Chapter 24
When Qiao Wan arrived at Yuqing Peak, Xiao He directly brought her to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan was sitting at a table, playing a game of chess by himself.
A branch of peach blossoms reached in through the window.
Zhou Yan was sitting casually, with his white hair loose. He exuded a cool and ethereal aura, making him even more beautiful than the peach blossoms outside.
It must be said that her master's face is really pleasing to the eyes.
Yesterday evening, Qiao Wan accidentally discovered the secret relationship between Zhou Yan and Mu Xiaoxiao. She felt a bit embarrassed, but her master didn't mind. So she wouldn't mention it either and pretend like nothing happened. She respectfully approached and greeted him.
"Master, you called for me. Is there something you need?"
In the world of cultivation, handsome boys and beautiful girls are as common as cabbage on the street.
Before she regained her memories and before she came up the mountain, Qiao Wan actually had a vague imagination of what an "immortal" was like. But Zhou Yan was the first person to give her the impression of an "immortal". It seems that the immortals in the sky should look like this.
Zhou Yan looked up and his furrowed brow slightly relaxed. He looked at the chair opposite him and motioned for her to sit.
Qiao Wan sat down, still unsure why Zhou Yan called her here, feeling a bit anxious.
"Play a game with me," Zhou Yan said.
Qiao Wan picked up a white chess piece from the basket and looked at the remaining game on the chessboard before placing her piece.
She used to only know how to play Five-in-a-Row, but thanks to the diligent teaching of Elder Martial Brother, she also learned how to play Go.
Thinking of Elder Martial Brother, Qiao Wan became a little worried.
In the original story, Lu Pihan risked his life to protect Mu Xiaoxiao and the other Kunshan disciples and was ultimately crushed by the seals and his stubborn illness.
Since she came to the mountain, Lu Pihan's health hasn't improved, but seems to have gotten worse.
She would never be able to watch Elder Martial Brother die, but for now, she couldn't find a solution.
When Qiao Wan was lost in thought, Zhou Yan's mind wasn't really focused on the chessboard either.
Yesterday, Lu Pihan brought Mu Xiaoxiao back. He protected her until dawn and never lost focus. After Mu Xiaoxiao woke up and was safe, he coaxed her back to sleep. When the first light of day appeared, Zhou Yan came to a side hall and sat alone playing chess.
He only had three disciples. Lu Pihan never caused him any trouble, but Mu Xiaoxiao and Qiao Wan...
Zhou Yan keenly noticed the vast difference in their personalities, which caused some conflicts.
It was normal for them to have conflicts between the two of them. Everything started because of him. However, now that things had developed to this point, as their master, he still hoped to see his disciples get along harmoniously.
Xiaoxiao's return this time might have caused some dissatisfaction in Wan'er's heart.
Thinking about this, Zhou Yan felt a little embarrassed.
Although he was the one who brought Qiao Wan, their interactions were actually not very frequent.
He brought her up the mountain because she resembled Mu Xiaoxiao.
As Qiao Wan grew up, their interactions became less frequent because she resembled Mu Xiaoxiao too much.
His disciple was always respectful and never showed any excess emotions on her face. Compared to Xiaoxiao, she appeared a bit dull, which made Zhou Yan feel... at a loss of how to approach her.
He was not a talkative person, and when Qiao Wan was with Zhou Yan, she was not as at ease as when she was with Lu Pihan. He could only restrain his desire to complain.
The master and disciple didn't have much to say, so they played chess in silence.
In fact, when Qiao Wan first became Zhou Yan's disciple, they had a harmonious and intimate time together.
Before she regained her memories, Qiao Wan was just an extraordinarily ordinary village girl.
Her brother-in-law's words were deceptive, and after her mother left, she never returned. From a young age, Qiao Wan's daily thoughts revolved around how to avoid going hungry and how her crops were growing in the fields.
She would go out with a hoe in the morning and come back with a hoe at night. She would weave and sew at night to save on lamp oil.
After finishing dinner, Qiao Wan would run to a woman's house in the same village. They would all sit together and spin yarn, gossiping to dispel their loneliness.
Luckily, the villagers took pity on her because of her young age and treated her with care.
Of course, there were also some ruffians and scoundrels in the village who tried to do something to her, but Qiao Wan always found a way to avoid them.
Among the many village women, Qiao Wan, who grew up listening to gossip and dirty jokes, had a certain level of knowledge and broad perspective.
Although she was only ten years old, she already thought about getting married quickly. Looks didn't matter as long as the other person had a slightly better family background.
Actually, Qiao Wan felt a bit embarrassed to admit that she had been interested in Lu Tieniu from the Lu family in the village.
But Lu Tieniu wasn't interested in her! He liked the well-endowed widow from the Li family at the village entrance!
Of course, later on, she developed feelings for Pei Chunzheng, but that's another story.
Just as she was thinking about how to get close to Lu Tieniu, Zhou Yan found her.
