Xiao Songfen sat quietly resting under a large willow tree that looked over a pond located in the private central courtyard of his residence.

It had been almost a week since Xiao Huan transmigrated in the universe of Transcending Heavens. After all, what kind of universe would have the same historical events and geographical names on a map?

He had woken up in the body of Xiao Songfen, who coincidentally shared the same birth name¹In xianxia/wuxia, it's not uncommon for people to have multiple names, especially those with higher status or those that hold authoritative positions. For example, Xiao Songfen's birth name is Xiao Huan while Xiao Songfen is his courtesy name. Others can also refer to him by his titles: Willow Peak Elder, Elder Xiao, Second Young Master Xiao, or Xiajing Scholar. as him. Luckily, he had the original owner's memories to guide him in this unfamiliar fantasy world.

Xiao Huan, courtesy name Xiao Songfen.

Also referred by the following titles: Willow Peak Elder, Elder Xiao, Xiajing Scholar, Second Young Master Xiao

Twenty-three years old.

Currently the youngest appointed peak elder of the Qingshan sect and the sole younger brother of its current sect master, Xiao Xusong.

His cultivation level was very high at peak core formation stage.

Despite having such high specs and status at a young age, his eccentric lifestyle and personality kept him out of the public eye as he spent most of the year cultivating in seclusion. 

After breaking into the core formation stage ten years ago, he suddenly withdrew from society and wore a weimao² Weimao 帷帽 is a long veil hat, not to be confused with mili 幂蓠 which is a short veil hat. Xiao Songfen wears a weimao similar to those depicted below (but closed like curtains over his face of course).  whenever he left his residence. He declined all social invitations and rarely spoke at conferences where his presence was required. Other than his older brother and fellow peak elders, no one had seen his face in over a decade.

Those who admired him said he was an immortal walking among the clouds, lacking in all worldly desire and disregarding appearances. Those who were envious of him said he was a snobby person who thought he was too good to mingle with those beneath him.

Regardless of whether they thought positively or negatively of him, it was a widely agreed-upon fact that the Xiajing Scholar was only interested in cultivation.

Well they were all wrong.

As the current occupant of his body with the original's memories, he could say this with a hundred percent confidence.

The original Xiao Songfen just had severe social anxiety.

Spending most of the year in seclusion? That was just to avoid other people. What if he made a mistake in his manners while socializing and brought trouble to his older brother who was the sect master? Fewer people, fewer problems.

A man of few words? He was just too nervous to talk so he spoke as concisely as possible. The faster he ended a conversation, the lower the chance of him accidentally saying something embarrassing. He was only ever able to speak with his brother and a few others properly.

Wearing a weimao? He was insecure about his appearance to the point where he avoided his own reflection in the water. What if people saw his face and then judged him for it? No, no. That wouldn't do. He must wear it.

Only interested in cultivation? Meditation and sword practice soothed his anxiety, so he ended up practicing them for hours without sleeping. Hours turned into days and days turned into years. By the time he realized it, he had already reached the peak core formation stage.

A falling willow leaf lightly landed on Xiao Songfen's head. He picked it up and casually examined it while deep in thought.

A long sigh escaped his lips.

Ultimately, that kind of tiring lifestyle was the cause of the original Xiao Songfen's death.

Due to some unknown external force, it seemed that the original Xiao Songfen experienced a qi rebound attack while trying to break through to the nascent soul stage of cultivation.

It was likely due to his haste in trying to advance cultivation stages without taking time to stabilize his cultivation base first. So a minor disturbance in qi fluctuation, that would not normally cause the entire process to spiral out of control, resulted in failure to breakthrough and immediate death.

It had been quite a shock for him last week to wake up in a pool of his own dried blood. His body after transmigrating had been pulled back from the brink of death and had suffered some serious internal injuries, but they were recovering well with the help of some rare qi pills the original Xiao Songfen had meticulously kept stored away for emergencies.

He had come a long way in recovery but was still too weak to risk trying out the full extent of his swordsmanship and spiritual powers.

This was quite bothersome as Xiao Songfen had been extremely excited to try flying around on a sword and slicing up a few small mountains behind the sect.

He flicked the willow leaf away.

(Well...I'm not qualified to complain about how the original body's owner died seeing as I fell ten floors to death from my own balcony in a drunken stupor.)

Over the past few days, he had come to accept that he had died and left the modern world.

The thought of leaving his life there surprisingly did not invoke feelings of sadness or regret. He had been an older orphaned child adopted by a childless, elderly couple. The few years he got to live with them were simple and peaceful.

Unfortunately, they soon passed away in an unexpected accident, leaving a small inheritance that was swiftly stolen by greedy distant relatives who could care less about him.

Thus he was forced to mature quickly at a young age and worked multiple jobs after class hours to afford an education. Between his shifts, he would study to keep his university scholarship.

