Idly Tapping the Go Stones as Flowers Fall in the Lamplight

Yu Tingxue, a once-in-a-century genius of the immortal sect, took a disciple.

They said her disciple was a cat demon, born weak, with a soul so fragile that a few gusts of wind could scatter it.

The cat demon himself, Yan Qingzhu, immediately sprang up when he heard the rumor and shouted, "I'm strong and healthy! I could knock down three grown men with one punch!!!"

Yu Tingxue turned around and gave him a cool glance. The man who'd been full of energy a moment ago instantly fell into step behind her, well-behaved as could be.

But as soon as Yu Tingxue turned away, he bared his teeth fiercely at the disciples who'd spread the rumor.

"Yan Qingzhu." A cool female voice called him back to his senses.

He turned around at once, an innocent smile plastered across his face, and hurried to catch up with Yu Tingxue. In a bright voice, he replied, "Master, I'm coming!"

*

Everyone knows that Yan Qingzhu loves his cold-blooded, selfless master, who follows the Heartless Dao. So all you have to do is trick him by claiming you once had some connection to Yu Tingxue, and you can make him do all sorts of dirty, exhausting work. It works every time, and somehow Yan Qingzhu never catches on.

All she knows is that whenever she goes to retrieve him, that idiot cheerfully waves goodbye to the person who tricked him and says, "I'm off! My master is here to take me home!"

Yu Tingxue thinks her disciple is too stupid. He's so stupid that he accidentally falls into cultivation deviation, then commits the unforgivable sin of kissing her. But it only lasts a moment. As if recalling some old memory, he carefully tugs at the hem of her robe, afraid she'll abandon him again.

Many years later, Yu Tingxue finally learned that all those foolish things he'd done were just his way of helping her make good connections with people.

He was afraid that after he died, she would be alone, with no one left whom she could trust.

He wanted her to enjoy a smooth path on the immortal way for the rest of her life.

May she live in peace and joy from now on.

Theme: Why need pale blue or deep red? This is the finest flower of them all.