Zhou Yan was the one who opened the door to eternal life and set foot on the Immortal Ascending Road.
She no longer had to worry about the harvest in the fields, how much the textiles could be sold for, or how much tax the government would impose.
Before her eyes was a grand and magnificent road to immortality.
Qiao Wan was always grateful to Zhou Yan.
If it weren't for him bringing her back to Kunshan, she would most likely have been married by now, and could see the end of her life at a glance.
She would have married a villager and had one, two, three, four, five, or even six children.
During the journey with Zhou Yan, before he took her away from the village, when he held her hand and brought her to Kunshan, those were the closest moments between her and Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan rarely took disciples. Like most martial arts masters in novels, her master also maintained an air of superiority and would not easily take disciples.
Once Zhou Yan took a disciple, everyone in Kunshan was curious about this new disciple of hers, and what kind of person they were to catch Zhou Yan's eye after Mu Xiaoxiao.
The result, however, was unexpected.
Her aptitude was poor.
Her appearance, although somewhat similar to Mu Xiaoxiao's imagination, was a bit ugly.
Having rolled around in the fields for years, Qiao Wan was malnourished at the time, thin and with calloused hands. She had a head of yellowish unkempt hair and was tanned.
In the world of cultivation, which was filled with beautiful people, she was indeed unique because of her ugliness.
Qiao Wan was now also puzzled about how Zhou Yan had seen her resemblance to Mu Xiaoxiao.
Apart from being ugly and having poor aptitude, after she entered the mountain, as they spent more time together, her numerous flaws started to surface.
For example, she couldn't read, cursed, had a dirty mouth, loved telling dirty jokes, was stingy, and vain. She was shallow-minded.
In simple terms, she was useless.
Now, thinking back, Qiao Wan felt like crying without tears.
Before crossing over, she was at least a sexy college student. After crossing over, she became an illiterate, unable to understand even books and sword manuals.
It was simply unbearable!
She learned how to write from Elder Martial Brother himself. Elder Martial Brother was able to straighten her out with great effort and help her grow into who she is now. It was really not easy.
Zhou Yan was one of the peak masters of the Twelve Peaks in Kunshan, a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage, and a renowned sword immortal of his time. After realizing the difference between herself and others, Qiao Wan couldn't help but feel a little inferior.
She was truly lucky to be accepted as Zhou Yan's disciple.
Zhou Yan treated her well. Although he left her with Elder Martial Brother when they returned to Kunshan, he allowed her to freely use magic tools and spiritual pills. He also periodically checked on her progress in cultivation.
At that time, Qiao Wan exerted great effort, hoping to gain Zhou Yan's recognition. Even a slight furrow of Zhou Yan's brow would make her worry for a long time.
At that time, she didn't know that she was Mu Xiaoxiao's substitute.
It wasn't until one day when her master got drunk and in his dream mistook her for Mu Xiaoxiao, muttering Mu Xiaoxiao's name, that Qiao Wan understood her true identity - she was Elder Martial Sister's substitute.
Her own worth was wiped out, but it didn't matter as long as she didn't disappoint the expectations of her martial sect.
But it wasn't until a long time later that Qiao Wan realized that Zhou Yan knew about her aptitude and talent, and from the very beginning, he had no expectations of her.
This is a story that would make people feel sad and shed tears when they hear it.
"Younger martial sister just came back from the Broken Bone Deep Abyss," Zhou Yan finally spoke after flicking a chess piece, "You..."
"Don't think too much."
"Both you and your elder martial sister are my disciples," Zhou Yan lowered his head, and a strand of hair slid down his cheek.
Yesterday's incident was not her fault, it was ultimately his confusion.
Thinking about yesterday, Zhou Yan's body involuntarily tensed up. After a while, he slowly relaxed.
After more than thirty years of being together, how could he not have feelings for Qiao Wan?
The two of them played chess in silence for a while, when suddenly footsteps could be heard from outside the hall. Mu Xiaoxiao walked in barefoot.
"Master."
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Mu Xiaoxiao yawned tiredly. Her gaze swept over and landed on Qiao Wan, her eyes widening in surprise, "Martial Sister Qiao Wan?"
Perhaps thinking about what happened on Qinghuan Peak yesterday, Mu Xiaoxiao looked a bit awkward, and her gaze towards Qiao Wan was filled with complex emotions that she couldn't quite explain.
"Why are you up?" Zhou Yan set aside the chess pieces and looked at her bare feet.
"Because I didn't see Master when I woke up." The young girl lowered her eyes in embarrassment, "So I hurriedly came over and forgot to put on my shoes."
"I didn't expect Master to be here playing chess with Martial Sister Qiao Wan."
Blushing, Mu Xiaoxiao said, "I'll go back to freshen up, Master and younger martial sister, please wait for me a moment."
After saying that, she ran out with her feet patting on the ground.
In no time, she changed into a light blue dress and returned to the hall.
