Wei Jia noticed that his master had been acting strangely for several days in a row. He wasn't practicing swordsmanship, reading sword manuals, or brewing tea. He barely ate anything and had lost weight. He seemed lost and absent-minded every day, and Wei Jia tried his best to cheer him up, but he didn't laugh. He just patted Wei Jia's head and told him to go play by himself.
Wei Jia had never seen him like this before and realized it was no small matter. After thinking for a moment, she turned around and ran to Chonghua with a dramatic cry: "Sect Leader, Master's wife doesn't want Master anymore! Master is on a hunger strike!"
Upon hearing this, Chonghua frowned and immediately followed him to the wooden house behind the mountain. Jiang Chuting was at his desk, with a sheet of paper in front of him, writing a letter to Jiang Xian. He looked up and saw him hurrying over, slightly surprised. He put down his pen and stood up to greet him, "Senior brother, what brings you here?"
Chonghua sized him up. He was dressed thinly, his face slightly pale, but his eyes were bright and clear, unlike the listless, lifeless appearance his junior apprentice had described. Indeed, his junior brother was kind and compassionate, not the type to easily become melancholic; it was Chonghua who had become somewhat confused out of concern.
Wei Jia peeked out the door for a while, but after being glanced at by Chong Hua, he turned and ran away.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Chuting immediately understood that Wei Jia had gone to tattle. He smiled and invited Chonghua to sit down at the tea table. He brewed tea for him and said, "Wei Jia is childish and likes to make a fuss. Senior brother, don't take it too seriously."
Chonghua said in a deep voice, "But in my opinion, there's probably eight out of ten truths. Your little apprentice is saying you're going on a hunger strike."
Wei Jia is such an exaggeration. When did he ever go on a hunger strike? Jiang Chuting chuckled and said, "How could that be? I just haven't had much of an appetite lately, so I've been eating less." As she spoke, she took out some tea leaves and accidentally knocked over a small cup next to her, splashing some water onto her bracelet. Jiang Chuting quickly took it off, told Chonghua to wait a moment, got up to get a dry handkerchief, and wiped away the water stains. She then blew on it to make sure it was completely dry before stopping.
Chonghua had been watching his actions closely, her fingers tapping lightly on the table. Only after he sat back down did she ask, "Chuting, what's been going on with you these past few days? Is it because of the person who gave you the bracelet?"
Jiang Chuting put the bracelet back on, lowered her eyes for a long while, and then spoke: "Yes."
Chonghua asked, "Who exactly is it? Are we still hiding it from our senior brother?"
Jiang Chuting didn't answer, but after a moment of silence, he said, "Senior brother, I'm sorry."
Chonghua's temple throbbed, and he immediately had a bad feeling. "Why are you saying sorry?"
"Because I'm only telling you this now."
"……explain."
Jiang Chuting took a deep breath, looked up at him, and said slowly, "The one who gave me the bracelet was Lin Zhi."
Upon hearing this, Chonghua immediately understood what he meant. He slammed his hand on the table, his face contorted with anger, and glared at him, shouting, "You're utterly absurd!" He was clearly furious. Not only had his father harmed him, but now he was being sent up to be ruined by his son. No wonder he had shown so much favoritism towards that Lin kid before; Chonghua truly didn't know what he was thinking.
Jiang Chuting also felt that he was being ridiculous. Of all people, why did it have to be Lin Zhi?
It was a mistake from the start, and now there's no going back.
Chonghua couldn't bear to criticize him too much, so he suppressed his anger and asked, "Does Lin Zhi look like Yun Zique?"
"yes."
"You can't forget Yun Zique, so you're finding solace in his son?!"
Jiang Chuting's gaze turned sour upon hearing this. "That's not how it is."
So many years have passed, but he still can't forget Zi Que, who left an indelible mark on his heart. He had always thought he would spend the rest of his life alone. But then he met Lin Zhi, a child who was like a ray of beautiful sunshine, shining into his uneventful life, making him unable to let go of her.
Lin Zhi and Zi Que do look alike, but apart from a brief moment of confusion when he first met Lin Zhi, he never mistook Lin Zhi for Zi Que afterward. They are two independent and different people. The reason he fell in love with Lin Zhi was not because he saw him as someone to rely on.
"No? Then let me ask you again, didn't he stab you before? You like him again? Could it be that you have a one-sided crush on him?" The thought of this possibility made Chonghua even angrier.
