Chapter 32: Do you still recognize who I am when you are drunk?
It is still night.
It’s still that window.
Under the dim moonlight tonight, a figure arrives slowly.
Jiang Zhaoyue was not surprised at all. She was leaning against the window, and the extra figure in her sight did not make her expression fluctuate at all.
She said calmly, "Good evening, Uncle Master."
Fu Lanting's face was obscured by the shadow of the moonlight, and only his well-defined jaw could be seen. His eyes were buried in the darkness, his gaze directed towards this side.
There were complicated emotions in his eyes.
There was a not-so-close distance between the two of them. Fu Lanting didn't say a word. He floated in the air, as silently as when he came, like a phantom in the darkness.
Of course he had complicated feelings.
On the one hand, his silence in front of his disciples made him examine his own heart, but on the other hand, he was very sure that he could not fall in love with a woman just because of the contact in these days.
Still such a woman.
He saw clearly her evil intentions, her meanness, and her disguise.
It is difficult for Fu Lanting to say what kind of woman he likes, but it definitely won’t be someone like Jiang Zhaoyue.
The conflicting feelings made him come here again tonight to see her again.
It's just different from every time before.
The gazes tonight are very quiet, without ambiguity, without deliberate teasing, and without the entanglement of breaths.
She was leaning against the window, and he was standing outside the window, with the moonlight shining between them, like a distant Milky Way.
In such rare silence, Fu Lanting was able to see the moon clearly on the river for the first time.
Thanks to her beautiful appearance and the pair of eyes that are always smiling, when she is quiet, she is indeed as attractive as the rumors say.
But perhaps only he knows what kind of evil heart is hidden under such a good appearance.
He looked at her quietly, and Jiang Zhaoyue did not dodge. After greeting him, her eyes left him and wandered to the clusters of flowers still blooming in the darkness, the quiet moonlight, and the shadows of trees swaying in the breeze.
The atmosphere was quiet and even beautiful.
I don’t know how long it took, but Fu Lanting swooped down.
He moved closer to the window, and his handsome features became clear under the candlelight in the room.
Jiang Zhaoyue then stopped wandering and looked him straight in the eye.
As usual, she looked at him very quietly and politely, and whispered softly, "Uncle Master, is there something wrong?"
Asking despite knowing the answer.
Fu Lanting's expression was calm. He reached out and placed the red earring by her window.
"Your stuff."
Jiang Zhaoyue glanced down and said with a smile, "Thank you."
She neither refused nor threw it away, but just took it in her hands openly, as if she was accepting just an ordinary item.
Fu Lanting stared at her for a while, and asked her rarely, "What are you going to do with this thing?"
Then he got a casual answer from the other party.
Jiang Zhaoyue didn't seem to think much about it, so he told him, "I got this gem in the Fangshan Secret Realm a while ago. It would be a shame to throw it away. I'll give it to Junior Brother Chu. He should like it."
Fu Lanting's expression was calm for a moment, then he frowned: "Are you going to give it to Chu Jinhe?"
The woman in front of him seemed to have forgotten the previous entanglements. She was a little surprised and even confused.
"Instead of wasting things I can't use, I might as well give them to someone I like. Does Uncle Shi think there's anything wrong with that?"
Fu Lanting finally couldn't help but lower his voice and said, "That's what I wore before."
"Don't worry, Uncle Master, Jinhe won't mind."
“I mind!”
Fu Lanting's tone hardened. He took a deep breath and suddenly stretched out his hand: "Give it to me."
"What?"
"Give it back to me. Anything I have worn cannot belong to anyone else, even if it is destroyed."
Jiang Zhaoyue looked at his outstretched palm and did not return the thing to him. Instead, he said, "The thing is mine. It's my business to do with it. It's getting late, Uncle Master. You should go back."
For cultivators, there is not much difference between day and night. She said this, obviously just to drive her away.
"I will exchange the treasure with you."
Fu Lanting refused to give up.
"No." Jiang Zhaoyue didn't even blink: "I don't want to trade with you."
She vividly expressed how it felt to dislike someone she didn't want to be close to, and when he still refused to give up, she simply held out her palm.
