Chapter 137
"evil creature."
Wen Chaoyu leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance. At the end of her vision were rolling mountains. She reached out and caught a cold snowflake, saying, "In their eyes, I am a cursed creature who must die."
The heavy snow bent the short bamboo in the courtyard, and snowflakes flew in from afar. Xue Tan took a cloak from the house and draped it over Wen Chaoyu, asking, "When did the Protector learn that Miss Ji was yours..."
He carefully considered his words, unsure how to describe Ji Wanshu as Wen Chaoyu's relative.
The thin snow quickly melted in her palm, turning into a small water stain that was warmed by the heat. Wen Chaoyu said, "I knew a long time ago. On the day she entered Yunhua Palace to become an apprentice, I followed her all the way from Jincheng back to Yunhua Mountain."
Ji Wanshu entered the palace and became famous in the new disciples' academy for her outstanding talent. Every day during martial arts classes, many disciples would go to the training ground to see her. Even Shen Mandong, Man Jiangxue, and Xie Yijun went several times, but Wen Chaoyu never went. In the year before the new disciples' assembly, apart from occasions she had to attend, she rarely moved around in the palace and almost never met Ji Wanshu. This is why Ji Wanshu had an impression of the other three senior uncles, but did not recognize Wen Chaoyu.
After being rescued by Nangong Min and taken to the Ziwei Sect, Wen Chaoyu survived, but her life was quite difficult. It took her a long time to accept the fact that she had been abandoned by her parents.
At that time, she didn't even know what the martial arts world was or what the Ziwei Sect was. She only knew that the Nangong father and daughter were her saviors. She received kindness and warmth from strangers from them. So when she finally let go of the resentment and unwillingness in her heart and learned what the Ziwei Sect was, she belatedly realized what kind of path her future life would take.
At that time, Nangong Min was still a young girl, about the same age as Wen Chaoyu, maybe a few years older. But even then, Nangong Min already showed the aura and demeanor of a young sect leader. She was pampered by the old sect leader and grew up, but she did not pick up any bad habits because of being spoiled. On the contrary, she was humble, polite, calm and composed, completely different from the little demon girl of the demonic sect that was rumored outside. She had no friends, and everyone in the Ziwei Sect treated her with utmost respect. Even though she was so cheerful and spoke so gently, everyone was afraid of her. Nangong Min often complained to Wen Chaoyu that she was already old and lonely before she was old.
Wen Chaoyu didn't know her or her identity, so she was at ease and didn't pretend in front of her. Nangong Min felt that she had saved the right person and brought back a friend. She treated Wen Chaoyu very well and even asked her father to teach Wen Chaoyu martial arts. Although Wen Chaoyu was always lazy and unwilling to learn properly, she had practiced her skills in the same courtyard as Nangong Min. Even Yin Xuan, who had been adopted by the old leader, did not receive such treatment.
Until the old leader suddenly passed away, Nangong Min was forced to hastily ascend to the throne and take charge of the overall situation. In those years, she suffered oppression and attacks from all sides. The righteous path of the martial arts world repeatedly provoked wars, wanting to take advantage of Nangong Min's lack of power and eliminate her in time to prevent future troubles. Wen Chaoyu ushered in an opportunity to repay her debt of gratitude. She took the initiative to find Nangong Min and asked if there was anything she could do to help.
Nangong Min told her, "I don't take other sects seriously, but Ruyi Sect and Yunhua Palace are not so easy to deal with. However, they are not invincible. I have sent Xuandi to Ruyi Sect according to plan. As for Yunhua Palace, I will leave it to you."
So the next day, Wen Chaoyu set off on her journey to Yunhua Palace.
She had a solid foundation and had studied martial arts. As soon as she entered the palace, she stood out among her peers and was spotted by the former sect leader and taken under his wing. She was the senior sister of Shen Mandong and Man Jiangxue, second only to Xie Yijun in seniority. Although her swordsmanship was not the strongest, she was well-liked by the palace disciples because of her humorous and witty personality.
