54 The Evil Master 05
◎Ji Zongxue, is here to look for his wife.◎
The round fan embroidered with peony flowers seemed to carry a rich fragrance. It was placed against the broad chest. The bamboo fan handle was held by delicate hands, making the knuckles look white and smooth.
Behind the fan was the smiling face of a woman.
The two were very close to each other, and when the wind blew, the bright red silk ribbon around Su Yanmei's waist was lifted up and landed on Zhao Lin's arm.
Such a conspicuous and bright red, just like Su Yanmei, fell on the golden clothes, and Zhao Lin seemed to be burned. He quickly brushed it away, and lowered his gaze in the same restrained and polite manner.
But when I looked away, the beautiful face and snow-white skin that passed by still caught my eye unexpectedly.
The rich fragrance of gardenias wafted in the wind. The young man turned his head away, his eyes slightly closed, and remained motionless. After a long while, he finally found his voice: "Master's Wife..."
His voice was a little hoarse, as if it had been ground on fine stones. After a pause, Zhao Lin continued, "Master's wife is right."
"In this matter, it is indeed Junior Sister who is at fault."
After saying this, he quickly took two steps back, removed the round fan that was leaning against her, and bowed respectfully: "Master's Wife, Zhao Lin still has some things to take care of, so I won't bother you any more."
Without waiting for Su Yanmei to speak, the young man turned around and left in a hurry, as if he was fleeing in a panic.
The woman standing there didn't even look at him. She swayed her slender waist and sat lazily back at the stone table, a smile on her lips as she fanned herself gently.
She used a thin wooden stick to pick up the sliced watermelon and put each piece into her mouth.
The cool sweetness instantly filled her mouth. Su Yanmei slightly curved her eyes and showed a comfortable and relaxed smile.
The obvious look of happiness was something Xixuan hadn't seen in recent days.
For some reason, when Xi Xuan saw the dazzling picture of gold and red, he did not go in. Instead, he hid himself with Taoist magic, watching his wife and apprentice almost sticking together, with such a bright smile, which she had not shown to him for a long time.
The two of them were in an intimate posture, but in fact, they didn't even touch each other's bodies.
It seems to be overstepping the boundaries, but it also seems not to be overstepping the boundaries.
Xi Xuan stood outside the courtyard and watched for a long time, witnessing his apprentice retreat in panic and haste. As he passed by, Xi Xuan could even see that the eldest apprentice, who had always been focused on cultivation, had a noticeable red tinge on his earlobes, where his black hair did not cover them.
At that moment, Xixuan didn't know what he felt in his heart. He just lowered his eyes, his thick black eyelashes trembled, and stood there for a long time.
After standing there for about half an hour, Xi Xuan waved away the Taoist magic that was covering him, and walked slowly into the yard as if he had just returned. He had a high nose, deep eyes, a handsome face, and his usual aloof and indifferent expression.
His gaze fell precisely on the swaying swing, his golden pupils were crystal clear, without a trace of impurities, like two yellow gems embedded in it.
When viewed from close up, it looks like a shimmering lake illuminated by the sun, exuding a warm hue.
Xixuan didn't stop, but walked behind her and pushed the swing for her.
The swing frame is woven with extremely tough vines, and small wild flowers of red or blue are embedded in the gaps between the vines.
The swing was swinging gently between two lush green trees. Neither of them spoke a word. A gentle breeze blew in their faces, and only sporadic bird calls filled their ears. It seemed as if time had slowed down.
Xi Xuan lowered his eyes and looked at his wife, who was wearing a bright red dress and had her back to him.
My wife no longer wears her hair in a bun, but always likes to wear it half up and half down, which looks very loose and casual. Her dresses are no longer restricted to gold, but any color, including gold, as long as she likes.
It's like throwing away all my previous habits.
Then, has she lost her love for him?
They had been married for over two hundred years, so they shouldn't have been dwelling on such ethereal feelings. However, Xi Xuan couldn't help but think—
Junior sister, does she still like him?
Before the thunderstorm night when Yan Yingchan broke in, Xixuan could feel his wife's deep love for him, but now, he didn't know.
Xixuan suppressed his complicated thoughts, lowered his eyes, and quietly pushed the swing for her.
After playing enough, Su Yanmei leaned against the vines on the side and said lazily, "Brother, why did you come out of seclusion so soon today?"
It was just a simple question, but Xixuan couldn't help but think of the intimate scenes when she was with Zhaolin.
He couldn't help but think—
Does the wife feel that he is interfering with her relationship with Zhaolin?
Although he knew it was nonsense, the image of gold and red kept repeating in Xixuan's mind.