The young girl tied up her dark hair, her expression completely different from yesterday's disheveled state. Her eyes were lively, her lips were rosy like a peach, and when she smiled, she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.
While Qiao Wan was looking at Mu Xiaoxiao, Mu Xiaoxiao was also secretly watching Qiao Wan.
Thinking of the scene on Qinghuan Peak yesterday, her eyes began to well up with sourness. Even though she had Elder Martial Brother and Little Phoenix, Pei Chunzheng, to help her, she still felt too embarrassed to cry.
Why.
Why did it turn out like this.
Where was she lacking compared to Qiao Wan? Why did Ma Huaizhen treat her differently but not herself?
Mu Xiaoxiao twisted her clothes corner, feeling miserable inside.
But today, she still had to go to class with Qiao Wan.
She was afraid.
She was afraid of being replaced by Qiao Wan.
She had to see how Qiao Wan was regarded by other fellow disciples in order to feel at ease.
While Mu Xiaoxiao was getting ready, Qiao Wan and Zhou Yan stopped playing chess. They waited for Mu Xiaoxiao to finish getting ready and then Zhou Yan briefly explained why he called her over.
Qiao Wan didn't react for a moment.
Mu Xiaoxiao was going to attend class with her?
To be honest, Mu Xiaoxiao doesn't need to go to Changhong Cliff for class, especially since her poison hasn't been cured yet.
Seeing the change in Qiao Wan's expression, Zhou Yan asked, "Don't you want to go?"
"If the younger martial sister doesn't want to, then forget it," Mu Xiaoxiao said cautiously.
Qiao Wan looked up, only able to see her master's smooth and beautiful jawline.
Qiao Wan shook her head, "Disciple is willing."
Zhou Yan frowned and sighed, "I know what you're thinking, and today I can only trouble you to take care of your elder martial sister."
"Go then." Zhou Yan turned his head towards Mu Xiaoxiao and nodded.
Mu Xiaoxiao saw Qiao Wan's agreement and immediately smiled, pouncing on her like a sparrow.
Her dress traced a line in the air.
The young girl stood in front of Qiao Wan, smiling warmly at her. "Younger martial sister, where shall we go today?"
Seeing the stark contrast between the two, Zhou Yan sighed and waved for them to leave, while he held his forehead and pondered.
In the future, these two elder martial sisters would inevitably continue to interact, and he would probably have to give Qiao Wan some advice.
Along the way, the flustered and disheveled look on Mu Xiaoxiao's face from yesterday had disappeared, replaced by a small smile on her cheeks.
"Younger martial sister... you must be close with Hall Master Ma," Mu Xiaoxiao asked intentionally, with a hint of disappointment in her words.
Qiao Wan said, "The relationship between Hall Master Ma and I is not what others think. I just go to Wenshi Hall often, so I became familiar with the Hall Master."
"There are countless disciples who go to Wenshi Hall," Mu Xiaoxiao obviously didn't believe what she said, shaking her head. "But I have never seen Hall Master Ma treat any disciple like this."
"The relationship between you and the senior is enviable, unlike me."
"I wonder what impression I have in the Hall Master's eyes for the senior to think of me this way."
The young girl lowered her eyelashes in disappointment.
"I guess it's not a good impression."
Qiao Wan didn't continue the conversation.
She wasn't as regretful of Mu Xiaoxiao's talent as Ma Huaizhen.
To be honest, Qiao Wan really envied Mu Xiaoxiao. It was a bit like the sadness of an office worker who worked from nine to five every day.
She also envied the second-generation rich who sat at home and collected rent.
She didn't have any big ambitions. If she had the opportunity, she would also want to be a freeloader who just coasted through life.
Unfortunately, not everyone could have the fate of a main character.
Although she had big shots like her master, Elder Martial Brother, and Ma Huaizhen around her, Qiao Wan hesitated to rely on them.
Thinking about it was one thing, actually doing it was another.
It was unstable, and the embarrassment was too high.
Whether in her previous life or this one, relying on herself was always the safest option. Even if she could cling to someone's thigh, she couldn't turn herself into an accessory, hanging around the leg of a big shot every day.
Mu Xiaoxiao looked up, blushing, and said, "Sorry, I accidentally said so much in front of my younger martial sister. I can't keep my thoughts to myself. Whatever I think, I often say out loud. I hope my younger martial sister doesn't mind."
Qiao Wan shook her head, "My elder martial sister is straightforward, so why would I mind?"
Mu Xiaoxiao gently shook her arm, curved her eyebrows and eyes, and smiled again.
Along the way, most of the conversations revolved around Ma Huaizhen.
At first, Qiao Wan didn't understand what Mu Xiaoxiao had planned, but when Mu Xiaoxiao asked what Ma Huaizhen liked and disliked, a bold idea came to Qiao Wan's mind.
Could it be that she wants to win over Ma Huaizhen?
It seems... it's possible.
After understanding, Qiao Wan was stunned.
