The Path Toward Heaven

Dayuan City was inundated in a cold spring; the residents went through their closets

and wardrobes to take out their winter clothes again.

The stores placed the winter overcoats on the shelves again, which became the popular

items and were often sold out.

A few large carriages parked in front of a clothing store. The workers were busy bringing

down the goods; the steams of sweat on their heads were visible in such cold weather.

In front of a nearby antique shop, a man watched all this hustle and bustle while holding

a cup of warm tea in his hand, asking, “Have our own shop clerks gotten their winter

clothes and coals?”

This man was in his thirties, with a composed bearing and sharp expression in his eyes;

but some gray hair could be seen on his temples.

He was none other than the Young Master Li.

The manager of the antique shop replied hastily, “It has been taken care of already,

Young Master.”

Jing Jiu and Guo Dong left a box of golden leaves for him before they left Dayuan City.

He used these golden leaves to start this antique shop. Later, his father, the former

Governor of Dayuan City, was released from the prison. The officials of Dayuan City

were surprised at the release initially, and then they had no choice but to show their

respect by patronizing the shop; as such, the business of the shop was doing well.

It had been ten years since he started the business; and he had already become a

famous businessman in Dayuan City. But he was still called “Young Master Li” by the

locals, because he hadn’t been married yet.

The manager added, “The people from the Three-Thousand Nunnery came yesterday

and bought many winter overcoats and quilts; I’m not sure if they intend to help those

who can’t afford them survive the winter weather.”

The Three-Thousand Nunnery was not famous in Dayuan City. The manager must have

been bidden by the owner to pay attention to the activities of the nunnery.

The Young Master Li felt puzzled, thinking that there were only a few old nuns in that

nunnery and that they had never done such thing as offering free porridges before; what

would they buy so many winter overcoats and quilts for?

He decided to go over and check it out.

He hadn’t been to the nunnery for many years; and he found himself feeling nostalgia

about the place.

Recalling that he had come to the deep part of the stream valley by mistake after

drinking heavily with some of his wicked friends and fallen into the lotus pond because

he was eager to watch the rising morning sun…he couldn’t help but chuckle wryly.

Yet, he felt a bit sentimental after laughing at himself.

…

…

Though he told himself to go to the nunnery and check it out a few days later, the Young

Master Li had actually gone there the next day.

It was not because he had a spontaneous urge, but because he had found a suitable

reason for visiting the place again.

Over the first few years, he often came to the nunnery and played zither toward the

empty lake. The nuns in the nunnery paid no heed to him.

The music of zither echoed over the surface of the lake, but nobody had come. As such,

he came forward less and less, until he stopped altogether.

Seeing the two words on the stone and recollecting what had happened here, the

Young Master Li shook his head, as he walked into the nunnery.

The old nuns in the nunnery didn’t show up like what had happened back then.

He felt it odd before he got further in the nunnery, wondering why this place was so

cold.

The stream water was ice-solid, and there was a thick layer of accumulated snow on the

bridge lacking any footprint. There was a thick layer of accumulated snow on the roofs

of those nunnery huts on the other side; he wondered worriedly if the roofs would

collapse.

He walked over the snowy bridge slowly and came to the front of the meditation room,

looking inside.

The round window, facing the snowy lake across, displayed the beautiful scenery

outside.

Inside the room, the winter quilts were piled up like a small hill, with a little girl buried in

them.

The little girl was swaddled tightly within the winter quilts, including her mouth and nose;

the only exposed part of her body was her tightly closed eyes. She had a pale face, and

she looked like she was not breathing at all.

The Young Master Li was startled. He looked around. When he made sure that nobody

was in the vicinity, he climbed over the railing without hesitation and dashed to the

room.

With a thud, he was bounced back by an invisible force, and fell heavily in the snow.

He didn’t get up. He pulled out a small knife from his boot and looked at the meditation

room, wondering where he could enter the room from.

“Put down your knife. I don’t wish to kill you.”

A voice burst out in the snow.

That voice was enormously crisp, devoid of any emotion.

