“Yuelin, don’t be rude!” Qiu Yutong reprimanded in a low voice.
“Oh.” Chen Yuelin kept quiet reluctantly, his eyes still narrowed at the man, looking very unconvinced.
The man completely ignored Chen Yuelin, his dark phoenix eyes only stared at Qiu Yutong, and his voice was very soft, “Young master, I really have nowhere to go.”
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a moment and tried to explain, “It’s not that I am refusing, but, I am not from this Qingshiqiao Town, I live on the Canglong Snow Mountain, and the road up the mountain is quite slippery in this heavy snow… “
The man shook his head and said, “It’s okay.”
Since things have been said till here, and this man had just helped him, Qiu Yutong couldn’t refuse, not to mention that deep down in his heart, he faintly felt that this man was very kind, and was not against letting him stay for a few days. He nodded and said, “Since that’s the case, then… that’s fine.”
The man raised the corner of his mouth slightly, “Thank you, young master.”
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a while, then looked around again, and lowered his voice slightly, “Cough, I have to tell you one more thing, I’m not actually from the human world, I… I’m from North Snow City. I am Qiu Yutong from Feilai Peak.”
“I see.” The man stared at him and nodded slowly, “Peak Master Qiu, I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. My surname is Xiao, and I’m the fifth in my family. I’m a rogue cultivator in Jianghu. Peak Master Qiu can call me Xiao Wu.”
“Oh, it turned out to be Fellow Daoist Xiao.”
After having his identity being revealed, the other party was not very surprised, nor made a big fuss, Qiu Yutong could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and was a little surprised. However, since this person was a rogue cultivator, he naturally understood the structure of the cultivation world. It seemed that it was not a strange thing to meet the Feilai Peak Master of North Snow City at the foot of Canglong Snow Mountain .
The two chatted a bit more. Chen Yuelin stared at the side, and seemed very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do.
While talking, the sky darkened, so the three of them packed up their things, left Qingshiqiao Town, and went to the foot of Canglong Snow Mountain.
As evening approached, the sky was overcast and the snow was getting heavier. Qiu Yutong didn’t want to use his sword, so the three of them walked slowly up the mountain along the bluestone steps of Feilai Peak. When they returned to Feilai Pavilion, the sky was completely dark.
Feilai Pavilion was located on the top of Feilai Peak. In addition to Qiu Yutong’s bedroom, there were several spare rooms. Qiu Yutong summoned a boy who was sweeping, Ningyu, take this fellow Daoist Xiao to the east wing to rest. “
The boy who was sweeping looked a little embarrassed, “Peak Master, there is a room, but… there is no extra clean bedding.”
Qiu Yutong thought for a while, then turned to look at Xiao Wu, “Fellow Daoist Xiao, there is an extra quilt in my room, but I haven’t washed it. If you don’t mind, you can use it.”
Xiao Wu nodded and said, “That’s good.”
“En. Ningyu, please take out the quilt on my couch. Yuelin, please help me entertain the guest.”
Qiu Yutong ran around for a day and felt a little tired, so he asked the boy and Chen Yuelin to entertain Xiao Wu, and went into the room to sleep.
Xiao Wu took the quilt from Ning Yu and followed Chen Yuelin into the east wing.
Chen Yuelin brought him into the house, but he still refused to leave. He stared at the snow-white brocade quilt in Xiao Wu’s hand, and felt extremely uncomfortable. There was even a faint scent of snow on the quilt! He, he didn’t use it before, why should this stranger…
Chen Yuelin pursed his lips, suddenly reached out his hand, and tried to snatch the quilt, “Give me this quilt, I have a bed blanket there, you can use it.”
Xiao Wu abruptly withdrew his hands. Chen Yuelin grabbed nothing but air, and he couldn’t help but stare at Xiao Wu, “Why are you like this!”
“Peak Master Qiu gave this to me,” Xiao Wu frowned.
Chen Yuelin was suddenly annoyed, and raised his voice abruptly, “You, you are pestering him, and you want to use his bedding, he… he is my Shizun!”
He said the word “mine” very strongly.
Xiao Wu stared at him, and his voice became extremely cold, “Your Shizun? How did you worship him as a teacher?”
“This…” Chen Yuelin couldn’t help but choke.
Of course, he refused to say that he had not succeeded in the apprenticeship, and was still stalking, so he said shamelessly, “I am a mutant spirit root, and my family background is pure and innocent. At the North Snow City disciple selection meeting, he immediately picked me.”
Xiao Wu’s fingers that clenched the quilt involuntarily tightened: “Mutant spirit root, pure family background… Therefore, he picked you at a glance. However, when I went up the mountain today, I saw that your body technique was very ordinary; you actually didn’t learn any real techniques. “
Chen Yuelin’s face flushed slightly, “Shizun said, don’t worry about cultivation, just take it slow.”
“He is patient.”
“That’s natural. Shizun respects others, and he never punishes me. If there is anything delicious and fun, he will keep it for me… City Lord Xie, he often brings some cakes over, and he will give me half of it every time. “
Speaking of this, Chen Yuelin couldn’t help but feel a little proud. His words were indeed true. He said that Qiu Yutong liked sweets, but these days, he had distributed a lot of cakes to him. This was also one of the reasons he was confident in staying on Feilai Peak.
