Chapter 725: Chapter 487: New Year’s Day

The campfire cast flickering shadows on the cave walls, its warm, dry air mingling with the savory aroma of roasted tiger meat, the faint tang of blood, and an indescribable awkwardness.

“Your scent is on this.”

Chu Zheng’s explanation slipped out almost instinctively, his voice remarkably clear in the quiet cave.

The moment he said it, even he was taken aback.

An inexplicable sense of absurdity surged in his heart, this explanation… it was even stranger than Xue Qing’s earlier words.

For a moment, he fell silent, saying no more. In the dead silence, he could even feel the veins on his forehead pulsing.

He had originally brought these two pieces of clothing, hoping that the Heavenly Divination Technique could be restarted, using it as a lead to track Xue Qing’s whereabouts in the vast wilderness.

This was an unconscious act, but now it inevitably seemed somewhat peculiar.

Xue Qing’s reaction was unexpected for Chu Zheng.

She did not rage as Chu Zheng had anticipated, nor did she nail him to the pillar of shame with sharper words. Her clear eyes flashed with understanding after Chu Zheng’s strange explanation and did not dwell on it further.

She tilted her head, her gaze shifting away from the two pieces of clothing, unconcernedly waving her hand.

“Alright.”

Her voice returned to its previous calm: “No need to explain, it’s not important now.”

Her gaze went past Chu Zheng, focusing on the already brightening sky outside the cave.

“Now that you’ve killed Xiao Yu…”

Xue Qing’s voice was slightly somber, her expression grave: “We must prepare to deal with trouble from the Xuanshao Sect.”

This was the sword hanging over their heads, and in the face of life or death situations, trivial matters could be set aside.

Chu Zheng calmed his emotions, looking at Xue Qing in front of him, his eyes somewhat complex.

Xue Qing seemed to possess an innate calmness, handling matters with poise and composure, nothing like a child in their early teens.

“There’s no need to worry about the Xuanshao Sect, I’ll handle it.”

As he spoke, Chu Zheng stood up, preparing to leave. Now he thought it best to stay farther from Xue Qing and act alone.

For now, his understanding of this world was limited; he should first gather more useful information.

“It’s because of me that you’ve angered the Xuanshao Sect, so naturally, it’s my business. Since it’s come to this, I’ll find a way to deal with them.”

Xue Qing shook her head slightly, blocking Chu Zheng’s path:

“From today on, until complete safety is assured, you’ll follow me.”

With those words, Xue Qing scrutinized Chu Zheng, her gaze assessing. Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, she spoke again:

“Do you have a name?”

Chu Zheng was slightly taken aback, a name, he certainly had one.

But now, the name Chu Zheng could clearly no longer be used, nor did he want to use the name Zheng Chu at this time.

His gaze fell on Xue Qing, and suddenly his eyes narrowed slightly, shaking his head slowly: “I have no name.”

In his memory, the name Zheng Chu was originally given by Xue Qing.

But now, everything before him had obviously diverged from his memory, and this might also change.

Xue Qing was not surprised by this answer, her eyes narrowing slightly as if pondering. After a moment, her lips slowly curled up, with a hint of slyness:

“No name… then I’ll give you one.”

She lifted her head again, looking at the slowly rising sunlight outside the cave.

“Today…”

After a long pause, she spoke softly: “It just happens to be the first of the first month.”

“A fresh start, a new beginning.”

She paused, turning back to Chu Zheng, her eyes gleaming intensely:

“How about calling you ‘Zheng Chu’?”

The ‘Zheng Chu’ of the first day of the new year.

Seemingly to prove that this was not a random choice, she explained slowly: “Zheng, meaning upright and fair, chu, as in the beginning of all things and a brand new start.”

Her gaze swept over Chu Zheng’s hideous wounds, her tone becoming increasingly lively:

“Today, you killed Xiao Yu and provoked the Xuanshao Sect, this is a challenge and a transformation. I too shall officially embark on the path of cultivation. From now on, you and I… perhaps are fellow travelers. This name is also our starting point. The past, like yesterday, is dead, and from now on, you are Zheng Chu.”

“Zheng Chu…”

Chu Zheng’s brows furrowed instantly, still the same name, in different times and different places, yet Xue Qing had given the same name.

This predetermined sense of fate seemed absurd, a chill rising from his spine, spreading instantly to his entire body, as he instinctively lifted his head.

Xue Qing sharply captured the change in Chu Zheng’s expression and the furrowing of his brows, her eyebrows slightly raised, the smile on her face deepening:

“What? Don’t like it?”

Before Chu Zheng could answer, she chuckled to herself, the laughter crisp, her words carrying an undeniable domination:

“Since you don’t like it, then it’s decided, you’ll be Zheng Chu.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the cave, facing the newly risen sun, her body standing straight like a sword about to be unsheathed.

She no longer looked at Chu Zheng, suddenly raising her head, her gaze piercing the clouds and skies like two bolts of lightning.

In that unreachable sky above, faintly discernible among the flowing clouds and starlight, the blurred silhouette of the Fairy Palace in the sun’s radiance exuded a sacred and unreachable brilliance.

That was the Upper Realm, the Holy Land in every cultivator’s heart, and a symbol of power and eternity.