AWB Chapter 284 Xuannv 149
Chapter 284 Xuannv 149
In late spring, Qingqiu was ablaze with pink and white peach blossoms, a breathtaking spectacle. A fierce wind swept across the Jade Void Peak from beyond the heavens, causing the wind chimes hanging from the eaves to tinkle melodiously. Bai Qian leaned against the gilded, carved window frame, her moon-white dress embroidered with delicate nine-tailed fox patterns rustling as she moved restlessly across the jade steps. The girl slammed a half-eaten peach blossom pastry onto the table, her coral earrings swaying violently. "Mother," she cried, "I said I don't want to go! Why do you insist I go? Me, the dignified Princess of Qingqiu, forced to study at that Kunlun Ruins?" Her voice trembled with a coquettish whimper, like the soft claws of a young animal.
Inside the bedchamber, Ning Chang's hands, which were tidying her dressing table, suddenly stopped, the sandalwood comb clinking against the edge of the bronze mirror. As she turned, her wide sleeves fluttered, the jade flower ornament on her forehead gleaming coldly in the candlelight, even the white magnolia hairpin tucked at her temple exuding solemnity. "You have to go!" The blue smoke rising from the gilded incense burner swirled between mother and daughter, but Ning Chang's voice was colder and harder than the smoke. "This opportunity came about after we pleaded all night at the Ten Mile Peach Blossom Forest, begging and pleading until Zhe Yan finally spoke up. For the High God Mo Yuan to accept you as a disciple is a matter of honor for Qingqiu!"
Bai Qian stamped her foot in anger, the silver bells at her waist jingling, startling the luminous pearl in the rafters. "So what if he's a Celestial War God? What's so special about him! My Qingqiu sect has five High Gods, are we afraid of them?" Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her eyelashes seemingly veiled with aggrieved mist. Outside the window, peach blossoms fluttered, their reflections in the girl's eyes like burning clouds—how could the perpetually snow and ice of Kunlun Ruins compare to the peach groves of Qingqiu, where spring reigns all year round?
Ning Chang suddenly sighed, her delicate hand stroking the pearl hairpin in her daughter's hair, tucking the stray strands behind her ear. The candlelight cast fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but her tone was like the softest clouds in spring: "Qianqian, when you were little, you would read 'The Art of War' until late at night, pestering me to ask how the God of War, Mo Yuan, sealed Qing Cang..." Her fingertips brushed across her daughter's cheeks, which were flushed with anger. She suddenly remembered that little bundle of joy with pigtails, curled up on her lap, her eyes sparkling as she said, "When I grow up, I want to be as majestic as the God of War, Mo Yuan."
Bai Qian puffed out her cheeks, gazing at the peach petals fluttering down outside the window. The pink and white rain of petals landed on her shoulders, only to be shaken off in frustration. After a while, the girl grumbled, "Fine, I'll go. I've already explored all of Qingqiu, might as well treat this as a trip to Kunlun Mountain!" Before she finished speaking, she had already lifted her skirt and rushed out the door, her coral beaded necklace sweeping across the threshold, stirring up a cloud of dust. The clear chirping of birds drifted from afar, mingling with the sound of the girl's departing footsteps, gradually fading into the mists of Qingqiu.
Ning Chang leaned against the door frame, watching her daughter's skipping figure disappear into the distance, and rubbed her aching temples. The wind chimes on Jade Void Peak began to tinkle again, and for some reason, this once melodious sound now sounded exactly like the jingling of silver bells when Bai Qian left—this little rascal was probably going to turn Kunlun Mountain upside down.
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A misty, intoxicating pink vapor rises from the ten-mile-long peach blossom forest, and the floating bridge at the ferry crossing meanders across the shimmering water like a ribbon fallen to earth. Zheyan leans against the weathered peach wood railing, his white robe billowing in the mountain breeze, like a banished immortal stepping out of a splashed-ink landscape painting. He lightly touches the water's surface with his jade-bone fan, scattering the floating peach blossom reflections, the black jade fan pendant swaying gently with the movement, creating ripples on the water's surface.
From afar, Bai Qian came running, panting, carrying the hem of her moon-white dress embroidered with nine-tailed fox patterns. The pearl hairpin at her temple was askew, and strands of hair clung messily to her flushed cheeks, making her look like a little fox with its fur standing on end. Zhe Yan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Before Bai Qian could complain, he reached out and tucked a gilded hairpin he had prepared into her hair. The pearls adorning the hairpin trembled slightly with the movement, making the girl's eyes appear even more lively: "You've been dawdling for so long; it's as if I'm begging you to become my disciple."
The majestic Kunlun Mountains were shrouded in perpetual snow, with clouds churning across the steep peaks like a veil draped by the gods. Bai Qian had just landed on Zheyan's auspicious cloud when a biting wind howled, instantly piercing her thin spring robe and making her shiver. She stamped her numb feet, looking up at the nine thousand stone steps that pierced the clouds. Through the snow and mist, the outline of a vermilion palace was faintly visible, like a fairyland floating in the clouds.
"Old Phoenix!" Bai Qian's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she stomped her foot in dissatisfaction, her boots crushing a few snowflakes. "Why didn't you just take me up there? Why are you freezing here at the foot of the mountain!" Before she finished speaking, a gust of mountain wind whipped up a cloud of snow, which landed on her flushed cheeks, causing her to back away.
Zheyan lightly tapped her hair with his folding fan, the jade pendant clinking melodiously, as if striking the restless heart of the young girl: You've come to learn from him, so you must show sincerity. These nine thousand steps must be climbed step by step by yourself. With that, he lightly waved his peach-pink fan, swirling peach blossom shadows, and gently pushed Bai Qian forward half a step. Falling peach blossoms and snowflakes intertwined in the air, like a magnificent dream.
"Then I won't bow!" Bai Qian's face flushed red with anger. She turned and grabbed Zhe Yan's sleeve, her coral earrings jingling as she moved. "Let's go! Let's go back to Qingqiu now! I'd rather listen to my mother's nagging than climb these awful steps!" The newly changed gilded hair ornament in her hair trembled slightly in the wind and snow, the pearls reflecting a shimmering light, as if they were lamenting their owner's grievance. The cold wind howled, carrying the girl's stubborn words, dissipating into the vast snow-covered mountains.