"Master."
After several years apart, Song Shihuan saw her master again, only now he was completely different from the man she remembered.
Her master should always be smiling kindly, wiping her sweat after she finished practicing her martial forms, and standing guard outside her door when she was afraid.
Not like this, lying pale-faced on a bed.
Song Shihuan walked to the bedside and carefully grasped Master Qingshan's hand. "Master, it's Ah Huan. I've found you."
"Grandma was seriously ill. I sold everything I could to pay for her treatment, but she still couldn't pull through. Yet even as she was leaving, she was still deeply concerned about you."
Outside the room, Qingling and the others stood quietly.
Song Shihuan recounted in detail to Master Qingshan all she had experienced since he left, talking for over an hour.
Finally, her emotions completely gave way. She slumped by Master Qingshan's bedside, sobbing,
"Master, why won't you open your eyes and look at me?"
"Just look at me, please?"
The sound of Song Shihuan's crying gradually filled the room. Song Yu's eyes darkened as he looked at Qingling. "Where is your Mysterious Doctor?"
"This prince has some urgent business with him."
Seeing Song Yu's demeanor, which looked ready for a fight, Qingling swallowed the words that came to his lips. "What business with the Mysterious Doctor?"
That old man had a very strange temper. If Qingling just handed him over without asking, he'd surely face the old man's wrath later.
"To save your master."
Song Yu firmly believed that as long as Ah Huan was here, Master Qingshan would surely be safe and sound.
Arriving at the Mysterious Doctor's dwelling, Song Yu was met with a closed door.
"Even if you were the Emperor of Heaven himself, I won't see you!"
"This prince is not the Emperor of Heaven. This prince's daughter is the disciple Master Qingshan raised from childhood."
Bang—
The door swung open.
The Mysterious Doctor's face was full of astonishment. His hands kept moving as if calculating something, then he irritably ruffled the hair on his head. "It shouldn't be... How could they have come to the Qingyun Realm at this time?"
He didn't perform divinations often, but they were usually highly accurate.
Seeing this, Song Yu's imposing manner weakened somewhat for once.
Could this old man have divined his abnormality?
......
One hour later.
The Mysterious Doctor looked at Song Shihuan, whose eyes were swollen like walnuts, and circled her again and again.
He circled so much it made Song Yu feel a bit dizzy.
"Can you cure him or not? Why do you keep staring at this prince's daughter?"
The Mysterious Doctor shot Song Yu a glare.
Then he looked at Song Shihuan. "Your master can be cured, but I have a condition."
"What condition?" Song Shihuan's voice was still somewhat hoarse. "As long as it saves my master, I agree to anything."
"The condition is simple. Tell me about the details of your interactions with your master in the previous years, and I will save him."
As soon as the Mysterious Doctor finished speaking, he received sharp glances from Qingling and the others.
If he could save him, why hadn't he done so before?
The Mysterious Doctor spoke up, "Before, there was no medicinal catalyst. Now that the catalyst is present, he can naturally be saved."
Everyone then looked at Song Shihuan.
"I agree."
Song Shihuan pressed her lips together. "To save my master, will you be harmed?"
Suddenly, the Mysterious Doctor's usually placid heart stirred unusually.
The reason he proposed this condition was his curiosity about what kind of bond was worth Master Qingshan protecting with his very life.
Now, he felt he was beginning to understand.
Inside the room.
Everyone sat together, waiting for Song Shihuan to speak.
Even Song Yu, who had already heard it once, sat up straight.
Song Shihuan's gaze fell upon Master Qingshan on the bed, filled with immeasurable dependence and reverence:
"Because of Master, I was not an unloved child."
"From the age of three, Master began teaching me martial arts. Every morning, I had to practice horse stance. Master was especially strict back then. Whenever my posture was incorrect, he would threaten me with a small wooden stick in his hand, but that stick never once landed on me."
Qingchi's face twisted.
Why didn't the stick fall on Little Junior Sister, but always on him?
Go ask anyone in the Qingyun Sect—who hadn't been hit by Master's stick!
"When I started learning fist techniques, Master stopped using the stick. He said I had exceptional talent, encouraged and praised me every day for practicing well, and bought me all sorts of delicious treats in various ways. I was full of drive back then."
Song Yu's expression turned odd, finally understanding where Ah Huan's endless encouragement towards him came from.
So this was how Master Qingshan taught Ah Huan.
A direct inheritance.
"Later, Master began teaching me formations. Every day, Master rose very early, setting up the sand divination board before calling me to get up. Day after day, it was like this. My heart ached for Master's labor, so I studied with extra diligence. I memorized every formation book Master gave me backwards and forwards."
With every sentence Song Shihuan spoke, someone in the room showed a strange expression.
This time it was Qingling's turn.
Steady as Qingling was, he couldn't help feeling a sour twinge in his heart.
Master had never treated them with such patience!
“Master didn't just teach me martial arts; he also taught me to read and write. My literacy enlightenment was started by Master. Every essay and discourse was guided by him. Master's kindness to me is as weighty as a mountain.”
A crystal tear slid from the corner of Song Shihuan's eye.
Because she had Master and Grandma, she never grieved over not having parents' love.
