mountain.

The sky gradually darkened. The clouds turned purple, then red, and finally deep blue. Stars began to appear one by one. The wind was cool.

Looking at the mountains and rivers beneath his feet, Jiang Xiaochuan's initial excitement slowly faded, replaced by an indescribable melancholy.

He remembered the hustle and bustle of Heyang City, the sweetness of candied hawthorns, and the voice of the old storyteller.

He also recalled the way Lu Xueqi looked at him.

Something's weird, he thought.

But... I don't dislike it.

The wooden sword landed on the open ground in front of Shoujing Hall on Dazhu Peak.

Jiang Xiaochuan jumped down, but froze the moment his feet touched the ground.

There were people standing in the open space. A lot of people.