At the entrance of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Yue Liang gazed into the sky. The flying vessel carrying her clansmen had already disappeared without a trace. She knew that from this day on, who knew when she would ever see the Ancestor again. Her heart inevitably felt heavy with sorrow.
In the past, no matter whether she was within the Heavenly Sword Sect or traveling alongside Zhūnshàng Jian Dan outside the sect, she always carried the certainty that the Ancestor was waiting for her at Medicine Peak. That constant presence gave her confidence and comfort. But now that the Ancestor had left, Yue Liang suddenly felt a hollow emptiness in her chest.
"Yue Liang, do not be sad," Xing Xing spoke softly from behind her. His own emotions were also somewhat low, yet he still forced himself to put on strength and comfort her. "The Ancestor will surely look after himself and the clan. If you miss him, we can always visit him in the beast region."
"I know, Brother. You need not worry. Our clan has been preparing for this for a long time. Everything will proceed smoothly."
Yue Liang's voice carried firm conviction.
The two stood in silence for a while longer before returning together to their respective peaks.
Jian Dan quietly stroked Yue Liang's fur. After seeing her clansmen off, she had curled herself in Jian Dan's arms, seeking comfort in his touch, as though only this could soothe her restless heart.
Jian Dan smiled faintly, letting his fingers glide over the silken coat. He did not offer words of consolation. Partings, too, were a kind of cultivation.
After a long moment, Yue Liang finally broke the silence, her voice carrying a trace of melancholy.
"Yue Liang thanks Zhūnshàng for planning everything for me and my clan."
"You aided me greatly in eradicating the evil cultivators. I also wish for the Raccoon Beast Clan to flourish in the days to come."
"Yue Liang understands Zhūnshàng's good intentions."
Receiving his caress eased her spirits considerably. Lifting her head, she reported earnestly,
"Zhūnshàng, when I went to the Operations Hall to rent the flying vessel, Steward Yu seemed as though he had something to say. But I was in a rush to return to the clan and did not ask further. I wonder what it was."
"Lü Se."
"Zhūnshàng, what is your command?"
Hearing Jian Dan's summons, Lü Se immediately came forward and answered in a low voice.
"Go and investigate what is troubling Yu Yuanhai."
"Yes."
Lü Se turned at once and departed Tian Yue Peak to inquire.
Over the past century, Lü Se had not idled away his time. He had established his own methods of gathering information, though seldom employed. Since Jian Dan took charge of the Law Enforcement Hall, the intelligence network of the "Information Hall" had expanded greatly, leaving him with less to do.
Even so, there were reasons why Jian Dan trusted him. Lü Se focused his efforts inward, monitoring affairs within the sect. After all, mastering the internal workings of the sect was just as vital to Zhūnshàng's responsibilities.
Before long, Lü Se returned to the banyan tree and bowed.
"Zhūnshàng, what troubled Steward Yu is likely related to his younger kin, Yu Zongfan."
"What of Zongfan?" Jian Dan raised a brow.
"Ahem." Lü Se coughed lightly before continuing. "Because Zhūnshàng's name resounds across the sect after the battle against the evil cultivators, some people wish to curry favor. Unable to approach you, they turned instead toward Yu Zongfan, since he is publicly recognized as your only registered disciple."
Jian Dan let out a quiet sigh before asking, "Is Zong Fan still in the Outer Sect? Has this affected him?"
"Zong Fan is clear-headed. He knows these people only come because of you. He acts cautiously. For the most part, he only keeps contact with his Senior Brother Mao Dou. Recently, he received a set of Foundation Talisman Inscriptions and took on talisman crafting tasks. Most of his time is spent secluded in his cave dwelling."
"This matter I had not considered… Very well, you may return to your duties."
After Lü Se departed, Jian Dan transmitted his voice to Liu Chuan.
"Chuan, how are the two of them faring now?"
Liu Chuan understood she referred to Mao Dou and Yu Zongfan. He replied lazily, "They're doing fine. Both buried in cultivation. Mao Dou has not used your name, but since he's close to Zong Fan, people noticed him as well. Zong Fan is calm. He placed the defensive formation disk gifted by his clan's Ancestor and stays within his cave cultivating without stepping outside."
Jian Dan considered for a while before responding, "Originally, I wanted them to rise step by step from the Outer Sect, steady and grounded. But now with the two-hundred-year limit looming, and since they've drawn attention because of me, their path will not be smooth. I intend to bring them both to Tian Yue Peak."
"That is up to you. The reason you didn't take Mao Dou in before was because you couldn't remain in the sect long. But now it's different. As long as you preside over the Law Enforcement Hall, you won't be away for long, making it far easier to guide them."
