Chapter Twelve: Gulu Fruit

Visiting relatives and friends during the New Year delayed my updates—my apologies for being so late.

******

The Mistress of Twilight Glow listened, calculating silently in her heart. She could see that Bu Jingxian was not one to be easily controlled, and her own younger sister was certainly no match for him. Yet this man possessed awe-inspiring might, truly a dragon among men. Observing Bu Jingxian’s fighting style, it seemed he had never studied martial arts; he was born with such divine strength. If he were to learn the techniques of the Twilight Glow Sect, achieving the legendary prowess of a warrior who could cut down a thousand foes would be effortless. Even attaining the immortal renown of a hero who could stand against ten thousand men was not beyond reach.

Since seeing Bu Jingxian in the daylight, the Mistress had been pondering this matter. Though proud and confident by nature, even she could not help but be won over by Bu Jingxian’s strength, knowing full well she was no match. Perhaps the revival of the Twilight Glow Sect rested upon this very man, and perhaps fate’s arrangement in this encounter was a blessing upon her sect.

She had even considered, should the need arise, employing her own charms to ensure that this man remained, no matter the cost. Now, hearing her younger sister bare her heart, she realized the girl had already fallen for Bu Jingxian, though still too young and naïve to recognize her own feelings. Yet she knew equally well that her innocent sister would never be able to handle a man like Bu Jingxian.

For a moment, she was torn between facilitating the match and fearing it might end in disaster for both.

“Should I break her attachment now, while she still has not recognized her true feelings?” she mused. If she were to confess her own fondness for Bu Jingxian at this moment, she was certain her silly little sister would gladly step aside and hope for nothing more than to see it happen. Yet she also knew that once her sister’s true feelings dawned, she would hate her elder sister forever.

If, by doing so, she could bind Bu Jingxian to her and ensure the prosperity of the Twilight Glow Sect, she would not hesitate, even at the cost of her sister’s resentment. Yet she saw that Bu Jingxian, though down at heel, possessed an uncommon bearing, nothing like the ignorant rabble of the marketplace. When he faced her, he was calm and composed, as if he had seen many beautiful women before and was not easily swayed by beauty.

To lose the bond of sisterhood and still fail to win such a valuable man would be utter folly.

So, for now, she said nothing of her sister’s feelings, instead keeping her company and talking of matters on the left bank. When the girl grew drowsy, she said, “Come, spend the night here.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t do. Tomorrow the other sisters will tease me again. Besides, it’s been so long, that ‘Ghost Who Fears None’ should really—should really rest by now…”

“Very well.”

As Twilight Glow left, she could hear from afar that the ‘Ghost Who Fears None’ was still pleading with Bilan, uttering words so embarrassing she could hardly bear to listen, but she could no longer hear Bilan’s replies. She had no choice but to turn back and sleep in her sister’s room.

Bu Jingxian practiced alone for a while, but still felt his imitation was lacking, not yet reaching the effortless agility of Ling Shaobao. But the sky was already brightening; he had to rest well for the journey ahead.

At that moment, he felt a pang of hunger. Noticing a gulu tree nearby, he searched and found it bore gulu fruit. He picked one immediately, saying to it, “I’m sorry to disturb your sleep, but I’m too hungry.”

The fruit opened its eyes, which gradually turned into round, bright red orbs. Its mouth, splitting open, revealed a smile.

“You’re much too polite. I’ve wanted to be eaten for ages! I waited and waited, watching all the other fruits picked and eaten, but no one ever picks me. You have no idea how miserable it is, hanging on the tree every day—shivering in the cold wind, suffering in the rain, roasting beneath the scorching sun.”

“I always feel a little sorry when eating you,” Bu Jingxian recalled those days begging for food and traveling through Zheng with Qiyue, so many times surviving on gulu fruit along the way. Qiyue was especially fond of these magical fruits, always chatting with them for half a day before finally eating them. The first time, her mouth would open and close, hesitating, until the gulu fruit itself urged her to hurry up and take a bite.

“We’re born to be eaten, nothing to feel sorry about. Once you eat us, we quickly merge into your blood, living on in you, experiencing the richness of life. If we’re not picked, that’s what’s truly pitiful—overripe, falling to the ground, slowly rotting away… Oh, the agony of slow decay and pain is unbearable!”

