Twin Lotus Flowers (Part Two)
Chapter Twenty-Two
"Master, you want to see the Pavilion Master?" Song Ling looked up abruptly, her shock genuine.
"Well, I feel it's better for you to avoid all this fighting and killing. Your body can't take this kind of reckless behavior anymore." Xie Yuan nodded calmly, stating the facts.
The smile in Song Ling's eyes froze for a moment.
Did Master see through it after all?
But he dared not let his master know what he had done.
That dream.......
Master will not want him.
She absolutely must not find out.
Beneath the surprise in his eyes, a deep melancholy was surging beneath.
His defying fate and changing destiny was an act of utterly heinous and immoral behavior.
It was all for the sake of one person.
But he dared not gamble anymore.
The safest course of action for him is to take control of the situation and devise a foolproof plan.
To him, people's hearts were nothing more than playthings to be manipulated at will.
Only his master remained as unfathomable to him as when they first met, even after he had seen her memories.
She always seemed indifferent, loved freedom, solitude, and was determined to do what she liked.
In her view, there is no such thing as a clear distinction between good and evil.
She has her own set of methods for judging worldly matters.
No one can find the root cause.
He was the same.
This uncertainty always made him inexplicably panicked.
Not only the past, but also every moment of the present.
Including every time in the past I replaced "them".
He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, without any sense of guilt.
Only his master, he never dared to go too far.
He kept testing her limits and her tolerance for him.
People change.
Will the master change?
He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.
He was terrified that his master's judgment of him would lead to a situation he didn't want to see.
He would rather accept the fact that she wanted him to die than accept that she didn't want him anymore.
He's been a complete madman for a long time.
——
Song Ling did not want her to see their Pavilion Master, but why was she so insistent?
There are reasons for this, of course.
While Song Ling was busy with his own affairs, she went to the outskirts of the city and unexpectedly entered a grotto.
We discovered something incredible.
The cave floor was almost entirely filled with pits of bones left by the worms that had devoured the flesh. In the secret chamber next to it was a corpse that had been dead for several days, killed by someone piercing its heart from behind with a sword.
They must have been doing something when they were attacked from behind. However, the person's vigilance was extremely poor, as they didn't even notice someone approaching.
On this person, she also found the tokens of Bu Zhi Chun and Wu Jian Ge.
If she remembered correctly, Chun did not appear in the original script she received, and Wujian Pavilion was clearly founded by Song Ling.
But now, Song Ling is just one of Bu Zhichun's protectors, so who is the new leader of Wujian Pavilion?
She actually had a vague guess in her mind.
It just takes time to weigh the pros and cons.
Ah Ling, what are you hiding from me?
Ten years, is it really just ten years?
What is the source of that familiar yet unsettling feeling I have about you in my memory...?
——
In the end, Song Ling couldn't resist her and compromised, promising to take her with him if the Pavilion Master wanted to see him in the future.
That very night they set off to continue their journey to Jingzhou. He first rested and recuperated for more than half a month, and then stayed in Wuli Town for a while. They were supposed to leave before the next dense fog arrived.
After arriving in Jingzhou, they set off to meet up with Cangyue and Taosu at the inn.
As soon as she stepped into the inn, a little girl dressed in peach pink ran happily into her arms.
Xie Yuan smiled and reached out to gently stroke the tip of her delicate nose, then pinched her noticeably rounder face.
"Little Peach Crisp, have you been happy with Brother Cangyue these past few days?"
Tao Su nodded vigorously, pointed to Cang Yue following behind her, then to herself, and flashed a bright smile.
"Boss, Miss, how have you been lately?"
Cang Yue greeted them with a smile.
"Let's go upstairs and talk."
Xie Yuan, holding Xiao Taosu's hand, had already walked ahead.
"Alright! Miss, you can just follow Little Peach Crisp." Cang Yue quickly responded and then rushed to her master's side. The dog asked timidly, "Boss, did you and Miss have a fight?"
"Why didn't the young lady call you when she went upstairs?"
As soon as Cang Yue finished speaking, the girl in red upstairs leaned out to look down. Song Ling's cold face immediately changed to a kind and gentle expression, with a faint smile on her lips.
"Song Ling, why are you so slow? What are you dawdling about?"
"Master, it was Cang Yue who insisted on telling me." Song Ling shifted the blame without hesitation, took a long stride, and went upstairs in a few steps.
Cangyue stood alone downstairs, bewildered in the wind.
Wait a minute, was he just hallucinating? Could it be that he's been under too much stress lately?
What did the boss just call the young lady?
Master?!
But hasn't the boss's master been... well, many years ago?
Has it been resurrected again?
But this shouldn't be happening, right?
The young lady looks much younger than the old man.
Could it be that the eldest brother misses his master so much that he's gone mad?!
Cang Yue tried to calm herself downstairs for a while but couldn't, so she went upstairs with a look of utter shock.
Xie Yuan told Xiao Taosu to go to the next room and play by herself for a while.
Therefore, when Cang Yue came in, she only saw Xie Yuan and Song Ling.
But as it turns out, things only got more and more outrageous.
He felt he was doomed. He seemed to have discovered something terrible, and there was even a possibility that he might one day be left to rot in the wilderness.
What did he see?
Is this still the same wise, powerful, and ruthless boss he used to be?
But it was only a glance. He quickly realized the situation and left, standing obediently outside the door.
"Master, please don't be angry with me anymore."
