However, Shifu has not yet handed out her punishment. It would seem that the feeling of waiting, was even more uncomfortable than receiving the punishment itself.
In the evening, Ranran pleaded with Second Senior Uncle to send two flatbreads to second senior brother who was still kneeling below the mountain, so he wouldn't faint from hunger. She also tried to stay inside the house and avoid running into Shifu.
But since she had already slept for three days already, it wasn't appropriate to lounge in bed any longer. The next day, Ranran got dressed and went to the bamboo forest near the inn for a stroll. Coincidentally she saw Shifu returning from hunting on the mountain.
The little white tiger followed behind him, proudly carrying two rabbits in its mouth.
Su Yishui saw her and said, "It's time to change your dressing."
Ranran saw that her master's expression had gone back to normal and not as angry as when he drove second senior brother away yesterday, so she obediently followed him back to the house.
After the little white tiger put down the rabbits, it sensibly brought Su Yishui's medicine treatment box in its mouth. It then flopped down nearby to watch Su Yishui change Ranran's dressing.
The bloody wound on her glistening white arm was very conspicuous. Normally, after a few days, the wound should have scabbed over. However, Ranran's arm was still bleeding, barely stopped by the hemostatic powder applied to it.
Watching her master's skilled movements, Ranran wondered if he had been personally bandaging her wound these past few days?
Ranran felt a bit embarrassed and said, "I have always had this kind of constitution since I was young. Once injured, I can never stop bleeding. My parents were very worried and consulted many doctors, but it didn't help. So, they never let me leave the yard, afraid that I might fall and get hurt outside."
Su Yishui remained silent and did not speak. He quickly applied the medicine powder to her wound and then wrapped it with clean cloth slowly. The techniques of a Divine healer were sublime, and Ranran was accidentally mesmerized watching Shifu's side profile, and didn't even feel any pain.
After dressing the wound, Su Yishui finally spoke: "Yesterday, I drove Bai Baishan away, only you did not intercede for him. Why is that?"
Ranran said in a small voice, "Would my plea have made a difference?"
Even Second Uncle Master couldn't help but plead for him, but Shifu ignored it too, didn't he?
Su Yishui listened to his disciple's question with an expressionless face, and for a moment, his feelings were hard to discern.
This was not a time to be disingenuous, Ranran could only answer honestly, "You told us that copying the Calming Heart Mantra daily is to build the foundation of our cultivation, making one clear-minded and upright. Copying it everyday, besides dispelling evil energies, it also has the same effect in resisting enchantments and unorthodox practices. But second senior brother, apart from initially going through the motions, rarely did it consistently afterward. When we arrived at Cha Ming Mountain, he basically stopped altogether. If he had been diligent in his studies and not slacked off, even if he had been ambushed by Crimson Gate, he wouldn't have been ensnared by their enchantments and made such a mistake. So, even though he didn't intend to make a mistake, he already laid the groundwork for trouble. There must be a reason why Shifu didn't want to teach him, so why should I make things difficult for you?"
After saying these words, she looked up at Su Yishui, but found him looking at her with mixed emotions in his eyes.
"I thought you had been fellow disciples with him for a year and would surely feel sorry for him… You used to be so soft-hearted…"
Although Ranran didn't understand why Su Yishui would say something like "you used to be soft-hearted" but second senior brother's mistake was indeed caused by himself: "Ignoring minor offenses leads to major ones. In the path of cultivation, one gains abilities beyond ordinary mortals, and if an evil person is nurtured, wouldn't it be harmful for millennia? If second senior brother didn't have a clear purpose for cultivation, it would be better for him to leave the sect. His desires were merely to stand at the pinnacle and be admired, if that was the case, he might as well study and take the imperial exam which is probably a faster way to achieve fame and success… However…"
She dragged the "however," then spoke softly, "Second senior brother certainly has his faults, but Shifu, you also have your shortcomings…"
Su Yishui calmly asked, "What did I do wrong?"
"We disciples are youths with unstable mindsets… Good and evil are often just a thought away. Shifu, you knew that the Spirit Spring had harmful effects, yet you never supervised our studies. If you had been stricter, second senior brother wouldn't have caused such trouble…"
Su Yishui listened expressionlessly. He suddenly said, "So it's my fault as a master?"
Ranran regretted for saying too much and quickly said, "Your disciple dares not. Shifu has his reasons for everything he does."
Su Yishui said expressionlessly, "I am also human, why wouldn't I make mistakes? If one day you find that I'm an abominable person, what will you do?"
Ranran felt that her exam-loving master was suddenly testing her again, making her a bit flustered. This exam question was really tricky.
She clearly would not pass if she said she would take the side of an evil-doer, but if she said she would act righteously and kill her master to prove her path, she feared she would follow second senior brother's footsteps and be driven out of the sect.
