Chapter Sixty-Five: The Mystery of the Heavenly Lake

“Come on, let’s go! We can talk more once we’re in the mountains!” Xuanyuan Zhe called out to everyone.

There was a strange silence after that; not a single word was spoken as the group entered the forest. Zixuan and Xuanyuan Zhe naturally took the lead, forging the path ahead, while Ouyang Qihua and Chen Jiayi brought up the rear, making sure nothing troubled them from behind. The girls, sheltered in the middle, walked quietly—Tang Wei and Yun Qian, being close friends, linked arms as they went. Ouyang Qianru, eager to exchange a few words with Zixuan, stayed close behind him.

They walked like this for over ten minutes before Tang Wei could no longer bear the quiet. Unfamiliar with those behind her, she tugged at Yun Qian’s arm and whispered, “Yun Qian, do you think the stories of the monster in Tianchi Lake on Mount Changbai are real? It’s a mystery for ordinary people, but for families like yours who practice cultivation, it shouldn’t be a secret, right?”

“I really don’t know,” Xuanyuan Yun Qian replied without looking up, continuing the climb with her hand locked in Tang Wei’s.

“You don’t? Aren’t you curious at all?” Tang Wei paused, voiced her question, then continued upward.

“Of course we were curious! When I was in middle school, Xiaozhe and I wanted to go investigate, but before we could even leave the house, my father found out. He gave us a good scolding, then handed us over to my eldest sister for a month of grueling training. He warned us that if we ever tried sneaking off again, we’d be under her watch every day from then on. We never brought it up after that!” Xuanyuan Yun Qian recounted the tale as she walked, thinking that it wasn’t really fear of the forbidden place that stopped them, but the memory of her sister’s harsh training.

“Why didn’t your father let you go?” Tang Wei had only wanted to break the silence with small talk, but Yun Qian’s story caught her curiosity—was there really something strange up there?

“I don’t know!” Yun Qian thought for a moment, then added, “We were so young then. After a month under my sister’s thumb, we were just relieved to be free again and didn’t think to ask any more questions. I’d long forgotten all about it. But now that you mention it, I do find it a bit odd!”

“I know a little about it. Unlike Yun Qian, I actually went and asked the old man about it afterward!” Xuanyuan Zhe, hearing their conversation, turned back to add his part.

“Oh, so you went to ask him, Xiaozhe? Why didn’t you tell me?” Xuanyuan Yun Qian was immediately ready to pick a fight.

“You’d already forgotten all about it—what was the point in calling you?” Xuanyuan Zhe hurried to explain.

“Even if I forgot, you could’ve reminded me! Why didn’t you?” Yun Qian was being deliberately unreasonable.

“Alright, Yun Qian, don’t start bickering with Xiaozhe now. It’s all in the past, and there’s no use picking a fight. Let him continue, I’m really curious! Xiaozhe, go on—was there really a monster in Tianchi Lake?” Tang Wei quickly tried to distract Yun Qian and pressed Xuanyuan Zhe for an answer.

“I don’t know if there was a monster. The old man didn’t say. He only told me that our ancestors had explored it before, sensed spiritual energy fluctuations down there, and told me not to take Yun Qian there on a whim. Who knows, we might both lose our lives there,” Xuanyuan Zhe repeated his father’s warning.

“If your father said that, knowing your personality, you’d only be more determined to find out, wouldn’t you?” Tang Wei guessed, based on what she knew of Xuanyuan Zhe.

Xuanyuan Zhe turned and smiled at Tang Wei, a little embarrassed. “Shi Yi, you guessed right. I was even more curious, wanted to see for myself. But my father said that even our ancestors barely made it back alive. If I really wanted to go, I’d have to wait until I entered the inner mountains.”

“Why wait until then?” Zixuan, who had been quietly listening, suddenly asked.

“Xiao Xuan, you’ve barely spoken. I thought you weren’t interested,” Tang Wei teased.

