Left on Read

You were kicked flying again, and she did not hold back. In the end, Senior Brother Jing Yuan laughed as he claimed that you were already thinking of betraying your master and destroying your ancestors at such a young age, that your future was limitless, while applying the Alchemy Commission's miracle medicine to you.

At ten, as you revealed your talent for swordsmanship, Jingliu stopped making you prepare her three meals a day. Yet sometimes, you still made something extra for yourself. Whenever that happened, Senior Brother Jing Yuan would come over just by following the smell. But Master Jingliu would usually stand outside the kitchen, sword in one hand, watching you with a face as cold as snow.

Inside the kitchen, freshly cooked preserved egg and lean pork congee simmered on the stove, its fragrance filling the air.

Jing Yuan unceremoniously ladled himself a bowl, dropped into a horse stance, and began drinking the congee.

Bai Heng noticed a slender, exquisitely poised figure standing in the doorway.

Jingliu stood there with a frosty expression, her sword never leaving her side, as though she could slit someone's throat at any moment.

He shivered for no apparent reason, filled a bowl of congee, walked out of the kitchen, and asked,

"Master Jingliu, would you like some congee?"

Jingliu looked coldly at Bai Heng. She neither spoke nor reached out to accept it.

Seeing this, Bai Heng carried the congee and prepared to return to the kitchen.

But at that moment, he felt an inexplicable chill from behind him.

Fortunately, Bai Heng reacted quickly. He turned back again, looked at his Master Jingliu, fairer than frost and snow, and said earnestly, one word at a time,

"Master Jingliu, please try the congee I made, all right?"

Jingliu remained icy, but she extended her hand and accepted the congee Bai Heng offered her.

Then she silently turned around, leaving behind a single sentence:

"Come clean my room later."

At eleven, you heard the storyteller speak of the Five Kasas of the Cloud. Besides Master Jingliu, Senior Brother Jing Yuan, and Sister Bai Heng, whom you already knew, you met Dan Feng, the Vidhydara High Elder who had transformed the "High Elder constitutional system" into the "High Elder dictatorship," as well as Yingxing, another short-life species who shared the same experiences as you.

At twelve, perhaps because you had reached puberty, you changed greatly that year. Compared to a naïve child, you had become more like a high-spirited youth. Yet Master Jingliu still seemed to treat you like a child.

That year, you added an online friend named Wuxia Feiguang.

You did not know her true identity, but she seemed to know that you were the disciple of the Sword Champion of the Luofu. As your first online friend, you shared many things about Master Jingliu with her every day. Yet she seemed rather dismissive of it, claiming: Jingliu, one of the Five Kasas of the Cloud, was nothing more than an arrogant, obstinate mortal with no manners, no sense of reason, and no ability beyond swinging a sword.

When you saw those messages, you were furious at first and wanted to retort. But then you remembered Master Jingliu's teachings, so you calmly replied, "Yes, Master Jingliu is indeed as you say: arrogant and obstinate. Sometimes she does lack manners and reason, and perhaps she really can do nothing but swing a sword."

Wuxia Feiguang continued, "Since you think your master is such a talentless and immoral person, why do you respect her so much?"

You answered, "Hmm... When I first met Master Jingliu, my first impression was that she was beautiful, like a banished immortal from the heavens. But someone like that should be difficult to approach, right? Later, though, I gradually realized that she had many flaws too. Sometimes she even sulked and threw tantrums at me, her little disciple. Just like an ordinary person, she could be approached and reached."

"But if you have truly gotten to know Master Jingliu, you will find that these so-called flaws make your heart ache for her... While she was still young, her home Xianzhou, Cangcheng, was swallowed by Demon Star Rahu. From then on, she was like drifting duckweed, utterly alone. You say she only knows how to swing a sword, but the truth is that she has no choice but to keep swinging it. Otherwise, who would protect the people of the Xianzhou? You say she is arrogant and obstinate, unmannerly and unreasonable, but she has no choice but to be that way. Otherwise, centuries of emotion could easily leave her senses in disarray and cause her to fall into mara."

After seeing Bai Heng's reply, Wuxia Feiguang remained silent for a long time before commenting, "You are just as arrogant as your master."

Bai Heng: "Yes, I am as arrogant as Master Jingliu... I once heard Sister Bai Heng mention that Master Jingliu's dream was to cut down the stars in the sky. But how could a sword on the ground cut down a star in the heavens? So, arrogant as I am, I decided to make that star fall to the mortal world with my own hands."

At thirteen, for some reason, you found that Master Jingliu had grown somewhat closer to you. After you pestered her relentlessly, she finally agreed to practice that sword art with you. The sword art was divided into the black and white swords. The white sword was the normal execution of the technique, while the black sword was the technique performed in reverse. You had high comprehension, so you took the initiative to learn the black sword, while Master Jingliu handled the other half.

After several joint training sessions, Jingliu also discovered that this sword art was greatly beneficial to her, so she no longer resisted practicing it together. But the problem was that physical contact was unavoidable during joint practice. Whenever you came into close contact with Master Jingliu, your heart would race.

You told the online friend named Wuxia Feiguang about your feelings, as well as your thoughts of "at this barbershop": "Master Jingliu is so cute. I really want to bury my face in her long hair and take in her scent."

Wuxia Feiguang: "???"

At fourteen, your cooking skills had steadily improved. The number of people freeloading meals at Sword Champion Manor had risen from two to five. While they were eating, you would go out onto the street to buy several candied hawthorn skewers, then use them to bribe Sister Bai Heng. When she learned that you wanted to pursue Master Jingliu, she was first astonished, then eagerly offered advice, delighted by the prospect of trouble.

Sister Bai Heng's advice was simple: defeat her, carry her home, and marry her. You were rather speechless at that, but you knew that Sister Bai Heng was Master Jingliu's close friend. If you wanted to win over Master Jingliu, you had to build a good relationship with Sister Bai Heng. So you often brought Bai Heng candied hawthorn skewers.

Over time, Master Jingliu seemed to notice what you were doing. So, after you went out to buy candied hawthorn one day, you found Master Jingliu blocking the entrance to Sword Champion Manor. At first, you did not think much of it. You simply greeted her, went inside, and gave the candied hawthorn to Sister Bai Heng. As a result, during your sparring session with Master Jingliu that day, you were beaten black and blue. Even Jing Yuan was surprised by how hard she had gone at you while applying medicine.

That night, you sent Wuxia Feiguang a message: "Master beat me up today. Depressed.jpg."

Wuxia Feiguang: "Why did she beat you?"

Bai Heng: "I do not know either. I do not think I have made Master Jingliu angry recently."

Wuxia Feiguang: "You cannot even find the reason. You deserved it."

Bai Heng: "Hey, do you not have any sympathy at all?"

Wuxia Feiguang: "Left on read."

After some time, your injuries healed. Sister Bai Heng happened to still be at Sword Champion Manor, so you specially bought candied hawthorn, intending to further strengthen your revolutionary friendship.

But when you reached the entrance, you once again encountered Master Jingliu, sword in one hand, her peerless face as cold as frost. You greeted her as usual. But when one foot stepped into the courtyard, you suddenly felt a chill.

Within only a few breaths, you turned around with remarkable agility, handed the candied hawthorn to Jingliu, and said, "Master Jingliu, I bought this especially for you. Please accept it."

She did not take it, but you did not dare leave either. Once you confirmed that she had no intention of drawing her sword, you took hold of her soft, icy hand, gently pried open her fingers, and placed the candied hawthorn into her palm. At the same time, you repeated, "Master Jingliu, it is very sweet. Try it."