The red color of the earring flashed across her palm. She closed her palms, and the powder flew from her fingers and landed on the windowsill.
Jiang Zhaoyue looked at him with calm eyes.
"Is Master-Uncle satisfied?"
Fu Lanting was stunned.
"You..." He frowned, as if he didn't know what words to use, and finally said only one sentence: "You ruined it."
"Um."
Jiang Zhaoyue lowered his hand, and the dust on the windowsill was blown away by the breeze and fell into the dust, mud and grass, disappearing.
Fu Lanting's gaze followed the flying dust and fell into the shadows of the grass and trees.
It was as if something turned into ashes along with the earring.
He suddenly felt a little blocked in his heart.
That earring was a symbol of the shame he suffered when Jiang Zhaoyue coerced him. He had held it in his palm and thought about destroying it countless times, but in the end, for some unknown reason, he kept it.
But at this moment she destroyed it without hesitation.
Jiang Zhaoyue didn't even accept his offer of treasures in exchange.
It was clearly she who was pestering him at the beginning, she was the one who said sweet words, she was the one who acted without any scruples, as if nothing in the world could stop her from running towards him.
But at this moment, she was the one who was destroyed without a care in the world.
Fu Lanting didn't understand, how could people change so quickly?
"If there is nothing else, I will respectfully send my uncle off."
There was no trace of regret on Jiang Zhaoyue's face for the destruction of the token. She just bowed to him calmly and without any emotion.
She looked at him, just waiting for him to leave.
A surge of anger suddenly surged in Fu Lanting's heart.
He didn't know where the anger came from, he just knew that he didn't want to see her face so calm again.
He pursed his lips tightly, suddenly grabbed her wrist, and unconsciously asked, "Jiang Zhaoyue, you..."
However, before he could finish his words, he suddenly stopped.
He saw himself grabbing Jiang Zhaoyue's hand.
The ten fingers exerted force, and the knuckles turned white, as if revealing the owner's inner thoughts.
As if burned, Fu Lanting seemed to have a bucket of ice water poured over his head and suddenly woke up.
He let go suddenly.
He felt the skin was burning hot where his palm had touched her.
With a trembling feeling, just like his mood at the moment.
The annoyance and the huge rock in his heart were pushed away, revealing his inner self.
Why didn't he dare to tell Jiang Qiying "I'm only doing this for your own good" anymore? Why did he feel angry when he saw her destroy the earring so easily? Why did he want to question her calm demeanor?
Everything seemed to have its answer in his unconscious actions.
Fu Lanting's hands trembled and his eyelashes fluttered. He couldn't believe that he had such dirty thoughts.
He began to covet his disciple's sweetheart, a junior.
The breeze was silent and he didn't dare to look at her. In the gap between the shadows of a tree, he suddenly turned around and disappeared in front of Jiang Zhaoyue as if escaping.
Only Jiang Zhaoyue was left looking at the dim moonlight tonight with a gentle and peaceful smile on her face. She held a red gem earring with a thin chain between her fingers and played with it carefully.
…
The days passed one by one.
Many days have passed since that night.
During this period, Jiang Zhaoyue had been concentrating on her cultivation, and Fu Lanting never came to disturb her again.
Until Lin Bozhou's retreat ended.
As soon as the master came out of seclusion, he came to Qi Ling Xian Zong to pick her up in person.
"Toshiyue."
Lin Bozhou opened his arms and showed his usual doting smile.
Jiang Zhaoyue fell into his warm embrace like a young swallow returning to its nest.
"Master, you've come out of seclusion."
Her voice was surprisingly dependent.
"Yeah, I left early."
Lin Bozhou picked up his disciple, weighed him, and said with a smile like when he was a child, "Not thin at all."
Jiang Zhaoyue had no choice but to say: "I'm not a child anymore."
"You will always be a child in Master's eyes."
Lin Bozhou rubbed her head before he had the mind to look at Fu Lanting who was standing stiffly beside him.
"Thank you for taking care of me."
Fu Lanting didn't dare look him in the eye, so he just lowered his eyes and replied, "Nothing."
Lin Bozhou didn't pay much attention to him. He said something to him and then looked at his beloved disciple.
"Do you miss Master?"
"I thought about it."
