INE Chapter 91: Where Are You From

As the New Year approached, Bixue Peak grew lively with anticipation.

On New Year’s Eve, Mei He went to the market and returned with a thousand red lanterns. Several junior sisters offered up their storage pouches to help carry them, but even then, they barely managed to fit them all.

The newly accepted disciples joined in the preparations, setting up stools and hanging the lanterns from the eaves.

When Yue Qianqiu stepped outside early in the morning, she was greeted by a sea of brilliant red lanterns.

They were strung tightly together, winding from the mountaintop down the slopes like a blazing red dragon—radiant and festive.

At the bottom of the steps stood her four disciples, their faces glowing red under the lantern light. Smiling brightly, they called out, “Master, Happy New Year!”

The lanterns were beautiful, and so were the sparkling lights in her disciples’ eyes.

For a brief moment, Yue Qianqiu forgot that she was only here on a mission. In that instant, it felt as if she had always been Yue Qianqiu, and had always had these four troublesome yet endearing disciples.

Her eldest was wild and unruly, yet reliable. The second was quiet and reserved, with a smile like spring sunlight. The third was stubborn and secretive, always keeping things to himself. The youngest loved chasing crickets and running all over the mountains.

It was hard to imagine that one day these children would grow into revered figures admired by the world.

They led Yue Qianqiu to a newly built pavilion.

Mei He pulled the cloth off the plaque, revealing the name carved into it: “Yanhui”.

Beside the Yanhui Pavilion stood a stone table, upon which sat several feather-shaped wine cups, each filled with wine.

Yue Qianqiu took a seat on one of the stone stools. She took a sip and narrowed her eyes slightly.

This wine… she had definitely tasted it somewhere before.

Bai Yushuang looked at her expectantly and asked, “Master, how is it? Senior Sister Mei bought it from the Jinyu House in Chang’an. It’s called Eternal Drunkenness. They say it’s so rare and expensive that the name means even a thousand gold can’t buy it!”

Yue Qianqiu paused. If she remembered correctly, wasn’t this wine called Eternal Drunkenness?

Before she could make sense of the confusion, Chu Changli arrived, carefully setting down a bowl of tangyuan in front of her.

With a gentle smile, she said, “You’ve worked hard, Master. This was made by Senior Sister Gong. Please eat it while it’s hot.”

Yue Qianqiu looked down at the nine pristine, snow-white tangyuan, soft, round, and perfectly shaped.

Gong Yu sighed. “Changli, you’re the one who bought the glutinous rice and filling, and failed so many times before finally getting it right. Why won’t you admit it?”

Chu Changli gave a light cough. “Don’t be ridiculous, Senior Sister Gong. These clearly came from a professional shop. The ones I made looked nothing like this.”

Yue Qianqiu: “…”

Mei He chuckled. “Changli, are you trying to praise yourself in a roundabout way?”

Chu Changli smiled calmly and leaned toward Yue Qianqiu, blinking innocently. “What’s the point of praising myself? Master, please take pity on your flattery-loving little disciple and praise me instead.”

Yue Qianqiu nodded. “That phrase, ‘flattery-loving little disciple’ is much more accurate than most of what you write in your essays.”

Chu Changli’s smile froze.

The other three disciples stared for a second, then burst out laughing.

After the teasing and laughter, they all gathered in the Yanhui Pavilion and shared a long New Year’s Eve feast that lasted over an hour.

When the feast finally ended, Bai Yushuang and Gong Yu said a few words to Yue Qianqiu, then carried a thoroughly drunk Mei He away under the moonlight.

As for Chu Changli, who was always elusive, no one even noticed when she slipped away.

Left alone, Yue Qianqiu flew to the top of the Wanjian Sect’s highest tower, the Chonghua Tower, and sat on the rooftop, gazing quietly at the moon.

The moon hung high in the sky, distant and bright. It should have been something joyful, but its solitary brilliance carried a faint trace of melancholy.

After watching for a while, Yue Qianqiu seemed to recall something. She reached for the storage pouch at her waist and drew out a small chessboard.

