Chapter 41: Why is the Master here?
Xie Hanyi on the shore looked like he had just come out of a cave. His handsome face was covered with an invisible layer of ice and snow, and his whole body was surrounded by a thick chill.
But when Mu Fuyun saw his figure breaking through the air, the layer of ice and snow melted away in an instant.
"Disciple has picked lotus seeds for Master." Mu Fuyun jumped down from the Hengyu Sword and carefully put the sword back on his waist. Then he took out the fresh lotus seeds wrapped in lotus leaves and a small piece of light yellow rock sugar from the mustard seed bag. "Today, I will make a bowl of lotus seed soup for Master."
Fresh lotus seeds can only be eaten for two or three months every year, and Xie Hanyi only comes out of seclusion for one or two days every month. Therefore, Mu Fuyun had already made plans. During the break between classes, he went to the lotus pond to pick lotus seeds, and went to Qinglu to ask for a piece of rock sugar and brought them back together.
After saying that, she went back to the cave, found a porcelain bowl, placed it on the flat ground on the shore, filled it with water from the pond, put the washed lotus seeds in it, used her spiritual power to create a cluster of flames, and started to cook the lotus seed soup.
From beginning to end, Xie Hanyi did not say a word. He just watched her sitting cross-legged on the ground, waiting for the lotus seed soup to boil, adding rock sugar, and then stirring it carefully.
He was a cultivator who had been away from the world for many years. His parents, master, and brother who had taken care of him had all passed away with the passage of time. Now, being with this little disciple had gradually awakened the human warmth buried deep in his heart.
After standing for a moment, he silently gathered up his robe and sat down beside her.
Lingshan Lake was too cold. Just a short while after she came back, a thin layer of white frost had already formed on her Taoist robe and hair, making her originally beautiful and charming look very unreal.
At this moment, under the reflection of the spiritual fire and the fumigation of the lotus seed soup vapor, the white frost melted and became lively again.
When the soup was ready, she removed the spiritual fire, cooled the porcelain bowl with pond water, and then brought it to Xie Hanyi.
Xie Hanyi glanced at her, and as he reached out to take the soup bowl, he calmly performed a cleansing spell to remove the remaining frost and snow on her body.
In the white porcelain bowl, the light soup is slightly sticky and contains tiny bubbles. When you put a spoonful into your mouth, you can feel its moistness and smoothness.
During this year, Xie Hanyi had tasted the flavor of lotus seeds many times, all thanks to her. It also added some embellishment to his days that had long been free from worldly desires.
He saw Mu Fuyun's expectant eyes out of the corner of his eye, paused, and finally spoke the first words in this month.
Just two words: "Not bad."
Mu Fuyun's eyes suddenly lit up because of these two words, and curved into two crescents again.
She is usually calm and composed. Except for competitions and training, she is very energetic. The rest of the time, she is usually low-key. This is a habit she developed from decades of living in Yuya Mountain in her previous life.
But for some reason, when facing Xie Hanyi, she couldn't help but put herself in a slightly lower position and always looked up at him.
This kind of "lowliness" is not submission or self-determination to be weak, but because of trusting him and receiving his selfless favor, so I want to give something back.
More importantly, because of trust, she couldn't help but relax in front of him. She didn't have to become strong and invulnerable like she did in front of others to prove her existence.
Xie Hanyi naturally noticed her sudden bright smile.
Unlike her, he sometimes wondered if he, as her master, wasn't too close to her.
"Which elder led you to practice sword skills today?" After thinking about it, he found an excuse and asked a question.
"The one who came today is Elder Jiang from Luoxia Peak."
Mu Fuyun answered, and seeing that he seemed to want to hear her detailed explanation, she thought for a moment and told him about today's lessons one by one, from what sword techniques she had learned so far, to how Jiang Hanqiu demonstrated and explained, and then to the final random moves, leaving no detail behind.
At first, she was worried that she would talk too much and annoy him, but every time she stopped, she would get a response from him.
Although it was just a very brief "hmm", it was enough for her to continue speaking with confidence.
When she mentioned the final fight, she even had a hint of pride on her face.
"None of the dozen or so new disciples could survive more than seven moves from Elder Jiang. Even Hongying, a disciple of Luoxia Peak, was instantly defeated by Elder Jiang's sword. Only two people in the class could survive more than ten moves from Elder Jiang's sword: Zhan Yao, and the other—"
She raised her chin proudly, and the red ribbon on her high ponytail fluttered in the snowy world, looking particularly eye-catching.
“—It’s me!”
Xie Hanyi looked at her rare proud expression and couldn't help but smile faintly.
"You just started learning a little late, but you've made progress faster than everyone else. With time, it won't be a problem for you to reach Senior Sister Jiang's level."
Mu Fuyun was used to being praised, but he had been criticized countless times in Tianyan. Now that he had entered the inner sect, his situation had improved a lot, but he still felt overjoyed when he heard Xie Hanyi's generous praise.
She had never experienced getting along with a master before, so in the face of the master's praise, she still tried to remain calm and modest, saying, "I know that cultivation is not easy. I only hope to be down-to-earth. If one day I can truly be like Elder Jiang, it will also be due to the master's teachings."
Hearing the word "teach", Xie Hanyi's eyes froze for a moment, and he said slowly: "You learn everything quickly, and your teacher has not taught you anything."
Mu Fuyun quickly shook his head. "How could that be? Master rarely gives me direct instruction, but the ice sword in the pond was left behind by Master. My swordsmanship has improved so rapidly thanks to my daily battles with the ice sword. I was able to withstand Elder Jiang's sudden attack today because I'm used to the feeling of fighting with the ice sword. All of this is thanks to Master."
Xie Hanyi looked at her without saying anything.
She was thinking about these things, but he was thinking about other things.
