Zhi Xuan returned to his room in a daze.
The Parrot Ghost flew onto his shoulder. "What's wrong, what's wrong? Did your master beat you?"
Zhi Xuan shook his head and slumped over the table, his eyes glazed over. "Master said Miss Ji is a female ghost..."
But how come he didn't know? Still, looking at how angry his master was, it didn't seem like the old man was just confused.
The Parrot Ghost sat on the table, looking at him in confusion. "She is a female ghost. Didn't you know?"
Zhi Xuan looked at it in disbelief. "You knew?"
The Parrot Ghost nodded. "I know, of course. I knew her even before I knew you."
Zhi Xuan broke down and accused, "I thought we were friends! You didn't even tell me such a huge secret!"
The Parrot Ghost looked at him innocently. "You never asked this bird."
It actually thought he already knew.
It had originally fled to this courtyard because of Ji Zhaoxi. It figured that a courtyard capable of accepting a female ghost could surely accept a Parrot Ghost like itself.
So it turned out these people had no idea Ji Zhaoxi was a ghost.
Zhi Xuan wore an expression of sheer shock.
When the door opened again, Xie Qingyan had already straightened his clothes. His collar was smooth, and if it weren't for the faint flush at the corners of his eyes, no one would have known what he had just been doing.
As soon as Master Changsong saw Xie Qingyan, he trembled with rage. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?! Are you trying to destroy your Dao heart and ruin the reputation of our entire sect?!"
Xie Qingyan was the most talented disciple he had ever seen. His studies had never caused anyone worry since he was a child. Master Changsong had long anticipated that he would catch the Emperor's attention.
But he never expected that at such a crucial moment, right when he was about to enter the palace, Xie Qingyan would do something so rebellious and unorthodox!
Xie Qingyan silently listened to Master Changsong's furious scolding. Only when the older man finally finished did he speak.
"Master, your disciple knows he has violated the rules of the Daoist temple. I have already thought it through. Once the infants in the city return to normal, I will leave the Taichu Temple and return to secular life."
"Return to secular life?!"
Master Changsong looked at him in disbelief. He staggered a step back and said in anguish, "Do you even know what you are saying? You are a born Daoist seed, the future State Preceptor!"
"Are you saying you want to throw all this away for that dark creature who drains your life essence? Are you going to waste over twenty years of cultivation, earned through countless life-and-death struggles?!"
Xie Qingyan furrowed his brows, his voice cold and clear. "Master, Xi Xi is not a dark creature. She is the woman I love. Please show her some respect. Even if she is not an ordinary person, she has no conflict with you. You do not need to harbor such great hostility toward her."
"Furthermore, I am not giving up the position of State Preceptor for Xi Xi. I never wanted this position from the very beginning. You do not need to push the blame onto her."
Master Changsong's eyes turned red with anger. He was about to say something, but Xie Qingyan interrupted him.
He looked calmly at Master Changsong. "Master, over the past twenty years, I built the Demon Suppression Pagoda on the back mountain single-handedly. Five years ago during the great plague, I went alone to slay the demons. When I went to Yang City to eradicate evil spirits, I endured three heavenly lightning strikes."
"Master, you know all of this. And it wasn't entirely for the common people; it was for the prestige of the Taichu Temple. Master, I ask myself over these twenty years, I have never for a moment let you down, nor do I owe the Taichu Temple anything."
Master Changsong hadn't expected Xie Qingyan to start settling scores with him. He laughed out of extreme anger. "So, for her, you want to draw a clear line with the Taichu Temple?"
Master Changsong's voice trembled uncontrollably with rage. "Do you think that once you take off this Daoist robe, the world will still revere you?"
Xie Qingyan silently placed his sword on the table. "I do not need to be revered."
Having Xi Xi alone was enough for him.
Besides, the current temple was completely different from when he first entered it. Today's Taichu Temple was nothing more than a tool for imperial power.
