"Grandmaster!" Ruan Mingzhu ran into the main hall of Shangqing Palace, crying.
Lord Daoist Jinghe was joking with a smile, but when he saw her coming in, his expression disappeared and he said faintly, "What happened?"
With tears in her eyes, Ruan Mingzhu said, "Grandmaster, I didn't do it on purpose. I just thought Martial Uncle Mo's spiritual beast was very interesting, so I wanted to ask her for it. I didn't want to make her angry."
Lord Daoist Jinghe slowly frowned. "And then?"
Ruan Mingzhu lowered her head to hide the hatred in her eyes. "Martial Uncle Mo seemed very angry."
Ruan Mingzhu looked up and saw Lord Daoist Jinghe sitting on the dragon chair leisurely picking up a cup of tea. "Mingzhu."
"En?" She didn't understand grandmaster's attitude.
Lord Daoist Jinghe looked at her indifferently. "Tiange always treasures the things around her. Although you want a spiritual beast, she views it as a partner, so she's unwilling to give it to you."
Ruan Mingzhu was stunned. She didn't expect grandmaster to react like this.
Lord Daoist Jinghe continued to say, "If you have nothing else to do, go back and cultivate. You're not young anymore; you still have several decades. If you can't form your Gold Core, it'll be difficult in the future."
Ruan Mingzhu was startled when he suddenly mentioned core-formation. "Grandmaster …"
"Don't you want to form your Gold Core?" Lord Daoist Jinghe looked at her with a sharp gaze. "How can I form my Gold Core if I have so many things in my heart?
Tiange is much younger than you, and she wandered from place to place when she was young. She's already in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm now and will soon reach the peak stage of the Foundation Building realm.
What about you?
I've personally taught you since you were a child. You succeeded in building your foundation at the age of 21, so you should be a proud child. Why are you still in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm now that you're more than 170 years old?
What have you been doing for the past 60 years?
Why haven't you made any progress?! "
Lord Daoist Jinghe's expression became stern. Ruan Mingzhu's heart trembled, and she stuttered, "Grandmaster … T-The spirit vein in Mount Yungang is too lousy. Cultivating there has no effect at all …"
"Really?" Lord Daoist Jinghe still looked at her like that. "What about the medicinal pills I sent you all these years?
Although I didn't call you back, Grandmaster has never deducted your portion. Even if you forcefully eat medicinal pills, sixty years should be enough for you to reach the peak of the middle stage, right? "
Ruan Mingzhu lowered her head, not saying anything.
Lord Daoist Jinghe's expression softened again. He said softly, "Alright, don't think about unrelated matters. Cultivate properly.
This time, the sect has summoned the disciples back to the mountain for something important. If you can do it well, it will only be beneficial to you. "
"…" Ruan Mingzhu was silent for a long time before she finally answered honestly. "I understand, Grandmaster."
When she rushed out of Shangqing Palace, Ruan Mingzhu's face was completely red. She saw the gate-keeping disciple looking at her with a probing expression and a hidden hostility in his eyes, so she said angrily, "What are you looking at?!"
Being berated by her, the disciple retracted his gaze. He didn't scold her back, but a look of disdain appeared on his face.
"You —" Just as Ruan Mingzhu was about to lose her temper, she remembered this was the entrance of Shangqing Palace, so she clenched her teeth and endured it. With a wave of her hand, she tossed her flying magic tool into the air.
Seeing her leave, the disciple who was guarding the door let out a soft harrumph and mumbled, "She really thinks she's something …"
Ruan Mingzhu flew to an uninhabited mountaintop. After looking at it for quite a while, she finally confirmed that was her destination.
She landed on the ground and walked towards the well-hidden cave abode.
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother!
Are you there?
I'm Mingzhu! "She called out twice, but she didn't hear a reply for a long time, so she continued to call out," Senior Brother!
Come out and meet me! I'm Mingzhu! "
After another long while, the door of the cave finally opened. She was overjoyed. Just as she was about to rush out, she was startled and her expression darkened. "Who are you?!"
The person who opened the door and came out was Ye Zhenji.
When he saw Ruan Mingzhu, he was also stunned. "Who are you?"
Ruan Mingzhu's expression darkened. She looked inside and asked, "Where's my senior brother?"
Ye Zhenji touched his head then said strangely, "Are you new here?
Did you come to the wrong place? "
"This is my senior brother's cave!" Ruan Mingzhu glared at him. "Brat, who are you?
Why are you in my senior brother's cave? "
"You're not my aunt — how could there be a senior brother of yours here?"
Although Ye Zhenji had a good temper, since the other party's tone was so harsh, he didn't hold back. "You should quickly leave. Although my master is amiable, he'll also get angry if someone is so rude."
"Master?"
Ruan Mingzhu stuck her head out to take a look. A hint of a smile finally appeared on her face. "You're my senior brother's disciple, right?
Tell him I'm Mingzhu — he'll know. "
Seeing that Ye Zhenji didn't move, Ruan Mingzhu shouted again, "Quickly go!"
She really didn't hold back when she ordered people around. Ye Zhenji was an honest man, so he didn't get angry. He merely frowned and said, "Who's your senior brother?
My master's cultivating. He'll get angry if you disturb him for no reason. "
"You —"
Just as Ruan Mingzhu was about to get angry, she heard a familiar voice coming from inside the cave. "Zhenji, let her in."
Ruan Mingzhu was delighted. "Senior Martial Brother!" She then rushed into the cave.
