Chapter 3: The Xiang Clan

  "The School of Dao" in this world is not equivalent to "Taoism", but refers to the Huang-Lao | School of Dao, one of the various schools of thought.

  The Taoist sect is divided into two factions, Heaven and Human, with the leadership rotating between the two. Currently, the leader of the Human faction, Xīao Yáo Zǐ, holds the sacred sword "Snow Clearing". The Heaven faction advocates for avoiding the world, and since the time of its leader Sōng Jiǒng Zǐ, the entire faction has been in hiding. The Human faction seems to have a different approach, which may be related to Xīao Yáo Zǐ's original identity as a heroic figure in the Jianghu. Despite this, outsiders' knowledge of the Taoist sect is limited to these facts, and no one knows what lies within the Heaven and Human factions. It has been many years since anyone from the Taoist sect has appeared in the Jianghu.

  So, the Mo family saw Yao Guang wearing a Taoist robe and immediately thought of the impression people had of Taoists in the past. Even if it didn't quite fit, they would convince themselves that "rumors are not true". They didn't consider that there were many Taoist practitioners in the world, and Yao Guang might not be from the Fanggu Valley sect. In their opinion, at her age, she could have such a calm and peaceful demeanor, with a noble air hidden beneath. If it weren't for those worldly aristocratic families, it must be a long-standing sect that could cultivate someone like this. Without luxurious clothes and fine food, precious jewels and treasures to support her, it would be impossible to have such a refined appearance, accustomed to wearing high-quality fabrics. Every detail of Yao Guang's clothing was exquisite, every object was beautiful, even the hair tie had a silver buckle with the Taiji Bagua pattern engraved on it. The broken sword was also finely crafted, making one sigh in admiration. Xu Fuzi said that even if you didn't consider how the sword was forged to be so tough and sharp, the jade beads hanging from the hilt were worth a fortune, and they were not ordinary jade, but Kunshan jade. Only with wealth and luxury could one cultivate such an elegant demeanor, and yet, having lived such a life, she could calmly accept the Mo family's rules of not working or eating, swallowing coarse food, which showed that her nature was not arrogant or indulgent. It is easy to temper one's will in hardship, but difficult to do so in wealth and luxury.

  Still as a clear sky with suspended clouds, shining and hanging in the sky; being in nature, not hurried or flurried. In motion like a gentle breeze on a sunny day, slowly brushing against the face and passing by, majestic and elegant, with refined demeanor.

  The blue and white Taoist robe of Yao Guang is like the wind, clouds, light and shadows that exist everywhere in this world, blending into the surroundings as naturally as can be, becoming a part of the scenery.

  This elegant and natural, carefree and peaceful demeanor is not far from the imagination of the Mohist people, and it is even closer to the legendary immortals who travel north in the morning and rest on the green trees in the evening. Therefore, everyone accepted this speculation without any doubt.

  Yao Guang is a senior fellow of Taoism.

  With this understanding, the Mohist's surveillance of Yao Guang also relaxed a lot.

  Although the various schools of thought were not united in their efforts, at least the Taoists did not stand on the side of Qin when facing the tyranny of Qin.

  Slowly, the line that had been faintly drawn by the Mo family to separate the elegant and refined from the ordinary Mo family children became blurred.

  Yao Guang's social circle gradually expanded, and the number of people who would actively greet her and chat with her also increased. Even among the leaders, there were several who had a good relationship with Yao Guang.

  Yao Guang herself was beautiful, with white skin and black hair, her eyes shining like stars. She had spent many years cultivating the Tao on Mount Hua's snowy peaks, which had imbued her with a serene and icy demeanor. Unlike the Mohist disciples who struggled in the chaotic world, Yao Guang had received orthodox Taoist teachings from a young age, and was well-versed in literature and writing. She had studied under Rui, learning a wide range of subjects including Taoist classics, various schools of thought, music, chess, painting, medicine, divination, and astrology. She had even traveled to Qinling to seek out the medical saint of Wanhua Valley for guidance. Although she was still young and couldn't yet grasp everything at once, with her broad knowledge, when she intentionally interacted with others, she would never be at a loss for words.

  A girl who is beautiful in appearance, good in temperament, elegant in speech and noble in demeanor, who would have a bad impression of such a person unless they had old grievances?

  It's not too strange that Yao Guang successfully eliminated the hostility, vigilance and estrangement of everyone towards her within half a month, and it was only natural that the broken Yu Qing sword returned to Yao Guang's hands.

  When the Snow Girl returned the Jade Clear Sword, Yao Guang stared blankly at the three broken sword segments for a long time, and finally unknowingly filled her eyes with hot tears.

