Chapter 15#
Chapter 15#
After that day, Xiao Xun became a frequent visitor to Xue Jingci’s small courtyard.
The two gradually became familiar. The System thought that now they could continue the mission, but for some reason, Xue Jingci had not yet locked him in as a mission target.
Thinking Xiao Xun might come today, the System wagged its tail and circled Xue Jingci: “Host, why haven’t you accepted the mission yet?”
Xue Jingci was not in a hurry. He said faintly, “If I am to take him as a disciple, I need to spend more time with him to see if I have the ability to teach him.”
The System tilted its head and looked at Xue Jingci. Seeing him actually pull out a sword manual and make notes, it realized the host genuinely intended to take Xiao Xun as a disciple.
It didn’t understand why the host was so fixated on taking disciples.
The Crematorium mission had a high degree of freedom. As long as the host got along well with the mission target and could make the target feel remorse later, the mission would be completed.
However, as long as the host was happy, that was fine.
The System moved its paw and lightly jumped onto the table. Its gaze fell on the sword manual, where Xue Jingci had written many dense notes.
He was clearly very serious about taking a disciple.
It couldn’t help but feel worried and reminded softly, “Although we have a mission to do, there’s no need to be so emotionally invested. If another Xie Zheng comes along, you’ll be sad again.”
Xue Jingci’s hand, holding the brush, paused.
The System was right.
When he was with Xie Zheng, he was both a teacher and a friend, rarely putting on airs as a master. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Xie Zheng felt he lacked the proper dignity of a master.
This time, taking a new disciple, he should treat it with caution.
Xue Jingci nodded: “I understand.”
During their conversation, a knock came from outside. Xue Jingci put down his brush and got up to open the door.
“Senior Brother Xue.”
Standing outside the door was indeed Xiao Xun.
He had a face like jade, his hair neatly tied up, and he wore a bamboo-green disciple uniform, truly a gentleman like bamboo.
Xue Jingci opened the door wider, motioning for him to come in.
Xiao Xun handed the food box to Xue Jingci and then untied a string of small dried fish from his waist, offering it to the System, which meowed happily.
After rubbing the little cat’s head, he said softly, “Last time, Senior Brother taught me the method of drawing my sword. I went back and practiced it myself, but I couldn’t grasp the knack and often felt my qi stagnate. I wonder if Senior Brother could give me some more pointers?”
Xue Jingci nodded, opened the food box, and immediately smelled an extremely sweet aroma. The bottom of the food box was actually embedded with an array, keeping the pastries inside as fresh and crispy as if they had just come out of the oven.
He was thoughtful.
Xue Jingci looked at Xiao Xun and asked, “You always bring me food every time you come. How is it that I’ve never seen these things within the sect?”
Xiao Xun smiled faintly, his tone a bit shy: “I asked someone to buy them outside.”
He said it lightly, but Xue Jingci knew the difficulty behind it, so he said, “You don’t need to spend so much in the future. If you have any confusion, just come and ask me directly.”
Hearing this, Xiao Xun was overjoyed: “Thank you for your care, Senior Brother.”
After a moment of silence, he whispered again, “Since I came to the sect, you are the only one who has been good to me.”
The System, gnawing on a small yellow croaker, looked up at Xiao Xun and jumped to the host’s feet, asking: “Strange! Xiao Xun has a good personality and good looks, so why is he so disliked by others?”
Hearing this, Xue Jingci suddenly realized something.
Could it be that because Xiao Xun spoke up for him in public that day, everyone else distanced themselves from him?
Xue Jingci stared at Xiao Xun and asked, “Did Lin Heng and the others cause you any trouble?”
Xiao Xun froze for a moment, his gaze subconsciously avoiding Xue Jingci, and he shook his head: “Senior Brother, rest assured, they haven’t.”
So they have?
Xue Jingci didn’t press further, only saying faintly, “If you have nothing else to do in the future, come and practice sword with me.”
Xiao Xun could not hide his excitement, but his tone was a bit hesitant: “Can I really come anytime? Will I disturb Senior Brother’s cultivation… Actually, it’s fine if I practice by myself. Everyone else does it this way.”
Xue Jingci shook his head: “No. Besides the sword, I can teach you other things. Do you want to learn?”
Xiao Xun quickly nodded, agreeing very happily.
