Chapter 27: Accompanied by a Beauty, Feeling Familiar from a Past Life

The moon was clearly visible in the water; you could see it plainly. Yet, when you tried to catch it, not only would you fail, but you might also fall into the water. (Gu Long)
……
Helpless, since she was an expert, he had no choice but to follow her. Liu Yi activated “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows” and continued to strive to keep up with Jili’er. They kept walking on, not knowing how long it had been—seemingly as if this girl really wanted to reach the mountaintop.
Liu Yi didn’t bother to care. After all, he was feeling very relaxed now. Having obtained the Thousand-Year Inner Pill and learned the Wolf King’s techniques, he had amassed a great deal of vital energy. With “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows,” walking along these mountain paths felt like walking on flat ground.
As darkness fell, Jili’er took out a handkerchief from her waist and handed it to Liu Yi, saying, “Scholar, wipe your sweat. You must be very tired after walking such a long distance.”
Liu Yi took the handkerchief casually but realized he wasn’t sweating. Yet, since he had already taken it, it would be awkward to return it. Since it was dark, he pretended to wipe his sweat and wiped it a few times before trying to give it back to Jili’er.
Jili’er wiped her rosy face, red like a ripe apple, with her sleeve and smiled, saying, “Are all scholars fools? You’ve already wiped it and still give it back to me. Throw it away. We need to reach the mountaintop before dark, otherwise we’ll have to camp here in the mountains. Turning over at night could be deadly.” With that, she continued walking up the mountain.
Liu Yi sniffed the handkerchief—it smelled faintly of her scent. There was a pair of mandarin ducks embroidered on it, looking very delicate. He thought to himself, “Such a fine item—would it be a shame to throw it away?” He put it in his sleeve.
As they walked, Jili’er asked, “Scholar, I heard you’re a talented man in the south. Many people ask for your paintings, and your poetry collections are also widely available.”
Liu Yi smiled as he walked, saying, “Rumors, nothing but rumors. Didn’t the Wolf King say I’m just a scoundrel scholar? How could I be a talented man?”
Jili’er stopped for a moment and laughed, “Don’t lie to me. There’s a saying circulating everywhere—haven’t you heard it? Talented men are worthless, but Liu Yi is valuable. Half mad, half crazy, wandering the jianghu as a scoundrel scholar. Hehe, how amusing.”
Liu Yi was surprised. “When did this spread? I’ve only been in Wind-Carrying Cave for a few days—how could it spread so fast?”
Jili’er laughed. “Don’t you know? Good news stays local, but bad news spreads far. It seems you’ve done something bad now. Haha. In this so-called jianghu, who doesn’t know about you, this scoundrel scholar?”
Liu Yi thought to himself, “This is bad. The demonic sect surely won’t let me go.”
Jili’er continued upward and said, “What’s wrong? What are you thinking… Oops!” Suddenly, Jili’er cried out as her foot slipped, and she started to fall backward.
Liu Yi looked up immediately, intensified the “Submerge” technique of “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows,” reached out with his right hand, and caught Jili’er in his arms. The fragrance of the girl made him feel dizzy… For some reason, Jili’er wasn’t particularly beautiful—she couldn’t compare to Shui’er or Ajiu he had met before, nor even to his personal maids, Bing’er and Qing’er. Yet, she somehow managed to attract Liu Yi.

