Chapter 236: The Dream of Master and Disciple Shattered
Qiao Wan stopped looking as Ma Huaizhen commanded the remaining members of the secret group to drag Mu Xiaoxiao away. Just as she was about to turn away, she suddenly heard Zhou Yan's voice.
"Wan'er, would you be willing to... accompany me on a journey?"
Though her emotions told her it wasn't the time, Qiao Wan looked at Zhou Yan who had lowered his eyes and tightly clenched his undamaged right hand. His throat trembled.
Qiao Wan paused, tightened her grip on her sword, and silently followed Zhou Yan up Yuqing Peak.
Walking on the pathway of Yuqing Peak, Qiao Wan looked at the green pines and the snow-covered scenery on the side, suddenly feeling a mysterious premonition. Her heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Yan probably noticed.
Finally arriving at the cave, Zhou Yan sat down, his eyebrows frosty and his facial features cold and radiant.
Yuqing Spiritual Master slowly sat down, his robe falling down, and asked in a deep voice, "Are you lying to me?"
Having lived for over six hundred years, after all, he wasn't a fool.
Quietly looking at the girl in front of him, covered in blood, Zhou Yan recalled the sudden cold and stern look in Qiao Wan's eyes earlier. A lump formed in his throat.
Regardless, that look was not the look of a master, a friend, or even a senior disciple. That frosty gaze was calm, as if looking at a stranger, a stubborn and oblivious stranger.
Just with that one gaze, like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, he suddenly woke up from the bond between teacher and student that they had shared for the past few days.
"You are lying to your master,"
He spoke slowly and clearly, with a hint of panic and passion in his cold eyes, as he tried to decipher a different expression on Qiao Wan's face.
Xiaoxiao had experienced quite a bit of suffering and fright, but overall she was not seriously injured. Besides, considering the trouble she had caused today, it was only fair for her to face some consequences.
At this moment, Zhou Yan was surprised and slightly panicked as he realized that he was more interested in finding out about the relationship between him and Xiaoxiao over the past ten days than in her current situation.
In the past few days, Zhou Yan had indeed noticed some subtle changes. For example, why did Qiao Wan suddenly seem to let go and the tension between them had eased? And why did Qiao Wan and Xiao Sui coincidentally overhear his conversation with Xiaoxiao?
But Zhou Yan chose to consciously ignore these things.
As long as Qiao Wan, his disciple, was willing to return to his side, he would pretend to be deaf and ignorant.
Because he truly regretted his actions.
In the cave, incense was burning.
Yuqing Spiritual Master, who was high up, closed his eyes, and a bit of mist fell on his eyelashes.
While hunting in Tingyun Mountain, he chose to abandon Qiao Wan, but after witnessing her calm and indifferent gaze, he regretted it.
He had always felt guilty towards his disciple, Xiaoxiao. Wasn't Xiaoxiao the most important? Xiaoxiao...
But now, compared to Xiaoxiao, he was even more afraid of Qiao Wan leaving him again because of that one look.
Zhou Yan opened his eyes and quietly glanced at Qiao Wan before speaking, "I still remember the day you first joined Kunshan."
She was short and had limited knowledge, seeking vanity and cheap thrills. After joining Yuqing Spiritual Master, she wanted to show off to the whole world. That was why most of the Kunshan disciples didn't like her at first, and he was also slightly troubled.
But even when she was given to Lu Pihan to take care of, Qiao Wan's respect and dependence on him as her master did not diminish in the slightest.
When Zhou Yan suddenly said this, Qiao Wan felt a bit surprised, but also not entirely unexpected.
She knew that Zhou Yan would eventually discover her malicious intentions, but she didn't expect it to be so soon. Maybe it was because she lacked enough experience.
With these thoughts in mind, Qiao Wan's body stiffened and after some consideration, she contemplated whether or not to come clean since Zhou Yan had already found out.
Deceiving someone's emotions felt a bit wrong no matter how she thought about it.
So under Zhou Yan's gaze, Qiao Wan pondered for a while and finally decided to admit it honestly.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," Qiao Wan avoided eye contact. "I do have ulterior motives."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Yan fell silent. His white hair cascaded down his shoulders and the voice of the spiritual master, Yuqing, suddenly turned cold.
"What are you after then?"
Qiao Wan lifted her eyes to meet Zhou Yan's cold gaze and openly spoke, without any disguise, "The Evil Sword Book."
"I heard that you, spiritual master, possess the Evil Sword Book."
Zhou Yan. was visibly shocked, as expected. "How did you know?"
Qiao Wan. shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I just want to ask the spiritual master."
After all, one should not bite the hand that feeds them. Qiao Wan paused for a moment, hesitating and subtly asking, "I want to ask if the spiritual master is willing to lend me the Evil Sword Book for a look."
As long as Zhou Yan agreed to lend it, she could use her spiritual knowledge to imprint it in her mind and manually transcribe a copy.
Zhou Yan replied, "..."
The quiet room suddenly fell into a deathly silence once again.
So it was all for the Evil Sword Book. Zhou Yan's lips trembled, and the color drained from his face.
