Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 457 Stillness and Movement

Hua Ziyan chuckled at the straightforward responses of the icy beauty who did not seem to conceal anything.

"Then shall we take a walk together?"

"I would love to, but I am worried about disturbing your time together and being a third wheel"

"Hahaha, don't worry Prime Disciple Xue. We have time to be together, and far more of it ahead of us. Besides it is not always that we can interact with a Prime Disciple of another sect"

Hua Ziyan lightly laughed, causing the icy beauty's eyes, which caught Wu Long's reaction, to slightly glint for a moment.

It was a simple laugh, given that it was from a heavenly beauty, but it was not one she made minding how she looked, as it was honest and unrestrained, and yet it brought on a genuine warm smile to the man whose emotions she found the hardest to read out of anyone she met throughout her whole life.

In this moment it was as if his emotions were an open book as his eyes lit just from looking at that laughing face.

"Then... I suppose I will impose on you for a bit..."

The three turned and started to move on the route Wu Long and Hua Ziyan were originally on, though now they had a guide in the face of Xue Bing who knew this Sect like the back of her jade hand.

They originally chose a relatively unpopulated route so as not to run into any trouble thus ruining the mood, but she knew even more secluded places suitable for a relaxing stroll without the curious or greedy eyes of the numerous guests of the Sect.

"It is an interesting view of your time together. I don't believe I have ever heard it"

Xue Bing commented as they walked among the slowly falling snow, looking at the scenery of the white valleys below the sect's mountain which were illuminated by the scattered because of the clouds, and thus very soft, pale light of the moon.

"Haha, it is something I only recently started to understand myself. And even then, most of it is something I got from Wu Long.

He often says that life has its own course and there are moments where it is inevitable that we cannot spend time together. It is impossible to avoid and thus it is better to simply cherish the moments we do have together"

Hua Ziyan lightly chuckled and looked to Wu Long who walked by her side while Xue Bing's expression turned to attentive one as she pondered her words.

"Any time spent on lamenting our being apart or not being simply together is time pushing away doing something which has to be done, and thus prolongs time we have to spend apart.

So I cherish every second I spend with Wu Long, and no matter how much more there will be in the future it is never enough. But that just makes each second even more precious"

This view of time and life in general was something Hua Ziyan started to slowly adopt from Wu Long.

Though she was only starting to comprehend it in further conversations with Luo Mingyu who seemed to have achieved a better understanding of this concept.

Neither of them had the experience with long enough time spans from the perspective of which he was talking, but they understood the core of it instinctively because they could feel it in him, and to a lesser extent in Ye Ling.

"Hmm, it seems a little contradictory, does it not?"

Xue Bing slightly furrowed her dark blue delicate eyebrows from puzzlement.

"Hahaha, that was my reaction as well. But the truth is that it indeed is. Though Wu Long would be better to explain it"

Hua Ziyan wryly smiled with a dry laugh at the memories brought back by the other beauty's statement and with a slightly playful look turned the conversation to him.

"Hmm, well in my view Ziyan already explained it just now, but I suppose I do have a problem with communicating ideas a little as I have been told, so I will explain in a little more detail"

Wu Long touched his chin in thought, but remembering all the times he thought some explanation was enough to get the idea across when it was actually not decided to elaborate.

"This concept views time as both momentary and continuous. In that we have to be able to see the continuity of time to accept one moment ending and another beginning, but at the same time cannot be lost in the continuity of time and miss the beauty of the moment.

In truth most of the simplest things are contradictory in of themselves, and it is our perception of them that manages the scale to which we view them"

He spoke in a light tone as Xue Bing's eyes turned thoughtful again.

"One of the most important things I comprehended in life is that either extreme can quickly lead to ruin, and it is important to keep things in balance.

Like Yin that has a little Yang in it, while Yang has a little Yin inside to make them whole"

He then finished as a slightly enlightened look appeared on the faces of both beauties.

"Hmm, it is a little similar to the stillness and movement that I perceive I guess"

"Oh? Could Prime Disciple Xue elaborate a little?"

Wu Long's eyes flashed with interest as did Hua Ziyan's.

"For me the world is both still and moving at the same time. I see it as still, and thus can perceive the movement of it. Because the moment I move, the world around is relatively still"

"Haha, an interesting way to put it, but it is enlightening"

As Xue Bing explained he had a look of amusement appear on his face while Hua Ziyan looked a little puzzled.

"She is talking about emotions mainly, Ziyan, but it can apply to other things as well"

"Hmm, if we are talking about emotions, you mean that while you are calm, you can see other's emotions more clearly, whereas if you were to be emotional alongside others you don't see the emotions of others because your own emotions cloud your vision?"

Hua Ziyan pondered out loud as the icy beauty made a graceful nod.

"Yes, but the latter part refers to relative stillness. So if one is still and the other is moving, one is moving relative to the other. But if both move in the same direction and same speed they remain still relative to each other, and thus you can have an illusion that the other is not moving when it actually is"

"Mmm, I see, thank you very much for explaining"

She explained further and after a moment of pondering her words, Hua Ziyan nodded with a shiny smile that made Xue Bing widen her eyes for a moment.

"I did not do much, Prime Disciple Hua"

"Hehe, but you did it for me, didn't you?"

Hua Ziyan's words caused the icy beauty to not have words in response.

Wu Long chuckled at this moment which perfectly embodied Hua Ziyan's outlook that seemed to puzzle and astound the icy beauty.

"Grateful for every moment..."

Xue Bing then turned back to looking forward and quietly said under her nose as she pondered the whole interaction up to now.

Hua Ziyan was a humble woman in her behavior. It was not the pretense humbleness or being timid. Hers was of the most genuine humbleness that could be found.

She was grateful for every little thing others did for her, however small it was. Because she did not believe that she in any way was entitled to it, and thus every, even tiny favor was something precious.

Perhaps it was exactly Hua Ziyan's temperament that allowed her to be among the first ones to embrace Wu Long's way of thinking about time, as it required one to take each moment as precious while it lasted, even if it had to eventually end.

As they came to a beautiful platform on one of the secluded peaks, the three stopped to look at the scenery.

"So beautiful..."

Hua Ziyan muttered as her hold on Wu Long's hand tightened, and he smiled, lightly tightening his grip as well.

"I guess it does look beautiful... as I thought so as well when I first arrived here and looked at this scenery"

Xue Bing spoke introspectively, as she seemed to have found Hua Ziyan's reaction refreshing.

"Well, if you see it everyday it may lose some of its magic it seems"

Hua Ziyan wryly smiled as she remembered the views from the peaks of the Yin Yang Unity Palace which most of the disciples took for granted after a few months or a year.

She distinctly remembered being slightly surprised at this as for her the scenery always brought a feeling of gratitude, since she was never sure if she would be able to see it longer.

But even for her who had such an outlook, the change of scenery was refreshing enough to exclaim when she saw this one.

"Haha, well, if we look at this from the perspective of movement and stillness, they are life and death respectively"

Wu Long chuckled, prompting both beauties to look at him which again reminded him to elaborate.

"Life inherently is moving, the beating of a heart, growth, body functions, everything is about movement, and death is the ultimate stillness.

So as live beings we inherently long for movement rather than stillness. Though then again we cannot ignore stillness as it allows us to see movement like Prime Disciple Xue said before"

Wu Long shrugged his shoulders as a glint, similar to the one in the Main Hall when they talked about her physique, appeared in Xue Bing's eyes yet again.

After speaking a little more, Xue Bing left the two to spend more time alone with the words "Thank you for the interesting discussion" to which the two replied by thanking her for the company and her part in the conversation as well.