Drinking is just a cover for talking. If you want to say something, you don’t need to drink.
Sheng Xuanyuan and Lu Yuhao sat down at a small wine stall in Qingfeng Town. Lu Yuhao asked for a jar of wine, but he ordered a pot of tea. He waved his hand and smiled and said that he didn't drink it. If he really wanted to talk about something, he would still drink tea to refresh himself.
Sheng Xuanyuan returned the wine to the waiter, ordered a bowl of water, and replied that he couldn't drink the wine, so there was no need to waste it.
Sheng Xuanyuan held the slightly warm cup and asked, "Master Lu, how did you know that I had something to ask you?"
Lu Yuhao shook the porcelain cup and raised his lips: "Although Brother Sheng didn't speak, his eyes asked."
Sheng Xuanyuan was silent for a moment and drank half a cup of soup.
"You want to ask me about my junior sister."
"if not?"
"you like her."
"Yes." He held the cup and lowered his head to see half of the sky reflected on the water.
Lu Yuhao couldn't help but smile: "I have long heard that Mr. Sheng has an extraordinary appearance. How can he be worried about not being liked by the girl?"
Sheng Xuanyuan raised his head and glanced at him: "Master Lu, please stop teasing me. I'm not good at this kind of thing..."
Lu Yuhao laughed and took a sip of tea.
"Xiaowu... is a good girl." Lu Yuhao turned the tea cup and let the tea drag down the leaves attached to the porcelain wall, and the leaves were hanging in between. "Compared with titles like 'Qiong Yi' and 'Lu Xiyan', I still I prefer to call her 'Little Five' junior sister. I have treated her as my younger sister since I was a child, and she is also...the reason why I feel most guilty and cannot forgive myself."
Sheng Xuanyuan frowned.
Lu Yuhao closed his eyes and seemed to be recalling: "Did she tell you that she was afraid of ghosts?"
"Know."
"It's my fault." Lu Yuhao shook his head, "Xiao Wu was an abandoned baby adopted by Chen Xun, a handyman from our clan's outer sect. When I was young, I captured an evil ghost. Because of my poor spiritual practice, it broke away from the seal and ran away. When I came out, I met the young Xiao Wu and pestered her for several days and nights until the evil spirit was sealed again."
"She was only six years old at the time. She was haunted by ghosts. She had a high fever for several days and had constant nightmares. Not only was she tainted with ghosts, but she was also left with a knot in her heart that was difficult to heal. From now on, she would never see ghosts again." Lu Yuhao let out a long sigh. "Even with her current cultivation level, she doesn't have to worry about ordinary ghosts and evil beings approaching, but if she really encounters one, she can't even lift the sword."
Sheng Xuanyuan recalled the night when he first met Qiong Yi. She fell down in the woods. It turned out that it was not only the hanging ghost that wanted to devour her, but also the inner demon.
"In addition to her mental illness, will she be able to attract ghosts to cause trouble after being infected with ghost energy?"
"Did the Su family tell you?" Lu Yuhao said, "It is true. Xiaowu has been more close to ghosts than ordinary people since she was exposed to ghosts since she was a child. In other words, ghosts are willing to get close to her. But don't worry, Usually it only attracts the remnants of ghosts, but not any evil spirits."
Sheng Xuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you care about her so much?" Lu Yuhao stood up with a smile.
"..." Sheng Xuanyuan pursed his lips.
"If you care about her, don't let her see the things she's afraid of. Don't let her worry or be afraid, and don't let her suffer because of you. If you can't do it, stay away from her as soon as possible." When he said that, his tone suddenly changed. Heavy.
Lu Yuhao had watched Qiong Yi grow up. When she did not come towards him, but turned back to look at Sheng Xuanyuan, he already understood that the little girl already had someone else in her heart.
Sheng Xuanyuan said firmly: "I will."
"That's good." Lu Yuhao patted his shoulder heavily, and then he asked: "May I ask, when was she accepted as a disciple by your father?"
Lu Yuhao thought for a while: "It seems that it was five or six years ago. At that time, Xiao Wu was only ten years old. Because of his good talent, his mother took an exception and persuaded his father to accept him as a disciple."
Sheng Xuan frowned slightly and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Later, my father was willing to accept her as his apprentice, but she refused to become a disciple. She was pinned down in the ancestral hall and knelt for many days before finally agreeing and changing her name." Lu Yuhao's voice was a little low: "She has suffered all these things. It’s painful, even if you say it, it will sound uncomfortable to you, but my mother-in-law insisted on keeping her and didn’t make a mistake.”
