Chapter 6
Discipleship (2)
And thus, the three were set to the same destination. Qin Zichen threw Su Qingyi to Ran Shu’s lotus and descended with his sword. Su Qingyi was thrown to Ran Shu’s arm and shrieked, “Qin Zichen! Why did you throw me!!”
Qin Zichen didn’t look back and replied indifferently, “Heavy.”
Su QIngyi, “……”
Ran Shu stabilized Su Qingyi by the waist and smiled, “Not heavy. Not heavy. I don’t think you are heavy at all.”
In the past, when Su Qingyi was still Ran Yan, she was 177cm, pretty much taller than Ran Shu who was 170cm. She could easily hug her in her arms. But now she was less than 160cm, she was petite and somewhat like a doll in Ran Shu’s arms. Ran Shu rubbed her head as if she was merely a child. Ran Shu lowered her lotus down and caught up to Qin Zichen.
The three of them landed on the ground. With Ran Shu present, Qin Zichen and Su QIngyi’s living standards improved a lot.
As one of the local tyrants[1] of Xing Yun Sect, Ran Shu brought her own small courtyard. She fished it out from her Qiankun Bag[2]. A courtyard immediately materialized in front of them. Su Qingyi and Qin Zichen got their own room. Ran Shu ordered her tamed demon to boil hot water. Considering Su Qingyi was a mortal, Ran Shu specially cooked a table of dishes for her.
In front of hot baths and warm dishes, her previous resentment against Ran Shu evaporated in a wink. Su Qingyi shed a tear as she ate the dishes, silently venting to the System that hindered her from her well-off life. What murder. What hatred. All could be thrown out the window. Eating was the most important.
She returned to her room with her stomach full. Her brain cleared up and started to work again. She lay on the couch with her hands on her stomach. She asked the System, “System, how much involvement did Ran Shu have in my death?”
The System ignored her question and changed the subject, “Host, you should be more attentive to our task goal. You should chase him well. What he likes; What you should become. Else, how can you snatch him from the Female Lead? I’m really worried about this……”
The System’s voice had always been flat, without any ups and downs. Exactly like a machine it was. Su Qingyi laughed when she heard those words were conveyed with such mechanical sounds. Her gaze was forlorn as she looked at her palms. “I didn’t plan to make Jing Yan-daojun like me. My task is to assist him to ascend. After he ascends, I will get to know the truth. With his qualifications, as long as nothing goes wrong, his ascension is just around the corner. I have been waiting for ten years, I won’t mind waiting for a litte more. I am merely afraid that when I unveil the truth, my enemies have been long gone.”
“Host, don’t be so heartbroken. Cheer up, 007 is here.”
“I don’t want to hate Ran Shu. For so many years, she has been my Mei and I treated her as one. You told me that she colluded with Xie Hantan to kill me… Until now, I still can’t believe it……”
“Host. To be exact, they are two factors involved in your death, but they are not the mastermind.”
“So they just make use of the favorable situation to push the matter through?” Su Qingyi connected the dot. The System clamored, “Stop, stop! This is no spoiler zone! Ah ah ah一”
The System’s shout was cut short. Su Qingyi was taken aback and called out, “System?”
No response.
Su Qingyi curled her lips. She moved to a rocking chair. As the chair swayed, she fell asleep.
On the next day, the three of them got on Ran Shu’s lotus and flew to Tian Jian Sect.
The Cultivation World was vast, several times larger than the country where Su Qingyi lived in the 21st Century. In the past, she could travel thousands of miles from one end of the country to another in a day. But in the cultivation world, even if they travel thousands of miles a day, it still took them several days to fly from Xuan Tian Sect to Tian Jian Sect.
The distance between Sects was more or less the distance between continents. The distance of five sects was like the distance of five continents in her past.
Su Qingyi ate, drank, and slept on Ran Shu’s lotus. At first, she pondered about how to create a line between Ran Shu and Qin Zichen when they arrived at Tian Jian Sect, but… Eh.
When they entered the gate of the Tian Jian Sect, Qin Zichen opened his eyes and said, “Go down.”
Ran Shu obeyed his order and handled the lotus to land. On the foot of Tian Jian Sect’s Mountain, there was a small town under the protection of Tian Jian Sect. The town was bustling. The street was mostly filled with inns and intermediaries providing housing.
“Once a year, the Tian Jian Sect recruits disciples. To make it convenient, many stay at the foot of Tian Jian Sect for the recruitment examination.”
