Chapter 5 He'd rather die standing
The Qing family is located on a huge island in the middle of a lake. Disciples maintain the island with magic every day, so the lake is shrouded in fog all year round. If it weren't for cultivators with magic, not only would they not be able to see the true face of the Qing family, but they would also get lost in the lake when crossing the shore.
The lake was thus named "Shuiyun Lake".
The area around Shuiyun Lake is inhabited by ordinary people who rely on the protection of the Qing family and would not easily come into contact with each other.
Apart from……
Since learning a few days ago that Qingjue had taken a member of the Xie family as his disciple, the head of the Ruan family, a merchant family, has been coming to Shuiyun Lake every few days.
He was just an ordinary person, yet he was reckless and fell into the lake countless times. After being rescued, he would ask to see Qingjue at the door.
At first, Qingjue thought he had something important to say, but she didn't expect that he just wanted his daughter to become a disciple of his sect.
The Ruan family is not a family of cultivators, but they are incredibly wealthy. He seems to dote on his daughter. Why not let the little girl enjoy wealth and luxury instead of making her suffer in this cultivation sect in the middle of the lake?
Despite Qingjue's repeated refusals, the Ruan family head remained determined to persuade Qingjue to do him a favor and meet the young girl to see if she was qualified to follow him.
"How many times has this happened already..." Qingjue really didn't want to be around children, but he also felt that if this continued, someone might actually die. He asked, "Isn't he planning to leave yet?"
Qinghuan nodded: "It seems so."
“With that kind of perseverance, no wonder he can make money,” Qingjue waved his hand, thinking to himself that he would find a reason to refuse him later. He turned his head and called out, “Zhoujian, come with me. We’ll go out and buy some food while we’re at it.”
Qingjue carried Jie Zhoujian to the door, where a middle-aged man was kneeling. Upon seeing Qingjue, the man immediately perked up and said, "This humble subject greets Immortal Lord Wuqing. I have come here today..."
"That's enough," Qingjue said, waving his hand. "No need to repeat it. Let's go straight to the procedure."
The head of the Ruan family was overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly, saying that tuition fees were not a problem.
Qingjue held Jie Zhoujian in one arm the whole time. Children are indeed children. Since arriving here, they have hardly left the sect. Now, in the bustling city on the shore, their big eyes are full of great curiosity.
Qingjue could guess the child's thoughts perfectly every time. He put the child down and said, "Go with your senior brother Qinghuan. I'll come back after I've finished dealing with my business."
Although Jie looked back every few steps, he couldn't resist the temptation of curiosity and followed Qinghuan into the market.
...He's such a child.
The head of the Ruan family personally extended an invitation: "Immortal Lord, this way please. The mansion has prepared the finest tea and refreshments."
When Qingjue came into this world, he passed by the Ruan family several times, but never went inside to take a look.
As soon as the door opened, Qingjue could smell it.
I could smell the scent of money.
Walking in, the entire courtyard is paved with jade, and the sides are lined with exotic trees from the Western Regions planted in pots inlaid with gold. The courtyard exudes an elegant atmosphere with its small bridges and flowing water. The koi fish here are all well-fed and have smooth, plump scales; one of them alone is worth a fortune.
If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of bamboo being tapped. It's a washbasin made of green bamboo constantly collecting the water flowing down from above. It looks inconspicuous, but in this era, a single piece of bamboo is enough to buy a person's life.
A servant came to open the inner door for Qingjue and the head of the Ruan family. Qingjue, who was still admiring the decoration, suddenly stopped thinking about it.
In the center of the main hall stood a little girl, about the same age as Jie Zhoujian, with her hands on her hips and her head tilted back.
She carried a soft sword on her back that was longer than her, usually used for theatrical performances and not very lethal.
Two small braids pierced through her coiled hair and draped over her chest. Her clothes were also very expensive, all made of fine Shu embroidery and genuine silk.
“Linglai, you mustn’t be rude,” the Ruan family head hurriedly said. “The Immortal Lord has finally agreed to see you, so please greet him quickly.”
The little girl lowered her hands from her hips and bowed almost folded in half, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Lord!"
"Immortal Lord, please forgive my daughter. Although she is pampered and spoiled, she is by no means a person without perseverance. She really wants to learn martial arts and cultivate immortality. She is definitely able to endure hardship and is very talented. You can tell just by watching her sword dance. Linglai, show the Immortal Lord a trick!"
"No need, no need," Qingjue smiled awkwardly, wanting only to leave as soon as possible. The stench of money here was too strong for him, and he didn't want to watch a scene resembling a talent show. "Whether someone has talent or not, I can tell at a glance. Your father's daughter is..."
The little girl spoke loudly and confidently, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "This humble girl, Ruan Linglai, wishes to become Immortal Lord Wu Qing's disciple!"
It takes real courage to reconcile with a child of similar age during the day.
"Then give me your hand, and I'll test your strength."
Qingjue shook hands and probed into her spiritual meridians, already having concocted numerous reasons in his mind.
Geniuses in the cultivation world aren't something you can just stumble upon easily; the reasons are just too easy to come up with...
wrong.
……wrong.
Qingjue felt that his way of testing was not correct, and stood still for several seconds.
How could this little girl...?
Exceptionally gifted?
His spiritual roots are clean, and his spiritual veins flow smoothly. Although his talent is not as pure as Jie Zhoujian's, he is still a rare and promising talent for cultivating immortality.