Jiang Chuting briefly explained his situation with Lin Zhi. When he was a child, Lin Zhi saved him under the identity of Chu Ran, and Lin Zhi remembered him for many years. They met again on the street after growing up, and they kept running into each other while investigating something. Over time, they unknowingly developed feelings for each other.
Of course, this omits the various malicious things Lin Zhi said to him.
Chonghua's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he said, "So, he didn't know your true identity at all, and he liked you after you were disguised?"
"Um."
Chonghua's expression sharpened, and he asked again, "Then tell me, what do you plan to do? You're not planning to continue disguising yourself and just stay by his side like this, are you?"
Jiang Chuting met his gaze, her lips moved slightly, and she replied, "Yes."
His original plan was that if Lin Zhi didn't accept him, he would never see her again. As expected, Lin Zhi indeed had no chance of accepting him and even treated him harshly.
How could he not be heartbroken? But having already fallen in love, how could he possibly walk away gracefully?
Since returning, all I can hear are Lin Zhi's words about waiting for him to appear, and my heart is tormented.
He finally realized that he couldn't let go of Lin Zhi at all.
Without any pressure, he had already gradually retreated.
Since Lin Zhi gave his hatred to Jiang Chuting and his love to Chu Ran, then Jiang Chuting should bear the pain and Chu Ran should respond to his affection.
This was the decision he made after thinking about it day and night, and tossing and turning all night.
Upon hearing this, Chonghua finally couldn't help but berate him: "You're so self-deprecating and spineless! I think you're destined to be ruined by this father and son!"
Jiang Chuting had no way to refute it. His senior brother was right; after Ji Zique, he had indeed stumbled once again.
Chonghua then confined him for three days to allow him to calm down and think things through.
Three days later, he was released. When Chonghua asked him again, he said that his mind had not changed. Chonghua was furious, but he did not stop him.
The snow stopped, but Lin Zhi was still standing at the entrance of the Love-Sickness Pavilion, longingly waiting for the person she cherished most.
"I told you long ago that Chu Ran is unreliable, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened, he doesn't care about you at all, and you've just been all head over heels in love and ruined yourself, haven't you?" Zhao Chengyang, sleeves tucked up, advised him from the side, "Give up as soon as possible, he's not worth it at all."
Lin Zhi was already anxious and flustered because no one had come. Then, he kept muttering to himself, saying with a stern face, "You haven't even had any contact with Chu Ran, so don't make judgments about him."
Zhao Chengyang chuckled: "So you're good at reasoning? You've never even met that guy surnamed Jiang in all these years of your life, how can you just casually say you dislike him?"
Lin Zhi's anger flared when he heard him mention Jiang Chuting. He had been irritated for a long time because of what happened that day, and had finally managed to put it out of his mind, only to be forced back to it. He turned his head and said coldly, "Shut up, don't talk about him to me!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything."
Lin Zhi looked at him suspiciously and said, "Why do I feel like you treat him very differently? You don't actually like him, do you?"
Zhao Chengyang chuckled and quickly denied it: "Brother, get this straight, I'm not gay. It's just that people always have prejudices, like your prejudice against Jiang Chuting, and my prejudice against Chu Ran. Please understand."
Lin Zhi stubbornly said, "You have a prejudice against Chu Ran, but I don't. He's a jerk."
Here we go again! He didn't understand either. Lin Zhi was usually a good person, but whenever it came to Jiang Chuting and Chu Ran, he became stubbornly opinionated, one person extremely disliking him, the other extremely liking him—not even ten oxen could pull him back. Zhao Chengyang gave up on him. "Fine, I understand. Your Chu Ran is the best person in the world. She won't lie to you, and she won't abandon you. You can wait here by yourself. I'm freezing, I'm leaving."
Lin Zhi ignored him. Zhao Chengyang took two steps, bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, made a snowball, and threw it at Lin Zhi. "Take this!"
Lin Zhi reached out to block, but still got hit in the face.
Zhao Chengyang laughed heartily, and Lin Zhi spat out the snow off her lips, annoyed, "Get lost!"
"Oh, you seem to be in a bad mood, so I'll just tease you a bit."
Lin Zhi's expression suddenly changed slightly. He looked behind him, but Zhao Chengyang was completely unaware. He said, "I'll leave right away." He turned around and found a tall, slender middle-aged man with a long sword in his hand and a domineering presence in his eyes appearing in front of him without him noticing.
