Chapter 462: Chapter 237 The Other Side of the Valkyrie
“Yes, the tranquil and independent figure standing before him, ethereal like the Snow Lotus, was indeed Lu Qingxue.
And it was the Dingchuan Valkyrie who drew him into the Swordsmanship Club with twenty Molten Magma Fruits!
But what Mu Fan found most unbelievable at the moment was why Lu Qingxue, renowned for her swordsmanship, would appear on the summit of this green mountain when nearly no one was around, at dawn.
And even more so, in the guise of an archer.
If he hadn’t climbed up this time, he would never have known that Senior Sister Lu was adept with a bow; judging by her posture when she just held the bow, it probably wasn’t just a day or two of practice.
In Lu Qingxue’s calm gaze, Mu Fan, with his body steaming with heat, ran up to her and stopped.
Even after the previous high-intensity training, his breathing was still rapid.
Lu Qingxue’s bow remained pointed downward; her cold eyes first swept over Mu Fan, then upon noticing the intersecting scars, her pupils showed a slight change, before looking at the boulder set by Mu Fan a hundred meters away.
She gently lifted a finger towards her back, slightly parted her vermilion lips, “You carried… it, to the mountaintop?”
Mu Fan turned to glance behind, grinned and said, “Yes, but I jumped, leapfrogging up.”
Lu Qingxue didn’t seem to care about the bare torso of the boy in front of her, and with Mu Fan’s confusion coupled with that untied knot of social graces, the two of them faced each other without the slightest disharmony.
However, if others had witnessed this scene, it would probably have made the campus headlines the next day.
Because up until now, no male student had ever appeared before the Valkyrie like this.
Looking at Lu Qingxue, who after asking threw her clear, bright gaze back onto him, Mu Fan couldn’t suppress the curiosity in his heart and asked, “Senior Sister, what are you doing here?”
Lu Qingxue looked at him and slightly tilted her head to one side, an action that unexpectedly looked unspeakably cute.
Well, maybe cute isn’t quite the right word, but Mu Fan couldn’t think of a better one at the moment.
“I am cultivating, and I’m here every day.”
Ah, that’s awkward…
Mu Fan scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.
“Why are you here?”
Lu Qingxue also sounded a bit curious.
“I’m training, I want to become stronger!”
When he said this, Mu Fan’s voice carried a triumphant fighting spirit.
Seeing the muscled, scarred young man in front of her showing such a childishly determined expression, Lu Qingxue, breaking convention, allowed a faint smile to appear on her face.
Even the slight curl of her lips toward a member of the opposite sex, was something that had never been seen on Lu Qingxue before.
“You are already strong, why are you still pursuing strength?” Lu Qingxue asked a question that Mu Fan had pondered over just half a day earlier.
But that question no longer existed for him now.
Mu Fan’s gaze drifted past the woman before him, who looked as if she was part of a painting, and into the distant sky, his face alight with what could be called determination and belief, “Because the path of the strong has no end!”
After listening, Lu Qingxue quietly stared at Mu Fan and nodded slightly: “I see.”
Seeing her respond like that, Mu Fan felt somewhat embarrassed and smiled, then pointed at the big bow in Lu Qingxue’s hand, “Senior Sister Lu, haven’t you always…”
“Presented yourself with Sword Dao?”
Mu Fan nodded.
“Cultivating Sword Dao is to reach for distant Sword Intent, to understand and see one’s true nature,” Lu Qingxue grasped the long bow in her hand, her eyes serene as she looked at it, her voice chiming like jade beads:
“Archery, however, is the cultivation of a state of mind, forgetting both the self and the object, feeling the true pursuit within one’s heart.”
Mu Fan listened in bewilderment; these words laced with a Zen-like philosophy were far too profound for him. All he could do… was to look at Lu Qingxue with a silly grin.
What he could comprehend was simple: for the Valkyrie, both the sword and the arrow were but tools for cultivation.
Seeing Mu Fan like this, Lu Qingxue showed no strangeness on her face, as if she had just been stating something, and then lightly tied back a wisp of hair by her ear, “That boulder, are you going to carry it back down later?”
