INE Chapter 127: Extra: Yanhui

Ever since Ji Rong broke through to the Heart-Seeking stage, 01 had recovered a small amount of energy, just enough to grant her access to its memory archive.

She’d been fine not knowing, but after those memories were shared, the way she looked at everyone in Wanjian Sect… shifted entirely.

Take Elder Gong, for instance, she no longer saw him as an elder, but as her disciple. Wei Zongqiu? Not a senior brother, but another disciple.

Even proud and aloof Dou Weiyi, who had always challenged her openly, now made Ji Rong involuntarily imagine the girl respectfully calling her “Sword Saint.”

“……”

It was honestly a bit surreal.

Ji Rong went to consult the only other person who knew the truth and asked seriously, “What do we do now? Do we storm the Divine Sect first and snatch back the Longyuan Sword, or head into the forbidden grounds for the Qingshuang Sword?”

Gu Baiyi stirred the pot of millet porridge slowly with her spoon before glancing up at the sky and replying with a gentle smile, “Senior Sister, it’s already morning. Let’s eat breakfast first.”

“……”

To Gu Baiyi, breakfast clearly mattered more than reclaiming divine swords.

With a heart full of disappointment at her junior’s lack of ambition, Ji Rong accepted the bowl of porridge handed to her.

Suppressing her indignation, she took a spoonful, and to her surprise, it was… actually quite good.

The glistening white rice was perfectly cooked, soft and fragrant, mingling harmoniously with the millet’s delicate flavor. It was rich and smooth, paired with a side of crisp, refreshing pickled radish. After finishing the bowl, she felt warm all over.

As Ji Rong ate, thoroughly enjoying the meal, she occasionally picked up a few slices of radish and added them to Gu Baiyi’s bowl. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had pickled vegetables this good in the cultivation world. You should eat more too.”

Yes, she had completely forgotten her earlier lofty ambitions.

After breakfast, Gu Baiyi tidied up the dishes and asked gently, “Senior Sister, did the porridge suit your taste today?”

“It was delicious." Ji Rong praised sincerely.

Gu Baiyi beamed, clearly pleased. Her eyes crinkled with joy as she quickly collected the dishes. “Then tomorrow I’ll make a little more for Senior Sister.”

“Alright." Ji Rong replied naturally, only to realize something was off. “Wait. You still haven’t answered my question.”

She frowned and asked, “Are we heading to the Divine Sect for the sword, or going to look for our old friend, the Crimson-Scaled Serpent?”

Gu Baiyi stacked the bowls and chopsticks with practiced ease and smiled. “We should start by proving your identity.”

…

Though Ji Rong had long avoided confronting the matter of proving her identity, it was clear now, she couldn’t dodge it forever.

And the truth was, without definitive proof of who she truly was, things wouldn’t go smoothly, even without any system administrator controlling her in this life.

But proving her identity meant one thing: social death.

Imagine, someone at the Heart-Seeking stage shamelessly claiming to be the Sword Saint. Most people would just assume she was out of her mind.

There was only one solution: find Mei He.

Now, Ji Rong stood at the entrance of the Jixian Pavilion, separated by a single wall from her former wife and most devoted disciple.

Facing the moment of truth, she couldn’t help but struggle a little. She turned to Gu Baiyi and asked, “Do we really have to do it this way?”

Sure, this method worked, but it only slightly reduced the range of her public humiliation.

Gu Baiyi calmly twirled the flute in her hand and replied, “Yes, Senior Sister. It’s the only way for now.”

Ji Rong’s face remained blank. “I understand. It’s just… incredibly awkward.”

Gu Baiyi gave a small, reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Senior Sister. From your expression, it’s not that obvious.”

That did not help at all. Ji Rong had become completely numb to Gu Baiyi’s constant use of the polite “you.”

At first, it bothered her. She’d frown and tell her not to be so formal. But eventually, she realized she couldn’t win and gave up.

She constantly reminded herself: Gu Baiyi wasn’t being sarcastic. She wasn’t two-faced. She was just… polite.

Damn this excessive politeness.

Resolute now, Ji Rong followed this extremely polite junior into the Jixian Pavilion.

Rounding the corridor, she came to the threshold and saw Gong Yu and Mei He sitting across from each other, busy with affairs of the sect.

