Chapter 137 Extra 6: Don’t be too sentimental and hurt your monastic life (1)
In the world of cultivation, the rumors about the owner of Suyi Hall, Ji Qinghong, and his master, Yun Suyi, have always been a secret that was only circulated in private and never dared to be heard by Ji Qinghong in person.
Some people say it with confidence, while others just think it's absurd:
Yun Suzhi was only seventeen when he passed away. Even though the two were of similar age, how could their love for each other, which was only a thought of their youth, still be lingering in the minds of the cultivators three thousand years later, becoming a legend of a secret love?
Moreover, everyone in the world knows that Ji Qinghong is practicing the way of ruthlessness.
However, what these people don’t know is that Yun Suzhen and Ji Qinghong knew each other earlier than most people imagined.
…
Compared to Ji Qinghong, who had to join the Guiyuan Sect several years later, Yun Suzhen was born in the Guiyuan Sect.
She was not a second-generation descendant of the sect, but an abandoned baby picked up by the Lianhuan Peak Master at the foot of the mountain.
Oh, by the way, at that time, the name of the peak was not called "that peak", but Lianhuan Peak, which was named after the owner of Lianhuan Peak, which means "chain of formations".
At that time, Guiyuan Sect was still the number one sect in the world, and 60 to 70 percent of the monks in the sect were sword practitioners.
Among the many prestigious peaks, the Lianhuan Sect is not well-known, not powerful, and even has few members.
In Guiyuan Sect, all Yuanying monks are qualified to establish their own sect in the sect, and of course they can also stay in the original peak.
Yun Suzhen’s master was the first generation master of Lianhuan Peak.
Unlike the "good reputation" of the peak here today, as an independent peak, it has no ancestral accumulation among the peaks above it.
In addition, the master of Lianhuan Peak is not very talented and is already old. He is almost a Yuanying who broke through at the limit of his lifespan. Lianhuan Peak is actually a weak peak.
In Yun Suzhen's memory, her master was not stern and severe.
Compared to the cold and official title of Peak Master, the gray-haired Peak Master Lianhuan was as kind as Yun Suzhen's biological grandmother when she was educating Yun Suzhen.
When Yun Suzhen was five years old, the leader of Lianhuan Peak locked the gate of Lianhuan Peak and took Yun Suzhen's little hand and went down the mountain.
Looking at Yun Suzhen's still confused eyes, Lianhuan Peak Master said gently:
"From today on, Master will take you to walk around outside the mountain gate and see more. You must remember all the different aspects of the human world."
Oh, I guess this is the experience that the seniors often talk about.
But don’t we all grow up to be very tall before we go down to the mountain gate to practice? Why is Master so anxious?
Hearing this question, the woman paused for a moment, then sighed softly.
The master and the disciple faced each other day and night, and the slightest changes that happened every day were automatically compensated in their eyes.
So little Yun Suzhen naturally wouldn't notice the old and tired look that was not common among cultivators, and the fine wrinkles at the corners of the eyes and eyebrows, which were creeping up on the face of the Lord of Lianhuan Peak day by day.
The woman with white hair on her temples sighed softly, then bent down and held the only little disciple in her life in her arms.
She first intimately kissed the face of her little disciple whom she regarded as her own daughter, and then she spoke softly, as if she was afraid of scaring Hua Hua, "Because, Master's time is coming."
Just like that, Yun Suzhen followed his master down the mountain and lived in a courtyard in Honeysuckle Lane.
There is also a family next to this small courtyard.
There was only one head of the household, a little boy who was not much taller than Yun Suzhen.
The hair that lay on his back was as shiny as a crow's feather, and his pupils, which were deeper than those of his peers, were as black as two drops of ink.
The boy's name is Ji Qinghong.
The boy came riding on his childhood sweetheart, and played with his green plum blossoms around the bed. They lived together in Changgan, and there was no suspicion between the two children.
The poem describes a relationship of sleeping and eating together since childhood, which is probably like this.
…
However, at the very beginning of the story, Xiaolang had not yet arrived riding on his bamboo horse.
Not only did Ji Qinghong not play the game that street kids often played - oh, in the world of cultivation, the form of this game is to stand on a piece of bamboo and pretend that you can wield a sword - but his expression and actions also showed a hint of repulsion.
