54 – Reason, Chance
The next morning, Xue Qilin woke up by herself.
Agonizing over Shui Yuner last night, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to have a proper sleep. Therefore, the cry of roosters at the crack of dawn woke her up easily. She just washed her face, changed into a set of clean clothes, pushed the door open, and left her room.
Gray filled her view. It is clearly still very early.
“Young, Young… Ancestor.” Someone called Xue Qilin in the corridor.
“Little Qing?” Xue Qilin turned to look in the direction of the voice.
Apart from Gong Tianqing, who else would stammer that much?
“Hey, have you been awake for a long time?”
Gong Tianqing is neatly dressed, and her eyes are full of vitality, without any trace of drowsiness.
“Yes…” Gong Tianqing smiled shyly, “I prepared a bit of food just now, and brought it to Miss Shui.”
“But she didn"t eat.” Gong Tianqing looked a little downcast, probably because she worried about Shui Yuner"s health.
Xue Qilin lowered her gaze and asked in an indescribable tone, “… She is still kneeling outside?”
“She is…” Gong Tianqing hesitated for a while before carrying on, “Young Ancestor, do you want to see her?”
Xue Qilin gazed at the sky, looking at who knows what.
“Wait… let"s wait.”
She is actually looking, looking for a reason to persuade herself.
Or perhaps a chance.
Dim light of the setting sun sprinkled on the table through the window.
Night is about to descend.
“How many people are left?” Watching the back of a downhearted individual disappear at the door, Xue Qilin asked softly, her head lying on the table.
“Not many.” Xia Xue answered coldly, still angry from earlier.
Xue Qilin turned her head and looked out the window, her eyes dim, but not dull.
She is thinking, thinking about Shui Yuner.
“Stop being so morose, okay?” Unable to bear it, Xia Xue lashed out, “You"re such an eyesore, you know!”
Xue Qilin sighed, but didn"t respond.
“You …” Xia Xue"s tone suddenly softened, “If you really can"t make up your mind, then just go.”
“… where to?” She asked as if she didn"t know the answer.
“You can go there.” Xia Xue snorted. “I really don"t understand, why are you agonizing over this so much? You"re such a fool!”
Xue Qilin buried her face between her arms and said in a m.u.f.fled voice, “I do not know either…”
“You don"t know? I think you like her.”
Is that right? She doesn"t feel that it is the case.
What is it then? Why do I care so much about Shui Yuner?
“Maybe it"s because there"s a great resemblance.”
“Resemblance with whom?”
Xue Qilin peeked out from between her arms, “With me.”
Perhaps she just sees a shadow in Shui Yuner, a shadow of herself flinging caution to the wind.
“And with my niece.”
A shadow of her niece with that stubborn pestering.
“… You have a niece?” Xia Xue was stunned, surprised that Xue Qilin had relatives.
“She pa.s.sed away.”
“Is that right?” Xia Xue responded in a flat tone, and then asked a little irritably, “Then why don"t you go?”
“Let"s wait…”
“Wait for what? For death?” Xia Xue scoffed, “Hesitation is a recipe for disaster. Go if you want to go. But if you don"t go, then stop with that moping, it"s annoying.”
“…” After hesitating for a while, Xue Qilin scratched her head fretfully, and then stood up, left the hall, and went to Shui Yuner again.
Shui Yuner was still kneeling there, but unlike yesterday, she didn"t immediately notice Xue Qilin"s arrival.
After kneeling for so long in the bitter coldness, the fatigue her body acc.u.mulated made her sluggish.
What exactly is supporting her? Is it desire, or is it an expectation?
Xue Qilin stared at Shui Yuner in a daze, her thoughts adrift. She recalled her niece, and recalled that day…
“Uncle, if you don"t teach me, I will go on a hunger strike!” A la.s.s puffed up her cheecks and said.
“Oh, suit yourself!” Xue Qilin rolled her eyes and answered.
Hunger strike? Can a young person endure such suffering? At the time, Xue Qilin didn"t believe that she would go through with it. Can a mere 11-year-old girl go this far?
However, Xue Qilin underestimated the extent to which a person can be stubborn, and the price they can pay to reach their goal.
Her niece really went on a hunger strike, and after three days of hunger, she eventually fainted at home and was taken to a hospital. After receiving the news, Xue Qilin rushed to the hospital.
“Are you crazy?” At that time, her niece looked very pale. Looking at the pale face, Xue Qilin blurted out.
“I said that I want to learn it at all cost! I must learn it!”
Some people are this stubborn, and are willing to pay any price to get what they want.
Her niece is such a person, and Shui Yuner in front of her is also such a person – very selfish, but also admirable.
Ask yourself, who can live as forthright as that? So forthright that it borders on ridiculous and naive.
