Chapter 48: Candied Haws and Resolute Ideals

Yun Xueshang took the candied haws from Hua Yan. Her thin lips parted slightly as she bit into one.

The sweet sugar, mingled with the hawthorn’s subtle tartness, melted on her tongue, causing her eyes to narrow involuntarily.

“Yan’er, these candied haws… they don’t seem to be from the refectory?”

The white-haired immortal slowly chewed, one cheek slightly puffed out, her stray hair bouncing with each movement.

“Wh-why wouldn’t they be? They’re clearly from the refectory!”

For some reason, Hua Yan seemed flustered upon hearing this, her tone laced with urgency.

“But today is Wood Day. The refectory’s snack should be fried chicken, not candied haws.”

“You’re mistaken! Today is Water Day! There *are* candied haws!”

“Is that so?”

A flicker of uncertainty crossed Yun Xueshang’s eyes. She swallowed the hawthorn in her mouth, a hint of confusion surfacing in her clear, cool gaze.

“The refectory’s candied haws always use ordinary mortal hawthorns, complete with seeds. But this skewer uses premium Crimson Jade Spirit Hawthorns, and the seeds have been carefully removed.

The sugar coating is also uneven, looking rather messy, not at all like the work of the refectory chefs.”

“Wh-what Crimson Jade Spirit Hawthorns? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

The red-haired maiden before her grew even more flustered.

“I’ve eaten many candied haws; I wouldn’t be mistaken.”

Yun Xueshang bit into another one, looking at her earnestly. “Yan’er, these candied haws couldn’t possibly be…”

“A-a-a-a-ah, yes! So what if I made them myself!”

Before Yun Xueshang could finish, Hua Yan interrupted, her face flushed, glaring at her with a mix of shame and embarrassment, her voice filled with a huff of indignation. “These are the candied haws I made myself, so what! Are you satisfied now?”

…Eh?

Yun Xueshang was stunned.

She had actually intended to ask if Hua Yan had bought the candied haws from outside at a high price. But judging by her words…

Hua Yan had made them herself?

“Hmph!”

Seeing Yun Xueshang’s dazed expression, Hua Yan grew even more mortified. She stomped her foot and turned to leave.

‘How infuriating! I made them for her with good intentions, and she dares to be so picky and complain that they look ugly?! Yun Xueshang! You’ll never get to eat anything I make again for the rest of your life!’

“Yan’er, wait.”

A slender, pale hand gently clasped her wrist.

“Don’t go yet. I… wasn’t saying the candied haws were bad.”

Yun Xueshang’s voice, though soft, held a rare urgency. “Though the sugar coating is messy, they truly are delicious. I didn’t mean to dislike them.”

She explained clumsily, her fingertips tightening slightly, afraid the person before her would really leave. “I really like the candied haws you made… I, I want to eat them again in the future. Can you… please not go?”

“…”

“S-since you’ve said so… *cough, cough*, then I won’t leave!”

The red-haired maiden turned her face away, a hint of smugness hidden beneath her haughty expression, her gaze flickering. “If you truly like them, and if you’re willing to beg me properly in the future… I, I might make them for you again, depending on my mood!”

“Mm, thank you, Yan’er.”

The anxiety in Yun Xueshang’s eyes quietly melted away, replaced by a faint smile.

Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Yan’er, have you actually tasted these candied haws you made yourself?”

“Uh…”

Hua Yan froze.

After hearing Lin Qianqian’s story this morning, she had rushed to the refectory to learn how to make candied haws from the chef.

She had never cooked before and had no culinary experience whatsoever. Even with the aid of spiritual energy, she wasted many ingredients, only managing to string together a presentable skewer by nearly noon.

How could she have had time to taste them herself? —Unless one counted the times she had burnt the sugar or overcooked the hawthorns earlier.

Seeing her silent for a long moment, Yun Xueshang extended the candied haws in her hand. “Since you made them, you should try them too. They’re really delicious.”

Hua Yan hesitantly eyed the vibrant red fruits. There should have been seven hawthorns on the bamboo skewer, but Yun Xueshang had already eaten two. The broken ends were glistening, making it hard to tell if it was melted syrup or…

‘This is the skewer she just put into her mouth…’

Hua Yan hesitated, but then her gaze met Yun Xueshang’s clear, frank crimson eyes.