Using her toes to grip her only "To Pass Every Test" insole that was left, Ranran earnestly replied, "Shifu, with your lofty character, how could you possibly do evil? If such a day truly comes, there must be compelling reasons behind it. Your disciple is not talented, but I am willing to accompany you, endure condemnation by both heaven and earth, to stand through thick and thin with you!"
Perhaps her insole manifested its divine power, because after hearing this extremely brown-nosing answer, there was actually a hint of bitterness… and pain that flashed across Shifu's normally indifferent face, as if her answer had stirred up unpleasant memories.
As Ranran waited nervously, her master said, "Remember, from now on, you are not to leave my side for even half a step!"
Ranran raised her eyes, feeling that this rule was rather odd. She tried to argue and said "...Shifu, your Sect rule seems to be a little imprecise. Even married couples don't stick together all day. How do you quantify this half a step? There is no way to be together all the time, especially during sleep and bathing?"
Su Yishui looked at his little disciple's mischievous expression, his eyes shone and he suddenly lowered his head and leaned down, "If you can't do it, I will help you do it…"
Caught off guard by her master's sudden closeness that enveloped her, Ranran could only stare blankly at Su Yishui's eyes, their noses almost touching.
His eyes were deep and filled with meanings Ranran couldn't understand.
Just then, Yutong happened to come in carrying a specially made arm cast. Since Ranran couldn't move her arm freely due to the injury, Uncle Master Zeng made a lightweight support to stabilize her arm and prevent the wound from splitting open.
But she hadn't expected such an ambiguous scene when she lifted the door curtain. Xue girl's face, was about to touch the Master's…
If she had entered a moment later… Yutong was startled and didn't dare to think further.
Although, such scenes were quite common twenty years ago.
Mu Qingge, who often appeared carefree and idle, would corner the stoic Young Master at the corridor, forcing him to stand against the wall with her hand by his ear, teasing him with ambiguous words… completely like a flirtatious libertine gentleman teasing girls in the marketplace!
Every time she saw the Master's tightly clenched fists by his side loosen and then clench again, she was filled with righteous indignation, and felt that Mu Qingge was too much of a bully!
But now, the situation has turned upside down…
Seeing Ranran nervously pinching her skirt with her fingers… Hmm, the Master is being too strict with his disciples! Even if he is disciplining them, there's no need to get so close, look at how scared the poor girl is?
Adhering to the belief that everything the Master does is right, Yu Tong spontaneously resolved the meaning behind the scene before her and quickly smiled, saying, "Master, she already knows she was wrong. Now, Bai Baishan has been expelled from the sect, Gao Cang and Xi'er have also been punished. As for Ranran, she's already injured, so naturally she knows she was wrong too. Isn't that right, Ranran…"
Saying this, Yu Tong winked at Ranran, indicating that she should quickly admit her mistake to the Master.
Ranran nodded dully with a bit of self-reflection; she did indeed talk back to Shifu earlier.
Shaking her head to dispel the ambiguous scene just now, Ranran was even more worried about Wei Jiu using such underhanded tactics that was truly difficult to guard against. Besides, he was going to meet Mu Xianchang in Huayang Mountain in three days; who knows what tricks he would use against Elder Mu this time.
However, when Ranran mentioned this, Su Yishui didn't seem to care and said, "Why should we outsiders worry about Elder Mu's affairs? Oh right, you haven't been punished for sneaking down the mountain without permission yet. Since you're injured, you're exempted from a beating. Go! Write the 'Wind Riding Spell' four hundred times!"
Ranran's expression fell slightly. Why did the cursed Crimson Gate's lackeys have to shoot her left arm? If it was her right arm, wouldn't she have avoided being punished?
However, for unknown reasons, on the third day when Bai Bashan knelt shakily at the foot of the mountain, Su Yishui suddenly asked the Senior Uncle Master to bring him back.
Su Yishui told Bai Baishan that if he wanted to return to the sect, he could, but he had to stay with Uncle Master Zeng and learn to use his feet instead of his hands.
Enduring hardships was necessary to rethink the true meaning of being human.
If one day, Bai Baishan could assemble a self-ringing clock with his own feet, showing his strong determination, then Su Yishui would retract his previous words and accept him back under the XiShan Sect.
Bai Baishan was ecstatic upon hearing this and immediately expressed to the master that no matter how difficult the task was, he would do his best to complete it.
Ranran, however, had asked the master in a probing manner if her offensive words that day had caused him to change his mind.
But Su Yishui, while adjusting the strings of the zither, mildly replied, "Keeping rebellious disciple, in order to understand the hardships of being a Master. I wasn't teaching you all seriously before, so I need to punish myself a bit and find some trouble for myself.."