  "......Thank you......Yuki-onna......"

  The Snow Girl saw Yao Guang crying and became somewhat flustered, thinking to herself that perhaps she should wait a little longer until Yao Guang had fully recovered before returning the sword. Now that her mind was so shaken, she feared it would harm her internal organs.

  "Yao Guang, I..."

  Yao Guang vaguely guessed Snow Girl's thoughts, looked up at her and forced a smile, shaking his head in sigh.

  "Don't apologize, Yuki-onna. Thank you very much for bringing both of them back... thank you for returning it to me now. The Jade Clear is extremely important to me, not inferior to my own life..."

  Jianzong disciples have always been inseparable from their swords, and since her cultivation has not yet reached the realm of "a lifetime to cultivate one sword, one sword to cultivate a lifetime", but since her master bestowed upon her the Yuqing at the beginning, she has been accompanied by Yuqing for five years.

  On New Year's Eve in Ye City, she hugged the sword with a determination to destroy it, disregarding the risk of walking into madness and forcibly urging her internal power to shatter the long sword.

  The sword is broken, and she is also half dead - her meridians are destroyed by 70-80%, and without a few years of rest, it's likely to be difficult to recover.

  Yao Guang took out the scabbard from her bag, carefully placing each broken sword into it. Rubbing the Taiji symbol on the hilt, she couldn't help but think of the day Master gave her the Yuqing Sword.

  That day was a rare sunny day, Mount Hua did not have snowflakes, the master called her to the Chunyang Palace, let her kneel in front of the statue of Lu Chunyang, the ancestor of the sect, and take an oath, then bestowed upon her the Jade Clear Sword.

  The oath of that day was never forgotten for a moment, the oath has not been destroyed at this moment, but the sword has been destroyed. Is it implying something in the dark?

  Yao Guang suddenly felt amused and put away the unusable Yu Qing sword in her bag, wiping away tears, and bowed again.

  "I'm extremely grateful for Snow Maiden's kindness in returning the sword. I'll never forget this life-saving favor, and I will definitely repay it someday."

  The Snow Maiden gazed at Yao Guang's expression, thinking of Gao Jianli's words "the sword is in the person", and couldn't help but wonder what kind of danger had caused Yao Guang to break his sword and be seriously injured. She wasn't uncurious, but the fragmented words she got from probing around were too cruel, and she couldn't bear to ask further. At this moment, seeing the deep sorrow between Yao Guang's eyebrows made her heart ache even more.

  "Yao Guang doesn't need to be so anxious. You can rest assured here and recover, wait until Rong Jie returns, maybe she will have a good way to deal with your injury."

  Yao Guang smiled faintly, "Life and death are destined, just like the withering and flourishing of plants. How can one force it? I reversed my meridians, exerted my strength, and it was supposed to be this way. Now that I haven't become a useless person who can only linger on their sickbed, I should be grateful. What more could I wish for?"

  The Snow Maiden wanted to say something, but was tongue-tied by the bright and sparkling starry eyes of Shang Yuanguang that were untainted by dust.

  Those eyes were like a gentle stream flowing through the snowy peaks, quietly and warmly hiding a hint of coldness that seemed to see through the world.

  Yao Guang smiled and said in a soft voice, "Xue Nu, you've come to find me. Is there something else? If it's just for this broken sword, I'd be too grateful."

  The Snow Maiden couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh, and quickly adjusted her expression, smiling as she said: "Today there are friends from afar who have come to the city, so why don't you go with me to see them, Yueling? Since you arrived here, it seems like you've been cooped up in the house all this time. Among the guests who came today, there just happens to be someone around your age; perhaps they can become good friends?"

  Yao Guang intentionally furrowed her delicate eyebrows and sighed, "It must be that Yao Guang is too young, making Snow Girl feel like she's taking care of a child when interacting with me, which is why she's in such a hurry to push me away now."

  The Snow Girl didn't expect that Yao Guang, who usually looked very sensible and could even be said to be on par with a grown man in some aspects, would suddenly behave like a little girl. After being stunned for a moment, she couldn't help but smile, and only then did she feel a bit of the reality of "the girl in front of her is really only ten or so years old". She couldn't resist reaching out to gently tap Yao Guang's forehead.

  "I've finally learned my lesson from Yao Guang's sharp tongue."

  Yao Guang smiled but did not answer.