"Hey —" Ye Zhenji became even more confused upon seeing her like this.
Who in the world was she?
After master, didn't grandmaster only accept my aunt as his disciple?
Where did this person pop out from and call master 'senior martial brother'?
However, since master said so, it wasn't good for him to say anything. He closed the cave then slowly walked back to the hall. After thinking for a moment, he didn't go back to his own cultivation room. Instead, he sat next to Xiaohuo, who was curled into a ball and cultivating, pretending to look after the spiritual beast.
In fact, Xiaohuo was already a third rank spiritual beast. Its cultivation level was always higher than his, so it didn't need him to look after it. During this time, Xiaohuo had been immersed in cultivating. Master said it seemed it was going to make a realm-breakthrough again, so he didn't send it back.
The door to his master's cultivation room wasn't closed. Ye Zhenji pricked up his ears to listen to the movements inside.
"Senior Martial Brother!"
Ruan Mingzhu was extremely excited to see Qin Xi. She rushed towards him with tears in her eyes. "Senior Martial Brother, I finally get to see you again!"
Qin Xi, who was still cultivating, opened his eyes and faintly glanced at her. "Mingzhu, whether it's in terms of cultivation level or seniority, you should call me martial uncle instead of senior martial brother."
Ruan Mingzhu was stunned for a moment, then a sad expression appeared on her face. "Why?
Why are you and grandmaster treating me so coldly when I finally come back?
It's been sixty years — can't you two forgive me? "
"These are two different things."
Qin Xi's tone was still cold, almost devoid of any emotion. "In the past, we were young, so we let you call me whatever you want. But times are different now. You and I aren't children anymore — you should understand what you should do."
"But Senior Martial Brother will always be my senior martial brother in my heart!"
Ruan Mingzhu blurted out, "If my father wasn't grandmaster's disciple and grandmaster didn't accept me as his disciple, we'd be fellow apprentices!"
"But that's the truth," Qin Xi said, "It's been sixty years, yet you still haven't understood this principle. Don't blame master for treating you coldly."
Although his tone was calm, his words weren't polite at all. Ruan Mingzhu was stunned again. All of a sudden, she lowered her head and cried bitterly.
After crying for a while, she said while sobbing, "I really don't understand … I don't understand what I did wrong. Why are you and grandmaster treating me like this?
Didn't I just injure a disciple?
We weren't the only ones fighting in the school, and that person was fine.
You and grandmaster … left me alone in Yungang branch. That place was so remote, and everyone ignored me. I … I lived a very bitter life there … "
If she was crying and complaining in front of Lord Daoist Jinghe, she might've received some words of comfort. However, the person who was listening to her was Qin Xi. He was expressionless, as if the person crying in front of him was a wooden person, and he himself was also a wooden person.
Ruan Mingzhu couldn't cry anymore, so she could only wipe her tears. With reddened eyes, she looked at him and pleaded softly, "Senior Martial Brother, I finally came back. Can you ask grandmaster not to drive me away?
I won't cause trouble again. I'll listen to you in the future, okay? "
Qin Xi didn't say anything. It was as if he didn't hear anything.
Ruan Mingzhu waited for a while, but she couldn't help but say, "Senior Martial Brother, Senior Martial Brother, did you forget?
When you first came, you always stayed in the back mountain alone. Every time, it was me who went to look for you before you were willing to come back … "
Speaking of the past, Qin Xi's gaze finally moved. Ruan Mingzhu thought he would soften his heart, but she still heard his cold voice. "What's the use of saying this?
If you were the Mingzhu from back then, how could master let you go to the branch alone and not let you come back for sixty years? "
Ruan Mingzhu was dumbfounded. She said anxiously, "Senior Martial Brother, don't you have any feelings for me now?
We … We grew up together for almost a hundred years. Don't you have any feelings for me? "
Qin Xi stared at her and said quietly, "I told you long ago that I only have the Great Dao in my eyes. I don't think anything else is important.
I don't have the things you want, so why do you have to force me? "
"Senior Martial Brother!"
Ruan Mingzhu shouted. She stared blankly at his wooden expression, and tears rolled down from her eyes. "I … I don't want you to respond to me. I only want you to be like before, to call me affectionately, to give me pointers on my cultivation, to chat with me when you're free … Is this also too much?"
Ruan Mingzhu's tone was sorrowful when she said this. There was no arrogance or despotism; there was only the pain of not being able to get what she wanted.
Qin Xi suddenly felt pain. He felt like a certain part of him was touched.
But he soon calmed down and said with a calm voice, "Mingzhu, you still don't think you're wrong?"
Ruan Mingzhu lowered her head then angrily shook her head. "Isn't it just injuring a disciple?
For us cultivators, what's the big deal about injuring one or two people?
Haven't you and grandmaster killed a lot of people?
I still haven't … "
"It's not because you injured someone."
Qin Xi interrupted her. "You should strive to get what you can, but you should give up what you can't get.
Because you can't get what you want, you vent your anger on others and even attack your fellow disciples. Don't you think your state of mind is already twisted?
Master indulges you too much — indulges you so much that you want everything, but how can you get everything in this world?
If you didn't have master, what could you get? "
His tone was very flat, but the meaning behind his words was very strict. He stared at Ruan Mingzhu without the slightest fluctuation in his gaze. "Mingzhu, I'm not master; I won't teach you what's right and what's wrong, but I know that you and I are two different people. Even if we grew up together, we still can't walk together in the end. Don't be stubborn."