Ran Shu patiently explained the grandiose, for fear that Su Qingyi was clueless. Su Qingyi nodded perfunctorily. She stared at Qin Zichen and turned her mind as to why he stopped here. She had a bad premonition and felt things wouldn’t go so well for her.
Qin Zichen took her to the housing agent and said directly, “I want to buy a courtyard.”
“Xianshi, please take a seat.” The agent’s smile widened as he noticed Qin Zichen’s bearing. With a wave of his hand, many houses were displayed in the air. Those houses appeared real, rotating slowly in the air for people to choose. The agent respectfully clasped his hands and asked with a smile, “How many people does Xianshi plan to live there?”
“One. Must be safe. Have good lighting. Large yard. Close to the main road. It’s best if it is by a stream in front and a hill at the back.”
“This…” The agent faltered, “It’s quite hard to find a house that matches Xianshi’s request. Still, we have a house that matches Xianshi’s request. However, the price…
The agent swiped his finger and a small courtyard hovered in front of Qin Zichen. The agent rotated the house and zoomed the surrounding so the surrounding environment became clear. As desired, it was by a stream in front and a hill at the back and not far from the main road. There were no houses around and there was abundant light. Qin Zichen deemed it adequate and nodded, “How much?”
The agent raised a finger, “One hundred middle-grade crystal stone.”
A low-grade crystal stone was about 1000 yuan[3]. A hundred low-grade crystal stones were equal to a middle-grade crystal stone. A thousand middle-grade crystal stones were equal to a top-grade crystal stone.
A hundred middle-grade crystal stones were about… 10 million yuan. That was not a small number even in the Cultivation World. Su Qingyi nestled aside and kept her mouth shut, watching Qin Zichen nonchalantly say, “I will take this one.”
He took out a small pouch from his purse and poured out a hundred middle-grade stones. Afterward, the agent gave him the house key and he took Su Qingyi with him.
On their way, he bought some clothes and furniture, all of which were sent to the place where he had just bought the house. Su Qingyi became more uneasy. Ran Shu nudged her and whispered, “Is Jing Yan-qianbei your lover?”
“Why do you ask so?” Su QIngyi was startled. Ran Shu pointed to what Qin Zichen was picking, “Look, the things he bought are all for women. Clothes, jewelry, rouge, gouache… Isn’t this a blatant care for a lover?”
“Let’s bet.” Su Qingyi made the most of the situation, “He is just this kind of person, it’s not a treatment for a lover.”
They spent all morning buying things and eventually came to the newly-bought house. Their things had been delivered and the deliverer stood respectfully beside the house. Qin Zichen turned around and handed the key to Su Qingyi. He earnestly said, “Su-guniang, in two months, Tian Jian Sect will open the recruitment for disciples. I wish Su-guniang a smooth exam. I have helped Su-guniang to settle down and re-paid the life-saving grace of Su-guniang. Farewell.”
Qin Zichen took a step to leave. Su Qingyi hurriedly snatched his sleeve, almost bursting out to tears, “Daozhang[4], how can your life be worth a house?”
“Is… it not worth a house?” Qin Zichen reflected on it seriously. Su Qingyi’s face turned solemn. “No. Daozhang, you can’t price yourself like this. Your life, it is at least worth the slot of a disciple on the Tian Jian Sect! Would you please consider accepting me as a disciple?”
“You want me to accept you as a disciple?” Qin Zichen got her point. He measured Su Qingyi and shook his head. “Your qualifications are too poor for me to accept you.”
“Daozhang…”
“Guniang, listen to my advice.” Qin Zichen met her gaze, face as solemn as her. He gave his sincere words and earnest wishes. “Don’t learn the way of Sword. Turn around. Three thousand miles from here is Xing Yun Sect. Compared to learning swords, you have a brighter future in learning talismans and arrays.”
“In case Su-guniang comes to Xing Yun Sect, I can recommend you to others.” Ran Shu chuckled. Su Qingyi shook her head in grief and indignation, “No. I refuse! I must enter Tian Jian Sect!”
“If Su-guniang wishes so.” Qin Zichen gave a nod and bid his farewell. “Until we meet again “
His sleeves fluttered and soon, he disappeared into the sky.
Su QIngyi truly was about to cry but she failed to shed tears. She jittered and presented a pitiful look to Ran Shu. After an internal struggle, she said, “Ran Shu-qianbei, can you open the back door for me? You must be familiar with the people of the Tian Jian Sect. Can you please make an exception and help me?”