“Yes!”
“Why all this effort? Even to become stronger, you need a goal.”
Lu Qingxue seemed to recall something, a trace of confusion flickering through her cool gaze.
“Why? Of course, to survive!”
Mu Fan answered almost without thinking, as if such a simple question needed any deliberation.
To… survive?
The last three words unexpectedly plunged Lu Qingxue into a prolonged contemplation until the atmosphere felt somewhat awry and Mu Fan, from across her, discretely cleared his throat to rouse her.
“Senior Sister, why then do you incessantly pursue these cultivation practices?”
“I… don’t know.”
Lu Qingxue slowly shook her head, giving Mu Fan such an answer.
This was something he simply couldn’t believe— that the Swordsmanship Club President, the Dingchuan Valkyrie would tell him at this moment, she didn’t know why she practiced her cultivation.
However, it was only for an instant that Lu Qingxue reverted to her remote demeanor, but when she spoke, it lacked the usual coldness.
“Speaking with you today was pleasant. I should head back, today’s training is over.”
“Just drawing the bow without shooting an arrow?”
Mu Fan’s soft murmur didn’t escape Lu Qingxue’s ears.
The aloof girl didn’t speak. She raised her long bow in hand, stood in a Reverse Body stance, her right hand drawing the bowstring taut like a full moon.
The ordinary arrow rested on the thumb of her left hand as the mountain wind gently lifted her hair. In an instant, she transitioned from stillness to motion, a transformation that in Mu Fan’s eyes…
Lu Qingxue holding the bow seemed to have even more visual impact than when she wielded a sword.
It was as if she was meant to be this way!
Her right fingers fiercely released.
In the vibration of the bowstring, the arrow left the string. If one didn’t listen carefully, they wouldn’t perceive the whizzing sound hidden within the wind.
Ting—a faint sound rang out, and Mu Fan saw the arrow embed itself in a large rock ahead, resembling a lying ox.
However, he didn’t notice the spot before was marked by a dab of rouge red.
Wood arrow into stone.
Lu Qingxue put away her bow and walked leisurely to the side where a long rectangular silver metal case lay quietly on the ground.
She knelt slowly, thumb and fingers grasping the sides of the case which sprang open with a gentle application of force.
The ancient-looking black bow flipped over in Lu Qingxue’s palm; then, with her fingertips pressing on the limbs of the bow, she precisely and accurately placed it into the fitting slot.
Next was the quiver, housing a single arrow, solemnly placed into its slot.
Then came the chest guard, which she removed and placed inside.
Each step of the process was carried out with indescribable focus and grace.
Mu Fan’s gaze, however, couldn’t help but linger on the almost devotional expression in Lu Qingxue’s eyes.
Even when wielding a sword, Senior Sister had never appeared in such a state.
Senior Sister Lu, is archery really just a means for you to cultivate your spirit…
Bare-handed, she lifted another item from the case—a neatly folded black coat—and slowly draped it over her shoulders.
The flowing garment of the bow clothes became covered by this windbreaker-like black coat, revealing only the legs and ankles, as white as Snow Lotus amidst the frost.
When Lu Qingxue snapped the metal case shut, Mu Fan suddenly spoke up, “Senior Sister, I always have this illusion—I feel like you put more heart into archery… than into the sword.”
Her hands paused briefly, and the downturned Lu Qingxue flatly replied, “Really?”
Perhaps it’s just my imagination.
Mu Fan quickly shook his head, “No!”
By this time, Lu Qingxue had already risen, looking at him calmly.
“I hope one day, you can become a pillar of Ding Chuan.”
Then she picked up the alloy case and walked towards the other side of the mountain’s summit.
Her chilly silhouette gradually disappeared from Mu Fan’s view.
At that moment, Mu Fan felt like he glimpsed another side of the Valkyrie.
Senior Sister didn’t seem as unapproachable as the legends suggested…
**
PS: These two chapters are crucial, that’s all there is to say.