"Master misses you too, let's go home."
"good."
In front of Lin Bozhou, Jiang Zhaoyue is always well-behaved and does whatever her master says.
After Lin Bozhou came out of seclusion, he naturally would not let his apprentice live under someone else's roof, even if it was a good friend's sect.
But as he was leaving, he remembered something and asked, "Brother Fu, thank you for taking care of my disciple. Would you like to go to Yunmiao Immortal Sect with me for a drink?"
He had just made a casual invitation, and given Fu Lanting's personality, he would normally refuse.
But this time it was unexpected.
His good friend was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"good."
Lin Bozhou couldn't help but look at him twice, but he wasn't too surprised. After all, it was just a small matter.
On the way back, the two masters rarely moved directly. Instead, they took a flying boat and sailed slowly.
Since there were only his disciples and good friends around, Lin Bozhou didn't feel too shy and was very casual when chatting.
"Nothing big has happened these days, right?"
"No."
Fu Lanting's face was calm. After answering, he seemed to remember something. He glanced at Jiang Zhaoyue who was sitting obediently beside him and spoke as if casually.
"Luo Huaiyin from your Immortal Sect has complained to me twice."
"Luo Huaiyin?"
Lin Bozhou looked puzzled: "He came to you to complain? What did he complain about?"
Fu Lanting is his good friend, and Luo Huaiyin is the biggest competitor of the headmaster in the Yunmiao Immortal Sect. Why is he complaining to Fu Lanting?
"I don't know either. It's probably just some romantic sentimentality."
Fu Lanting lowered his eyes, his tone seemingly nonchalant, yet he spoke cryptically, "It seems that your little disciple deliberately seduced your precious disciple while washing in the Spirit Pool, and his frivolous behavior affected his cultivation."
"Is there such a thing?"
Lin Bozhou frowned slightly.
"Well, I asked the elder who presided over the Spirit Washing Pool that day, and it is true. However, Luo Huaiyin is so concerned about it, I am afraid he has other intentions."
After Fu Lanting finished speaking, he looked at him again and pretended to be calm and said, "Brother Lin, what are you going to do?"
Lin Bozhou frowned at first, then looked at his disciple, but only met Jiang Zhaoyue's innocent and well-behaved gaze.
His eyes suddenly softened, and then he smiled and said with relief: "It's not a big deal, it's okay."
Fu Lanting was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and asked tentatively, "Two people have ulterior motives towards your disciple, and you don't think it's a big deal?"
But his words did not receive Lin Bozhou's approval. Instead, he looked at Fu Lanting with some surprise, his tone calm.
"My daughter, Terutsuki, is so outstanding, it's normal for someone to like her. Just two men, I believe she can handle it."
Fu Lanting's heart sank, and he continued, "If I let you choose, who do you think is a good match for your disciple?"
"match?"
Lin Bozhou seemed to have never thought about this before. After hearing his question, he pondered for a moment and replied, "Neither of them is a match. They are almost not worthy of my Zhaoyue, but I am not that kind of strict master."
Having said this, he smiled and looked at his disciple lovingly.
"As long as Zhaoyue likes it, anyone can do it."
"What if I have to choose one?"
"Why do you have so many questions today?"
Lin Bozhou was a little impatient, and said unhappily in the face of Fu Lanting's sudden mood:
"Whether it's your apprentice, Luo Huaiyin, or Chu Jinhe, my Zhaoyue is extremely talented and gentle. So what if I want them all? There's no need to test me for your dull and boring Jiang Qiying. I told you, as long as Zhaoyue likes it, anyone will do."
He obviously had no bottom line when it came to doting on his apprentice, and Fu Lanting's eyes flickered slightly when he heard him say "Anyone is fine".
He didn't ask any more questions.
However, Lin Bozhou suddenly glanced at him, with a curious smile on his lips.
"Don't always talk about our Zhaoyue. What about you? How's that girl from your Jiyue Immortal Sect? Why don't you wear that jade pendant today?"
Fu Lanting suddenly froze, his throat moving slightly, and he said calmly, "Nothing."
"You're hiding so deeply, why are you still afraid that I'll snatch it from you? Fu Lanting, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but aren't you blooming too much like an iron tree?"