Hearing this, Jian Dan nodded slightly. Her bright eyes turned as she said, "I hold both of them in high regard. Tonight, secretly bind them and test them. Consider it a trial. If they pass, I shall officially take them in—not as registered disciples, but as true personal disciples."
Liu Chuan rolled lazily on Jian Dan's wrist. "You're truly something. Others take disciples and nurture them, but you insist on tormenting yours with trials. Aren't you afraid they'll run away?"
"Because being my disciple is no easy task."
Jian Dan's gaze turned distant as she stroked Yue Liang in her arms, continuing in a quiet voice,"In the cultivation world, the bond between master and disciple is lifelong. Everything I do will influence them. With my cultivation, I fear little. But they are like the rising sun, just beginning their path. Too many temptations, too many ill intentions will surround them in the future."
"Still, you cannot refuse to act because of fear."
"That is why I must test them. If they can pass, I will keep them by my side and train them properly for a few years."
"Fine, fine. I understand. When night falls and the winds are high, I'll make my move."
Liu Chuan finally relented.
Meanwhile, on Jian Yue Peak, Yu Zongfan and Mao Dou suddenly shivered, as though some unseen calamity was approaching.
Yu Zongfan first glanced at his spirit beast pouch. Inside, Bai Bai was in the midst of advancement. He had finally refined the last drop of golden bloodline-enhancing liquid gifted by Zhūnshàng, and now slept deeply.
Bai Bai's snow-white fur shimmered with a gentle radiance. Each breath it took caused its aura to rise steadily.
If this went smoothly, Bai Bai would soon advance to the second tier. Because of that, Yu Zongfan had been especially careful, guarding it with all his focus.
Closing the pouch and tucking it back into his sleeve, Yu Zongfan checked the defensive formation disk once more. Finding no issues, he returned to his talisman drawing.
Mao Dou, on the other hand, inspected his meager belongings again. He counted his accumulated spirit stones, stowed them carefully into his pouch, and calmly resumed meditation.
He had already reached the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. Originally, he planned to accept a beast-hunting task, but ever since he grew closer to Zong Fan, people constantly sought him out to ask about Zong Fan.
Irritated, he chose instead to shut himself away, consolidating his cultivation quietly.
That night, the mountain of Jian Yue Peak lay still under a moonlit sky. The bright moon bathed the land in soft silver, but as a drifting white cloud slid across the heavens, its glow was slowly veiled.
The instant the moon was fully obscured, two thick branches shot forth from the ground, lashing around Yu Zongfan and Mao Dou. Before either could cry for help, they were yanked into the hollow of a tree.
Within the span of three breaths, the two adjacent cave dwellings lay silent and empty. And just then, the cloud drifted away, revealing the moon's pale light once more.
===
Hey guys, just a quick heads-up about my recent activity. I've actually been caught up in a totally different project—fonts. Yeah, fonts.
So, on my Android phone I've been using Droid Sans since like ever. I used to be on Roboto back in my college days (around 2017/2018 when I got my first phone), but somewhere around then I switched over and just never looked back. Even when I change phones, I always reinstall Droid Sans because I've gotten way too comfortable with it.
Recently, I suddenly thought: "What if I make this my default system font on my laptop too?" Sounds simple, right? Well… nope. The font is smaller than the default, which meant I had to spend two whole days adjusting things—editing CSS through Stylus so websites like YouTube, ChatGPT, Claude, and Deepseek, etc, don't look microscopic, plus tweaking buttons, menus, and other elements. Windows Explorer was easy (thanks to Advanced System Font Changer), but websites were another story.
On top of that, Droid Sans doesn't support certain characters out of the box—no Hanzi, no Katakana, no Hangul. And don't get me started on Pinyin diacritics, which looked totally messed up since some glyphs were pulled straight from Calibri and slapped on without adjustments. The result? Absolute chaos.
I've been patching it together by pairing Droid Sans with Microsoft JhengHei for Hanzi, which looks way better now. But the real headache is editing and building the Pinyin glyphs manually so they actually match the font style. As I'm writing this (Sept 18 at night), I'm still knee-deep in glyph editing. My brain is fried, and all I can think about is fonts instead of translations.
Hopefully, I'll finish all this by tomorrow and get back to translating. If not… it'll mean I've gone four days without translate anything, which feels super long to me. Normally that's enough time to crank out a bunch of chapters, so yeah, I'm kinda anxious about it.
Anyway, I think I'll share some screenshots of the "disaster phase" (my cursed ChatGPT/Claude/Deepseek screens) and the CSS edits I made on the comment section. Wish me luck—I really love this font, but wow, it's been a ride.