"So I also did my best to be good to Master."
Song Shihuan spoke slowly, "I knew Master had a weak heart, and old leg injuries. So I had to learn things faster and better, so Master wouldn't have to exert himself as much. And the better I learned, the happier Master was."
"Master disliked greasy food, disliked cloudy days, loved wearing dark-colored clothes, liked the scent of sandalwood, and often had nightmares. I knew all these things, just as Master knew what I liked."
Qingling and the others suddenly paused, the sourness in their hearts instantly swept away.
This uniquely good treatment from Master was what Little Junior Sister deserved!
Especially Qingchi, who loved greasy things like braised pork knuckle, seemed to finally understand why every time he shared a meal with Master, he was nitpicked and punished with horse stance.
So it was because their tastes didn't align.
"In the beginning, I was terribly afraid of thunder. Later, whenever it thundered, Master would stand guard outside my room, coughing now and then. After that, I was no longer afraid of thunder, because when it thundered, Master would be outside."
"So whenever Master had nightmares, I would also go light sandalwood incense for him. That way, as soon as Master smelled the sandalwood, he would know I was by his side and wouldn't be afraid."
The Mysterious Doctor fell silent.
He understood why Master Qingshan was willing to protect her with his life.
"Your fingertip blood is one of the medicinal catalysts. Paired with another catalyst, it can save your master."
Having said this, the Mysterious Doctor looked at Song Yu. Song Yu suddenly had a feeling that something very bad was coming.
He wouldn't have to go to Miaojiang again, would he?
"You are the Crown Prince of Great Qi, so you need to go to Miaojiang to retrieve the other catalyst."
Boom—
Song Yu felt as if struck by lightning.
"What? Is the Crown Prince unwilling?"
"Of course not. This prince will set off immediately." Song Yu smiled bitterly, feeling strongly that the Mysterious Doctor was deliberately messing with him.
Recalling the previous hardships of enduring wind, sun, and rain, Song Yu felt a sour ache in his very teeth.
That Miaojiang Saintess was truly difficult to deal with.
...
Song Yu, who had just arrived at Qingyun Realm, was promptly packed up and ready to be shipped off to Miaojiang.
Before leaving, Song Yu was as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle.
"Leaving Ah Huan alone in Qingyun Realm, your father really can't rest easy," he fretted.
Song Shihuan looked at him with innocent confusion, not quite understanding where his worry stemmed from.
"That Mysterious Doctor seems rather eccentric and shady. Ah Huan, you must keep your distance from him."
"And then there's Qingling and the others. They're not as handsome as your father, nor as clever. Ah Huan, you don't need to be on overly friendly terms with them either..."
Song Yu practically badmouthed everyone in the entire Qingyun Realm.
"Father, then who will I talk to every day?"
Faced with Song Shihuan's question, Song Yu's expression contorted.
That... seemed reasonable. He couldn't very well have Ah Huan talking to red bricks all day.
"It's fine. Father will write a letter and have Gu Mingzhu come to keep you company."
The more he thought about it, the more Song Yu felt this plan was feasible. So, he penned a letter and sent it to the capital of Great Qi.
Only then did he reluctantly leave Qingyun Realm.
Little did he know, this trip would result in the number of people vying for his daughter's affection multiplying several times over.
...
While Song Yu was suffering hardships in Miaojiang, Gu Mingzhu packed her little knapsack, waved her small handkerchief to bid farewell to her old father, and left the capital with a face full of delight.
Behind her stood Gu Zheng, his face clouded with worry.
And Qingyun Realm welcomed its happiest, most joyful period.
As the only little girl in Qingyun Realm, Song Shihuan became the treasure cherished in everyone's palms. Each day, after spending time with Master Qingshan, she would be taken by her senior brothers to climb trees and rob birds' nests, or go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp.
Even the little cats and dogs of Qingyun Realm adored Song Shihuan, following behind her and barking joyfully without end.
"Are you happy, Ah Huan?" Qingling asked with a smile.
"Very happy! If only Father could come back sooner, I'd be even happier!"
Upon hearing this, Qingling clicked his tongue. The little girl played happily every day, yet not a single day passed without her keeping Master company or without her mentioning her father.
She was so well-behaved it made people want to give her the very best things in the world.
One day, Song Shihuan was fast asleep on an ancient tree, a handkerchief still covering her face.
Suddenly, a clamor of noise arose in the distance. Song Shihuan's ears twitched. Realizing something, she shot upright in an instant.
Meanwhile, outside Qingyun Realm.
Gu Mingzhu and Qingchi standing before her were staring each other down, wide-eyed.
"Who are you?" Gu Mingzhu asked.
"And who are you?" Qingchi retorted. He had probably guessed Gu Mingzhu's identity, but the thought of someone diverting his little junior sister's attention made his eyes shift craftily. "No outsiders are allowed into Qingyun Realm."
"You're calling me an outsider?"
Gu Mingzhu threw down the knapsack slung over her shoulder and began stretching her limbs.
"You look like an idiot, so you must be Qingchi. This lady's name is Gu Mingzhu. I'll only say it once, so you better remember it."
With that, Gu Mingzhu swung her fist straight towards Qingchi's forehead.
