Chapter 205 Epilogue - The New World Arc (Part Two)
Li Xiao didn't expect that Shen Yun would actually launch a sneak attack.
Good heavens! If he hadn't been quick-witted and escaped, he probably would have been eliminated on the spot.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter that absolutely requires violence?! A gentleman uses words, not fists. You, you, you... put down your sword first, it won't be too late to say anything!!!"
Li Xiao fled frantically, desperately dodging Shen Yun's sword energy, all the while shouting repeatedly.
According to a disciple who witnessed the chase that day, "Yes, yes, that's right. We ran out as soon as we heard the commotion, and when we got there, we saw Senior Brother Shen beating Senior Brother Li..."
"What kind of fighting style? It's the kind where you fight to the death. Don't you know the glorious story of how Senior Brother Shen used to fight so ruthlessly in the arena that his opponent directly self-destructed and admitted defeat?"
"Really? You didn't even know about that kind of thing? Well then, I'll have to give you all a good talking about it. Your Senior Brother Shen was ruthless back then, a real heartbreaker... Oh, by the way, don't let anyone know that I told you that..."
No one knew exactly what had happened, but it was clear that Shen Yun was truly provoked this time.
Carrying his sword, he chased after Li Xiao, running around the sect again and again with a gloomy expression. His whole body was filled with a chilling killing intent. Not to mention the passing dogs, he cut down countless flowers and plants along the way.
If it were anyone else, they would probably have been caught by now.
But this person just happens to be Li Xiao.
This good-for-nothing young master, a master of laziness and idleness, unexpectedly managed to hold his own against a raging demon with his rage fully charged when he ran.
And so this amazing sight lasted for a long time.
Some might ask, isn't there anyone who can speak effectively and take charge of the situation?
Yes, of course.
Inside an elegant study, two people, one fat and one short, one tall and one thin, sat facing each other.
The lively scenes within the sect were constantly being broadcast in the water mirror beside them.
Seeing the flowers and plants left in a mess by the two people in the mirror, the short, fat middle-aged man couldn't help but show a hint of worry on his Buddha-like face.
"Look at the way they're behaving! If we leave them like this, what if something goes wrong..."
"yes."
The tall, thin man sitting opposite him echoed in a low voice, his slightly bitter face now deep in thought, as if he were pondering some extremely profound question: "Let me think about it some more; I must find a complete solution."
While saying this, his eyes were fixed on...
The chessboard on the table.
Seeing this, the short, stout man couldn't help but show a helpless expression: "Sect Leader, don't just focus on the chess game now. Look how long you've been thinking about this move, you might as well—"
"I call this careful consideration."
The tall, thin man remained unhurried, slowly placing a piece on the chessboard as he spoke. Only then did his brows relax, revealing a satisfied expression: "You, you're just too much of a worrywart. If you're like this when you're young, you'll still be a worry when you're older."
"Can--"
"But what? Didn't we go through this same ups and downs back then? Are you really worried about the entire sect, or are you just concerned that A-Zhao's child might be taken advantage of?"
As soon as the tall, thin man said this, the short, fat man opposite him immediately fell silent.
Upon seeing this, the tall, thin man immediately gave a knowing look, said nothing more, and casually invited the other person to continue playing chess.
"Your turn, your turn. If you ask me, taking care of a little kid is no more fun than playing chess."
The short, stout man opposite hesitated for a moment before finally picking up a chess piece.
Seeing this, the tall, thin man smiled slightly and said, "The saying goes, you have to let go when it's time to let go. Even his own parents can't control him for a lifetime, let alone you, his senior brother. You should think more positively."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Besides, it's about time for Xiao Linzi to emerge from seclusion. All these years, he's only taken in students but not taught them properly; it's time for this kid to put in some effort himself."
The "Little Lin" they were talking about was named Lin An.
He was once a renowned genius disciple of the Hidden Immortal Sect, but later, seemingly due to a broken heart, he became despondent and lived a secluded life, frequently going into seclusion.
When Lin Angang chose Shen Yun to take him on as a disciple, everyone thought that this guy had finally emerged from his past gloom and completely cheered himself up.
As soon as the apprenticeship ceremony ended, he disappeared again.
I asked someone about their newly accepted apprentice and learned that the apprentice had gone into seclusion again without stopping.
It almost made the sect leader at the time furious.
Fortunately, the new disciple was sensible. He didn't panic when he saw his master run away. After greeting the guests who came to offer their congratulations, he tidied himself up and began his cultivation.
This is probably what people often mean when they say that children from poor families learn to be independent early.
