Mei Man held her breath and listened for movement outside.
Qiu Heyang asked his brother, “What is it?”
Qiu Yingling replied, “There’s been a misunderstanding. I need to explain it to her face-to-face.”
A misunderstanding?
How had she not known there was one?
Fortunately, Qiu Heyang asked the question for her. “What sort of misunderstanding?”
Instead of answering, Qiu Yingling asked him, “Do you know where she is?”
“No.” Qiu Heyang paused, then continued, “Little Mei isn’t here with me, but I ran into her outside just now.”
Mei Man suddenly grew tense.
What was Qiu Heyang planning? Was he really going to sell her out, or was he only going to tell a half-true, half-false lie?
Qiu Yingling asked, “Where did she go?”
“I’m not sure either. But I heard what she said. She cursed you, didn’t she? And even struck you.” Qiu Heyang polished his bow and arrow with a piece of chamois, raising his eyes to look at Qiu Yingling as though he had merely brought it up in passing. “Brother, I know your temperament. When you say you’ll let something go, that’s only for outsiders to hear. If someone else provoked you like that, how could you possibly let it pass so easily? But you don’t seem angry at all right now. You’re not blaming Little Mei?”
As he spoke, his thoughts appeared to be focused entirely on the bow and arrow in his hands. Yet his gaze remained fixed on the man before him, trying to find even the slightest trace of anything unusual on that smiling face.
He had indeed told Mei Man that Qiu Yingling would not blame her. But it was precisely that instinctive thought that had left him inexplicably irritated, desperately searching for the reason behind it.
Qiu Yingling smiled and deftly avoided the question. “Heyang, if I were you, I would put my mind to cultivation instead of these trivial matters.”
“Don’t brush me off, Brother.” Qiu Heyang called him that with a cheerful smile, as if they were very close, though the hand polishing the arrow slowed. “I’m serious. You’re not angry?”
The words sounded concerned, but only the two men facing each other knew that this was a probing match—one in which both of them understood exactly what was at stake.
Mei Man assumed Qiu Heyang was helping her sound out Qiu Yingling’s feelings, so she pricked up her ears and listened carefully.
After all, brothers ought to be completely honest with each other.
She had already made up her mind. If Qiu Yingling did not intend to let her off easily, she would find a way to leave the mountain and hide for a while. But if he was not that angry, she would stay here for a few more days. Once he forgot about the incident, everything would be fine.
Yet Qiu Yingling suddenly said something entirely unrelated. “Heyang, I remember that when Manman saved you, you were both only ten years old. Seven or eight years have passed since then. How quickly time flies…”
He let out a long sigh, as though lamenting how swiftly the years passed. But then he continued, “To you and me, seven or eight years are no more than the blink of an eye. To a mortal, however, they are worth more than gold.”
Mei Man suddenly felt a pang of resistance. She did not want to hear what came next.
But before she could cover her ears, Qiu Yingling said, “Heyang, Manman will have to return eventually—to the mortal realm. The abundant spiritual power here is enough to nourish her body for now, but a mortal body cannot endure years of being worn down by spiritual power. When she grows older, it will instead become a burden that torments her.”
Mei Man froze.
She knew all of this. She did.
But knowing something in her heart and hearing someone else say it aloud were two entirely different things.
Only now did she finally understand the implication behind his words.
Perhaps Qiu Heyang had been right. Qiu Yingling truly was not angry.
Not because he was magnanimous, but because this matter was simply unimportant to him. After another hundred years, another thousand, her bones would have long since turned to ash. What could a trivial incident like this possibly matter?
She lowered her head, her expression darkening considerably, and her lashes fluttered once.
Watching Qiu Heyang’s expression grow increasingly ugly, Qiu Yingling felt the taut string inside him relax slightly.
He was just about to probe him in return when a sound suddenly came from inside the study.
In an instant, his expression changed dramatically. The calm smile he had been wearing vanished completely.
He stepped forward to enter, but Qiu Heyang blocked his way.
“What is Brother doing?” Qiu Heyang had heard the noise as well and stopped him.
“There’s someone inside. Heyang, perhaps a thief has broken in.” Qiu Yingling tried to smile as he usually did, but the first attempt failed. The muscles in his face stiffened and twitched before he finally managed to force out a smile on the second try.
“What thief would dare break into my place? Brother was looking for Little Mei, wasn’t he? Hurry and go. She was heading toward the teleportation array just now, so she’s probably going back to the outer sect courtyard.”
“No need to rush, no need to rush. She’s still alive—how could I fail to find her? Move aside. The thief in front of us is more important.”
Qiu Heyang let out a cold laugh. “Brother, you’re welcome to try.”
Qiu Yingling suddenly asked, “Heyang, you kept asking whether I was angry just now, but do you know how Manman struck and cursed me?”
Qiu Heyang’s heart sank for no apparent reason, but he replied nonchalantly, “Of course I do.”
Qiu Yingling chuckled softly. “Qiu Heyang, my good little brother, you really are a fool.”
