Chapter 793 He is your disciple

Today is a day off, and it just so happens to be a light autumn rain.

As the saying goes, "One autumn rain brings one chill," Xie Zheng put on an inner garment and asked Liu Chunshu to bring a tea stove. He sat in the study, drinking tea from a pot while reading.

As he watched, he lost interest, got up, went to the door to watch the drizzling autumn rain, looked up at the rain curtain under the eaves, and felt inexplicably lonely.

Why isn't she back yet?

And he forgot to write back these past two days.

Could it be that the messenger was delayed on the way?

In her letter a few days ago, she inquired about his well-being and subtly expressed her concern for him.

After that, there was more about what she saw and heard outside, the interesting things she encountered on the road, Lord Zhao and Taoist Han, and how she finally met Huo Xiang's wife.

Until three days ago, when she said that she had a rare opportunity to travel around with Lord Zhao and Taoist Master Han and could not return for the time being, he knew that she had gotten used to the days when he was not around.

She has become the same Song Chunxue she used to be, free to leave at any time without much attachment.

"well."

Upon hearing Lord Xie sigh softly, Liu Chunshu couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Is Lord Xie still waiting for the Taoist priest's letter?"

Xie Zheng didn't answer; wasn't that obvious?

He was waiting not only for the letter, but also for news of her return.

But she didn't even want to write letters anymore.

A short while later, Sanwa came in from outside, holding an umbrella.

"Lord Xie, are you enjoying the rain?"

He ran over with a smile, his footsteps creating small puddles in the water on the ground, which quickly disappeared, replaced by pretty splashes of water as raindrops pelted down.

"You're off today too? What brings you here, especially in the rain?"

Looking at the features that resembled Song Chunxue's, Xie Zheng said to Sanwa, "Come inside and have some tea. Your second brother's family sent over quite a few buckwheat dumplings; he said you like them."

Sanwa placed the umbrella against the wall. His snow-white brocade robe accentuated his handsome face, and the smile in his eyes was like a gentle breeze.

He looked at Lord Xie and smiled, "Then I'll eat two. Let's go to my second brother's house later for some mutton and have a couple of bowls of mutton soup to warm our stomachs."

Lord Xie doesn't like to join in the fun. He had just heard some noise in the courtyard and didn't expect that Sanwa would go there too.

“I don’t really like mutton soup, but your mother does.” Xie Zheng poured him a cup of tea. “Has she written to you yet?”

“I wrote to you once. Doesn’t my mother often write to you?” Sanwa rubbed his fingers together, picked up his teacup and took a sip, then grabbed a buckwheat dough ball the size of a crabapple, put it in his mouth and took a bite.

Xie Zheng nodded, "Yes, but she's encountered something new and doesn't plan to come back for the time being."

Sanwa smiled slightly, looking down at the exquisite ceramic tea stove, wondering if the adults were blaming their mother for not returning earlier.

The fourth brother was right; now, without them urging them, someone else wanted their mother to return even more.

The scenery outside is beautiful, but wandering around outside all the time inevitably brings worries and anxieties.

"Did she say where she was going? Should we write to her and urge her to come back?" Sanwa added. "But my mother is definitely worried about you, she'll be back soon."

Lord Xie thought to himself, "She didn't even come back for the Double Ninth Festival, it's hard to say."

However, she has always wanted to go out and see the beautiful landscapes of the country, just to see more of it.

"With Lord Zhao taking her along, she doesn't have many concerns. She'll come back after she's had her fun, so don't worry about her. I won't eat the mutton. Have any of you encountered anything suspicious lately?"

Sanwa shook his head. "No, but Second Brother has been practicing swordsmanship lately, and he has to practice standing meditation every morning and evening. He said he wants to cultivate with Mother, so he can't become a burden to her."

His expression was serious. "I know that Mother will inevitably encounter some lowlifes in the martial arts world. They love to take advantage of other people's families. Even the fourth son has started practicing swordsmanship, saying it will make him thinner."

Lord Xie nodded, "This is a good thing. No matter the reason, there's no harm in improving one's physical fitness."

Although he knew that these children were just not convinced, since their mother had taken on two apprentices.

They were unwilling to be second to anyone.

That's good too; having this drive might inspire them to move forward bravely.

However, after hearing what Sanwa said, he belatedly realized that he was getting more and more backward as he lived.

Why should he feel disappointed instead of using the time to cultivate and travel with her as soon as possible?

After Sanwa left, he took out his sword and went to Langting in the backyard.

Liu Chunshu followed behind, "Lord Liu just sent an invitation to a banquet. I heard that the dancers at that restaurant are absolutely stunning. Are you really not going, sir?"

Xie Zheng turned to look at him, "You want to go?"

Liu Chunshu chuckled, "Of course I want to go, even just to feast my eyes on it."

"Heh, I think you've gotten quite bold. You're not just looking around, are you? If you want to go, go for me and come back and tell me what they said."

Liu Chunshu had only said it casually, and upon hearing this, he immediately felt guilty.

"This subordinate...this subordinate is unfit for such a great responsibility. Perhaps you should send Vice Envoy Zhang or Young Master Jiang instead?"

When the topic of Sanwa came up, Liu Chunshu quickly shook his head. "If the Taoist priest knew that she sent her son to such a smoky and chaotic place, she would definitely be angry. Why don't we send Secretary Lang instead?"

Xie Zheng used to disdain getting involved in these things, and he wouldn't even let his subordinates participate.

But later, he discovered that even if he tried to stop them, his ambitious subordinates would not appreciate it; instead, they would feel that he was preventing them from achieving their careers.

He thought carefully, "Then let Vice Envoy Zhang go and report back."

"Alright, I'll go find him myself." Liu Chunshu turned around with a smile. "Does Your Excellency have any other instructions?"

"There are many children in the yard next door. I will buy some food for the children and send it to them when I come back."

"I'll go right away."

Xie Zheng smiled, then drew his longsword and focused on practicing.

...

She was covered in sweat while practicing swordsmanship with Lord Zhao. Her sweat was black and smelled very strong and unpleasant, so she immediately went to the kitchen to boil water and take a bath.

Looking at the dark water, she felt refreshed and light all over, and her mind was at peace like never before.

It feels so good to make progress in my cultivation. I hope this path can lead me to even greater heights.

They stayed at the inn for two days, and Wuji, the eldest disciple's apprentice, kept an eye on her for those two days.

Song Chunxue felt uneasy.

The child's eyes were clearly innocent and clear, but several times when she turned her head unintentionally, she found that Wuji was staring at her intently.

When she noticed him, he immediately smiled, nodded to her, and then turned away nonchalantly to attend to his own business.

However, she quickly realized that perhaps Wuji rarely encountered female cultivators like her who embarked on this path so late, and was therefore very curious about her.

On the third day, they officially set off for the Devil City.

Wuji locked the door and followed them, and even offered to fill a bag with water for Song Chunxue.

"Uncle-Master, Master told me to learn more from you. You can ask me for anything." Wuji smiled, his eyes shining, and followed behind her eagerly.

Learn from her?

Song Chunxue looked at Lord Zhao, "Senior Brother, how could you lie to a child? What can he learn from me? He's your disciple, you're giving me too much credit. Are you trying to slack off, Senior Brother?"