Young Indeed

The night was deep, and Zhou Zhiruo remained silent for a long time, her body trembling slightly as she sat pressed against Gu Shaoan.

Gu Shaoan's words had dropped a massive stone into her tender heart, stirring not ripples, but raging waves.

She raised her head and stared blankly toward the courtyard where Miejue lived.

At that moment, young Zhou Zhiruo seemed to have truly touched, for the first time, the mountain-heavy coldness and burning loneliness contained within the words "Sect Leader."

It was no longer lofty authority, but a responsibility filled with blood, tears, and difficult choices.

The night wind stirred her hair, as though it were plucking at her chaotic thoughts as they slowly took shape again.

Gu Shaoan did not disturb her. He merely sat quietly beside her, knowing that this seed needed time to take root in her heart.

After a long while, Zhou Zhiruo said softly, "So it turns out that Master has been bearing so much all by herself."

Gu Shaoan nodded. "That's right. Becoming a Sect Leader isn't difficult, but becoming a Sect Leader with a sense of duty and responsibility is incredibly hard."

Just look at Sect Leader Yue of Huashan's Qi Sect. Like Miejue, all he had sought throughout his life was to strengthen Huashan.

For that one goal, he had even been willing to castrate himself, personally trampling his dignity as a man beneath his feet.

Compassion could not command an army, and righteousness could not manage wealth. As the Sect Leader of a sect, one had to prevent disaster before it arose.

If he really had to criticize her, then in Gu Shaoan's eyes, Miejue acted too aggressively and too one-sidedly.

It was almost as if she handled everything with a single slash.

Moreover, Miejue had not handled today's matter very well.

If Miejue had not created such a favorable environment for Ding Minjun, Ding Minjun might not have dared to attack Gu Shaoan and Zhou Zhiruo.

The human heart had never withstood testing.

Still, although Gu Shaoan understood all of this clearly, he did not feel there was anything wrong with it.

At that moment, Zhou Zhiruo turned her head toward Gu Shaoan.

"Master values you so highly, Junior Brother, and your talent is so great. You see through matters so clearly, too. If you become Sect Leader in the future, you'll surely be like Master and bring glory to Emei."

Hearing this, Gu Shaoan chuckled softly and slowly shook his head.

"Who becomes Sect Leader isn't important, as long as they're good for Emei."

"For me, what matters right now isn't the position of Sect Leader."

At this, Zhou Zhiruo grew interested as well.

"What's your goal, Junior Brother?"

Gu Shaoan smiled lightly. "Are you asking about my goal before today, or my goal after today?"

Zhou Zhiruo blinked her watery eyes in confusion. "What difference does it make?"

Gu Shaoan said softly, "Of course it makes a difference. A very big one."

"Before today, my goal was simple enough: cultivate diligently and do everything I could to increase my strength."

Zhou Zhiruo asked, "What about after today?"

Gu Shaoan paused before saying, "It's still to cultivate diligently and increase my strength as much as possible over the next ten years."

Zhou Zhiruo carefully compared what Gu Shaoan had said before and after, her curved brows knitting together in confusion. "Junior Brother, those two goals don't seem any different."

Gu Shaoan shook his head. "The difference is huge. Before today, I worked hard to increase my strength only for myself. But after today, besides myself, I'll also do it for Master and Emei."

Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo still did not understand, Gu Shaoan raised his hand and rubbed her head.

"It means that I'll cultivate hard. Once I'm strong enough, I'll support Senior Sister, Master, and everyone in Emei, and shield them from the consequences."

At this, Gu Shaoan could not help sighing.

Bad people never let others off, while good people never let themselves off.

Unfortunately, Gu Shaoan possessed both sides. He was neither bad enough to commit every evil nor good enough to sacrifice himself for others.

That was why he could not bring himself to repay kindness with ingratitude or become hard-hearted.

Over the past month, Miejue's meticulous care and earnest instruction had absolutely qualified her as a good teacher.

And after what had happened today, Gu Shaoan could clearly feel that Miejue truly protected him wholeheartedly as her disciple.

Now that her kindness as his teacher had been established, as long as Miejue did not do anything to wrong Gu Shaoan in the future, this kindness would always be greater than the heavens.