"My cultivation has reached a bottleneck. There's no point in further seclusion." Xi Xuan replied calmly, then casually mentioned, "When I came back just now, I heard that Zhao Lin was here today?"
Su Yanmei: "Yeah."
"I still remember when you brought him back to the sect. He was twelve years old and had just begun to refine his Qi, but in the blink of an eye, he was already on the verge of becoming a spirit." Talking about the past, Xi Xuan's godlike and handsome face slowly smiled, and he casually asked, "Yan Mei, what do you think of Zhao Lin?"
The woman smiled.
From Xixuan's angle, he could clearly see the curve of her lips as she lowered her head slightly. The crimson hue was so conspicuous that it was hard to ignore.
She said, "Zhao Lin, he is a good boy."
There was a hint of intimacy in his words. Xi Xuan suppressed the depression and discomfort in his heart and reminded him, "He is already a hundred years old."
At his age, he is already old enough to get married and have children.
Not a child anymore.
He heard his wife's puzzled voice: "Brother, what's wrong with you? Even if he's a hundred years old, Zhaolin is still your disciple."
"I haven't met him much, but I know he respects his teachers and elders, can distinguish right from wrong, and practices diligently. He's truly a good kid."
Su Yanmei turned around and asked in surprise, "Brother, do you have any misunderstanding about the comparison?"
Facing his wife's dark and confused eyes, Xixuan didn't know what to say.
Everything seems like a cycle of fate.
Just like he said at the beginning.
Because of his young disciple's overly lively temperament, his wife was dissatisfied with it and complained a lot. Xi Xuan just said lightly -
"Yan Mei, she's just a child."
"Yan Mei, do you have any misunderstandings about her?"
Those words from the past are still ringing in my ears. They were said so casually, but now they seem to have turned into a thorn, slowly piercing my heart, and are difficult to pull out.
Xixuan suddenly smiled, but his smile was so faint that it disappeared in an instant, like misty smoke.
"No, I was overthinking it." He endured the pain of being stabbed and said slowly, "Zhao Lin is indeed a good boy."
…
After learning the reason why his junior sister was under house arrest, Zhao Lin felt too embarrassed to go to his master again. He quickly put the matter behind him and focused on his cultivation.
As for the "accident" with his master's wife that day, Zhaolin deliberately forgot it completely.
Fu Wei, the master of Shangqing Mountain, who also pleaded for mercy but failed, went to meet Ji Zongxue.
Xihe Sect covers a vast area, surrounded by continuous greenery. It is headed by Yuqing Mountain, Shangqing Mountain and Taiqing Mountain, each occupying a spiritual vein, and has always been the residence of the mountain master.
Among the continuous peaks outside the three mountains, the closer you are to the three mountains, the more abundant the spiritual energy is.
Therefore, the distance from the three mountains is the division between the inner and outer gates of Xihe Sect.
Outer disciples could only live in the outermost area, near the mountain gate, while the residences of inner disciples were closer to the three mountains.
The one closest to the Three Mountains is the residence of the sect leader, elders, and their direct disciples.
Some of the mountain master's disciples were allowed to live in the Three Mountains, while others lived together with the elders' direct disciples.
The master of Yuqing Mountain, Venerable Xixuan, is only one step away from ascending to heaven, so his disciples try not to disturb him as much as possible.
Therefore, except for Yan Yingchan who wanted the stars and the moon, Zhaolin and Ji Zongxue did not live in Yuqing Mountain.
On a small hill near Yuqing Mountain, a number of small courtyards were built for the disciples to live in.
Ji Zongxue lived halfway up the mountain, while Zhaolin chose to live at the top of the mountain.
When Fuwei came over, Ji Zongxue was waiting for the medicine in the kitchen. He covered his lips with a soft handkerchief and coughed softly.
A beautiful snow fox jumped along the tiles of the roof, with a long, furry tail trailing behind it.
In the distance, before Fuwei knocked on the door, the snow fox was lying there, licking its paws and whimpering.
The weather was a little hot and humid, but the boy wrapped himself tightly, his skin an unhealthy pale color. He walked out and opened the gate.
The young man was wearing the golden robe that represented the disciple of the mountain master. He had an exquisite and beautiful appearance, like an immortal made of ice and snow.
No matter how many times she had seen it, Fuwei couldn't help but sigh that boys change a lot when they grow up. The skinny and dirty little beggar that Su Yanmei picked up at the beginning, after being tidied up, turned out to be so handsome.
"Master Fushan."
Ji Zongxue's lips were pale, and she smiled faintly as she bowed respectfully.
Fu Wei shook her head: "Your master won't let go."