Song Ling tentatively tugged at her sleeve and gently shook it in a flattering manner.
"I will never lie to you again."
Xie Yuan calmly sipped her water as he pulled her along.
"That's not it."
No one would believe she wouldn't lie to him; she's got more than eight hundred tricks up her sleeve.
"Then I will never do anything to upset Master again."
"no."
“I will tell you anything that Master wants to know.”
"You don't even believe what you're saying, do you?"
“”
“”
Song Ling beat around the bush with her for a long time, refusing to get to the point. Was this kid trying to cheat again?
Xie Yuan's patience was wearing thin, and her expression was getting worse.
Song Ling did indeed know the answer his master wanted him to give.
He didn't really want to, but if his master insisted...
“Okay, I promise Master, I will let you gradually see my true self. If you find anything in the future, you can ask me directly. As long as it is asked by Master, I will not lie to you.”
Xie Yuan's expression softened a bit upon hearing this, but she still probed with some suspicion.
"Really? You're not trying to fool me again, are you? If you lie to me again, I'll have to consider finding a new apprentice."
“Master, that day will never come.” This time, Song Ling was unusually quiet; unlike before, she didn’t whine and act spoiled whenever the topic of her not wanting him came up. “I just want to know, if Master knew what I looked like in the future, would he still care about me?”
Song Ling loosened her sleeves and sat down beside her from the opposite side.
Xie Yuan was puzzled. "No matter what you become, aren't you still my disciple? You've lied to me so many times, and I've never abandoned you. Besides, this is also a case of me not fulfilling my duty as a master."
"But you wouldn't believe it, would you?"
"Yes, I hope Master can prove to me that you care about me."
——
The night before, they stayed at a roadside inn to rest. Song Ling's health deteriorated again. He deliberately told them to go to bed early, but then disappeared. A large, shocking pool of blood was left unattended beside the bed, leaving only broken teacups on the floor and a wide-open window creaking and rattling in the cold wind.
Xie Yuan searched for him for a long time and finally found him kneeling on the riverbank, still vomiting blood, downstream of a nearby river.
The heartache and worry at that moment were indescribable, and along with it came a lingering sense of powerlessness.
When he saw her, he was clearly panicked. The blood on his hands was shocking, and the bloodstains at the corners of his mouth were not wiped clean. His black hair was loose and he hadn't had time to tie it up, which suggested that the attack had happened suddenly.
"Cough cough, Master..." His voice was weak, tinged with unease and caution as he called her, like a puppy that had been injured in a fight and was now whining and whining for its owner.
Late at night, the silvery moonlight shone on his pale, delicate, and fragile face, making the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth even more alarming.
"Song Ling, what's wrong with your body?" Xie Yuan, both shocked and angry, helped him up and let him lean against her chest. She reached out and put her hand on his pulse. She was quite frightened by his pulse. It was almost non-existent, and his hand was as cold as ice. He was practically dead.
Just as she was about to channel her inner energy into him, he raised his hand and pressed down on her wrist, whispering, "Master, it's no use. I'm fine. I'll be alright in a little while."
Song Ling had long been used to it. The pain was even addictive to him and was the spiritual pillar that had supported her through so many years since she left. Otherwise, he really wouldn't feel what the meaning of his life was. Only pain could constantly remind him what he was doing and why.
Moreover, this is the backlash one suffers from defying fate, and 611 has already begun its actions. Judging from this backlash, the effect is quite good.
However, sooner or later, Master will find out.
He couldn't hide it from her.
This was something he had expected.
Even if he doesn't say it, he won't be able to hide it from her when that day actually comes.
Rather than handing the initiative over to outsiders who then use it to judge him, it would be better to guide his master to gradually discover what he has been hiding from him.
But this method is still a bit too risky.
He didn't know how well his master would accept this, and he needed to be very careful in striking the right balance. If he made the slightest mistake, the things that were foretold in the dream would come true.
Even if his master turns against him, it won't be the worst outcome...
Hearing him say that, Xie Yuan didn't dare to make any rash moves, for fear of making him feel even worse.
Having been reborn into this life, she has no system, no idea where her soul will return in the future, and she must start her cultivation all over again. There are many things she is powerless to do, and as her master, she seems to have never been able to help him much.
In the past, she could at least bear some of the consequences for him, but now she can't do that anymore and can only watch him suffer.
"Did you always get through this?" Xie Yuan's right hand trembled slightly as she touched his bloodless cheek.
Song Ling looked weak, but he didn't show her any pain. He raised his hand and gently placed it on the back of her face, a sickly pale smile appearing on his lips.
"Master, have you forgotten? I will not die..."
"You should have known that the first time you met me."
“..........”
Song Ling could sense her inner pain. He should have been happy, and he had achieved his goal.
But seeing how heartbroken she was, he didn't seem so happy anymore.
His master could always easily influence the decisions he had already made.
"Ah Ling," Xie Yuan interrupted him, "you've been doing things I hate ever since I came back."
"I don't believe you didn't know, and you don't need to hide it from me. You can't fool me."
Song Ling didn't expect her to say it directly, but she had always pretended not to know before, so why?
Did his master really intend to abandon him? He felt a sudden sense of panic and quickly denied it.
"Master...no...that's not how it is..."
"Can we still walk? Let's go back to the inn first."
"Master...I..."
"Shut up."
"......."
She had never been willing to be harsh with him before...
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