“Su-guniang, let alone me, even if it is my Sect Leader’s request, the Tian Jian Sect won’t open the back door. Jian Xiu cultivates the mind, the way of the sword.” Ran Shu sighed, she patted Su Qingyi’s hand and consoled, “If Su-guniang can’t pass the threshold, how about Su-guniang think about it again and just come with me to Xing Yun Sect?”
But… But… But I go there not for learning swordsmanship….
Su Qingyi shed bitter tears in her heart. She had reached the Mahayana Realm as a Fu Xiu! Why the hell was she obliged to learn sword!
Ran Shu helped the despondent Su Qingyi in. She directed the people to sweep and decorated the house. “I have sent Jing Yan-qianbei back to Tian Jian Sect safely. I am going back to Xin Yun Sect. Su-guniang, we shall meet again someday.”
Su Qingyi sighed. She waved her hand, “Go. Go. Let me bandage my injured heart alone.”
Ran Shu chuckled, a trace of tenderness flashed in her eyes. “Su-guniang really reminds me of my Shijie.”
Su Qingyi’s heart thumped. She strived to maintain her straight face and asked, “Who is your Shijie?”
“Su-guniang is only at the Qi Condensation Realm right now. So it’s normal for Su-guniang to not know much about people who cultivate the Dao.”
Ran Shu’s voice was a bit bitter, she expressed melancholically, “But, one thing for sure, my Shijie was an excellent and exceptionally good person.”
Su Qingyi didn’t respond. Ran Shu’s words stirred her heart. She studied the veiled woman in tsingyi in front of her. She resisted the urge to ask.
If in your heart she is such an excellent and exceptionally good person. Why. Why did you kill her?
If you miss her so much. Why. Why did you stab her in the back?
However, she couldn’t ask. She could only cast her gaze somewhere else and pretend to be at loss. Only when she couldn’t see Ran Shu’s back did she breathe out a sigh and slumped on the rocking chair in the courtyard.
Qin Zichen’s aesthetic suited her taste. The layout was clean and concise. The courtyard was neither too big nor too small. It had a grape rack and a small fish pond. The rocking chair was on the edge of the fish pond, and she could see the green leaves on the grape rack.
This kind of courtyard was precisely what Su Qingyi yearned for.
In her last life, she nursed many grievances. Her own money was not that much. She lived in a city that could be considered first-tier, the house prices in that city soared high. Not to mention a house with a courtyard, even she had a hard time buying an apartment. She ever told Qin Zichen, when she was rich, she would definitely buy a courtyard. There would be grape racks and a small fish pond. She would raise fish on it. She could roast fish and eat grapes as she wanted.
The house must have good lighting; The sun could shine on every room. Each room should be decorated in various colors and styles……
Those wishes, she created it a long time ago. She herself forgot it. She never thought of it when she was in Xing Yun Sect. Now she examined the small courtyard and all household items, it was as if her wishes of those long-gone years finally came true. She couldn’t help being dazed.
The sun slanted down and glowed in the courtyard. In the twinkling of an eye, her courtyard appeared to be the junction of where Yin and Yang met and time stood still.
Su Qingyi lifted her finger. In the air, it danced and a golden light appeared from her fingertips, writing down that person’s name stroke by stroke.
She chanted the spell of summoning a soul and wrote Qin Zichen’s name. However, after reciting the whole spell, no trace of a soul could be seen.
Maybe, the soul could not break the barrier of time and space. If there was no miracle, she could never see him again in her life…
Like her parents, relatives, and friends.
Never to meet again.
For fifty two years, she never missed him. Yet, in this small courtyard, under the setting sun, the tides surged in Su Qingyi’s heart.
Qin Zichen.
She resented herself for failing to live up to her belief.
—I miss you. A bit.
While Su Qingyi was busy thinking about Qin Zichen, on the other side, shortly after Ran Shu came out of Tian Jian Sect area, she met a young man. He was dressed in a black robe with a white fox cloak on his shoulders and a jade crown on his hair.
Light and shadow fell mottled from the dense woods and encased his enchanting face. Hearing her footsteps, his peach-blossom eyes seemed to contain affection and an amorous feeling.
“Sect Leader…” Ran Shu halted. She was somewhat astonished. Xie Hantan smiled, “Seeing that Shishu[5] hasn’t returned for several days, I went to the Cliff of Repentance of the Xuan Tian Sect to pick Shishu up.”
