Dark Blue Frost - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The Account of Life and Death
Qing Xuan was planning to escape.
To be honest, he didn’t want to sit around, trembling, and await his doom.
In his earlier days of wandering, homeless and destitute, he was once kidnapped by ruthless traffickers because of a moment of greed over a chicken leg when he was starving.
At that time, he was locked up with more than a dozen children—some were rebellious and refused to eat or drink, some constantly sought opportunities to escape, while others simply cried endlessly.
Only he remained obedient, eating and sleeping well, conserving his strength while also protecting himself as best he could.
Through years of vagrant life, he deeply understood the necessity of reading people’s expressions and knowing when to adapt.
After all, in the hands of human traffickers, a failed escape often meant being beaten to death.
Eventually, because of his good looks and obedient nature, he was bought by the top courtesan of a male brothel to serve as a servant boy.
During that time, he witnessed firsthand the miserable and agonizing lives of men in the flesh trade.
Now, though he followed his master and was well-fed and rested, without having to wander or suffer, it didn’t mean he was willing to become his master’s plaything.
Seeing his master take that child downstairs, Qing Xuan immediately opened the window, intending to make a quick getaway.
But just as he set one foot on the windowsill, his master had already returned.
“Qing Xuan, where do you think you’re going?”
Qian Se had sent the child back to the Zhao family through the innkeeper, but upon returning to the room and seeing this scene, she immediately understood Qing Xuan’s intentions and frowned.
She had indeed been furious when Qing Xuan sneaked out of the Dongji.
Her initial plan was to drag him back and punish him severely, perhaps even breaking his legs and locking him up with celestial silk restraints in Yan Mountain.
However, when she saw him nearly lose his life fighting the tree demon, her anger had all but dissipated.
“Ah, n-no, I’m not going anywhere!” Hearing his master’s voice, Qing Xuan shivered violently and hurriedly retracted his foot from the windowsill.
He bitterly regretted not escaping faster.
“I was just opening the window to admire the view.”
He smiled awkwardly, poking his head outside as if observing the scenery before turning back, looking at Qian Se with timid eyes.
“Have you seen enough?”
Qian Se’s frown softened slightly as she walked to the bed and, in her usual flat tone, ordered, “Come to bed with me. Take off your clothes.”
The moment she spoke, Qing Xuan dropped to his knees with a loud thud.
“Master!”
His face turned pale, and he kowtowed repeatedly, his head hitting the floor with audible thunks, his face full of despair.
“Please, have mercy on me! I haven’t even finished growing yet!”
Qian Se, originally facing away, slowly turned around upon hearing this.
She was about to speak but saw Qing Xuan still knocking his head against the floor, muttering, “Master, I’m eternally grateful for your kindness. In my next life, I’ll surely repay you, even if a work like a cow or horse . But please, I really don’t want to repay you with my body—”
“Repay with your body?”
Qian Se caught the critical point in his words, her tone filled with exasperation and amusement.
Qing Xuan immediately clamped his mouth shut, too frightened to speak further.
This was the perfect moment to clarify the misunderstanding, but instead, she deliberately kept a straight face and, after a long pause, said emotionlessly, “You’re only sixteen. Even if you wanted to repay me with your body, you’re still a bit too young. Let’s wait until you’ve fully matured.”
After saying this, she walked slowly toward him, her expression cold and enigmatic, her icy gaze fixed sharply on Qing Xuan.
She wasn’t unaware of the crude jokes her senior and junior disciples had made in front of Qing Xuan, but she hadn’t expected such words to leave such a strong impression on him.
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
Hearing her speak so plainly about her supposed intentions and seeing her approach step by step, Qing Xuan sprang to his feet, pressing himself tightly against the wall, trembling, yet still trying to maintain some defiance.
“Even if I die, I won’t sleep with you!”
“Who said anything about sleeping with you?”
Qian Se finally couldn’t suppress her amusement, though her face remained stoic.
She raised an eyebrow mockingly and said, half-jokingly, half-seriously, “Qing Xuan, what exactly is going on in that head of yours? I only wanted to apply some medicine for you.”
“Apply… medicine?!”
Qing Xuan’s mind froze briefly before realization struck.
His face turned beet red with embarrassment.
After hesitating, he saw Qian Se pull out a medicine bottle from her sleeve, and despite his lingering doubts, his feet instinctively carried him toward the bed.
“Master, you really just mean to apply medicine?”
Qian Se lowered her gaze, not looking at him.
“Although I brought you into the Dongji, you are still a mortal. Your health has always been weak. Now that your waist is injured, and you’ve carried that child so far, if you don’t apply medicine, you might develop a chronic ailment that will prevent you from cultivating immortality in the future.”
When she raised her head again, her face still carried no smile, but an inexplicable warmth could be felt.
Blushing deeply, Qing Xuan fumbled awkwardly, removed his clothes, and lay on the bed, revealing the large bruise on his waist.
Qian Se wasn’t unfamiliar with applying medicine for others.
Back when she trained under her master, her senior and junior brothers often sparred recklessly and got injured.
Afraid of their master’s scolding, they’d secretly ask her for help.
Over time, she became quite skilled at applying medicine.
With his face buried in his arms, Qing Xuan mumbled softly, “Master—”
“Hmm?”
Qian Se responded gently, focused on her task.
Through the glow of the setting sun, Qing Xuan peeked at his master.
Her silhouette seemed covered in a golden shimmer.
“Master, you treat Qing Xuan so well, just like a mother would.”
He said this shyly, but internally, he was calculating.
If he compared her to a mother, she should no longer harbor any inappropriate thoughts toward him, right?
After all, no mother would…
Better to prevent trouble before it starts!
“Oh.”
Qian Se merely responded and didn’t pursue the topic.
