Zhu Xian: They've all been reborn

Dazhu Peak, bamboo forest on the back mountain.

The moonlight was beautiful, its silvery glow casting a cool, clear light on the bamboo leaves. A night breeze blew, causing the bamboo to rustle like ocean waves.

Jiang Xiaochuan sat on the bluestone where he usually practiced swordsmanship, with the Xuechuan Sword lying across his lap, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cold blade.

After Tian Ling'er stormed off in a huff in the afternoon, she ignored him and didn't even sit at the same table with him at dinner. Lu Xueqi, on the other hand, kept her promise and said she would come to practice tomorrow... Sigh.

A faint white light flashed around her, and Xiao Bai revealed her human form, lazily leaning against the bamboo beside her. Her silver hair flowed with a mercury-like luster under the moonlight, and her exquisite face wore a half-smile.

"What's wrong with you looking so worried?" Xiaobai asked, her voice carrying the languid charm unique to the fox clan.

"I wasn't thinking about anything," Jiang Xiaochuan said in a muffled voice.

"Oh? Didn't you expect those two girls who were jealous of you?" Xiaobai raised an eyebrow and teased.

Jiang Xiaochuan's face flushed: "What jealousy? Xiaobai, don't talk nonsense. Senior Sister Ling'er is my senior sister, and Junior Sister Lu is my... my friend, and she's my... teacher who taught me cultivation."

"Senior sister? Friend? Teacher?" Xiaobai repeated, leaning closer. In the moonlight, her eyes seemed to see right through people's hearts.

"Jiang Xiaochuan, tell me the truth, what are your feelings for Tian Ling'er and Lu Xueqi? Do you like them? Do you love them?"

Jiang Xiaochuan was taken aback by the direct question. He turned to look at Xiaobai's unrealistically beautiful face so close to his own, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked away. "You... why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I'm just curious." Xiaobai tilted her head, twirling a strand of her silver hair with her fingers.

"It's quite amusing to see you stuck in the middle all the time, caught in the middle and having it all wrong. Tell me about it, there's no one else here, I promise I won't laugh at you." Her eyes gleamed with mischief.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her and felt that Xiaobai was acting a little strange tonight. But he was also really feeling uneasy, so he hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, "Senior Sister Ling'er... she's been very good to me, ever since we were little. Like... like an older sister, and also like a younger sister. We're very close, very dependent on each other. When I see her unhappy, I feel bad and want to cheer her up. But... it doesn't seem to be that kind of... romantic love?"

He paused, then continued, "Junior Sister Lu... she's very capable, knows a lot, and has helped me a great deal. Without her, I might still be at the third level of Jade Purity, and I wouldn't have been able to cultivate Snow River. I'm very grateful to her, respect her, and even... admire and idolize her a little. Being with her makes me feel very safe, and I can learn a lot from her. I guess you could say she's... a good friend? Or... a teacher? Yes, both a teacher and a friend."

He spoke slowly and earnestly, as if he were sorting out his own thoughts.

Under the moonlight, his profile held the clarity of a young boy, but also a hint of bewilderment that didn't belong to his age.

Xiao Bai listened quietly, and only after he finished speaking did she softly ask, "Really... you've never loved? Not even a little bit, not even a flicker of attraction?"

Jiang Xiaochuan fell silent.

Heart flutter? It seems... I've had that feeling before? When Lu Xueqi held his hand, when she was very close to him, when she called his name... her feelings were a little different.

But was it because she was too beautiful? Or because she was too good to herself? He couldn't tell.

"I don't know." He finally shook his head and sighed. "Xiaobai, you know my secret. In my past life... and this life, my mental age is at least thirty. They... are only teenagers. In my eyes, they are just little girls. I like them, but not in that way. I'd rather... be free and unrestrained, cultivate, travel, and see the world. I don't want to be... tied down by emotions."

He was speaking from the heart. His time travel and rebirth had created a sense of detachment from the world, making him seem like an observer.

Tian Ling'er and Lu Xueqi are both very good, but deep down, he always felt that he didn't belong here and shouldn't have such deep ties.

Xiao Bai looked at him, her eyes becoming somewhat deep, carrying a hint of indescribable emotion.

