Blurb
The senior disciple of Lingyun Sect was ordered to guard Jiuyi Sacred Mountain for one hundred and ninety years.
No demons or monsters entered the mountain, and no one lived there. Her sword, Snowfall, accompanied her through the chilly hues of the peaks, the sparse streams beneath falling stars, and... endless loneliness.
Then one day, a rare flock of snow egrets swept past, only to succumb to the bitter cold and fall with broken wings into the blizzard.
The pale-faced girl merely drew her fur-lined coat closer, lowered her eyes to stroke the patterns on her sword, and spoke as if mocking herself: "Ambition as high as the heavens, a life as fragile as paper."
So many years had passed. Perhaps she had felt resentment and sorrow, but she had never regretted it.
Later, on the one occasion in more than a century when she went down the mountain to attend a banquet, she had secretly been excited for a long time.
But just after she descended, she heard inner disciples talking around a corner. "Hey, did you hear? That senior sister guarding the mountain went down today too. I hear her soul is going to be secretly sacrificed to the sacred mountain. The sect leader plans to cut out her spiritual root and give it to the junior brother."
The girl's grip tightened on her sword. Then another person said,
"Hey, it's an Ice Root. With that, your cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds."
"But that senior sister is really pitiful. So young, and already..."
"One hundred and ninety years... How pitiful."
Yes, she was pitiful.
After a century of loneliness, she had become a pawn to be discarded.
The girl didn't cry or make a scene. She slowly walked back to her sacred mountain.
She took off her heavy fur coat and casually planted the world-famous sword Snowfall in front of the courtyard gate. In the dead of night, she walked down the mountain, step by step.
The snowy mountain had been her cage. After imprisoning herself for half her life, she was finally free.
Only after leaving the mountain did she discover how carefree and lively life could be without having to guard it.
She sold her jewelry and opened a small teahouse in the capital.
On sunny days, she watched the clouds. On rainy days, she listened to the bamboo. Whenever she had nothing better to do, she would lean against the wooden window and admire the handsome young men coming and going.
Only after leaving the mountain did she discover that, besides snow egrets, there were so many other adorable animals in the world.
She adopted all kinds of little animals, including cats, dogs, and... little foxes.
Snow, swords, tea, foxes...
From then on, the world was her guest, and she could live freely, following her heart.
Theme: Break down before building anew