Bu Jingxian wiped the surface of the gulu fruit and asked, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. It’ll hurt when I bite you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If you start with my head, I won’t feel a thing. Hurry, bite me! I’m delicious! Really, do you prefer sweet or sour?”

“Don’t try to fool me—you little tricksters. If someone says they like sweet, you all claim to be sweet, but when eaten, you turn out sour.”

The fruit exclaimed, “Truly, I’m not lying! Just try me and you’ll see! I’m an honest fruit, never told a lie in my life.”

“The last gulu fruit that tricked me said the very same thing!”

The fruit immediately put on a woeful face. “Please don’t pick me only to toss me aside. That would be too tragic…”

“I’m just teasing. I’m starving—sweet or sour, I’ll finish you up. Here I go!”

The gulu fruit immediately broke into a joyful grin, waiting quietly for Bu Jingxian to take a bite.

“As expected, it’s another sour one. No wonder nobody picked it.” Bu Jingxian had anticipated this and didn’t mind—it was true he liked both sweet and sour. Every time he ate gulu fruit, he would think of Qiyue. There were many gulu trees on Mount Beiling; he’d eaten more there than anywhere else. When bored, he would chat with the fruits. Many disciples of the Northern Spirit Sect liked to bully the gulu fruit—picking them without eating, just to make them anxious. The kind-hearted ones would eventually eat them, but the malicious would toss them to the ground, leaving the fruits to taste despair and pain in the rot. Whenever he saw that, he would pick them up, wash them, and eat them.

Qiyue used to say with heartfelt pity that gulu fruit were humans’ best friends, born to be eaten, begging to be eaten. Before being eaten, they would happily chat with people, always so cheerful—they ought to be called joy fruit. Every time Qiyue ate a gulu fruit, sweet or sour, she would finish it completely, always careful not to damage the seeds, and afterward, she would bury them in the soil.

Thinking of Qiyue, Bu Jingxian sincerely wished her well. He believed she would thrive in the Celestial Ascension Sect, her life carefree and happy. He hoped she would never suffer as he had, tossed about by hardship, wandering with no home.

At that very moment, though, Qiyue was still lying ill in bed, with Autumn Leaf steadfastly at her side. Since the day Bu Jingxian had fallen from the cliff to his death, the blow had driven Qiyue mad with grief. After Autumn Leaf had subdued her, she had yet to awaken, her sleeping face still often streaked with tears. Autumn Leaf knew her strength was waning, her worry growing with each passing day.

Qiyue had exhausted too much energy before collapsing and had not been replenished since. Even in unconsciousness, her vitality was ebbing away. If this continued, she would die!

Autumn Leaf had waited as long as she could, but repeated attempts by the pharmacy to administer medicine had failed—they simply could not pry her mouth open.

Now, Autumn Leaf could wait no longer. Qiyue’s strength had dropped to 10—a perilous edge. Raising her hand, she drew her long nail across her arm. As blood flowed, she pressed it to Qiyue’s lips.

“Qiyue, open your mouth, quickly—if you don’t, you’ll die! Qiyue—Qiyue!”

Autumn Leaf understood that the force keeping Qiyue’s lips tightly sealed was despair; the blow she’d suffered was too great, and she’d lost the will to live. She didn’t know why Bu Jingxian meant so much to Qiyue—she only knew she didn’t want her to die. She hadn’t wanted that before, and after that day, she wanted it even less.

Many said Autumn Leaf could match Zheng Feixian, but Zheng Feixian herself knew Autumn Leaf could not, and Autumn Leaf knew it too. Zheng Feixian was a rare genius with dual innate talents, both as if destined for the highest of the ten directions, a perfect union. Zheng Feixian’s true combat power was beyond Autumn Leaf’s reach. No amount of effort could change that, for Zheng Feixian was just as diligent and hardworking.

Bearing the responsibility of protecting the Celestial Ascension Sect weighed heavily on Autumn Leaf.

Yet that day, Qiyue had let her see the true hope that could sustain the sect’s undying glory.