She furrowed her brow and stared at the Mountains and Rivers Chessboard in her hand, lost in thought.

This chessboard had been with her ever since Ji Rong first entered the archive and took over her body.

But logically, she had just been inside the chessboard. So how could it now appear here as well?

She thought of one possibility.

Unless… these were two parallel worlds. And her sister had possessed the Mountains and Rivers Chessboard, a time-defying artifact, from the very beginning.

If that were the case, her sister likely wasn’t from the modern world either. Otherwise, how could she have started at full level with an artifact in hand?

Maybe… she wasn’t really her sister after all.

Yue Qianqiu sighed and drained her cup.

When she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of bright, clear eyes peering out from the darkness.

Chu Changli had appeared without a sound, sitting beside her on the eaves, robes fluttering as she smiled. “Master, aren’t you afraid of falling from such a height?”

“Why should I be?”

Chu Changli looked at the moon hanging far above and smiled faintly. “Master is human too. Of course you’d be afraid. Only a true immortal could be fearless and indifferent to all things.”

Expressionless, Yue Qianqiu replied, “Mm. Actually, I am a true immortal.”

“Really?” Chu Changli’s eyes sparkled.

“Of course not. If I were, I’d be off enjoying myself already, not stuck in this mundane world.”

“Does Master like living freely?”

Yue Qianqiu gave her a look. “Is there anyone who doesn’t?”

“True. I forgot, Master is human.”

Yue Qianqiu: “…”

She had the distinct feeling this rascal was mocking her again.

Chu Changli chuckled and asked, “If one day, Master could truly live freely, would you leave the sect and wander the world?”

“Of course I would.”

“I knew it…”

Yue Qianqiu glanced at her. “What exactly did you know?”

Under the night sky, Chu Changli’s gaze grew uncharacteristically gentle.

“I just knew… if Master were free, you’d stop caring about us.”

Yue Qianqiu said flatly, “As long as you know.”

“But I still want to follow Master. If you’re reading beneath the bodhi tree, I’ll paint beside you. If you’re out traveling, I’ll travel with you. Wherever you go… I’ll go too.”

"If your master were to brave blades and fire, what would you do?"

"If you go through blades and fire, Master, then I’ll go with you."

"And if I wanted to travel to the ends of the earth and the farthest reaches of the sea?"

"I’ll follow you there too."

Looking at Chu Changli’s smiling face, at that very moment, Yue Qianqiu suddenly thought of someone else, and couldn’t help but smile.

"Then right now, I want to take you somewhere. Will you come?"

"Yes."

Once she had her answer, Yue Qianqiu took her disciple’s hand, stepped onto the Qingshuang Sword, and soared into the sky.

Chu Changli was held by Yue Qianqiu as they flew. The night breeze was cool, and strands of Yue Qianqiu’s dark hair brushed softly across her cheek.

Her master was right there, close enough to touch, yet somehow felt so far away. She could see her, but didn’t dare reach out. She extended a hand into the wind, hesitated, then slowly pulled it back.

After wavering for a long while, she finally made up her mind. She reached out with quiet determination and lightly tugged at the corner of the immortal’s robe. Then she wrapped her arms around her master’s waist, catching the faint scent of plum blossoms from Feilai Peak.

A delicate fragrance, cold and lingering.

The Qingshuang Sword trembled slightly, and Yue Qianqiu nearly lost her balance. She drew in a sharp breath and was just about to swat Chu Changli’s hand away.

But then, a soft voice whispered behind her, "Master... it’s so high. Changli’s scared."

Yue Qianqiu suddenly remembered how her third disciple, when she was small, used to wrap her little arms around her waist just like this.

Even though Chu Changli’s body now housed Gu Baiyi’s soul, back then, she had simply thought: children clinging to their elders, it’s only natural.

But now, after all these years, hearing Chu Changli speak those words, she realized just how devious this disciple had been. All this time, she’d been pretending to be pitiful, playing her like a fiddle.

A prodigious cultivator who had already broken through to the Stepping on the Moon realm... claiming she was afraid of heights?

