Ancient Secret Realm (II)
The girl's body was warm and soft. Xie Zhitiao stiffened for a moment, then hugged her tightly according to his heart. After a few breaths, he reluctantly pushed Lin Zhe away.
"I'm fine, senior sister, I'm sorry to have made you worry." Xie Zhitiao sat up and couldn't help but rub Lin Zhuo's hair.
Seeing that he had just woken up from his nightmare, Lin Zhuo didn't bother with him. She stood up from the couch, looking away from his slightly untied clothes, and straightened her own clothes.
"Tell me, what is your nightmare?"
Xie Zhitiao's smile remained unchanged. He lazily leaned against the edge of the couch, trying to fool around: "It's nothing, just a nightmare, Senior Sister, don't take it to heart."
Lin Zhuo glared at him and was about to say something when Ling Qingqiu's voice came from outside the house.
"A Tiao? Are you there?"
Xie Zhitiao quickly changed the subject: "Senior brother is here, maybe something happened. Let me tidy up, and I'll go take a look first?" Lin Zhuo didn't want to leave the nightmare matter behind, but he was also afraid that Ling Qingqiu really had something wrong, so he had to go out first.
Seeing that the person coming out was Lin Zhuo, Ling Qingqiu was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked, "Why is your hair messy?"
…Lin Zhuo suddenly felt a little guilty: "Nothing, just an accident."
Ling Qingqiu had a hunch. Lin Zhuo had always been delicate, and it was rare for her hair to be so messy, even her hairpin seemed to be dangling. Seeing she was reluctant to speak, he didn't ask further, thinking only of letting You Jingjia ask more later.
"Where's A Tiao? Isn't he here?"
"I'm coming." Xie Zhitiao answered and walked out of the house. Seeing him come out, Lin Zhuo glared at him inconspicuously, then stood aside and put his hair back together.
Ling Qingqiu paid no attention to their exchange of glances. He pulled a jade pendant from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Xie Zhitiao. "I found the exquisite jade and asked Master Jing to make this jade pendant. It's inlaid with the Buchou Spiritual Pearl. Take it and use it to calm your mind."
A blood-red jade pendant, inlaid with a small, round black spiritual bead, lay quietly in the young man's palm. Xie Zhitiao was slightly stunned and did not immediately take it. He asked, "Brother? I'm fine, what's the use of this?"
Ling Qingqiu didn't explain anything further. He lowered his head slightly and hung the jade pendant around the boy's waist.
"Senior Brother gave it to you, keep it." Lin Zhuo, standing by, chimed in. She guessed Ling Qingqiu knew about Xie Zhitiao's nightmare.
"A Tiao." Ling Qingqiu looked into his eyes, "No matter what happens in the future, you must stick to your sword heart." He didn't want to see his sword heart waver, and didn't want to see the Qingming Sword fall asleep.
Xie Zhitiao raised his eyebrows: "Brother, why are you suddenly saying this?"
Ling Qingqiu's eyelashes fluttered slightly. "...It just occurred to me. Zhao Zhao, you too, stay true to your swordsmanship and don't rush into everything yourself."
Lin Zhuo looked at him, a little stunned. Senior Brother's eyes were too complicated. She suppressed her emotions and responded with a smile.
——
Canghe returned to Xuanxiaomen and went straight to Lancang Mountain to find Wan Wuji.
"You mean, you agree to succeed the elder of the Immortal Alliance and let Rong Si allow Zhao Zhao and Atiao to enter the secret realm?" Wan Wuji nodded at the teacup.
"Yes. Rong Si will announce to all the sects later that I will be the successor." Canghe took a sip of tea and said lightly.
Wan Wuji sighed: "Ah He, you have really grown up."
“…”
"Take it one step at a time. Ask me if you're unsure. Don't just rush into a fight with brute force. Do you hear me?" The fan handle knocked on Canghe's shoulder.
"..." Cang He paused slightly, and moved his fingers away from the fan handle, "Senior Brother, I am more than a thousand years old." He remembered clearly that Wan Wuji had called him a "reckless man" during the last incident with the East China Sea dragon. How could he speak or act without thinking?
"If you know how old you are, you should worry less about me. You treat me as a good leader but a hands-off boss." Wan Wuji said unhappily.
"... Wasn't it that Senior Brother didn't want to be the Sect Leader back then, and tricked me into taking over?"
"..." Wan Wuji felt a rare pang of guilt. How could being a sect leader be as free as being an elder? Who would have thought that being an elder would also mean he would have to manage the sect leader? He coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Have you decided on the matter of the Ancient Secret Realm? Tell Qingqiu and the others, there are files waiting for you to process in the main hall, so get busy."
