BW Extra 16

Fragmented Words

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The mortal realm experienced its first heavy snowfall of winter.

A middle-aged man wearing official robes stood on the city tower, gazing out at the vast capital city covered in white snow. The gloomy sky seemed ready to press down, and cold winds howled, blowing snowflakes into his graying hair.

“Prime Minister Fang.” A eunuch approached him from behind, carrying a cloak. He respectfully draped it over the man’s shoulders and said in a low voice, “The snow is getting heavier. Please return to the palace.”

Fang Wanchen nodded slightly and returned to the great hall. The young emperor was practicing calligraphy with a serious expression. When he saw Fang Wanchen enter, he wanted to run over and embrace him, but was stopped in place by a single glance from the prime minister.

“Prime Minister Fang, I… Zhen has finished writing everything. May Zhen play for a while?” The young emperor was only eight years old this year, at the perfect age for play.

“The wind and snow are heavy outside. Your Majesty must take care of your health and not indulge in play.” Fang Wanchen nodded.

The young emperor happily put on thick clothing and was led outside the hall by palace maids and eunuchs. Soon, the joyful laughter and playful sounds of children could be heard.

“Prime Minister Fang, there are rumors from the northwest that immortals have appeared. The capital is also buzzing with talk. Could there really be immortals in this world?” As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, he realized his mistake and looked at Fang Wanchen with some anxiety.

This prime minister, who never showed his emotions, was said to have achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations in his youth. He was sent to serve as magistrate in the remote Shuangjing County in the northwest, and the first major thing he accomplished was to dispel the rumors of a ghost village. Later, when the previous emperor became obsessed with cultivating immortality and alchemy, it was Fang Wanchen who strongly advised against it, angrily rebuking the previous emperor in Taikang Hall, berating him thoroughly.

Later, the previous emperor somehow came to his senses and greatly respected this young third-place scholar. His official rank rose again and again until he became prime minister. The ruler and minister were in harmony, considering each other close friends, which led to the decades of peace and prosperity that followed.

Prime Minister Fang most detested talk of ghosts and spirits. He must have gotten his wires crossed today to bring up this topic.

As the eunuch felt regret, he heard this prime minister, who was second only to the emperor, slowly say, “It’s fine. Let them be.”

The eunuch didn’t react immediately and looked at him with some surprise.

Fang Wanchen recalled that brief but life-altering journey to the cultivation world from his youth and sighed deeply.

“Perhaps… they truly did see something.”

The prime minister, who held power over the court, said this while watching the young emperor playing happily outside the hall.

****

Northwest of the mortal realm.

A young man with white hair leaned against an earthen wall, basking in the sun. He held a broken sword in his arms and wore tattered clothing, watching a group of children playing games in the distance.

“Big brother! Come help me!”

“Big brother! Hurry up!”

He squinted his eyes. A young man crouching on the wall beside him clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. “Wen Heshen, have you decided or not? I didn’t agree to break through the restrictions to find you just to sit here in the sun with you.”

Wen Heshen turned to look at him. “Young Master Shen, I have already been expelled from Yunzhong Sect to the mortal realm. According to sect rules, I will not return.”

Shen Jingxue rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. Can the sect rules of a small sect like Yunzhong Sect really bind you? I can see your cultivation has mostly recovered. Isn’t staying here a waste of your talents?”

Wen Heshen was unconcerned and moved along with the sun. “Young Master Shen, please return. Those who walk different paths cannot work together.”

“Clearly you’re one of us, yet here you are being hypocritical.” Shen Jingxue clapped his hands. “Fine, I’m not one to pester endlessly. When you’ve thought it through, come find me in the Seventeen States.”

“Oh, right.” Shen Jingxue smiled. “That child formed from the Linglong Bone has grown up and is now ranked first on the Tianji List. I also heard some good news – beneath the Eight Trigrams Formation is suppressed an ancient divine sword. The sword spirit inside is rumored to be transformed from an immortal of the upper realm. If you could obtain that divine sword…”

Shen Jingxue said half and left half unsaid, speaking teasingly, “Your elder brother is now just an ordinary mortal. Don’t you want to bring him along when you ascend?”

