Chapter 568: The Master's Great Concern
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"What are you thinking about, Master?"
"How should I know if you don't?" Yu Lan replied casually.
Four days had passed since Su Cheng finished scanning the four hundred nearby worlds. As for Su Cheng's pair of disciples, they had been gone for over two months.
By now, including Xu Zhanfeng, both the First Disciple and the second direct disciples of Lingxian Hall had vanished without a trace!
Yet Su Cheng sat in the Main Hall with an expressionless face, while Miao Miao and Yu Lan sat beside him, staring blankly.
In the center of the Main Hall, a faint blue apparition displayed their final conversation. The last message was from Su Cheng, inquiring about Shi Yao and Qing Han's whereabouts.
Shi Yao and Qing Han had not responded at all. The last message was Shi Yao's seemingly frivolous words.
【Master, your child with Senior Sister is in Shiyu's care. Rest assured!】
Clearly, Su Cheng hadn't taken it seriously at the time. Evidently, Shiyu felt her Master's lack of reply was a sign of deep trust in her…
Su Cheng hadn't spoken in days, while Yu Lan stayed by his side constantly. As for Miao Miao, she dropped by from time to time.
Miaomiao had actually asked Master earlier if something had happened, if she could help, but Master only told her to take care of herself, saying everything else was nothing to worry about.
The master simply sat there, utterly serene, indistinguishable from the dead—neither eating nor drinking, nor speaking.
No matter who asked, the answer was always "nothing," as if truly nothing was amiss.
But was it really nothing?
Miaomiao hadn't tasted the Master's cooking in three months. For the last month and a half, the Master hadn't even touched his meals, sitting in silent stillness.
Miaomiao knew it, and Yulan knew it too—at this moment, all they could do was hope that Xiao Ai would bring back good news.
Besides Xiao Ai, or perhaps their senior sister, no one else could possibly have a solution for Su Cheng's current predicament.
Xiao Ai, needless to say, was the person Su Cheng trusted most—even more than he trusted himself.
As for Ye Qinghan, he always seemed to have ways to distract the Master or make things better.
But Miao Miao disliked this feeling. It was the first time she realized that the man before her seemed to hold more weight in her heart than she had anticipated.
She wished everything could return to normal, that her master would be his cheerful, smiling self again, not this silent and withdrawn.
It felt as though when her master was unhappy, she couldn't be happy either. Even though her master would still smile at her and say, "Everything is under my care…"
It felt as though she could do anything to make Master happy…
Such feelings might be seen as slightly presumptuous in other sects. After all, she was merely a junior disciple, while he was the leader of the foremost sect in the Four Realms—the most powerful cultivator in all of them.
This admiration, this reverence, should have remained confined within her heart, maintained at a proper distance.
She now gradually understood why her senior sisters were so fervent. Realizing this, she felt that the label of "rebellious disciple" was nothing to fear. What could they do to her?
She craved her master's gaze. She wanted to be by her master's side during moments of difficulty or helplessness, just as her senior sisters or Lord Gu Ai had been.
Maintain a proper distance? Of course, the closer the better!
But how?
Her master—if you said he avoided women, his mind was quite active. But if you said he was flawless, he was always so cautious, maintaining that "gentlemanly" distance that left others feeling uneasy.
She slipped quietly behind him, as if he hadn't noticed her presence at all. Her small hands gently settled on his shoulders, pressing and kneading softly. Miao Miao had seen Senior Sister do this before—when Second Senior Sister had something to ask of him, or when First Senior Sister wanted his company.
Her master didn't react with the startled look she'd imagined. He remained silent. She wondered if her technique could relax him, though it was undoubtedly less skilled than the eldest sister's.
Her thoughts now came in fragmented bursts—names, places, incomprehensible terms, methods of attack, search capabilities…
Yes, Miao Miao couldn't sit still any longer. She disliked seeing the Master like this, and she had no idea what had actually happened.
But she knew this enemy, capable of putting both senior sisters in danger, couldn't be a minor threat.
After some time, it seemed to take effect. Su Cheng slowly straightened his back, gently patted the small, pale hand resting on his shoulder, then exhaled deeply. "It's done."
Su Cheng rose slowly, turning as if nothing had occurred, once again wearing that familiar expression of indulgent affection.
"Hehe, what's wrong, Miaomiao? Do you want your master to keep you company and chat?"
The master seemed to have noticed her unease, as well as his own lapse in composure. However, Su Cheng didn't understand girls, and he certainly didn't understand the Miao Miao before him. After all, Miao Miao was no ordinary girl.
This sudden display of affection actually made Miao Miao feel a bit uneasy.
It wasn't fear that her master might do something inappropriate. Rather, she couldn't find a single flaw in Su Cheng's smiling face at that moment. It was as if her master had truly returned.
"Hehe, see? That's what happens when you don't listen to your master. Now you're lost, aren't you~" Su Cheng chuckled, patting Miao Miao's shoulder with a carefree expression. The gloom that had just filled the Main Hall and his face vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed!
"Miaomiao will remember Master's teachings. Miaomiao will listen to Master." The words slipped out almost without thought, and Miaomiao only realized it after speaking. Still, things seemed better now. At least, amidst the fragmented, cryptic whispers that had sounded like a code or a puzzle, her name now appeared occasionally.
She knew her Master was comforting her, trying to tell her that with him by her side, the sky wouldn't fall.
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Pool Hall, Xiao Ai sat alone in the water, dangling her little feet and wearing a faint smile. She appeared utterly unperturbed.
The voice was almost inaudible, Xiao Ai murmuring to herself softly, something she rarely did.
"Young Miss, Xiao Ai still remembers when you asked me what it is that Xiao Ai truly loves."
"If you could see this scene, I'm sure you would understand."
"This… is the one Xiao Ai loves."
This was the betrayer's ruthlessness, the Sovereign's coldness—the very reason Ye He hated Su Cheng, the answer to why all thirteen female warriors despised him. Yet this was precisely what Xiao Ai cherished.
"Only Xiao Ai would love him, and only Xiao Ai has the right to love him."
Along the way, Su Cheng had lost far more than he had gained. Death was easy—all it took was charging forward like a fool with a sword. The true hardship lay in carrying on with the wishes of the departed.
Once a piece is placed on this chessboard, there is no turning back. The player is also a piece—the very first one placed. Xiao Ai had no retreat, and neither did Su Cheng.
Countless lives had been lost, and as for the women who harbored affection for him—Xiao Ai couldn't even begin to count them all.
"Lord Dream Butterfly is absolutely right~ Our master is definitely a bad man, bad to the bone~"
"But somehow, Xiao Ai just loves bad men~"
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