With this type of jam-packed lifestyle, there was never time to socialize or have hobbies. In the end, there was nothing he was attached to in that world.

Thus, he accepted the current situation in stride.

The air was fresh and full of dense spiritual energy here. There was no city smog or persistent sounds of cars honking at each other through the night. Only the quiet sounds of water, birds, and rustling tree branches.

His position in the sect provided him ample wealth and prestige to live a good life. As the Willow Peak Elder, he had complete authority of Liushu Peak. The only person with higher rank than him in this sect was his own older brother who doted on him. Here, there was no need for him to slave away in order to make rent or please others.

Continuing to live this lazy low-tension lifestyle? Yes, please!

Taking in the natural grassy scenery of the surrounding area, Xiao Songfen glanced over and suddenly flinched at the sight of his own reflection in the pond's still waters before relaxing and letting out a breath.

(AIYO-motherfuck, almost scared myself to death.)

He was still slowly adjusting to his body's appearance.

When he first saw himself a few days ago, he thought it was a shame the original Xiao Songfen avoided looking at himself for years.

In the pond's reflection sat a refreshing heavenly beauty. Tall and slender with a fair complexion and elegant face. Peach blossom eyes with irises that are deep in color and carry a sense of playful nature in their depths. Gently arched eyebrows. Long eyelashes that were noticeable from afar.

He touched his face and smiled gently.

A pair of eyes curved up like crescent moons. His eyelashes quivered shyly. He had full rosy lips and a slim nose that curved gently. His face absolutely glowed when he smiled.

He wore dark, muted forest green robes embroidered with simple willow leaf patterns that carry a hint of green tea fragrance. Dark inky hair pulled into a simple style with a gold hair crown. Wisps of his hair swayed gently in billowing waves as a slight breeze ran through it.

An absolutely breathtaking person.

Although the original Xiao Songfen seemed to have already been quite beautiful since childhood, cultivating day and night like a mad man for ten years had really elevated his appearance to something that looked out of this world.

Xiao Songfen leaned back against the willow tree feeling extremely satisfied with his lot in life and closed his eyes.

How lucky he was to have transmigrated into a person which such OP character settings!

At the back of his mind, there was a tiny niggling feeling like he was forgetting something important.

A crisp hearty voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Didi!"³Di/Didi 弟/弟弟: younger brother

Xiao Songfen lazily cracked one eye open to see his older brother Xiao Xusong flying towards him on a sword.

Xiao Xusong was a handsome man who looked steady and reliable. His facial features looked seven parts out of ten similar to Xiao Songfen except for his eyes. His double-lidded eyes were sharp looking and he had a small red mole on the upper lid of his left eye that could only be seen when his eyes were closed.

If Xiao Songfen was a gentle willow, then Xiao Xusong was a strong oak.

Xiao Songfen also wore the standard dark muted forest green robes of the Qingshan sect, but the outer robe looked more luxurious with intricate golden embroidery that was fit for a prominent sect master. His sword Mingsui hung at his waist, bold and proud.

Rather than their appearances, their personalities were more different. Unlike Xiao Songfen, Xiao Xusong was talkative and outgoing. The charismatic class president type. He laughed often and enjoyed attending social functions.

With an age difference of over a decade between them, Xiao Xusong had slowly developed a habit of fretting over his baby brother like a mother hen.

An extremely doting and overprotective brother.

With a brother complex as severe as that, it was just Xiao Songfen's luck that Xiao Xusong happened to be the first person to visit him after he transmigrated last week.

It had been the third day since his transmigration. Xiao Songfen had just finished digesting a few qi pills and finally recovered enough strength to move around.

He was worried he’d be suspected of a murder he did not commit so he decided to start cleaning his own dried blood off the floor before anything else. His face at the time was pale and bloodless as he listlessly scrubbed the floor, still wearing his blood-crusted robes.

Understandable for someone who had just been on death's door. 

Xiao Xusong, who had been expecting a pristine Xiao Songfen cultivating in lotus position, got the scare of his life when he saw what looked like a bloodless corpse of his baby brother frozen in a crawling position on the floor.

Since then, his hovering behavior intensified tenfold. Xiao Xusong now visited three or four times a day and stayed as long as he could before getting dragged back to his sect master duties by his advisor.

Xiao Xusong landed nimbly on the grass and approached him with a worried expression.

"A-Huan, what are you doing out here? Though it is late spring now, the mornings can still be chilly. As someone one who just suffered a qi rebound, your body is in a weakened state. You must take care not to catch a cold."

Without waiting for a response, Xiao Xusong immediately produced a warm dark cloak from his interspatial ring and draped it gently over Xiao Songfen's shoulders before sitting down next to him.

Xiao Songfen accepted it awkwardly.