The Young Master Li looked in the direction of the voice cautiously while holding the

knife, demanding, “Who are you? And what have you done to that little girl?!”

The person didn’t respond to him.

The Young Master Li yelled angrily, “She will be squashed to death!”

In his view, the little girl had probably been crushed to death already by those hill-like

quilts; but he was unwilling to think that way, because he still wanted to have hope.

Jing Jiu strolled over soundlessly in the snow, and said to him calmly, “She is not dead.”

Seeing his face, the Young Master Li was stunned, his mind racing. “But she will die

because of the heat,” he murmured.

“She won’t die of heat. If we don’t do this to her, everybody in Dayuan City will freeze to

death.”

Having said this, Jing Jiu turned around and headed toward the snowy lake behind the

meditation room.

The Young Master Li had finally come back to his senses, and the memories also came

back like the tide. Looking at Jing Jiu’s back, he asked in a trembling voice, “You

two…have come back?”

“I don’t think she’ll come back here again.”

Jing Jiu disappeared on the other side of the meditation room.

The Young Master Li dropped down his hand that was holding the knife slowly, then

lowered his head.

He had guessed that the brother and sister were the immortal masters back then. He

knew that his conjecture was correct when he saw no change on Jing Jiu’s face today.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.

His father suddenly came home from prison, and the ancient painting was sent back

along with that wicked “friend”. He suspected that all these events had something to do

with the brother and sister.

He also thought of the box of golden leaves.

There were too many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t know where to start.

The immortals and mortals had different paths for their lives, and they had different

frames of reference for time as well.

Standing in the snow for a long time, the Young Master Li bowed reverentially to the

meditation room and turned around to leave.

Tong Yan and the Green Girl came to the railing outside the meditation room. They felt

it odd as they watched the disappearing figure.

Who was this person?

Jing Jiu had set up a lethal formation of the Inherited Heaven Sword outside the

meditation room. Yet, this person didn’t die when he attempted to enter the meditation

room. The only explanation was that Jing Jiu didn’t want him to be killed and dismantled

the formation temporarily.

The most unbelievable part was that Jing Jiu had talked to this person a little bit. Owing

to his temperament, this was extremely rare behavior.

The Green Girl turned around and looked at the Snow Girl who was covered under a

huge pile of winter quilts, feeling puzzled.

In the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror, she had observed Jing Jiu for many

decades, so she had known Jing Jiu more than most people in the real world.

Jing Jiu disliked causing troubles and avoided troubles as much as possible; to put it

more precisely, he was afraid of death. But why did he agree with Tong Yan and bring

the Snow Girl here?

Night fell, and the dark clouds blocked stars. The dim lamp lights in the dark night were

rather noticeable.

The old nun staggered out and lit a dozen of remaining lamps one by one with a

trembling hand.

“Thanks for your effort,” Jing Jiu said.

The old nun lifted her head and said to him, “My life is near its end; I should have died a

few years ago. It’s not easy to hold up until now. I have thought…”

Before she finished the sentence, her talking turned into a sigh.

After a moment of silence, Jing Jiu said, “She is doing fine. And she should be able to

wake up in a few years.”

The old nun didn’t say anything more, and returned to her own room with the help of her

disciple.

The lights in the Three-Thousand Nunnery were all the longevity lamps that had been

attended to over a hundred years. Given the old nun’s Cultivation state, she could only

light a dozen of them every night.

It took her several days to finally light all the longevity lamps and successfully activate

the formation of the Water-Moon Nunnery.

With the protection of this formation, the cold intent exuded by the Snow Girl or leaked

out would be brought under control.

Jing Jiu looked at the sky and found the snow had stopped falling down; he knew that

the Snow Girl would be awake soon.

The zither music suddenly broke out in front of the nunnery.

He looked in the direction of the music.

The Young Master Li sat in the snow with a black overcoat, playing the ancient zither

that was in his lap, concentrating deeply.

The sound of music was crisp; its intent was warmhearted.

It was a piece of Expecting Spring.

Spring would come as winter passed.

If she didn’t come, so be it.

This was the general meaning of the music piece.