The year Ji Wanshu entered the palace, Wen Chaoyu was on a mission at the foot of the mountain and happened to pass by Jincheng. She inadvertently learned that Ji Wanshu was going to Yunhua Palace to study under a master. She hid on the roof and eavesdropped. She heard the Ji couple showing great care and gentle encouragement to Ji Wanshu. The three of them were very happy. The laughter clearly reached her ears, but it also seemed so far away.
Madam Ji was worried that Ji Wanshu would be bullied at Yunhua Palace and that she would not have a good time, so she ordered that plenty of money, clothes and jewelry be prepared, and three carriages be filled. She wanted people to know that Ji Wanshu was a young lady from a wealthy family and not want people to look down on her. Master Ji also spent a lot of money to hire a group of swordsmen from the martial arts world to escort Ji Wanshu on her journey.
For as long as they traveled, Wen Chaoyu followed behind, secretly dealing with many petty thieves and bandits. Those swordsmen were utterly useless; after nightfall, they slept soundly in the forest, snoring loudly. Any bandit in the mountains who wasn't blind could tell that there was something to be gained from those carriages. Wen Chaoyu hid not far from them, keeping watch all night long, until Ji Wanshu finally arrived at the gate of Yunhua Mountain. Only then did she return to Jingyue Peak, exhausted, for a good night's sleep.
In short, during Ji Wanshu's first year in Yunhua Palace, Wen Chaoyu intentionally or unintentionally avoided her and was unwilling to easily contact her. In addition, Ji Wanshu herself did not like to interact with people, was aloof and a bit arrogant, and devoted herself to practicing swordsmanship. Therefore, the two of them never had any interaction.
As time moved to her master's birthday, Wen Chaoyu got drunk at the dinner party that night and was helped back to her room by Shen Mandong. Perhaps the alcohol triggered the hidden pain in her heart, and Wen Chaoyu fell on the bed and wept silently. Shen Mandong asked her what was wrong, and Wen Chaoyu was so upset that she revealed her background and her relationship with Ji Wanshu.
Shen Mandong was not surprised when she heard this. She simply comforted her gently, saying, "Senior sister feels lonely and can't go home. Since heaven has taken pity on you and sent Wan Shu to your side, why don't you spend more time with her? She is also your family."
Wen Chaoyu said sadly, "I have no family left. I'm a dead man that nobody cares about."
Shen Mandong said, "Didn't Senior Sister say that Wan Shu often goes to the cemetery to pay her respects to you? Although she has never met you, she still thinks of you as her older sister. If she knew that you were still alive, she would be very happy. Wan Shu has lived a wealthy life since childhood and has never suffered any hardship. But look at her personality, she is not lively at all. She doesn't even have any brothers or sisters at home. Wan Shu probably grew up alone. Otherwise, why would she give up being a proper young lady and come to the palace to practice swordsmanship so hard? Isn't it also to seek out kindred spirits and make more friends? Since you both feel lonely for some reason, why don't you two get to know each other and keep each other company?"
Wen Chaoyu remained silent for a long time before asking again, "Is it really necessary? Besides... how am I supposed to associate with her?"
Shen Mandong smiled and said, "The new disciple assembly will be held soon. With Wan Shu's talent, she is the one who should be first. Master already has several of us sisters, and she has no intention of taking on any more disciples. I think it would be better for you to take Wan Shu under your wing, so that you can keep each other company."
After hearing these words, Wen Chaoyu did not give a reply that night, but she was indeed moved by Shen Mandong's suggestion. So after that, she began to secretly observe Ji Wanshu and found that Ji Wanshu was always alone and had no close friends. Wen Chaoyu could tell that she wanted to integrate into the crowd, but she could never take that step. On the day of the new disciple meeting, Ji Wanshu lived up to expectations and won first place. Wen Chaoyu was still hesitant at that time, but she did not expect that Ji Wanshu's competitive spirit was aroused by her teasing words and actually took the initiative to ask her to be his master.
Having a disciple wouldn't be bad either—with this in mind, Wen Chaoyu nodded and took Ji Wanshu to his side, teaching her kung fu as her master.
·
"I've been wondering lately how the Protector could have killed Miss Ji's elder sister," Xue Tan said, first letting out a sigh of relief, then sighing again. "So that's what happened."
