Chapter 87 Master, this little girl is so pitiful!
"Submit to Qing Shen Pavilion?" The young man seated on the golden chair cast a disdainful glance, a smirk playing on his lips, his shifty eyes giving him the look of a classic villain from a modern movie. Ye Chi lowered his head, feigning the appearance of a simple mortal, his eyes concealing his hidden scheming: "Yes, Immortal, my wife and I both wish to submit to Qing Shen Pavilion."
"Hahahaha! You're quite sensible!" The man laughed wildly a few times, then clapped his hands and said, "These days, quite a few mortals have shown their intention to submit to the Qing Shen Pavilion. We are naturally willing to accept you mortals without spiritual power. However—oh, I don't mean to look down on people at all, but since your spiritual power is so weak, even if you come to our Qing Shen Pavilion, we can't provide you with good food and drink, can we?"
The implication was so clear it was almost a direct statement. Ye Chi immediately knelt down and said, "We don't want to eat for free. We just want to find a place to stay. I can serve you like a slave!"
“But…” He changed the subject, a somewhat troubled look on his face. He pulled the “madam” who was blindfolded with a white silk ribbon out from behind him. It was a slightly rough action, but he was extremely gentle, as if he was afraid of disturbing the person. “My wife has an eye disease and is physically weak. She can’t do anything, but I can help her complete her work as well.”
The young man's previously listless gaze flashed with surprise the moment he caught sight of Ya Feiyu. He pondered for a moment, then fixed his wolfish gaze on Ya Feiyu before smiling and saying, "Of course, no problem. You love your wife very much..."
The second half of the sentence was like a murmur, the voice gradually fading. Ye Chi seemed to understand his meaning, put on a flawless smile, and said, "Of course, I love him very much, and he loves me very much too."
“Go down,” the young man said, clearly showing little interest. “Aying, go and take these two back to the sect.”
The girl called Aying was a girl with a dignified appearance. Her eyebrows and eyes exuded a heroic and imposing aura. Her gaze swept over others as if a fierce eagle was surveying its territory. Aying nodded slightly upon hearing this and looked at Ye Chi. Her gaze paused for a moment, but only for a fleeting instant. "You two, come with me."
Ye Chi naturally noticed her momentary unease, but at this moment he could only suppress his vigilance and caution, holding Ya Feiyu's wrist with one hand while carefully maintaining a good distance from A Ying.
The Qing Shen Pavilion is quite far from here; it usually takes cultivators half a day to reach it by sword, and for mortals who are unarmed, it is an even longer journey. The young man wasn't lying to them; there were indeed many mortals who wanted to submit to the Qing Shen Pavilion. A Ying led them to a long queue, and Ye Chi glanced ahead and couldn't see the end of it.
Aying stopped beside him, occasionally reaching out to support the unsteady Ya Feiyu—it was all an act, to make the blind man's image more believable. Seeing his curious expression, she slowly said, "The people here aren't just from this village; there are others from nearby villages. Like you, they all want to submit to the Qing Shen Pavilion for various reasons."
Ye Chi took Ya Feiyu's arm with one hand and said, "So many people? Does Qing Shen Pavilion have such a big place?"
Mentioning this, A-Ying's expression hardened, as if recalling some unpleasant memory. Her face paled slightly, and she remained silent for a long while, choked with emotion. She only answered Ye Chi's question with a gentle shake of her head, "Qing Shen Pavilion certainly has a place for you to rest."
Such an ambiguous answer is somewhat inappropriate.
Ye Chi thought to himself.
Ya Feiyu pursed his lips slightly. To make his act more convincing, the white silk blindfold completely covered his vision. He had no choice but to grope around in mid-air until he touched A Ying's hand, which was slightly cooler. His eyebrows relaxed and the corners of his lips curved slightly, making him look like a gentle person: "You're a young girl? You sound like you're not very old."
Aying stiffened slightly, her gaze fixed on Ya Feiyu's overly slender hand, but she showed no sign of rejection. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"I'm similar to you all. I was born in the same village, and later I joined Qing Shen Ge."
Her voice was low. Ya Feiyu gently covered the back of her hand, lifted her hand, and gently stroked the thin calluses on her palm. "You've worked very hard."
Aying froze, her beautiful, dark eyes seeming to tremble slightly. She bit her lower lip tightly, her voice slightly hoarse as she suppressed her emotions: "Thank you. I... I don't have any spiritual roots. In order to stay in Qing Shen Pavilion, these sacrifices... are all worthwhile."
Ya Feiyu smiled gently: "You are a wonderful little girl."