He took the plate of soybean cakes handed to him by Yun Suyin with one hand, pursed his lips slightly, and although there was a smile in the corners of his eyes, his expression looked a little alert.
"Thank you for the pastries." Ji Qinghong pressed the door with one hand, ready to close it at any time. "My name is Ji Qinghong."
"Ji Qinghong?"
Yun Suzhen just whispered the name again, and saw the little boy's eyes flash. Although his posture and expression did not change much, his smile seemed to be full of thorns.
"Why?" he asked softly, "I can't use 'Light Hong' as my name?"
"No." Yun Suzhen was slightly stunned: "I just think your name is nice."
"Thank you, your name is nice too."
Having said that, Ji Qinghong abruptly closed the door.
Yun Suzhen was left blinking, looking at the closed door in confusion, muttering to herself: "But, I haven't had the chance to introduce myself to you yet..."
The next morning, as soon as Yun Suzhen went out, she found that the cake plate had been washed clean and placed on the steps in front of her house.
If Yun Suzhen wasn't usually very careful, she would have stepped on it when she just went out.
Holding the plate, Yun Suzhen couldn't help feeling a little sad: the kid next door would rather quietly return the plate in the middle of the night than visit her during the day and knock on her door again.
When Master Lianhuan heard his little disciple's complaints, he sighed softly and patted her head gently.
"You can't blame the kid for being so defensive. After all, he is..."
The last few words were forced into Lianhuan Peak Master's throat.
The peak master slowly stroked his beloved disciple's hair and taught him, "We are good children, so we must not bully others."
"Yes, I understand, Master. I won't bully him."
Yun Suzhen nodded heavily and wrote a note that night.
The note was wrapped in a handkerchief, which was tied to a stone, and the stone was placed next to the door of Ji Qinghong's house... Then, Yun Suzhen knocked on Ji Qinghong's door lightly.
As the sound of footsteps came closer and closer, Yun Su shrank back and hid in her own courtyard.
She hid on the wall and saw Ji Qinghong push open the door with a cold expression. He looked around as usual and finally his eyes fell on the handkerchief on the ground.
When he saw the handkerchief, Ji Qinghong was obviously stunned, as if the existence of this thing was beyond his expectation.
After a slight hesitation, Ji Qinghong wrapped his hands with his sleeves, picked up the handkerchief and shook it, and then dropped the note.
There were only two lines of words on the note:
[I am Yun Suzhen.
Your name is really nice.]
There was a slight rustling sound coming from next door. Ji Qinghong seemed to sense something and turned his head suddenly.
I saw the little girl standing on tiptoe and leaning against the wall, revealing a pair of big eyes that seemed to be able to speak.
Yun Su was wearing a light green headband. When she saw Ji Qinghong looking at her, she smiled shyly and fell down from the other end of the wall like a green ivy.
…
When Yun Suzhen met Ji Qinghong for the second time, she finally understood her master's original intention.
——Ji Qinghong, he is a rabbit demon.
At that time, the war against demons had not yet begun. The human race and the demon race lived in separate areas, and there was still a barrier between them, and they seldom interacted with each other.
Ji Qinghong's identity as a demon was as conspicuous as a light in the dark night in this alley.
However, there are always some people in the world whose first reaction when seeing a bright light is not to cover it with a soft veil, but to pour a basin of water on its head.
Then, Yun Suzhen saw that Ji Qinghong was blocked at the entrance of the alley by several boys.
"Hey, isn't this Ji Tutu? Why are you out today?"
"He has finished eating the hay, how can he not go out? He must go to the wild to pick some pig grass? Otherwise, do you let him pick weeds at the door to eat?"
"——Oh, that won't do. Isn't it said that rabbits don't eat grass near their nests?"
“Hahahahahahaha!”
At this fitting witticism, several boys laughed very loudly.
After some simple teasing, the boys still did not leave.
More direct and obvious malice was revealed in their words, eyes, and even their increasingly close, surrounding stance.
"Hey, Ji, can you make rabbit ears? Make one for us."
"You are a rabbit, why did you call out a bird's name? You will fall down and die."
"They say rabbits are very timid. If we scare you, you won't die immediately, will you?"
"It is said that rabbits can fake their own death. Why don't you perform one for us?"
