After Faking Her Death and Fleeing, the Emotionless Daoist Master Regretted It - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Indulgence – A Tiff and Quick Reconciliation

Ling Yunyue looked at the young girl, whose face was gradually turning pale, and slowly loosened her constraint.

She had been a little angry just now.

Lingqing was clearly hiding something from her, but she had been slow to speak about it.

She had guessed a hint of the reason, which only infuriated her more.

She had clearly warned Lingqing not to harbor inappropriate thoughts.

She had never considered herself a good person. Since stepping onto the immortal path, the number of people who had died by her hand was countless.

In her heart, Lingqing’s current attachment to her was only because she hadn’t seen her true face yet.

She wondered, Was I too gentle with Lingqing? Should I change my approach and become a strict Master?

Perhaps this way, she could extinguish that notion in Lingqing’s heart.

At this moment, Ling Yunyue’s heart was quite conflicted.

If it were solely for the sake of achieving the Supreme Emotionless Dao, the correct approach would be to let Lingqing fall in love with her, win her devotion, and then personally eliminate her to prove the Grand Dao.

But she was unwilling to do that now.

Although she was guided by the unseen forces to accept Lingqing as a disciple, she was now sincerely teaching Lingqing as her disciple, without any perfunctory actions.

A Mahayana cultivator has a lifespan of nine thousand years. She still had a long time to slowly comprehend the Emotionless Dao… Nothing in the world is absolute. Perhaps there is more than one way to achieve Dao.

Thinking of this, Ling Yunyue looked deeply at the young girl. The coldness around her dissipated somewhat, but it did not fully return to its former gentleness.

In Su Lingqing’s eyes, this meant that her Master had seen through her thoughts and was disappointed in her.

At this very moment, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Looking at her Master’s retreating figure, tears uncontrollably poured out, sliding down her cheeks like pearls.

Master doesn’t want me anymore… She wanted to follow, but her legs felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move a single step.

She was afraid to hear her Master tell her to leave. If that happened, there would truly be no room for recovery.

Staying here, at least she could deceive herself that her Master didn’t despise her…

Like a quail, she slowly squatted down, hugging her knees, exuding a sense of helplessness all over…

Ling Yunyue walked forward alone for a while. She thought her always-attached disciple would quickly follow, but unexpectedly, the distance between them grew greater and greater.

She slightly furrowed her brows.

She had just said she wanted to stay by her side forever. How long had it been, and now she was separating from her without any reaction?

She stopped and turned, only to be surprised to see the young girl squatting on the ground and crying, looking exactly like a wounded little beast waiting to be comforted.

At that moment, her heart softened.

She was clearly not like this before. Once she made a decision, not even a long-time friend could change it.

But facing Lingqing, she couldn’t bring herself to be ruthless.

How about… I just let everything take its natural course?

After all, no matter what Lingqing thought of her, she couldn’t act on it, unless Lingqing could one day defeat her.

Leaving that aside, there were many senior and junior sisters in the Heaven-Extending Sect close to Lingqing’s age. Perhaps once they reached the sect, Lingqing’s attention would shift away from her.

Ling Yunyue tried to imagine the scenario, but for some reason, she felt utterly displeased.

Her fists, hidden in her sleeves, gradually clenched. She repeatedly admonished herself: I cultivate the Emotionless Dao; it is impossible for me to fall for anyone!

I have just temporarily grown accustomed to Lingqing being by my side. After returning to the sect, I believe everything will slowly return to the correct path…

Thinking so, the coldness around Ling Yunyue completely dissipated, and she slowly walked towards the young girl.

Su Lingqing had her small face buried in her knees, immersed in sadness, and did not notice her Master’s arrival.

Due to various encounters in her youth, her mind was extremely sensitive. Her Master was like the deity who saved her from danger. She could disregard the opinions of others, but she could not accept her Master’s estrangement or even disgust towards her.

She couldn’t imagine how she would live without her Master.

If it were before meeting her Master, she would have remained independent out of habit. However, now, everything was different…

Just as she was feeling lost and helpless, the most familiar voice reached her ears.

“Lingqing said she would always stay with me. Do those words no longer count?”

The young girl suddenly looked up, meeting a pair of gentle eyes through the veil’s netting.

After a moment of shock, she stammered: “Master… you don’t blame me?”

Ling Yunyue smiled and shook her head: “Of course I don’t blame you. It was my fault just now; I shouldn’t have teased you. Don’t cry anymore.”

At this moment, all the sadness in the young girl’s heart was replaced by joy.

Master didn’t reject me! I can still openly stay by Master’s side!

She secretly vowed in her heart that from this moment on, she would completely conceal all improper thoughts and never let even a trace be revealed, nor would she ever do anything presumptuous again.

After making her decision, Su Lingqing reached out, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and quickly stood up.

However, because she had been squatting on the ground, a small portion of her ankle-length dress had been dragging on the floor. Standing up too quickly, she failed to notice the ground beneath her and inadvertently stepped on the hem of her skirt. She stumbled and fell forward uncontrollably.

Although Su Lingqing had stepped onto the immortal path, she had not learned movement techniques, and she couldn’t fly during the Qi Condensation stage. Suddenly encountering this change, she had no time to react.

The fall resulted in her plunging directly into her Master’s embrace, and her mind instantly went blank.

