As cultivators, Wuxian and Shui Qianyue were naturally athletically adept. In the instant that they began to fall, Wuxian pushed Shui Qianyue off of him, allowing her to immediately regain her balance. In response, she turned around and took a hold of his outstretched arms mid-fall, pulling him up with her.

They stood only inches apart, all notions of continuing the spar gone. Wuxian scratched his head, gaze turned to the side. Shui Qianyue’s face had a rosy tint, though whether it was due to physical exertion or something else was something only she knew.

Stepping to the side, Wuxian cleared his throat and picked up the Northern Dark Edge, giving it a twirl.

“Good fight.” He complimented simply.

Retrieving her weapons, Shui Qianyue nodded in response.

“Mhmn, not bad for a Foundation Builder.”

Hearing this, Wuxian couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You, a Qi Condenser, struggled this hard just to beat me, a Foundation Builder?”

Shui Qianyue sent him a mock glare, but couldn’t hold it for long, her expression soon shifting to one of mirth.

“Well, I had many tricks up my sleeves that I held back from using.” She said, bending the blade of her mother sword playfully.

With a smirk, Wuxian placed the Northern Dark Edge across his shoulders, head tilted to the side slightly, hands raised in a helpless expression.

“As did I.” He rebutted, turning away and walking back to the bench before Shui Qianyue could reply.

“Tch, how shameless.” Shui Qianyue tutted, retrieving her scabbards before following him.

Seeing them return, Wan Qiushou clapped his hands in a slow and monotonous manner.

“Excellent fight, Wuxian. Sister Shui, you need to work on your moves more.”

“Humph. Anything else you want to say? Huh?” Shui Qianyue grumbled, poking Wan Qiushou’s cheek with her scabbard.

“No. That is all.” He responded blandly.

“What do you mean, ‘that is all’? I won the spar, shouldn’t you be congratulating me?”

Seeing Wan Qiushou’s gaze shift to him, Wuxian raised his hands and took a few steps back, clearly not wanting to get involved. He couldn’t help but shake his head as he did so.

‘Women are scary.’

After some more quarrelling, both Shui Qianyue and Wan Qiushou turned away, fed up with the other. Watching this, Wuxian could hardly believe that the two were his seniors by a year- he felt that they behaved more like children than adults, let alone Nightwatchers.

He couldn’t help but see Mian Ji and Xiao Chong in them. The two always liked to argue back and forth, but at the end of the day, they possessed a solid bond. Feeling melancholy, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh as he looked up at the cloudy sky.

‘Speaking of which, assuming that my deduction is correct and that I really did come from the past, wouldn’t that make me older than every mortal alive? But my body still feels the same as before and I haven’t grown any white hairs…’

Wuxian shook his head, clearing the distracting thoughts away. With the sparring over, he felt that it would be best to stop wasting time and return to cultivating. The spar with Shui Qianyue had shown that while earth qi imbuement functioned decently well as a shield, it prevented him from attacking in return, forcing him to sit there and take it.

Unlike back in the ‘olden days’, where his lamellar armour was enough to deflect arrows, he could not do the same against Shui Qianyue’s qi swords. With their sharpness and sheer number, he felt that wearing the lamellar armour would merely get in his way by increasing his weight and reducing his mobility.

As such, the ‘Turning Stone’ technique would doubtlessly be useful to him. After mastering it, future bouts with Shui Qianyue would not go the same way. With a set of qi armour to protect him, he would be able to take the offensive, proactively striking and slicing rather than his usual ‘waiting and seeing’.

Wuxian clapped his hands together.

“Alright. Don’t you two have Nightwatcher duties to tend to? Since we’re done sparring, we should probably part ways, no?” He suggested, wanting to run back to his room to continue cultivation.

With a lazy stretch, Shui Qianyue shrugged noncommittally.

“Since there are only the three of us- myself, little Wan and brother Jiang, as gold badge cadres remaining in the city, we’re being used sparingly in case of a real emergency.”

