Truly Blind

Seeing Gu Shao'an suddenly step in and block his view, Song Qingshu frowned, displeasure immediately surfacing on his face.

Taking in his reaction, Gu Shao'an secretly shook his head.

His temperament is truly terrible.

Gu Shao'an was not the only one who felt this way. Miejue felt the same at this moment.

The foremost disciple of Wudang's third generation, with a father serving as Wudang's acting sect leader, and martial arts that ranked among the best of Wudang's third-generation disciples.

In the past, Miejue had held Song Qingshu in some regard, believing him to be a promising young talent.

If Song Qingshu could marry one of Emei's disciples, it would also give the Emei Sect a little more standing in the martial world.

But now, she looked at her young disciple, whose eyes seemed to hold stars, whose features were handsome, and whose demeanor was composed.

Then she looked at Song Qingshu, whose every joy and anger was written plainly across his face. Miejue snorted coldly to herself.

She suddenly felt that she had truly been blind before, to have considered such a person a promising young talent.

Miejue then shifted sideways, blocking Song Qingshu's gaze, and said, "Since Sect Leader Song believes it was discourteous, then you ought to properly instruct your son, lest he make mistake after mistake."

At the end of her words, Miejue gave a cold snort.

The sound carried true qi, exploding as though beside Song Qingshu's ears and startling him into shuddering.

When he raised his head and met Miejue's cold, displeased gaze, he hurriedly lowered it again.

Had it been anyone else, hearing Miejue's words would likely have bred resentment.

But Song Yuanqiao was an honest and generous man, and Song Qingshu had indeed been discourteous first.

Hearing Miejue's words now, he could not help shooting Song Qingshu a stern look, with something of the frustration of seeing his son fail to live up to expectations.

His gaze then fell upon Gu Shao'an, standing before Zhou Zhiruo, and he asked, "This little one behind you is full of vigor and spirit, with proper features. At such a young age, he already possesses some of your composure, Shitai. Might I ask who he is?"

At the mention of Gu Shao'an, the displeasure on Miejue's face eased somewhat. She said, "This is the personal disciple this nun took in two months ago. Shao'an, come greet Sect Leader Song."

Gu Shao'an stepped forward, his right hand forming sword fingers atop his sword hilt as he performed the salute of an Emei disciple.

"Emei disciple Gu Shao'an respectfully wishes Sect Leader Song Dao Gong An He."

His voice was neither servile nor overbearing, cool in tone yet carrying a trace of childishness.

Hearing Gu Shao'an say "Dao Gong An He" during his salute, Song Yuanqiao's eyes brightened.

"Shitai's disciple speaks most exceptionally. Though still so young, his words carry the air of a scholarly household."

Miejue nodded. "My disciple originally came from a scholarly family in Jiangnan, but disorder befell his household. Emei people happened to pass by, so we brought him back to Emei."

Upon hearing of Gu Shao'an's circumstances, Song Yuanqiao sighed.

"When the world is chaotic, life is difficult. In such times, the martial world suffers, but ordinary people suffer even more. Master once spent sixty years subjugating demons in the martial world, believing he could grant it peace for a time."

"He once wiped out the Mountain Bandits who had ravaged the area around Huaiyang Mountain. Yet when he passed through Huaiyang again half a year later, he found new Mountain Bandits on Huaiyang Mountain, and their deeds were even more vicious and cruel."

"Only then did Master understand that wickedness arises from the heart, and evil comes from people. Wherever there are people, the villains of this world can never be fully executed or killed."

"That so-called Sixty-Year Demon Subjugation was merely..."

Though he did not finish, how could Miejue fail to understand his meaning?

Miejue herself hated evil as bitterly as any, and the villains she had slain in her life were already beyond counting.

How could she not understand this truth?

Yet whenever the road was uneven, there had to be people willing to level it.

If everyone saw injustice and treated it as though they had seen nothing, then the world would truly fall into chaos.

That was also why the renowned righteous sects differed from the Demonic Cult and those neutral factions.

You could mock the people of these renowned righteous sects in private for being pedantic and rigid.

But even the villains of the martial world understood that if they were ordinary people who encountered injustice,

the only ones they could turn to were these renowned righteous sects.

Perhaps feeling that the subject was too heavy, Song Yuanqiao changed the topic.

"To become Shitai's disciple, this little brother must surely possess something extraordinary to have earned Nun's Favor."

Miejue smiled, then gave Gu Shao'an a gentle glance. Satisfaction and pride unconsciously appeared on her face.

Song Yuanqiao had merely been making polite conversation, yet he had not expected Miejue to react this way.

For a moment, Song Yuanqiao could not help growing more curious about Gu Shao'an.

As they made their way up the mountain, Zhou Zhiruo watched Miejue and Song Yuanqiao conversing continuously ahead of them and could not help lowering her voice to ask, "Junior Brother, didn't Second Senior Sister previously say that Wudang and Emei had fallen out during Zhang Zhenren's birthday celebration, and that their relationship had since been poor?"

"Then why do Master and Sect Leader Song seem so familiar with one another?"

Gu Shao'an glanced at Zhou Zhiruo. "Senior Sister once said that Zhang Zhenren had saved you, and that Sect Leader Song had personally escorted you to Emei afterward. If Master's relationship with Wudang were truly poor, would she have accepted Senior Sister as a personal disciple?"

Relationships between people in the martial world were already complicated, let alone relationships between sects.

Zhou Zhiruo shook her head.

This was something she had never been able to figure out.

After entering Emei, Zhou Zhiruo learned of the relationship between Wudang and Emei from Ding Minjun, and for a time she had worried that Miejue would dislike her because of it.

She had spent a long time on the mountain worrying anxiously over it.

Only after discovering that Miejue treated her and her senior sisters equally did she finally put her mind at ease.

Seeing Zhou Zhiruo's reaction, how could Gu Shao'an fail to see that she still did not understand?

But the matters involved were far too complicated, and explaining them was not something that could be done in a short while.

Moreover, with other Wudang and Emei disciples nearby, Gu Shao'an could not say too much.

He then said, "If Senior Sister cannot figure it out, then there is no need to think about it. When you can understand it in the future, you will naturally know."

"For now, Senior Sister and I only need to remember that we are Master's disciples, disciples of the Emei Sect. We need only obey Master and the elders of our sect in all things."

Miejue and Song Yuanqiao walked ahead, but both had attained Return to Innate, their internal energy transformed into true qi. Their five senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people.

Though Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo had lowered their voices to a near whisper, to the two of them, it was no different from whispers in their ears.

Upon hearing Gu Shao'an's words, Miejue could not help smiling with her eyes.

She glanced at Song Qingshu, who followed beside Song Yuanqiao, and amid her pride, a trace of disdain appeared in her eyes.

Song Yuanqiao, meanwhile, could not help turning to look at Gu Shao'an, silently praising him.

Then he turned back to Song Qingshu.

Only to see that Song Qingshu's gaze was still fixed on Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo, causing his expression to darken at once.

At the same time, Song Qingshu watched Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo whispering intimately to each other. Though he knew Gu Shao'an was still young, he nevertheless felt displeased.

But before he could think further, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

He looked up, only to meet Song Yuanqiao's disappointed and displeased gaze, as well as Miejue's smug eyes, which carried a trace of contempt.

Song Qingshu: "?????"