Zhao Chengyang didn't know martial arts, but he could still feel the intimidating aura emanating from him, and he couldn't help but feel a chill.
"What brings you here, sir?"
The middle-aged man first stared at him, then turned his gaze to Lin Zhi, who had stood up and strode over. His expression was unfriendly, and he spoke in a deep, cold voice: "Making a scene."
This is so abrupt and confusing; Zhao Chengyang was completely baffled: "What does this mean?"
The middle-aged man said, "I said, your noise just now disturbed me."
"so what?"
Lin Zhi pulled Zhao Chengyang, who was still talking in a daze, behind him, looked at the man in front of him, and asked, "What brings you here, sir?"
The middle-aged man's hand holding the sword twitched, and he sneered, "Do you even need to ask? Of course, it's to teach you ignorant brats a lesson."
Lin Zhi understood and nodded; this person was clearly there to cause trouble.
Although the man hadn't made a move yet, there were some people in this world who you could tell were not to be messed with just one look. As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. Zhao Chengyang peeked out from behind Lin Zhi and said, "You said we disturbed you, so we apologize to you."
The middle-aged man coldly replied, "I do not accept."
Zhao Chengyang's eyes widened: "Why! My lord, did you just happen to be passing by and take a dislike to us, so you're trying to use this as an excuse to cause trouble?"
The middle-aged man's expression remained unchanged, but when he looked at Zhao Chengyang, there seemed to be a hint of appreciation in his tone as he replied, "That's right."
"..." Zhao Chengyang looked at Lin Zhi speechlessly and worriedly. Lin Zhi's expression was cold. Without turning his head, he said to him, "Move aside."
The two never brought any subordinates with them when they came here, and Zhao Chengyang couldn't help anyway. Not wanting to be a burden, he quickly stepped aside and anxiously fired a signal flare. He just didn't know if the others would arrive in time.
As it turned out, his guess was right; this middle-aged man was indeed not to be trifled with! Once he made his move, Lin Zhi's martial arts skills were quite outstanding among his peers, but he was still young and couldn't withstand the man's powerful attacks at all.
In the end, he was defeated and even stabbed in the heart.
Zhao Chengyang exclaimed, "Lin Zhi!" and rushed over to support him.
Lin Zhi's old wounds hadn't healed before a new one appeared, and he raised his hand to cover the bleeding wound. He knew that this man had clearly held back and had only come to provoke him to embarrass him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Who exactly are you? What grudge do you hold against me?"
The middle-aged man sheathed his sword, offering no reply, but staring at him. His words were pointed: "Young man, you'd better keep your head clear in the future, and know what you should and shouldn't do. Otherwise, if I come looking for you again, it won't be as simple as just giving you a sword." With that, he turned and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"What amazing lightness skill!" Zhao Chengyang asked Lin Zhidao with lingering fear, "You really don't recognize him? Such a powerful person must be well-known in the martial arts world."
Lin Zhi said, "I don't know him, I've never seen him before."
The dozen or so people Zhao Chengyang had summoned with a signal flare finally arrived, but he waved them away. Lin Zhi stared at the direction the man had left with a gloomy expression, and said to Zhao Chengyang, "You have a good memory and are good at drawing. Later, help me draw that man's appearance and ask around. I want to see who he really is."
Zhao Chengyang agreed, helped him inside, and asked, "Lin Zhi, why did that person tell you to keep your mind clear? Did you do something inappropriate?"
Lin Zhi had lost blood, her lips were pale, and her wound was still hurting. Hearing this, she said irritably, "You believe what he said? Why don't you become friends with him? You're the one who needs to clear your head."
Zhao Chengyang was embarrassed: "Fine, I shouldn't have doubted the exceptionally intelligent Young Master Lin. I'll shut up."
The doctor examined the injury, applied medicine, and bandaged it. Lin Zhi remained silent, his face expressionless, as the doctor continued to work on him.
Zhao Chengyang sighed and advised, "You're both sick and injured, so don't wait outside anymore. It's the same inside." What's meant to come will come eventually, and what's not meant to come may never come even if you wait outside until the end of time.
Of course, his advice was useless. Lin Zhi rested for a while and then went out again. Zhao Chengyang was speechless. He could only arrange for the doctor to stay at the Xiangsi Xiaozhu and instructed the servants to keep a close eye on him, just in case.