"Thank you....Ge."⁴Ge/Gege 哥/哥哥: older brother

The word got caught on the tip of his tongue and rolled out awkwardly from Xiao Songfen's mouth. He had been an only child without any close male figures in his life for twenty-seven years before this after all.

(But practice makes perfect yeah?)

"Why have you come...Ge?" He asked as naturally as he could.

"Why? I can't visit my own brother without a proper reason?" Xiao Xusong complained before chuckling and gently ruffling Xiao Songfen's hair. "Actually, your brother has come with an official reason this time. I have something to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Did you know that your disciple has been loitering outside the past few days?"

"Ah?"

(Disciple? When did I get a disciple?)

Xiao Songfen rattled the original Xiao Songfen's memory bank and came up blank. Did the rebound attack that killed the original also cause some memory loss?

This sudden realization caused Xiao Songfen to wear an expression of confusion.

Xiao Xusong misread his perplexed expression as one of irritation. He patted his younger brother's shoulder and sighed before launching into a long lecture.

"Ai...A-Huan, I know that you are so shy and do not like to linger among others. It is why I have not pushed you to take on any disciples until this year. I understand that you prefer to spend all your time cultivating in seclusion, but you shouldn't completely neglect the only disciple you have. It has already been a few months since you have accepted him into your Liushu Peak, yet I notice that he has still not been taught or given anything to do. The times you have met him face-to-face could be counted on one hand. You must take some responsibility for this matter. This was something you agreed to yourself in exchange that I not require you to attend this year's sect alliance conference remember?"

Did he?

Xiao Songfen vaguely remembered the original Xiao Songfen had haphazardly agreed to some sort of request from his brother a few months ago. Unfortunately, the original Xiao Songfen had been so high strung with anxiety at the thought of having to go to a conference with hundreds of people at the time, he couldn't recall any details of what he agreed to. 

Xiao Xusong continued.

"He is also a sect master's precious son like you and I, so please give your only brother some face and treat him a little better ah. As the only core disciple of a peak elder, does it make sense that he is still living in shared quarters with newly recruited outer circle disciples? He has already completed standard classroom education and is quite talented in sword arts so he is now at a level that requires individual instruction. At the very least, you need to take him out for some field training a few times a month and have him assist you with refining qi pills. Since your current condition is too unstable right now, I won't ask you to give him in-person lessons on swordsmanship."

Xiao Songfen began to zone out.

(Ah....this newly acquired brother of mine...really so talkative.)

"I ran into him waiting obediently outside just now because he didn't have permission to cross the barrier you placed around the perimeter of your residence. As your disciple, to not be able to step foot in his own shizun's⁵Shizun 师尊: teacher/master courtyard is too pitiful isn't it? And..."

The lecture continued for another few incense sticks of time.

"...though you are shizun and disciple, you two are actually not too far apart in age. If acting as a shizun feels too burdensome for you, why don't you just treat him like a cute little shidi⁶Shidi 师弟: younger martial brother (a person that shares the same shizun, but started learning under your shizun after you) ba? Bai Yiyan seems like a well-mannered kid."

Xiao Songfen, who had been listening passively while practicing meditative breathing suddenly choked on air.

*cough*cough*hack*cough*

(B-Bai Yiyan?!)

"A-Huan?!" Xiao Xusong rubbed his back in concern.

"...Nothing, just breathed in at the wrong time. Continue." Xiao Songfen waved his hand dismissively. Behind his calm face, his mind was whirring at mach speed to digest this new critical piece of information. 

Bai Yiyan!

That's what had been bothering him in the back of his mind.

From what he remembered, Bai Yiyan had once mentioned an unnamed shizun during a short conversation with Yue Xunyi in the novel.

["My former shizun was a peak elder from the Qingshan sect. He passed away from qi deviation caused by a rebound attack not too long after I became his disciple. Ah, don't feel sad for me, I've actually only ever met him face-to-face a few times. We really were only shizun and disciple in name. Basically strangers. He never spoke and wore a weimao so I wouldn't even recognize his face today if I was presented his portrait.]

His whole existence in the novel consisted of a single paragraph. Xiao Songfen was a faceless nameless character with no lines or presence.

He mentally facepalmed himself.

(Ah...Qingshan sect...a peak elder who never spoke or showed his face and passed away in seclusion. I should have known.)

Thinking back with difficulty, Xiao Songfen found that the original had indeed met Bai Yiyan a few times. But what remained was only the vague memory of a clear voice paired with snow-white robes embroidered with lotus patterns and a sword sheathed neatly in a frost-colored scabbard at the waist.

No matter how hard he tried to squint mentally, the vague outline of Bai Yiyan's face in his memory did not get any clearer. 

(Fuuuuuu. The damn weimao Xiao Songfen always wore is blocking my vision!)