From that day on, he almost ran to Xue Jingci’s side as soon as he opened his eyes, like an inseparable little tail.
He came every day at the Mao hour, rain or shine, diligently asking Xue Jingci for guidance, very hardworking and eager to learn.
Xue Jingci kept in mind the need to maintain a master’s dignity, so he was very strict when teaching Xiao Xun. Often, a simple sword-holding posture would be corrected hundreds of times, and he wouldn’t allow Xiao Xun to rest even when exhausted.
Fortunately, although Xiao Xun’s aptitude was ordinary, his willpower was exceptionally strong, and he actually persevered.
Once, he practiced so hard that he walked unsteadily, but he didn’t show it at all. He just quietly bid farewell to Xue Jingci, agreeing to come again tomorrow.
At the Mao hour the next day, Xiao Xun missed his appointment for the first time.
The System saw Xue Jingci not speaking, only staring fixedly out the door, knowing that he was indeed concerned about the mission.
But perhaps having learned from the previous experience with Xie Zheng, Xue Jingci watched for a while and then withdrew his gaze, continuing with his own affairs.
After drinking a cup of tea, a “clatter-clatter” sound finally came from outside.
Xue Jingci got up to open the door and look.
Xiao Xun’s clothes were stained with mud, and he walked with a limp, clearly having fallen hard on the way.
“Senior Brother Xue.”
Xiao Xun gripped his bamboo staff, subconsciously covering his scraped palm, and asked, “I wonder if you have any clothes I can change into.”
Xue Jingci knew Xiao Xun was always particular about cleanliness and hesitated: “Only old clothes.”
Xiao Xun, however, chuckled lightly: “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Xue Jingci hadn’t expected him to agree so readily. He was slightly surprised for a moment before getting the clothes and telling Xiao Xun to change in the bedroom, while he himself brewed some hot soup in the outer room.
When Xiao Xun came out dressed, Xue Jingci gave him a bowl of soup. After he finished drinking it, Xue Jingci casually suggested, “Your legs and feet aren’t fully recovered yet. Running around like this every day is really not good for healing.”
Hearing this, Xiao Xun thought Xue Jingci was telling him not to come again in the future. He quickly put down the bowl in a hurry and said, “Senior Brother Xue, I’m fine…”
Before he could finish, he heard Xue Jingci say, “I still have an empty room in my courtyard. If you don’t mind, why don’t you move in and live together?”
Xiao Xun’s hand gripping the bowl tightened slightly, a flash of surprise in his eyes, followed by a smile blooming on his face: “It is already Xiao Xun’s good fortune that Senior Brother doesn’t dislike me. Since that is the case, I will trouble you from now on.”
Xue Jingci carefully observed his expression.
This room was located at the foot of the mountain, the most dilapidated one in the outer sect.
Although he had repaired it, it was still not comparable to other residences. Xiao Xun, for the sake of learning, did not mind the simple dwelling at all, indicating a good character.
After Xiao Xun left, the System jumped onto Xue Jingci’s lap, rolling on its belly and acting spoiled.
“Host, you’ve been observing him for so many days. Hurry and lock him in as the target while the iron is hot, otherwise all the previous points will be wasted.”
Xue Jingci still shook his head, poking its soft belly, and said, “No, let’s wait and see.”
The System comfortably narrowed its eyes and instantly stopped talking.
Xiao Xun agreed to move in and brought his belongings that very day.
His personal items were very few, and his clothes and daily necessities were extremely simple. The most valuable thing on him was probably the sword on his back.
The sword, forged from profound iron, gleamed with a cold light and was by no means an ordinary item.
Xue Jingci could tell that he must have saved up for a long time to buy this sword and asked, “Do you like swords very much?”
Xiao Xun nodded, answering without hesitation: “Yes.”
Xue Jingci said nothing more, lowering his head to put the tea Xiao Xun brought into a porcelain jar.
Xiao Xun thus settled into Xue Jingci’s courtyard.
Xue Jingci had thought he would be unaccustomed to it, but unexpectedly, Xiao Xun adapted quite well and was very good at taking care of people.
When Xue Jingci was free, he would delve into cultivation techniques and ancient texts. He read quickly, often leaving books scattered everywhere.
The System, being playful, often circled Xue Jingci, making the scattered books on the floor even messier.
In the past, these books would always meet a tragic end. But with Xiao Xun’s arrival, their lives were saved. He would roll up each book and neatly place them on the bookshelf.
