Sheshan.
Outside one particular cave, Xiaoqing sat cross-legged on the ground, breathing in and out in cultivation.
Xiaoqing's innate talent might not match her sister's, but her aptitude was by no means poor.
In the space of forty-eight years, Xiaoqing had already formed a demon core.
A demon race's demon core was the equivalent of a human's golden core.
In other words, Xiaoqing had now reached the Golden Core realm.
Of course, she had not cultivated this smoothly without Fuchen's guidance.
In the fifth year of Bai Ruxue's deep sleep, Xiaoqing had become Fuchen's disciple, the better to protect her sister.
She had not gone to Tianxuan Sect to cultivate, though; Fuchen simply came by from time to time to instruct her.
Just as Xiaoqing was slowly drawing her breath in and out—
suddenly she sensed movement inside the cave behind the boulder, and her eyes flew open.
"Could it be...?"
Xiaoqing's eyes quivered, and her heartbeat quickened.
A moment later she felt Sheshan begin to shake.
The several banners originally buried at the cave mouth burst from the earth and spun ceaselessly in the air, forming a vast formation that shrouded the whole of Sheshan.
"Boom!"
A tremendous crash came from the cave mouth.
Demon Qi surged like a tidal wave—and actually blasted aside the three-zhang-tall boulder blocking the entrance!
Xiaoqing's heart jolted, and she hurriedly darted clear.
"Crash—"
Wind and sand filled the sky, swirling up out of the cave mouth.
Xiaoqing raised a hand and hid her face behind her sleeve, shielding herself from the grit.
The huge boulder rolled on down the mountain path, smashing through who knew how many trees before it finally slowed and came to a stop.
Fortunately, the formation banners hovering in the air absorbed every scrap of demon Qi; not a trace of it escaped.
Otherwise, demon Qi flaring to the heavens like that would surely have been spotted by passing cultivators.
Xiaoqing even thought that sects within several hundred li would have sensed it.
And if that had happened, plenty of people would have come running to "subdue the demon and rid the world of evil."
As the wind and sand slowly thinned, Xiaoqing lowered her sleeve.
A woman walked out of the cave.
She wore a plain white gown whose light, straight-falling fabric only set off how thin her shoulders were, how slender her waist; a sash tied loosely traced the graceful rise and fall of her figure, and the hem brushed her ankles, so that at the slightest movement the delicate shape of her ankles showed faintly.
Her black hair was piled like ink-dark clouds, strands cascading down like a black waterfall and coming to rest just at the willow waist that a single hand could span.
A few loose strands lightly brushed cheeks smooth as fresh snow; her jade-white neck was supple and slender, running down to her collar like a length of warm, lustrous jade.
"Sister..."
Watching her sister walk toward her step by step, Xiaoqing's eyes brimmed with joy, and she wondered whether she was dreaming.
Because she had dreamed far too many times of her sister waking up.
And every time she woke, she looked at the empty wooden hut and felt nothing but boundless loss.
But this time was different!
The blazing summer sun, the cool of the mountain wind, the smell of earth and fresh flowers.
Every one of those sensations, so real they could not be more real, told Xiaoqing—this time, she was not dreaming.
Xiaoqing ran up happily and caught her sister's soft, delicate hand. "Sister, you're finally awake... Xiaoqing has waited so long for you. Thank goodness you came out of seclusion safe and sound."
"Sister... what's wrong?"
"Sister?"
Xiaoqing stared at Bai Ruxue in confusion.
In her sister's face she saw a kind of blankness...
Bai Ruxue drew her hand back, tilted her head, and looked at Xiaoqing in puzzlement. "Who are you? Why do you call me sister? Why do I feel such a closeness toward you?"
As she spoke, Bai Ruxue lowered her head, her willow brows knitting tight. "That's right... who are you? And who... am I? Why am I here?"
"Huh?" Xiaoqing stared at her sister, dumbstruck. "Sister... you don't remember anything? I'm Xiaoqing, your little sister. Your name is Bai Ruxue. The reason you're here is that you were transforming into a boa, and you fell into a deep sleep."
"Bai Ruxue? My name is Bai Ruxue... Bai Ruxue..."
Bai Ruxue repeated her own name over and over.
The more she said it, the more her head seemed to ache, as if it would split open, and she kept striking her own head with her wrist.
"Sister, are you all right...?" Xiaoqing took her sister into her arms and gripped her wrists tightly.
Bai Ruxue shook her head, lifted it, and the loss and confusion that surfaced in her peach-blossom eyes made Xiaoqing's heart ache:
"I can't seem to remember anything... my head hurts so much... it's all a jumble..."
"It's all right, sister. If you can't remember, then let's not try for now. It'll all come back to you slowly, I'm sure." Xiaoqing hurried to soothe her.
But Bai Ruxue could not take in a word of it.
She looked more and more pained, until even her face had turned a little pale.
"Oh no! Sister's Dao heart is badly shaken!"
Xiaoqing's heart lurched.
Just as she was wondering what to do, a streak of fiery red light cut across the sky.
Fuchen had arrived above Sheshan.
Taking in the formation banners floating overhead and the white-gowned woman in the mountain, Fuchen put the banners away, dropped swiftly to the ground, and strode to Bai Ruxue's side.
Fuchen produced a pill and slipped it between Bai Ruxue's cherry lips, then pressed an index finger to the center of her brow.
Soon Bai Ruxue's frown slowly eased, and she fell asleep in Xiaoqing's arms.
"Master, what's wrong with my sister?"
Xiaoqing looked at Fuchen anxiously.
"While your sister was in seclusion, something went wrong with her soul, and it has affected her memory."
Fuchen shook her head and spoke slowly.
"When the snake clan cultivates—especially this kind of skin-shedding seclusion to purify the bloodline—one must never be impatient. It has to be done step by step, slowly.
But while your sister lay in that deep sleep, I'm afraid her subconscious was forever urging her to wake as quickly as she could.
That subconscious urge gradually worked on her body.
So she woke ahead of time. The price was damage to her soul, and through that, her lost memories.
Fortunately, her foundation is unharmed. That much is a stroke of great luck.
I've just fed her a Calming Spirit Pill. She only needs to rest for a while and she'll be fine, so there's no need to worry too much."
Xiaoqing held her sister's shoulders tightly. "Then, Master, will she be able to get her memories back?"
"Get her memories back? Is that really so difficult?"
Fuchen regarded Xiaoqing calmly.
"If you wish it, I can restore her memories right now. But Xiaoqing—would Ruxue getting her memories back truly be a good thing?
Xiao Mo is sixty-eight now. He has two years left at most."
Xiaoqing's eyes went still. She looked at the sister in her arms and pressed her thin lips tightly together.
"Take this pill. It is called the Memory Soul Pill. If you want Ruxue to have her memories back, then in half a month, once your sister's soul has settled, give it to her.
But Xiaoqing—
sometimes remembering is worse than forgetting."
Fuchen turned and walked step by step toward the far horizon, only her voice drifting slowly back through the mountain forest.
"Since forgetting was so hard-won, why insist on remembering?"