Chapter 9
Chapter 9
That day, Eldest Senior Sister sat near the flock of chickens for a long time.
From time to time, she would pick up a handful of feed and scatter it, watching the chickens scramble for food. Occasionally, she would pick one out to fuss over, then burst into bouts of crying and laughing as if she were possessed.
Later, as the sun dipped behind the mountains, a golden glow draped over the peaks, and the evening twilight gilded her face.
She stood up. Instead of using a Cleansing Technique, she patted the dust off her rear like a commoner and strode toward me.
Her back was ramrod straight, and her expression was one of relief-the indifference and ease that comes after a moment of profound realization.
She gave me a slight smile and bowed.
“Thank you for your guidance, Junior Sister. I will keep today’s kindness in my heart. Second Junior Sister, I have some matters to attend to. I will come find you again in a few days.”
She gave me a deep, meaningful look before departing on her flying sword.
Her posture was sharp and spirited, reminiscent of the grace she had when I first met her years ago.
I wondered what she was off to do.
If only I could learn the Beast Taming Art. Then I could use animals to find out what she was up to.
I tugged on Fubao’s ears and whispered in the softest voice, “Our next goal is to learn the Beast Taming Art. Did you hear that? I’ll be taming you~”
Fubao’s ears itched, so he scratched them with a paw and barked at me.
“Woof, woof, woof, woof!”
It felt like my heart would itch if I didn’t bully the dog for even a single day.
“Hahahaha! Yes, yes, I’ll definitely learn it the fastest. Once I’ve mastered it, you’ll go east when I say east and west when I say west. If I tell you to sew clothes for me, you won’t be allowed to wash my feet instead.”
“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!” *Bad person! Bad person! Bad person!*
“Hahahaha!”
Being with a man doesn’t necessarily make you happy, but being with a dog truly does.
Eldest Senior Sister’s situation caused quite a stir for a long time.
First, she returned to her family home to inform her parents of her intention to break the engagement.
This took a fair amount of persuasion. After all, the two families had been friends for generations; breaking an engagement was no trivial matter.
But Eldest Senior Sister was determined. She wasn’t the type to ‘kill the chicken to warn the monkey,’ so she leaned into her nature as a Sword Cultivator. To anyone who tried to talk her out of it, she would randomly destroy one of their Magical Artifacts and say coldly:
“If I destroy your things and you can manage not to feel resentment, not to curse me, and not to hit me, then I will concede that your words have merit.”
Those people were usually left speechless.
After this happened a few times, everyone knew she was dead set on ending the engagement.
Eventually, her family sent a letter to Master.
With the four parties involved plus the two individuals themselves, the matter of breaking the engagement was officially put on the agenda.
I heard that on the day the engagement was broken, Mu Qingyang’s eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze looked ready to kill.
He looked at Eldest Senior Sister in disbelief, nearly drawing his sword against her.
“Zhao Ziyuan, do you truly mean to do this?”
Eldest Senior Sister replied calmly, “Indeed. You and I are not fated; there is no need to force it.”
“Is it because of Mo Lingyun?” Mu Qingyang sneered.
Eldest Senior Sister opened her eyes and said indifferently, “It is not because of Little Junior Sister, but because of you. Mu Qingyang, what is a husband and wife? What are lovers? What are Dao companions?”
Mu Qingyang pursed his lips and did not answer. Perhaps he had never truly thought about this question.
If he wanted to answer, he could have come up with countless high-sounding excuses.
But perhaps he realized that none of his answers were what Eldest Senior Sister wanted. So, he remained silent.
Eldest Senior Sister didn’t care about his answer anyway.
She simply said coldly, “In my view, a spouse, a lover, or a Dao companion is someone who stands by your side unconditionally.”
“Even if I am being unreasonable, even if I have done something wrong, they would still find reasons for me to make me feel it wasn’t my fault, to make me feel better-rather than making me feel like everything is my fault.”
“But I suppose you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
“I’ve said my piece. From now on, we part ways, and may we each find our own happiness. Immortal Lord Mu, farewell!”
Mu Qingyang was furious.
“But… can one not correct a mistake? Is being unable to distinguish right from wrong or good from evil what it means to be a lover? If that is the case, I truly cannot do it!”
Eldest Senior Sister let out a mocking laugh.
“If I want to admit a fault, I will go to the Enforcement Hall or the Discipline Hall. Why must I admit it before you?”
“If you love distinguishing right from wrong so much, if you love passing judgment on others so much, you should go be an officer in the Enforcement Hall. Why bother seeking a Dao companion?”
“Furthermore, I know exactly what kind of person I am. I am not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong or good from evil, and the Dao companion I choose would naturally not be a wicked person.”
“Even if I am in the wrong, I do not need someone to constantly remind me of it.”
“Does a Dao companion who constantly thinks I am wrong actually love me, or do they just love the way they can lord it over me? Heh!”
She didn’t say another goodbye. Instead, she quickly returned the tokens of affection he had given her, and then crushed the tokens she had once given him into powder, tossing them away with a casual wave of her hand.
Dust swirled in the air as the past turned to smoke.
Mu Qingyang watched her departing figure in a daze, standing frozen for a long time…