The young man, however, was not disappointed. He smiled faintly and replied, "Master's decision is always difficult to change. Master Fushan is willing to intervene, and Zongxue is deeply grateful. Regardless of success or failure, the cornerstone of the Ascension Formation is a thank you gift to Master Fushan."
Since he was so good at talking, Fu Wei was willing to give him some more advice: "Just being grounded for a month and going to the Ten Thousand Thunder Region to observe thunder is not a big punishment. You don't have to provoke your master again."
"Your master's wife has become overbearing now. Be quiet and don't provoke her."
While scaring the child, Fuwei couldn't help laughing.
Ji Zongxue didn't understand why, but he still thanked Fu Wei respectfully.
After the aqua-blue figure disappeared, the snow fox lying on the roof stepped on the vermilion bricks and tiles with its furry limbs, ran down, nimbly jumped onto the boy's shoulders, and squatted down.
Ji Zongxue reached out and stroked its soft fur, a faint smile on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He stood there quietly, a hint of deep thought in his eyes.
Master Fushan specifically mentioned his master's wife.
It is not difficult to imagine that the punishment of the junior sister must be related to the master's wife.
Like Zhao Lin, Ji Zongxue was also picked up by Su Yanmei.
A hundred years ago, Ji Zongxue was just a six-year-old beggar with ragged clothes and a skinny body. In the ice and snow, he curled up at the city gate and was about to freeze to death when Su Yanmei who was passing by picked him up.
At that time, Su Yanmei was seeking medical treatment and medicine everywhere in order to get pregnant. When she saw such a small child, she couldn't help but feel pity.
After he was picked up, he was also accepted as a disciple by Xi Xuan.
Over the years, Ji Zongxue rarely even saw his master, let alone his master's wife who was a level below him.
The two had very little contact.
In Ji Zongxue's memory, the master's wife was dignified and steady, just like her master, a venerable lady who was high above everyone else and not of this worldly nature.
It made his gratitude back then seem like a joke.
He always remembered his master's life-saving grace and had been striving with all his might since he began his cultivation, hoping to repay his master's kindness in the future. He had a high talent for formations and was growing at a speed that amazed everyone.
When Ji Zongxue was building his foundation, the young boy carved his first successful formation into chalcedony and gave it to his master's wife.
He hoped to start with this small formation and gradually give his master's wife more formations that she could not use.
At that time, the venerable lady, who was high and mighty, just smiled slightly after hearing his gratitude, and asked the maid to take the chalcedony away, as if she were pitying a beggar on the street, and also let him take the cakes back.
The woman looked indifferent the whole time, as if she didn't remember him.
That’s right.
A little beggar picked up casually.
Who will remember it?
This is Ji Zongxue’s deepest and final memory of Su Yanmei.
*
The Xihe Sect has a special place for refining weapons and medicine.
Ji Zongxue is in poor health, a disease she had from her mother's womb. In addition, she suffered from hunger and cold in her childhood. For so many years, she has been in need of constant supplementation with precious medicinal herbs.
A few years ago, the sect's pharmacy developed a pill that could gradually improve his health, and Ji Zongxue would come to get the medicine every month.
Because he was the mountain master's disciple, the pharmacy did not charge too much.
Last month's pills were almost finished, so Ji Zongxue went to get this month's supply.
But when I arrived at the pharmacy, I was told that there was no medicine this month.
Under Ji Zongxue's half-forceful, half-coerced questioning, the owner of the pharmacy had no choice but to tell the truth: "It's not that the pharmacy doesn't want to sell it to you, but this medicine is not made in our pharmacy. It's made by the Venerable Madam. She sends someone to deliver the medicine every month and lets us charge a small fee."
"This month, I don't know if it was delayed or for some other reason, but the medicine hasn't been delivered yet."
"Junior Brother Ji, you are the Reverend's disciple. Why don't you go ask the Reverend's wife?"
…
When coming out of the alchemy room, Ji Zongxue walked aimlessly with his eyes downcast, as if he could sense that he was worried. The snow fox that had been running behind him climbed up along the boy's back and onto his shoulders.
The snow fox poked out its furry head, rubbed against his collar, and whimpered.
Ji Zongxue touched its soft fur, and the snow was reflected in its clear pupils.
He lowered his eyes and whispered, "Let's go again."
I don’t know whether he was speaking to the snow fox or to himself.
After saying this, Ji Zongxue took the initiative to go to Yuqing Mountain, which he had not set foot on for nearly a hundred years.
Venerable Xixuan said that he was his master, but Ji Zongxue never entered Yuqing Mountain again after that time, and he had never seen him many times in total, let alone received much teaching from him.