“What sister Shui means is that we’re slacking off.” Wan Qiushou added, receiving a gentle hit on the head from the lady in question.

After a moment, Shui Qianyue’s eyes lit up in epiphany.

“Sihai Wuxian, you haven’t really explored the city since arriving, right?”

With a slight guilty look, Wuxian looked away with a low chuckle.

“…Not really.” He lied, deciding that it was best not to let her know about the trip to the Weeping Willow.

Wan Qiushou sent him a quizzical look, but didn’t expose him. On the other hand, Shui Qianyue didn’t seem to notice, merely looking on with slight anticipation.

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“That’s great! We’ve all lived here for years, we’re practically the perfect tour guides. Hey, little Wan, go and call Jiang Manyou over. We’ll go and visit uncle Chen’s noodle bar for lunch.” She gushed, making a shooing gesture in Wan Qiushou’s direction.

Wuxian felt torn. On the one hand, he really did want to go out and get food with them. But seeing Shui Qianyue, Wan Qiushou and Jiang Manyou, he kept on feeling a sense of dissonance deep down. Whenever they spoke he couldn’t help but begin to disassociate from his surroundings, drowning in memories from long ago.

And more objectively, aside from this feeling of loneliness and jealousy, there were too many cons to going out and getting food. For one, the white robed man’s faction and the unknown gu master who was lurking in the shadows, all of whom would presumably be watching him for any signs of weakness. Of course, he’d be safer with the three gold badge Nightwatchers by him, but in truth, their overall combat power was limited.

Of the four, two were martial artists. While at their level, martial artists and cultivators could still compete, cultivators still held a distinct advantage. The other two, Shui Qianyue and Sihai Wuxian, had just been sparring. Physical exertion aside, they had expended no small amounts of qi. Come actual confrontation, they’d be at a disadvantage.

And on top of that, the gu master’s faction wouldn’t attack them out in the open unless they were certain they could succeed with absolute certainty. Though Wuxian didn’t dare presume to understand the gu master’s motives or thought processes, he wasn’t willing to risk his and others’ safety on this sort of ambiguous gamble, where the winning hand was unknown to him.

And most importantly, strengthening his relationships with these people was ultimately a distraction in his pursuit of power. There was no point becoming buddy-buddy with people who he was planning to leave behind in the future.

Wuxian cupped his hands, shaking his head slightly.

“Apologies, friends. After my previous run-in with the white robed man, I have made a vow not to leave until after I become strong enough to protect myself. So for now, I shall cultivate in seclusion under chief Li’s protection.”

Hearing this, Shui Qianyue was disappointed, but also understanding. Wan Qiushou, on the other hand, had no observable change in expression, remaining as stalwart as usual.

“In that case, I will not be seeing you back. Make sure to come and find me for a spar whenever you need practice.” Wan Qiushou offered, returning Wuxian’s gesture with a martial salute.

“In that case, I wish you fruitful seclusion.” After speaking, Shui Qianyue’s eyes abruptly gleamed with unknown intent. “You’re going to need food… how about I make you a few meals while you cultivate?”

‘Well, I wouldn’t be a man if I rejected her again.’

“It’d be my pleasure, then. Farewell.” Wuxian replied, saluting again.

As he walked off back in the direction of the dormitory, Shui Qianyue’s smile faded slowly. Wan Qiushou stood up next to her, puzzled.

“One moment you’re angry, the next you’re happy and now you’re upset.” He said.

Shui Qianyue continued staring at Wuxian’s back as he walked further and further.

“Did you notice anything strange during our spars?” She asked.

Wan Qiushou stood there for a few seconds, replaying the fights from before through his mind.

“No.”

Shui Qianyue nodded slowly, touching her lips with her index finger.

“It’s strange. He’s got some level of martial training, but more importantly is his cultivation. Despite being a Foundation Builder, he’s able to match a Qi Condenser like myself and that white robed man that ambushed you two previously. Perhaps not in the quality of qi, but certainly in capacity.”