"There's no need for him to fake his death. A real rabbit is so small. If he dares to reveal his true form, I'll stomp him to death!"
Ji Qinghong half lowered his head, the shadow cast by the eaves obscured the expression on his face, making his outline look somewhat cold.
Amid the laughter of these bad boys, Ji Qinghong said nothing, but slowly untied the backpack on his back.
"——You are enough, how can you bully others!"
Not to mention Ji Qinghong who was blocked by these bad boys, even Yun Suzhen, a bystander, couldn't help but feel indignant at this moment.
Her chest rose and fell violently several times, and suddenly she mustered up her courage, ran over, and pulled Ji Qinghong behind her.
Ji Qinghong blinked, and when he was about to lift the backpack, he slowly put it back.
The leading boy looked at her incredulously: "...Where did you come from?"
"Could it be his bunny sister?"
"Hey, don't you know, he is a rabbit demon!"
"What's wrong with the rabbit again!" Yun Suyin had lived with her master in Lianhuan Peak for a long time and had never quarreled with anyone.
But Ji Qinghong was standing behind her. If she stepped back, the boy would be forced to turn into a little rabbit and then be trampled to death by those bad guys in front of him!
So, Yun Suzhen was so scared that she closed her eyes tightly, but still forced herself to quarrel with these boys.
"——You, you must have never been to school, you know nothing!"
"……What?"
Yun Suzhen was so nervous that her heart was pounding and her tongue was about to get tied, but she still maintained her composure and talked nonsense.
"Rabbits are so powerful, they can bite you until you bleed! Do you still want to step on the little rabbit to death? You are dreaming. The rabbit will jump onto your shoulder and bite off your ear in one bite! Do you know why rabbits' ears are so long? You are what you eat. Rabbits can chew your ears off like carrots!"
“…”
The boys looked at each other in bewilderment, and were finally convinced by this well-founded and seemingly logical fabrication.
They looked at each other, then screamed, covered their ears and ran away.
At the entrance of the alley, only Ji Qinghong and Yun Suzhen were left.
Yun Suzhen finally dared to open her eyes.
She first carefully opened her eyes a little to check that the boys were not in front of her. Then she slowly opened her eyes again, exhaled a long breath, and leaned limply against the pink wall behind her.
Touching the small dirt on her chest that was about to burst out, Yun Suzhen whispered, "I was scared to death..."
She had already mastered her martial arts to a certain extent, so Yun Suzhen was not afraid of fighting with these boys.
However, this was the first time in Yun Suzhen's life that he had quarreled with someone.
Suddenly, a light laugh came from behind. Yun Suzhen raised her head and saw Ji Qinghong standing in front of her without her knowing when.
The basket on his back was placed in a corner far away at some point.
Ji Qinghong looked at Yun Suzhen with a smile and asked in a gentle tone: "You are so timid. Are you the rabbit or am I the rabbit?"
Yun Suzhen said casually: "Of course I am...eh?"
Just as she reacted and hurriedly kept silent, Ji Qinghong had already curled his eyes and smiled because of this answer.
This boy is undoubtedly more mature than his peers. His eyes, as dark as a pool of ink, often contain a hint of insight and inaction.
Therefore, every time he smiled, it was as if the person in the painting vividly jumped off the scroll and walked from the cloud screen into the world of red dust.
Yun Suzhen looked at Ji Qinghong and thought to herself: His smile now seems different from when she first met him.
This time's smile...seems to be more beautiful.
"How can you still laugh when they bully you?" Yun Suzhen asked in confusion, "If it were me, I would be so angry that I would die."
Ji Qinghong did not answer this question immediately. He looked up and thought for a while, then suddenly asked:
"There are generally three ways to deal with someone who provokes you. Do you know them all?"
Yun Suzhen shook her head honestly: "I don't know."
This answer was obviously what Ji Qinghong expected.
He counted slowly to Yun Suzhen: "First, fight back right now. Second, remember it and fight back years later. Third..."
"The third?" Yun Suzhen asked.
She thought, maybe the third one is forgiveness.
Ji Qinghong said slowly: "Third, treat them as a source of fun."
“…”
For some reason, although this statement made sense, Yun Suzhen felt it was a bit strange.