The tree in the courtyard, after its branches were crushed by heavy snow, was left with only a lonely trunk. Xiao Xun found many fragrant flowers from somewhere and planted them in the courtyard.
When Xue Jingci opened his window in the morning, the room would soon be filled with a pleasant fragrance.
Among them was a plant called Jingjie, which resembled mint but emitted a strong, peculiar fragrance. Once, the System passed by, sniffed the scent, and rolled around as if drunk.
“What is that?”
It was the first time Xue Jingci had seen the System act like this, and he was also a bit curious.
Xiao Xun was slightly stunned.
Normally, Xue Jingci was always aloof and spoke little. Aside from giving him pointers on sword techniques, there had never been such a casual chat between them.
He quietly moved a bit closer to Xue Jingci. The two leaned against the window together, watching the kitten roll around: “That’s Jingjie. It looks like mint and can make cats drunk… So, it can also be called catnip.”
Hearing the words “make cats drunk,” Xue Jingci found it amusing and smiled faintly.
They were very close. Xiao Xun could almost smell Xue Jingci’s scent and momentarily forgot to speak.
After a moment of silence, Xue Jingci suddenly remembered something and asked, “What happened to your leg?”
Xiao Xun suddenly came back to his senses and said softly after a moment of hesitation, “I broke it myself.”
Xue Jingci was puzzled and turned his head to look at him.
Perhaps it was something he learned from the cat; Xiao Xun’s gaze was soft.
“That day, when I passed the Heart-Asking Steps, in the illusion, I saw myself as a child being chased by demonic cultivators. At that time, demonic cultivators were chasing several righteous cultivators and forced me to lead the way. I refused, so they broke my leg.”
Xiao Xun’s smile faded as if recalling a painful memory: “It was from that time that I developed the heart to seek the Dao.”
Xue Jingci nodded, didn’t bring it up again, and had Xiao Xun practice sword with him.
After many days of instruction, Xiao Xun’s sword techniques finally began to take shape. Xue Jingci rarely didn’t frown and even praised him, saying it was “not bad.”
Xiao Xun humbly said, “It’s all thanks to Senior Brother’s excellent guidance. It’s just, alas… if only you could be my master.”
Suddenly hearing Xiao Xun bring this up, the System meowed loudly, as if its tail had been stepped on.
It cried out, urging Xue Jingci to accept the mission, but Xue Jingci was still not in a hurry to bind, only saying he needed to observe for a few more days.
It wasn’t until more than half a month later that Xue Jingci felt the time was ripe and finally agreed to the System’s request to lock in the mission target.
Xiao Xun had just finished practicing his sword. Xue Jingci looked at him and asked, “If you are willing, when I become an elder, how about taking me as your master?”
Since he couldn’t take disciples yet, it would be normal for Xiao Xun to refuse. However, this person was overjoyed, as if he had found a great bargain, and happily agreed.
“Then I must prepare a good apprenticeship gift.”
Seeing Xiao Xun agree so readily, Xue Jingci was also a bit surprised.
These past few days, although he had the intention of observing Xiao Xun, which was why he delayed binding, he was actually also afraid that Xiao Xun would regret it later.
Xiao Xun had just entered the sect and had not yet witnessed the power of other elders.
But now, Xiao Xun had attended many of the elders’ classes, yet he was still determined to take him as his master?
Seeing Xue Jingci look at him, Xiao Xun suddenly straightened his clothes and very seriously bowed to him as a disciple, then looked up with a smile and asked, “Can I call you Master right now?”
At this point, Xue Jingci was convinced that Xiao Xun was not being polite but was genuinely sincere.
It seemed the System was right; this mission should go very smoothly.
He nodded. Seeing that night was deep, he told Xiao Xun to rest well, then reached out and picked up the wildly wagging System, and left.
Since he had already bound a new mission target, he needed to discuss it thoroughly with the System and re-plan the mission.
After Xue Jingci’s figure completely disappeared outside the room, Xiao Xun’s eyes darkened, and the hand hanging by his side began to tremble slightly.
He returned to the room and carefully caressed the old clothes Xue Jingci had lent him, which lay by his pillow. His eyes were filled with intense longing. He reverently held the clothes and gently pressed them against his cheek.
“Master…”
“I can finally call you Master again.”