"Her five years of practicing Taoism are worth my ten years of hard work. She is a good candidate who was born to take this path."
He added: "To tell you the truth, Xiaowu has no relatives or friends. She only has an unrelated sister who works as a handyman in the outer door. She has always wanted to find out her life experience. You are a well-known young master of a wealthy family. She’s not afraid of being gossiped about, but she can’t resist it.”
"Brother Sheng, can you understand what I mean?"
Sheng Xuanyuan's eyes were deep: "I understand." He said: "As for those words, if they are true, I will stand up for her."
Lu Yuhao breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. You were also deceived by her cheerful and heartless appearance every day. In fact, she has a lot of pain hidden in her heart and is unwilling to speak out easily."
"Yes. I know that she likes to hide her thoughts, but she is very transparent." Sheng Xuanyuan said, thinking of what Qiong Yi had said to him in the past, the few words she had said unintentionally, on the streets of Qingfeng Town Next to her, in Xiaokuo Village, in that deserted classroom, she told him those words.
Lu Yuhao looked at the few cups left and said with a smile: "After talking so much, now it's time to ask you, how did you fall in love with my junior sister?"
Sheng Xuanyuan was startled, "I..." he turned away, "One day, I went to practice swordsmanship in a remote place south of the academy. I heard someone singing on the mountain. I followed the singing and saw her."
She looked back in the morning light, her eyes filled with light, like the shadow of snow crushed under the dim sky in winter.
Lu Yuhao smiled and rolled his eyes, and then said seriously: "My junior sister's singing voice is indeed one of the best in the world. So is Brother Sheng moved by her singing voice?"
"...No." Sheng Xuanyuan thought of Qiong Yi's appearance in his mind and denied. The light blue figure lingered. When did he start to notice her? From when she held her messy tail and smiled at herself? Did it start from the day she sang on the side of Nanshan Mountain? Or has it been since she responded to Master Sun in class?
After much thought, he finally said helplessly: "She often plays tricks on people, but I... can't handle her."
Lu Yuhao couldn't help but laugh, "Hahahaha, Brother Sheng, you will definitely be teased by her for being so introverted and thin-skinned." Seeing Sheng Xuanyuan sighing deeply, he spread his hands and said, "Xiao Wu has always been naughty. It's really good. The more shy you are, the more powerful she will be. The next time you hit back and make her feel embarrassed, she won't dare to act rashly."
Sheng Xuanyuan was doubtful.
"Okay." Lu Yuhao stood up, asked the waiter to pay the bill, and complained to Sheng Xuan, "Then I will leave it to you to take care of my junior sister." After that, he turned around and left, leaving him alone at the table.
*
Qiong Yi and Su Ye practiced sword practice for several hours, and they didn't finish the day's practice until it was completely dark. Qiong Yi rubbed his sore arms, feeling a little tired. Su Ye on the side looked very energetic, talking about areas where they could cooperate better next time.
This guy gets full of energy as soon as he studies martial arts, Qiong Yi thought to himself, shrugging in response. She then thought of Sheng Xuanyuan and Lu Yuhao going to drink behind her back. Her curiosity increased and she didn't know what they would say. She hurriedly After saying goodbye to Su Ye, she inquired about the whereabouts of her senior brother.
If I ask Sheng Kyung, he might not tell me! She cursed secretly.
After asking several disciples passing by, they said they seemed to have seen the person Qiong Yi described at the east gate of the academy. She immediately rushed to the east gate. The north wind blew wildly at night, and the hanging lamps under the eaves creaked, illuminating nothing clearly. There was no one in the school for a long time. It was so cold at night and no one would be drinking here. Qiong Yi thought to herself. She heard the sound of conversation carried by the wind. She followed the sound and walked closer. There was a familiar voice coming from behind the wall not far away. the sound of.
It's Lu Yuhao and Lu Lanshan.
What are they talking about?
Qiong Yi barely heard the words "marriage" and "engagement" clearly. She walked closer and heard Lu Lanshan say: "Anyway, she hangs out with those people all day long. Sheng Xuan and I I’m not familiar with him, I haven’t met him a few times.”
"Lan Shan, I'm sure you haven't had any trouble with Xiao Wu in the past few months."
“Out of sight, out of mind, out of sight, out of mind.”
He's talking about me... Qiong Yi listened through the wall.
"That's not good. From the outside, the marriage between the Lu and Sheng families is almost a certainty. I was previously worried that the Sheng family didn't have a suitable candidate, and I was also worried that you wouldn't be willing. But now it seems to be a good thing, both of them are... …”
Qiong Yi's heart tightened and she clenched her sleeves.