“I was listening the whole time! But you keep interrupting, making me anxious to hear the rest,” Zixuan replied, then urged Xuanyuan Zhe, “Go on, Xiaozhe—why do you have to wait until you’ve entered the inner mountains?”

“Heh, that’s just a family rule. Each generation’s head, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage and confirming the next successor, can enter the inner mountains for secluded cultivation. Entering the inner mountains means you’re no longer responsible for managing family affairs—just focus on cultivation and safeguarding the family. Usually, you can travel if there’s nothing pressing. My father meant that since I’m to be the next head, I must bear the family’s responsibilities first. Even if I want to go off adventuring, I have to wait until I step down,” Xuanyuan Zhe explained tactfully.

“Hahaha! I get what your old man meant. In simple terms, you have to leave an heir before you go off risking your life!” Chen Jiayi interrupted arrogantly.

The remark was thoroughly distasteful, especially to Xuanyuan Zhe, whose face darkened. Who talks like that?

Xuanyuan Zhe held his tongue, but Yun Qian wasn’t so forgiving. She shot back even more brashly, “What’s your problem? Who asked you? Why butt in? By your logic, since you’ve sown so many seeds, why don’t you go die now?”

“You little brat, watch your mouth. Don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re from the Xuanyuan family!” Chen Jiayi glared at her.

Yun Qian burst out laughing. “Hit me? Don’t make me laugh. Do you really think you can? Your cultivation is barely on par with mine, and you dare talk big? Who’d win is anyone’s guess. Oh, thinking of calling for backup? You think I don’t have friends? If you’ve got the guts, face me one-on-one! You’re well past twenty and your cultivation’s on par with a seventeen-year-old. And you still need help in a fight? Besides sowing seeds, what else can you do? I’m embarrassed for you, yelling like that.”

“You—” Chen Jiayi’s face turned green with anger, and it looked like a fight might really break out.

Tang Wei quickly tried to calm things down. “Enough, enough, don’t argue! Let’s get back to Tianchi Lake!”

“Did you hear that, brat? I won’t stoop to your level—don’t think I’m afraid of you!” Chen Jiayi said smugly, inwardly pleased. He thought to himself that as long as his father was around, the Xuanyuan family was nothing. Sooner or later, he’d grind them under his heel, and not a single Xuanyuan woman would escape him. He’d have them warming his bed obediently.

Seeing his lecherous look, Xuanyuan Yun Qian could tell he was up to no good and sincerely wished she could give him a beating.

Before she could act, Zixuan spoke in his usual calm tone, “Anyone who says another word about this can go back on their own. We’re not here to play mediator.” It was clear this was aimed at Chen Jiayi. He understood, and so did Yun Qian. After a cold “hmph,” no one spoke further.

“So cool!” Ouyang Qianru, walking behind Zixuan, looked at him with stars in her eyes, nearly swooning.

Now that both troublemakers were silent, Zixuan turned to Xuanyuan Zhe, “Xiaozhe, go on—what happened next?”

“That’s it. I don’t know anything more,” Xuanyuan Zhe shrugged, feigning helplessness.

“So you still don’t know the real reason! That’s so frustrating!” Tang Wei stopped in her tracks, standing stiffly, her face full of exasperation. She almost wanted to pout like Yun Qian, but felt too old for such antics.

Ouyang Qihua, walking beside her, noticed and smiled kindly, “I know a little! I—”

“Hurry up, hurry up! What’s the story?” Tang Wei urged him, so eager she might have climbed on top of Zixuan if he’d been the one talking.

“I’m trying, but you keep interrupting me!” Ouyang Qihua said helplessly, shaking his head.

“Alright, I’ll be patient. Go on!” Tang Wei swore she wasn’t in a hurry, but her face said otherwise, making everyone laugh.

After a moment, once the laughter subsided, Ouyang Qihua continued, “From what my father told me, more than a thousand years ago, there was no Tianchi Lake on Mount Changbai.”