My Husband’s Ascension C80
Chapter 80 Extra 8
Lord Yaoguang’s Dao Lord seal had failed to be handed over that day.
Yet, progress was not entirely absent. At the very least, Xie Lanshu had agreed to return to Immortal Realm of Kunwu in the near future, a subtle but unmistakable assent.
Zhao Zhao also felt that such a visit was necessary.
Kunwu had long been under scrutiny within the Cultivation Realm, owing to his previous venture into the Demon Realm to aid the Demon Successor. Though it was later clarified that his actions had been an unavoidable measure to subdue Mount Ling, Kunwu had nonetheless lost the sect master it once took pride in. According to Lord Yaoguang, morale within the sect had languished and had yet to be fully restored.
“When do you intend to return to Kunwu?” Zhao Zhao asked, handing him a cup of tea as he stepped down from the practicing platform.
Aside from sparring with Yao Ling, Xie Lanshu had drawn many sword practitioners at Cloudculm Abode seeking guidance. Kunwu’s sword techniques differed from those practiced at Cloudculm; through exchanging strikes and counters, the disciples often attained new insights. Were they not her students, he might not have devoted so much time to instructing others.
Taking the tea from her hand, he offered a faint smile. “Do you wish for me to depart?”
Zhao Zhao’s gaze faltered slightly. “No…I was merely asking.”
He chuckled softly. “I thought perhaps you felt that I had monopolized your time these past days, leaving you no opportunity to attend to your few yao familiars, and thus were urging me to leave promptly.”
“……”
He had hit the mark.
During Xie Lanshu’s absence, Zhao Zhao’s days were mostly consumed by sect affairs and attending to her disciples and yao familiars.
Now that he had returned, the little time she had left would inevitably need to be divided, and a significant portion would go to him.
Just yesterday, Li Feng had returned from a duel, complaining that his opponent had brought reinforcements while he had faced them alone. They had cheated, and no one had sided with him, leaving him so furious that he beat them soundly.
Xiao Bai, in the throes of molting, was even more spiteful. He had deliberately reverted to his true form and raced across the sect like a drifting dandelion, leaving the disciples to sneeze endlessly for several days.
Her disciples were slightly more sensible, but when Yao Ling had come to speak with Zhao Zhao at night and been turned away, she reportedly pulled up a still-sleeping Rong Yu and spent an entire hour gossiping about Xie Lanshu’s misdeeds.
“I’m only trying to do what’s best for you,” Zhao Zhao chided with solemnity. “At this rate, you’ll soon be the enemy of the entire sect.”
“That is hardly a fault of mine alone,” When Xie Lanshu returned the tea cup to her, his fingers lingered to lightly hook hers. He spoke slowly, with a teasing calm, “You’re hardly any more resolute… it takes both of us, doesn’t it?”
“……”
Seeing her cheeks flush gradually, he feared she might take offense. The playful edge in his voice softened, and he shifted the topic. “I shall return to Kunwu tomorrow and remain there for roughly half a month. In the first days back, I may not be able to speak with you through the Yearning Mirror on schedule, but I will remember to send you a letter each day.”
Zhao Zhao nodded. “Lord Yaoguang said the ten-year grand sect recruitment at Kunwu is approaching. You will likely be busy.”
“It will not be overly demanding.” Xie Lanshu held her hand, stroking it with tender deliberation. “If you dare share my bed with another, or allow that white fox to cling to you and pester you all day, I will come rushing back at once.”
Zhao Zhao: …Better keep yourself busy, then.
…
On the morning of his departure, Xie Lanshu rose early, before dawn. He intended to leave quietly, but Zhao Zhao had already awakened, determined to see him off.
“Sleep a little longer,” He brushed his lips against the corner of hers, mindful of how little rest they had had the previous night.
Zhao Zhao shook her head. “I have something to give you.”
It was the spirit lamp Lord Yaoguang had entrusted to her when he had perished.
The lamp now glowed again, but Xie Lanshu noticed that the usual inscription, ‘Dao Lord Tianshu’, had been altered. In its place, in gentle, flowing strokes, were three characters: 谢兰殊 (Xie Lanshu).
Jade-like appearance and orchid-like grace; ethereal in bearing. It was a name she had bestowed upon him, a brand etched stroke by stroke.
“I am sending you back not to return you to that hollow shell you once were as Dao Lord Tianshu.” Her silken hair fell unadorned, free of any pins or jewels. Her face, pale and pure, fixed upon him with unwavering clarity. “This time, when you return there as Xie Lanshu, do not forget when it is time to come back to me.”
Something warm and burning stirred within him, inching through every fiber of his being. From the depths of his heart, threads of crimson sprung forth, straining to break free of his body, desperate to coil around her.
“…Say it again.”
Zhao Zhao looked momentarily bewildered. “Why?”
“Say it again,” Xie Lanshu murmured, fingers threading through her smooth hair, his voice coaxing and soft, “with that tone that commands me, that needs me. Say it again, and I will return swiftly.”
Zhao Zhao understood—his old habit had flared up, and she pressed her lips tightly together.
“Why won’t you speak?” Regretfully, Xie Lanshu turned her gently to face him and brushed his lips against hers. “Do you not want me to return quickly? Do you not need me? Will you hand me over to them, to watch me become their puppet?”
Zhao Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Had he ever looked in a mirror? Who, when saying something like that, could possibly wear an expression that looked as though he wanted to devour her whole? At this rate, controlling others seemed almost more fitting for him than anything else.