Although he has never been in charge of the affairs inside or outside the sect, he has worked his way up from a disciple to where he is now, and he knows a little about the sect's rules.
The elders from other peaks, if they were not in seclusion, would come to Fu Ri Peak every once in a while to personally instruct these inner disciples.
In a large sect like Tianyan, although everyone practices the Tianyan Sword School, the reason why each elder is able to establish his own sect is that their sword techniques have their own merits. For the disciples, they must not only specialize in one sword technique, but also study the strengths of each school.
He alone had been in seclusion for many years since the Battle of Changgeng and had never instructed any inner disciples.
In the past, because he did not accept any disciples, and the head brother was considerate of him, knowing that he was born to like quietness and could not stay outside for too long, he never let him go to class.
Now, he has accepted a disciple, but he still stays in Lingshanze and never teaches his disciples.
According to what I just said, anyone whose master goes to teach in person will feel proud.
He knew that she was not having a very comfortable time among her classmates in the sect.
He wanted to ask her if she had been bullied by her classmates recently, but seeing her energetic face, he decided not to mention it. He just stood up and told her to practice sword well, then got up and went back to the cave.
Mu Fuyun did not suspect anything. He stood up, bowed, and watched him leave. Then he stayed by the pond and started fighting with the ice sword.
The next day, everything was back to normal.
In the next few days, nothing unexpected happened.
Mu Fuyun still attended classes at Fu Ri Peak during the day and returned to Lingshanze to practice sword and study at night.
During this period, she went to Xizhao Pavilion and Shanmingju once again.
For the past six months, transactions with Chu Ye and Song Xinghe had continued as normal. However, since she had also entered the inner sect, her status was different from before, so they had become much more restrained than before.
Especially Chu Ye. After he recovered from his injury, he took several junior brothers and sisters to Dongji Island twice before he dealt with the matter of the Phoenix. He was so busy that he had no time to care about other things.
She also tried her best to draw a clear line between herself and them, and except for the two days each month when she was alone, she had no other contact with them.
Because of this, two months ago, she advanced to the next level and is now in the middle stage of foundation building.
This speed of advancement is inextricably linked to these two people. However, as one's realm rises, the difficulty increases.
The only thing that makes the disciples excited is the upcoming sect mission.
According to Tianyan's rules, all disciples of the sect must make contributions to the sect.
Outer disciples need to pay a considerable amount of spirit stones as a maintenance fee every year. Inner disciples do not have to pay a maintenance fee, but in the first few years, they have to complete the corresponding sect tasks every year and obtain the required contribution points in order to continue to stay in the inner sect.
Now, it has been ten months since the new batch of disciples joined the sect. The sect has decided to open a mission hall in five days, and these new disciples will form teams, take on missions, and go down the mountain to gain experience.
That morning, before the teacher arrived, a dozen or so disciples sat by the sword platform, discussing the upcoming mission.
"I don't know if this time there will be a task that is too difficult. What if I fail to complete it? Will I be kicked out of the sect?" Xiao Yan was listless early in the morning.
Hongying frowned and glanced at him, then poked him on the head with her fingers: "What's wrong with you? You're always so cheerful and frivolous, but when it comes to the critical moment, you become as cowardly as a mouse?"
"Who's such a coward?" Xiao Yan was immediately refreshed by her prodding and jumped up to argue with her, "I'm just worried about you!"
"Don't worry about Hongying," Zhou Su said sarcastically, "When has she not defeated you in every competition?"
"Alright, everyone, stop arguing. I think Xiao Yan's worries are not unfounded." Yu Cen was a good man. When he saw that these people were about to quarrel, he quickly stepped out to mediate. "The sect does have such a rule."
"Everyone, there's no need to be too nervous. I've asked my senior brothers, and the sect has many tasks, some difficult and some easy. As long as we don't choose ones that are too difficult, we'll be fine." Qi Man comforted.
"Even if you accidentally choose a difficult mission, the elders will arrange for more experienced and capable brothers and sisters to lead you. It's rare for you to fail a mission on your first try."
"Master gave me a few magic weapons a few days ago and asked me to keep them for use when I am on a mission." The speaker was Liang Shiqian, who was worshipping under Elder Chang of Dongxian Peak.
Cen Luo propped up his face with one hand and said, "I'm really envious. Elder Chang treats you guys really well."
The elders all had different personalities, and naturally treated their disciples differently. It was truly enviable for an elder like Chang to gift a disciple a magical weapon before even accepting a mission.
Several others nodded in agreement.
"Alas, my master doesn't usually discipline us. Even when he comes to Fu Ri Peak to teach, he only comes once every three months."
"What's the big deal? If you're talking about teaching less, who can compare to Lingshan Daojun? Daojun is in seclusion all year round, but he never comes here."
As they spoke, they all turned their gazes to Mu Fuyun, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.
Taoist Lingshan is the number one swordsman, and everyone wants to receive his guidance, but except Mu Fuyun, no one can see him.
They were envious and jealous, and really wanted Mu Fuyun to go back and speak well of him in front of Xie Hanyi, and ask him to come once or twice, but they were too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Mu Fuyun had not participated in their discussion since then. When he heard this, he just frowned and did not respond.
Just when everyone was disappointed, Zhao Yueyue suddenly pointed at the sword platform behind him and said, "Look!"
It turned out that at some point, Xie Hanyi, who rarely showed up in the sect, had actually left Lingshanze and was standing behind them, looking at them expressionlessly.
The man in white clothes had an extraordinary temperament, as if he was not from this world at all. Seeing him, everyone felt nervous and lowered their heads, not daring to act rashly.
Only Mu Fuyun raised his head and called him with a smile: "Master, why are you here?"
Could it be that he is here to teach them?
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