Chapter 38 New Plays in the Pear Garden
Watching him carefully dry her wet hair, Mu Yao felt sweeter than if she had eaten a dozen pieces of osmanthus cake. After a moment, Mu Yao suddenly remembered something and said shyly, "Master... I... can I stop calling you Master from now on?"
He had already said he loved her, and she liked him so much, yet she continued to call him "Master." It just felt strange.
Qin Wuyan smiled and said, "Then what do you want to call me?"
"I'll call you..." She blinked, "...by your name, Qin Wuyan, is that alright?"
When he heard his name spoken from her lips, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if the person in front of him was completely superimposed with the Biyao of the past.
Qin Wuyan's lips curved slightly, his eyes full of doting: "Anything is fine, call me whatever you want."
Mu Yao wrapped her arms around his neck and called out happily, "Qin Wuyan!"
"Yes, I'm here."
"Qin Wuyan".
"I am here."
"Qin Wuyan!"
"I am here!"
"No flame!"
"..."
Each scream she uttered was more enchanting than the last; she really was... sigh!
Qin Wuyan did not answer, but instead lowered his head and kissed her again.
He showed her through his actions what true "unspoken love" really means.
He had been very restrained during his previous two kisses. But perhaps his desire was ignited by her calling him "Qin Wuyan," and this time he couldn't control himself. The scent of flower petals from her bath still lingered on her body, and his kisses grew more passionate amidst this alluring fragrance, their lips and teeth intertwining, and he even hooked his tongue around hers.
Mu Yao was initially taken aback, but since he was so close to her and the person she had liked for so long, she responded to his kiss in kind. After a long and tender moment, she found herself lying on the couch, Qin Wuyan still kissing her lips, her rosy cheeks, her delicate earlobes, and her fair neck.
Their breathing quickened. Qin Wuyan realized the change in his body and hurriedly released her, not daring to look at her. He looked away and asked in a slightly breathless voice, "Is your hair still wet?"
The question seemed absurd, but it was the only thought that came to mind for him at that moment, as he managed to maintain his composure.
Mu Yao found it quite amusing and didn't understand why he had stopped. She sat up and hugged him again: "What's wrong?"
Qin Wuyan closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and said calmly, "It's nothing. I just suddenly thought that if your hair is dry, you'll still need to do your hair, right?"
"Getting ready?" Mu Yao was still confused. "Are we going out?"
Qin Wuyan hadn't expected this, but he knew that if he stayed in the same room with her like this, something bad would happen.
So, following her lead, he said, "Didn't you always want to see more of the world outside Fox Ridge Mountain? This town we're in now is quite lively, would you like to go out for a stroll?"
Mu Yao's eyes lit up: "Great! Great!"
Qin Wuyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and said with a normal expression, "Then I'll go out and wait for you."
Although Liluo City is not as large as Yudu City, its market is still bustling with people. The streets are filled with colorful kites, lifelike wooden dolls, tinkling wind chimes, dazzling jewelry shops, and steaming hot snacks of all kinds.
A young woman in a green dress walked gracefully through the crowd, a sugar figurine in her left hand and a piece of osmanthus cake in her right. She looked at her jewelry, picked out her rouge, fluttered her kite, examined the lanterns, played with her mask, and tasted the pastries. A handsome young man in purple followed behind her, his face beaming with a smile, his eyes filled with a gentle, unyielding light as he gazed at the woman ahead.
I wish I could stay with her like this for the rest of my life.
"Master, please try this, it's delicious..."
Mu Yao happily bought all sorts of little things and enjoyed the delicious snacks, occasionally giggling as she fed Qin Wuyan a handful.
"Ah...no..." She suddenly realized she hadn't changed her words, abruptly turned around, and bumped into Qin Wuyan from behind, leaning slightly against him. The sugar figurine in her hand accidentally stuck to half of Qin Wuyan's face.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, Mu Yao burst out laughing and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the sugar stains off his face.
"Can't you be more careful when you walk..." Qin Wuyan said helplessly, but there was no blame in his tone, and he was enjoying the moment.
He spent ages rubbing the sticky candy stains on his face, which only made it look worse. Mu Yao kept rubbing while laughing nonstop.
Passersby, seeing this, chuckled and whispered among themselves:
"Hey, look at that young couple, they're so lovey-dovey!"
"These young people nowadays! Don't they know how to behave themselves on the street..."
"Oh! You're not jealous of her, are you... haha..."
"Look, look, that man is quite handsome...he's really dashing and debonair, a true gentleman!"
"Sigh, why can't I meet such a handsome young man?..."
…………
Hearing the surrounding chatter, Mu Yao suddenly became jealous and stopped wiping: "I'm not wiping anymore. It's pointless to wipe a handsome young man like you."
