Chapter 57 Seclusion
The Yun family head raised his hand and gestured: "That would be an honor for the people of Liuchun, Immortal Lord, please!"
Aju almost choked on the chicken leg in his mouth before Ruan Linglai slapped him.
"Master, Master is on stage! Look!"
Yan Shiqun looked over from the rooftops in the distance. Wen Tianyu and Xie Zhoujian also looked over upon hearing this. The two of them were closest to the stage. On stage, Qingjue had taken off his wide-sleeved outer robe and was holding a long sword, which he hadn't drawn from its sheath for a long time.
On stage were pipa, yangqin, bamboo sheng... The background music drifted in slowly, with delicate and melodious tunes.
Qingjue's figure, now free of heavy clothing, appeared even lighter as he wielded his sword. His body moved with the sword, accompanied by the sounds of musical instruments; only the rustling of the sword and the movement of his clothes could be heard.
As the music quickened and the style gradually became grand and majestic, the sword dance became more and more rapid, and the sword light darted across the stage. The audience could not see the expression of the sword dancer in the silvery light, but they were mesmerized by the silvery mist until the music stopped, the sword light subsided, and the white-clad figure came to a standstill.
It took a few seconds for the crowd to react before cheers and applause erupted.
Qingjue stood there, bewildered, amidst the clamor.
His intention was simply to perform a few moves to liven things up. He had never learned sword dancing, but the long sequence of movements he just performed seemed to be some kind of muscle memory.
It was as if a warm figure was following him, right behind him, who had once held his wrist and patiently taught him step by step, engraving the sword dance into his mind.
A strange yet familiar feeling washed over Qingjue, leaving him somewhat wistful after completing his sword dance.
"Master is amazing!" Although Ruan Linglai couldn't clap, she was quick to support Qingjue: "Great job!!"
Aju swallowed the chicken leg in his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise.
This was the first time he had ever seen his master wield a sword; it was indeed elegant and beautiful.
Otherwise, people would have all sorts of opinions about Immortal Lord Wuqing, and no one would have questioned his appearance.
Yan Shiqun jumped down from the rooftops and walked over to Wen Tianyu and Xie Zhoujian, saying, "Not bad, this is the first time I've seen this before..."
He turned his head and was stunned before he could finish speaking.
“…Jie Zhoujian?” Yan Shiqun called him several times, but there was no response.
"Senior brother," Wen Tianyu noticed only then and shook Jie Zhoujian's arm, "Are you alright?"
Two lines of clear tears streamed down Jie Zhoujian's cheeks. Qingjue had already stepped down from the stage, but he was still staring blankly at the other side.
“…Strange,” Xie Zhoujian wiped his face, “I’m fine, I just got absorbed in it, I guess I was a little moved.”
Wen Tianyu was relieved and patted Jie Zhoujian on the shoulder: "I understand, you've survived a disaster."
Yan Shiqun shuddered, shook his head, and said, "Alas."
Jie moved on from that topic during the day and quietly started another one.
He didn't know what was wrong with him either.
Watching Qingjue dance with his sword on stage, I felt a mixture of relief and sadness.
The background is noisy with people, yet it feels so desolate.
He actually cried while watching it; it was truly unbecoming of him.
The banquet ended late at night, and the weather was perfect that day. The night sky was cloudless and clear, so the stars were scattered and beautiful, and you could even faintly see a few shooting stars streaking across the sky.
Qingjue lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
It's too quiet.
Tomorrow he and his other disciples who are recovering from their injuries will set off to return to Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.
Li Wei is being held captive at the Yun family's residence, so Qingjue isn't worried about that.
What he was worried about was the plot developments that would follow.
What I fear even more is that the people around me will all encounter danger.
If Jie Zhoujian is the male protagonist, he at least has the protagonist's halo, but others might not.
For example, Yun Yuelin almost died.
This is terrifying. If people who are not even very familiar with the male protagonist are in such danger, let alone his fellow disciples.
Even Qingjue fears that resolving his fate during the day will lead to a tragic end.
He still needs to be more cautious.
Because his thoughts were too complicated, he didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, and woke up again the next morning.
The other disciples had also finished packing and were saying goodbye to the Yun family. Qingjue came out and saw Qingfeng giving some medicinal herbs to the Yun family's medicine doctor, and gave him a few words of advice.
Many disciples of the Yun family had also become familiar with the disciples of the Qing family, and they were somewhat reluctant to see them leave.
Previously, both sides had conflicting accounts, with one saying that the Immortal Lord was the best in the world and the other that the Young Master was unparalleled, acting like die-hard fans. Now, things are much more harmonious.
Even Yun Yuelin came to see the guests off, saying that he was just used to passing by early in the morning, but in reality, no one believed him.
The Yun family head smiled and said, "Lin'er has always had a rather awkward personality, but the Immortal Lord should be used to it by now."
"Dad! His personality is much stranger than mine, and what's wrong with me?"
"Chunhua, what are you saying? I have a great personality, what's strange about me?"
"Qinghu, I haven't scolded you for a few days because you've been injured, and you're getting too cocky!"
"Look at you, you're in such a hurry again."
Qingjue exchanged a few words with him, not noticing none of his disciples around him.
"They're all leaving during the day, surely they're still sleeping in?"
“They,” Yun Yuelin said, “we just saw them; they got up earlier than you.”
