Chapter 3: Whence Comes the Celestial Glow
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Thirty-League Inn lay west of Yuyang County, home to a cultivation manor called the Immortal Worship Mountain Manor.
At the hour of the dragon, Old Qiu took his daughter to borrow grain. As they approached the Whitewater River, they encountered Immortals descending from the mountain to collect offerings.
At first, Old Qiu noticed nothing amiss, only that the leading Immortal seemed unusually fond of his daughter. The man gazed at her repeatedly and praised her for having a “celestial glow.”
Old Qiu believed this to be a blessing—until he carried the grain sack home and a subordinate named Niu Er arrived with congratulations. Niu Er informed him that three-tenths of his annual offering had been waived, but only if his daughter was sent up the mountain. It was then Old Qiu realized the heavens were crumbling.
Using living beings for alchemical refining was not unheard of in Great Xia, but the Qiu family had never imagined their daughter would meet such a fate.
By then, the neighbors and relatives had gathered at the Qiu family home. Old Qiu sat silently on a stone stool, his expression vacant.
“What does it mean to have a celestial glow? And why would the Immortals say she possesses limitless potential? Ru Ru has never even seen an Immortal. Surely, they’ve mistaken her for someone else…”
“But they’re Immortals! If they say it’s true, what power do we mere mortals have to dispute it?”
“Not even Great Xia’s laws can restrain them. Once they’ve spoken, I fear no one can save Ru Ru now.”
Amid her mother’s weeping in the courtyard, five-year-old Qiu Ru was terrified. She thought it was her own mischief—insisting on accompanying them to her grandfather’s house at the Thirty-League Inn—that had angered her mother.
Seeing her mother gasping through her sobs, Qiu Ru ran on her tiny legs to cling to her neck. “Mother, I… I was wrong. I’ll be obedient from now on. Please don’t cry. I promise I won’t be naughty again.”
“What’s the use of listening now? I told you not to go, but you just wouldn’t listen!”
Li Shu Ping, nearly hysterical, pushed her daughter to the ground, only to scoop her back into her arms and weep uncontrollably.
After a long silence, Old Qiu raised his head, his lips trembling. “Tomorrow, I’ll go to the county magistrate’s hall and plead with the lord. Back when I served the Ji family, he and I shared some history…”
…
Ji You had overheard the rumors earlier in a tavern and had gone to the outskirts of the city. He had now been observing the crowd at the Qiu family home for some time.
Since being transported to the Azure Clouds Dominion, his days had been rough but peaceful overall. Ji You had no grand ambitions. If he did, why would he have pursued philosophy in his previous life? Unable to return to his former world, he simply wished to achieve modest cultivation, prove himself as a fierce bandit, and live a life where meat graced his table thrice a day.
But never had he imagined that the stability he thought he possessed was so fragile. When Immortals descended, your life was theirs to command—be it to live or die. The so-called peace was merely a façade until it struck you directly.
Not one to linger where sorrow brewed, Ji You left promptly. Unlike joy, grief was not a sentiment that called for communal sharing.
Returning to the Ji Clan’s Ancestral Mansion, he pushed open the gate, walked into the inner courtyard, and noticed his eccentric neighbor, a scholar, perched on a tree as always. The man held a scroll in hand, flipping its pages intently. Upon spotting Ji You, the scholar rose.
This time, however, he did not hurry off. Instead, he gazed down at Ji You from above.
“The Qiu family is in trouble,” he stated.
The scholar, Kuang Cheng, hailed from a scholarly lineage in Yuyang County and was a son of the Kuang household, whose estate bordered the Ji Clan’s ancestral mansion. Known for his gallantry, Kuang Cheng was the kind of man who fetched water for widows and guided the blind—an exemplar of filial and righteous virtue.
Among the limited acquaintances Ji You had in this world, Kuang Cheng was one of the few. When Ji You first arrived, unfamiliar with the Yuyang dialect, it was through overhearing Kuang Cheng’s recitations from the tree that he had gradually picked up the language.
That was the story Ji You knew. What he didn’t know was that Young Master Kuang and the Ji Clan’s young master had been inseparable childhood friends. But as time passed, the Ji scion had squandered his talents in indulgence, while Kuang Cheng diligently pursued his studies. Their paths naturally diverged.
Even so, when Kuang Cheng learned of the Qiu family’s plight, he searched through countless ancient texts and discovered a possible solution. He now waited here, prepared to assist, for he believed the Qiu family had once been kind to Ji You. Helping was merely repaying an old debt.
After hearing the scholar’s account, Ji You nodded. “I just returned from the Qiu household. I’ve heard about Qiu Ru.”
“If you’re aware, then you shouldn’t still be standing here.”
“And where should I be?”
Kuang Cheng stood upright on the tree branch. “You should be at the Fang Manor, pleading with Fang Ruo Yao to intervene.”
“The Immortal Worship Mountain Manor answers to the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace. Even ordinary cultivators dare not meddle in their affairs. However, the Heavenly Script Academy bears the responsibility of overseeing the Heavenly Dao and is recognized by the Divine Sect of Great Xia. They possess the authority.”
“Fang Ruo Yao is now a disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy. If you can persuade her to act, there may yet be a glimmer of hope for the girl.”
Having said all this in one breath, Kuang Cheng fixed Ji You with a steady gaze.