Qin Wuyan smiled helplessly: "They're just saying it, they're not trying to take it from you."
Mu Yao rolled her eyes at him: "I don't care to compete with others for it!"
Qin Wuyan smiled even more broadly: "Yes, yes, you don't need to fight for me, I'll follow you myself. Let's go, let's go take a look ahead." After saying that, he took her hand.
His hands were large and his fingers were long and slender, and they were warm and comforting. Mu Yao was overjoyed and followed in his footsteps.
The two arrived at the entrance of a theater, which was bustling with people. She had never been to a theater before, and she eagerly pulled Qin Wuyan inside.
"After Zhang Ping descended the mountain, the first demon-slaying case he encountered involved a woman as the murderer..."
"The woman is the daughter of the leader of the Demonic Sect, named Qingli..."
As soon as Qin Wuyan stepped into the theater, he heard the storyteller's voice coming from the stage. He immediately frowned, knowing without a doubt what kind of play it was. He quickly pulled Mu Yao aside, saying, "This play isn't very good today. Let's come another day."
Mu Yao was unwilling to give in: "Since we're already here, and I've never heard a play before, even if it's not good, I still want to listen." Her eyes quickly spotted two empty seats, and she forcefully pulled him to sit down.
Qin Wuyan had no choice but to comply, and the people in the opera troupe quickly came over to greet them, bringing them tea and water.
Mu Yao asked the person serving tea curiously, "Excuse me, what opera are we performing today?"
“Miss, the play we’re performing today is called ‘The Tale of Cangyun.’ It’s a story that our old troupe leader heard when he was traveling around. Now that the old troupe leader has passed away, the young troupe leader has rewritten the story. This play is a new one. You two are really lucky to be here today!”
"The Chronicles of Cangyun... This name sounds a bit strange..." Zhen'er frowned slightly as she sipped her tea.
Qin Wuyan couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that the old troupe leader must have heard of the play that Zhang Xiaofan and Biyao performed on the Yudu stage back then. However, he was very curious to know how the young troupe leader had changed the story now, so he listened with great interest.
All that could be heard from the stage was a voice saying:
"Qing Li and Zhang Ping of the Cangyun Sect went through many life-and-death situations together, and eventually fell in love. However, the righteous and the demonic are ultimately irreconcilable, and the two could only love and kill each other..."
On the stage, Zhang Ping, possessing both demonic and righteous martial arts techniques, was about to be killed by the sect leader in the main hall when Qing Li, a woman from the demonic sect, tried to save him. However, Zhang Ping said:
"The paths of good and evil are different; we cannot be together in the end. You should leave..."
"You really won't come with me? Look at your masters and fellow disciples, they don't believe you, they all want to kill you..."
"If I go with you, I will truly become a traitor to the righteous path..."
"So what? As long as you come with me, who will recognize us anywhere in the world? And who will care about the distinction between good and evil?"
"But I still care about it in my heart..."
"you……"
"Qingli, go now. We'll never meet again..."
...The people sitting below the stage started whispering among themselves, "What's going on! They love each other but aren't they together?"
"In the end, good and evil are different..."
"In my opinion, this girl has misplaced her affections..."
"You can't say that. Zhang Ping is also a kind and righteous person. His actions were also an attempt to protect this girl..."
...
Qin Wuyan took a sip of tea, a mocking smile playing on his lips. He wondered who this young master was, that he knew so much about Zhang Xiaofan and Biyao's affairs.
Mu Yao looked at his upturned lips and asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"
“I’m laughing at this girl for being too infatuated and not understanding that Zhang Ping will never go with her… She’s destined to be killed by Zhang Ping…” Qin Wuyan’s tone was tinged with resentment and indignation.
"Really? Let's keep watching! It's quite interesting."
She turned around and saw that the girl playing Qingli on the stage had been stabbed to the ground by a sword. The storyteller said:
"Qing Li used the Demonic Sect's deadly blood curse—the Curse of Devotion—to fight against the Immortal Execution Sword, saving Zhang Ping's life. However, Qing Li herself fell into a deep sleep and remained unconscious... Zhang Ping was heartbroken and betrayed the righteous path, becoming a member of the Demonic Sect..."
Mu Yao's eyes widened. The Curse of Obsession, the Immortal-Slaying Sword... Wasn't this the scene she had just dreamed of?
At this moment, the audience below the stage was in an uproar, and some even wiped away tears.
"That's terrible..."
"This girl is so pitiful..."
"Zhang Ping is pitiful too..."
"Sigh! Who told him to fall in love with a demoness from a demonic sect?"