What a beautiful day.

Clearly, this was planned. Everyone just happened to gather here to maximize her embarrassment.

Originally, Ji Rong had only intended to prove herself in front of Mei He. Perform a few sword forms, let Gu Baiyi play a tune once favored by the old Yan… and that would be that.

But now with Gong Yu here too, she and Gu Baiyi ended up looking like a sword-and-flute street performance duo.

Honestly, if she’d swapped her sword for another instrument, it would’ve looked even more convincing.

Both Gong Yu and Mei He were surprised to see them.

Mei He was the first to speak. She set down her brush, glanced at the two, and asked calmly, “Changqin, Baiyi, what brings you here?”

Gu Baiyi smiled silently and stepped back, giving the spotlight to Ji Rong.

Ji Rong wasn’t sure what to say, but since Gu Baiyi stayed quiet, she had no choice.

Keeping her face neutral, she replied, “I recently learned a new sword technique and would like to ask Sect Leader Mei and Elder Gong for your guidance.”

Mei He frowned slightly. Sword guidance usually fell under Elder Ye Yizhou’s domain. Why would Changqin come to them?

Though puzzled, Gong Yu closed her ledger and responded with a calm, “Very well.”

Since Gong Yu didn’t find it odd, Mei He simply smiled and stood up. “Let’s take a look at Changqin’s sword technique then.”

In the courtyard, the three stood side by side.

Sunlight streamed across the stone tiles, casting fluttering leaf shadows on the ground.

As the light bathed Ji Rong, dust floated gently in the air. She raised the Qinghe Sword and executed the first move.

Gu Baiyi was momentarily dazed by the sight.

The strike was casual, unstructured, nothing like the awe-inspiring swordplay of the Sword Saint.

Mei He and Gong Yu couldn’t help but smile at Ji Rong’s irregular sword form. They could tell, while the moves weren’t proper techniques, the intent behind them was pure. For Ji Rong’s current level, it was already quite impressive.

But then, in the blink of an eye, her form turned sharp.

Her wrist twisted, sword slicing through the air with the chill of winter wind.

Gong Yu narrowed her eyes. Ji Rong’s swordplay moved so fast it was hard to track.

By the time she could see clearly again, Ji Rong had stopped moving. Her white boots lightly touched the ground as she retracted the blinding display of swordsmanship.

Then, shifting her stance, Ji Rong raised her hand, her sleeves billowing in the breeze.

She faced the shadowy trees around the courtyard and released a single, gentle strike.

So soft, it was almost like a sigh.

Mei He remained still, her gaze fixed on Ji Rong’s silhouette.

Ever since Yue Qianqiu’s disappearance, she had served as Sect Leader of Wanjian Sect, always calm, always dignified.

Yet now, something stirred.

At that moment, the hand tucked inside her sleeve trembled ever so slightly.

She was waiting for Ji Rong to turn around, and for a possibility she barely dared hope for.

When Ji Rong finally turned, peach blossoms began to drift gently from the sky.

It was as if snow had fallen in the courtyard. The flowerbeds, the eaves, and the leaf-strewn steps were all blanketed in soft pink petals.

As the peach blossom rain fell, Gong Yu slowly raised her pale, chilled hand. She blinked in surprise to find several teardrops on the back of it.

Gu Baiyi gave a soft smile and lifted the purple flute to her lips.

The sound of the flute floated through the blossom-laden air. She played a piece titled Jinse.

Though it was Jinse, she had made a few alterations to the original melody, light and flowing, without a trace of sorrow.

When the tune ended, both Mei He and Gong Yu reached out their hands, trying to catch the drifting petals.

But with Ji Rong’s current cultivation level, the illusion of falling blossoms couldn’t last long. The petals vanished from their palms almost as soon as they touched them.

A moment later, the two of them burst into laughter at the same time.

Because fleeting beauty is inevitable, yet old friends remain.

…

Ji Rong had thought this matter would be hard to explain.

But Gong Yu and Mei He were both sharp. Even though she had omitted parts of the story, they still seemed to understand.

Of course, understanding was one thing, but noticing Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi secretly linking pinkies under the table was something else entirely.

