Chapter 17 Hook the Only Disciple
Qi Qing originally thought that ordering a new bed would only require him to speak up and pay a deposit, but the master craftsman, who was over fifty years old, was very rigorous and responsible and would never let him ruin his reputation.
The warehouse selected wood, agreed on the style and carvings, and set a deadline... After a busy period, the sun had already set.
"I really have to go." Qi Qing refused the tea offered by the master's disciple, put down two spiritual stones, stood up and said, "If I don't go back, my disciple will be angry. How about the deposit first? I will go down the mountain again in the middle of the month. If everything goes well, I will pay the final payment."
He left the carpenter's yard. There were few pedestrians on the street, and lanterns were lit under many eaves.
Passing by a bun shop that was closing, Qi Qing bought the last basket and carried the oil-paper bag back to the Cat and Dog Hall.
As dusk fell, green vines wrapped with flower buds swayed in the wind, and a kitten lay lazily on the roof tiles.
Sensing his footsteps, the kitten hopped down to greet him: "Meow."
Qi Qing bent down and rubbed its head, then opened the fence at the gate of the yard.
"Yue Ji." He raised his voice: "Prepare to return to the sect."
No one answered in the courtyard. He felt strange and was about to call out again. The blind boy came out with his cane, "Brother Qi, you are finally back! Brother Qi saw that you hadn't come back for a long time and said he wanted to look for you. Sister was afraid that he would get lost, so she offered to take him to Master Yang's house."
Qi Qing was stunned for a moment and said, "I just came back from there, why didn't I see them?"
He felt something was not right, so he handed the oil paper bag to the blind boy and said, "There are buns inside. Eat them first, I'll go look for them."
"Wait, there is a lantern behind the door, take the lantern before you go out!"
Qi Qing picked up the lantern, took out the half-eaten oil fruit that Yue Ji had taken at the door, and made a gesture with it.
A faint white line suddenly appeared in front of my eyes, extending vaguely to the side path.
He walked along the white line for a while and then met Xie Tang who was looking for someone on the road.
"Brother Qi, I'm sorry, I can't find your brother." The little girl was so anxious that she almost cried when she saw him: "I heard earlier that there was a kidnapper in the town. What if your brother... what should I do!"
"Don't worry, I know where he is." Qi Qing handed her the lantern and comforted her, "He has his own skills, but you should go back quickly, it will be dark soon."
Xie Tang wanted to say something but hesitated. However, he was afraid of delaying his search for someone, so he sighed in self-blame and left first.
Qi Qing continued to follow the white line, not wanting to go further and further off the track. He arrived at the river valley, and the sky gradually darkened.
He glanced at a small figure standing under the willow tree and called out, "Yue Ji?"
The child didn't answer, but looked at him silently.
Qi Qing confirmed that it was him, strode over and said, "Master is here."
The young man squatted down in front of the child, knelt on one knee, hugged the child in his arms, and asked softly: "Why did you run so far alone? You scared the master."
His tone was gentle and warm, but there was no blame at all.
The child hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly reached out and hugged his neck.
Qi Qing knew that the little thing was unhappy about the new bed, so he asked patiently, "Unhappy? What happened this afternoon?"
Yue Ji said nothing and buried his head in his neck. Qi Qing gently stroked the child's soft hair on the back of his head and faintly smelled something unusual.
"What's wrong? Can you tell Master about something?" He gently hugged her tighter and coaxed her in a gentle voice, "Master, promise not to tell anyone, okay?"
After a long while, the child said sullenly, "I'm fine."
Qi Qing knew he was lying as soon as he heard it, patted his back, and said with a bit of helplessness: "Don't blame Master, I didn't expect it would take so long to go out, I should have brought you along earlier."
Children of this age are the most sensitive. If I don’t come back for a long time, Yue Ji won’t think that he has been abandoned, right?
The cold wind of early spring blew through the willows. Qi Qing picked up Yue Ji and turned sideways to block the wind. He was not in a hurry to urge him, and his fingers lightly combed the slightly curled ends of the child's hair.
Yue Ji seemed to be very comfortable with his touch. He rubbed his forehead against Qi Qing's neck and stopped moving.
Qi Qing carried him in his arms and walked towards the Cat and Dog Hall. When they reached where there were lights, Yue Ji felt a little embarrassed and stood up to come down.
He landed on the ground and grabbed Qi Qing's sleeve: "Master, aren't we going back to the sect?"
"You haven't had dinner yet." Qi Qing said, "I bought some buns. Let's go back and eat a few before we leave."
The child lowered his head: "I don't want to go back."
Qi Qing subconsciously asked: "Did they bully you?"
That can’t be possible. The brother and sister seem quite kind, and Yue Ji is not the type to suffer in silence.
"It has nothing to do with them." Yue Ji denied it. After a moment, he hesitated and asked carefully, "Master, are you kind to me because I need your care?"
Just like treating that brother and sister, or anyone who could become Qi Qing's apprentice.
As long as that person is weak and helpless and reaches out his hand to pray for the master's help, the young man will treat the other person well and respond to every hand that is extended to him.
It is not unique or exclusive to him, and has nothing to do with the name "Yue Ji".
Simply because this person is "Qi Qing's apprentice."
"Will there be a day when you won't want me anymore?" he asked again.
Yue Ji raised his head in the cold wind, his eyes full of confusion, eagerly waiting for a response from Qi Qing.
Qi Qing raised his eyebrows slightly: "Also?"
Who else dares not to have a male lead?
"Don't think too much." The young man tapped his cheek and said, "It is natural for a master to take care of his apprentice. Besides, you are my only apprentice. If I don't treat you well, who else can I treat well?"
Yue Ji grabbed his rebellious hand and asked persistently, "Then will Master have other disciples in the future?"
Qi Qing thought about it and said uncertainly: "No."
Raising a child is quite troublesome, and he doesn't always have that much patience.
The child suddenly stopped, took Qi Qing's right hand, and hooked his pinky finger with the young man's pinky finger: "It's agreed that Master only has me as his disciple. Master swears!"
"Okay, okay." Qi Qing shook his finger like coaxing a child: "I'll just accept you, okay? Let's go back and eat buns."
Perhaps it was because he was just being so kind to her, Yue Ji finally let him lead him away obediently.
After returning to the Cat and Dog Hall, the two ate buns, packed up the things they bought during the day, said goodbye to the siblings, and prepared to fly back to Tiandu Sect on their swords.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he was still a step too late. Before he reached the mountain gate, Qi Qing saw from afar that the Tiandu Sect had opened a curfew barrier, so he had to land near the mountain gate.
Seeing that he couldn't get in, he found a big tree and planned to spend the night there.
"Go to sleep. We can't go back to the mountain tonight." Qi Qing took out the newly bought mattress, put it on a branch that was big enough for one person to lie down, and lay down on it. He patted his side and said to Yue Ji: "Come up quickly. Master will catch you."
The child jumped up lightly, but did not land beside him, but fell straight into Qi Qing's arms.
"Hey, be gentle!"
Qi Qing held the person firmly and wrapped the child in another layer of blanket.
It was late at night and the dew was cold, and the spring chill was even worse. The two huddled together in the quilt to keep each other warm. The leaves blocked the moonlight, and the surrounding area formed a small world of its own.
Qi Qing was really tired today and almost fell asleep. He felt the child on his body moving around. He opened his eyes a little, perked up and asked, "Can't sleep?"
Yue Ji looked at him eagerly and nodded.
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