Chapter 65 — The Past
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 6
Tian Buhui snorted and said: "What I had was called restraint, not foolishness."
Su Wan burst out laughing and shook her head: "You! The older you get, the thicker your skin grows—there is really no dealing with you." She paused, then went on: "But speaking of Xiaofan, I do not believe you have not noticed. By his performance these past year or two, even if he cannot match the clever endowments of Lin Jinghong or Lu Xueling, he is hardly a fool—I would put him at least above average. It is only that in earlier years, being slighted by you, he grew somewhat self-doubting, and so he seems timid and rather wooden."
At this point Su Wan seemed to think of something else. She was silent a while before saying: "But what I have never understood is this: how could the very first and most rudimentary level of the Taiji Xuanqing Daoist method have taken him a full three times longer than an ordinary person to master?"
Tian Buhui shook his head, exhaled the stifled breath from his chest, and said mildly: "There is no need to think so much about it now. When Old Seven comes in a little while, I will naturally question him properly—what has he been up to all these days? And what else has he done that we do not know about?"
Su Wan glanced at him and said: "Then do not be all thunder and fury with him later. Before he has even spoken, you will have frightened the words out of him."
Tian Buhui snorted and said: "I do not know why, but sometimes when I look at him like that, a surge of anger rises in me."
Su Wan smiled: "In truth, is it not that you want this disciple of yours—your most promising at present—to do even better? Not only to advance further in cultivation, but in how he deals with people day to day, you want him to be like Qi Hao or Xiao Yichen, smooth and well-connected on every side, so that in the future..." Here Su Wan gave a faint sigh and stopped speaking.
Tian Buhui was silent a moment, then said: "What is it?"
Su Wan looked at him, seemed to hesitate, and then said: "Buyi, with your temper, after all these years I have not seen you change to be like Senior Brother Wan was back then, so..."
Tian Buhui was silent a while, then slowly nodded: "I know what you mean. Say no more."
Su Wan looked at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "If Xiaofan knew that this master of his, who has always looked down on him, actually places the greatest hopes in him, I wonder how happy he would be?"
Tian Buhui snorted, his face full of disdain. He turned his head away and said: "That blockhead? And I am supposed to place the greatest hopes in him? Dream on!"
Behind him, Su Wan watched him with a smile, feeling the palm of the hand that still held hers—warm and broad, as though these three hundred years had changed nothing at all.
Quietly, she too tightened her grip on his hand.
Zhang Qingyue and Song Dayi left the place where Shitou and his master, the Venerable Strongman, lived and started back, Shitou's booming laughter still seeming to echo in their ears. Along the way, the night deepened, and apart from a few disciples on night watch, everyone was slowly making their way back to their quarters.
As they neared the cave where the Dazhu Peak party lodged, Song Dayi felt uneasy. He turned his head and said to Zhang Qingyue: "Xiaofan, did you remember everything I told you just now?"
Zhang Qingyue said: "Yes, Senior Brother."
Song Dayi nodded and said: "I do not know why Master wants to see you either, but I noticed that ever since he came back from Brother Xiao Yichen's, his brows have been knitted—I fear something unpleasant has happened."
Zhang Qingyue said nothing, his heart all the more uneasy. He did not know whether Xiao Yichen had told their master about that day with the Nether King and Bili. If so, when Master questioned him later, he truly would not know how to explain.