Ranran was somewhat uncertain whether the "rebellious disciple" he mentioned referred to second senior brother or herself, who didn't know her place. But since Shifu was willing to forgive second senior brother and gave him another chance, she was still happy.
Furthermore, Qiu Xier and Cao gang were also quite frightened after the fact. Second senior brother's matter had served as a wake-up call for these lazy ones. Although Shifu seemed to be training them in a relaxed style, if they really did something wrong, the punishment would still be severe.
So, even though the scenery of Cha Ming Mountain was still beautiful, the hot springs were still comfortable to soak in, and the town at the foot of the mountain was also bustling, Gao Cang and Xi'er dared not be lazy anymore. They would get up early every day to meditate their cultivation foundation and memorize various spell techniques.
Although Ranran's injury could have been a good excuse for slacking off, she did not dare to use it either. Apart from copying the spell mantras as punishment, she earnestly studied the books brought by Master Uncle.
As for second senior brother, he diligently trimmed his toenails and soaked his feet in white vinegar, and began practicing using his feet instead of hands with Master Uncle Zeng. Even during meals, he used his feet to hold the spoon.
However, he could not meditate and cultivate with everyone else for now; he moved to the hot spring's workers' quarters to live.
During the day, he also had to do some manual labor at the hot spring to offset the cost of meals.
The arm cast made by Master Uncle Zeng was very useful to Ranran. When she had free time from studying, she would go to the garden to pick flowers and place them in a bottle on Master Uncle Zeng's workshop table.
On this day, she came to the garden again for a walk and saw a large bunch of gardenias blooming by the pond. She decided to do today's meditation exercises here.
So she found a mat, sat by the pond watching the fish, and slowly entered a state of meditation.
This pond was close to Master Uncle Zeng's workshop, and she could hear him grinding parts with a small file once she entered meditation.
Yesterday, Master Uncle Zeng had mentioned that he wanted to make her a lightweight soft silver armor—a type that was impervious to knives and spears. This armor was said to be made by winding a strong vine from the south around soft silver thread and interwoven into a latticework , a very laborious process.
At that time, Ranran had watched for a while and told Master Uncle Zeng that it wasn't necessary since she would be by Shifu's side in the future, wouldn't dare to casually leave the mountain again, and so she wouldn't encounter any more dangers.
But Master Uncle Zeng insisted on making it.
Just then, she heard familiar footsteps, it should be Shifu Su Yishui.
Master Uncle Zeng spoke, "Have you considered what I mentioned to you before? Keeping her here with me, is the best choice. If she follows you, sooner or later, the same disaster may happen again…"
Before he could finish, Su Yishui coldly interrupted, "No need, she must stay with me."
Then came a long sigh from Master Uncle Zeng, "For her, its just matters from a past life; she has let go of everything. Why can't you let go? Since you promised her an ordinary life, why not persist until the end, and also give her a tranquil and comfortable life?"
After hearing this, there was a very long silence. After quite a while, a low and deep voice murmured, "I have never taken it up, so how can I let it go?"
After saying this sentence, Shifu walked away with large strides.
This conversation had no context and Ranran could not make head or tail of it. But she also didn't mean to eavesdrop intentionally; it's just that her ears were too sharp when she was meditating, always catching snippets of others' private matters.
This time, Ranran didn't rush to get up. She waited until Shifu had walked far away before standing up from the flowerbed. Returning to the house, her mind was still pondering over who they were talking about.
But perhaps it was an old acquaintance of Shifu and Master Uncle Zeng; it was normal if she didn't know who it was. But who was Shifu unable to take up, and unable to let go? Was it a man or a woman?
But Shifu was determined in wanting to keep her by his side…
Supporting her chin, Ranran pondered for a while but couldn't figure anything out.
It seemed like she would have to ask Second Uncle Master when she had the chance. After all, Shifu had been cultivating for so long; did he ever think about finding an immortal companion?
Suddenly, she had a flash of insight. Could they be talking about… Second Uncle Master, Yu Tong?
A woman who had been with Shifu for a long time, wasn't that only Yutong? She had grown up with Shifu since childhood, that's almost like childhood sweethearts, right?
Ranran suddenly realized, thinking how Shifu didn't seem to speak to Yutong much on most days, he was indeed very subtle in hiding his affection for her!
It seemed that she should remind third senior sister to be careful in front of Second Uncle Master because she might become their Master's wife in future!
But if that were the case, wouldn't Elder Mu be lovesick for two lifetimes in vain, unable to be together with the one she loved?
After a period of recuperation in Cha Ming Mountain, those few with frostbite were recovering well, and it was time to return to the Western Mountains.
After Wei Jiu's losses and recent setbacks, he seems to have quieted down for a while, and he did not come looking to confront Su Yishui.
But recently, there were strange changes in the sky, frequent thunderstorms occurring, mostly concentrated around the famous mountains where cultivators gathered.