Jiliel lost her balance and couldn’t stand up on her own for a moment. She looked up at Liu Yi and said, “What a rascal! Are you satisfied? If you’re not tired, I’ll take a nap here.”
Liu Yi’s face turned red as he quickly helped Jiliel up, saying, “I was distracted for a moment. Please forgive me, miss.”
Jiliel smiled and said, “I didn’t expect a scholar like you to be quite capable. You didn’t even fall when I was on you. Haha, that’s fun.”
Looking at Jiliel’s innocent and cheerful expression, Liu Yi said, “Look, the moon is about to rise. We’d better keep moving.”
Jiliel laughed and said, “We’ve already reached the top of the mountain. I was just too anxious earlier and slipped.” With that, she turned and headed upward.
Liu Yi quickened his pace to follow her. He was surprised to see that the summit was flat, with many rocks and trees around. If a roof were added, it could become a natural large house. This Yuecang Mountain was really nice…
Jiliel ran behind a large rock and said, “This is it. We’ll rest here today. Tomorrow, we’ll search along the summit for a plant called ‘Lianxin Grass’.”
Liu Yi looked around and said, “It’s a bit cold. Wait here while I go fetch some dry wood to keep warm.”
Jiliel nodded and began cleaning up under the rock, then started digging a pit to start a fire.
Liu Yi walked in another direction on the summit, where it was flatter and densely wooded. As he prepared to gather some dry wood, he suddenly noticed a pair of dark green eyes in the distance, staring at him. Those eyes seemed very familiar. Where had he seen them before… Liu Yi strained his eyes to look closely. It was a wolf. The wolf king must have had those same eyes; otherwise, why would they seem so familiar?
Liu Yi smirked darkly and said, “Hehe, we’ll have meat to eat tonight.” Then, he channeled his internal energy, stretched out his right little finger, and used the ‘Jade Flower Finger’ technique—a blue light mixed with the fragrance of orchids—shooting toward the green eyes. Without a sound, the wolf’s head was blown off.
Liu Yi glanced at his little finger and thought to himself, “If the wolf king knew I used the ‘Jade Flower Finger’ he taught me to kill his own kind, hehe… I wonder how he’d react.” He stepped forward, dragged the wolf’s leg, picked up some dry wood, and returned to the summit platform.
Jiliel was sitting there eating dried food when she saw Liu Yi returning with something in his arms. Upon closer inspection, it was a wolf. Jiliel happily said, “Haha, we’ll have meat to eat tonight. No need for dried food.” With a push of her hand, she threw away the remaining half piece of dried food.
Liu Yi said, “Lend me your knife. You start the fire while I skin the wolf.”
Jiliel happily handed him the small curved knife at her waist, then took out flint to start a fire.
They cut off two plump wolf legs, skinned them, and carved two long sticks to thread the legs onto, placing them over the fire to roast…
Liu Yi kept turning the wolf legs to prevent them from burning, while Jiliel took out a flute from her waist and said, “How about I play a tune for you, Jiliel?”
Liu Yi’s eyes stung from the smoke, and he said through tears, “Sure, I’m bored anyway.”

Jiliel placed the flute to her lips and began to play. When Liu Yi heard it, he realized she was playing the famous tune “Butterfly Transformation.” Although her imitation wasn’t perfect, through the melodies, Liu Yi could sense the sadness in her heart—yet there seemed to be a hint of happiness within that sadness. What could be the reason?

A gentle breeze blew, scattering the smoke, making Liu Yi’s task of grilling much easier. As he casually grilled the meat, he listened quietly to Jiliel’s performance of “Butterfly Transformation.” This reminded him of his childhood when he and the Ten Heroes played around instead of learning music. Back then, he didn’t know how many times his father had beaten him for being playful. Now, thinking back, he actually missed that strict father a bit. He wondered if he had been doing well these past few months.

When the music ended, Jiliel sat down next to Liu Yi and leaned her head on his shoulder, seemingly unbothered at all. On the contrary, it seemed completely normal for her to rest on his shoulder. Her petite body leaned back slightly as she said, “Hey, how was it? Was my playing okay?”

Liu Yi felt a bit awkward under Jiliel’s weight and replied, “Well, of course, it was good. It wasn’t exactly like the original, but adding your own emotions was nice.”

Jiliel adjusted her position to lie more comfortably and said, “Scholars are indeed scholars. The saying ‘talents from the south’ seems quite true. But… I don’t understand. Jiliel is so hungry. Is the meat ready?”

Distraught by Jiliel leaning on him, Liu Yi quickly checked the two wolf legs. They were already greasy from cooking, and one of them was burnt. He quickly took it down and handed it to Jiliel, saying, “This is yours.”

He then took the burnt one, sniffed it—it wasn’t bad—and wiped his nose, saying, “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

Jiliel turned around and burst into laughter. It turned out that as Liu Yi wiped his nose, he had smeared black marks all around it, making him look like he had just come out of a coal pit.

Liu Yi tore off the cooked wolf meat and put it in his mouth, asking puzzledly, “What’s the matter? Why are you laughing? Is there dirt on my face?” He continued eating loudly.

Jiliel’s waist curved with laughter as she said, “Silly scholar, your face is even more beautiful than flowers. Don’t move; I’ll wipe it off for you.” She raised her sleeve and wiped under Liu Yi’s nose.

Facing each other, through her sleeve, Liu Yi could clearly see Jiliel’s small face and those expressive eyes. Once upon a time, those eyes seemed to be with him always. Once upon a time, those eyes looked so familiar, as if they were part of his own heart. Gradually, Liu Yi was stunned…

Meanwhile, Jiliel also stopped moving when she saw Liu Yi’s gaze. Why? Why was it so familiar? It seemed like they had known each other thousands of years ago, as if those eyes had been etched in his heart from a very distant time, leaving an indelible mark. What was this…?