Inside the inn's guest room, Jiang Chuting, who had already disguised himself as Chu Ran, sat silently at the table. Ji Chun held a cup of tea, blew on it, took a sip slowly, and then comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, your senior brother Chonghua knows what he's doing. He won't kill him, nor will he expose your past. At most, he'll feel indignant for you and teach that kid a lesson."
Jiang Chuting had come down the mountain to find Lin Zhi after his confinement ended, but he didn't realize that Chonghua and Ji Chun were following him. When he hesitated near Xiangsi Xiaozhu, the two intercepted him. Ji Chun brought him to the inn and kept an eye on him. Chonghua was nowhere to be seen and hadn't returned yet.
Jiang Chuting knew that even if Chonghua didn't kill Lin Zhi for his sake, he would definitely retaliate if Lin Zhi stabbed him.
In that case, Lin Zhi must have new wounds that haven't healed and old wounds that have been aggravated, and he's still sick... Jiang Chuting couldn't suppress her anxiety, but she didn't get up and leave without permission, and just waited quietly.
After taking a couple more sips of tea, Ji Chun scrutinized his feigned calm expression, sighed, and began to berate him, "I'm telling you, you're really stubborn. You've gone around in circles and ended up talking about the Lin family again. Did you owe them something in your past life? Let's not even talk about Yun Zique, but how did that kid Lin Zhi catch your eye? Is he really worth all this for?"
Before Jiang Chuting could respond, Ji Chun continued, "Things will always be discovered eventually. The worst that can happen is that kid will turn his back on us. Let's see how you handle that."
Jiang Chuting's heart clenched. How could he not have considered these things? But now that the decision had been made, thinking about it any further was futile.
At this moment, a tall man dressed in a dark blue robe and holding a long sword pushed open the door and entered. Jiang Chuting stood up and said, "Senior brother, you're back."
Chonghua hummed in agreement, then turned to Ji Chun and said, "We can't make it back today. We'll stay at the inn for the night."
Jiang Chuting stared longingly at Chonghua with his dark eyes, but Chonghua ignored him and sat down to talk to Ji Chun.
After a while, Chonghua said to him, "Come back to the Nine Heavens with us first thing tomorrow morning."
Jiang Chuting blinked, "Senior brother, I..."
Seeing his attitude, Chonghua was furious. He glared at him and said in an unquestionable tone, "What do you mean, 'you'? Show some backbone! There's no need to say anything more. If he can wait at that door for a year or two, then I'll release him."
Ji Chun nodded and said, "Children are not easy to settle down. I think we should make him wait at least two or three years to show our sincerity."
Chonghua gave a noncommittal snort, and Jiang Chuting breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her eyes and remaining silent.
That night, Jiang Chuting slept in the same room as Ji Chun, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He quietly got up, quickly put on his clothes and slippers, and got out of bed.
Ji Chun was asleep on another bed. Jiang Chuting approached and whispered, "Senior brother, I want to go find him."
Ji Chun turned over, facing away from him.
Jiang Chuting knew he had heard her, and whispered, "I've let you down. I'm so sorry." Then she turned and opened the door and left.
Not long after Jiang Chuting left, Chonghua pushed the door open and came in. Ji Chun sat up and saw that he had a stern face. He comforted him, "Alright, alright, let him be. A son is not immune to his mother's will when he grows up. Junior brother has his own choice. We, as his senior brothers, will just keep an eye on him from now on."
Chonghua sat down at the table, still keeping a straight face and not saying a word, his mood was extremely bad.
Ji Chun knew that Chonghua was just being stubborn but soft-hearted, and was deliberately letting things slide. Otherwise, if he really wanted to keep an eye on his junior brother, he would have been here personally overseeing things. He urged him, "Alright, we have to get back to the Nine Heavens tomorrow morning. Go to sleep."
After leaving the inn, Jiang Chuting walked along the empty street. Snowflakes were falling again under the night sky, and soon he was covered in white.
The weather was similar when I visited Lin Zhi a few days ago.
His piercing words still seem to echo in my ears, making it impossible to let go and impossible to forget for a lifetime.
But he still followed his heart and chose to walk step by step toward Lin Zhi's side.
Even though he knew very well that this was not the right path.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
The copywriting is halfway done!
Oh right, I forgot to mention, if anyone has previously subscribed to all my other completed works, could you please rate them? There are so few people who rate them, so thank you so much!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