Lin Bozhou teased him while crossing his arms and looking at the clouds flowing outside the flying boat. He sighed jokingly, "But it's up to you. If you want to hide, then hide it. As long as you don't have your eyes on our Zhaoyue, I won't bother to pay attention."
Fu Lanting's expression became even stiffer.
Lin Bozhou might not have meant it, but every word he said seemed to pierce his heart.
During this time, Jiang Zhaoyue just sat quietly beside Lin Bozhou, without saying a word or even looking at him.
After finally arriving at the Yunmiao Immortal Sect, Lin Bozhou went to get the fine wine he had hidden on the fairy mountain, leaving Jiang Zhaoyue and Fu Lanting sitting alone in his Boyuan Residence waiting.
Because the fairy mountain was not far away, Fu Lanting did not dare to move, for fear of being discovered. He just sat there with his eyes focused on his heart and his heart focused on his nose, sitting more upright than ever.
In the silence, he suddenly heard a woman's voice.
Jiang Zhaoyue lowered her eyes and looked at the hollow pattern on the corner of the table. She didn't look at him, only her voice came out.
"Uncle Master, what do you mean?"
"What?"
"Shouldn't you be happy that I'm not bothering you?" She suddenly looked up, her eyes no longer smiling, but calmly. "What did you mean by asking my master just now? Who I'm paired with is none of your business."
Fu Lanting was silent.
After a few breaths, he spoke softly: "If I say..."
After taking several deep breaths, Fu Lanting finally said: "If I respond to your feelings, will you give up Jiang Qiying?"
"Won't."
Jiang Zhaoyue didn't even hesitate for a moment, as if it was so natural that he didn't need to think about it.
Fu Lanting's words were stuck in his heart. He swallowed them for a long time before he said with some resentment, "Do you still remember what you said before? You said you liked me, and that you only liked me."
"oh."
Jiang Zhaoyue responded calmly, a smile spreading across her face. She looked at him with interest, "Didn't you also say that I'm a liar full of lies? How can you take a liar's words seriously?"
"Jiang Zhaoyue!"
Fu Lanting raised his voice slightly, but then lowered it the next moment. He took a few breaths again before continuing:
"I'm not kidding you. If, if I promise you, you let Jiang Qiying go."
"You are truly a good master."
Jiang Zhaoyue's lips curled up in a sneer, as if smiling:
"Uncle, you're too confident. How do you know that I really like you and not Jiang Qiying? And what makes you think you can compare to Senior Brother Jiang? Senior Brother Jiang and I are of similar age and have similar interests. He likes me and I like him. This is common knowledge. You're the latecomer."
Fu Lanting's expression froze completely. After a long moment, he asked with a mixture of anger and gritted teeth, "You clearly said..."
"I've said so much, do I have to fulfill all of it?"
Jiang Zhaoyue looked at him with a smile and gently touched his lips with her fingertips.
"Uncle Master, I've said before that there are many people who love me, and there are also many who dislike me, but most people just hate me for not loving them. If you want me to love you, you have to please me. Senior Brother Jiang does that very well. You are his master, so you wouldn't be unaware of what to do, right?"
Her smile is as beautiful as a flower, and the affection in her eyes is enough to make anyone intoxicated and unable to refuse.
Fu Lanting felt powerless at this moment. He looked at the face in front of him, as if he saw a cold heart in her beautiful face.
"You can't do this."
"Why can't I? I gave you a chance. I said we could have no relationship anymore. It was you who chose to continue. Doesn't choice come with a price?"
Jiang Zhaoyue withdrew the finger that was pointing at his lips. She raised her eyes slightly, and her expression was like that of the clay statues of Bodhisattvas in mortal temples, pitiful and cold, compassionate and ruthless.
"Master, you know I always favor you, so that choice is still valid. If you don't want it, we will just be elder and junior from now on. Everything depends on you."
She openly gave up her choice, and seemed to be kind in her coldness, but Fu Lanting knew that he had no choice at all.
The most difficult thing for people to control is emotion.
There is a saying that goes, people usually have a strong desire for possessiveness before they have strong love for someone.
Those who are indifferent are not human beings, but clay statues.