If an unreliable master is paired with an unreliable disciple, and this continues generation after generation, the sect is doomed.
The sect leader was deeply gratified, especially after seeing the amazing talent that Shen Yun displayed in her cultivation. In addition to admiring and cherishing her, he also had higher expectations for her.
"I can forgive Ah Xiao, but I never expected that he would even get involved with Shen Yun now..."
As the short, stout man placed his piece, he shook his head to himself, seemingly somewhat wistful.
The tall, thin man smiled easily: "Well, young people should be more energetic, otherwise they'll all age prematurely, what hope is there?"
Having said that, he placed a piece, then stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "I have a slight advantage in this game. You are too kind to me."
Upon hearing this, the short, fat man paused for a moment before realizing he had lost. Just as he was pondering where he had made a mistake, he was pulled into a new round by his opponent.
For a moment, they even forgot about Li Xiao, who was still suffering in dire straits.
Li Xiao hadn't expected Shen Yun to be so persistent. At first, she could still manage to argue a bit, but now she was exhausted.
He wanted to negotiate a truce with the other side, but as soon as he paused even slightly, he was met with icy sword energy that grazed his cheek.
In the short time it took to react, several strands of Li Xiao's hair had already been cut off. The severed hairs froze into ice crystals in mid-air and shattered into pieces when they hit the ground.
For Li Xiao himself, this action was not particularly harmful, but extremely insulting.
Therefore, he reasonably suspected that this guy was after his face from the very beginning. As for the reason for doing so—of course, it was jealousy. Shen Yun was simply jealous of his incomparably handsome face.
—The forbidden area within the gate lies ahead.
Li Xiao paused involuntarily, and then another sword aura swept past.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Li Xiao secretly cried out in his heart that something was wrong. He did not expect that Shen Yun was really serious and was going to kill him!
Just when things were at their most critical, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, directly between the two. With a gentle wave of his hand, he easily dispelled the sharp, icy sword energy in the blink of an eye.
This person was none other than Lin An, Shen Yun's unreliable master who had just finished his seclusion.
After staying in his cave for more than half a month, Lin Anfu came out and heard that his usually calm and steady disciple had actually chased his fellow disciples all over the mountain with his sword for the first time ever.
I couldn't help but think, "Wow!"
You should know that when dealing with fellow disciples he doesn't like, this ruthless (crossed out) and powerful disciple of his simply drags them into the arena for a fight.
Unexpectedly, there has been a new development this time. As a mentor with supervisory responsibilities, I have to go to the front row to see what's going on.
And so the scene described earlier unfolded. Master Lin descended from the sky, making a grand entrance... then slipped and nearly fell flat on his face.
—Damn it, that heartless bastard actually threw fruit pits in front of the forbidden area! Does he have no conscience at all?!
Master Lin cursed the guy who threw the fruit pit a thousand times in his heart, but on his face he still maintained the calm smile that a hermit should have.
He glanced at his junior apprentice, whose face looked pale and whose hair was noticeably thinner than before—oh, he recognized him; he was Senior Sister Li's son, Old Chang's precious darling. He made up his mind.
In situations like this... of course, the best course of action is to minimize the impact and avoid making a big deal out of it.
Master Lin turned to look at his apprentice, but before he could smile and start reminiscing, a cold glint had already grazed the corner of his robe.
Master Lin dodged to the side and stepped directly on the persistent fruit pit. This time, he lost his balance and fell hard on his backside, seeing stars and his fingertips trembling.
"You, you, you..."
Before he could finish saying "you," Shen Yun had already sheathed her sword, walked up to him, and respectfully bowed.
"Please forgive me, Master. I was blind and thought it was some ignorant fellow who came to meddle. I never expected it to be... Please forgive me, Master."
—Hehe, if I hadn't seen how calm and collected you were when you made your move, I would have believed it.
Especially this so-called apology, the tone sounds humble, but the content... never mind.
Lin An thought to himself, as an elder, how could he possibly argue with a child about such things?
So he waved his hand, got up rather unceremoniously from the ground, dusted himself off, and then remembered to ask what had happened.
"Sect rules stipulate that disciples should not fight each other in private. What was the reason just now?"
“He came to my yard to steal someone.”
Lin An finally managed to adjust his mindset and put on the demeanor of a teacher, but he immediately stopped in his tracks upon hearing Shen Yun's answer.
Turning to look at his nephew with his youthful face, and then at his own disciple who, despite his aloof demeanor, had only recently risen to prominence, his mind went blank for a moment.
