Chapter Seven: Birthday Gift

After years of effort, I had made significant progress in my studies of immortal arts and swordsmanship, largely thanks to the "Condensing Frost Spell" that the immortal had gifted me a year ago.

Perhaps because I had spent so much time with him, people often said I exuded a faint chill, even in the height of summer when other disciples were so hot they wished they could strip off their clothes. I didn't feel any discomfort from the heat. Apart from that, I had no other physical issues.

Sunlight was streaming through the cracks in the window. When I opened it, the bright light eagerly flooded the room, casting a radiant glow. It looked like a beautiful day. I spread a sheet of paper on my desk, dipped my brush in ink, and began to draw. I loved drawing people's eyes, a hobby I used to pass the time. The more I drew, the better I got, capturing their likeness with increasing skill.

However, I could never quite capture the immortal's eyes.

I remember one day when he saw my drawings and asked why I never drew my own eyes. I told him I didn't know what my own eyes looked like, couldn't remember them well enough to draw, even though I had tried a few times but couldn't start.

He told me that my eyes were like pearls wrapped in mud, dull on the outside but sharp and clear on the inside, hidden to avoid hurting others easily.

What kind of eyes were those? Such a contradictory description.

I kept trying, page after page, never finding a satisfactory result. That's when I understood why he said his eyes were easy to draw but mine were extremely difficult.

As I was struggling with this, there was a sudden knock on the door. Opening it, I found Luo Yi'er, her face flushed, breathing heavily. I asked her if something urgent had happened.

She shook her head, pulled me into the room with a mysterious expression, and took out some sparkling jade stones from her sleeve, placing them in front of me along with several silver threads.

"Qingyue, look, I had to beg my brother for these. These Snow Mountain Spirit Jades and Ice Silkworm Threads are rare treasures. They'd make perfect bracelets or necklaces."

"Why did you ask your brother for these? If they're so precious, why not keep them safe? What are you planning to do with them now?" I picked up a smooth white jade and noticed it already had a hole drilled in it.

"Silly, tomorrow is Uncle Que's birthday. Even though he always says he doesn't care about such things, people still secretly give him gifts. You've been with him for three years, haven't you noticed?"

Indeed, over the past three years, I had seen people sneaking gifts to him on his birthday, but he always refused them. The immortal said completing the assignments he gave me was the best birthday gift. This year, I had taken that for granted and ignored it.

So, what should I give him this year?

I was lost in thought, still pondering what gift to choose, when Luo Yi'er suddenly grabbed my hand and pushed the jade stones and silkworm threads into it.

I looked at her in surprise and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I've got all the materials ready for you. Just make something out of them, and you'll have the perfect birthday gift. Qingyue, have you been around Uncle Que for so long that you've become stubborn like him?"

The jade stones and silkworm threads that Brother Luo obtained were hard-won during his mission to exterminate demons on the Snow Mountain. Disciples of Qiongyun Sect were not allowed to leave the mountain unless on a mission, so it was rare to see even ordinary gemstones, let alone such extraordinary ones. Other disciples who accompanied him were also aware of this. If I were to use these as a birthday gift for the immortal, it would surely be criticized later.

So I refused, saying, "These aren't mine, I can't just take them. But I will string these jade stones into a bracelet for the immortal and say it's a gift specially prepared by you and Brother Luo. He will definitely accept it."

"Ah, finally your brain is working. Are you planning to make a gift for Uncle Que yourself? Good, only a personally made gift can show your sincerity."

She sighed, took out a piece of paper, and read, "Five-Treasure Glazed Beads, Seven-Color Rainbow Sword, Thousand-Year Green Fox Fur, Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Spirit Flower... These are the gifts Aunt Lingluo has given Uncle Que in past years. Any one of these could outshine everyone else's gifts, no wonder Uncle doesn't accept other people's presents."

Hmm? Why do these items sound so familiar? I quickly grabbed her and asked, "Yi'er, where did you hear about these? How do you remember them so clearly?"

"Because Aunt Lingluo asked my master to help her find these things. Otherwise, how do you think she could have the time and energy to search for them with Qiongyun's strict rules? My master has special privileges. When buying supplies, he picks them out in advance and hides them in the transport bags where no one would check closely."

After hearing Yi'er's words, my heart sank. No wonder the immortal often asked me to deliver boxes of treasures to the Treasure Pavilion to be exchanged for money, which was then handed over to the teams going down the mountain to aid the poor. He also always had me write his sister's name in the book of good deeds.

Yi'er shook my hand to get my attention. "Qingyue, are you listening? If you want to prepare a gift, it must be something that will impress Uncle Que."

Impress? An idea suddenly struck me. I found a bamboo scroll that recorded the method of condensing ice and decided to go to the back mountain.

From a distance, I saw patches of blue flowers like emerald grass in the mountains. I carefully picked them and used my spiritual energy to wrap them and place them in my bamboo basket.

I thought a long time had passed, but when I checked, the blue flowers had barely covered the bottom of the basket. I would need more time, but the immortal would be back for dinner soon. If I didn't return before him, it would arouse suspicion.

These Yehuo Blue Garments only grow in the shade, are tiny, and can only be seen at night when they emit a blue glow. They're very hard to find during the day.

But I remembered seeing an ancient book on the immortal's shelf, detailing a spell that could temporarily alter time in a small area. It was extremely draining on spiritual power and difficult to succeed.

If I could succeed, finding the Yehuo Blue Garments would be much easier. I remembered the method required chanting while imagining the controlled area, focusing all my energy without interruption.

So I held my breath, concentrated, and began chanting while performing the spell with my hands.

After a while, I felt my energy flow into the ground like fine threads through my fingers. The light around me dimmed, and my breathing grew heavy.

"Sun and moon, heaven and earth, yin and yang, reverse!" I shouted the final incantation and opened my eyes.

The back mountain seemed isolated from the outside by some force. It was pitch black here, while the outside remained sunny. Finding the glowing blue flowers was now easy, though walking was more perilous.

I made it back to Tianxuan Hall before sunset, but the spell had drained my energy. After hiding the bamboo basket, I collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep.