Chapter 6 — Jin’er’s Hands Hurt, but His Heart Hurts Even More

“Ugh…”

Yu Jin walked down the path as though no one else existed, his footsteps hurried and angry.

His face was stained with tears, looking like a tearful kitten that had been rolling around in the mud. He wiped at his tears with both hands, smearing the blood and tears together across his face and making himself look even more miserable.

“Why? Why?! How am I obsessive? I just wanted Master to praise me a little… That bastard was talking complete nonsense!”

He muttered to himself, his chest heaving with each sob.

Just after he had run out of the pavilion crying, Lin Chun had seen him.

Apparently, the boy had been there for a while and had witnessed the entire mess inside the pavilion. He stood on the bridge clutching a sword, his young face filled with helpless confusion.

The moment Yu Jin rushed past, the little radish—who wasn’t even as tall as Yu Jin’s shoulder—panicked.

He hurried forward and grabbed Yu Jin’s sleeve.

Yu Jin immediately shook him off.

“Get lost! Don’t touch me with those dirty hands!”

He glared furiously.

His lips were tightly pressed together, his eyes wide with anger.

Yet a tear still slipped down the side of his face.

Lin Chun fell onto the ground.

But he immediately slapped the dirt off his clothes and scrambled back up.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

“Don’t be sad, Senior Brother. Master only hit you because he was angry. He just… just…”

He stared at Yu Jin’s heartbroken face.

After stammering for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and, as though marching bravely toward his own execution, said:

“He just hopes you won’t be so obsessive anymore!”

The childish voice rang out firmly through the air.

Yu Jin froze.

“Obsessive…”

There was a strange blankness on his face.

It resembled the expression of an innocent child being scolded after crushing an ant beneath his foot.

Innocent. And cruel.

“That’s right, Senior Brother.”

“You said yourself that you have to discover Master’s goodness for yourself. You should understand his good intentions.”

Lin Chun thought Yu Jin had finally understood.

Relieved, he stepped forward to take his hand.

He had heard plenty of rumors about Yu Jin these past few days.

Even with his slow mind, he understood what kind of person this senior brother was.

His temper wasn’t particularly good, but he wasn’t as evil as outsiders claimed.

He was simply the sort of person whose mouth was sharp while his heart was soft.

But the instant Lin Chun’s fingers touched Yu Jin’s—

Smack!

His hand was violently knocked away.

“Ah!”

Lin Chun pulled his aching hand back.

Yu Jin’s features were twisted with fury.

He glared at Lin Chun as though he wanted to eat him alive.

His voice was shrill:

“Who asked you?! You’re nothing but a beggar Master picked up to freeload off the sect! What do you know?!”

What was with that reasonable, all-knowing,救世主-like attitude?!

This was between him and Master.

Why did this bastard have to interfere?

And then he had the nerve to talk about Master’s “good intentions”…

Did this halfway-arrived idiot really think he understood Master better than Yu Jin did?

That was his master.

His master!

Yu Jin was furious and heartbroken.

By the time Lin Chun stood there stunned, Yu Jin had already run far away.

Lin Chun stared at his retreating figure helplessly and rubbed his injured hand.

Yu Jin cried as he remembered yesterday.

That little beggar who had stolen everyone’s attention had suddenly fallen from his sword.

Yu Jin had watched from the upper floor of the library, amused.

He had stopped writing, propped his chin on his hand, and scoffed.

The contempt in his eyes hadn’t even fully formed before he saw Lin Chun pat himself off and run to Master.

The boy chattered away.

Judging from his lip movements, he was probably saying something stupid like “I don’t understand.”

Master patiently listened.

Then he put down his teacup and said something.

Lin Chun seemed not to understand.

Master’s usually indifferent expression froze.

Yu Jin, who knew every subtle change in Master’s expression and movements, immediately detected something unusual.

Helplessness.

Master spoke again.

This time, he explained at length.

And that gentle expression…

Yu Jin had never seen it before.

For a moment, he forgot where he was.

The jealousy and anger in his chest became almost impossible to suppress.

He said something impulsively toward the empty air.

He couldn’t even remember what it was afterward.

Soon, Master seemed to sense something and looked up.

Yu Jin panicked.

His brush fell to the ground with a clack.

He hurriedly lowered his head.

His trembling fingers rested against the desk.

He didn’t even have the strength to pick up the brush.

Beneath his lowered lashes, hatred surged like a flood.

Why did Lin Chun get something Yu Jin didn’t?

“Why…”

“Ugh… why does Master point out his mistakes when he does something wrong, but tell me to go back and figure things out myself?”

“Why won’t he say even one more sentence to me?”

Yu Jin sniffled as he walked.

His words became increasingly incoherent through his tears.

He wasn’t stupid.

He knew Master was doing it for his own good.

Lin Chun’s words weren’t entirely wrong either.

But he simply couldn’t accept it.

If Master had always treated everyone the same way, Yu Jin wouldn’t have been this hurt.

He had lived like this for three hundred years.

He could endure it.

But Lin Chun’s arrival had shattered everything.

Lin Chun.

Lin Chun!

That damn bastard!

Why had he appeared?

Yu Jin’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

The shadow of the leaves covered half his face.

His expression became difficult to read.

Good and evil seemed to intertwine within him.

He clenched his hand tightly.

Then muttered:

“Someone like him…”

“If only he…”

“died.”

“Wouldn’t that be better?”

A rough voice that was neither clearly male nor female suddenly sounded beside his ear.

Its low, hoarse tone carried a deadly temptation.

Yu Jin’s heart jolted.

His pupils contracted.

All the romantic yearning and emotional turmoil vanished from his eyes.

In their place was the sharp vigilance of a wild beast.

“Who is it?!”

“Come out!”

A faint gray aura of decay gathered at his fingertips.

Only then did Yu Jin realize that he had wandered far from the path without noticing.

He had entered a forest he had never visited before.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The wind rustled through the trees.

Beneath the calm surface was a boundless sense of danger.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a rapidly moving shadow flashed through the corner of his eye.

Yu Jin whipped around.

Sword light exploded.

A somewhat familiar voice roared with arrogant righteousness straight toward his face:

“Demon!”

“Die!”

Yu Jin’s pupils contracted.

He instinctively formed a hand seal and prepared to retaliate.

But just before his spiritual power erupted—

His movements inexplicably froze.

No.

If he used this technique inside the sect, Master would discover it.

Master would definitely hate him.

That thought occupied his mind for only a second.

Then his instinct to survive overwhelmed it.

Yu Jin continued forming the seal.

But that moment of hesitation had already placed him at a disadvantage.

The sword came straight for his face.

It was a killing blow.

One that could take a person’s life in an instant.

Too close.

Yu Jin was blasted backward by the sword wave and fell onto the grass.

His face went pale.

Even his skin stung beneath the domineering sword light.

Am I going to die?

He was unwilling.

Yu Jin breathed heavily.

His injured palm dug desperately into the earth.

His amber eyes slowly turned blood-red.

A terrifying force capable of draining the life force from any living creature began gathering inside his chest.

His black hair flew in the wind.

Sweat mixed with dirt and streaked down his face.

He bit his lips hard.

At the critical moment between life and death, he desperately raised his hand—

But then.

A sword intent even more domineering than the previous one exploded across the battlefield.

It completely crushed every other force present.

Ice spread instantly across Yu Jin’s limbs.

His skin turned blue from the cold.

In the blink of an eye, a miserable scream came from the opposite side.

The attacker fled.

Yu Jin stared blankly at the figure that had appeared before him.

His throat was dry.

He couldn’t believe it.

“…Master?”

In an instant—

Tears poured down his face.

Xiao Ji was just about to pursue the attacker when he heard Yu Jin’s pitiful call behind him.

He frowned and stopped.

Then he sent a voice transmission to the Martial Sect Master.

“Guard the mountain gate.”

The transmission crane flashed.

The Martial Sect Master’s voice came through.

“What happened?”

“Someone hostile.”

Xiao Ji answered simply.

Then he cut the connection.

He turned around.

Yu Jin was sitting helplessly in the grass.

