These disciples are still new and entering a secret realm for the first time, so having elders accompany them should provide more peace of mind.
Si Qing nodded in agreement.
Qi Yu adjusted her hairpin in the mirror, reviewing her words from earlier, and paused again.
"What's wrong?" Si Qing asked, noticing her sudden stillness with a hint of confusion.
"Ah, nothing," Qi Yu came back to herself and smiled wryly. "I just find it quite amusing. I never imagined I'd one day be able to call myself an elder and watch disciples address me as 'Master'."
Si Qing fell silent for a moment.
He thought of the Beiyuan Sect in the past.
Qi Yu seemed to sense his thoughts and walked over. "Come to think of it, after that incident, we never went back to see it. Si Qing, do you want to go with me to take a look at the Beiyuan Sect?"
Qi Yu walked to the window, hands clasped behind her back. "I feel like seeing it. It's been so long since we've been there."
Si Qing hummed, his response ambiguous as to whether he agreed or not.
Qi Yu smiled at him and finally pulled him along, leaving the Changqing Sect and heading out.
The Beiyuan Sect was a long way from the Changqing Sect.
Every step Qi Yu and Si Qing took felt like a step through memories.
"Do you know, Si Qing?" Qi Yu suddenly lowered her voice as they walked. "There was a time when I really hated the Beiyuan Sect, even the mortal world, because it was all connected to Li Yu. But now, perhaps with the passage of time and your companionship, I'm gradually forgetting those hateful feelings."
As Qi Yu spoke, her gaze was distant, as if recalling events from a long, long time ago.
Si Qing remained silent for a while before finally saying, "Even though Li Yu is that kind of person, I have to admit that the Beiyuan Sect he founded was actually quite good."
Si Qing sighed.
During the period when Li Yu was being punished, he had never told Qi Yu that he often had dreams. In his dreams, Li Yu hadn't changed, still deeply in love with their Mistress.
He and his elder sister had recognized each other, and the reunion was perfect.
Each time Si Qing woke from a dream filled with the most beautiful scenes, he would look out at the world and remember that it wasn't real.
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow. "How should I put it? My feelings about the Beiyuan Sect are quite complicated."
She couldn't seem to fully accept the sect.
Because, from beginning to end, it had been filled with schemes.
Yet, she couldn't entirely hate the Beiyuan Sect.
Because it was here that she had met lifelong friends and fellow disciples across several lifetimes, and it was also here that she had reunited with her brother.
Qi Yu mused, with a hint of regret.
As they neared the Beiyuan Sect, Qi Yu and Si Qing looked up together and saw that the once vibrant Beiyuan Mountain had become desolate. The path leading up the mountain was overgrown with weeds, as if no one had visited in a very long time.
However, looking upwards, they could still faintly make out the sect's main gate at the very summit.
"..." Qi Yu and Si Qing fell silent for a moment, then walked upwards together, neither of them considering why the place had become so desolate.
It was simple: this place had been forgotten by Qi Yu, who was now the Heavenly Dao, for too long. Without the Heavenly Dao's spiritual energy to sustain it, the spiritual energy of the surrounding area had been depleted, and it had long since transformed from a blessed land into an inauspicious one.
It was only because Qi Yu and Si Qing were visiting now. If they hadn't come, the mountain would have soon lost all its spiritual energy, eventually vanishing with the wind and turning to dust.
Qi Yu reached out and pushed aside the weeds on the mountain path. With a wave of her divine power, she cleared the entire stairway and began to ascend.
With each step, images of the past flashed through her mind.
Her fellow disciples were still here.
She was still here.
But besides them, everything else had changed.
Qi Yu ascended the stairs, step by step. When she reached the top, she was staring blankly at the mountain gate when she saw an old man holding a broom, diligently sweeping and tidying the desolate courtyard of the Beiyuan Sect.
Most of the weeds in the courtyard had been removed, but there were still large gaps between the bricks and tiles, likely due to long-term disrepair.
Qi Yu and Si Qing looked at the old man before them, and it took them a while to realize that although he was wearing a man's tunic, he was actually a woman.
She hadn't deliberately disguised herself as a man, merely tied her hair up.
From behind, her figure appeared plump, leading to their mistake.
She didn't notice Qi Yu and Si Qing's footsteps, sweeping with concentration, each stroke producing a rustling sound that amplified the surrounding silence.
Qi Yu didn't approach to greet her. Instead, she went inside to look at the former training rooms. The curtains in these training rooms were all riddled with holes from insects.
They were tattered and torn, with many gaps.
Si Qing stood at the doorway, gazing blankly.
Looking back, he could almost see the carefree scenes of them laughing and playing here in the past.
It felt like no one had been lost.
So why did he miss it so much?
Qi Yu placed her hands on her hips. "This life is so long. I'm wondering if I should learn to forgive the unforgivable things of the past. First among them is this Beiyuan Mountain. We have mixed feelings about this place, yet we cannot deny that it is indeed a treasure trove for cultivating the Dao."
"Si Qing, I think it's a shame for this place to be abandoned like this. Why don't we find some subordinates to tidy it up and make it another part of Changqing Mountain?"
Si Qing looked at Qi Yu. "Are you trying to accept what happened in the past?"
"You can't say that. I just feel..." Qi Yu paused, carefully weighing her words before speaking slowly. "I just feel that those who deserved punishment have been punished, so this page should be turned."
"Beiyuan Mountain is beautiful. Watching the stars here is breathtaking. I don't think it should have lost its spiritual energy and fallen into decay because of certain people and events."
"Li Yu and Yu Zhen have been reincarnated. As long as they live good lives, their sins will be absolved in a few lifetimes, and they will return to being normal people." Qi Yu looked at Si Qing. "So, although the Beiyuan Sect is gone, I think we can keep Beiyuan Mountain. After all, we are all still here, aren't we?"
Si Qing finally nodded.
Re-endowed with the protection of the Heavenly Dao, Beiyuan Mountain began to recover its spiritual energy and vitality at a visible rate.
Qi Yu and Si Qing waited for a while, watching as heavenly soldiers and generals arrived to clear the surroundings, before turning to leave.
As Qi Yu and Si Qing walked towards the entrance, they brushed past the old woman who was sweeping.
A gentle breeze stirred Qi Yu's hair.
Qi Yu tucked a strand behind her ear and, as she turned her head, caught sight of the old woman's face. She felt a vague sense of familiarity.