51 – Enlightenment on Shouldering a Life
“Qian Duoduo.” Xia Xue suddenly got up, and the young man who was named turned around and left without a word.
“Take off your clothes.”
Is “bone touch” next?
“Bone touch” is an indispensable procedure for any sect. It checks whether the person in question has a physique suitable for the practice of martial arts or not.
Having prepared herself mentally beforehand, the girl took off her dress without hesitation.
With her fair, unblemished skin almost completely exposed, the girl couldn"t help shivering. Although winter is coming to an end, but the weather is still far from warm.
With the nimble and fast movements of her fingers, it only took the Merak Temple"s Fifth Elder a moment to touch Shui Yuner all over and complete the procedure.
“Not bad.” Finally, she made this evaluation of Shui Yuner"s physique.
Shui Yuner breathed a sigh of relief, aware that she pa.s.sed another test.
“Now for the last a.s.sessment. I will inject true qi into your body. It will circulate along your qi pa.s.sageways. What you have to do is to try “capture” it, and then release it in the way you think is most suitable. Okay?”
“I understand. You can begin, Elder Xia.”
A tender and warm sensation came from her shoulder.
Then, the girl felt that something has penetrated her skin and entered her body in what could almost be rated as a violent way, as if an insect has burrowed into her flesh.
Feeling a stabbing pain in her heart and an intense sense of congestion, Shui Yuner creased her eyebrows.
“Are you…” Xia Xue"s hesitant voice came from behind.
“I"m fine, you can go on.”
“No, I have already finished.”
Finished already? Shui Yuner first widened her eyes, then gathered her spirits and tried to capture the true qi in her body.
Why is there nothing. She couldn"t feel anything.
“What"s wrong?” Xue Jiujiu asked a little impatiently.
She creased her eyebrows more and more, and perspiration started to emerge on her forehead.
Even though she searched every corner of her body, but she still couldn"t find any trace of true qi.
Am I not able…
A sigh sounded suddenly.
Shui Yuner opened her eyes subconsciously, but found that Xia Xue has already returned to her seat.
Did I fail? Shui Yuner"s heart tightened.
She noticed Xue Jiujiu"s inquisitive look and shook her head gently.
Xue Jiujiu was stunned for a while time, and then spoke: “Let me have a look!” Finally, she winked mischievously.
This Junior Disciple Sister is really interesting! Unable to help herself, Shui Yuner covered her mouth and sn.i.g.g.e.red.
Xue Jiujiu approached Xia Xue, craned her neck, and peered at what the other party has written in the note book. Then…
“Not admitted, what"s the deal with that!” Xue Jiujiu jumped up like a wild cat that had its tail stepped on.
Hum! The girl felt like her ears are ringing.
“Shut up.” Xia Xue slammed the table, “Don"t you know what should and should not say?”
“I…” Xue Jiujiu"s eyes fell on Shui Yuner, but then quickly moved away. As if an overriped fruit that suddenly fell down, the other party plopped down on her seat.
Although things entered Shui Yuner"s eyes, but they could not reach her mind. Her mind is a blank.
Not admitted – only these two words reverberate in her mind.
“Miss Shui, although you came to know the result by accident, but I still have to adhere to protocol and say that the official results will be announced the day after tomorrow.” Xia Xue closed the note book in front of her and uttered, “You can go ahead and take your leave.”
The girl looked up in a daze, and Xue Jiujiu looked at her with a complex expression.
“I…” Shui Yuner wanted to say something, but then realized that she didn"t know what to say.
What can she say? Plead? Ask another person to give her their chance? But will other people give her their chance? Even if another person takes pity on her and gives her their chance, but will this be fair to them?
No it won"t – the answer is obvious. Therefore, she could only turn around and leave, at a loss.
Did I fail?
After she crossed the doorsill, Shui Yuner still hasn"t react.
It"s too abrupt, as if it"s fake.
Did I fail? Is everything over here? Her thoughts in disorder, Shui Yuner moved soullessly.
As for the pet.i.te figure that jogged out the door after her, she didn"t notice her at all.
The moment Shui Yuner turned and left, Xue Qilin saw… the world in her eyes has crumbled to pieces.
She has an inexplicable heartache – Xue Qilin doesn"t know why she cares about this girl so much. Is it because of that inexplicable sense of intimacy?
A sense of intimacy that came out of the blue, an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
When did she have a similar feeling before? Xue Qilin couldn"t remember when or where she had it. The only thing she is certain about is that she had it before.
“Step aside, you"re in the way.” An impatient voice interrupted the little girl"s train of thought.
“Why didn"t you admit her?” Xue Qilin turned round, and her gaze met the other party"s gaze accurately, and she asked in a repressed, almost interrogative tone.
Perhaps because she never heard Xue Qilin use such a tone, Xia Xue was taken aback unconsciously.
“Don"t you think that there"s something fishy about her?” After a long while, she frowned and asked back in reply.