They are both fools!
“Hey, idiot, are you going to kneel here forever?” Xue Qilin put her hands on her hips and asked angrily.
Shui Yuner shuddered, and then raised her head, her movement very slow and heavy.
Although her face is wan and spiritless, but the firmness in her eyes is still there.
“Senior Disciple Sister, you"re here again.” The girl smiled.
It was a weak smile, and it wouldn"t be surprising for it to shatter at any time.
“I remember yesterday you said this was a stupid method, and now I think that it is indeed stupid!”
“No matter if it is stupid or clever, I can only think of this method. There"s no way around it. After all, I"m stupid.” She winked mischievously, “Didn"t you call me an an idiot?”
“So you made up your mind to kneel here until the end of time?” Xue Qilin rolled her eyes, and said softly.
“Of course not. You will leave tomorrow, so it will be meaningless to kneel here any longer.”
“Oh, so you plan to kneel here another night, and if we don"t yield, you"ll give up?” Surprised, Xue Qilin shot Shui Yuner a glance and asked.
“I"ll go to the Merak Temple"s gate to continue.”
“Hey hey hey, this is really…”
What a pest! The corners of Xue Qilin"s mouth twitched.
In response, Shui Yuner snickered a few times.
“Why has it to be the Merak Temple?” Xue Qilin wondered why the other party clang to the Merak Temple so much.
Shui Yuner lowered her head and chuckled, “Because there is someone in the Merak Temple I admire.”
“Who?”
“I want to become that kind of person.” The girl gave an irrelevant answer, but the la.s.s understood.
“… Aren"t you an orphan?”
Shui Yuner looked at Xue Qilin, silent, but her eyes told the latter the answer.
“Do you want to take revenge? That"s why you want to practice martial arts?”
“Senior Disciple Sister, do you think such a motive for practicing martial arts isn"t pure?”
“So the person you admire is me…” Xue Qilin almost slipped up, and then promptly supplemented, “Our Young Ancestor?”
Shui Yuner didn"t comment. But just as before, she answered with her eyes – yes.
Xue Qilin was speechless. It looks like we attract each other.
“You should know that there is an issue with your apt.i.tude. Even if we really accept you, you won"t have great accomplishments. Even after a lifetime of hard work, you probably won"t go beyond the Human Realm. No, may not even be able to reach the Human Realm.”
“I know.” Shui Yuner answered rather quickly.
Then why?
Before Xue Qilin could ask, Shui Yuner had already answered, “Because this is the only way.”
There should be many ways, and she should also know this, yet she said that practicing martial arts is the only way. Perhaps she has some kind of hang-up? Xue Qilin mused.
People are like this. They are both unadulterated and complicated, and they especially like to make things difficult for themselves.
But it is because of this that people are people.
“Is it worth it?”
“I can only be true to myself. Only I can chose my life. Whether it is worth it or not, this is my choice, so I can only follow through.”
Xue Qilin was startled.
“… I have the final say in my life!” Her niece once said so.
Indeed, no matter the considerations of other people, but if they clash with your aspirations, then goodwill will become a constraint.
What matters is your own will.
So what is my goodwill? Xue Qilin was not sure. She needs a reason to push herself, and is actively searching for it.
However, some things are inevitable…
Gong Tianqing walked out of the courtyard house with a bowl of broth on a tray.
“Junior… Disciple Sister” She greeted Xue Qilin, and the latter nodded back.
“Miss Shui, you have been kneeling for a long time. At least have some broth. Otherwise, you won"t be able to go on like this.” Gong Tianqing put the tray in front of Shui Yuner, picked up the broth, and handed it to Shui Yuner.
Shui Yuner paused, and then gently shook her head in refusal.
“You don"t have to eat, but at least have some water!” Gong Tianqing persuaded, anxious.
… Water? Xue Qilin moved her gaze sharply and stared blankly at the bowl of broth.
She recalled the pool of water on the ground after Shui Yuner"s a.s.sessment that day.
“Little Yun, you have an innate affinity with water?” The la.s.s asked without thinking.
Shui Yuner blinked her eyes several times and answered, puzzled, “I do.”
“How many days can you go without drinking?”
“This… I once went three days without drinking water.”
“Was there any problem with your body at the time?”
“Not really. I just felt a little thirsty, that"s all.”
For ordinary people, going three days without drinking water would not result in just a simple thirst.
“…” Xue Qilin secretly scolded herself for being careless – how could I have ignored something so important? It was indoors, and no one has spilled any water, so why would there suddenly appear a puddle of water?
“Drink the broth, and then come with me to see Xia Xue.” The corners of Xue Qilin"s mouth twitched.
She found it, the reason, the chance.