"Okay, I'll leave it to you then."
After a moment of silence, Nie Yanchen raised his hand and rubbed Tu Nian's head.
This all seemed a joke, but in fact, not only Nie Yanchen, but also the rest of the people present had trust in Tu Nian's heroic speech.
Nie Yanchen's expression was not one of hesitation, but of relief mixed with worry.
Up to this day in the competition, no one doubted the fifteen-year-old girl's ability to perform well in the field.
There may be a lower limit, but it will not belong to Tu Nian.
The next day, Tu Nian summoned the other three people who participated in the sect melee and informed them of Chu Qiurong's injuries.
"In short, this is the situation. This competition is full of talented people. If we want to win in Jixue, it is obvious that relying on brute force alone will not be enough. We need to formulate a more targeted plan."
Tapping the homemade blackboard hanging on the wall, Tu Nian spoke to the people across the table.
"So, what's the plan?"
Unable to understand why she was lecturing so much about the piece of bark she'd torn off the backyard, Song Chengming chose to ask a practical question to show he was listening intently. Chi Wenzhao and Qin An, though silent, also looked very focused.
Seeing that the three people were not shaken by Chu Qiurong's situation, but became more motivated, Tu Nian felt greatly comforted. He then also worked hard to analyze the core rules of the sect melee with everyone and designed them.
She spoke in detail, and the three of them listened attentively, and she talked like this for the entire day.
The meeting lasted until the evening, and the few of them finally made some time to have dinner. After dinner, everyone was planning to sort out the details of the plan, but Nie Yanchen happened to send a message asking Tu Nian to come over.
Tu Nian was afraid that Chu Qiurong might be in trouble again, so he put down what he was doing and rushed over in a hurry. When he entered, he saw Nie Yanchen sitting alone in the room, his back facing the door, and his profile looking out the window revealed a bit of loneliness.
Tu Nian was startled, but it was only a blink of an eye. Nie Yanchen, who heard the footsteps, had already turned his head. The smile on his face was the same as when he first met him, gentlemanly with some mystery, and now perhaps even a little more gentle.
"Disciple is here, please sit down."
Tea had been brewed on the table early in the morning. He invited Tu Nian to sit down and poured her tea. His demeanor and movements were no different from usual, but Tu Nian felt inexplicably lonely as she watched him.
Sitting down and taking a sip of tea, Tu Nian suppressed the bitterness in his heart and asked calmly, "Master, why are you looking for me at this hour? Is Second Senior Brother not feeling well?"
"Ah, no."
Nie Yanchen seemed distracted, and he responded subconsciously to her question. After coming to his senses, he smiled and added, "Actually, it's better than we imagined."
Tu Nian's eyes lit up, "What do you mean?"
Nie Yanchen said, "The power of the Soul-Breaking Sword Technique lies in this 'soul-breaking' aspect. Humans are divided into three souls and seven spirits, of which Taiguang, Shuangling, and Youjing are the three souls. If one of the souls is broken, the yin and yang in the body will be unbalanced, causing great harm to the human body."
"Today, Nan Feng and I used spiritual energy to heal Qiu Rongdu. We discovered that the sword technique injured his spirit, but not his soul. This way, his body will be fully recovered in less than half a month."
"That's great!" Tu Nian said excitedly, "In that case, Second Senior Brother, can you contribute a little more tomorrow?"
"Well, haha." Nie Yanchen laughed dryly. "Maybe not."
“…”
Tu Nian's smile froze, and then he was silent for a while. He put the hand holding the teacup on the table, lowered his eyelids and muttered, "Why don't you get to the point first? You're making others happy for nothing."
Nie Yanchen found it funny to see that aggrieved look.
Reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear, he asked, "So, how's the communication of your battle plan going? Is it going smoothly?"
"So this is what Master wants to ask."
Tu Nian raised his head quickly and said, "It went quite smoothly. The brothers and sisters were very enthusiastic."
At this point, she arched her brows at Nie Yanchen and jokingly said, "Anyway, I'm much more proactive than you, Master."
Nie Yanchen pursed his lips, "Really? That's great."
Oops! I said the wrong thing!
Seeing the obvious dimming in his eyes, Tu Nian immediately tensed up.
Then, as her mind raced, trying to think of something to say to save the mood, Nie Yanchen got there first and suddenly spoke, "Actually, I didn't want to worry you about anything."
His straight body froze, and Tu Nian frowned, "Master..."
Nie Yanchen slowly stroked his fingertips and said, "My disciples, all you need to do is practice diligently and live a good life. You don't even have to practice. As long as you live a happy life, it doesn't matter what Jixue's reputation is. That's what I originally thought. But..."
After a pause, he smiled somewhat helplessly, "I forgot that as a member of Jixue, my disciples would also feel sad about having such an unworthy master, and feel ashamed of the sect's decline."
That's not the case.
Listening to his frustrated voice, Jixue's past, and how he was forced to take the position of sect leader, the stories that Bo Qiu had told flashed through Tu Nian's mind again and again.
In order to prevent the snow from being involved in the war for fame and fortune.
He did not fight, in order to give his disciples in the sect a complete youth that he had lost.
During these days of competition, what kind of pressure did he feel as he watched one competition after another?
Her heart ached and Tu Nian clenched her fists. She wanted to interject something, but Nie Yanchen continued talking.
"So, Nan Feng took care of the sect's trivial matters for me before, and now Xiao Si and you have to bear the pressure of winning the competition for me. And everything I have always wanted to avoid has come true one by one."
"Jixue has become the target of public criticism, Qiurong has been injured... To be honest, I really don't know what the point of me, as the sect leader or even the master, is doing."
"That's not the case."
Interrupting him, Tu Nian reached out and painfully rubbed his clenched white fingers into his palm, sniffing, "Master, it's not like that."
Holding Nie Yanchen's fingertips, she wanted to comfort and enlighten him, but when she thought about the original novel that only portrayed him as an incompetent and dissolute sect leader, and the misunderstanding of him by others, she felt very sad. She opened her mouth several times, but didn't know how to use his forbearance and greatness to cover up such dirty speculations.
Finally, it was Nie Yanchen who spoke.
"Xiao Si, you are still young, so you may not understand. I am not saying this to ask you to comfort me."
As he spoke, he gently pulled out his fingers, then placed his entire palm on the back of Tu Nian's hand.
The palms of his hands were covered with calluses from years of holding a sword. They felt rough and warm against his skin, like a father's hands.
Tu Nian's eyes became moist almost instantly.
"I know you, Xiao Si, care deeply about this competition, but compared to the sect's reputation, you are the most important. Therefore, regardless of whether we win or lose tomorrow, I want you to return unscathed."
Meeting her red eyes, Nie Yanchen said, "This is the order of the Sect Master."
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