Xiao Wu’s voice was a little awkward, “He is willing?”
“Why doesn’t he want to? Didn’t you see that in town today, he pushed the plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cake to me and let me eat it! I heard City Lord Xie say that it was his favorite cake!” Chen Yuelin said happily , “After all, I’m his only apprentice.”
“The only apprentice?” Xiao Wu muttered.
“Naturally. City Lord Xie said that the monster in the past could not be regarded as a disciple of North Snow City at all. Since Shizun had placed righteousness before family and had not accepted other disciples, of course I am his only apprentice.”
“Go out,” Xiao Wu suddenly said.
Chen Yuelin frowned and said unhappily, “Why are you so rude?”
“I told you to go out! Get out!!” Xiao Wu suddenly couldn’t bear it anymore, he pushed Chen Yuelin out of the door almost rudely, and then closed the door with a loud “bang!”
After Xiao Wu closed the door, he almost lost his strength. He leaned against the door in a slump. He could no longer control his expression closing his eyes tightly; even his eyelashes were trembling slightly, as if suppressing something. His slender and powerful fingers clenched the door frame tightly, and his fingertips couldn’t hold it any longer, extending into ink-black nails that carried the faint scent of blood, as if he wanted to tear something apart and then take something back.
Chen Yuelin stared at the tightly closed door, and said inexplicably, “Is there something wrong with this person’s brain?”
……
It was freezing cold, and the snow was swirling.
Qiu Yutong sighed, “Xiao-er, your move of Chunfeng Huayu is not right.”
The young Lu Xiao took the sword, and a look of shame appeared on his still young and handsome face, “Shizun, I’m too stupid.”
“No, this move is a bit difficult in the first place. With your sword, you have to lift it up from this side first…” Qiu Yutong comforted his little apprentice, he stepped forward, and held Lu Xiao’s right hand from behind. With him, he gently pulled a sword flower, “Do you see it, it’s like this.”
“Oh.”
“It’s still not right, why are you so tense?” Qiu Yutong patted his shoulder and pinched his waist, “Relax! Hey, I told you to relax, what’s wrong…”
While reprimanding, he muttered secretly, Lu Xiao was only sixteen years old, yet he was almost as tall as himself, and it looked like he would continue to grow… Damn. He stopped ageing at the age of twenty-two. He should have stopped ageing a few years later. Although Sect Leader said that he would not grow taller, it was still what if… If the apprentice was taller than the master, what would it look like? Where would he put his face?
Lu Xiao naturally didn’t know what Qiu Yutong was thinking about, and stiffly pulled a sword flower.
“Hey, that’s not right.” Qiu Yutong held his hand and taught him several times, but it still didn’t work, “You should relax.”
Lu Xiao waved his sword awkwardly again.
“Forget it, you can practice for a while yourself,” Qiu Yutong became a little irritable, so he let go of Lu Xiao, walked to the stone table to the side and sat down. He poured a cup of hot tea, and watched the little apprentice perform a sword dance with disgust.
“Tsk, it’s still not right.” What happened to his little apprentice today? Yesterday, he had practiced decently, but today he had a setback. Qiu Yutong felt so tired, how could it be so easy to learn on his own and so difficult to teach disciples!
“Shizun, my understanding is too poor.” Seeing the disgust on his face, Lu Xiao shyly put away his sword and walked over to gently squeeze his shoulders.
“Well, it’s actually not bad. It’s about the same as Third Senior Brother.” Qiu Yutong didn’t want to say anything too harsh to the other party, so he simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the other party’s massage.
This kid Lu Xiao, although his swordsmanship was not good, his massage technique was quite good. Qiu Yutong silently cursed while he enjoyed the exclusive massage of his little apprentice. Gradually, his whole person became soft and almost wanted to fall asleep
In a daze, Lu Xiao seemed to sit down, and let him lean against his arms, and he gently rubbed his arms. Qiu Yutong thought confusedly, what a filial good apprentice, better than the apprentices of his senior brothers.
He was about to fall asleep when Lu Xiao suddenly lowered his head and said softly, “Shizun, how about you return the devil core in your hand to me?”
Qiu Yutong suddenly shuddered, he opened his eyes suddenly, then slowly lowered his head, and found that in his bloody hand was a round and flawless devil core.
He raised his head almost bewildered, and Lu Xiao was looking down at him, his jet-black hair dripping wet with water, “Shizun, I’m so cold, the bottom of the pool is so cold…”
His little apprentice, his dark eyes stared at himself absentmindedly, body was soaking wet; there was a fist-sized blood hole on his chest, and it was empty.
Qiu Yutong exclaimed and sat up suddenly.
He looked at the dark snow-white curtain in front of him, gasping for breath, only then did he realize that he just had a nightmare.