Miejue's affairs had naturally become Gu Shaoan's affairs as well.

If trouble befell Miejue in the future, Gu Shaoan could not possibly stand by and ignore it.

If Miejue and Emei could protect Gu Shaoan for these ten years, Gu Shaoan would also do everything in his power to protect Miejue and Emei.

He would shield Miejue and Emei from the consequences.

As for helping reason rather than relatives—

A disciple helping her master was perfectly reasonable and entirely justified.

If both sides had their own version of reason, then they could clash and see whose reason stood firmer.

Zhou Zhiruo did not know what Gu Shaoan was thinking. Facing his last remark, she nodded in agreement and said, "With Junior Brother's talent, your strength will definitely surpass Master's in the future. If anything really happens, you'll certainly be able to protect Master and me."

Gu Shaoan turned his head. Looking at Zhou Zhiruo's earnest expression, his smile became a little more innocent.

"Of course. But Senior Sister, you'll have to work hard, too. You're the senior disciple, after all. You also have a share in supporting Master and Emei."

Zhou Zhiruo nodded. "I'll work twice as hard from now on. Whenever Junior Brother cultivates, I'll cultivate too. In the future, I'll be able to ease Master's worries and protect my Emei."

Listening to Zhou Zhiruo, Gu Shaoan could not help smiling.

It had to be said that having a simple-minded senior sister to tease now and then felt pretty nice.

Especially since this simple-minded senior sister was also so pleasing to the eye.

That made teasing her even more fun.

Both Gu Shaoan and Zhou Zhiruo had already grown utterly exhausted after experiencing several battles.

Now that their conversation had eased Zhou Zhiruo's emotions, drowsiness washed over her.

As they chatted, her head tilted, and she leaned against Gu Shaoan's shoulder.

Feeling the sudden weight against his neck, Gu Shaoan's words came to an abrupt halt.

"Young people really have it good. Once they're tired or sleepy, they can fall asleep immediately. They can even sleep just by tilting their heads."

After muttering this, Gu Shaoan gently closed his eyes and circulated his inner strength to cultivate.

However, Gu Shaoan, already immersed in cultivation, and Zhou Zhiruo, already asleep, failed to notice something.

While the two of them had been talking, Miejue had stood motionless like a statue on the roof behind them, taking in every word of their conversation. For a moment, her thoughts churned, and she found it difficult to calm down.

Everyone's heart was made of flesh and blood.

How could Miejue truly be hard-hearted?

Yet, just as Gu Shaoan had said, as the Sect Leader of Emei, Miejue could not allow personal feelings to bind her actions. Everything had to put Emei first.

For decades, she had worked for Emei's development without daring to slacken even a little.

Externally, even when she knew something was wrong, she could only present a forceful stance in many matters.

It was not because Miejue was foolish or incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, but because the martial world had always bullied the weak and feared the strong.

In such a dog-eat-dog martial world, if she acted timidly and retreated at every step whenever trouble arose, others would only think Miejue weak and easy to bully, and Emei easy prey.

Only by displaying a forceful stance could she make the other factions wary.

Many things were beyond her control, yet she had no choice but to do them.

Emei's development to its current state, and the fact that ordinary factions did not dare offend it, was it not also because Miejue had gathered every bit of infamy onto herself?

Now, who could still remember that before becoming Sect Leader, the current Miejue had once been innocent and carefree, once greeting others with a smile?

If they could, who would not want to be like Zhang Sanfeng, with a reputation and prestige spreading far and wide?

Miejue had thought that in this lifetime, aside from the elders who had passed away and the senior brothers who were no longer there, no one else could understand how difficult her position was.

She had never expected that a junior disciple who had entered the sect just over a month ago would actually be able to understand the hardships of her position.

Recalling what Gu Shaoan had said earlier, Miejue's emotions now seemed to collapse like the Yellow River bursting its banks.

She had no choice but to tilt her head back and force the emotions surging in her eyes back down.

After a long while, she lowered her eyes and gazed at the figure sitting below with his eyes closed. For the first time in all these years, Miejue truly felt that Heaven was not unfair.

It had actually allowed her, Miejue, to have the good fortune of accepting such an outstanding disciple.

That alone was enough to comfort her for the rest of her life.