"Cough, cough..." With a light cough, Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
"You fellow, you're really pushing yourself. Get up, with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Ancestor here, you won't die even if you want to." A voice entered Li Xuan's ears. Li Xuan came to his senses upon hearing this and immediately sat up.
"Senior!" Upon seeing the woman in yellow, Li Xuan's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. Throughout his journey, while many strong individuals had accompanied him, it was this woman in yellow who left the deepest impression on Li Xuan.
Hearing this, Liu Li nodded slightly and then reprimanded, "You intervened in their grudges. Do you know the full story?"
Li Xuan froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I just wanted to protect my sister. I didn't think much of anything else at the time."
"Aren't you going to ask about your sister?" Liu Li glared at Li Xuan and said somewhat irritably.
Li Xuan chuckled sheepishly and said, "With Senior taking action, I believe Yao'er must be fine."
"It's been a while, and your tongue has become even more glib. Your sister is fine, and she wasn't injured in the first place," Liu Li said, rubbing her forehead with some helplessness.
"What about that Ying Ye?" Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly asked as if he had thought of something.
"He's fine too," Liu Li replied.
Li Xuan frowned immediately. Given the woman in yellow's disposition, why would she spare Ying Ye's life? However, Li Xuan was quite satisfied with this outcome. Moreover, now that he had recovered, Li Xuan understood that Ying Ye had no intention of harming him.
"Are you curious why I let him go?" Liu Li asked.
Li Xuan immediately nodded. "Please enlighten me, Senior."
"See for yourself," Liu Li thought for a moment, then pressed a finger to Li Xuan's forehead. The next moment, a spiritual light entered and disappeared.
Li Xuan frowned, then gently closed his eyes to watch.
In a garden, a woman stood in the woods holding a spiritual sword. She was not admiring the flowers but practicing her swordplay.
The garden was filled with plum blossoms, exuding a faint fragrance year-round.
Originally, Ying Ye was resting by a tree when the sound of footsteps woke him from his doze.
"Perhaps someone has come to admire the flowers," Ying Ye thought. He turned his head towards the sound. A woman in white, with graceful steps, was not admiring flowers but practicing her sword.
From that day on, Ying Ye often saw the woman practicing her sword in the plum grove. Just like that day, quietly, without a sound, he watched from under the tree.
At that time, the wind rustled through the branches, and an intermittent gaze fell upon his shoulder. Ying Ye found himself staring blankly at the woman's elegant movements, wondering if the fleeting glance was merely an illusion.
Then, a spiritual sword shimmering with a profound purple light shot towards him with a whistling sound.
It was the woman's sword. Practicing daily, the purple glow on her sword seemed to cast a faint halo around her, making her figure appear even more aloof.
Ying Ye, snapping back to reality, steadied himself and raised his spiritual sword, holding it horizontally in front of him.
The expected clang of spiritual weapons did not occur. Before Ying Ye's spiritual sword could touch hers, the woman's spiritual sword stopped on its own. Like a circling lone goose, it brushed past him, then soared above the surrounding plum trees before gracefully returning to the woman's hand.
Ying Ye scratched his head. He felt he should say something. However, his gaze moved faster than his thoughts. The words that flooded his mind instantly, before they could be properly formed, had already reached their destination, following his gaze.
The woman, holding her sword, stood amidst the scattered petals stirred by the sword energy, as proud as a snow lotus blooming alone on a mountaintop.
Ying Ye looked at the woman, even clearly seeing her eyes, as pale as autumn water, beneath her slightly furrowed brows.
It was like watching flowers through mist, the haze slowly dissipating; like gazing at the moon in water, the bright moon becoming real.
The woman rarely spoke. Noticing someone constantly watching her practice in the woods, she was neither annoyed nor did she drive him away, acting as if she had never noticed. It was only today that Ying Ye arrived a little late, and his footsteps and gaze disturbed her movements, prompting her to use her sword as a reminder.
Ying Ye remained silent, staring at the woman with a dazed expression. The woman paused for a moment, and without speaking, was about to turn away when she heard Ying Ye's somewhat hurried question.
"Will you be here practicing sword tomorrow?"
"Yes," the woman replied softly without looking back.
Hearing this, Ying Ye felt as if he were dreaming. Afterward, he couldn't remember what else he had said.
...
"That woman is that Xiaoqian you mentioned?" Li Xuan opened his eyes, looking at Liu Li with some curiosity.
Liu Li nodded slightly and then said, "What you just saw is a fragment of how he and that Ice Palace woman first met."
Hearing this, Li Xuan immediately asked anxiously, "And then?"
"Watch it yourself," Liu Li said with an exasperated eye-roll, and with another wave of her hand, a spiritual light entered Li Xuan's forehead.
Li Xuan eagerly closed his eyes, and the scene reappeared.
The next morning, Ying Ye was already in the plum grove, intending to practice sword with the woman.
The woman appeared in front of Ying Ye, her steps very light. Seeing Ying Ye wiping his spiritual sword, she did not offer any reminder but stared intently at his hand as he meticulously polished the sword's body, continuing until he finished.
"I'm sorry." Ying Ye finished wiping his sword and looked up, discovering the woman. He had no idea how long she had been standing there.
"How about we have a match?"
The woman's voice was faint. Ying Ye looked at the spiritual sword in his hand and then at her. A gentle breeze blew, and flower petals drifted onto her shoulder.
The woman had been aloof since childhood, her only passion being weapons. Hearing her suggestion, Ying Ye recalled the abundant sword energy filling the garden when she practiced. He set aside his previous reservations and readily accepted.
Ying Ye was a renowned sword cultivator with exceptional comprehension, known as a sword fanatic. Upon being challenged by the woman, he naturally accepted with great enthusiasm, raising his spiritual sword, looking remarkably formidable.
The woman, holding her spiritual sword, appeared calm. The purple light emanating from her sword seemed to intensify, as if excited.
The woman, wielding her spiritual sword, possessed less of a delicate feminine air and more of a heroic and unrestrained demeanor than ordinary women. She lunged at Ying Ye, their spiritual swords clashing. His wrist still felt a slight ache from the impact.
However, Ying Ye did not slacken his efforts due to the disparity in their strength. Instead, he felt even greater admiration for the woman. She displayed the demeanor of a great general, her every move aimed at exploiting his weaknesses, her style unfettered.
Ying Ye sidestepped the fierce sword intent once more and counterattacked with a sword. However, as the woman turned to evade, a fine silk with a delicate fragrance brushed past his face.
It was not the woman's spiritual sword, but a ribbon from her clothing.
As the ribbon brushed his face, Ying Ye's movements faltered. The woman then placed her sword at Ying Ye's neck.
Ying Ye stopped and let out a wry smile. "I lost."
...
Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of complexity in them. "I somewhat understand why you didn't kill that Ying Ye, Senior."
Liu Li's lips curved slightly. "In your heart, am I that bloodthirsty?"
"No, no!" Li Xuan, not sensing the subtle shift in Liu Li's tone, quickly denied it and then closed his eyes again.
Seeing this, Liu Li smiled, then sat down and picked up her teacup to drink.
One had to admit, this was far more leisurely than walking with her master under the stars.