IMMFBCG Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Acknowledging a Mentor

Ye Xue felt as though she were dreaming. Darkness surrounded her, with only a faint glimmer of light in the distance.

She tried to run toward the light, and when she opened her eyes, she realized she wasn’t in her usual room.

Gradually regaining consciousness, Ye Xue remembered coming to see Yu Qi at dawn; she must have fallen asleep from exhaustion.

The bedding laid out on the floor also reminded her where Yu Qi had rested last night.

At that thought, she looked down at the floor, wondering if she was inadvertently causing him discomfort by taking his bed.

But since she was already awake, Ye Xue decided not to stay in bed any longer. She pulled back the covers and walked outside, where she heard Yu Qi’s voice in the backyard.

Holding his phone with his back turned to Ye Xue, he spoke calmly, “Just let her be. Also, I need you to do something for me… Yes, I’ll send you the details over WeChat.”

Seeing that Yu Qi seemed to be discussing something important, Ye Xue didn’t disturb him and was about to go back for her toiletries when Yu Qi heard her footsteps and ended the call.

He turned around, his usual calm expression still lingering, but upon seeing Ye Xue, his frosty demeanor softened into a warm smile.

“Awake?” he asked in a gentle tone as he stepped forward.

Ye Xue nodded and, thinking about the bedding on the guest room floor, couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

She had originally planned to return to her room to sleep after checking in on Yu Qi, but she’d unintentionally fallen asleep, taking over his bed.

Yu Qi seemed momentarily taken aback before explaining softly, “I’d slept enough and didn’t need much rest, so I let you be.”

Although his explanation sounded reasonable, Ye Xue sensed he wasn’t entirely telling the truth.

She frowned slightly, “You…”

Just then, Ye Yangyun entered with a wooden sword in hand.

Noticing the two of them standing idly in the backyard, he looked at them with interest and teased, “What’s with the dazed expressions? If you don’t hurry, the porridge is going to get cold.”

Ye Xue snapped back to reality, noticing the item in Ye Yangyun’s hand. “Master, were you practicing tai chi sword techniques again?”

Ye Yangyun nodded.

Next to the village entrance was an open area where the villagers often exercised, practicing tai chi and tai chi sword forms. Ye Yangyun was especially skilled and would leave at five in the morning to teach them.

Now he had just returned from his morning routine.

However…

Ye Xue checked the time on her phone. “Didn’t you just get back? How did you finish making breakfast so quickly?”

Ye Yangyun laughed and looked at Yu Qi. “I didn’t make it; Yu Qi did. When I left, he was already in the kitchen making breakfast.”

Ye Xue looked at Yu Qi, who averted his gaze, awkwardly muttering, “I woke up early and had nothing else to do.”

Yu Qi had barely slept the night before, unwilling to wake Ye Xue. He had simply laid out some bedding on the floor, intending to get by for the night. But with someone else in the room, he found her breathing distracting, unable to sleep in the quiet stillness as he lay awake until dawn.

At five in the morning, he decided to get up and keep himself busy.

Seeing Ye Xue’s questioning gaze, Yu Qi quietly reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Ye Yangyun seemed oblivious to their silent exchange, smiling as he urged, “Come on, if you delay any longer, the porridge really will get cold. Also, I have to go to the ancestral hall later, so have lunch at home.”

The ancestral hall was preparing to change the plaques, which was a delicate task to avoid disturbing the ancestors of Fengyang Village. Such matters naturally required Ye Yangyun’s expertise in selecting an auspicious date.

Ye Xue nodded with a smile, “Understood, Master.”

Yu Qi also nodded. “Okay.”

Yu Qi’s wound was healing quickly, with the scab already forming.

Thankfully, it was winter, so the injury was less likely to get infected. If it had been the hot summer, treating the wound would have been more challenging.

After Ye Xue helped him reapply the medicine, they heard a familiar voice from outside—it sounded like Deng Fei.

Ye Xue and Yu Qi exchanged a glance, then went to the doorway. Upon seeing the scene outside, they both fell silent.

Aunt Ling was chasing her son down the street with a broom. “You little troublemaker! You’re always causing trouble! Tell me, where were you fooling around yesterday, and why did you come back looking like a mess?”

Deng Fei ran frantically, grimacing in pain. “Mom, I already told you—I was sleeping, then somehow ended up on West Mountain! And I ran into the Red and White Phantoms! Do you know what that is? I nearly didn’t make it back!”

Aunt Ling sneered, “You think I believe that? If you saw them, would you still be alive?”

Deng Fei yelped as the broom struck him and quickly tried to defend himself, “It’s true! Ah Xue saved me!”

Aunt Ling’s face remained cold. “Oh, is that so? Yesterday, you said you were the brave one who scared the ghost away. I think you just got drunk and snuck out again. Now you’re using Ye Xue as an excuse. See if I don’t teach you a lesson!”

Most villagers were at the ancestral hall, and the few people who saw this scene were already accustomed to it—whenever Deng Fei got into trouble, his family would chase him down like this.

Just then, Deng Fei spotted Ye Xue and shouted, “Ah Xue, help! Tell my mom I wasn’t drunk yesterday!”