Thirty-something? Little girls? If you knew that these two "little girls" in your eyes each carried memories and obsessions from hundreds of years ago... would you still think that way?

She suddenly chuckled, her tone becoming light and slightly seductive: "Oh? So, it seems you should like me. I'm not a little girl, you know. I look... not young, not old, right? Besides, it wouldn't be bad if we traveled the world together in the future. With me here, with my cultivation level, where can't we go? I guarantee it'll be much more carefree than you doing it alone."

Jiang Xiaochuan was taken aback by her words and turned to look at her.

Under the moonlight, Xiaobai smiled with her eyes crinkling, her beauty breathtaking, her eyes sparkling with an indescribable allure and seriousness.

His heart skipped a beat for no reason, and his face felt a little hot. He quickly composed himself, deliberately looked her up and down, and gave her a meaningful look.

"You? Hmm, you don't look old, but..." He drawled out the words, with a hint of teasing.

"Little White, how old are you exactly this year? Let me guess. A three-tailed spirit fox must have cultivated for at least a hundred years, right? A six-tailed fox for a thousand years? A nine-tailed fox... that must be several thousand years old..."

Before the word "monster" could even be uttered, Xiaobai's smile vanished instantly, a hint of embarrassment and annoyance flashed in her eyes, and she suddenly leaned in and gave his arm a light bite!

"Ouch!" Jiang Xiaochuan cried out in pain.

Xiaobai released her mouth, glared at him, her cheeks slightly puffed out, and huffed, "Don't you know age is a woman's secret? If you dare to guess again, next time you won't just bite my arm!"

Jiang Xiaochuan rubbed the faint teeth marks on his arm, looking at her with a wry smile: "I think you're more like a dog than a fox! Why are you biting people!"

"I'll bite you! So what?" Little White raised its chin, snorted, transformed back into a fox, jumped onto his lap, swept its tail across his face, then curled up into a ball and ignored him.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at the fluffy little thing on his lap and shook his head with a smile. The little bit of unease he felt about his relationship seemed to have been somewhat diluted by this little incident.

He looked up at the bright moon in the sky above the bamboo forest and sighed softly.

Can one truly be carefree and at ease?

he does not know.

Night deepened. Little Bamboo Peak, Moon-Viewing Terrace.

The moonlight, like mercury spilling onto the ground, bathed the entire platform in a soft glow.

The night wind was chilly, making people's clothes flutter.

Lu Xueqi stood alone on the edge of the cliff, Tianya sword on her back, the blade emanating a faint, continuous hum and warmth. She knew it was the resonance of Xuechuan.

This resonance brought her peace of mind, and also allowed a secret joy and possessiveness to quietly grow within her.

Just then, I heard very light footsteps behind me, almost blending into the night breeze.

No, it wasn't footsteps; it sounded more like the faint noise of some creature approaching under the moonlight.

Lu Xueqi didn't turn around; her cool eyes remained fixed on the distant direction of Dazhu Peak, her voice flat and emotionless: "What is it?"

A white figure appeared silently a few steps away from her. Xiao Bai had returned to human form, wearing a plain white dress, her silver hair gleaming coolly in the moonlight.

She leaned lazily against an old pine tree, a half-smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with amusement as she looked at Lu Xueqi.

"Just came to see you." Xiao Bai's voice carried the languid charm unique to the fox clan, exceptionally clear in the quiet night. "Looking at our pure, unattainable Fairy Lu, is she also... indulging in spring fever at night?"

Lu Xueqi finally turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Xiaobai like an icy blade, her aura instantly turning colder: "It's none of your business."

"Tsk tsk, still as temperamental as ever." Xiao Bai didn't take it to heart. Instead, he took two steps forward, getting closer to Lu Xueqi. The moonlight illuminated her beautiful face and reflected the undisguised provocation in her eyes.

"I'm just here to tell you... a fact you might not want to hear."

Lu Xueqi looked at her coldly without saying a word.

Xiao Bai tilted her head, her smile deepening, but her tone carried a cruel pleasure: "You know what? Tonight, I asked him. I asked him what his feelings were for you and for Tian Ling'er."

Lu Xueqi's breath hitched almost imperceptibly, and her fingertips curled slightly. But her face remained expressionless, only her eyes grew colder.