In all of Xiao Songfen's memories, there was the constant existence of a swaying jade veil hindering the clarity of his vision. Xiao Songfen's level of cultivation had allowed him to utilize inner spiritual vision and so wearing a weimao did not affect his daily life. With some exceptions, all things nonliving or living can be accurately identified and sensed by their spiritual aura. Therefore the actual appearance of things was of no significant importance to the original Xiao Songfen.

Xiao Songfen felt extremely disappointed that he was unable to recall this so-called devastatingly handsome face described by the novel.

He also realized another strange thing. It was written in the novel that he had already died from qi deviation by a rebound attack. Although the original soul is gone, with Xiao Huan's soul occupying the body, Xiao Songfen is technically still very much alive right now?

Had his transmigration already altered the plot?

Xiao Xusong, unaware of his brother's current mental breakdown, patted his back warmly and continued to talk.

"Anyway, why don't you..."

A golden ginkgo leaf created from qi suddenly shot into the courtyard and collided rather roughly with Xiao Xusong's cheek. The collision sounded with a loud smack, interrupting Xiao Xusong's words. It then immediately started to relay an angry-sounding voice from sect advisor Ning Fenghua.

[XIAO. XU. SONG. You still have the nerve to leave work in the middle of the day?!]

Xiao Xusong's facial expression suddenly froze. The image of the mountain of unread scrolls currently piled up in his office came to mind and he shuddered at the thought of having to go through all of it. Going back to his office now would be like sending a Little Sheep Xusong to be slaughtered by Butcher Ning.

[If you don't come back right now and finish your work, I will quit my position and leave the sect!]

Without waiting for a reply, the ginkgo leaf then floated over and landed Xiao Songfen's hand.

Its golden light pulsed again, this time relaying a much more gentle sounding Ning Fenghua.

[A-Huan, how are you doing? I heard about what happened. Just let me know if you need anything. I'm sure Xiao Xusong's mouth that never closes is preventing you from getting proper rest so if you could assist me in sending him on his away...]

Xiao Songfen laughed, feeling grateful to Ning Fenghua for interrupting his brother's lecture.

Ning Fenghua was Xiao Xusong's childhood friend of over two decades. They had fought many battles and faced many life-or-death situations together in their travels. To outsiders, they were sworn brothers who stuck together no matter what.

But from Xiao Songfen's memories, it seemed that Xiao Xusong had actually just been dragging Ning Fenghua into whatever he did since they were young. If this were the modern world, Xiao Xusong was a handsome domineering CEO and Ning Fenghua was his overworked pushover secretary who had been coerced into taking up the position. On the year Xiao Xusong was given the sect master position, Ning Fenghua tried to quietly leave the sect to go inherit his family's business. But after leaving for only two weeks, he was "gently" persuaded to return by Xiao Xusong and take on the position of sect advisor.

Since then, the two have comfortably settled into a weekly routine of Xiao Xusong playing hooky from work followed by Ning Fenghua threatening to quit his position.

Xiao Songfen quickly replied, "Mn, I am doing fine. Brother is on his way back now."

[Many thanks...]

The ginkgo leaf glowed a little brighter as if to transmit a smile before dissipated into the air.

Xiao Songfen turned to look at his brother who was looking very betrayed.

"You should go now. Don't give your sect advisor such a hard time."

"Alright, alright. I'm leaving now. Hmph. Is he your brother or am I your brother?" Xiao Xusong grumbled.

Xiao Xusong stood up and lightly brushed off his robe.

Xiao Songfen also stood up to see him off, but was stopped.

"No need, just go inside and rest."

"Alright."

"Don't forget about your disciple."

"I won't."

Looking a bit like a wilting tree, Xiao Xusong begrudgingly stepped on his floating sword with a dark cloud hanging over his head. He then did a quarter turn and flew off towards the direction of Central Peak.

Xiao Songfen watched his brother's silhouette disappear in the distance before heading inside to contemplate his role in Transcending Heavens.

With a delicate flick of his wrist, the barrier array around his residence morphed slightly, expanding entrance permission to include disciples under Xiao Songfen to enter.

[IF YOU ARE NOT READING THIS BY XIAOMANGISBUSY ON SCRIBBLEHUB OR WATTPAD, IT HAS BEEN STOLEN. PLEASE REPORT AND ONLY READ OFF SCRIBBLEHUB OR WATTPAD.]

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WHITE-EYED WOLF THEATER:

A-Huan: I'm so hot now, I can't handle.

Bai Yiyan: I am also very attractive.

A-Huan: You are? Sorry, I can't remember.

Bai Yiyan: ...

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

A-Huan, it's not a coincidence you have the same name. It's because this author wrote it that way...

Do you guys prefer that I use English translation as 'long veil hat' or the Chinese pinyin 'weimao'?

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ENDING SONG OF THE DAY:

Shuǐ yī yì hán 水一亦寒 by 萧忆情Alex

^^ I gave up on translating the title to English.