Aying nodded emphatically, then realized that Ya Feiyu probably couldn't see her actions, so she grasped Ya Feiyu's hand in return, her voice trembling slightly: "Thank you, it's been a long time... since anyone has praised me like this."
Ye Chi watched quietly from the side, without making a sound.
A faint shout seemed to come from ahead. Only then did Aying come to her senses. She loosened her grip on Ya Feiyu's hand and said in a low voice, "We're about to set off. It'll take about ten days to walk from here to Qing Shen Pavilion... Can your body handle it?"
She was asking about Ya Feiyu. That figure in white, fluttering in the wind, was like a flower in a storm, easily destroyed without a trace. Hearing her voice, he simply nodded twice. If he could see her now, he would surely be moved by the worry in the kind girl's eyes.
"It's alright, I can manage. Little girl, but what about you? Can you handle a ten-day journey?"
Ah Ying looked ahead and said, "Of course, no problem. I've been undergoing this kind of weight training since I was little. Don't underestimate me because I'm small; my body is even better than the person next to you."
Ye Chi laughed and scolded, "Hey, what does this have to do with me?"
Aying turned her head away with an arrogant expression and snorted disdainfully through her nose: "Hmph."
Ya Feiyu smiled helplessly.
...
After traversing the bumpy and rugged terrain, the rest of the journey became relatively easier.
Despite her boastful words before setting off, Ah Ying was still just a mortal. Her appearance gradually became haggard. Although she still pretended to be cheerful in front of the two, her voice had clearly lost its previous vitality.
That night, after finding an open space to rest, Aying went to a quiet place by herself.
Deep down, she was a strong and stubborn person. She didn't want others to see her vulnerable state, preferring to isolate herself rather than confide in anyone. She looked up at the campfire burning not far away, and felt the cold wind rushing past her. Perhaps it was the sand in the wind, because her eyes unconsciously reddened.
If given the choice, who would deliberately choose to endure loneliness?
She wiped away her tears, unaware of the approaching footsteps for a moment.
"A-Ying?" That gentle voice called her name softly as always, "Are you alright? Why are you here all alone?"
Aying looked up in surprise. Ya Feiyu had actually come looking for her all by himself. She knew that this somewhat sluggish man actually possessed a small amount of spiritual power, so it wasn't surprising that he could find her by following her aura. However, he couldn't see, and no one was with him. This action was far too rash.
"Big brother, why did you come alone?" She sat up with a start, momentarily forgetting that she had been crying. "Where is your husband? Did he really let you come alone like that?"
Ya Feiyu gently curved her lips into a very faint smile. "No, I came here without telling him. He doesn't know I'm missing."
Aying was taken aback. In her memory, the two were always inseparable. She had initially felt a little sorry for Ya Feiyu because he needed to rely on others to survive, but she hadn't expected him to come looking for her alone. She couldn't help but worry, her brows furrowing slightly. "If he finds out you're gone, won't he scold you or punish you?" Just like those people did to her.
This time it was Ya Feiyu's turn to be stunned, then he chuckled and shook his head: "How could that be?"
He slowly approached, raised his hand to smooth down the stray strands of A-Ying's hair, his gaze gentle as water, "How could someone who truly loves you bear to punish you for such a trivial matter?"
Aying was stunned for a moment.
Throughout her life, there was always a voice telling her—
“Those adults punished you because you did something wrong.” The frail mother said coldly to the bruised and battered woman, “They love you very much and have high hopes for you. You have let them down. Why can’t they punish you?”
The young girl stared wide-eyed at her dark, bright eyes, seemingly unable to understand why her usually gentle and indulgent mother would speak to her like this about something like this. Already feeling wronged because of her numerous injuries, she now wept uncontrollably, "But, it hurts so much, Mom..."
“The more pain you are in, the higher the expectations adults have for you.” Her mother stroked the top of her head, and instead of comforting her as usual, she said, “Remember this, only those who truly love and care about you will patiently correct your mistakes and help you become a better person.”
But that wasn't what she wanted in the first place. The young girl had already vaguely understood something, but she didn't impulsively say it aloud. Instead, she pretended to have been persuaded by her mother and nodded obediently. The mother was quite satisfied with this, nodded, and turned to leave, leaving behind only the cold medicine and bandages.
"Take care of your wound yourself. These kinds of things will keep happening in the future, so you have to learn to handle them yourself."
With tears in her eyes, Aying nodded, removed the bandage, and applied medicine and bandaged herself.
At this age, she should have been innocent and naive, but as the bandages wrapped around her arm circled again and again, she vaguely understood something.
Therefore, she learned to be patient and silent.
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