Edge Cloud

That year, my seventh disciple had just turned fourteen. My sister, Bian Yun, the Ruoshui Palace's Consort, had asked me to go to Ruoshui Palace. I brought my seventh disciple with me to Ruoshui Palace to heal her injuries. While sitting across from my sister over tea, she suddenly asked about Shangguan Ying's life story. I told her the truth, saying that the girl was the orphan of General Shangguan of Sifang City. The sound of the teacup shattering was particularly piercing, and Sister Yun's face instantly turned pale.

"Brother, do you know," her voice trembled, "I also had a daughter...in the past."

Only then did I learn of that unbearable past. That effeminate thief, using his good looks to seduce my sister and cause her to become pregnant. But the thief, restless and uneasy, even engaged in affairs with other female disciples in the palace. Furious, Yunmei personally killed him and sent her newborn daughter back to her hometown in Yunnan, leaving behind only a jade pendant.

"I originally thought Shangguan Ying was my daughter..." Yun Mei smiled bitterly, stroking the jade pendant on the table. "I taught her everything I knew and raised her as my heir. But now I know that my daughter has long been...

She couldn't continue. Looking at this little sister, who had been so headstrong since childhood, I saw genuine pain in her eyes for the first time. As her older brother, I stepped forward to comfort her.

The next day, when I pushed open the door to my sister, Bian Yun, and saw her lying in a pool of blood, the medicine box in my hand fell heavily to the ground. Her death was likely caused by demonic possession, and she had summoned me to Ruoshui Palace the day before for this very reason. However, I discovered a secret passage in her room that directly told me there was something else going on, so I went to the Ruoshui Palace to inquire.

The secret of the secret passage chilled me to the bone. Sister Yun could do such a thing—she was actually attracted to women, and this secret passage was a convenient way for her to abuse her disciples... But I am her brother after all. Even if she was wrong, it was not for outsiders to judge her. The other disciples were secretly delighted at their relief, but only Shangguan Ying was genuinely crying. This was completely abnormal. When I questioned her, her eyes flickered, and her words were full of loopholes. Based on what everyone said, I knew my sister's secret.

Lao Qi was in a very bad state. He was restless all day and suddenly came to me to change his name.

"Master, I want to change my name to 'Tomorrow'."

"Why?"

"My world has lost its sun." He lowered his eyes. "I took this name to pretend that there is still light."

I watched him grow up, so how could I not know that he had someone in his heart? The little girl he saved had left such a deep impression on him. But I never imagined that this young love would develop to this extent. I agreed.

He would often become distracted while preparing medicine, his golden thread falling without him noticing. Even more unusually, he would often casually ask, "Master, do you still remember that girl who went astray? I wonder if her injuries have healed."

How could I not see through this child's mind? He has never shown his emotions since he was a child. Even when my good-for-nothing nephew ridiculed him as a "cripple" to his face, he just smiled faintly. But now, it's just a girl he met by chance, but she has made him so distracted. So this time I brought him to Ruoshui Palace, just to give them both a chance. I am happy to be the matchmaker. I have been making a big fuss these past few days. With Ming'er's intelligence, he must have guessed something, or maybe he already knew something. But in the final analysis, I still don't want to believe that this child would deceive me. He is my apprentice who was raised by me. I taught him medicine, martial arts, and the difference between right and wrong. Even if he has some teenage feelings for Shangguan Ying, he will never do such a heinous thing as killing his own parents.

When Shangguan Yan came forward and confessed, I knew she was lying. Gu Mutian was right. If it was Shangguan Yan who did it, given her strong character, she would have confessed on the day of the attack, not waited until now. On the other hand, Shangguan Ying, who seemed so weak, I noticed her knuckles were white from clenching her fists, and she looked silent with her head bowed, as if she was enduring something.

"It was me who harmed Master. She did something strange to me. I... I don't know why. She suddenly... suddenly collapsed there..." She finally spoke, her voice so soft that it seemed to break in the wind.

As I gazed at the kneeling girl, I suddenly remembered the relieved testimonies of the female disciples in the secret passage, and the unspeakable objects in my sister's bedroom. As a brother, I owed my sister justice; but as a doctor, I knew this girl was also a victim.

But what shocks me most is the sheer coincidence of it all. Shangguan Yan took the blame, Shangguan Ying confessed, and my disciple Ming Tian... had no idea?

I deliberately said in front of Mingri: "The murderer is Shangguan Yan."

He blurted out, "Who is Shangguan Yan?" That momentary bewilderment didn't seem feigned. I carefully scrutinized every nuance of his expression, and there was indeed no trace of guilt. It was Gao Yishan, the simple-minded one, who was so startled that he knocked over his medicine basket.

It seems Mingri is truly unaware. His recent behavior is probably just as I suspected—a young man's first love, and the unrest stemming from his beloved's involvement in a murder case. Ultimately, I chose silence. My sister committed the crime first, and Shangguan Ying intervened later. This blood debt is a long-standing mystery. It's best to let it all end here.

"From now on," I said to Mingri and Yishan, "you are not allowed to have any more contact with Gu Mutian and his disciples."

Four years later, a gravely injured Shangguan Ying appeared before me. "Master," she called me, her voice as soft as falling snow. "Life and death are determined by fate. Your willingness to save me is a favor, but not saving me is your duty."

