The Frost Beneath Her Veil - Chapter 11

A few stray strands of hair fell across Fu Qing’s forehead in a deliberate yet seemingly accidental mess. She looked like a bodhisattva with lowered eyes, though it was impossible to tell how much mercy actually lay within them.

Rapid footsteps echoed outside the window. Gouyu stepped out, catching only a fleeting glimpse of Yin Jiuruo’s robes disappearing around the corner.

Feeling a sudden wave of awkwardness, she said to Fu Qing, “It seems Senior Sister Yin was just here.”

Fu Qing remained indifferent, her eyes downcast. Her eyelashes were long and thick, looking as if they were heavy with fallen snow.

“Ignore her.”

Feng Qi and Chong You stood outside waiting for Yin Jiuruo.

“Isn’t Jiuruo the Venerable One’s only disciple?” Chong You asked, slightly stunned. For the past few years, everyone inside and outside the Canglan Sect believed that Junior Sister Jiuruo was the Sovereign’s sole pupil.

She was pampered in a way that was truly unique. In the entire sect, Jiuruo was the only one who didn’t have to wear the official disciple uniform; instead, she wore clothes hand-stitched by Fu Qing herself.

She was also exempt from morning lessons and fixed rotations like cleaning or guarding the mountain gate. Her treatment almost rivaled that of the sect elders.

To take a second disciple under such circumstances, it was likely another favor for Shen Cangli.

On the silent snow-covered ground, brilliant clouds occasionally drifted by. Once the snow stopped, Feng Qi and Chong You followed Yin Jiuruo out. After walking for a long while, they realized she was sitting on a coastal rock, scraping barnacles off a sea turtle.

The turtle’s back was covered in barnacles and matted with seaweed. The air was still, save for the whistling sea breeze, and the ice fields on the water’s surface reflected the sky.

This light reflected in Yin Jiuruo’s dark eyes, making her gaze appear dim.

She had thought she was special. At least in her capacity as a disciple, she was special. It turned out that even this was an extravagant hope. Perhaps she was simply asking for too much.

To break the heavy silence, Feng Qi changed the subject. “Why are you scraping barnacles again? Does the Venerable One not give you enough pocket money?”

“I’ve had more things to spend money on lately,” Yin Jiuruo replied, working harder at the scraping. As soon as she finished one turtle, she quickly moved to another.

Chong You frowned at the sight. She remembered that for a few months the previous year, Jiuruo had been in a foul mood and came to scrape barnacles every night, even scaring the other disciples into thinking a sea monster had emerged.

“Why is Junior Sister Jiuruo so obsessed with scraping barnacles?”

“Because barnacles don’t talk. She’s a very gloomy person,” Feng Qi whispered to Chong You.

“Is she? She seems quite simple to me,” Chong You said, half-doubting.

Feng Qi’s gaze suddenly became deep and distant. “She isn’t easy to see through. She looks silly and weak on the outside, but inside, she’s actually quite dark and stubborn.”

“How do you know Jiuruo is hard to read?” Chong You felt that Feng Qi was actually the one who was hard to read, seemingly hiding many secrets.

“Senior Sister, don’t let her fool you by happily scraping barnacles or trimming ox hooves every day. She has very high emotional walls,” Feng Qi said, chewing on a piece of beef jerky. “However…”

“The secret to scraping barnacles so quickly and well? Jiuruo still refuses to tell me. Tell me her walls aren’t high.”

Chong You: “…”

Are we really still talking about barnacles?

Yin Jiuruo sat to the side, working late into the night. Even after Chong You was summoned away by the Sect Leader, the two of them remained by the sea.

“Feng Qi, why do people die?” Yin Jiuruo suddenly asked in a small voice.

“Jiuruo, you’re a cultivator and you’re still thinking about this? Don’t we cultivate to achieve immortality?” Feng Qi rolled her eyes. Since meeting Yin Jiuruo, she found that when the girl wasn’t making money, she was contemplating unanswerable questions.

Like why does it rain? or do I actually exist?

Or if a person loses their memory, are they still the same person?

These questions made Feng Qi’s head spin. Often, she felt as if Jiuruo was on the verge of going mad or falling into obsession, but fortunately, she always returned to normal just in time.

Thinking of her own blank memories, Yin Jiuruo looked at the sky and said, “It’s snowing again.”