"She deserves it?!"
"With unclear origins, in the final analysis, they are not considered members of our family!"
These words fell into Qiong Yi's ears like thunder. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly.
"Lanshan!"
"Brother! Every time you talk to me for just a few words, you always talk about her. Am I your biological sister or is she? You never ask me!"
The conversation on the other side of the wall became intense for a moment, but it reached Qiong Yi's ears but she couldn't hear it clearly. She took two steps back and turned around to run. She didn't run very far and ran into someone head-on.
The man collided with her, and the book in her arms almost fell out of her hand. After seeing the person clearly, Qiong Yi made a silent gesture, pointed to the road ahead and told him not to go there for the time being. Yan Tingshen arranged the books in his arms and held them up. He was coming out of the school room after reviewing his homework, and bumped into Qiong Yi. Seeing her lonely look, he smiled softly and handed the walking lantern in her hand, as if to say I want to accompany her for a while.
Qiong Yi held the long handle of the walking lantern and walked a long way outside the school before she dared to speak: "It's so late, why is Brother Yan still studying in the school?" She smiled slightly and her tone was reluctant.
The candlelight in the street lamp flickered on and off, as if it would be extinguished by the wind in the next second.
"I would like to ask Miss Lu what happened." Yan Ting recalled the arguments outside the wall and said with a smile, "Eavesdropping is not a good habit."
"I didn't want to eavesdrop at first!" Qiong Yi finished speaking and sighed firmly: "Forget it, it's nothing."
"If I don't find someone to talk to, I'll have to feel uncomfortable all night long." Yan Ting looked at her deeply and curled his lips.
Qiong Yi curled her lips, and her mind was filled with Lu Lanshan's words, "Is she worthy?", and replied, "It's just a matter of the marriage between the Lu Sheng clan."
Although Yan Tingshen was not interested in such rumors, he knew something about it. Thinking of Sheng Xuanyuan's age, he said, "You really have to wait a few more years."
Qiong also raised his head in confusion: "Huh?"
"Miss Lu, don't you know Brother Sheng's feelings for you?" Yan Ting held the scroll in his hand and asked in surprise.
Qiong Yi looked forward and said softly, "He didn't say it, but he didn't hide it either."
Yan Ting asked deeply: "What about you?"
"I told you, don't tell him."
"Why?"
"Because it's too cowardly to rely on others to convey your emotions, I want him to tell me personally." Qiong Yi's eyes flashed with candlelight, "I will also tell him personally, without you having to tell me."
Yan Ting smiled deeply.
"Of course I treat him, what's that?" Qiong Yi turned away, "He is different from others."
"But, just like Lu Lanshan said, I don't deserve it." She paused and said, "If you think about it carefully, what she said makes sense."
Turns out I heard this. Yan Ting thought deeply, and he said, "Why do you say this?"
"Brother Yan, haven't you heard the rumors about me?" Qiong Yi asked, those words had been spread loudly a few days ago.
"If you want to understand a person, you don't have to listen to these. Exaggeration and distortion are often quite different from what you are exposed to." He shook his head, "So I don't care much about these."
Qiong also thought for a moment: "They said... I was just a baby adopted by a servant. After the servant passed away, I devoted myself to the Lu family. I was an out-and-out white-eyed wolf." I originally bought it at the price of livestock. Those who come here will climb up at all costs when they see someone with a high status...'"
Qiong Yi chuckled, completely disdainful: "But apart from the slander about me as a person, everything about my life experience is true."
"Such a person is indeed not worthy of the young son of the Sheng family, right?" She smiled deeply at Yan Ting, with a hint of disappointment in her eyes that was hard to detect.
"Lu Xiyan." Yan Tingshen said calmly, "The fact that you don't care about those rumors shows that you know from the bottom of your heart that you are not that kind of person. But now you are still worried about Miss Lu's words, is it because you no longer recognize yourself?"
"yes."
The two were silent for a while and had already walked to their accommodation. When they were saying goodbye at the intersection, Yan Tingshen asked casually: "Miss Lu, I would like to ask, how old were you when you were adopted outside the Lu family?"
Qiong also thought for a while: "I don't know my exact age. Uncle Chen said he looks like two years old. To be precise, it is the twenty-first year of Tianmao."
Yan Tingshen froze, and Qiong didn't notice the change in his expression in the darkness. She returned the lantern in her hand to him and walked towards her dormitory.
The twenty-first year of Tianmao...
The walking lantern held deeply by Yan Ting extinguished its light in the cold wind.