“I"m aware that there is something fishy about her.” Xue Qilin lowered her head. Although she often does her own thing, but she isn"t unreasonable. Naturally, she knows that she"s making trouble out of nothing. But…
“Little Xue, answer me. It will bug me until you give me an answer.”
“Hey, you"re biased to this extent? That"s simply unreasonable. Or do you know her? Do you know Shui Yuner.”
“I don"t know her.” Xue Qilin shook her head and told the truth.
“Why do you care so much about her?” Not knowing what to think, Xia Xue widened her eyes and looked Xue Qilin up and down, and then carried on, “Don"t tell me that you really took a fancy to her? You"re both women!”
“Screw off. It isn"t… how do I explain?” With a troubled look on her face, Xue Qilin spent a lot of time considering her words before continuing, “I feel like there is something inside me that resonates with her, somewhere very deep.”
“What the h.e.l.l do you mean? Can you be clear? And don"t come to me with that ‘it"s something mysterious" c.r.a.p.”
“I"m not sure either…” Xue Qilin doesn"t know how to explain it.
It is a fantastic feeling, as if there is something invisible that brought them together.
It"s something akin to love at first sight, yer not completely the same.
At most, she has a favorable opinion of Shui Yuner, but she is far from being able to claim that she is fond of her. She likes Qi Qiqi a bit more.
“Her qi pa.s.sageways are obstructed, and she can"t do anything with true qi. She basically can"t practice martial arts. You should have also felt it clearly, right? When my true qi entered her body, it dissipated after a while.”
Of course Xue Qilin also felt, clearly felt the true qi disperse.
The qi pa.s.sageways of some people are inherently blocked, and cannot accommodate the flow of true qi – Shui Yuner is obviously one such a person.
“Even if her qi pa.s.sageways weren"t clogged up, I still might not take her in.” Xia Xue suddenly added with inscrutable emotion.
“Ah?” Xue Qilin asked both anxiously and suspiciously, “Why?”
“Do you remember the question I asked her? If she would take revenge.”
“I remember. She said that she would.”
“Did you see it?”
“See what?” Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose.
“You didn"t see it? Her eyes…” Xia Xue narrowed her eyes, and her tone became flat abruptly, “… were full of hatred.”
Full of hatred? Xue Qilin was stumped.
She recalled the other party"s eyes.
Deep in that pair of limpid eyes, there was something dark and dense rotating, as if a vortex leading to the abyss. In the center of the vortex, there brewed a thick fishy smell.
… it was a dismal hatred hidden deep in the soul.
Xue Qilin has seen this look before… in the mirror.
When she learned the news of Luo Qing"s death, she had this look.
But the vortex in her eyes at the time was much more turbulent than the one in Shui Yuner"s eyes just now.
However, whether the hatred is concealed or not doesn"t matter. Just like Xue Qilin has gone straight to the Heavenly Sword Gate regardless of everything at that time, people with such eyes are foreordained to live a life of hatred.
“I was wondering why she looked so familiar. I turns out I see myself in her.” Xue Qilin murmured, and bitterness rose inside her.
Loss will hollow out the heart of a person.
In order not to self-destroy themselves, people look for things to fill the void inside them, and the best thing to fill the void is hatred. However…
“But is that a bad thing?”
For people, love isn"t more important than hate, just like day isn"t more n.o.ble than night.
“You…” Not expecting such a question from Xue Qilin, Xia Xue was rendered speechless for a moment.
After a long moment of silence, Xia Xue sighed and spoke in serious tone, which is rare for her, “Do you know what it means if we accept Shui Yuner? It means that we agree to shoulder her life.”
A limpid gaze reached the bottom of her heart as Xia Xue stared at her.
“She was born with congested qi pa.s.sageways. Even if she joins the Merak Temple, she won"t have any accomplishments. Since the martial path is severed, it"s better for her to give up sooner than later, and look for another path she can tread.” She narrowed her eyes, “Or do you have a superb martial art that you can give her?”
“…I don"t.”
“Even so, you still want me to nod and accept her? Don"t you know that your selfishness and negligence will only bring harm to her?”
“…” This time Xue Qilin was left speechless.
Can I give her everything she wants? No.
No, before that, do I really have the enlightenment and ability to shoulder the weight of another person"s life? Xue Qilin doesn"t know. She has tried to shoulder someone else"s life before, but she failed.
As a result, she was afraid, afraid that she will repeat the same mistakes and harm Shui Yuner just like she harmed her niece.
Xue Qilin stood absentmindedly for a long time.
When she came back to her sense, the dark curtain of night has already descended, and Xia Xue has long since disappeared.
“I"m still so selfish…” Xue Qilin laughed at herself and shook her head.
She was about to leave, when…
“Where did this water come from?” She saw a puddle on the ground, in the place where Shui Yuner has stood.
The water is reflecting incredible light.
Suddenly, Xue Qilin thought of something, and her eyes widened.
It shouldn"t be…