"I'd like to learn a little about your sect master, Sect Master Jiang Qingyi."

Xiao Mo's words drifted slowly through the courtyard.

Jiang Rou's left hand, holding her wine cup, could not help but freeze for a moment, the cup pressed against her tender, delicate lips but in a single instant, Jiang Rou had already regained her composure.

She drained the wine in her cup in one go, setting it down, looking directly into Xiao Mo's eyes, “Why would Your Majesty suddenly wish to know about our sect master?"

"It's not entirely sudden."

Xiao Mo shook his head with a smile, his tone genuinely earnest.

"In truth, I have always held your sect in the deepest admiration, and your sect master, in particular, inspires no small degree of respect. After all, who in this world could fail to want to know more about someone capable of building such a vast sect, and moreover, the world's foremost sword immortal?"

"There's nothing worth knowing."

Jiang Rou raised her head, gazing toward the horizon, speaking slowly.

"She... is a rather uninteresting woman, who understands nothing but sword practice day after day, with no grasp of worldly affairs or human relations whatsoever."

"Whatever matters arise within the sect, she simply delegates to her subordinates to handle. One could say that whatever achievements the Ten Thousand Swords Sect has attained today are entirely the result of the efforts of the elders, stewards, and disciples, with little connection to her at all."

"That's not quite fair to say."

Xiao Mo said with a smile.

"A cultivator of Sect Master Jiang's level need only serve as a deterrent, and that alone suffices. Because Sect Master Jiang exists, the entire Ten Thousand Swords Sect can rest easy, without fear of other cultivators encroaching upon them. And it is only because Sect Master Jiang exists that anyone, upon hearing the words 'Ten Thousand Swords Sect,' feels a natural sense of awe and respect."

"And as the old saying goes, if the beam above is crooked, the one below will surely tilt as well. Sect Master Jiang must surely be a woman of the utmost strictness and integrity toward herself, otherwise, so many sword cultivators of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect would never have gone forth from the mountain to exorcise demons and uphold righteousness, earning such widespread renown throughout the world."

Hearing Xiao Mo's praise, Jiang Rou turned her head away once more, her eyes blinking as she glanced at him.

"Is something the matter, Fairy Jiang?" Xiao Mo asked, puzzled.

"Nothing." Jiang Rou withdrew her gaze. "I simply find it strange. Your Majesty has never even met her, and yet you keep speaking so well of her."

"It's merely a reasonable inference based on the facts." Xiao Mo, too, poured himself a cup of wine, taking a sip. "Though, by comparison, is it really appropriate for Fairy Jiang to speak of your own sect master this way?"

"What does it matter? She's not here to hear any of it anyway." As she spoke, Jiang Rou lowered her head slightly, a complicated flicker passing through her eyes. "And besides, that woman, sometimes I truly don't know what goes through her head. She's so needlessly fussy it's downright irritating."

"..."

Hearing Jiang Rou speak of her own sect master this way, Xiao Mo could only remain silent, pretending not to have heard.

"If I had to say something she has going for her, I suppose she's reasonably good-looking, barely." Jiang Rou continued, as though having opened the floodgates. "Though she's always so cold and distant in ordinary times, her looks don't do her much good anyway."

"Hearing you say all this, Fairy Jiang, only makes me more curious about your sect master." Xiao Mo set down his teacup.

"What, do you truly wish to meet her?" Jiang Rou's eyes carried a certain teasing note, though it seemed as though, in the next instant, that teasing might turn into something genuine.

"Of course I wish to meet her. After all, your sect master is the world's foremost sword immortal."

Xiao Mo said with a nod.

"Besides, my Zhou Kingdom is a vassal state of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Though, in the eyes of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, such a small kingdom surely amounts to little, regardless, I would genuinely like to thank Sect Master Jiang personally for the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's protection."

Hearing Xiao Mo's words, Jiang Rou said nothing, only raising her head.

Her gaze passed over the high courtyard walls, looking off into the distance.

After a long while, Jiang Rou's soft, gentle voice drifted slowly into Xiao Mo's ears, “I'll mention it to the sect master."

"Hm?" Xiao Mo looked at the woman beside him.

"Didn't you want to meet the Ten Thousand Swords Sect master? I'll tell her." Jiang Rou said again.

"Truly, is that not a problem? Fairy Jiang seems so certain about it." Xiao Mo looked at Jiang Rou with a mixture of belief and doubt.

"No problem at all. I... I am the sect master's personally accepted disciple. If I say the word, the sect master will come." Jiang Rou fabricated an excuse on the spot. "And besides, she's mentioned before wanting to travel through the mortal world a little."

"In that case, I shall trouble you then, Fairy Jiang." Xiao Mo's voice carried a note of genuine delight.

"No need." Jiang Rou glanced at Xiao Mo. "Is there anything else, Your Majesty? If there's nothing further, I need to continue my sword cultivation."

"In that case, I shall take my leave, and disturb Fairy Jiang no further."

Xiao Mo rose, bowing to Jiang Rou, and turned to leave.

Jiang Rou watched Xiao Mo's retreating figure grow ever more distant, her long lashes fluttering gently.

Once Xiao Mo had left, and the vast courtyard held only Jiang Rou alone, she could not help but clench her fingers tightly.

She reached up, lifting away the veil covering her face.

The instant the woman's lovely features were revealed.

The blossoms flourishing throughout the courtyard seemed, for a moment, to lose all their color.

The woman's beauty rivaled even her mastery of the sword.

She lowered her head, looking at the veil resting in her lap, her long lashes catching a bright, luminous color beneath the spring sun.

"He's even going to meet you, and yet you..."

She murmured softly to herself, her tone stubborn, yet carrying the uncertain unease of a young girl.

"Do you dare meet him?"

Stepping out of the National Preceptor's residence.

Xiao Mo stopped, turning back to look at the tightly closed gate, his brow furrowing.

Xiao Mo's expression suggested he had guessed at something, yet held no proof to confirm his own suspicion.

"Your Majesty, shall we return to the imperial study?" a maid asked respectfully nearby.

"No." Xiao Mo climbed into the carriage, his voice drifting back from within. "To the Dao Inquiry Platform instead. I truly should practice my sword."

"Yes."

The maid bowed, driving the carriage away, gradually receding into the distance.

Seated within the carriage, as it swayed gently along, Xiao Mo's thoughts, too, could not help but drift—

"Qingyi, what would you like for lunch today? Master will make it for you."

Xiao Mo asked his own disciple, wanting to prepare a fine meal to nourish her health.

"Steamed buns!" The girl, having gradually grown accustomed to sect life, her eyes lighting up.

"Steamed buns? Is that all you want to eat?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Mm-hm." The girl nodded. "I want to eat the steamed buns Master makes."

"I wonder what the National Preceptor would like to eat?"

On the day Jiang Rou entered the palace, after she had finished instructing Xiao Mo in swordsmanship, mealtime happened to arrive, and Xiao Mo asked her out of courtesy.

"Steamed buns." Jiang Rou thought for a moment, then answered.

"Steamed buns?"

"Mm."

Her tone carried the cool detachment of someone warning off any who dared approach.

"Steamed buns will do."

"Jiang Rou..."

Within the carriage, Xiao Mo came back to himself, murmuring her name softly.

"Gentle as rippling water."

"Jiang Qingyi..."

"Could it be..."

Xiao Mo pressed his fingers together, murmuring softly to himself, his eyes growing ever more distant.

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