Outside, the sky brightened with the coming dawn, and Zhao Zhao let out a soft sigh. “Xie Lanshu, I order you: once you have completed what you must, return immediately to my side…will that suffice?”
A curl of satisfaction lifted his lips as he pressed a brief, contented kiss to her. “I have a gift for you as well. It lies in the spatial storage pouch beside your pillow. When I return, I will bring you new ones.”
…?
A gift?
After Xie Lanshu departed, Zhao Zhao reached beneath her pillow for the little pouch. Upon opening it, a cascade of sheets tumbled out, blanketing the entire bed.
Each sheet bore a unique portrait, every one painstakingly drawn by him during their time apart—depicting her in meticulous detail.
Overwhelmed by the depth of his longing, Zhao Zhao held the papers for a long while before muttering in exasperation, “He is truly a perverted man…”
…
Upon returning to Immortal Realm of Kunwu, Xie Lanshu did not, as Lord Yaoguang had hoped, take up the mantle of Dao Lord with decisive ease.
“The Dao Lord leads the Cultivation Realm; one must possess profound mastery to command respect. With my current cultivation, to wield the Dao Lord’s seal would be a virtue unbefitting my station,” Xie Lanshu declared calmly before Lord Yaoguang and the assembled elders of Kunwu.
The elders, recognizing the truth in his words, offered no immediate rebuttal, but Lord Yaoguang grew flustered. “Then am I even more unworthy, having held the seal for so long!”
“You were only ever acting as the interim sect master of Kunwu. The Dao Lord’s seal may have been in your care, but that does not make you the Dao Lord in the truest sense. How often in these past hundred years have the six great sects reported their affairs to you?” Xie Lanshu recounted the facts, his tone indifferent. “I have spent this century traveling the Cultivation Realm and have heard of each sect harboring designs upon the position of Dao Lord. Kunwu now holds the seal only in trust. Were you to return it to me, the moment it became known, those who covet the Dao Lord’s seat would surely come forth tomorrow to test their strength against me.”
Lord Yaoguang fell silent, the weight of the implication clear to him.
With the seal in his hands, he alone would be dismissed by the sects, but Xie Lanshu was different. Though once the previous Dao Lord, news of his resurrection would spread swiftly; his cultivation level would be made known, and countless sects, teeming with formidable masters, would hardly acknowledge a Dao Lord whose cultivation remained at merely the third realm.
“…And what, then, is your intention?” Lord Yaoguang asked, his tone serious. “Since you agreed to return, you must have devised a plan.”
“Correct.”
Xie Lanshu sipped his tea with calm deliberation, drawing the eyes of everyone present upon him.
“I will make my return known to the outside world,” he continued, “but I shall not assume the role of sect master of Kunwu. I will resume cultivation there as an ordinary disciple, beginning anew.”
Lord Yaoguang’s fan paused mid-wave. “Don’t tell me you’re deliberately stalling so you can avoid responsibility and spend time with Miss Xie—”
If Xie Lanshu were merely an ordinary disciple, the cultivation requirements and daily exercises would be trivial for him, leaving ample time to travel to Cloudculm Abode at leisure.
“Lord Yaoguang, mind your tongue,” interjected Lord Tianquan, cutting him off sharply. “Dao Lord must have considered this carefully. Indeed, it seems a prudent course.”
“With his current cultivation, to abruptly resume the mantle of Dao Lord would only make him a target. Claiming publicly that his powers have waned and that he must cultivate from scratch is a clever concealment.”
“With his talent, regaining his former strength will take scarcely a century. When the moment comes for others to contest the Dao Lord seat, we can intervene and catch them completely unprepared.”
“Dao Lord is shrewd; this is truly a solution that benefits Kunwu.”
Lord Yaoguang scowled inwardly at the approving expressions of the other elders. They were far too naive, unable to grasp that the Tianshu before them was no longer the Tianshu of old. Now, he would betray and manipulate as he saw fit; should Miss Xie ever wish for Kunwu entirely, he could hand it over with both hands.
Xie Lanshu, however, paid no heed to Lord Yaoguang’s sharp gaze.
After deliberation, the elders consented to Xie Lanshu’s plan.
…
Seven days later, the gates of Immortal Realm of Kunwu opened to recruit new disciples. Zhao Zhao had expected that Xie Lanshu would be occupied testing the candidates, yet the news that returned from Kunwu was unexpected—
The top recruit among this year’s new disciples was named Xie Lanshu.
Zhao Zhao had the messenger repeat the news twice before she could believe it.
It was not a case of a shared name, nor a mispronunciation. The Xie Lanshu who reentered Immortal Realm of Kunwu under the guise of a disciple was none other than the former Dao Lord Tianshu.
Word of this spread like wildfire throughout the Cultivation Realm.
Yet more astonishing than the resurrection of Dao Lord Tianshu was a single phrase that quickly took hold among the cultivators.
When someone had recognized Tianshu’s features and inquired after his identity, he had smiled faintly and introduced himself as Xie Lanshu.
The same ‘Xie’ as Xie Tanzhao, sect master of Cloudculm Abode.
It hit like a thunderclap.
The Dao Lord Tianshu seemed poised to marry into Cloudculm Abode.
(TLN: again, 入赘 means to go and live with one's wife's family, in effect becoming a member of her family—something that was frowned upon back in those days)
Author’s note: Xie Lanshu: Marrying in is nothing special, it’s second nature now.