‘Tsk, even Yun Xueshang, a woman, doesn’t care. I, Hua Yan, am a man, after all. What is there to be afraid of! Eat it, then!’

‘Eat it!’

She found an angle, and with an audible “Awoo!”, swiftly snatched a hawthorn with her mouth.

“How is it? Is it good?”

Seeing her eat, Yun Xueshang’s eyes curved slightly. She retrieved the candied haws and gently bit into one herself.

“Mm, mm…”

Hua Yan, seeing her continue to eat the same skewer she had touched without any reservation, felt her face subtly flush. She couldn’t help but lower her head, her voice softening.

‘…Wait, that’s not right!’

‘These are the candied haws *I* made, so why is *she* asking *me* if they’re good? Of course they’re delicious!’

Realizing this, Hua Yan immediately looked up, about to speak, but then Yun Xueshang softly asked, “Then, Yan’er, why did you think of making me candied haws today?”

“Uh, I…”

Facing those calm, yet slightly curious red eyes, Hua Yan looked left and right, knowing there was no escape. She could only confess, half-truthfully, “W-well, I just happened to run into Fellow Daoist Lin at the Scripture Pavilion today… right! And then we chatted about your master, and your past…”

She spoke tentatively, secretly observing Yun Xueshang’s expression. Although Yun Xueshang usually had a serene demeanor, Hua Yan inexplicably felt that her mood remained undisturbed at this moment.

“Fellow Daoist Lin said that your master often bought candied haws to coax you when they were alive, which is why you especially love them.

So I thought… since you’re back on Sleeping Cloud Peak now, and I asked some inappropriate things last night, I was afraid you might become sentimental… and then Rongrong and I would also feel uncomfortable.

So, I simply decided to prevent it beforehand and made you some candied haws myself! Yes, that’s it!”

Upon hearing this, Yun Xueshang nodded understandingly.

“Thank you for your concern, Yan’er. However, I won’t affect you and Rongrong.”

Her expression was calm as she continued, “Actually, what you said last night was not inappropriate. Regarding my master, and my junior brother and sister… I have long since come to terms with it.”

“After that calamity all those years ago, I did indeed ask myself why I was the one who survived, and why my master and the others met such a fate.”

“But people must ultimately look forward. If my master were still here and saw me despondent, they would likely just rap my head and scold me for being a blockhead.”

As she spoke, she gently bit into another candied haw.

Seeing this, Hua Yan hesitated before asking, “Then why do you still practice sword arts and cultivate all day, and harbor such an unwavering obsession with eradicating evil cultivators?”

“Coming to terms with it doesn’t mean forgetting.”

The white-haired immortal swallowed the hawthorn, her expression serious. “I will carry this past with me and continue forward. Moreover, only by eliminating all evil in the world can such tragedies be prevented, and no one will be separated from their loved ones without cause again.”

She looked up, her eyes filled with resolute light. “Therefore, I will continue to cultivate and grow stronger, until all evil in this world is vanquished.”

The mountain breeze swept by, stirring a few strands of her white hair. Her beautiful, flawless face held a solemn expression, a speck of glistening sugar still clinging to the corner of her lips.

Hua Yan quietly gazed at Yun Xueshang, and suddenly felt that perhaps, for the first time, she truly saw her.

No, it should be said that it was *again*.

Ten years ago, on the Yin-Yang Platform, when they first met, she only perceived the other as immensely powerful, cold-faced, and taciturn, simply dismissing her as a cold-hearted, emotionless woman.

Ten years later, meeting again and traveling together through Great Chu, she came to see this person as nothing more than a kind-hearted fool, whose mind was solely consumed by swordsmanship and cultivation, truly incomprehensible.

Yet at this moment, before Hua Yan, who had always been carefree and had never deeply pondered grand ideals, Yun Xueshang resembled someone radiating a subtle glow, embracing a noble—even somewhat unrealistic—ideal.

Heh, still a sword-obsessed fool, indeed.

Hua Yan’s lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

But for some reason, she found this fool before her…

…actually quite endearing.