Instead, she paused her movements, her tone serious.
“Next time you encounter tree demons, don’t act recklessly.”
When Qian Se brought up the incident with the tree demon from the previous day, Qing Xuan’s barely recovered pride was instantly shattered and plunged into an icy abyss.
“It’s all because of my lack of skill that I brought shame upon Master.”
He forced an awkward smile, the corner of his eye twitching slightly, finding it difficult to express himself.
Qian Se immediately caught the double meaning in his words and paused in the middle of applying medicine.
“Are you blaming your master for not teaching you anything useful?”
“Qing Xuan didn’t mean it that way—”
he stammered, his voice hesitant.
Qing Xuan had no intention of expressing dissatisfaction in this regard.
After all, his master bringing him back to Yan Mountain was already a great kindness.
However, after hearing about his master’s impressive abilities and witnessing them firsthand, he couldn’t help but feel a little sour in his heart, and his words unconsciously trailed off.
In truth, he did have a bit of an inflated sense of self.
Ever since arriving at Yan Mountain, the senior and junior uncles had taught him some superficial skills, and he had started to feel somewhat conceited.
Thinking carefully, although his master was his master in name, he hadn’t actually taught him anything.
Without those superficial techniques from the senior and junior uncles to cover for him, he might have looked even more incompetent.
Seeing his evident disappointment, Qian Se let out a silent sigh.
A rare melancholy expression spread across his lips, and his voice carried a distant sorrow that rippled towards Qing Xuan with increasing intensity: “If you wish to learn something, just tell me. From now on, I will do my best to teach you.”
“Master!”
Qing Xuan’s face instantly lit up with hope and excitement.
“Do you really mean it?”
Seemingly infected by his joy, a faint light flickered in Qian Se’s deep, tranquil eyes.
He nodded lightly, a promise sealed with absolute certainty.
“I have always kept my word.”
After finishing the medication, Qian Se removed the hairpin from her head, pricked her finger, and let a single drop of blood fall onto Qing Xuan’s forehead.
When Qing Xuan instinctively raised his sleeve to wipe it away, the blood left no trace.
Confused, Qing Xuan looked up at Qian Se with wide eyes.
Qian Se explained without concealment: “I have sealed the Soul-Locking Technique on you. If you encounter danger in the future, bite your finger, smear the blood on the Immortal Slaying Sword, and you can summon the sword’s spirit. Your skills are still shallow, and if you cannot handle the situation, the sword spirit will resolve it for you.”
Qing Xuan had heard of the Soul-Locking Technique before.
Generally, the immortal cultivators living on Yan Mountain each possessed their own magical treasure or weapon.
These treasures, formed from heaven and earth’s spiritual energy, would gradually develop spirits over time.
Some of these spirits were immensely powerful and not easily subdued by their masters.
In such cases, only a more powerful immortal could subjugate the spirit and seal it with the Soul-Locking Technique.
However, he never expected his master to seal such a technique onto his mortal body, granting him control over the Immortal Slaying Sword’s spirit.
How could he not be overjoyed?
During their meal, Qing Xuan devoured the food eagerly, while his master calmly sipped water, her expression indifferent.
Qing Xuan’s thoughts began to wander.
He had heard that immortals who had attained the Dao no longer consumed mortal food, surviving instead on celestial dew.
Seeing his master’s demeanor now, it seemed to be true.
However, his master’s frame appeared far too thin—could this be a result of not eating human food?
Thinking this, Qing Xuan suddenly felt embarrassed about his earlier assumptions and blinked guiltily.
“Master, you must have gone several days without rest while searching for me. Why don’t you let me sleep on the floor tonight as punishment?”
He swallowed a mouthful of food and spoke ingratiatingly, his smile overly eager.
Unfortunately, his master wasn’t swayed and simply glanced at him.
“I have my precepts to follow; I cannot sleep on plush beds. Besides, I have matters to attend to. You needn’t worry about me. Just eat well and rest up. Tomorrow, we return to Yan Mountain together!”
…
The so-called “matters to attend to” became clear when Qing Xuan was about to rest after washing his feet—it turned out that the task was—
Copying scriptures!
Even though Qing Xuan didn’t blink, he still couldn’t figure out where his master had conjured up ink, brushes, and fine paper out of thin air.
Watching Qian Se silently spread out the pristine Gutian paper, Qing Xuan’s drowsiness vanished.
He stood to the side and carefully ground the ink, hoping to atone for his earlier misunderstanding of his master.
Qian Se opened her mouth slightly, as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Seeing his master copying scriptures through most of the night without any intention of resting, Qing Xuan couldn’t suppress a yawn and eventually dozed off on the table.
Yet in his sleep, he began to dream—an utterly bizarre dream!
He had no idea where he was drifting in the dream.
All around him hung red, yellow, and blue fabrics, resembling a dye house.
Perhaps because it was a dream, the light was dim, and he couldn’t see clearly.
However, Qing Xuan distinctly heard someone calling him from behind.
“Kid, we meet again.”
The dream was unnervingly vivid and strange.
Thinking this, Qing Xuan turned around and saw a man in white standing leisurely behind him, fanning himself with an air of casual amusement.
His face wore an eternally charming smile.
Qing Xuan didn’t recognize the man, but the smile felt oddly familiar.
Frowning, he carefully searched his memory and realized—it was identical to the tea-seller who had given him directions!
Not only that, but something peculiar was floating above the man’s head, catching Qing Xuan’s attention.
When he looked up, his face went pale, and he staggered back several steps in horror!
It was an unmistakable human skin, complete with eyeballs that still rolled in their sockets.
Yet now it hung like an empty sack on a bamboo pole, swaying lightly in the wind—utterly ghastly!