Ran Shu clenched her fists in secret as she heard Xie Hantan’s words. “I’m afraid that it’s not true that you came to pick me up. The true reason is probably that the poison in Sect Leader’s body can’t be suppressed and Sect Leader is badly in need of the spiritual fruit.”
Xie Hantan responded only with a smile. Ran Shu was flustered and turned her head away. She spurned herself. “Jing Yan was at the bottom of the cliff. I’m afraid that he would notice you looking for the spiritual fruit. I know that you don’t trust me nor do you worry about me. You would still act on your own even if I was not there. So I led Jing Yan out of the cliff. The spiritual fruit… did you get it?”
“Thanks to Shishu, Hantan is now fine. However,” Xie Hantan narrowed his eyes, “I have a question for Shishu. Is there anyone else at the bottom of the cliff beside Jing Yan?”
Ran Shu was not prepared for that question and froze. Xie Hantan showed a piece of cloth written with blood from his sleeves. There were only a few fragmented marks on it.
Xie Hantan held it and closed their distance. A stifled madness appeared in his peach blossom eyes. His voice quivered, “Shishu. Shifu is back.”
“Impossible!” Ran Shu shouted at once. She stepped back in panic. “You and I have tried summoning her soul back! She has been gone for a long time……”
“She is back!” Xie Hantan roared, “I have prepared the body for her soul. I have summoned her soul every day for two years… Shifu must be afraid of hurting my feelings…. So she returned… You look.” Xie Hantan gently stroked the cloth. “Who can write a talisman like this except for Shifu… You probably don’t see the cave that is full of arrays laid by Shifu. In this world, except for Shifu, no one can lay such exquisite arrays.”
“Shishu,” Xie Hantan raised his head to her with plain begging in his eyes, “Who exactly did you see?”
Ran Shu didn’t answer. She was shocked, staring wide at the cloth in Xie Hantan’s hand.
She couldn’t be more familiar with the writing. Each Fu Xiu had their own distinctive writing. Most people couldn’t notice it, but any exemplary Fu Xiu would recognize the owner of this handwriting.
But, she couldn’t say it. She had no guts to say it. She opened her lips but no words came out. Her heart sank bit by bit.
She soon sobered up. She met Xie Hantan’s gaze and denied coldly, “There is no one else.”
As soon as she answered, the sharp end of Xie Hantan’s fan loomed near Ran Shu’s neck. His tone was fierce, “You lied.”
“I didn’t. More than anyone else, I hope Shijie survived, but Hantan, she died. Two years ago, we saw her cut by thousands of swords and her soul shattered. We can’t deceive ourselves anymore.”
“She had been hiding for ten years. In these ten years, you can find traces of her hiding all over the world. You don’t know how many disciples she had accepted or how many talismans she had given to others.”
“Hantan,” Ran Shu softly called, looking at the trembling young man in front of her “You are the Sect Leader of Xing Yun Sect now. You have a grand prospect and a great cause. You shouldn’t stumble on your way just because of childish affection.”
Xie Hantan was silent. He stared at Ran Shu for a long time. He shut his eyes and retraced his fan. He put back the cloth in his sleeves. “Shishu, you’ve traveled enough. Keep in mind to return to the Sect.”
He disappeared and Ran Shu finally could loosen up her breath. She leaned against a tree.
Su Qingyi’s bright smile visualized before her eyes. She gripped the Golden Whip in her hand hard.
Shijie. I will let you off this time. Since you are born as a waste with five Spiritual Roots, you should remain a waste for your entire life.
Ran Yan, may you never return.
Footnotes
土豪 – tǔ háo; Local Tyrant. Someone well-off or has a high status.↵
乾坤袋 – Qiánkūn Dài/Qiankun Bag. A pouch/bag that is able to hold more than it appears to be able to carry.↵
Around US$150↵
道长 – dàozhǎng; (Honorable) Daoist Priest.↵
师叔 – shīshū; Martial Uncle. Probably should be 师姑 – shīgū; Martial Aunt. But I will keep it as it is.↵
Lei’s Corner
Sorry. I have some University matters to deal with so I can’t keep my words from the previous chapter QAQ
But, here you go.
Xie Hantan’s Shifu is Ran Yan, so she called Ran Shu with Shishu considering Ran Yan and Ran Shu are from the same generation.
Words count (excluding title, footnotes, TL’s corner): 3291
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A simp.
Did i already say i love JingYan??
Thanks for the chapter!!!
Jing Yan bae believes that his life only worth a house, maybe even less than a house QAQ
Shower him with love!