If he truly wanted to help the common people and truly possessed a Dao heart, he could still do so even after taking off this robe.
Seeing that Xie Qingyan was serious, Master Changsong fell silent for a long while.
"Qingyan, think about this carefully. Keep your sword for now. As your master, I will give you another month. In a month, come and talk to me about this again."
Master Changsong seemed to age decades in an instant, his steps growing much heavier.
A few disciples had been peeking from the corner. As soon as Master Changsong left, they quickly slipped away.
"I told you before that there was a ghostly aura in the estate, but none of you believed me."
"It wasn't that we didn't believe you. With Eldest Senior Brother here, I just thought no ghost would be bold enough."
"I've never seen Master like this. Does Eldest Senior Brother really have no affection at all for Master or the Taichu Temple? Is his heart truly that cold?"
Zhi Xuan couldn't help but open his window and shout, "Only cold-hearted people are suited for cultivation! Didn't everyone praise Eldest Senior Brother for his firm Dao heart precisely because he was emotionally detached?"
"And now you think his heart is too cold?"
The other disciples quickly huddled over.
"Zhi Xuan, that's not what we meant. We aren't blaming Senior Brother."
"We just feel that since Eldest Senior Brother has stayed at the Taichu Temple for so long, and now he's leaving just like that... did he ever have any feelings for the temple at all?"
Zhi Xuan rolled his eyes.
Why should he have feelings for the Taichu Temple? Even his little dog's ghost had been killed by the disciples of the Taichu Temple.
Anyway, aside from Eldest Senior Brother and a few senior brothers who had taught him, he didn't have much affection for anyone else either.
There was a lantern festival tonight. Various lanterns hung along the streets, the most numerous being the fish-dragon playing with a pearl lanterns. Lotus lanterns made of silk and colored glaze floated slowly down the river.
The festival was very crowded. Ji Zhaoxi was sheltered in Xie Qingyan's arms as she curiously looked at the little trinkets on the stalls.
"Xie Qingyan, look at that!"
Ji Zhaoxi tugged at Xie Qingyan beside her, looking excitedly at a decorative lantern that was almost the size of a boat.
Xie Qingyan lowered his eyes to look at her. The warm orange light around them shone on her profile from behind, turning the fine peach fuzz on her skin into a golden hue. Her eyes were filled with the warm light, and her face was brimming with a smile.
He had been feeling somewhat irritable because of what happened during the day, but seeing her by his side, he felt that none of it mattered anymore.
He felt a gentle scratch at his heart, bringing about a tingling sensation that climbed upwards, making his fingertips numb.
Just as Ji Zhaoxi was about to pick up a nearby lantern to take a look, Xie Qingyan suddenly wrapped her tightly in an embrace from behind. His arms circled her chest, his fingertips trembling slightly from restraint.
"Xi Xi..."
He called her name in a low voice, carrying a tenderness that bordered on devotion.
"I love you."
He just wanted to hold her. He just wanted to tell her that he wanted to watch lanterns with her for the rest of his life, that he wanted to be with her for a lifetime.
The stall owner kept casting teasing glances their way, and Ji Zhaoxi's face instantly turned red.
Xie Qingyan had already said it many times. She knew.
A group of children ran past them with bright laughter, and nearby street vendors shouted at the top of their lungs to peddle their wares. Xie Qingyan held Ji Zhaoxi's hand tightly, leading her toward her favorite food stall.
Amidst the lively clamor of the street, Ji Zhaoxi tilted her head up slightly and gave his clothes a gentle tug.
Her voice was soft, yet even woven through the rhythmic tapping of a peddler's rattle-drum and the merry giggles of children, it rang with absolute clarity in his ears.
"Xie Qingyan, I... I really like you, too."
Xie Qingyan's entire body went rigid. He stared at her, stunned, his heart clenching so hard he could barely breathe.
Pulling her into a tight embrace, he buried his face deep into her shoulder and let out a soft, relieved laugh.