Gong Yu and Mei He had complicated feelings about it. But no one’s feelings were more complicated than Bai Yushuang’s.

She was the last one to find out. At first, she thought Mei He and Gong Yu were teasing her, so she paid no mind.

But after hearing Jinse, she struggled to keep her face composed, buried her face in her hands, and found them wet with tears.

Master and Sister Chu had come back. It felt like a dream.

And for the past few days, Ji Rong also felt like she’d been living in a dream.

No matter where she went, with every step she took, she’d spot shadowy figures sneaking around to peek at her. Not only disciples from the Wanjian Sect, but even cultivators from the Demon Sect.

Yes, ever since Bai Yushuang learned Chu Changli had returned, she lost all interest in being the Demon Sect’s leader. Her new full-time job was acting cute and silly in front of Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi.

“Master, Sister Chu… it’s not that I don’t want to go back. It’s just that Western Mountain is so boring. Let me stay just a bit longer, please?”

Gu Baiyi smiled and said, “Shuang’er, without a leader, the Demon Sect might descend into chaos.”

The moment the Demon Sect was mentioned, Bai Yushuang dropped the innocent act.

She straightened her posture, raised a sharp brow, and narrowed her eyes. “If they dare stir up trouble, I’ll make an example of them, tenfold. I’ll grind the offenders into dust.”

After saying something so brutally decisive, Bai Yushuang blinked and seemed to realize she had just shattered the adorable persona she’d been building.

She quickly furrowed her brows and looked pitifully at Ji Rong. “Master… I was just joking. You know how playful I am. I’d never really treat them like that.”

Ji Rong: “…”

“…Yes, I know." she replied calmly.

Know that you are absolutely capable of doing just that.

As the number of onlookers grew, Mei He decided to stop pretending she didn’t notice.

She made up her mind to host a banquet at the Yanhui Pavilion to formally announce the Sword Saint’s return to the sect.

However, due to Gu Baiyi’s special background, being both a former Demon Lord and host of the Heavenly Demon Seed, they couldn’t reveal her identity just yet.

After discussing it with Gong Yu, they decided to keep things quiet for now.

Otherwise, even if the Divine Sect didn’t act, the disciples of Wanjian Sect would probably be scared half to death just by seeing Gu Baiyi.

But they hadn’t expected that even before the banquet began, the sight of Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi sitting at the head table had already sent shockwaves through the disciples.

Even Elder Gong, usually the most stern and aloof of them all, was now seated quietly at their side, looking like a demure young lady watching the others chat. Her lips moved as if to speak, but she couldn’t find an opening.

Though her expression remained composed, the disciples somehow perceived a trace of grievance in her gaze.

Grievance?

The disciples didn’t know if they were imagining things, or if Wanjian Sect was on the brink of collapse.

Since when could “grievance” be used to describe Elder Gong? The very thought was absurd.

That’s what Wei Zongqiu thought, too.

So when he first heard the rumors, he only chuckled and dismissed them with a cutting remark: “What nonsense. Totally unrelated.”

But once he arrived at the banquet and saw the sect leader smiling and pouring wine for Ji Rong while chatting amiably with Gu Baiyi, his face went pale with horror.

He must have walked in wrong.

So when Mei He finally announced to the disciples that the Sword Saint had returned to the sect, no one was really shocked anymore.

Just based on the behavior of Gong Yu and Mei He, if they said Ji Rong was the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao itself, the disciples would probably believe it.

Some even began to faintly guess at Gu Baiyi’s true identity.

And once that thought crossed their minds, they looked at the smiling woman beside Gu Baiyi and even their hands trembled as they held their bowls and chopsticks.

Everyone knew, the Sword Saint had four disciples.

That wasn’t a piece of common knowledge. That was a horror story.

Just as the atmosphere grew ever more bizarre, a man in a red robe, silver-red boots, and the grace of autumn maple leaves strode lightly into the scene.

He came to a stop and closed his folding fan with a crisp snap.

Instead of feeling awkward, he even feigned surprise. “My, what a hard place to find. And yet, here you all are.”

Everyone turned toward him at once.

Bamboo shadows danced behind him as Xie Bai raised his folding fan and smiled cheerfully, clasping his hands in greeting.

“Apologies for being late," he said with a grin. “Three cups as punishment on me.”