Chapter 41#
Chapter Forty-One#
Dark clouds were so low they almost pressed against the roofs. The crisp, rhythmic sound of rain pattered on the tiles. A white mist shrouded and dispersed, making it hard to see ahead, like a dancer in a white dress lightly dancing to music.
Xue Jingci and the little girl sat side by side under the eaves, with the little cat nestled in Little Bell’s arms.
The muggy weather was perfect for sleeping. However, just as the cat closed its eyes, it was woken by a pair of small hands rubbing it.
“Meow meow meow!”
Save me! I’m going bald!
Hearing the system’s urgent cry for help, Xue Jingci turned to Little Bell and said, “Don’t bully him.”
The mist seemed to blend with his white clothes. Though his expression was cool and indifferent, it somehow felt a bit softer.
Little Bell grew bolder, looking up at him and asking, “Can I still come play with him in the future?”
Xue Jingci didn’t speak, but he didn’t refuse either.
Little Bell reluctantly put down the cat and reached out to pinch its ears. “What’s its name?”
Xue Jingci answered seriously, “Cat.”
Hearing this, Little Bell’s eyes widened. “What kind of name is that?”
“A cat is a cat.”
Xue Jingci took the cat back into his arms, smoothing its messy fur, and said softly, “He has a name; he doesn’t need me to give him one. He just can’t remember it right now.”
Little Bell didn’t understand. “Why can’t he remember?”
The cat obediently let himself be handled. Xue Jingci spoke calmly, “He will remember.”
He gave an indirect answer. Little Bell rested her chin on her hands and watched. She thought the person before her was extremely beautiful, the most beautiful person she had ever seen.
The rain lasted a long time, as if trying to poke a hole in the sky.
Little Bell asked worriedly, “Father said that once the clouds turn into rain, the sky will clear up. There are still so many clouds now; when will the rain stop?”
Xue Jingci shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t read the weather.”
“You’re an adult; how can you not know how to read it?”
Xue Jingci looked at her strangely. “Does an adult have to know everything?”
His question stumped Little Bell as well. The two of them stared at each other for a long time without speaking, then both turned to look at the clouds.
The heavy rain fell for several days in a row.
Xue Jingci was busy handling the affairs of the Hall of All Affairs. He finally managed to finish the statistics of the damaged houses before the Master-Disciple Ceremony.
The register he submitted was well-organized, and his handwriting was neat and beautiful.
Wan Yurǎo had been harshly scolding someone, but when she flipped through the register, she felt her eyes clear up.
“Good job. I heard you also intend to take a disciple at the ceremony. Go back and prepare well these next few days; you don’t need to come here.”
Xue Jingci indeed had many things to prepare. After thanking Wan Yurǎo, he returned to the courtyard early, only to find that Xiao Xun was not there.
Guanzi was sleeping soundly on a bamboo chair. Shu Mo was quietly sweeping the fallen leaves. Seeing Xue Jingci, he only nodded and didn’t speak.
The courtyard was exceptionally quiet. Xue Jingci returned to the study, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote a line of commentary on the technique he planned to teach Xiao Xun.
He was a man of few words and sometimes found it hard to explain the subtleties of techniques. It was better to write them down for Xiao Xun to contemplate himself.
An unknown amount of time passed before familiar voices from outside broke the silence of the garden.
“Brother, look at how quiet and beautiful this courtyard is, with flowers and fish.”
Xue Jingci immediately looked out the window. As expected, Lin Heng was dragging Lin Su around the courtyard as if it were his own home.
A bit of a smile appeared in his eyes. He put down his pen and went outside, only to see Lin Heng pestering Guanzi for some pastries.
Lin Su was forced to take a pastry. Initially somewhat disdainful, he silently took another after eating one.
Lin Heng laughed like a puppy wagging its tail for a reward, saying proudly, “I told you, you’ve definitely never eaten such delicious pastries. Junior Brother Xue’s place is truly a paradise!”
Lin Su snapped out of it and slapped his forehead. “What are you calling him ‘Junior Brother Xue’ for? No manners.”
Lin Heng clutched his head, only then remembering that Xue Jingci had already become an outer sect elder, and he himself would soon take Lin Su as his master. In terms of seniority, he should call Xue Jingci “Senior Uncle.”
He quickly straightened his robes, bowed to Xue Jingci, and called out, “Greetings, Senior Uncle.”
The title was fresh. Xue Jingci smiled faintly and asked, “Are you planning to take your brother as your master?”
Hearing this, Lin Heng suddenly looked a bit dejected. He followed Xue Jingci as he went to get a carving knife for a sword hilt, muttering.
“Actually, I don’t want to take a master at all, and I don’t want to practice the sword.”
Xue Jingci knew he liked hidden weapons and secret techniques, which his brother and uncle considered unorthodox paths. Mentioning them would usually lead to a scolding.
Lin Heng’s face was written with unhappiness. Xue Jingci thought for a moment, told him to wait, and went into the room to fetch a small gadget.
“This is for you.”
Lin Heng found an iron box in his palm. He didn’t know how it was made, but it was extremely exquisite.
Xue Jingci looked at him: “If you can open it, the contents inside are yours.”
Lin Heng got excited and asked what was inside. Xue Jingci only smiled and didn’t speak.