Is this the same person he was thinking of who was cheating on his partner?
I was in seclusion for more than half a month, how could such an astonishing story have already happened?!
Where's the sect leader? Where's Old Chang? With so many people in the sect, isn't there even one person who's going to do something about it...?
Meanwhile, in the study, the short, stout man, often referred to as Old Chang, suddenly sneezed.
Seeing this, the tall, thin sect leader opposite him, who had been hesitant and struggling with his decision, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Haha, guess who's cursing you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he sneezed violently.
This time, it was Lao Chang's turn to laugh: "Now we don't need to guess."
Upon hearing this, the sect leader also looked at the water mirror to the side, where Lin An's shocked face was reflected.
However, being an experienced person, Master Lin quickly recovered. He coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment.
"This...this is for which family's daughter?" Lin An asked in what he thought was a tactful tone.
I was surprised to receive an even more explosive answer.
"Not a girl."
"Oh, I see... What did you say? No, no, not a girl?!"
Lin An was completely shocked and for a moment forgot to maintain the dignity of being a teacher.
Shen Yun, however, remained calm and composed: "He is my junior brother, Master's second disciple."
Second apprentice...
Upon hearing this, Master Lin was completely bewildered. When had he ever taken on a second disciple? Hmm, could it be that he had long since developed Alzheimer's and had completely forgotten such an important matter as taking on a disciple?
Just as Lin An was completely lost in thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something moving under his nephew's arm—something furry and twitching—that looked like…a human head?!
I immediately got goosebumps all over my body.
Lin An involuntarily took a half step back, staring in horror at a furry little head that emerged from under Li Xiao's arm, then an arm, and then another arm.
Then the child kicked his legs and broke free from Li Xiao's arms, wobbling as he stood up on the ground.
Lin An was completely stunned. Wow, what a spectacular scene of a person appearing out of thin air!
It was absolutely breathtaking.
Just then, Shen Yun's tone softened as she beckoned, "Junior brother, come here and greet Master."
Lin An got goosebumps from listening to this.
Is this... really my aloof and cool eldest disciple? Is he possessed by a ghost?
Of course, Lin An could never say these thoughts aloud... He was joking, after all, he still needed to keep his life to go back into seclusion.
However, this little apprentice is quite adorable, with a proper nose and eyes; he's sure to have a bright future.
Looking at her well-behaved appearance, she clearly doesn't have any bad intentions.
Waaah, it's been so many years since there have been such normal kids on this mountain. They're either mature beyond their years like my own apprentice, or arrogant young masters like Old Chang's precious darling, and the rest are just a bunch of brats who are even more mischievous than the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain...
Sigh, so it seems the eldest disciple does understand the role of a teacher.
Thinking this, Lin An was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he unconsciously stretched out his arms, looking with concern at the child walking towards him.
He was so excited he was practically blowing snot bubbles from his nose.
Come on, quickly come into my arms.
Even the usually silent Shen Yun couldn't help but whisper a reminder from the side: "Master, please be normal."
"..."
—Isn't it normal for a teacher to be like this?
Lin An felt as if his mind, which had just recovered from seclusion, had been struck by an arrow.
However, having long been familiar with his eldest disciple's character, he quickly rallied.
Just as the soft and adorable little apprentice was right in front of him, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around the latter's shoulders from behind, casually crossing in front of him.
Then there's Li Xiao's handsome face, which he inherited almost entirely from his devilish father.
However, the smile on that face was hardly friendly.
And so, Lin An watched helplessly as his precious little apprentice, whom he had so easily obtained (crossed out) and who was right in front of him, was suddenly embraced by Lao Chang's darling.
To be honest, Lin An's understanding of this junior apprentice Li largely came from Lao Chang's evaluation.
According to Lao Chang, although this child is occasionally a bit unconventional, he is generally a polite and kind child.
According to Lin An's own feeling, the other party was like a spoiled young master who had never suffered. Ultimately, it was because Lao Chang spoiled him too much, and the sect leader always indulged Lao Chang, so the situation was showing signs of getting worse...
Overall, Lin An has not harbored any ill will toward this junior apprentice so far.
Yes, so far only—
The next moment, Lin An received a disdainful glance from those unique, jade-colored eyes.
"Don't go over there, there's a pervert."
This was what Li Xiao whispered in his little apprentice's ear.
"Hey, Old Deng, stop making that disgusting face, you're practically drooling."
This is what Li Xiao said to Lin An.
...Oh, to hell with politeness and kindness.
Lin An silently gave the middle finger in his mind.
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