It seemed that many powerful beings were about to ascend, and such violations of the natural order naturally attracted heavenly anomalies.
At this time, the ginseng fruit on the Rebirth Tree would be very useful. Unfortunately, Mu Qingge had already thought of a countermeasure.
After leaving Wangxiang Pass, she hid in the Great Qi Imperial Palace under the pretext of refining pills for the Emperor.
The Founding Emperor of Great Qi was once a powerful cultivator who gave up halfway, unable to cultivate immortality but continued on a high note to become emperor. When the palace was built, they sought guidance from a highly skilled master and arranged it according to the Fuxi Eight Trigrams Formation, laying countless Spirit Absorption Stones in the palace's foundation.
So, anyone with extraordinary abilities who entered this Palace would be disturbed in their spiritual power and would not pose a threat to the imperial heirs of Great Qi.
This was why Mu Qingge has chosen to hide here. Even though she couldn't use her cultivation spiritual powers, there was also no fear of being caught.
Regardless of lightning and thunder on those various mountain peaks, she just had to hide safely and enjoy the Emperor's hospitality in the palace.
And even though she now had a new furnace, she claimed that she was injured by Wei Jiu's Grudge water and her spiritual power was damaged, so she couldn't use the furnace. This excuse allowed her to smoothly avoid showing any weakness.
Su Yu really pampered Mu Qingge. For her living convenience, Su Yu allocated an entire corner of the West Palace to her, with a special Palace gate for her to facilitate entry and exit. Not only did he assign servants to attend to her, he also provided her with luxurious clothing, food, and various treasures. Even the most favored concubines in the palace were not as privileged as Mu Qingge.
Such treatment, comparable to that of an Imperial Tutor, was truly the envy of others.
One day, a Visiting Notice came from outside the palace, saying that Wen Hongshan from the KongShan Sect wanted to visit the War Goddess.
private matters to discuss with you. Please dismiss the attendants so that our conversation won't be overheard."
Mu Qingge felt that Wen Hongshan was playing tricks, so she smiled faintly and stood up, ready to leave.
She just wanted to see the current sorry state of the woman whom Su Yishui had once been obsessed with; she wasn't interested in what she had to say.
But just as she was about to leave, Wen Hongshan asked in a low voice, "Who… are you!"
This question made Mu Qingge pause, and her pupils slightly dilated.
However, she calmly waved away the attendants and waited until only the two of them were left before smiling and asking, "Miss Wen, your question is quite strange. What do you mean by 'who am I'? Of course, I am Mu Qingge."
Wen Hongshan stared straight into her eyes, sneering, "When you were on Jue mountain, you apologized to me, saying you were sorry for injuring my face when you were possessed."
Mu Qingge smiled at her, asking in a probing manner, "Are you unwilling to forgive me and have come to settle scores with me?"
Wen Hongshan suddenly burst into laughter, her scars looking more grotesque due to her hearty laughter. She managed to stop laughing and then said coldly, "Everyone thinks that the scars on my face were caused by Mu Qingge, but only she and I know it's not true. Back then, I devised a plan to let Su Yishui misunderstand her, so I deliberately put my face near her and got scratched by her sword. However, I didn't know that Mu Qingge's sword had just killed a poisonous snake, and the venom had not yet cleared, so the small wound festered badly, leaving behind this scar. Because I had set her up, Mu Qingge did not deign to look at me ever again. But you actually apologized to me because of my face?"
Wen Hongshan's words made Mu Qingge's expression stiffen slightly. She forced a smile, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about?"
Wen Hongshan looked at her with disdain in her eyes, "You think you're Mu Qingge just because you have this face? Little do you know, anyone who knows her can tell at a glance that you are just a fake!"
Mu Qingge's face tightened at these words, and she suddenly made a move, attacking Wen Hongshan.
Wen Hongshan's visit was actually just a probe, but she didn't expect to expose the fake so quickly with just one test.
As the adopted daughter of the KongShan Sect's Abbess Wen, she naturally had excellent fighting skills. Although Mu Qingge's attack was fierce, she dealt with it calmly and with ease, still smiling as she said, "I heard from the people of Crimson Gate that there were two fruits on that tree. I was doubtful at first, but unexpectedly, it seems to be true…"
Upon hearing this, Mu Qingge's heart tightened, and she quickly stopped her attack, asking urgently, "What are you saying? You know that there were two fruits on that tree? Where is the other spiritual fruit?"
Wen Hongshan dodged to the side, observing the reaction of this fake, and couldn't help but be amused, "You actually don't know the whereabouts of the other spiritual fruit?"
She originally thought this was another cunning scheme of Mu Qingge's, using a fake to divert attention while she enjoyed her freedom in hiding. She didn't expect this fake to be unaware of the other spiritual fruit, which was quite entertaining.