But considering their age, they were able to speak such words in an orderly manner, which was undoubtedly very philosophical and graceful.
So, Yun Suzhen sincerely praised him, "You have a really good attitude."
Ji Qinghong smiled modestly: "Nowhere, nowhere."
After a long time, Yun Suzhen finally understood where the strange feeling came from.
For example, in the following period of time, she seemed to have met several boys who had caused her troubles before.
All of them had bruises on their faces and were crying as they passed by Yun Suzhen.
A few times, Yun Suyun even noticed that there were very suspicious bits of thread on their shoulders that were obviously a different color from their clothes and came from the sacks.
Yun Suzhen: “…”
For example, many, many years later, everyone has their own opinions about the several famous demon lords in the world of cultivation.
Zhu Ruyan Yao Zun, you must not offend her, otherwise she will take revenge on you on the spot.
For example, the Lich Lord. Generally speaking, you won’t offend him unless you offend the Demon Lord.
But once you offend the Lich Lord, you will always suspect that he will suddenly bear a grudge against you after several years.
As for Ji Qinghong...
Don't mention this guy!
He is the kind of rabbit who will retaliate on the spot, and will retaliate again and again. If he retaliates today, he will retaliate again ten years later, and during this period he will continue to treat you as a joke!
…
It seemed that it was after that that the interactions between Yun Suzhen and Ji Qinghong suddenly increased.
Yun Suzhen gave Ji Qinghong another lunch box, and Ji Qinghong accepted it. When he returned it, he did not choose to return it late at night, but knocked on the door very politely during the day.
Yun Suzhen would also go to Ji Qinghong's yard to play. After all, there was only a wall between the two houses. As long as her master gave a slight sound, she could go home for dinner.
Ji Qinghong's home was very clean but simple. Although the tables and chairs showed no signs of repair, they looked dull and old.
Most importantly, Ji Qinghong's house was empty and deserted.
Yun Suzhen went to Ji Qinghong's house several times before she was sure that Ji Qinghong was the only one in the house.
——No wonder those boys dared to bully him, it turned out that they knew no one would seek justice for Ji Qinghong.
——Those guys are so bad!
Yun Suzhen was somewhat shocked and thought angrily.
After a while, Yun Suzhen asked cautiously, "Ji Qinghong, your parents...they, why have I never seen them before?"
If an elder in the family passed away, Yun Suzhen never saw any memorial tablets in any room.
But leaving a child alone - even if they gave him a yard, is there any parent in the world who would do that?
Yun Suzhen herself was an abandoned baby, so when she encountered a similar situation, she could not help but feel a sense of solidarity.
Hearing this question, Ji Qinghong lowered his eyes indifferently.
“They’re dead.”
Yun Suzhen widened her eyes awkwardly: "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
She suddenly remembered that Ji Qinghong was a demon.
Setting up memorial tablets is a human custom.
Ji Qinghong shook his head slightly, signaling Yun Suyin not to take it to heart.
"They died of old age, without any illness... There's nothing we can do about it. Rabbits don't live as long as humans."
Logically speaking, a child of this age should not know what life and death are.
However, as if her mind was struck by lightning, Yun Suzhen suddenly remembered her master and the words "Master, your time is up" that her master said when he carried her down the mountain.
In an instant, looking at the deserted and dim hall of Ji Qinghong's house, Yun Suzhen suddenly understood death.
——It turns out that death is a permanent separation.
A sudden feeling of fear suddenly gripped Yun Suyi's young heart. She clasped her friend's hand tightly in fear: "Then... Ji Qinghong... you must not die."
Ji Qinghong smiled and said in a very calm tone: "I am a rabbit after all... Hey, why are you crying?"
Seeing Yun Suzhen's mouth flattened and his eyes reddened, as if he would burst into tears in the next blink, Ji Qinghong was slightly stunned, and then said: "Okay, I won't die now."
"It would be bad if I died soon after!"
Death is a long-lasting and heavy topic, even if the people discussing it are just two children.
Ji Qinghong frowned and thought: "Then how long should I live?"
"Ten thousand years?" This is the largest number Yun Suzhen can count at the moment, "We need to live for a long, long time!"
"Okay." Ji Qinghong smiled and nodded, "Then I promise you, I will live for 10,000 years, a long, long time."