"Then tell those inner disciples to make full preparations. I'm leaving now."
"Um."
——
Cang He slowly returned to the main hall, where Lin Zhuo and the other three were already waiting. As soon as he entered, he saw the jade pendant around Xie Zhitiao's waist.
"Buchouzhu?" He pointed at the jade pendant.
Xie Zhitiao nodded. "Yes. Brother exchanged the Soul-Returning Pill with Miss Qingsang when we were in Jiao Palace."
Canghe nodded: "It's good enough to give it to you." He originally wanted to take the spirit pearl and refine it into a magic weapon and then give it to Xie Zhitiao. Since Ling Qingqiu has already given it to him, then forget it. He will just find another magic weapon.
"The Ancient Secret Realm has been experiencing some disturbances recently. The Immortal Alliance will probably issue a message allowing entry in a few days. The last time the secret realm opened, Qingqiu and Jingjia were still young, but now you've both reached Divine Transformation. Remember to protect the disciples accompanying you on this trip and don't act recklessly. Zhaozhao and A'tiao are going together on this trip. Are you aware of this, my cousin?"
Lin Zhuo was a little surprised: "A Tiao and I are going too?" She clearly remembered that there were no more places after they were given to several senior brothers and sisters in the inner sect.
Ling Qingqiu was also quite confused: "Master, the quotas have been allocated." He looked at the draft list, and Lin Zhao and Xie Zhitiao were not on it.
"I know, the list remains unchanged." Cang He said calmly, "I found Rong Si and agreed to succeed him as the elder, in exchange for Zhao Zhao and A Tiao entering the secret realm.
The four of them were silent for a long time. You Jingjia suddenly tugged at Lin Zhuo's sleeve and asked quietly, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
“…” Lin Zhuo didn’t dare to speak. She looked up at her master stiffly, regretting why she didn’t seal You Jingjia’s mouth.
Senior sister, the voice you used when you were talking about Master was not quiet at all.
The teacup clattered against the table, and Cang He looked up, a puzzled expression on his face. Xie Zhitiao quickly pulled Lin Zhuo over and said, "We understand, Master. My sister and I have something else to do, so we'll leave first." He then pulled Lin Zhuo out.
Ling Qingqiu glanced at You Jingjia, secretly sighing that she was just wishing herself well, and left the main hall, making the excuse that he had something else to do.
You Jingjia also realized belatedly how loud she had been. She smiled awkwardly, "Um... Master, I didn't mean to do that... Please don't punish me..."
Cang He glanced at her and sighed, "Jing Jia, this is nothing at home, but if you were outside, you should still be more careful."
You Jingjia was stunned for a moment. She rarely heard such caring words from Canghe. Most of them were words like "Jingjia, you shouldn't be like this."
Because of her father, she had been a disciple of Cang He since she was young, spending far more time with her master and fellow disciples than with her wandering parents. Cang He had played the role of a father figure in her life for over two hundred years.
Cang He was a young man, he had never married and he didn't know how to raise a child. She was also a girl, so she couldn't get close to her master, who was like a strict father. But at this moment, she suddenly remembered all the care she had received from her master, both in her previous life and in this life, which she had ignored.
Seeing her stunned, Cang He relaxed his expression, thinking that he had been too harsh, and softened his tone: "You have been running around for your Junior Master these past few days. Now that her condition has stabilized, you can rest well. Go back, I won't punish you."
"……Um."
——
Lin Zhuo had picked some jasmine flowers from the back hills and dried them in the yard, intending to make tea with them in the summer. You Jingjia came looking for her and sat beside her, her head tilted to the side, watching her dry the flowers. Seeing that she wasn't in high spirits, Lin Zhuo asked, "Did Master scold you?"
"...No, Master would never scold anyone." You Jingjia sighed, "He didn't say anything about me, nor did he scold me."
"That's perfect," Lin Zhuo smiled. "I see the gardenias on the back hill are blooming too. Senior Sister, would you like some gardenia tea? I'll dry some tomorrow."
"Then let's dry some in the sun. Gardenias are more fragrant." You Jingjia suddenly thought of something and waved at her. "I heard from my senior brother that you and Xie Zhitiao didn't go to practice sword this morning?"
Lin Zhuo blinked. "I waited for A Tiao for a long time this morning but he didn't show up. When I got into the house, I found he was having a nightmare. What happened?"
