Chapter 32 Protection!

It was just a casual chat, but Qingjue quickly replied, "Just going out for a walk to see if anything's happening... You haven't been around during the day these past few days, what have you been up to?"

"I..." Jie Zhoujian's only major flaw is that he is completely unable to lie: "I...can't say, but there is indeed something I want to do."

"I won't blame you. You're all grown up now, it's normal to have your own ideas. Just come back on time and don't get scolded by the elders."

"Yes, it's almost finished, probably in the next few days."

"Alright, since it's a private matter, I won't interfere, and I don't doubt your character."

Jie escorted Qingjue all the way to the inner courtyard before bowing and preparing to leave.

"What? You've grown up and no longer bother me with bedtime stories?" Qingjue glanced sideways at the outside of the courtyard wall and said, "If you don't want to hear bedtime stories, then why did you all come over here all at once?"

Jie looked over as well: "..."

"!"

Several heads popped out from the other side of the courtyard wall.

Ruan Linglai gave an awkward smile: "Master...we..."

Yan Shiqun: "...I was coerced."

Aju: "We just wanted to see what you two were doing. We couldn't find you for the past few days, and it made us very worried!"

Aju clearly stated his purpose in a very fast-paced manner.

Jie Zhoujian: "I didn't do anything, just that Master came back and I went to pick him up."

The little ones jumped down from the courtyard wall again. Wen Tianyu was the most polite, and he even knew to apologize before coming in.

But since you've apologized, don't use the firewall anymore; just use the main entrance.

A group of precocious children.

"Master," Aju Nianqing Jue said, unlike Jie Zhoujian who was subtle, she openly pulled him and rubbed against him, like a little puppy: "Does this mean you can tell us bedtime stories again?"

Qingjue almost died laughing: "How old are you? You're a teenager and you're still listening to this?"

“Nonsense,” Aju said. “Mingming is only three years old this year.”

Ruan Linglai: "I'm four years old! I'm four years old!"

Wen Tianyu: "Then I... am five years old?"

Yan Shiqun: "When you go out, never say that I am from the same sect as you."

Qingjue laughed heartily: "Good, good, good. Tianyu has become proficient in swordsmanship, and Linglai has learned to control silk. Consider this a reward for you. Come inside with me."

Ruan Linglai: "Okay."

Aju nudged Yan Shiqun with her elbow: "Didn't you think it was childish? Then don't listen to me."

Yan Shiqun's face turned pale and red: "I don't sleep well, so why not listen? Is that not allowed?"

Wen Tianyu chatted with Jie during the day: "I recently read a book about strange tales, it's very interesting."

Jie Zhoujian: "Which one?"

Wen Tianyu: "I put it in the library, I'll get it for you later."

Jie Zhoujian: "Okay, is the sword easy to handle?"

"Yes, I'm used to it, but I'm not very good at close combat." When it comes to fighting, he uses magical artifacts and talismans more often, and he always keeps quite a few in his Qiankun bag.

Their conversation mainly revolved around the theme of peaceful and serene times.

They've grown up now and can no longer sleep in the same small bed. A few years ago, they moved out to separate rooms. Now, they sit in a circle on small stools in front of Qingjue, with a kerosene lamp lit in the middle.

"The story I'm going to tell you today isn't exactly lighthearted," Qingjue said in a deliberately mysterious tone. "It's a scary story, you know. If anyone's scared, they can go back to sleep first."

Ruan Linglai stepped back slightly, but she was still very curious about the story.

"The protagonist is also a highly respected master."

Then Qingjue spent half an hour recounting how this master was coveted by various enemies in the cultivation world, betrayed by his disciples, and suffered as much as he could possibly have.

Purely improvisational, entirely driven by emotion.

“That’s so tragic, so pitiful,” Ruan Linglai said, almost crying. “But… I didn’t find it that scary.”

“It’s terrifying, really terrifying,” Qingjue said seriously. “We’re about to get to the plot. If these things happened to me, wouldn’t it be terrifying?”

"Master, we will protect you!" Aju patted his chest and assured him, "You won't let something like this happen to you!"

Qingjue was so moved she almost cried: "Good, good, good, they are all good children, they are all good children."

Yan Shiqun: "...With his cultivation level, who could possibly defeat him?"

Wen Tianyu replied earnestly, "...There are always mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people. Hidden weapons are also impossible to guard against. Master really needs to be more careful to avoid repeating the mistakes in the story. There's an old poem that says..."

Aju smiled and said, "Senior Brother Wen is speaking more and more fluently now, and he often says things that we can't understand."

Jie said during the day, "It's just because you never listen attentively in your poetry classes."

Qingjue: "Hmm?"

Aju immediately said, "Master, we're sleepy, let's go back to sleep."

They slipped away pretty quickly.

Qingjue had no choice but to silently carry their little stools back one by one and put them away properly by himself.

They should be of middle school age now.

Why does she still have the temperament of a child?

Qingjue had no doubt that she had raised them too well; she only thought that at this age, she was already starting to stand on her own.