“What do you mean?”
“She lied to you. She deceived you.”
“You’re talking nonsense.” Qiu Heyang was utterly certain.
“Ah, you must be thinking that you never mentioned how she struck or cursed me. Since I brought it up out of nowhere, I must be making it up. But Heyang…” Qiu Yingling spoke gently. “I didn’t need to ask you. The fact that you can still smile tells me everything.”
Qiu Heyang was stunned, and his heart sank again.
In that brief moment when he was distracted, Qiu Yingling brushed his hand aside and strode inside.
Qiu Heyang came to his senses and cursed furiously, “You tricked me?! Using such underhanded tactics—you’re really vicious—”
He grabbed Qiu Yingling, but he was already too late. Qiu Yingling had lifted the curtain.
Yet there was no one behind it.
The room was simply furnished. There was not even a cabinet large enough to hide in, and everything was visible at a glance.
Qiu Yingling swept his gaze around the room. His spiritual sense detected no sign of a living person, either.
He released his grip and let the curtain fall back into place, the tension inside him easing slightly as well.
“Looks like I heard wrong. Since there’s no thief, I can rest easy now.” He made as if to leave.
“Wait!” Qiu Heyang refused to let it go. He pressed forward step by step. “What did you mean by that just now? Explain yourself.”
Qiu Yingling brushed his hand away and smiled. “Didn’t you say it yourself? I was merely toying with you.”
Before Qiu Heyang could lose his temper, he had already turned and walked away.
Qiu Heyang stood there with a dark expression, watching him disappear into the distance. Only then did he turn and walk inside.
He tentatively called out, “Little Mei?”
No one answered.
He paced around the room, even pulling open the drawers and calling into them, “Little Mei?”
“Over here.” A faint cry came from outside the window. “Quick, help me!”
Qiu Heyang hurried to the window and pushed it open, leaning out to look. He saw Mei Man clinging tightly to a crossbar, her entire body swaying precariously.
“Quick, I can’t hold on much longer,” Mei Man said with difficulty.
Qiu Heyang hastily caught her and pulled her inside.
“What were you doing clinging to that?” he asked.
“I accidentally shifted a little just now and made a noise. I was afraid Senior Brother Qiu would notice, so I hid outside.”
“You certainly know how to find a hiding place.” Qiu Heyang looked her up and down. Only after confirming that she was unhurt did he relax. Then he remembered what Qiu Yingling had said and asked hesitantly, “About what my brother said just now, don’t—”
“Since Senior Brother Qiu has already left, he probably won’t come back here.” Mei Man cut him off. “I’ll stay here for two more days, then leave. Is that all right?”
Qiu Heyang was slightly stunned, but quickly came back to himself. “Of course.”
As it turned out, Mei Man stayed with him for only two days. On the morning of the third day, she sneaked back to Shen Shushi’s cave dwelling.
She had intended to slip inside unnoticed, but just after pushing the door open, she met Shen Shushi’s eyes.
Mei Man instinctively glanced at his neck. Seeing that there were no iron chains around it, she breathed a sigh of relief, though she still couldn’t help feeling nervous.
She was about to speak when Shen Shushi spoke first. “You… Though you have only trained under me for a month, you have always been diligent and hardworking. I have seen it all. If you do not wish to remain here, I will do my best to find someone else to teach you swordsmanship.”
Mei Man froze. “Are you trying to drive me away, Immortal Master?”
Shen Shushi said, “I am helping you find somewhere else to go.”
All the matters of the past few days crowded together in Mei Man’s heart, leaving it sore and bitter. She said angrily, “Isn’t that just driving me away? Is it because I haven’t come back these past few days? Or—or because of what happened while you were in seclusion? But I haven’t slacked off. I’ve done my lessons seriously, and I’ve kept my notes with me. You can check them whenever you like. And there was another reason for what happened during your seclusion. Why do you have to drive me away?”
The faster she spoke, the more her words sounded like an accusation—or even a scolding—while her vision grew increasingly blurred.
Seeing the tears in her eyes, Shen Shushi was flustered. He had never dealt with such a situation before. He raised a hand, then lowered it again.
“It is not because of any of those things,” he said blankly, his mind suddenly empty.
“Then what is it?” Mei Man gritted her teeth. She remembered what Qiu Yingling had said that day. She tried not to cry, but the tears fell of their own accord. She wiped them away roughly with her sleeve and blurted out recklessly, “Is it because I chained you up, Immortal Master? But I didn’t do it on purpose!”
Just as her words fell, several cultivators happened to pass by the entrance of the cave dwelling. They were astonished and all turned to stare at the pair as though they were looking at monsters.
But when they saw that it was Shen Shushi, they hurried away.
“Do not say such nonsense!” Shen Shushi’s scalp prickled, and he felt somewhat regretful that he had chosen to discuss this with her at the entrance to his cave dwelling. “I am concerned that remaining here will put you in danger. I fear you will be anxious and uneasy every day, and that is why I made this decision.”