Xiao Ji was about to give him a stern interrogation.

“You—”

But the word stopped in his throat.

Yu Jin was crying miserably.

His nose was completely red.

His eyes were swollen like walnuts.

His silky black hair hung in wet, tangled strands.

His normally striking face was already pitiful enough.

His entire body looked even worse.

Like a little bird that had fallen into the water, its feathers soaked through, its wings twisted awkwardly as it lay helplessly in the mud.

A faint blue mark remained between his brows.

It was the protective sword soul Xiao Ji had left behind when he examined Yu Jin’s body.

The icy sword intent just now had erupted from it.

“Master…”

“Ugh… Master…”

“I’m so scared…”

“It hurts…”

Yu Jin sobbed brokenly.

His mind was a complete mess.

The twisted thoughts he’d had earlier—

Even the faint dissatisfaction he had harbored toward Master, which had been buried beneath his stubbornness—

all disappeared.

His chest was filled with grievance and lingering fear.

How dare that bastard swing a sword straight at his face?!

What if Master had found his corpse and discovered his face had been ruined?

Thank goodness he hadn’t fought back.

Otherwise, if Master had seen him using that technique, it would’ve been terrible.

Thank goodness…

Thank goodness Master had come to save him.

All kinds of emotions flooded his chest.

Yu Jin cried so hard he could barely speak.

“…”

Xiao Ji silently looked at him.

His expression remained indifferent.

But a sigh escaped the air.

A sigh that sounded suspiciously like surrender.

Then Xiao Ji bent down.

The hem of his pristine white robes became stained with muddy water.

The immortal who had always remained detached from the world, as though separated from all living beings by a layer of clouds—

without the slightest hesitation—

picked up his filthy, disheveled disciple and carried him in his arms.

He held Yu Jin’s frozen, purplish arms tightly against him.

“…Master.”

Yu Jin sobbed.

He wrapped both arms around Xiao Ji’s neck.

Then, as though he had finally found the one place where he could feel safe, he leaned affectionately against Xiao Ji’s shoulder.

That night — Xiao Ji’s residence

Yu Jin had already been thoroughly washed clean.

He wore only a thin white inner robe and lay on Xiao Ji’s bed.

Xiao Ji normally didn’t sleep at night.

He meditated instead.

But simply being able to lie on his master’s bed made Yu Jin feel satisfied and delighted.

He wasn’t sad anymore.

Not even a little.

In fact, whenever he remembered how Master had carried him all the way back—

and even wiped his face with a white cloth—

he couldn’t help becoming bashful and smug.

Hmph.

How could that idiot Lin Chun possibly receive this kind of treatment?

I knew it.

Master really does care about me.

The Martial Sect Master had ordered people to guard the area for a long time, but there had been no sign of the attacker.

He reported the situation to Xiao Ji.

“Should we investigate everyone inside the sect?”

Xiao Ji lowered his eyes.

His expression was difficult to read.

After a moment, he gave a cold laugh.

“There’s no need to make a big fuss.”

“I have my own plans.”

When Xiao Ji returned to his residence, he had barely stepped inside when he saw Yu Jin.

His pale face was practically blooming like a peach blossom.

He was resting his chin on his hand and smiling foolishly.

He looked energetic.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of someone who had nearly died.

Xiao Ji frowned.

When he heard footsteps, Yu Jin cheerfully called:

“Master!”

He was about to run over.

But the instant he saw Xiao Ji’s expression, he quietly withdrew his foot.

Then he carefully asked:

“Master, what’s wrong?”

“Is the person who hurt me difficult to find?”

In truth, Yu Jin didn’t really care who had attacked him.

There were so many people in the sect who disliked him that counting them one by one would be exhausting.

Perhaps he should even thank the attacker.

Otherwise, how could he have been carried back by Master?

And that protective sword intent between his brows…

So Master really cared about him that much.

Thinking of this, the corners of his lips rose again.

Xiao Ji gave him a cold glance.

Seeing that Yu Jin remained completely oblivious, he reached out.

Yu Jin thought Master wanted to examine his injuries.

He foolishly extended his hand.

