Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
Master, who had been eating, suddenly set his bowl down and said he had no appetite.
I told him to come along. A walk would help his digestion.
Unexpectedly, Chu She said, “After the way he treats you, you still want to declare your feelings?”
“What are you talking about, Master?”
I had no time to explain. I could already see Fang Ye in the distance.
He’d waited a long time, snow coating his shoulders.
Weakened by the sect’s punishment, he forced a smile.
“Chunyue, whatever your wish is, I’ll grant it.”
I spoke immediately.
“Young Master Fang, could you cancel Mother’s service contract and let her leave your household?”
His smile froze.
“She’s been with my family for decades. You’ll live there someday, too. Isn’t that convenient?”
Seeing my determination, he finally agreed.
Then he waited for me to continue.
“What else?”
Puzzled, I began closing the door.
“That was my wish. You can leave now.”
“What about me?”
He lowered his head. His voice trembled slightly.
“She told me your wish had to do with me. If you want me to marry you as my cultivation partner, you’ll have to wait. My parents…”
I interrupted.
“Aren’t our stations unequal?”
“Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes. Didn’t you and our junior disciple say I was a rat?”
His lips went white. He seemed to want to explain.
But behind me, Master quietly asked, “Is there any rice left?”
He had heard our conversation. Suddenly, hunger had returned to his voice.
He glanced at me coolly and rubbed his chest.
“I’m truly hungry.”
I hurried back to feed my greedy snake.
I could no longer make out Fang Ye calling behind me.
He wouldn’t give up.
He kept finding excuses to visit.
One day, he climbed the wall and broke through the barrier.
I was applying medicine to Chu She’s tail.
The mischievous thing kept making trouble.
It tipped me onto his upper half.
My hands pressed against his chest, like two large steamed buns.
His expression tightened, too.
“Let go…”
We both tried to push each other away. The tail wound tighter, tangling our hair together.
At that moment, Fang Ye fell from the wall.
Stunned, he immediately sent his flying sword slashing toward us.
The tail cracked and slapped him against the wall.
Only then did he understand.
He shouted that Chu She was a demon who had bewitched me.
“Chunyue, your master’s a demon! Look properly!”
I immediately asked Chu She, “Master, only the dead keep secrets.”
He looked thoughtful.
Hearing me, Fang Ye turned white. He immediately used his precious elder-summoning token.
Every elder came.
I stepped in front of Master.
But an elder merely looked at Chu She.
“So you’re a demon?”
“Your punishment is removal from your position as master. From now on, you’ll guard the sect.”
Chu She nodded slightly.
“Agreed.”
Fang Ye asked, “That’s it?”
“He’s a demon with nine thousand years’ cultivation. You want us to fight him? My family’s waiting for me to come home for dinner.”
The elders brushed themselves off and left.
Chu She turned to Fang Ye.
“I’m no longer a master. There’s no reason, moral or otherwise, why I can’t beat you now.”
After being beaten and driven off, Fang Ye kept returning to challenge him.
After having his legs broken countless times, he finally grew considerably more mature.
Before crawling away, he promised to visit again.
Next time, he’d bring a jar of aged sauce Mother had sent.
He kept his word.
Mother had bought a house below the mountain. She no longer rose early and stayed up late cooking for the Fang family.
“Chunyue, you used to have so much to tell me. We lay under the same quilt and watched the stars and moon…”
I was sick of hearing it.
“Stop trying to remind me how close we were. Go find our junior disciple.”
He said she’d been transferred to another senior disciple’s care.
She had sincerely repented, too.
Then he timidly asked, “When did you meet Master? Was that another of her schemes? I’ll go teach her a lesson…”
I answered honestly.
“It wasn’t her fault. You pointed me in the wrong direction. Otherwise, I’d never have met him.”
“And thank you for showing me my place.”
Fine rain began to fall.
It covered Fang Ye’s face.
Chu She came out with an umbrella.
He brushed the drops from me and sheltered me.
Then he kicked Fang Ye, who lay on the ground.
“Get lost.”
Fang Ye remained face-down in the courtyard.
Who knew how much time passed?
Chu She was no longer Master.
He had become the sect’s lucky mascot.