“Heshen!” A young man wearing coarse cloth emerged from the alley. “Time for lunch!”

Wen Heshen stood up. The place where Shen Jingxue had been crouching was already empty.

Wen Zaiye’s reincarnation now had the surname Xun and given name Xing. He was a person with a gentle and cheerful temperament who lived alone in this small village. Out of kindness, he had taken in this strange person who had lingered in the village for a long time without eating or drinking.

“What are you looking at?” Xun Xing asked him.

“Nothing.” Wen Heshen smiled. “Big brother, what are we having for lunch today?”

“Shepherd’s purse dumplings.” Xun Xing shooed away some children who were teasing Wen Heshen about his white hair and pulled him toward the courtyard. “I went to town today and happened to encounter someone selling roasted chestnuts, so I brought back a bag. I don’t know if you like eating them.”

Wen Heshen stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?” Xun Xing turned around in confusion. “You don’t like chestnuts?”

Wen Heshen pressed his lips together, suppressing the sudden sourness that welled up in his chest, and smiled. “I like them. I… like eating chestnuts the most.”

The sunlight in the mortal realm seemed much gentler and more brilliant than in the Seventeen States. Even the air, mixed with the scents of snow and earth, felt much lighter.

The young man walking ahead resembled Wen Zaiye about eighty percent, but with the youthful appearance that Wen Heshen had never had the chance to see.

“Who were you talking to just now?” Xun Xing pushed him into the room with the burning stove.

The warm air that hit his face made Wen Heshen dizzy for a moment. He turned around and pulled Xun Xing, who was still standing outside bending down to gather firewood, into the room, shutting out the cold wind and snow from outside.

“Someone unimportant.”

“You speak in such a literary way and carry that broken sword all day.” Xun Xing put down the wood and patted his arm. “It just snowed heavily last night, and today you go running around outside dressed so lightly. Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m not cold.” Wen Heshen put down the broken sword from his arms and sat by the fire with him.

Xun Xing handed him a cup of hot water and added more wood to the stove.

“Big brother, do you have any wishes?” Wen Heshen suddenly asked.

“Wishes?” Xun Xing laughed. “I’ve never had anyone ask me such a question in all my years.”

“Then think about it.” Wen Heshen said.

“When I was little, I just hoped to have enough food and good clothes.” Xun Xing thought for a moment. “But now I’ve saved quite a bit of money working as a hunter, and I’ve built a house too. If I must say something, then I’d like to marry a wife – have a wife, children, and a warm bed. Haha.”

Wen Heshen frowned. “Choose another one.”

Xun Xing laughed. “What’s wrong? Is this wish too difficult to achieve?”

“Yes, I think it’s impossible.” Wen Heshen put down his cup. “Have you ever thought about cultivating immortality and ascending, or living forever?”

The smile disappeared from Xun Xing’s face. He frowned seriously and reached out to cover Wen Heshen’s forehead, murmuring, “You don’t have a fever, so why are you talking nonsense?”

Wen Heshen grasped his hand. “I’m serious. Just answer whether you want to or not.”

Xun Xing was startled by his serious expression. After a long moment, he slowly shook his head and said earnestly, “I just want to live peacefully as an ordinary person, without worrying about food or clothing.”

Wen Heshen smiled. “Good.”

“Preferably marry a wife and have four or five children.”

“Forget about that one.”

“Why should I forget about that one?!”

“I don’t agree.”

“What good does your disagreement do? This is my—hiss, what are you doing? Doesn’t that burn?”

“You’re not allowed to marry.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t marry, I won’t marry. You’re really inexplicable… your brain really doesn’t work properly.”

“Big brother, peel chestnuts for me.”

“Peel them yourself!”

“Big brother.”

“Fine, fine, fine, I’ll peel them for you. Don’t look at me like that! Stay away from me!”

“I want to eat the big one.”

“Such a bother…”

Above the village, smoke rose from cooking fires. The accumulated snow slowly melted under the sunlight. Icicles hanging from the eaves reflected brilliant light. Water droplets gathered and dripped into the large water jar in front of the door.

The chestnut shell rolled several times and fell into the still-warm ashes.