  These days, Yuki-onna and Yao Guang have been coming and going quite frequently. Although they can't be called "friends" yet, at least they are more familiar with each other than acquaintances. Yao Guang is also someone Yuki-onna personally saved, so Yuki-onna naturally takes extra care of her. Originally, Yuki-onna was somewhat hesitant to joke around with Yao Guang due to her usual extraordinary and refined image, and what she felt for Yao Guang was more "respect" than "affection". She had a natural reverence for Yao Guang, who embodied the elegant demeanor of a Taoist immortal. However, because of Yao Guang's joke, the distance between them narrowed significantly, and Yuki-onna naturally took Yao Guang's hand, leading her out while quietly telling her about the visitor, a fake mecha master.

  "The Chu State's... The Xiang Clan..."

  Yao Guang looked at the dozen or so people in the hall, old and young, and slightly narrowed her eyes.

  Finally... I know what era this is now.

  When it comes to "Chu State Xiangshi", the most famous one is none other than the Xiangshi of Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu.

  "Though Chu has only three families, it is certain that Qin will perish at the hands of Chu." —— One of the "three families" refers to Xiang.

  The Xiang family was a noble family of the State of Chu, with an extremely large number of members. Even if we only consider those whose names are recorded in history books, it would take several pages to list them all. If we were to elaborate on each one, it would take several days and nights to finish speaking.

  Now the Xiang family has been displaced and is currently in the Qin dynasty, during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng.

  Hui and Xiang Shi's family have been friends for many years, and this city is certainly full of people who oppose Qin.

  Jade Light remembers that when Qin Wang Ying Zheng was in power, he swept across the six directions, built the Great Wall, and standardized characters. His achievements are unparalleled throughout history, not even comparable to those of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin. Perhaps it's because Qin Wang's actions were too far ahead of his time, and China also became a complete nation for the first time under Ying Zheng's rule. Such drastic changes made it difficult for the remnants of the six states to accept, and there were countless scholars who opposed Qin throughout the land.

  This is quite... troublesome.

  To be frank, compared to those anti-Qin individuals, Yao Guang admired the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang more. She had once held historical records and sighed with emotion, regretting that she couldn't see the unparalleled grandeur of the emperor who unified China for all eternity. Now, as she found herself in the midst of history, or perhaps could catch a glimpse of many legendary figures, this expectation made her heart flutter with excitement. However, when she thought about how she was currently on the territory of the anti-Qin camp and had received their life-saving kindness, she suddenly became calm and composed, like being doused with cold water.

  Since we have different stances, I'll just find an opportunity to repay the favor that saved my life and leave, lest we get further entangled and it becomes hard to end things.

  The Snow Maiden did not hurry to take Yao Guang out to meet guests, but instead introduced each person to Yao Guang one by one, so that she wouldn't be at a loss for how to greet them.

  The two of them hid in the dark and recognized each other for a while before appearing, at which time someone from the Mo family had already gone up to chat with the guest, so when Xue Nu and Yao Guang appeared, they also received many greetings.

  The Snow Girl smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with Fan Zeng, only to notice that Xiang Shi's young master had been staring at the girl beside her all along. She couldn't help but smile slyly and pulled Yao Guang in front of her.

  "Mr. Fan, this is a guest staying in the city, Yao Guang. Yao Guang, this is Mr. Fan."

  Yao Guang, with his pure Yang habit, greeted him with a Taoist salute.

  "Yao Guang has met Mr. Fan."

  Fan Zeng looked up and down at Yao Guang a few times, slightly surprised to look at Xue Nu, the two exchanged a glance, Fan Zeng stretched out his hand to support her, nodded and bowed his head, saying in a low voice: "Indeed worthy of being a Taoist, with a truly elegant demeanor."

  Yao Guang was taken aback, neither affirming nor denying.

  Xiang Shaoyu had been staring at her since he saw the Jade Light, and when he heard her name, his eyes nearly popped out. Fan Zeng thought it was just a young man's infatuation and furrowed his brow, giving him a stern glare.

  Xiang Shaoyu was shot by a fierce gaze, and without thinking too much, he pulled Fan Zeng's sleeve to walk a few steps aside, lowering his voice to say: "Father Ya, do you remember... Uncle once mentioned a friend called 'Jade Light'?"

  Fan Zeng originally thought that Xiang Shao Yu was talking nonsense, but he didn't expect him to mention his second uncle as soon as he opened his mouth. He was taken aback for a moment, and after careful consideration, he also felt somewhat uncertain.

  "Shaoyu...... what you said...... is Shaolong who took the character for you?"

  This chapter is Chapter 3. If you think this chapter is good, please don't forget to recommend it to your friends on QQ group and Weibo!