If a person has no memories, are they still a person? If such a person lived forever, would they be like a dry well, empty and repulsive.

Feng Qi leaned in to watch with her. “Isn’t this normal? It always snowed back in Peach Blossom Town.” She sighed, watching Yin Jiuruo’s silken black hair fluttering in the wind and snow.

As dawn approached, two figures spoke in low voices within a dark room filled with portraits.

“She still asks strange questions frequently.”

“Is her emotional state stable?”

“It’s alright.”

“Continue watching her.”

The morning clouds seethed like boiling water, and the celestial light scattered. Yin Jiuruo’s ceremony to formally become Fu Qing’s disciple was grand and solemn. Key figures from various sects across the Nine Provinces were in attendance. Black birds circled Hexue Peak eighty-one times, bringing five-colored clouds that cast a brilliant, flowing radiance over the white snow.

In the magnificent hall, following the chanter’s lead, Yin Jiuruo bowed once, twice, then thrice to Fu Qing, who sat upon the high seat.

The Daoist Sovereign had her hair pinned with green bamboo and her waist cinched with a jade belt. Her robes were pure and stainless, as white as the ethereal clouds.

Gouyu maintained a respectful and polite smile, which only made Yin Jiuruo’s face, marked with faint patterns, look paler, gloomier, and less likable.

After the ceremony, various guests came forward to congratulate the two disciples. Gouyu’s parents were tearful, unable to let go of their daughter’s hand. Fu Qing offered a brief comfort for this worldly parting, saying, “There is no need for worry.”

A moment later, Yin Jiuruo noticed Fu Qing’s gaze fall upon her. The woman looked elegant and composed as she said calmly:

“Everything shall remain as it was. You may simply address me as Master.”

“Yes, Master,” Yin Jiuruo replied, bowing respectfully.

“Have you been unhappy lately?”

Surprised by Fu Qing’s concern, Yin Jiuruo’s eyes brightened slightly. “No.”

“Very well.”

Watching Fu Qing leave, Yin Jiuruo felt Feng Qi tug at her sleeve.

“Jiuruo, the Venerable One says a few words to you and you’re already over the moon?”

“I am not,” Yin Jiuruo muttered, pursing her lips. “I’m going to go practice.”

The next day, Fu Qing gave a lesson to her two disciples. Feng Qi and Chong You also tagged along to listen to the Sovereign explain how to identify members of the Demon Race.

The woman sat gracefully amidst a flurry of falling blossoms, her skirts spread out like a blooming ice flower.

Gouyu, who had a deep connection with Shen Cangli and good natural talent, showed incredible progress after choosing the path of a sword cultivator.

In contrast, Yin Jiuruo was distracted, and her musical performance was riddled with errors.

When Fu Qing asked for the reason, Yin Jiuruo bit her lip and spoke intentionally: “Master, the injuries I sustained last time haven’t fully healed.”

Feng Qi, who was practicing with her blade nearby, almost burst out laughing. She hadn’t expected someone as blunt as Jiuruo to lie just to seek affection.

The white-robed Sovereign frowned slightly. Just as she was about to speak, Gouyu walked over.

“Master, I have mastered this sword technique.”

Fu Qing praised her talent, and Gouyu immediately began to act spoiled. “Master, it’s so dark at night where I stay. I’m scared.”

“I observed the other day that Gouyu comes from a wealthy family with parents who adore her and loving siblings,” Chong You told Feng Qi after finishing her sword practice under Fu Qing’s guidance.

“And now she has a Master who dotes on her too,” Feng Qi said, throwing away a handful of melon seed shells indignantly. “Is it true that the disciples who act spoiled have the best lives?”

She looked back at Yin Jiuruo, who stood to the side with no outward sign of emotion, continuing to play her zither.

This girl had been lonely since childhood. She thought she had found a master who belonged only to her, but it turned out to be nothing but a mirage, a bitter melon left in the field.

“Heaven is unfair. To those who have much, more will be given; from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

Chong You’s words shook Feng Qi’s heart. She looked at Yin Jiuruo, who was still trying to maintain a smile, with a hint of pity.

“Master, can I move in with Senior Sister Yin Jiuruo?” Gouyu suggested, winking at Yin Jiuruo.

Yin Jiuruo was confused, but she saw Fu Qing flick her sleeve and say, “No need. You will come with me to the Ruyi Sect to stay with Cangli. I happen to want to see her.”

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