In fact, he wasn’t sure either. He only saw that the boy was unhappy and lied about going into the room to exchange his remaining points with the system.
However, it should be a high-quality hidden weapon.
The point shop hadn’t specified exactly what it was.
But this box would take some effort to open. Given Xue Jingci’s personality, he would never have bought it, but Lin Heng loved mechanisms and seemed unable to put it down, so he was successfully cheered up.
He focused on solving the box, falling silent as a rare look of seriousness appeared on his face.
Xue Jingci watched him for a while and gave a light smile.
He didn’t dislike Lin Heng; in fact, he quite liked having him around. With Lin Heng there, the small courtyard could always become lively.
One solved a mechanism, and the other carved a sword hilt. For a time, neither spoke.
However, the peace was soon broken. Song Jue walked into the courtyard, followed by an unfamiliar young disciple.
Seeing Lin Heng silent, Song Jue said curiously, “I couldn’t find you at your place, so I knew you had come to steal food again. Why are you mute? Did Jingci finally lose his patience and poison you?”
Lin Heng looked up and said, “You’re the mute one. It’s just that too many people have been sending gifts; our place is almost overflowing. It’s so annoying…”
He stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly looking at Xue Jingci and swallowing the rest.
He had previously praised Xue Jingci’s courtyard for being quiet, and he meant it.
But thinking about it now, the reason it was quiet was precisely because there were so few people coming to congratulate him.
He wished he could slap himself for bringing up such a sore subject.
Song Jue also noticed that Xue Jingci’s courtyard was very quiet. Aside from some plants, there were almost no valuable items.
He immediately thought of Xue Jingci’s poor reputation within the sect. Likely, many people were not happy with him becoming an elder.
Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit stiff, Lin Heng quickly shifted his gaze to the young disciple behind Song Jue and changed the subject: “And this is?”
Song Jue pushed the disciple in front of everyone and said, “His name is Fang Yuan. He will officially become my disciple at the ceremony in three days. I brought him here for everyone to see.”
Everyone became interested and gathered around to look at Fang Yuan. The atmosphere instantly became lively.
Lin Heng breathed a sigh of relief. Song Jue looked around the courtyard and advised Xue Jingci, “Before, you were an ordinary disciple, and the sect turned a blind eye to the rumors. But now that you are an elder, your reputation shouldn’t be allowed to be ruined by others. That matter back then…”
Xue Jingci spoke up decisively: “I didn’t do it.”
Lin Heng’s eyes widened. “How could he have harassed a female cultivator? That Chen Zhao must have been lying through his teeth. That man is a hypocrite. When my brother and I were in trouble last time, he ran away without looking back! If it weren’t for Xue Jingci saving us, my brother and I would have died in the quicksand! How does he have the face to tell such lies!”
Xue Jingci said calmly: “It’s just gossip. Let them talk.”
“How can you say that!”
Lin Heng grew anxious and said, “Things you didn’t do must be explained clearly. I’ll go and confront Chen Zhao to see what evidence he has for making you the subject of talk for all these years!”
With that, he ran out angrily.
Song Jue felt it was inappropriate and was about to stop him, but Lin Su held him back.
“Xiao Heng is right. If it truly was Chen Zhao’s doing, then bring everything to light. Let him taste what it’s like to be gossiped about. Besides, with me here, is there any reason to fear him?”
Xue Jingci didn’t have much reaction. Song Jue then shook his head and said, “You and Lin Heng were kicked out of Sword Peak by your father. Be careful.”
Lin Su said frankly: “We people of Sword Peak have always believed in an eye for an eye. There’s no reason to be afraid.”
Guanzi, listening with curiosity, hurriedly asked what had happened before. Unexpectedly, Shu Mo, who usually didn’t talk much, spoke up.
He was concise and explained the situation in a few sentences.
Guanzi was so angry he slapped his thigh, shouting that he would go with Lin Heng to curse people out. No one could stop them, so they let him go.
With the two most talkative people gone, the courtyard fell quiet again.
Song Jue turned to look around and suddenly remembered something, asking, “Why isn’t Xiao Xun here?”
After several days of rain, the sun had finally come out. The group sat under the tree, and even the system lay on the table sunbathing. It turned over in a daze, sleeping soundly with its paws in the air.
Xue Jingci shook his head and rubbed the kitten’s soft belly: “I’m not sure. He probably went out.”
Lin Su felt it was strange. In the past, Xiao Xun was always clinging to Xue Jingci, never leaving his side.
He finished a whole plate of pastries by himself, took a sip of tea, and joked, “I haven’t seen Xiao Xun in the courtyard these past few days, and his classes at the Dao Discussion Platform have stopped. What’s he busy with? Could it be that he’s nervous about the ceremony and is secretly practicing?”
Lin Su usually didn’t like to joke. Clearly, he didn’t want to bring up the rumors again to upset Xue Jingci.
Song Jue understood and played along. “He’s taking a master, not getting married. What’s there to be nervous about? If we’re talking about getting married, Jingci probably has the most experience.”
He had been married more than once in the Ghost Pearl illusion.
Hearing this, Shu Mo looked at Xue Jingci in surprise.
Xue Jingci remembered the times he had sat in the bridal sedan and gotten married in the Ghost Pearl illusion, and a bit of a smile appeared on his usually cold face.
“Getting married isn’t that nerve-wracking.”