For several days, Jiang Luo waited every day outside Xu Lin’s residence.
Ever since that day when Xu Lin left with that female disciple, he hadn’t returned.
This matter pressed heavily on her heart, making her feel restless and annoyed.
That day, while she was cultivating inside, she suddenly heard a noise outside.
She opened her eyes and quickly ran out.
“Senior Brother, you’re back.”
But under the cover of night, there was nothing except a bird in the courtyard tree flapping its wings.
A sense of loss rose from the bottom of her heart.
Jiang Luo pouted angrily, her mouth full of pent-up frustration she didn’t know how to vent.
She sat down on the stone steps, cupped her cheeks with both hands, and pouted her lower lip.
“It’s been so long. Even if he went to handle some business, it couldn’t take this long, could it?”
Jiang Luo really couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Just like that day, she had thought Xu Lin would return soon, but she had waited here so long, and still there was no sign of him.
“That direction looks like it’s toward the Main Hall,” she murmured to herself.
She had heard that on the day she and Xu Lin met, he had also come from that direction.
Jiang Luo really wanted to know what had made Xu Lin take so long to return, but as an outer disciple, who might not even enter the inner sect this time, how could she dare to inquire about matters at the Main Hall?
That would be blatant insubordination.
“Could it be that he got tired of teaching me those days and is deliberately avoiding me?”
Jiang Luo couldn’t help but let her mind wander, all kinds of thoughts swirling in her head.
“But I’ve practiced the techniques the way he said, and I even tied my hair in a ponytail. What have I done wrong?”
As she spoke, Jiang Luo’s heart was filled with mixed feelings, unable to tell if it was grievance or complaint.
“Even if I did something wrong, he could have just told me. What does it mean to suddenly disappear?”
Xu Lin sometimes spoke in a way that left no room for argument, but at other times he was very strange, like the matter of tying her hair into a ponytail.
Jiang Luo had only been puzzled at the time, but she hadn’t argued and had done as she was told.
“The Grand Tournament is almost here, and I wanted to ask him for some advice.”
There were many complaints in her heart, but now she could only sit alone in the courtyard, not knowing what to do.
***
Meanwhile, at the place where Xu Lin had once lived in seclusion, there was another figure sitting alone in the now-deserted small courtyard.
A young girl was dressed in a light green dress, the fabric plain and soft, gently fluttering in the evening breeze.
Since Xu Lin was taken away by Xi Ranchen, the small courtyard had long been covered in fallen leaves, weeds began to sprout wantonly, and everything was desolate and cold.
She raised her hand and looked at the jade in her hand, and Xu Lin’s face uncontrollably surged into her heart.
Finally unable to suppress the grief in her heart, she uncontrollably sniffled a few times.
The next moment, her cold and aloof appearance vanished, and she started crying like a child.
“Senior Brother, where did you go? I’ve looked so many places.”
Ye Shuiqing, not caring about her usual cold and aloof image in the sect, burst into loud sobs.
“We agreed that after I returned from my training, how could you secretly leave the sect?”
Ye Shuiqing had originally agreed with Xu Lin that when she returned this time, she would definitely defeat him with her most powerful sword technique.
She had even planned that after defeating Xu Lin, she would get revenge by teasing him back the same way he had teased her before.
For cultivators, a few years can be long or short.
Ye Shuiqing had worried that Xu Lin might be seduced by some cat and she’d be robbed of her home.
Who would have thought that instead of being robbed of her home, she had simply lost him.
After returning, the first thing she learned was that Xu Lin had left the sect and his whereabouts were unknown.
Just as Ye Shuiqing was wiping her tears alone, a streak of light chased after her from beyond the sky.
Upon seeing Ye Shuiqing sitting there, the person heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“Little Senior Sister.”
Hearing the call, Ye Shuiqing didn’t have time to compose herself and turned around, her appearance fully seen by the newcomer.
Ye Shuiqing’s cheeks were slightly puffed, the red of her tears still fresh at the corners of her eyes.
She clearly wanted to hold back her sobs, but the emotions were too overwhelming, uncontrollable, and her throat couldn’t help but choke up.
As residual tears fell, and she recognized the person, her shoulders still trembled uncontrollably, presenting a stubborn yet pitiful appearance.
“Little Senior Sister,” Wang Fengwu said softly, walking over and gently patting Ye Shuiqing’s back.
“I knew you’d be here.”
Hearing this, Ye Shuiqing felt even more wronged, her sobbing quickening, on the verge of crying again.
Wang Fengwu really hadn’t expected that the cold and aloof Little Senior Sister known throughout the Vast Dao Sect would one day cry alone, so sorrowful and completely undone.
“What do you mean you knew I’d be here?” Ye Shuiqing said, still sounding aggrieved.
Wang Fengwu sighed.
“The last few times you went out, didn’t you secretly leave the team to search for your senior brother’s whereabouts?”
She was a bit curious about what kind of person this senior brother was, who could make Ye Shuiqing so persistent.
So much so that Ye Shuiqing had secretly left a Tracking Stone in his Storage Pouch, which allowed Wang Fengwu to find this place.
But by the time Ye Shuiqing arrived, the place was empty, with only the objects left and no trace of her senior brother.
For this reason, Ye Shuiqing had used sect affairs as an excuse to go out several times, searching the entire area centered on this place.
“But when I came here that time, this place was still clean, clearly my senior brother was here not long ago,” Ye Shuiqing was truly puzzled.
“Where else could he have gone besides the Vast Dao Sect? He can’t be avoiding me, can he?”
As she spoke, the sobbing in Ye Shuiqing’s voice became more obvious, and finally she burst into tears again.
“How dare he avoid me? Before, he was always the one bullying me!”
Wang Fengwu could only continue to comfort her.
“Little Senior Sister, do you think you and that senior brother have fate?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean, if you truly have fate, even if you’re separated, you’ll meet again one day.”
Having cried for so long, Ye Shuiqing couldn’t fully understand at the moment, but in her heart, she still believed that she and Xu Lin had fate.
“Let me tell you a secret,” Wang Fengwu lowered her voice, as if sharing a girl’s secret.
“Actually, the reason I joined the Vast Dao Sect this time was also to find someone.”
“Huh?” Ye Shuiqing opened her eyes wide in confusion.
“Did you find them?”
A trace of faint disappointment flickered in Wang Fengwu’s eyes, but her tone remained unchanged.
“No. I only saw him once, and I only know he’s from the Vast Dao Sect. I don’t even know his name.”
“Maybe he’s among those disciples on training missions?”
Every year, some disciples of the Vast Dao Sect go out for training.
Since he can’t be found within the sect, he must be among those disciples.
“I’m not sure.”
Wang Fengwu knew that with just a one-time meeting, even within the same sect, finding that person was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Then, she revealed a hopeful expression.
“But I feel that I can see him again.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Ye Shuiqing wiped her tears and couldn’t help but admire.
This drew a bitter smile from Wang Fengwu.
She didn’t know if that was a compliment or a mockery of her naivety.
“So, Little Senior Sister, since you care so much about that senior brother of yours, one day you’ll definitely see him again and be able to tell him your feelings.”
“Mm.” Ye Shuiqing felt a little comforted in her heart.
She didn’t expect this junior sister who had just joined the sect to be so good with words.
“Alright, we should go back,” Wang Fengwu helped Ye Shuiqing up.
“I also secretly left the team to find you. It wouldn’t be good if others found out.”
Finally, Ye Shuiqing took one reluctant look at the cold, empty hut before transforming into a divine rainbow and leaving with Wang Fengwu.
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