In silence, Lin Bozhou came back to get the wine.
Jiang Zhaoyue still smiled widely as he greeted his master, but Fu Lanting sat quietly there, his brows lowered, suppressing all emotions.
Lin Bozhou just thought that he had always been like this.
He took out the wine jar and poured a glass of wine for his disciple, and specifically warned him: "You can only drink half a glass. This wine is strong and easy to get drunk. It is not meant for you at this level."
"good."
Jiang Zhaoyue still nodded obediently, picked up the cup and took a sip, praising: "It smells so good."
"Of course it smells good." Lin Bozhou tapped her forehead and said with a smile, "This was brewed by our master himself. It contains many precious natural treasures and has been buried in the Immortal Mountain for fifty years. Even the strongest can get drunk with it. Little greedy boy, if you get drunk later, our master won't carry you back."
This is just a joke, of course.
After Lin Bozhou poured her the wine, he took out two large bowls and placed them in front of himself and Fu Lanting.
"At our level, getting drunk is a luxury. You've got a great opportunity today. You can't go home until you're drunk."
Fu Lanting was already preoccupied with something, so he didn't refuse. He picked up the bowl and drank the first one, which made Lin Bozhou feel a little distressed.
"Drink slowly. This relationship wasn't brewed by you. Why waste it like this?"
Although he said so, he was not stingy. He filled Fu Lanting's bowl with water and took a big sip himself. He sighed, "A day of drunkenness in this turbulent life is so relaxing."
Jiang Zhaoyue sat next to them, holding the small cup and sipping slowly, but her eyes were secretly on Fu Lanting.
The headmaster drank a little too quickly, and the wine dripped down his cheeks, along his slightly veined neck, and seeped into his collar, wetting his clothes.
In addition, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his skin was fair, and his lips were bright red and plump due to the wine, which made people want to have a kiss on him.
Jiang Zhaoyue admired and tasted the wine, and suddenly felt that the liquor was much more mellow.
At the end of the drinking, Lin Bozhou successfully passed out as he wished, but Fu Lanting was still sober, just feeling a little tipsy.
Jiang Zhaoyue was leaning beside Lin Bozhou's table, obviously unconscious.
He frowned, looked at him, thought for a moment, and first threw Lin Bozhou into his bedroom before returning to Jiang Zhaoyue.
She looked slightly tipsy, and when she closed her eyes, her facial features looked particularly gentle, without the slightest bit of aggression. Because she was drunk, that gentle beauty was even more pronounced. Perhaps she felt Fu Lanting's gaze, but in her drunken state, she turned her face to the side and leaned on the table, turning the back of her dark head towards him.
It seems a bit childish.
Although Fu Lanting knew very well that her bad intentions had nothing to do with childishness.
But he couldn't help but soften his spirit.
Holding Jiang Zhaoyue's shoulders and helping her sit up, he asked softly, "Where is your residence? I will take you back to rest."
Jiang Zhaoyue, perhaps having heard his voice, opened only one eye and half-closed it to look at him. After several breaths, she closed it again and mumbled, "I want to sleep with Master."
"no."
Fu Lanting refused with a serious expression, and then tried to persuade him kindly: "You are a grown woman now. There are differences between men and women. You can't sleep with your master. Wherever you live, I will take you back."
"I won't tell you."
Jiang Zhaoyue still had her eyes closed. She whispered something in a huff, then fell into Fu Lanting's arms before he could react. Her eyes curved, her arms around his neck, and she said in a sweet voice, "How about you sleep with me? I'll stay in your room."
Fu Lanting's first reaction was to look inside the house.
Seeing that Lin Bozhou didn't react at all, he let out a long sigh, and a panic of having an affair suddenly arose in his heart.
Then, he cautiously stirred up his spiritual energy like a thief, closed the door, and set up a shielding formation for Lin Bozhou. Only then did he lower his voice and say to Jiang Zhaoyue, who was lying in his arms, "Do you still recognize who I am?"
"certainly."
Jiang Zhaoyue answered quickly, tightening her grip on his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, in an intimate gesture, and softly called him in his ear, "Senior Brother."
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The author has something to say: Two chapters combined into one.
Fu: (Defense broken)
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