In fact, Xiao Hongyi actually didn’t know how to be a master.
She grew up on the perilous peak, with flowers and plants for company and the white crane spirit beast for fellowship.
From childhood to before she joined the Jiuyan Sect, apart from her grandfather and the occasional inquiries from the ancestor, she had never even seen other people.
When Jiang Chen joined the Jiuyan Sect, although he passed the true disciple test, not a single Peak Master was willing to take him as a disciple.
The dejected look on Jiang Chen at that time reminded Xiao Hongyi of herself.
Back then, she had only just joined the Jiuyan Sect and wasn’t even a Peak Master yet. She established the Ninth Peak of Jiuyan to take Jiang Chen as her disciple, and as the Master of this Ninth Peak, she took on this senior disciple.
Jiang Chen was only nine years old when he joined the Jiuyan Sect.
Although there was a hint of the ‘playfulness’ in his bones, Xiao Hongyi didn’t mind. Because the moment she took Jiang Chen as a disciple, she decided she would never give up on her own disciple.
After all, she had personally experienced the taste of being abandoned.
But this disciple really gave her a lot of trouble.As a child, he liked to play pranks, but as he grew into a teenager, his behavior became more rebellious, and it was not uncommon for him to tease fellow Junior Sisters or beat up Junior Brothers.
Watching her own reflection and Jiang Chen, Xiao Hongyi felt a sourness in her heart, but she also smiled gladly.
She didn’t know what was going on right now, but she still remembered this scene vividly.
She clearly remembered that one day as she was pondering whether her senior disciple’s nature was truly unchangeable…
She noticed something different.
Jiang Chen’s eyes had changed!!!
Although still bad, even carrying a hint of frivolity when looking at her, she also keenly detected… beyond that, those black eyes also revealed a world-weariness filled with helplessness.
She was extremely sensitive to Jiang Chen’s gaze and behavior, so she was confident she was not mistaken.
She began to ponder…
Perhaps… perhaps what she saw was just the surface of Jiang Chen?
Maybe her senior disciple wasn’t truly unchangeable by nature?
With that thought, she was very overjoyed.
After years of teaching and sleepless nights of worry, only at that moment did the clouds part and the moon shine through.
Xiao Hongyi felt she had been a negligent master.
She had always taught Jiang Chen to be good but never paid attention to his true thoughts.
So she decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with him!
That’s why she brought Jiang Chen to this ‘home’ that she had decided never to set foot in again!
Drifting down from the sky, Xiao Hongyi approached the young Jiang Chen.
She thought.
Maybe all this was just an illusion caused by the devouring effect of the phoenix blood.
Maybe all this was just a dream.
But she still wanted to relive it.
Because she clearly remembered, after coming to this Red Jade Pavilion, Jiang Chen changed his usual ways and became extremely well-behaved and obedient.
Although he reverted to his old self after leaving, this was indeed a time she could not forget.
She squatted down, her red skirt covering the ground.
She smiled, looking intently at Jiang Chen’s familiar features, but then her smile suddenly faded.
Something was wrong!
Although the young Jiang Chen’s features were the same, those black eyes in front of her were as clear as the spirit spring, not only devoid of any wickedness but even shining with an indescribable brilliance!
This was the first time she sensed something was amiss…
But she didn’t think too much of it, as the current situation was already hard to explain, and it was normal for some inconsistencies to appear.
“Jiang Chen…” The woman in red in the image suddenly called out.
“Hmm?” The boy turned around with a smile.
“Ah!” He got flicked on the forehead again and quickly turned his head back.
“Pfft.”
Seeing the boy wince in pain, the woman in red laughed out loud: “Go ahead and pretend, I won’t feel sorry for you.”
“But I feel sorry,” the boy replied.
“Sorry for what?”
“Sorry for you, Master, who clearly didn’t want to come here but still smiling.”
The woman in red fell silent.
She stepped forward slowly, embracing the boy from behind, and said earnestly,
“I indeed didn’t want to come here before, but now it’s different.”
“What do you mean?” the boy pressed.
“Because now there’s you. Before, this was my home, but from now on, it will be our home, Master and Disciple.”
This time, it was the boy’s turn to fall silent.
After a long while, the boy managed a forced smile:
“Master, you can’t go back on your word. If one day your disciple has nowhere to go, I might just have to come and cling to this place!”
“Alright, if that day really comes, I’ll be here to wash your clothes and cook for you,” the woman in red laughed.
“Then wouldn’t you become my wife?”
“Nonsense!”
Seeing his Master about to get angry again, the boy quickly broke free, darting several zhang away.
But the next second, he was wrapped up by a red whip and pulled back.
Raising her delicate hand, she flicked the boy’s forehead again, and the woman scolded,
“You dare to joke with your Master? Tell me honestly, what are you really thinking?”
“What am I thinking?” the boy wondered.
“Hmph, do you think your Master is blind? A few days ago you were causing trouble everywhere, but recently you’ve become extremely well-behaved, even saying you want to impress your Master! Did something happen to you?” the woman huffed.
While speaking, she let go of the boy.
While holding his forehead, the boy looked up at the sky: “Master, do you believe in fate?”
“…” the woman in red didn’t know how to respond.
“You see, I don’t believe it!” the boy said again.
“I want the sky to no longer blind my eyes, the earth to no longer bury my heart, all beings to understand my will, and all the Buddhas to vanish like smoke and clouds!”
“Where did you learn to talk like that?” the woman in red frowned.
“Hehe.” the boy gave an awkward smile.
“I read it in a book.”
In a book?
The woman in red was somewhat puzzled. She had been alone since childhood yet had read extensively.
But in her memory, there was no sage who had ever spoken such defiant words.
The woman in red said sternly while composing herself, “Jiang Chen, the Heavenly Dao is supreme, you must not speak so recklessly. If one day you wish to become an emperor, you still need Heaven’s mandate!”
The boy curled his lip after hearing this.
Seeing the woman in red eyebrows furrowed as if she was about to start lecturing him again, he quickly changed the subject.
“Master, you will always believe in me, right?”
“Of course,” the woman in red nodded.
“But on the condition that you follow the righteous path, do not act recklessly, do not bully the weak, do not…”
“Stop! Stop!”
The boy felt overwhelmed and then asked, “Master, what if one day someone wants to kill me?”
“If you are innocent, I will protect you with my life, but if you are guilty…”
“What if I am guilty?”
“I will collect your corpse.”
“…”
The boy was immediately crestfallen.
Seeing his mood drop, the woman in red sighed and said, “Jiang Chen, you are my disciple, Xiao Hongyi’s disciple. As long as you follow the righteous path, we, Master and disciple, will be united as one, never to part.”
Her expression became even more serious as she continued, “Conversely, your sins will be my sins. If one day you truly deserve punishment, before others get to you, I will clean up our sect first, and then…”
“…and then?” the boy pressed.
“Then… I haven’t really thought about it. Maybe I’ll whip your corpse a hundred times.”
“…so ruthless.”
“Hmph, that’s right! I am ruthless, so you’d better be careful! Here, have a spirit fruit.”
Looking at the freshly peeled spirit fruit in his hand, the boy was speechless.
Yes, indeed ruthless.
The spirit fruit was peeled so much that it was almost gone…
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