Xiao-er… He gritted his teeth tightly, his whole body shaking slightly. His slender fingers involuntarily grabbed the quilt, and after a long time, he finally managed to breathe, but he couldn’t fall back to sleep, so he put on a plain white robe and walked out.
Behind Feilai Pavilion was a wide basalt platform called Lingxiao Platform.
This was the highest place in Canglong Snow Mountain, and you could look down on any mountain peak. At this moment, the big heavy snow was falling from the night sky one after another, and the distant peaks were blurry under the night, like a painting stained in ink.
Qiu Yutong hugged Tianzhao Yunhai, sat down beside the stone platform, and stared blankly at the dark mountains.
“Peak Master Qiu?”
Qiu Yutong was stunned for a moment, then turned his head, “Xiao Wu?”
Xiao Wu came over and sat down beside him: “Peak Master Qiu, why did you get up?”
Qiu Yutong mumbled, “I… I can’t sleep.”
Xiao Wu looked at him for a while, and suddenly said, “Did you have a nightmare? I just heard it from the room, you were screaming, sorry.”
Qiu Yutong didn’t know what to say, so he lowered his eyes and remained silent.
But Xiao Wu didn’t seem to want to let him go, “Who are you sorry to?”
Qiu Yutong was very unaccustomed to the aggressive look of the other party. He even regretted bringing a stranger back to Feilai Pavilion, so he said lightly, “It’s just sleeptalking.”
Xiao Wu nodded, “Sleeptalking.”
The two were quiet for a while, and after a long time, Xiao Wu suddenly asked again, “Peak Master Qiu, I heard others say that you only have one apprentice now?”
Qiu Yutong nodded sadly, “En.”
Xiao Wu’s breathing stagnated fiercely, his fists tightened involuntarily, and the blue veins on the back of his hands bulged; it was unbearable.
After a long time, he said bitterly, “Then… What about the others?”
Others? Qiu Yutong blinked suspiciously, then realized that Xiao Wu was talking about Chen Yuelin, and said calmly, “He is not my apprentice.”
Xiao Wu stared at him in a daze, not knowing how long it took before he twitched the corner of his mouth lightly, and said sadly: “He’s not your apprentice? I see, I see… That’s right, how can something like a monster defile the beauty of North Snow City. “
His voice was getting softer and quieter, and the wind on the top of the peak was howling. Qiu Yutong didn’t hear it clearly, and asked in confusion, “What did you say?”
“It’s nothing.” Xiao Wu shook his head gently, “It doesn’t matter.”
Qiu Yutong had a very strange feeling for no reason, and couldn’t help changing the subject, “What are your plans for the new year?”
Xiao Wu said lightly, “Didn’t I say, I’m going to find that person. I want him to compensate me well, and return everything he took from me… whether he* wants it or not.”
[T/N: Take note that “you” in mandarin sounds the same for both male and female, even though it’s written differently.]
Qiu Yutong suddenly realized, “Yes, as you said, you are going to find your wife.”
Xiao Wu glanced at him and twitched the corners of his mouth, “Yes.”
Qiu Yutong looked at the distant mountains and sighed softly, “Actually, since she had let you down so badly, why are you so persistent? Why don’t you let it go as soon as possible and find another good match?”
Xiao Wu was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, “Let go? How is it possible? He provoked me, then abandoned me, abandoned me like a worn out shoe. Now with such words, I should let go?”
After talking about it, he sounded like he was gritting his teeth so Qiu Yutong couldn’t help but try to convince him, “Although you are a rogue cultivator, you are still a cultivator. You should know that you can’t force anything, you can only be satisfied if you let it go.”
Xiao Wu turned his head slightly, stared at him for a long time, then slowly turned his eyes away, quietly looking at the dark sky with heavy snow, his voice became very cold, “Peak Master Qiu, only an immortal like you can say let go, just let go… The Great Dao is ruthless, isn’t that so?
Qiu Yutong was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but secretly give a bitter smile. He persuaded others to let go, but what about himself? However, his situation was different in the end. He had let his little apprentice down, so he had no right to let go at all…. And he didn’t know much about Xiao Wu, so he shouldn’t interfere.
Qiu Yutong was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I’m nosy, I don’t know what happened between you and her, so I shouldn’t persuade you like that.”
“The matter between us is very simple to say.” Xiao Wu looked at the ink-like deep and far mountains, and suddenly said softly, “When I was a child, I grew up in the backyard of a large family, then the mistress of the large family often beat me and scolded me, beat me with whips, burned me with charcoal fire, bit me with fierce dogs… At that time, I only had hatred in my heart, all I thought about was how to kill this woman, how to kill the master of that family, and how to kill those servants who used their positions to bully others.”
Qiu Yutong frowned and said, “Are you a child servant of that family? They abused you?”
“Child servant? I’m not even equal to a child servant.” Xiao Wu twitched the corners of his mouth, “Later… I met him, he was as good-looking as an immortal and was very gentle to me, stupidly gave me ideas, and worked hard to protect me. I… Actually, later on, I didn’t care so much about revenge and hatred, and even sometimes secretly felt thankful for the suffering in the past, because if it wasn’t for that suffering, I wouldn’t have met him.”