In Azure Clouds Dominion, there is an old saying: “If the immortals decree your death by midnight, who dares keep you alive past dawn?” Such a decree often brooks no resolution. Yet, the mere presence of two Celestial Masters from the Heavenly Script Academy in Yuyang Town introduced a rare variable. And in a world governed by fates and exceptions, such a variable often carried the seeds of a solution.
To Ji You, the crux of this matter lay with Fang Ruo Yao, the county magistrate’s daughter. However, this was not a simple endeavor. Fang Ruo Yao had once broken her betrothal with him, a humiliation Ji You had scarcely forgotten. For him to now plead with her would demand swallowing a pride he could scarcely afford.
As Kuang Cheng explained the details of the predicament, Ji You looked up and asked, “Where did you hear all this, Brother Kuang?”
“Naturally, from the pages of this book.”
Kuang Cheng, sensing Ji You’s doubt, tossed the book over the courtyard wall. Ji You caught it and recognized it immediately—the very Great Xia Immortal Edicts he had skimmed two years prior. Back then, his attention had been drawn to the more enigmatic chapters, glossing over sections detailing the sects and factions.
This time, however, as Ji You opened the first page, an almost nostalgic familiarity washed over him. His hands flipped through the pages with growing urgency until something halted him mid-scroll.
“What are you looking for so far back? What I mentioned is on the earlier pages,” Kuang Cheng muttered, frowning.
Ji You’s gaze locked onto a passage deeper within the tome. He studied it for a long moment before closing the book, lifting his head to stare northward at the blazing horizon.
The words of the ancients proved true—within the pages lay a treasure trove of solutions. Yet, the method Ji You unearthed diverged from the one Kuang Cheng had discovered.
From his perch, Kuang Cheng watched Ji You’s silence with growing confusion. Instead of heading straight for Fang Manor, Ji You strode back into his home. The door shut with a heavy thud, and he pulled dark curtains over every window.
[It’s been ages since I’ve pulled an all-nighter…]
Inside, Ji You groped along the wall before his hand found the stub of an unspent candle from the previous night. He lit it with a resigned sigh. The warm glow flickered, casting long shadows over the cramped room.
He couldn’t help but recall those relentless nights preparing for the imperial examinations. That same sense of urgency now gripped him. Time crawled as the stars wheeled overhead, their pale light illuminating the quiet, anxious town. Outside, Old Qiu lay sleepless on his bed, listening to his wife’s muffled sobs. For him, the night seemed unending.
At the first glimmers of dawn, Old Qiu hastily loaded their meager grain onto a cart. He traded it at the grain yard for silver coins, bundled the pouch tightly, and made his way to Fang Zhong Zheng’s manor. It was a desperate gamble to save his daughter’s life.
Yet, as Old Qiu approached the gates, local constables barred his way. Today, Fang Zhong Zheng and his daughter were hosting a banquet for the Celestial Masters from Capital City. From early morning, the manor bustled with activity as servants ferried trays of sumptuous dishes through its halls. The magistrate had decreed absolute silence and secrecy to ensure the immortals’ comfort. No one was to disturb the festivities.
Old Qiu, undeterred, collapsed to his knees in the middle of the street. Bowing his head until it struck the cobblestones, he cried out for justice. His anguished pleas drew a growing crowd of onlookers.
“Isn’t that Qiu Zhong?” someone whispered.
“I heard his daughter is to be taken as tribute for the immortals—turned into medicine. He must be here begging the magistrate for clemency. But who would dare defy the will of the Celestial Masters? Poor Old Qiu. He’ll likely die kneeling here.”
“Where is Ji You in all this?” another voice muttered.
“Didn’t you hear? He peeked out of his door last night and then locked himself away. Hasn’t stepped outside since.”
The day dragged into evening. The banquet concluded, but Qiu Zhong remained in the street, his knees bloodied and raw. The constables held their posts, unmoved. The crowd murmured with growing pity and disdain.
It was then that a scholar in a plain robe appeared, clutching the same Great Xia Immortal Edicts. As he walked down the street, passersby greeted him with respectful nods. “Young Master Kuang,” they murmured.
Kuang Cheng’s gaze fell on Qiu Zhong’s haggard form. Compassion warred with frustration in his heart. [If Ji You were kneeling here instead, perhaps this matter could be resolved.]
Fang Zhong Zheng’s forced annulment of Ji You’s engagement to Fang Ruo Yao had left a bitter stain on his family’s reputation. Were Ji You to kneel in protest, the Fang family might be compelled to relent, if only to preserve their dignity. Such an opening might allow an audience with the Celestial Masters, sparing Qiu Ru from her dire fate.
But since the prior evening, Ji You had sequestered himself indoors, unwilling to act. Kuang Cheng recalled how, two years ago, Ji You had fled his ancestral home when calamity struck, abandoning his parents in the dead of night. His current behavior was all too familiar.
[He won’t face the immortals,] Kuang Cheng thought bitterly. [And he won’t lower himself to beg Fang Ruo Yao, even for an innocent girl’s life.]
Resolved, Kuang Cheng strode to the constables at the gate.
“Might I trouble you to announce my request to meet with Miss Fang?” he asked with a respectful bow.
“Ah, Young Master Kuang,” one constable replied. “Our young mistress is entertaining the Celestial Masters. She’s unavailable to receive guests.”
“I’m prepared to wait,” Kuang Cheng said evenly. “We were once classmates, after all. As she departs for the capital tomorrow, today is my last chance to bid her farewell in person.”
The constable hesitated, then relented. “Very well, Young Master. Please wait here while I relay your message.”
Kuang Cheng inclined his head. “Many thanks.”