Truly, a wicked little thing.

Yue Qianqiu’s cultivation was profound. In no time at all, she flew to the southernmost reaches of the sky.

It was nighttime. The heavens were vast, snow drifting gently through the air.

The two of them stood on the ground, looking up at the edge of the sky where an aurora shimmered.

Wings of blue light floated and danced, flickering like the facets of a gemstone beneath moonlight, flowing like flames set alight in the sky.

Stars and moon twined together, radiating in brilliant hues.

Chu Changli looked ahead and noticed a golden barrier shimmering in the distance.

It was enormous, like a great net, stretching out in all directions, ensnaring mountains, rivers, glittering stars, and the solitary moon.

She stared at it for a long time before asking, "Master, what is that?"

Yue Qianqiu replied, "It’s a barrier."

Chu Changli recalled something she’d read in a book called The Hidden Records of Cultivation, a legend about the Immortal Sanhua.

So she asked, "Master, what’s behind the barrier? Is it the world where the immortals dwell?"

Yue Qianqiu thought of what Chu Changli had written in her journal. After a pause, she answered, "No. There’s nothing behind the barrier. Just like there’s always another mountain beyond the mountain, behind that barrier... is another barrier."

"Then, are all of us trapped inside this one?"

That used to be her belief, too, that everyone had been locked inside this dimensional wall, a grand scheme holding them captive.

But now, after everything she’d experienced, Yue Qianqiu no longer thought that way.

This world felt too real. It had laws of its own. It wasn’t just a game or some artificial construct.

Still, since Chu Changli had written it that way in her journal, Yue Qianqiu nodded, so as not to disrupt the flow of time.

"Yes. It’s a door, one that cages everyone inside a box."

Chu Changli looked at her master’s calm expression and suddenly smiled. "Master... when you say ‘everyone’—does that include you?"

Of course not, Yue Qianqiu thought. I only came here to reload a save. Once I finish, I’m leaving. No way I’m staying here forever.

She shook her head.

Seeing that, Chu Changli smiled again. "Then, will Master open that door one day and go somewhere else?"

Yue Qianqiu had no desire to break through the barrier. But once she completed her path, she would indeed leave.

After all, this timeline wasn’t hers. She only took this path to overwrite a save file.

Naturally, she wouldn’t explain all that to Chu Changli. After all, the soul inside her was Gu Baiyi. Once everything ended, Gu Baiyi would understand.

So Yue Qianqiu simply nodded and said, her voice cool and mysterious, "Once everything is complete, I’ll go elsewhere."

Time shifted. The aurora shimmered into a dreamlike silver-blue glow.

Chu Changli looked at her master. She didn’t ask what Yue Qianqiu needed to complete, nor where she planned to go.

She only smiled, saying nothing.

Yue Qianqiu had brought Chu Changli here to make one thing clear: Disciple, you and I aren’t even from the same timeline.

So, my dear disciple, you say you'll go wherever I go, but stop dreaming. Once the timeline resets, you won’t even be my disciple anymore.

When Chu Changli still said nothing, Yue Qianqiu looked at her, amused, and asked, "So, do you still want to follow your master to the ends of the earth?"

Chu Changli smiled softly. "Of course. Always."

"If Master goes to the ends of the earth, I’ll go there too. If Master goes to the farthest sea, I’ll follow there as well. If Master chooses another place entirely, then I’ll let her go, but one day, Master will see me there, too."

"Because wherever Master goes, I’ll go. No matter what it takes."

Yue Qianqiu fell silent.

Because, to be fair, Chu Changli wasn’t wrong. Once she left this save file behind, the soul of Gu Baiyi would return.

And she would see it again, in another place.

But what about Chu Changli herself? Where would she go?

Would she be buried beneath the abyss, or break through the barrier and reach another world?

Right now, her name was Yue Qianqiu, but she didn’t know the answer.

But Chu Changli did.

She smiled and said, "Unless I die. Then I’ll quietly go to the underworld and stop bothering Master."