As Qingjue moved the chair back into the cabinet, she couldn't help but recall these past events.

Eight years ago, Ruan Linglai learned to fly on a sword for the first time. She stood on a small iron sword. In the past, others would carry her, but this time she had to control her spiritual power herself.

She swayed unsteadily, and was about to cry as soon as she let go of Qingjue's hand.

It's just like learning to ride a bicycle when I was a kid.

Back then, he would make a fuss as soon as the teacher let go of the back seat.

Qingjue had no choice but to hold onto the sword hilt and lie to her that he would hold on forever. In fact, as the child slowly rose and flew away, he quietly let go of her hand.

As a result, the little girl was so excited that she lost her balance and fell from the sky to the ground.

The little girl fell hard on her bottom and cried loudly in the yard because of the pain.

It took a long time to calm her down, otherwise her father would have torn the entire Qing family apart.

Who is the brave baby?

"I'm a brave baby!"

Nowadays, young women who have reached marriageable age no longer need such sweet talk to coax them.

She has learned to sleep on her own, to fly on a sword, and even to subdue demons.

She's grown up so beautifully; if she gets any older, this little spring and Zhangzhou might not be able to keep her.

Jie Zhoujian comforted him, saying, "I think Junior Sister Linglai probably won't want to go too far, so you don't need to start worrying so early."

Qingjue became even more anxious after hearing this: "What if she gets married in the future? What if she marries a young, inexperienced man? What if she marries someone like Fan Aotian?"

He said, "During the day, give your junior sister some extra silver. Be careful of the Fan family brat these next few days. Don't let him be tricked by that good-for-nothing who can only cook plain porridge."

"...No, Master. Junior Sister has neither a lack of money nor a lack of love. When it comes to her criteria for choosing a partner, she would only think of someone like you as a role model. Even if someone really wanted to marry her, wouldn't they have to get past you first? Besides, I don't think Fan Aotian would ever cook plain porridge..."

"What you said makes some sense..."

Also, seven years ago, Aju secretly sneaked into the Qing family's storage room and tinkered with those discarded religious artifacts, which resulted in the entire storage room being blown up.

Aju's little face was covered in black ash. This clever little child was scared to tears for the first time and hid in Qingjue's arms, too afraid to go out.

Later I found out the reason: they were afraid of being scolded and then kicked out.

He integrated into the Qing family so quickly that Qing Jue almost forgot that he was once a homeless, prickly child.

Actually, most people who knew about this were both amused and exasperated, and they all comforted him, saying they wouldn't kick him out.

Later, Qingjue saw that he was interested and gave him a lot of gadgets, which were much safer than what he could make himself. Somehow, he started carrying those gadgets with him and using them as weapons.

What kind of throwing knives and poison needles?

...What he gave me back then wasn't that destructive.

This kid's personality is most like mine; he's as slippery as an eel when he talks, and even his love for tinkering with gadgets is exactly the same.

Jie Zhoujian treasured everything Qingjue gave him, so whenever Aju wanted to borrow it for research, he wouldn't give it to her.

Qingjue suspected that she might not have served the water properly, which caused the child to be so possessive of his food.

In order to prevent excessive possessiveness from causing negative emotions, Qingjue specifically sought out Jie Zhoujian to have a heart-to-heart talk about this matter.

Jie said in a serious tone, "It's too dangerous. We can't let him play with it."

So, they were actually just worried about safety.

"Master, forget about Xiao Aju, can you come out of the storeroom first? Have you forgotten that last time you taught us magic, you almost burned Elder Zhenling's beard because you didn't control your strength well?"

"..."

Next time, I need to teach him more seriously and not keep bringing up these embarrassing moments.

Hearing the words of Heaven... Hearing the words of Heaven...

This kid isn't aloof; he's just slow to react, which is why he usually doesn't show much expression.

At first, they all thought it was because of his special experience, and that he would be able to recover gradually after coming into contact with normal society.

Later, the child's speech became more fluent, but his personality remained slow and hesitant. Qingjue knew that this was not due to external influences, but rather his inherent personality.

That's true. If a class is full of noisy kids, how can the homeroom teacher manage them? There always need to be some obedient and quiet kids like Jie Zhoujian and Wen Tianyu.

To deal with this kind of child, you can't use the same reverse psychology as the others, but you can't just ignore him either, or he'll get stifled. The best approach is to let him share his reading experiences. He likes reading, so cater to his interests.

...Even now, Wen Tianyu's reading books have lost their appeal to him.

The books my child is reading are becoming increasingly profound and mysterious.

Moreover, there were some questions he asked himself that he couldn't answer, which was quite embarrassing.

"I am... training your ability to think for yourself. Try to think about it yourself first, or talk to other senior brothers, sisters and elders. If you really can't figure it out, then ask me."

This also made a grown man who graduated from a top university and returned to his hometown to work as a kindergarten teacher out of affection feel frustrated.

Could it be that I've been out of a learning environment for too long? I can already analyze simple classical poems, but I can't understand them anymore?

We must not waste our time.