Seeing that he had been standing there for so long without letting go, the head of the Ruan family silently broke out in a cold sweat and cautiously asked, "Immortal Lord, is it because my daughter's talent is insufficient..."
The little girl's face changed, and she sniffled as if she was about to cry.
"No..." Qingjue was a little confused for a moment, and blurted out, "She...is very talented."
Ruan Linglai's eyes widened instantly, her joy bordering on jubilation, as she was picked up and spun around by the head of the Ruan family.
"As expected of my daughter, hahaha, I'm going to tell your mother and older brother about this!"
"Dad! Aren't I the most amazing little girl?!"
"Yes, yes, yes, hahaha, our family is going to produce a female knight-errant."
But after Qingjue let go of her, he didn't do anything else, nor did he have time to complain about the child's noise. Instead, his thoughts drifted to another place.
A rich heiress, exceptionally talented, a haughty young lady with twin ponytails... her buffs couldn't be fuller.
The female lead?!
Otherwise, how could he happen to have such talent, be of similar age to his own Jie Zhoujian, and even want to become his disciple?
No wonder... there's definitely something fishy going on in all of this.
After her initial excitement wore off, the little girl was put down somewhat shyly. With her hands behind her back, she hummed and said, "I... I was just a little bit happy."
It's so dazzling.
That's a classic.
Changing her hair color to yellow would look perfectly natural on her.
Qingjue swallowed hard and admitted that he needed to think about it. He was then invited to the inner room for tea.
A sip of rich, fragrant tea moistened my throat, which felt almost stuck together.
Qingjue shifted his gaze and saw the little girl sitting on the stool with her feet not touching the ground staring at him.
He'd seen that look in those eyes countless times in the past few days.
Honestly, it's all hope; it hasn't gone bad yet.
If the female lead is recruited into the sect, he is very likely to be sacrificed as an important figure in the growth of the male and female leads in the subsequent plot development.
There are countless novels that use the death of a character as a prelude; Qingjue has seen many of them.
Moreover, he is a master, a profession that is extremely dangerous.
If the female lead isn't taken in, Ruan Linglai comes from a respectable family and is incredibly wealthy, unlike Jie Zhoujian who is covered in blood and mud. She will definitely have a bright future, and Qing Jue's sense of morality won't interfere at all.
But that would mean that Jiezai's childhood was truly all alone.
He only saw himself; he had changed his name, taught him cultivation, and guided him on how to be a person…
Something bad is definitely going to happen.
...
...I've figured it out.
He was playing the role of a master; he would rather die standing than be taken advantage of by his own disciple.
“Patriarch Ruan,” Qingjue said, calming his breath and regulating his heart, which had been fluctuating wildly, “I will take this disciple.”
A few seconds of silence fell over the inner room before the head of the Ruan family shouted, "Linglai! Quickly serve your master tea!"
"This humble girl, Ruan Linglai, greets Master."
Qingjue Tea Snacks: Crush the teacup.
It's alright, it's alright. The male and female leads will definitely be able to keep each other in check. This doesn't necessarily have to be some kind of tragic cultivation novel filled with love and hate.
What if it's a family-friendly theme?
Qinghuan bought candied hawthorns and osmanthus cakes for Jie Zhoujian. The people could tell he was a member of the Qing family from his blue and white clothes. Many merchants offered him gifts, but Qinghuan politely declined.
When children taste osmanthus cake for the first time, its sweetness and fragrance awaken their simple desires—they want to eat more after they've tasted it.
But since it was sweet, she couldn't eat too much. Qinghuan put away the bag of food and finally squeezed out of the market. When she looked around, she saw her immortal lord standing not far away.
...was he holding the hand of a little girl?
"Immortal Lord, this is..."
“Ruan Linglai, the second daughter of the Ruan family, will be your junior sister from now on. Linglai, this is Qinghuan, your fellow disciple and senior brother. This is Jie Zhoujian, your direct senior brother. You should call him Senior Brother Jie.”
Ruan Linglai hid behind Qingjue's clothes, glanced at the two people in front of her, and felt a little embarrassed.
"Ahem," Qingjue said, "The bravest little girl is one who knows how to greet others politely."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Linglai stepped out from behind Qingjue, pursed her lips, and looked up: "...Senior Brother."
She was a little resentful because she wanted to be the senior sister, not the junior sister.
Qinghuan was puzzled as to why the Immortal Lord had actually accepted a disciple; he had thought it was just an excuse to refuse him.
but……
The immortal lord must have his reasons for doing this.
Jie replied in a very frank and open manner during the day.
Qingjue nodded with satisfaction: "From now on, you two will attend classes and study together. You must get along well, okay?"
They should be nurtured well; these childhood sweethearts are inseparable.
Don't let your teacher down.
...As it turns out, a child can be just one, and it can be a boy or a girl.
But there can't be two.
After that, Qingjue realized that Ruan Linglai was not the kind of person he had imagined.
"Waaaaah!"
"...I didn't use any force."
Qingjue: "..."
Ruan Linglai's hand was red and burning with pain as she cried out, "Senior brother's hits hurt so much, waaaaaah!"
“I didn’t hit it hard,” Xie Zhoujian said quietly, looking down. “I don’t know how it got so red.”
...That brat has endless energy.
“Intentional…”
"No, it's because your delicate skin isn't suitable for cultivation."
Ruan Linglai wiped away her tears: "Master said I have talent!"
Jie Zhoujian silently retorted, "...Master also said I have talent."
A note from the author:
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