His slender, pale fingers were swollen from copying the scriptures.

His palm had also been struck by the bamboo strip.

There were several unconscious nail marks where he’d dug his fingers into himself.

And small cuts from when he’d fallen in the grass.

He had really suffered quite a lot.

It should have been heartbreaking to look at.

But Xiao Ji lowered his eyes and examined it for a while.

Then the fingers that had been gently rubbing his hand suddenly tightened.

“Ah!”

Yu Jin cried out in pain.

Crystal-like tears immediately spilled down his cheeks.

His nose turned red.

He looked at Xiao Ji pitifully.

“Did Jin’er make Master angry again?”

Xiao Ji looked at him coldly.

His thin lips parted.

“Does it hurt?”

Yu Jin pouted.

He nodded sincerely.

“It hurts.”

Then, hoping to make his master pity him, he added pitifully:

“It hurts so much.”

Xiao Ji merely scoffed.

“Now you know it hurts.”

“Why didn’t you know when you were copying the books?”

Yu Jin understood.

Master was still angry about him copying the books.

Fortunately, Xiao Ji sat down beside the bed.

Yu Jin immediately took advantage of the situation.

He scooted closer.

Xiao Ji lowered his eyes and watched him.

When Yu Jin leaned over and began acting spoiled, Xiao Ji didn’t move away.

Until Yu Jin had practically climbed into his arms and settled against his chest—

only then did Xiao Ji finally, mercifully, wrap his arms around the disciple who had remained like an immature child even after three hundred years.

“Jin’er won’t do it again.”

“Master, please don’t be angry with Jin’er anymore.”

Yu Jin sniffled against his chest.

But immediately after begging for forgiveness, he suddenly changed the subject.

He raised his injured palm and complained:

“Jin’er’s hand hurts.”

“Master, don’t hit Jin’er when you’re angry next time, okay?”

“Jin’er’s hand hurts…”

“But Jin’er’s heart hurts even more…”

It sounded like a complaint.

But his tone was so soft that it hardly sounded like one.

Xiao Ji gave him an indifferent glance.

Yu Jin felt his gaze.

He raised his head.

His fox-like eyes were as clear and beautiful as autumn water.

He took Xiao Ji’s hand and tried to pull it toward his chest, as though he genuinely wanted his master to feel how much his heart hurt.

Xiao Ji moved his hand away.

He didn’t let Yu Jin grab it.

Yu Jin gave a little “Ah.”

His head drooped in disappointment.

But the hand he hadn’t managed to catch moved upward instead.

It gently kneaded the back of his neck.

A tingling sensation spread through him.

Yu Jin let out a soft whimper.

Then he heard Xiao Ji’s calm voice above his head:

“Then you need to be obedient.”

Yu Jin immediately began clinging to him and repeating things like:

“Jin’er will be obedient.”

“Jin’er listens to Master the most.”

“Jin’er is Master’s most obedient disciple.”

All kinds of syrupy declarations.

Xiao Ji ignored him.

He calmly applied medicine to his disciple’s palms.

Then, beneath Yu Jin’s reluctant gaze, he left the residence.

He raised his head toward a certain direction in the clouds.

His gaze became ice-cold in an instant.

……

Elder Peak

The Mystic Truth Daoist was meditating.

Two young Daoist attendants with their hair tied into topknots were sweeping nearby.

Incense curled lazily from the censer.

The hall was silent.

An ominous feeling suddenly enveloped his entire body.

The Mystic Truth Daoist’s tightly closed eyelids twitched.

At the instant he opened his eyes—

a devastating sword light came crashing toward his face!

His expression changed dramatically.

He had just begun to stand and receive the attack when the entire Mystic Hall had already been reduced to gray rubble.

The two Daoist attendants screamed and were violently embedded into the ruined walls.

Smoke billowed everywhere.

A towering figure slowly emerged from within it.

His icy-blue eyes pierced through every obstruction like frozen needles.

Amidst a net of flashing sword light, Xiao Ji’s black hair whipped in the wind.

His voice was filled with suppressed, raging fury:

“You should never have touched him.”