Su Xing thinks her master has been acting strangely lately.
Since she joined his sect at fourteen, she has worked diligently to keep her master from getting himself stuffed into a sack for running his mouth, and has raised the scoundrel with great effort for over a decade. She knows his personality inside out, so she can tell that lately he's been avoiding her.
Until one day, she finds him atop Mount Lingwu.
"Little Xingxing, have you ever thought about taking another master? If there's someone you like, just tell me. I'll go kidnap them for you," Xie Yuechen suggests, his reluctance written all over his face.
Su Xing, not understanding what he means, gives him a list.
To Xie Yuechen's dismay, she actually has someone in mind. He says, aggrieved and gritting his teeth, "I'll go right now..."
The next day, Su Xing opens her door, and a message from her master floats in. A small note falls out: After much thought, I still think they're not good enough for you.
*
Xie Yuechen's strange behavior began with a call from a friend.
"You only took her as your disciple back then because you got jealous watching me brag about my son. You even picked a kid around the same age as mine. I think the two kids would make a great match. Why don't you ask Su Xing what she thinks? She's met him..."
"Get lost," Xie Yuechen says coldly.
"Su Xing's cultivation is getting stronger. How many more years can you keep her around?" His friend is clearly used to his loathsome, everyone-hates-him attitude and drops the matchmaking talk. Instead, he says, "Kids grow up and want to go out and make their own way. You were the same at her age, so why are you keeping her from leaving? What is it, do you like her too much to let go?"
An eerie silence falls over the other end of the call. His friend shudders. "Xie Yuechen, you..."
"So what if I do?" he hears Xie Yuechen say, with an air of indifference as if this were only natural. Then the call is cut off.
*
Taking Su Xing as his disciple had been a spur-of-the-moment decision for Xie Yuechen. Su Xing was even more gifted than he was, and given time, her cultivation would surely be no weaker than his. Xie Yuechen once thought it was a decision he would never regret.
But as time passed, in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, he seemed to hear a voice questioning him.
Xie Yuechen, by making her your disciple, you formed a bond that made certain feelings unsuitable to speak aloud. Some actions became selfish intentions that left only you to suffer. Do you truly have no regrets?
Theme: Be brave in pursuing the one you love, and draw strength from loving and being loved.
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