"Want to know what he said?" Xiaobai drawled, admiring the barely concealed emotion in Lu Xueqi's eyes. "He said Tian Ling'er is like an older sister, and also like a younger sister—very close, but not romantically. As for you…"

She paused deliberately, watching Lu Xueqi's unconsciously tense jawline, before slowly saying, "He said you're a good friend, a teacher, both mentor and friend. Gratitude, respect, admiration, worship... In short, no love. Not even a little bit."

The night wind seemed even colder. Lu Xueqi stood there, the moonlight casting a long, aloof shadow of her.

She didn't move or speak, but just stared at Xiaobai with unfathomable eyes, like a frozen lake.

Looking at her like this, Xiao Bai felt a strange sense of pleasure, and also some... indescribable emotions.

She stepped forward, almost face to face with Lu Xueqi, and could feel the chill emanating from the other. She lowered her voice, her tone alluring and subtly probing:

"Did you hear that? There's no place for you in her heart at all. It seems she likes me more now. Tonight she even told me she wanted to travel the world with me, living a carefree life. Lu Xueqi, it seems your deep affection... is going to be wasted."

After she finished speaking, she took a step back and looked at Lu Xueqi with a calm expression, hoping to see collapse, anger, or even the slightest wavering on her face.

However, Lu Xueqi simply stared at her silently for a long time. Then, she suddenly smiled. A very faint, subtle smile, even tinged with a hint of… mockery?

"Xiao Bai," she spoke, her voice as cold as ever, yet carrying a knowing calm, "Do you think I'd believe your nonsense?"

Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow: "You don't believe me? I'm telling the truth. He said it himself."

"So what if he said it himself?" Lu Xueqi slightly raised her chin, her profile beautiful and aloof in the moonlight.

"Just because he says no, does that mean it's not true? When it comes to feelings, sometimes we're not in control of our actions, and our hearts are even less in control. Just because he doesn't understand now doesn't mean he won't understand in the future. Just because he can't see it now doesn't mean he won't see it in the future."

She paused, her gaze shifting towards Dazhu Peak. Her eyes softened instantly, revealing an almost obsessive certainty: "I will make him understand, I will make him see. Little by little, I will erase all those blurred boundaries in his heart. Until his heart can only hold me."

She looked at Xiaobai again, her gaze returning to its usual coldness, but with a hint of sharpness: "As for you, Senior Xiaobai, haven't thousands of years allowed you to see through things? Some things are not meant to be yours, and you can't force them. Using such childish provocations only makes you seem... ridiculous."

"You!" Xiao Bai was stung by the words "thousands of years" and "ridiculous," and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

Yes, her current cultivation level is higher than Lu Xueqi's before she matured, but she had also witnessed the woman's terrifying strength and temperament in her previous life.

Being mocked about her age and efforts in this way made her furious.

"You can't force it?" Xiao Bai sneered. "Lu Xueqi, don't forget, he's not yours yet. Who can say what the future holds? At least for now, I understand him better than anyone around him, and I'm more... worthy of him."

"Is he worthy?" Lu Xueqi repeated calmly, her gaze sweeping over Xiaobai's exquisite face with a hint of scrutiny. "Perhaps. But feelings don't care about being worthy or not, only about wanting. If I want him, then he can only be mine. I will remove any obstacles. Anyone, it's the same."

She spoke the last few words softly, yet with a resolute determination that could be clearly heard in the night wind.

Xiao Bai felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the undisguised possessiveness and almost icy obsession in her eyes.

She knew that the woman before her was serious. Moreover, she had the ability and determination to do it.

The two stared at each other in the moonlight. One was as aloof as snow, the other languid and alluring. The atmosphere was tense, yet undercurrents surged.

After a moment, Xiaobai suddenly chuckled and turned around. "Fine, then we'll see..." As soon as she finished speaking, her figure transformed into a white light and vanished into the night.

Lu Xueqi stood alone on the Moon Gazing Platform, the night wind blowing through her long hair.

She raised her hand and gently pressed the hilt of the Tianya sword behind her, which vibrated slightly and radiated warmth. Her gaze toward Dazhu Peak became increasingly firm.

He won't like her? That's okay. It's enough that she likes him. She has a lifetime to let him get used to her presence, to depend on her kindness, until... he can no longer live without her.