I stared at her in silence. This girl, my blood feud, was as fragile as newly melted ice. I should have hated her—revenge for my sister was only natural. But when she mentioned wanting to see Yi Shan, I couldn't bear it.

"Go ahead," I said to Yi Shan, "there's no need to be formal today."

As I watched them conversing happily from a distance, I suddenly felt exhausted. After decades of practicing medicine, saving lives and healing the wounded is my calling, yet now I'm struggling between emotion and reason.

I heard the sound of a wheelchair in the distance. I should have known he'd come looking for her tomorrow. Watching him carefully take the girl into his arms, his movements as gentle as if she were a rare treasure, I ultimately didn't step forward to stop him.

The compassion of a doctor, the responsibility of a brother, the loving kindness of a teacher—these three identities were like three shackles, trapping me in this place. In the end, I chose to turn around and leave. Consider this as the last time an old man shows mercy.

Later, they were together. From the shadows, I watched as a smile finally appeared on Mingri's face, a happiness that I, his master, had never given him. But I had to be the villain—I couldn't forget my sister's death, and the deep hatred for Shangguan Yun stood between them.

"Master, please help me." Mingri knelt in front of me and begged me so humbly for the first time.

I steeled my resolve: "If you insist on being with her, you will no longer be my disciple, the old man from the frontier." He looked up, his eyes filled with a resolve I had never seen before. I had to make telling him my life story a condition, knowing that family ties would always be a barrier this child couldn't overcome. But I miscalculated, and I'll still leave Tianshan tomorrow. He doesn't want a master, doesn't care about his background, he only wants... Shangguan Ying. It turns out that love can make even the most restrained lose their composure. And I, the master who thought I saw everything, ultimately underestimated the weight of love.

After Mingri left, I began to place all my hopes on my nephew, hoping he would inherit my legacy. But his talent was limited, and more importantly, his ulterior motives were ill-intentioned. He even took advantage of my depleted Qi after treating a patient to interrogate me, believing I was holding back. His tactics proved ineffective, but I still sent Yishan to inform Mingri, hoping to gauge his gratitude towards me as his master. Mingri arrived, indeed, and he explained that he had abandoned Shangguan Ying, who was eight months pregnant, to come and help. And she had actually supported him in repaying her kindness. I began to understand why Mingri was so devoted to her.

When Mingri and I arrived at their retreat in Yunnan, it was a shambles. Shangguan Ying accused Ouyang Feiying and Bantianyue of colluding. Mingri was furious and demanded Ouyang Feiying's life. To prevent him from doing something unethical, I revealed that Ouyang Feiying was his father! When Mingri learned that Ouyang Feiying was his biological father, he vomited blood and begged me before fainting: "Master... protect Ziling..."

When I caught up with Shangguan Ying, she had already fallen to the ground, seriously injured. Looking at her dying appearance, I suddenly understood something.

"Senior," she breathed weakly, "please let me give Mingri the Forgetfulness Gu to make him forget me. I have a way to save him from this serious injury, but it's a near-fatal injury. I don't want to see him again, because seeing him will remind me of my poor child. But I'm afraid he'll follow me; afraid he'll kill his father for me; and even more afraid that the people of Sifang City will experience war again after losing City Lord Ouyang. Let the past be the past. I only hope that you, Master, will accept Mingri as your disciple again. What happened before was all my fault."

Although I have never loved anyone, I couldn't help but be moved by this girl's kindness and deep friendship. She was also a victim of what happened many years ago!

"Okay." When I said this word, I felt like I was betraying Yunmei, but I had to do it.

Watching Mingri struggling in agony as the poison took effect, carving the words "Zi Ling" all over the wall with his fingers, my heart was bleeding. When he begged me to tell him the whereabouts of his wife and children, I could only lock the door cruelly.

I finally made this cruel decision. Watching Mingri struggling in my arms, calling out "Zi Ling" over and over, carving bloody marks on the wall with his fingers... In that moment, I couldn't tell if I was saving him or harming him.

The moment I locked the door, I heard him pleading inside: "Master, where are my wife and children..."

I leaned against the door, tears streaming down my face.

At this moment, the celestial phenomena seemed to have changed. I remembered the hexagram from many years ago - "few relatives and few romantic connections, destined to have a death." And now, the Forget Worry Gu actually defied the heavens and changed tomorrow's fate.

Inspired by Shangguan Ying's sacrifice, I softened my stance toward Gumutian and Shangguan Yan. I asked Gumutian to come and spar with me when he was free. Instead of Gumutian, Shangguan Yan arrived, injured and seeking treatment. What I didn't expect was that after Mingri lost his memory, he developed an interest in Shangguan Yan, his sister-in-law! I told Mingri the story of the Dragon Soul and Phoenix Blood, hoping to dissuade him from giving it up, but it only aroused his competitive spirit. I actually began to sympathize with Shangguan Ying.

Three years after Mingri lost her memory, I saw that girl again at the Cliff of Repentance. A strange, lost look lingered in her eyes. She'd actually healed from such severe internal injuries, albeit at the cost of her martial arts skills. I brought her to Tianshan, my hatred for her long buried. Now, I only hoped this wealthy couple could start over, so I instructed Yishan to conceal the truth. When Mingri questioned me, I told him to protect her!