She turned to look at Wan Qiushou.

“And did you notice? All of the mystic arts he used were of different elements. When he imbued his weapon, he used earth qi and when he used the fire-breathing spell, well, he used fire qi. If he’s not an innate dual-attribute spirit root, he’s got a high quality cultivation technique. Someone like this… you do not find this sort of person wandering jianghu, nor do they turn up on your doorstep without any motives. Someone this talented with high quality resources like that should be cooped up in some immortal cave abode or nurtured by a top-tier sect’s elders.”

Wan Qiushou frowned in response. While what she’d said was true, he was not particularly concerned. He himself could verify that Wuxian bore no ill will towards them and that the ‘amnesiac’s’ goal was merely to cultivate. As for Wuxian’s cultivation techniques, Qiushou was even less interested- he was not somebody that coveted the wealth of others. At present, he valued friendships more and besides, in the future, he was sure to inherit chief Li’s legacy, invalidating the need for Qiushou to go out of his way to secure a cultivation technique of his own.

“Little Wan, Sihai Wuxian claims to have amnesia.” Shui Qianyue prompted.

Knowing what she was going to ask, Wan Qiushou turned his gaze to look at Wuxian’s back again. Somewhat uncharacteristically, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if feeling uncertain.

“Is it true? Has he really lost his memories?” She asked.

For a long while, Wan Qiushou did not respond. He merely continued shifting about, eyes staring forwards like that of a salted fish. Eventually, however, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Yes.”

———

After having washed himself, Wuxian sat in his room, curtains closed. In the darkness, he felt relaxed- a feeling he had not felt in a long time. At the same time, pleasant and unpleasant thoughts clashed within his mind.

He was happy that he’d gained more practical combat experience and that he’d been able to successfully transfer some of his spear expertise over to the reclining moon blade. On top of that, going toe-to-toe with a Qi Condenser like Shui Qianyue was also an impressive feat, granted, neither side went all-out in terms of mystic arts, nor did they aim to wound or maim, only force the other into submission.

But dumber thoughts also intruded into his mind. He kept on feeling jealous of the other three, of their good relationship which constantly reminded him of his own lost ones. At the same time, it reminded him of how alien he was. Despite looking like anybody else of the time, in truth, he belonged to the state of Liang.

Despite being conscripted, he did not think that it was much of a big deal. Back then, his father had always said that as long as the emperor’s subjects put their full effort into their trades and labours, they would end the day surrounded with their loved ones and a hot meal.

Of course, maybe Wuxian could fill the void in his heart with something new. Perhaps love, perhaps friendship and camaraderie. But unknowingly, he had long since placed a barrier there. If he maintained close relations with these people around him and eventually got closer, how long would he be able to continue the ‘amnesiac’ ruse?

Perhaps somebody else might be comfortable with lying like that for the rest of their lives, but for Wuxian, who valued honesty, he was not sure whether he could. Maybe for the first few months or years, but eventually something would give.

It was strange. To protect himself, he had to conceal the truth about his origins- thousands of years in the past, to conceal the inheritance which had been bestowed upon him. If news got out about the Nine Revolutions Earthfire technique, this heaven grade cultivation technique, as well as the other parts of Black Emperor Mountain Hermit’s inheritance, Wuxian was doomed.

‘Perhaps in the future, once I become stronger and more powerful, I can reveal the truth about the inheritance to those close to me. By then, I would not need to fear the greed of others, nor would I fear threats to my life.’

He held the Northern Dark Edge, stroking its blade appreciatively.

“In the end, like a wandering hero and his sword, you will be my closest companion for the years to come.” Wuxian muttered.

A strange desolate feeling washed over him, but in the end, all that remained was resoluteness. The treasure weapon hummed in response to his words. Though Big North didn’t come out, Wuxian could tell that the artifact spirit echoed his sentiments.

“What I lack is power. In the end, it seems that cultivation is once again the solution to my problems.”