Although he had already suspected it, when Qiao Wan looked at him without flinching and spoke directly, Zhou Yan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
The man clenched his lips, and beads of sweat the size of beans began to roll down his forehead.
"Is that so? So you came for the Evil Sword Book."
The man stood tall, with his robes draped down. There was a zither on the table in front of him, displaying an elegant and dignified aura, as if covered with a layer of frost.
Qiao Wan knew that Zhou Yan was a bad person, even though he looked handsome. But now, she couldn't help but feel uncertain. It almost seemed like she was the bad one?
As Qiao Wan anxiously wiped the blood off her face, Zhou Yan suddenly spoke again.
"What if we didn't have the Evil Sword Book?"
"What if we didn't have the Evil Sword Book..." Even Zhou Yan found it a bit funny to say. "Qiao Wan, if you approached me, was there even a hint of sincerity?"
At this point, Zhou Yan's intact right hand moved, as if he wanted to support her shoulder and ask her something.
How should she answer? She didn't want to confront Zhou Yan right now, so she tightly gripped her sword and gave a polite yet unfamiliar response.
"Qiao Wan, the elder, was considered the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the world. Everyone admired her. Even though our teacher-student relationship has ended, I still have deep respect for her in the art of swordsmanship."
Zhou Yan could easily tell that it was just a polite remark.
"Alright."
Zhou Yan simply replied with a single word.
Outside, the room was filled with howling wind and snow.
"Well, okay then."
"Sounds good."
"And... what about Venerable One Miaofa from the Great Hall of Light?"
When Miaofa was mentioned, Qiao Wan paused and took a while before slowly responding, accepting the previous explanation.
"I had an equal relationship with Venerable One, not a master-disciple relationship, but we still had a bond as if we were teacher and student."
"Do you value him more?" Zhou Yan lowered his gaze. "Compared to me, your 'elder' who you only recently met?"
This time, Qiao Wan fell silent.
Even though she didn't answer, a thousand words were conveyed in her silence.
Compared to Venerable One from the Great Hall of Light, her role as a master was indeed neglectful.
Qiao Wan was too calm.
Zhou Yan didn't even know when he had trained such a calm disciple.
Compared to Xiaoxiao, who was calm and rational, she seemed like a perpetual child.
He should have been angry, but at that moment, his anger, unwillingness, sadness, sudden regret, and jealousy seemed like irrational behavior.
Just then, Qiao Wan looked at him with clear and cold eyes, which suddenly reminded him of his original intention to learn swordsmanship.
Swords are weapons used to bring peace to the world, to clarify matters, and to defeat enemies. But he was ashamed that his own dao (mind and heart) had become clouded with dust.
He had missed out on this disciple. Qiao Wan had been by his side for decades, and he had missed out on this talented and beautiful person for so long.
Her jade-like left hand gently touched the strings of the guqin on the table. With each vibration of the strings, it felt as though her heart trembled with force, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and his heart to constrict like a knife twisting inside.
After a long while, Zhou Yan finally spoke again.
"The Evil Sword Book is not with me."
"Not with him?!" Qiao Wan widened her eyes.
"I swore not to practice the Evil Sword Book in this lifetime." Zhou Yan tightly pursed his lips, thinking back to the distant past and the hidden secrets. "Several years ago, I handed the sword manual over to your Elder Martial Brother."
"If you want it, you can try looking for him. I believe Elder Martial Brother would be willing to give it to you."
Thinking about the tense relationship between her and Elder Martial Brother, Qiao Wan felt conflicted for a moment.
Since she had already asked and there was nothing interesting to stay here for, she bowed and decisively bid her farewell.
"Rest well, Senior. I will take my leave first."
Zhou Yan's face turned pale, but he didn't stop her.
However, just as Qiao Wan was about to walk out of the door, she suddenly asked, "Was the Red Fire Golden Fetus the reason you went up the mountain before?"
On Yuqing Peak, where it snowed all year round, snowflakes mixed with the howling cold wind rushed into the small and quiet room.
She clearly knew that this was Zhou Yan's final chance for her.
If she slightly modified her words, Zhou Yan might have acted as if nothing had happened, continuing their master-disciple relationship, treating her as his little disciple again.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Brushing off the blood that had congealed on her shoulder, Qiao Wan glanced to the side and decisively answered, "Yes."
Without looking back, she stepped out of the cave.
After Qiao Wan turned around, Zhou Yan's figure swayed, almost slumping to the ground in despair.
"Ting—"
A clear sound.
The strings of the qin deeply cut into his fingertips, oozing a string of blood droplets.
Zhou Yan's eyes deepened in color as he coughed up blood expressionlessly.
He had never realized that Qiao Wan could be so heartless, nor had he ever regretted as much as he did now, for why did he insist on continuing their master-disciple relationship?
He would rather have her hold a grudge against him, distance herself from him, and pretend not to see him after she climbed the mountain.
Anything was better than now...
In a glance, he unintentionally collided with a nearby bronze mirror, reflecting the image of a man with white hair and a bright complexion.
It would be better than now, where she weaved a dream for him, only for it to be cruelly shattered, like a revenge for what he had once done to her in a mirage.
The so-called killing someone and punishing their heart, is nothing more than that.
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