“The eldest daughter of the Ji family died, and the one who lives is now Wen Chaoyu,” Wen Chaoyu said. “If she doesn’t die, I can’t live either, and I won’t be able to meet Wan Shu. But I can no longer return to the Ji family, so I can only kill myself.”
Xue Tan asked, "Then why did the Dharma Protector suddenly leave Yunhua Palace back then?"
Wen Chaoyu turned around and sat down without saying a word. She looked at the wine pot on the table, and the scene of Madam Ji kneeling down and begging her appeared in her mind.
"Go away, go away quickly... Your father and I already have Wanshu. If you come back, what kind of family will this be? How are we supposed to explain this to Wanshu?"
“From the moment you were born, our family has suffered one misfortune after another, and everything has gone wrong. That Taoist priest was right. You were the reincarnation of a jinx, here to bring bad luck to us. Look, since you left, our Ji family has been doing well. It’s the will of Heaven.”
"Please, I beg you, leave now and never come back. We don't have a daughter like you, and you don't have parents like us either. Besides, aren't you living a good life now?"
"Just for the sake of those years of raising us, please let us two old folks go..."
It was a bright and sunny day, the day Wen Chaoyu first saw her parents after being abandoned for many years.
Before this, she and Ji Wanshu had grown closer and closer, and the two were inseparable all day long. To outsiders, Ji Wanshu was a quiet person, but she had endless things to say to Wen Chaoyu. She had to share everything she learned and saw with Wen Chaoyu every day. Wen Chaoyu liked her, whether it was from the perspective of sisterhood or teacher-student relationship, she liked Ji Wanshu from the bottom of her heart.
So she made a bold decision. She thought that since Ji Wanshu relied on her and was close to her, would her parents be happy to accept her after they found out she was still alive? At that time, they would be a complete family of four, and she would have a home again, with parents, a younger sister, and a little apprentice.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. All of Wen Chaoyu's beautiful dreams were shattered. On that sunny day, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her whole body filled with a bone-chilling cold.
“That day, I truly understood what it meant to be heartbroken,” Wen Chaoyu poured a glass of strong liquor and downed it in one gulp. “But the real reason I returned to the Ziwei Sect wasn’t just that. After leaving the Ji family, I returned to Yunhua Palace without letting Wan Shu notice anything amiss. But not long after, the sect leader, with Yin Xuan’s help from within, destroyed the Ruyi Sect. I really didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. I thought countless times about confronting Man Dong. She’s a kind person with a pure heart, and I’ve subtly reminded her many times not to marry Yin.” Xuan, but she still got married in the end; we couldn't stop her. When I heard about the incident at Ruyi Gate while I was in the palace, I thought about how Man Dong had comforted me that night, urging me to resolve my inner conflict and continue my relationship with Wan Shu. You know, at that moment, I hated myself. What was I doing? I hurt someone who was good to me, but Yin Xuan only approached Man Dong for revenge. Was Yin Xuan wrong? I was caught in the middle, neither a bad person nor a good person. I loathed myself, and at the same time, I worried—what if one day Wan Shu and I faced the same choice? What would I do then?
The saying goes that a short pain is worse than a long one, so she made a decisive move and revealed her identity after the Ruyi Gate incident, returning to the Ziwei Sect. It was from that time that she and Ji Wanshu began a long chase and escape.
During this agonizing process, she gradually developed feelings for Ji Wanshu. When she realized that something was wrong with her, she tried even harder to avoid Ji Wanshu. However, she couldn't control herself and repeatedly sneaked back to Yunhua Palace to visit Ji Wanshu. Even when Ji Wanshu was relentlessly pursuing her, she would feel a little happy, thinking: "She's chasing me again, she's here again."
Snowflakes fell softly, drifting over the eaves onto the veranda, dampening Wen Chaoyu's hair. She held the wine in her mouth, not swallowing, using its spiciness to numb herself.
Xue Tan's eyes welled up with tears as he listened, and he let out another long sigh: "Guardian, you have suffered too much..."
Wen Chaoyu lowered her eyes and smiled, swallowed the strong liquor in her mouth, and said softly, "It's not just me who's suffering."
After she finished speaking, she raised her head again, looked at the chaotic and endless snowflakes of winter, and continued, "All living beings suffer."
Author's note: Today's post is a bit short, see you tomorrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com