"Yes, yes... good and evil are irreconcilable, how can they be together?"
Mu Yao sighed and said, "Why must we distinguish between righteous and demonic sects when we are all cultivation sects? Not everyone in our Divine Sect is a villain. And not everyone in the Azure Cloud Sect and the Incense Valley is a virtuous gentleman."
Qin Wuyan said, “You are right. So, good and evil are actually just in people’s hearts. If you are wholeheartedly good, what does it matter if you are in the demonic sect? If you are wholeheartedly evil, you will still harm people even if you join the righteous sect. Unfortunately, there are very few people in the world who see things as clearly as you. They just follow the crowd and believe whatever others say.”
All that could be heard on the stage was the storyteller still speaking:
"The leader of the Demonic Cult suffered a qi deviation during his cultivation, ultimately bringing disaster to the world. Zhang Ping, still concerned for the people, fought the Demonic Cult leader for three hundred rounds, finally annihilating the Demonic Cult and returning to the Cangyun Sect... As for Qing Li, who had died for him, she also perished completely in the war between good and evil, her body never even being found..."
"What kind of terrible ending is this? Why did they even kill someone's father?" Many people in the audience were outraged and cursed angrily.
"Yes, that girl is so pitiful."
"Hey, do you really think you're the main character? You and I are just ordinary people. If it weren't for Zhang Ping, who knows how many more people the Demonic Sect would have killed."
"I don't care, I came here to watch the show, so I'm going to empathize with the main character. This show is making me so frustrated, I'm not watching anymore, it's ruining my mood."
A woman shouted loudly from below the stage, her voice filled with anger. Mu Yao felt the voice was very familiar. She carefully searched through the crowd and was surprised to find that it was Su Zhenzhen!
Seeing that she was about to leave immediately, Mu Yao hurriedly got up and chased after her, calling out, "Sister Zhenzhen!!"
Su Zhenzhen was about to leave the theater in a huff, but someone grabbed her from behind. Turning around, she exclaimed in surprise, "Yao'er? What are you doing here?"
Mu Yao smiled and said, "My master brought me here to watch a play."
"The sect leader is here too?"
Su Zhenzhen was startled and quickly pulled Mu Yao aside. Looking around nervously, she said to Mu Yao, "Please don't tell the sect leader that you saw me. I came with the Left Protector on business and sneaked out to play. If the sect leader finds out, I'll be beaten to death."
Mu Yao covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh dear, that's terrible, he's right behind you."
"What?"
Su Zhenzhen was terrified. She turned around, and there Qin Wuyan was indeed standing right in front of her, a smile playing on his lips. Looking at that smile, she felt a chill run down her spine, and her voice trembled as she stammered, "Sect Master, I...I..."
Oh no! She's doomed this time!
But Qin Wuyan didn't get angry as she expected. He simply asked, "When did Tang Yuan and the others arrive? Where are they now?"
Su Zhenzhen was so frightened that she didn't dare to look at Qin Wuyan anymore. She lowered her head and replied, "The Left Protector brought us here this morning, and we are staying at Shunfu Inn now."
Qin Wuyan nodded slightly and looked at Mu Yao: "Yao'er, we should go back. I still have some things to explain to Tang Yuan and the others."
Mu Yao was unwilling: "But I haven't seen enough yet, Master. Why don't you go back first? I'll stroll around with Sister Zhenzhen for a while longer?"
Qin Wuyan frowned slightly: "It's time to go back. It's not safe for you to be out there."
Mu Yao pouted, "I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I have Sister Zhenzhen with me!" She nudged Su Zhenzhen with her elbow and quickly added, "Sect Master, your subordinate will definitely protect the Vice Sect Master! Please rest assured, Sect Master."
Qin Wuyan had no choice but to say, considering that she was protected by the Soul-Gathering Technique and should be fine, "Alright then, but you must take Su Zhenzhen back before 7 PM, otherwise I will remove you from your position as hall master."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Once Qin Wuyan had walked away, Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief and asked in confusion, "Why is the sect leader so easy to talk to today? If it were before, if a subordinate sneaked out of a mission, he would definitely catch him and subject him to all sorts of tortures."
Mu Yao smiled and said, "Perhaps it's because he's in a good mood."
"In a good mood?" Su Zhenzhen looked at Mu Yao's smiling face and felt even more puzzled: "I think you seem to be in a better mood than him."
Mu Yao blushed instantly and didn't refute. Su Zhenzhen suddenly realized something and exclaimed excitedly, "Ah!! Could it be you and the Sect Master?..."
"Hey, don't be so loud!" Mu Yao quickly covered her mouth, her face turning bright red. "There are so many people here, let's find a place where it's easier to talk."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