After realizing what had happened, she was afraid her Master would misunderstand. She quickly straightened her body and continuously retreated until she bumped into a stone pillar behind her, finally stopping her steps.

“Ma… Master, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it just now. It was because I stepped on my skirt that I…”

“I know. Lingqing doesn’t need to be like this. The auction is over; we should leave soon. Let’s head back to the inn quickly.”

Ling Yunyue sensed with her divine sense that her disciple was unharmed and turned to walk ahead.

Looking at her expression, not a hint of emotion was visible, yet her heart was not calm.

With her strength, avoiding her disciple’s embrace or catching her in a different manner would have been effortless.

But she did not do so.

She had used the thought of ‘letting nature take its course’ to convince herself, and she accepted the young girl’s embrace with a clear conscience.

However, she hadn’t expected her disciple’s reaction to be so intense—to instantly leave and retreat a great distance.

She looked at the young girl’s cautious explanation and realized that her previous attitude had frightened her, causing her to become distant.

She didn’t explain anything, nor could she.

Upon reaching the outside of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, she could sense the young girl following behind her, but unlike before, this time, she was clearly maintaining a distance from her, no longer intimate.

Realizing this, Ling Yunyue’s beautiful lips, hidden beneath the veil’s netting, subtly pressed together, showing a hint of displeasure.

She suddenly stopped her steps. The young girl behind her, who was slightly distracted, almost crashed into her.

Su Lingqing exerted all her strength, stabilizing herself just before touching her Master’s clothes and retreating several steps.

A similar misunderstanding could not happen again at all costs.

“Is Lingqing afraid of me?”

Her Master’s gentle voice reached her ears. She instinctively shook her head: “This disciple has never thought that. It’s just… I do not wish to create any more misunderstandings.”

Ling Yunyue pursed her lips and said somewhat stiffly: “We are Master and disciple; there is no need to deliberately keep a distance. Just interact as you normally would.”

“Master…”

“If we return to the sect and act as distantly as we did just now, we will likely attract gossip from our fellow disciples.”

This was merely an excuse. In fact, Ling Yunyue had extremely high prestige in the Heaven-Extending Sect and always had the final say. No one would dare to gossip, regardless of how she and her disciple interacted.

Su Lingqing, however, took her words as truth. She respectfully agreed, stepping closer to walk beside her Master.

Seeing this, a subtle curve appeared on Ling Yunyue’s tightly pressed lips, a curve she herself did not notice.

“Let’s go. Let’s return to the inn quickly.”

An hour later, at the Welcoming Immortal Tower.

Su Lingqing followed her Master back to Sky-character Room Ten.

The familiar calming spiritual fragrance, which was continuously burning, reached her nose. Her previously anxious heart completely calmed down at this moment.

She remembered the Devouring Spirit Vine she had obtained at the auction and waved her sleeve to take it out from her storage bracelet.

Almost simultaneously, a light azure jade slip was offered to her.

“It contains the cultivation method for the Illusion Spirit Art. Lingqing can first comprehend it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Su Lingqing respectfully accepted the jade slip and slowly extended her divine sense into it.

Comprehending a spell technique is not something that happens in a moment. This comprehension lasted for an entire night.

As the light of dawn gradually appeared, she put down the jade slip, silently recited the relevant spell technique in her heart, and continuously performed hand seals.

Before long, the spiritual seed placed on the table lifted into the air. A segment of emerald green vine stretched out to both sides at a visible speed, covered with barbs.

Seeing the spell execution going smoothly, a hint of joy appeared on Su Lingqing’s face.

“Master, this disciple succeeded!”

Ling Yunyue nodded with a smile. After a night had passed, the estrangement between her and her disciple seemed to have completely vanished.

With the technique newly mastered, Su Lingqing still felt a sense of novelty. She controlled the vine with the spell, shaping it back and forth into different weapon forms.

Ling Yunyue looked at this scene, recalled an important matter, and said warmly: “Lingqing currently does not have a suitable Artifact weapon. The treasures in my storage ring are all above the Magic Treasure grade and are temporarily unsuitable for Lingqing. When we return to the sect, I will take Lingqing to the Treasure Depository to personally select one. What appearance of a weapon does Lingqing desire?”

“The offensive items I know of include swords, long blades, daggers, bows and arrows, as well as hammers, sickles, and the like. Compared to those, this disciple prefers a long sword.”

“In addition to those, there are also treasures like qin (zither), di (flute), whips, bells, and pagodas. Lingqing can take your time choosing when you go to the Treasure Depository.”

Su Lingqing was somewhat curious: “What is Master’s weapon?”

Ling Yunyue waved her sleeve, and a sword, about three feet long and two inches wide, entirely snow-white and radiating coldness, instantly suspended in the air before her.

“This is the Ice Deficient Sword, my Natal Dao Treasure.”

“What a beautiful sword!” Su Lingqing was momentarily unable to take her eyes off it.

The sword body’s brilliance flowed ceaselessly, beckoning people to touch it.

She tried her best to restrain this impulse, neither moving forward nor reaching out.

However, unforeseen changes always occur unexpectedly.

Under Ling Yunyue’s slightly astonished gaze, a beam of snow-white light suddenly shot out from the suspended Ice Deficient Sword, striking the young girl’s forehead.