When Shen Mo took Qin Moyu to the residence of Xuanjing Zhenren, Qin Moyu felt as if she were walking on clouds with every step she took, and she lost her sense of reality.
Master Xuanjing was assigned to a secluded palace within the palace complex, where entry and exit were kept very secret. If Shen Mo hadn't led the way, probably no one would have guessed that the renowned Master Xuanjing, famous throughout the four continents, actually lived in this seemingly unused palace.
Perhaps it was a case of being too close to home to feel apprehensive, but when Qin Moyu actually arrived at the palace, he lacked the courage to go inside.
Qin Moyu placed her hand on the door, her fingertips trembling with nervousness. The person she longed for was right in front of her, yet she felt as if her entire soul had been ripped away, and she didn't even have the strength to push the door open.
"Don't be afraid."
Shen Mo's deep voice sounded in her ear. He placed his hand on Qin Moyu's hand and said softly, "I'll stay with you."
Three simple words, yet they bring peace of mind.
Qin Moyu felt a lump in his throat. From the moment he returned and discovered that his sect had been destroyed until now, when things had taken a turn for the better, there had always been someone by his side. Whether in joy or sorrow, this person was his strongest refuge.
He closed his eyes, composed himself, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.
"squeak--"
The slightly worn door made a low, teeth-grinding sound, and the pale-faced Master Xuanjing, sitting under the tree, raised his head upon hearing the sound.
"Mo Yu!"
Master Xuanjing suddenly stood up, but his body swayed involuntarily due to weakness. He could only support himself on the stone table with one hand, and asked urgently, "What are you doing here? Have you returned to the sect? Did they hurt you?"
Even though he was so badly injured that he could barely stand, the first thing he did when they met was to worry about whether he was hurt.
If he had previously harbored doubts that Master Xuanjing was his master, then upon seeing his heartfelt worry and hearing his tone, which was exactly the same as his master's, Qin Moyu was now 100% certain that he was indeed his master.
Qin Moyu finally couldn't hold back and pounced on Xuanjing Zhenren.
"Master—"
He hugged Xuanjing Zhenren's thin body tightly and cried like a child.
"I...I miss you so much..."
"I thought...I thought...I thought you..."
Qin Moyu sobbed and couldn't utter a complete sentence. Only in front of his master was he the child who would never grow up, showing his vulnerable side.
"Idiot." Master Xuanjing's eyes also reddened, but he still stubbornly said, "How could your master, who is so powerful, die so easily, brat..."
Despite his stubbornness, Master Xuanjing gently stroked Qin Moyu's back, just like he had comforted the crying Qin Moyu long ago. His love for Qin Moyu was never expressed in words, but through his actions time and time again.
Shen Mo watched them reunite, knowing that now was not the time for him to appear, so he quietly closed the door and left.
He leaned against the closed door, Qin Moyu's sobs like a dagger chiseling into his heart, enduring the pain.
"Shen Yebai...you're such a bastard..."
His soft murmurs were directed at no one, then faded into the wind and disappeared.
…………
Qin Moyu cried for a long time before stopping. When she let go of Xuanjing Zhenren, tears were still welling up in her eyes, as if she was afraid that he would disappear again. Qin Moyu still tightly gripped the hem of Xuanjing Zhenren's clothes and stubbornly wiped away the tears that had not yet fallen.
Qin Moyu's anxiety and uncertainty made Master Xuanjing feel heartbroken for quite some time.
"sorry."
Master Xuanjing patted Qin Moyu's head, saying with deep regret, "I shouldn't have kept my identity a secret from you, otherwise you wouldn't have..."
In Qin Moyu's previous understanding, his master was a cultivator of low strength. Although he could always find many strange and unusual things, the strength he always showed never exceeded Qin Moyu's understanding of him. That's why Qin Moyu firmly believed that his master was dead rather than escaped.
The reason why Master Xuanjing concealed his identity and strength was also related to his initial plan.
After confirming several times that Qin Moyu was indeed healthy and able to run and jump, Xuanjing Zhenren explained to Qin Moyu what had happened back then.
Qin Moyu already knew he came from an extremely cold place, but what he didn't know was that his subordinate had desperately protected him and died in a dilapidated temple that day. The baby's cries attracted the attention of an old Taoist priest living in the temple.
The infant Qin Moyu was simply wrapped in a cloth, with a piece of paper with her name written on it tucked into the gaps in the cloth. The old Taoist priest saw that his subordinate was covered in wounds and guessed that he had been chased. He felt that Qin Moyu would be in danger if he stayed in the dilapidated temple, so he hurriedly carried Qin Moyu away from the temple.
And coincidentally, after he took Qin Moyu away, Fenqi's men followed the trail to the dilapidated temple. After searching for a long time without finding the child, they returned to report.
The old Taoist priest was not highly skilled, but he was kind and gentle. Even when he was poor, he would do his best to help those who were more in need than himself. Since he had no wife or children, he took Qin Moyu with him and then adopted him.
The old Taoist priest returned to the dilapidated temple the next day to properly bury his subordinate's body, and then devoted himself to raising Qin Moyu.
When they were hungry, I would cook some rice porridge for them; when they were cold, I would wrap myself in my only good piece of clothing; when they were sick, I would borrow some money from someone I knew to see a doctor.
The old Taoist priest did his best to raise Qin Moyu, but he was getting old and his strength was failing. After a serious illness, he felt that he was about to die, so he asked around to see if there was anyone who could adopt Qin Moyu.
When he finally found a suitable family, Xuanjing Zhenren got into a fight with someone and accidentally affected the old Taoist priest. Although the old Taoist priest was not actually injured, the strong shock made him even weaker, who was already barely holding on.
The old Taoist priest could tell that Master Xuanjing was no ordinary person. He knew that Qin Moyu was not simple. Rather than entrusting him to an ordinary family he had previously found, it would be better to entrust him to this person with high cultivation as a disciple. That way, if Qin Moyu were to encounter danger in the future, he would have someone to rely on.
Master Xuanjing felt extremely guilty, thinking that he had accidentally injured the old Taoist priest, and agreed to the old Taoist priest's dying wish to entrust his orphan to him.
"You have no idea how clever you were when you were little. You wouldn't let anyone hold you unless it was an old Taoist priest, and you always had to be wearing those clothes."
Master Xuanjing couldn't help but smile as he thought of Qin Moyu, who was still a fair-skinned baby in swaddling clothes.
Master Xuanjing, who had never raised a child before, was troubled after agreeing to the old Taoist's request to entrust his child to him. No matter how he tried to coax Qin Moyu, she just kept crying. In the end, he had no choice but to transform into the old Taoist and put on his tattered Taoist robe to stop Qin Moyu from crying.
Master Xuanjing had tried to make Qin Moyu remember him, but Qin Moyu was young but had a terrible temper. No matter how fast he changed, Qin Moyu could accurately detect it and then cry her heart out, giving Master Xuanjing a real headache.
"Stop crying, stop crying." Master Xuanjing was practically kneeling before the infant Qin Moyu, but no matter how high his cultivation was, he couldn't exert any power on the little brat.