You Jingjia raised her eyebrows: "Nightmare? Did he do something wrong?"
Lin Zhuo paused: "...No way? He... is calling me and crying."
Crying? You Jingjia was stunned for a moment. She was wary and planned to find out what Xie Zhitiao had to say when she had time. She had a feeling it wasn't just a nightmare.
"Then what?"
"And then... and then I woke him up..." Lin Zhuo's voice softened, her ears burning. She remembered Xie Zhitiao's arms tightly clasping hers, wrapping them around her heart. She hadn't felt such intimacy with a man since she came of age.
"Did he hug you?" You Jingjia asked suddenly.
Lin Zhuo was startled and subconsciously asked, "How did you know, Senior Sister?"
"..." You Jingjia rolled her eyes in annoyance. After living two lives, how could she not see through that boy's thoughts?
"Don't let him touch you. You don't like him." Considering that the boy was suffering from nightmares, she didn't bother with him.
Seeing Lin Zhuo's bewildered look, You Jingjia added with a look of dismay, "I'm talking about the love between a man and a woman! And you're the only one who treats him like a younger brother."
Lin Zhuo puffed up his cheeks and said in a muffled voice, "I know."
——
After Cang He succeeded him as the Immortal Alliance Elder, his time at the sect was greatly reduced. Wan Wuji also took on some of the duties, and Ling Qingqiu also managed a lot.
Another half month passed, and the Immortal Alliance announced that disciples from all sects could go to the secret realm for training. When Cang He rushed back to the sect, the disciples were already ready to go.
He looked at the young and innocent faces in front of him and pinched his eyebrows.
"The Ancient Secret Realm is a secret realm left behind after the Great War of the Gods. It retains the original appearance of the divine realm and is home to numerous spiritual beasts, immortal herbs, and heritage, as well as ancient ferocious beasts. Later, when you board the flying boat, I will give you a jade token. If you encounter a formidable foe in the secret realm, do not hesitate to fight; safety is paramount. Crush the jade token, and I will fetch you out."
"The secret realm contains residual divine consciousness, and one might be trapped in an illusion upon entering. If one encounters an illusion and passes the divine test, inheritance and secret techniques may become possible. If one cannot break the illusion mirror, there is no loss; it can be considered as training. If one does not encounter an illusion, there is no need to be discouraged. Among countless opportunities, the best is the one that suits you."
"The jade slips are not restricted by the secret realm. Once you enter the secret realm, try to find companions and don't be alone. Qingqiu will still lead the team this time." Canghe turned his head and called softly, "Zhao Zhao, A Tiao. This is your first time in the secret realm. Even if you have achievements, don't rush in. It's getting late, let's go."
The flying boat slowly took off. Cang He tossed the jade token to Ling Qingqiu and went into his room to rest. The guesthouse had been left to him alone. For over a thousand years, except for his sword practice as a child, he had never felt so exhausted.
Lin Zhuo hadn't slept well the night before, so he said goodbye to his senior and junior brothers and went back to his room with You Jingjia to rest. Lin Zhuo fell asleep quickly, and You Jingjia quietly opened the door, walked out, and turned to go to Xie Zhitiao's room next door.
Seeing that it was You Jingjia, Xie Zhitiao turned aside to let her in. "What a rare guest! What do you want from me?"
You Jingjia didn't hesitate and went into the house and sat down.
"I heard from Zhao Zhao that you've been having nightmares lately. Let me see if you've done anything wrong."
Xie Zhitiao sneered and retorted, "Can you be so kind? Do you have something to ask me?"
"Not stupid at all." You Jingjia smiled. "Because Zhao Zhao had a nightmare?" Xie Zhitiao had changed so much in his life that she had an absurd idea.
"No." Xie Zhitiao denied subconsciously.
Seeing him like this, You Jingjia felt somewhat certain, but she didn't press the issue. Instead, she said, "The past is the past. You have the final say on the future. Don't trap yourself in your nightmare."
She was really not used to speaking to him in this elder sister manner, and felt a little uneasy for a moment. She said stiffly, "If a dream can trap you, then don't be so embarrassed to compete with me for Zhao Zhao."
She stood up and prepared to leave, and the boy said, "Second Senior Sister, you also know that I like her, right?"
You Jingjia paused and said in the same tone as usual: "I know. Zhaozhao hasn't figured it out yet, you should know your limits." She had no intention of stopping him.
Watching her walk to the door, Xie Zhitiao smiled and said softly, "Second Senior Sister, thank you." Thank you for her awkward concern and thank you for her tacit consent after knowing it.
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