Chapter 141 - 4.6 Fucked Up
Heimo knew who it was, ever since he first laid eyes on that man.
Jingxue-Jun; he had often heard of that title being called in a tone full of worship, reverence, as if he was a God who was benevolent enough to grace the mortals with his presence. Everyone seemed to agree on one thing, Jingxue-Jun was the epitome of perfection, cold righteousness and beauty.
He was born as a Young Master from a high rank family that had close ties to the monarch for centuries. If he so wished to, he could have married the Princess and became the future reigning Emperor. He was as gorgeous as luminous moonlight, quick witted, and most importantly, a prodigy that the world hadn’t seen before. At the age of five, he received a personal offer from the Sect Leader of Lingyan to be his direct disciple. It had caused a huge uproar back then for the Sect Leader was a reclusive man who hadn’t taken any disciple under his wings before. And Young Master Lu was only five, Heavens! Surely, he must be blessed with overwhelming talent to have received such an unprecedented treatment!
The rest of it was history. The little boy decisively threw away his Young Master’s title, ditched his engagement with the Princess and abandoned his future as the Emperor. He kneeled in front of the Sect Leader and performed the ceremony to officially accept him as a shifu. In exchange, the Sect Leader bestowed him a courtesy name; Lu Yizhou.
The title Jingxue-Jun came to existence a few years after Lu Yizhou went past the age of adulthood. Together with a few inner disciples of the Lingyan Sect, he fought against a fierce demon in the middle of the snowstorm. The story was passed from mouth to mouth since then, spoken with awe and admiration of how even the snowstorm seemed to have mellowed in Lu Yizhou’s presence; the elegance in his every calculated move, his sword Hexue that flashed with deep blue glow, long sleeves billowed against the wind and jet black hair that set a striking contrast against the whiteness.
He was the only color everyone could see amidst the vast expanse of snow. His form was graceful, like the swan skipping above water, gentle yet powerful, deadly yet beautiful. In the end, when he finally managed to defeat the demon, he stood still, his back ramrod straight as he sheathed his sword. The snow fell gently around him, caressing his jet black hair and clinging to his eyelashes. He breathed out, mists curling out of his pale colored lips.
The very image was so picturesque that it stole everyone’s breath. Tranquil yet relentless, like the snow. Cold and righteous. Jingxue-Jun, they whispered.
Jingxue-Jun, Heimo’s heart skipped a beat, recognition flashed in his eyes as soon as he spotted the man.
Who else carried such an refined ivory sword except him? Who else wore light blue robes and managed to pull it off such that it became the most vivid color among all? Who else had features that were carved to perfection? Except Jingxue-Jun? Nobody else.
It wasn’t even snowing yet somehow he could imagine it. The snowflakes that drifted in the air, pieces of it clinging to the man’s eyelashes, complementing the coldness that seemed to radiate from within. Heimo hid there, behind the shadow of trees and bushes, eyes transfixed on the man who was fighting the purple tiger, heart beating out a thousand beats per mile.
He shifted from a predator who was eyeing his prey to a bard that chanced upon a hidden paradise of rarest flowers, enraptured. Jingxue-Jun’s graceful movements, the swing of his sword, his precision, his eyebrows that were slightly knitted in concentration. It was like he was dancing around the tiger, performing a sacred ritual that even made the killing look like something he bestowed with mercy. That man was... simply breathtaking, the word came unbidden, striking him with a force that left him breathless.