He dashed over, reaching out to grab Ye Xue’s hand for help, but before he could touch her, Yu Qi stepped in, shielding Ye Xue.

Yu Qi gave him a cool glance.

Before Deng Fei could process Yu Qi’s expression, Aunt Ling arrived with the broom. He quickly hid behind Yu Qi.

Yu Qi: “…”

Ye Xue chuckled, calling out, “Auntie.”

Aunt Ling said, “Ah Xue, Yu Qi, step aside so I can deal with this brat.”

Ye Xue didn’t know how much Deng Fei had told his family, but she still offered some clarification, “We did run into Deng Fei yesterday. It seemed like his luck was low, so he was targeted.”

Ye Xue quickly explained the situation in a few sentences.

Only then did Aunt Ling put down her broom, confirming several times with Ye Xue about the precautions against bad luck. Once she was assured, she finally felt at ease.

Deng Fei sighed with relief, “See? I told you I wasn’t lying!”

Hearing this, Aunt Ling glared at him. “And yet you were the one bragging yesterday about chasing the ghost away!”

If Deng Fei had just explained it clearly from the beginning, she wouldn’t have thought he was just making things up.

Ye Xue held back a smile.

Two days later, Ye Xue received the prize money from the Daoist Association—a total of 3.6 million yuan, including the reward for capturing six fierce ghosts earlier.

The Rong Gui Well case still required Yu Qi’s Seven-Star Sword to be retrieved, and since today was free, she decided to go with him.

Unexpectedly, Master Fang Xuelin from Taihe Temple was also there. Upon seeing Ye Xue, he greeted Yu Qi, then turned to her and said, “Student Ye Xue, would you be interested in taking on a master?”

Ye Xue was momentarily stunned and asked in confusion, “Master Fang, I already have a master, don’t I? Don’t you know him?”

Fang Xuelin chuckled, “Well, you can never have too many masters! The more teachers you have, the more impressive it’ll look when you go out.”

“What do you mean by ‘you can never have too many masters’?” Ye Xue’s expression turned awkward. “No, thank you.”

Seeing her decline, Fang Xuelin continued, “What do you think of Mr. Yu as a teacher? If you acknowledge him as your teacher, the other Daoists would have to call you ‘Shishu’ or ‘Shibo’ when they see you.”

In the Daoist community, it was common to have multiple teachers, especially for someone like Ye Xue, a traditional heavenly master who didn’t plan to take monastic vows.

When Fang Xuelin mentioned Yu Qi, Ye Xue suddenly realized his true intention: he wanted Yu Qi to have a successor.

Otherwise, given Yu Qi’s reserved nature, he would probably never take on a disciple.

Yu Qi, who had been listening nearby, frowned when he heard the topic shift to him. Seeing that Fang Xuelin was suggesting that Ye Xue take him as her master, he immediately turned down the idea with a stern expression. “No way.”

If she did become his disciple, wouldn’t their relationship hierarchy get all mixed up?

Fang Xuelin hadn’t expected such a strong reaction and looked at Yu Qi in surprise.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Qi reiterated, “I don’t take disciples.”

Meanwhile, a group of Daoists within the formation took out the Seven-Star Sword, preparing to replace it with a counterpart. “Ye Xue, could you bring over the counterpart sword?”

Ye Xue nodded, “Alright, I’ll be right there.”

She took the sword from her backpack and hurried over to the formation area.

Yu Qi was about to follow her when Fang Xuelin quietly came up beside him, somewhat perplexed. “Mr. Yu, aren’t you and Ye Xue close?”

He had assumed Yu Qi would gladly accept Ye Xue as his disciple, which would have brought them even closer.

Yu Qi’s previous silence had seemed like approval.

Fang Xuelin grew more puzzled. “If that’s the case, then why…?”

But Yu Qi gave him a meaningful look and instead asked, “Then why didn’t you become Master Xu’s disciple back then?”

Xu Congmei was Fang Xuelin’s wife.

As a member of the Orthodox Unity sect, Fang Xuelin was permitted to marry; some Daoists could even practice at home instead of living in a temple.

At the mention of his wife, Fang Xuelin’s expression softened into a gentle smile. Chuckling, he replied, “What are you talking about? If I had taken Congmei as my master, our relationship hierarchy would be all messed up… Hahaha! Wait…”

He laughed for a moment, then froze.

Suddenly, he realized something odd: why would Yu Qi bring up him and his wife as an example?

With this thought, Fang Xuelin glanced at Yu Qi again. The young man’s usually cold demeanor softened, and his gaze focused intently on something in the distance. His icy expression seemed to melt when he looked in a certain direction.

And that direction was…

Ye Xue???

It was as if an answer were starting to take shape.

“Then why didn’t you become Master Xu’s disciple?”

Fang Xuelin suddenly wanted to go back in time just ten minutes and stop himself from missing the cues.

If Ye Xue had agreed, wouldn’t he have become the unwitting culprit?

Yu Qi’s shoulder was tapped suddenly, and he looked calmly at the person beside him.

Fang Xuelin patted him on the shoulder with a smile and encouraged him, “Mr. Yu, hang in there.”

Yu Qi quietly looked at him, then lowered his gaze with a slight smile. “Alright.”