When it comes to formations, the person who taught him the most, apart from the elders in charge of teaching in the sect, was Master Fushan.
It can be said that Master Fushan is his real master.
Ji Zongxue originally thought that she valued talent and valued her own gifts, but when she mentioned her master's wife, the familiarity in her tone made him think that the two of them must have a close friendship.
How much of Master Fushan's teachings to him were out of consideration for his master's wife?
Ji Zongxue didn’t know.
Just as he didn't know that his master's wife had secretly made medicine for him and sent him medicine every month for so many years.
You obviously care about him, so why don't you say it?
With countless doubts in mind, Ji Zongxue followed the maid who led the way, along the winding mountain road, straight to the top of the mountain.
It was afternoon at this time. The spiritual energy lingering in Yuqing Mountain faded away, revealing its original lush color. The mountain was covered with dense forests, flocks of birds, many spiritual beasts running in the forest, and occasionally one or two fairy beasts could be seen.
Ji Zongxue hasn't been here for nearly a hundred years.
But strangely, he still remembers many things here clearly.
It seems like it has always been engraved in my mind, but I have selectively forgotten it, but never truly forgotten it.
When Ji Zongxue, who was holding the snow fox, walked through the corridors and archways and arrived at the familiar courtyard, his heart skipped a beat.
He subconsciously wanted to retreat.
The young man paused for a few breaths, then adjusted his breathing and quickly followed.
Su Yanmei had just woken up from a nap and was still feeling tired due to the sultry weather.
She asked someone to bring Ji Zongxue in.
The handsome young man, wearing golden clothes and holding a snow fox, came in. The first person he saw was a master's wife who was completely different from the one he remembered.
He was stunned for a moment, then bowed respectfully: "Master's Wife."
Su Yanmei responded lazily.
She leaned on the chaise longue with a lazy look on her face. Although her clothes were neatly dressed, her plump and enchanting figure and the fact that she was leaning sideways made her dress outline her upper body tightly, like an invisible temptation.
Ji Zongxue didn't look around randomly. He even covered the eyes of the snow fox in his arms. When it cried, he simply put it back into the contract space.
"Master's wife, I came here today to ask about the pill." The young man bowed and spoke sincerely.
Su Yanmei looked at him seductively: "You know?"
Ji Zongxue: "Well, Master's wife, please don't blame others. I forced the people in the pharmacy to say it."
Su Yanmei sighed softly.
She took a while to relax, and finally supported her weak body. She went to the cabinet next to her and took out a mahogany box and a folded page of prescriptions.
"Medicinal materials are hard to find. The medicine here is barely enough for this month." Su Yanmei handed over the item in her hand. "Here is the prescription. Later, you can find other pharmacists to make it for you."
Ji Zongxue stretched out his hands to take it. When he accidentally touched Su Yanmei's fingers, he suddenly trembled and even his breathing became tight.
The concerned voice of the master's wife came to my ears: "Are you feeling unwell?"
Ji Zongxue endured the feeling that was hard to tell whether it was comfortable or uncomfortable, and nodded slightly.
So, the master's wife left him here to rest for a while.
The maid brought a chair and Ji Zongxue sat opposite her, opened the mahogany box, and took a pill for today.
Because of taking medicine all year round, Ji Zongxue has a medicinal fragrance on his body, which is not light and quite pleasant.
Su Yanmei sniffed the medicinal fragrance and fanned herself leisurely.
Perhaps because he had just touched his master's wife, Ji Zongxue didn't dare to look at her this time. He crumpled the paper tightly clenched in his hand, his mind a little blank.
He was a little confused.
He obviously didn't have such a big reaction when touching other people, but when he just touched his master's wife's fingers, his body almost clamored to stick to her.
This is not right.
This shouldn't happen.
After resting for a while, Ji Zongxue adjusted his breathing and heartbeat, and said goodbye to Su Yanmei as usual.
The young man put the mahogany box and the prescription into the storage ring, straightened his shoulders like a pine or bamboo, and pushed the door open to go out.
Xi Xuan, who had just returned, heard that Ji Zongxue had come to Yuqing Mountain. He thought that he had come to see him for something important. Just as he was about to ask a maid to bring him over, he saw his second disciple, who had a beautiful face, walking slowly out of his wife's bedroom.
Seeing his master whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Ji Zongxue just bowed respectfully and didn't mention anything else.
Looking at the young man's receding figure, Xixuan's red-gold pupils gradually darkened.
It was obvious that Ji Zongxue was not looking for him as his master, but for his wife.
【Author’s words】
[milk tea]
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