The thought of Shangguan Yi's arrogant demeanor when she left made his pale eyes narrow involuntarily.
He pretended to be generous in front of the youngest brother, saying it would be good to spend a few more days with his fellow disciples, but he actually knew that the youngest brother would come tonight to persuade him to leave. How despicable!
I disliked him from the moment I met him when I was ten, and over the past decade, countless new and old grudges have been added to the mix. Even the eighth brother would use literary allusions, saying that the two of them were like the proverb "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?" Three years ago, to play a trick on him, he risked his life to test the waters and finally managed to get the man to drink a small cup. But fate is unpredictable, and at the crucial moment, Shangguan ended up running into the youngest brother.
Boundless licentious pleasures, night after night of spring; how can this poison be cured? How can it be cured?
Thinking of this, Fu Xianqi felt a tickle in his throat and coughed softly, covering his lips.
"Senior brother," Yu Zigui looked at the person outside the door in surprise, "Why are you here so late?"
"Not welcome?" He straightened up, his smile still harmless, but the half of his face in the shadows looked somewhat sinister. "That's right, Twelve is a grown woman now, and she only has eyes for her lover."
Upon hearing this, she wisely stepped aside, welcomed her "poor" brother into the house, and poured him a cup of warm tea.
After taking a sip, Fu Xian asked leisurely, "Where have you been these past two years, Twelve?"
Moon Eyes looked somewhat surprised.
"Although my senior brothers have been away from the mountain for five years, it doesn't mean they don't care about the sect anymore."
The implication is that someone within the sect has been secretly corresponding with him. As for whether this person is his tenth senior brother, eleventh senior brother, or someone who has both connections, that remains unknown.
"I first traveled in Yongzhou and Guilin, then spent a year in Sichuan, then traveled down the Yangtze River to Huguang, and finally to the capital."
"Are you going to meet someone special along the way? You're nineteen this year, it's about time."
"I don't know if we're destined to be together; I'm still figuring things out." She answered frankly and without any pretense.
"Still figuring it out." He comforted you a little, and said earnestly, "Twelve, the reason why your senior brothers ran away from home back then was not because they didn't like you, but because we treated you as our junior brother and little sister, without any romantic feelings. If we let Master arrange a marriage for you, it would be harming you. Do you understand this?"
"I understand." She smiled without any reservations.
"I knew you knew. Twelve, you've been smart since you were little. You can do anything perfectly after being taught it only once. In terms of talent, apart from our deceased senior brother, no one in the sect can surpass you. Little girl, what are you surprised about? You already know, but you're still pretending. You and our senior brother are cut from the same cloth. It's a pity he died young, otherwise he would definitely like you."
The candlelight illuminated his rather plain face.
"Do you still remember what I said when I discovered you were a woman?"
She was only nine years old then, and had been on the mountain for less than a year. One night, she secretly practiced her martial arts, but in her haste, she lost her breath and fell headfirst into a deep pool. When she woke up, she was already dressed in dry clothes, and her sixth senior brother was sitting by her bedside, coughing incessantly.
"You little rascal, you've even fooled me." He looked at her with a faint smile, then sighed after a long pause. "Why rush things? There's a poem I was planning to teach you later, but I have to bring it up now. Twelve, listen carefully—"
"Life is less than a hundred years, yet worries are as long as a thousand. Days are short and nights are long, why not light a candle and wander? Enjoyment should be seized in time, why wait for the future?" she recited softly.
"Hmm, it's starting to look good." He nodded with satisfaction. "Actually, I quite approve of your impulsive decision to leave home. Twelve, you've finally learned to be willful, though it's a bit late, but at least you're not seventy or eighty yet."
Upon hearing this, she widened her eyes. "Senior brother, aren't you actually my father?"
"..."
“My father said the same thing.”
“Well, what I mean is that one should enjoy life to the fullest when things are going well, and one should be true to oneself.” He said, then looked at her with a fond and amused smile, “I really want to know what made you suddenly realize this.”
The tenth brother rambled on for over ten pages, saying that the youngest brother was traumatized by a failed blind date. The eleventh brother said he broadened his horizons in Jiangdu, while the twelfth brother couldn't stand the dullness of Lianzhou and ran away. Both of them were really putting themselves in others' shoes.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and his eyes lit up. "Is it because of him?"
Although she didn't answer, the unprecedented blush on her face spoke volumes.
I see. If it's that person, then it makes sense. After all, when it comes to enjoying life to the fullest, if Shangguan claims to be second, then no one in the world dares to claim to be first.
Although he was very unhappy with himself, it was clear that he really cared about the youngest child.
Thinking of this, he stood up. "The ship departs at dawn tomorrow, you should get some sleep."
"I'm not leaving."
"Little girl, do you really think your senior brothers can't take care of themselves?" He patted her head habitually. "Go to sleep."
"I'm not leaving."
He frowned and looked again.
"Enjoyment should be seized in time, why wait for the future? And what is your joy, Senior Brother?" Her eyes, clear as day, held an unmistakable understanding. "I remember when I first joined the sect, my Eighth Senior Brother gave me a rattle drum. Though it was just a small item, it was exquisitely crafted, and I cherished it dearly. So much so that two years later, my Eleventh Senior Brother broke it. When I tried to glue it back together, I unexpectedly discovered a line of small characters on the inside of the drumhead—'Imperial Decree for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. I had almost forgotten about this until this morning when Ziyu told me about Master Wujue. Master Wujue was unparalleled in five aspects: unparalleled in the martial world, unparalleled in the imperial family, unparalleled in the aristocracy, unparalleled in the state, and unparalleled in the emperor. He was truly unorthodox and intolerable to the world. Yet his disciples were all descendants of the imperial family and sons of kings and nobles. If it wasn't just being unconventional, then he must have deeply understood a unique joy unknown to ordinary people."
The candlelight flickered, casting soft shadows on her delicate face.
"The mountains of Yishan cannot quell your ambitions, nor can the flames of fire melt your hearts. Senior brothers, when you ran away from home, it wasn't just to avoid being forced into marriages by Master. And now, you've returned to the place where you were expelled from the family, it's not just to make a living, is it?"
“I underestimated you.” Wen Mou said with a mixture of joy and worry. “But Twelve, you must go.”
Why?
"Because your senior brother's happiness is not your happiness, don't you understand that?"
"It's you who doesn't understand, senior brother."
He was stunned.
“I stayed not for my senior brother, but for myself. Although I don’t know what the future holds, my greatest regret for the past nineteen years has been being abandoned by my parents. Although their initial intention was for my own good, they still didn’t come back in the end, which hurt me deeply.” Her eyes were filled with a mixture of sorrow and resentment as she stared intently. “By extension, my senior brother should know what my greatest joy in life is.”
twelve……
"So I will stay, not for my senior brother, but for myself."
Life is short, yet worries are everlasting.