Qingjue searched the Yun family's house for a while and found that, apart from Jie Zhoujian, the children were all standing in front of the mountain prison on the back mountain.
They didn't hide when they saw Qingjue coming, proving they hadn't done anything wrong, but instead came forward one by one.
What are you doing here?
“Master,” Aju raised his hand, “My senior brother said he was worried and wanted to come and see.”
"During the day?" Qingjue looked over: "I'm worried about something."
Yan Shiqun: "He cried while watching you practice your sword yesterday. He seemed to be in a bad mood and looked miserable. He didn't sleep well in the middle of the night and insisted on coming to confirm if Jie Nanfeng was really dead. We had no choice but to come with him. He should be out in a little while. I'm not being nosy."
“I see… I understand,” Qingjue said, somewhat surprised, wondering if the child had some psychological issues due to his fluctuating emotions these past few days. “Then, I will wait with you.”
Jie came out shortly afterward and was quite surprised to see Qingjue outside as well.
"Master, what brings you here?"
His expression and tone were normal, and he seemed to be fine.
Qingjue said seriously, "During the day, have you been feeling restless and agitated lately? Or have you suddenly felt very sad in the middle of the night? Or is there anything wrong with your body? Do you have any bad thoughts? How is your appetite?"
"I've been in a pretty good mood lately, and I've been sleeping well at night. I feel great, I don't have any cravings, and my appetite is okay..."
“These are all your junior brothers and sisters. I am your master. You can tell us anything,” Qingjue leaned down slightly and put her hand on his shoulder, saying, “Don’t worry, just tell the truth. Is someone threatening you?”
“…I told the truth during the day, and I will not lie to Master again,” Jie Zhoujian was really puzzled, and even looked at Wen Tianyu and the others standing to the side: “What’s wrong with Master?”
Ruan Linglai, enduring Yan Shiqun's "threatening" gaze, said, "Just now, Junior Brother Yan was worried about you, saying that you cried and had nightmares yesterday, and then Master..."
“Ah,” Xie Zhoujian didn’t mind this and said frankly, “You misunderstood. I’m fine. I had a nightmare last night, but everything else is normal. I just felt a little sad about surviving a disaster last night, really.”
He remained so calm, and Qingjue released his grip: "Really? Nothing else?"
“Really,” Xie Zhoujian shook his head with a hint of helplessness, “It’s really nothing. I just couldn’t help crying. They were worried about me, that’s why they told you. Thank you.”
The wild goose, separated from its flock, said, "Fine, I'll stop talking now."
Aju: "Oh, Junior Brother Yan, don't be shy. It's perfectly natural to care about others."
Yan Shiqun: "It's not your place to lecture me (▼皿▼#)!"
Aju: "I'm nominally your senior brother! Not only does he never call me that, but he's always scolding me. Master, look at him! QAQ"
Yan Shiqun: "You're just lucky! In what way do you resemble your senior brother?"
Aju: "Master said that luck is also a kind of strength!"
Ruan Linglai: "She never called me 'senior sister' either. I strongly object. People should be polite!"
Yan Shiqun: "Are you all ganging up on me?"
Wen Tianyu: "I haven't said anything yet, how wronged I am."
Yan Shiqun: "Your eyes have been smiling at me the whole time! You haven't stopped."
Wen Tianyu: "Sigh, you figured it out."
Aju: "Don't just admit it like that, Senior Brother Wen."
Ruan Linglai: "Tianyu did this on purpose, didn't he... Stop watching and come join us in bullying Junior Brother Yan!"
Yan lost the group: "?"
Qingjue sighed, "How did this argument even start...?"
Jie Zhoujian smiled beside him: "Don't you also think it's great? It's so lively."
Qingjue looked at him curiously: "Why don't you join?"
Jie laughed during the day: "Because it's so childish."
Qingjue was speechless.
So you guys knew you were naive.
Is it interesting that people are so open about watching the spectacle without wanting to become part of it?
As the final moment of departure approached, Qingjue interrupted the endlessly repeating farce.
In front of the mountain gate, Yun Xiang chatted with Jie Zhoujian and the others for a few words, scratched his head and said, "I feel like I've watched you all grow up, but now my skills are not as good as yours."
Jie Zhoujian was very polite and said, "Not at all, thank you for taking care of me these past few days, Senior Yunxiang."
"No, not really," Yun Xiang replied. He was rather naive and honest, answering every question without fail, just like he hadn't changed in ten years. He said, "I mainly follow the young master around, but I can't really help much. I can only handle some miscellaneous tasks. Please be careful on your journey."
"Yes, we will. Let's get together again another day when we have the chance."
"OK."
As noon approached, Qingjue led the Qing family away from Liu Chunyun's house. With their departure, various rumors about the matter spread throughout the four seas and eight wastelands. The life-and-death relationship between the Qing family and the Yun family, and the unfathomable strength of Immortal Lord Wuqing, were circulated in at least eight different versions.
However, the common people had no way of verifying this, because within seven days of Qingjue and the others leaving Liuchun, news spread that Immortal Lord Wuqing had gone into seclusion with his disciples.
The inner gate of the Qing family was tightly closed, and trivial matters were left to the chief disciple Qing Huan and the elders to handle. No one knew the current situation of Qing Jue.
Immortal Lord Wu Qing went into seclusion for three years.
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