diymy Chapter 557 Xu Longxiang actively allowed the Moon Goddess to approach Qin Mu
Chapter 557 Xu Longxiang actively allowed the Moon Goddess to approach Qin Mu
He raised the bowl, his eyes gleaming in the firelight:
"Brother Zhao, we can talk about the future later. Let's drink this bowl of wine tonight."
His tone carried a youthful exuberance.
Qin Mu sat opposite him, the firelight flickering on his profile, casting a play of light and shadow on his otherwise unremarkable face, which was disguised.
He looked at the wine bowl Lin Qingshi had raised, then glanced at the bowls his fellow disciples had also raised, smiled, picked up his own bowl, and gently touched the rim of Lin Qingshi's bowl to the side.
"Okay. Let's drink first tonight."
The bowls made a very soft sound when their rims touched, like two pieces of pottery gently tapping in the firelight before separating.
Lin Qingshi tilted his head back and took a big gulp. When he put down the bowl, there was still a trace of rice wine on the corner of his mouth. He wiped it off with his sleeve and then picked up the wine pot to fill Qin Mu's bowl.
The movements were small, yet they possessed an unadorned naturalness.
"Brother Zhao, I've been thinking about that sword strike you delivered today for a long time after I got back."
He put down the wine jug, his tone becoming more serious than before. "I've tried to visualize it in my mind—the angle at which you drew your sword, the upward curve of the sword tip, the timing of the wrist flick. I've thought through every detail several times, but I just can't figure it out."
He paused, as if searching for the right way to put it, "I'm not saying I didn't understand that sword strike, I'm saying I understood it, but my body couldn't execute it."
A slightly younger junior brother chimed in, "Senior Brother, you're already quite impressive for understanding it. I didn't even see it clearly at the time; I just felt a flash of white light, and when I came to my senses, Bai Yujing had already sheathed his sword."
Lin Qingshi seemed a little embarrassed after hearing what he said, and scratched his head: "I only understand a little bit. If I were to actually try it myself, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to use even half of it."
He turned to look at Qin Mu, "Brother Zhao, tell me—is that kind of swordsmanship something you learn through practice, or something you comprehend?"
Qin Mu held the wine bowl, and the firelight reflected a flickering light in his eyes.
He didn't answer immediately, thinking for a while before speaking: "Both. You can only understand something after practicing to a certain level. But if you just practice without thinking, you'll never get anywhere even if you practice your whole life."
Lin Qingshi listened and nodded, as if taking those words to heart. He didn't rush to ask questions or refute them, but simply digested them quietly.
Squatting by the fire, A-Yuan held up the rough earthenware bowl containing half a bowl of wine, tilted his little face up, and asked, "Brother Zhao, how many years did it take you to figure it out?"
Qin Mu was momentarily speechless at this sudden question.
He couldn't very well say, "I haven't actually practiced for many years, it's all from signing in." He paused for a moment, holding the bowl, and then said calmly, "It's been quite a few years."
His tone was calm, with a kind of ambiguous composure.
A-Yuan nodded as if he understood, then, as if suddenly remembering something, tilted his head back and asked, "How many years? Ten years? Twenty years?"
A senior student next to him reached out and patted A Yuan on the back of the head, not hard, but with a hint of helplessness: "Why are you asking so many questions? Do you think anyone can train like Brother Zhao? Master your basic skills first."
A Yuan shrank his neck and stopped asking questions. He lowered his head and took a sip of wine, coughing twice from the spiciness of the rice wine.
Lin Xiaolu sat on the other side of the fire, the grass stem in her hand already forming the outline of a grasshopper.
She didn't look up, her gaze fixed on the grass stems slowly twirling between her fingers, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly, like a flower quietly blooming in the shadows.
She didn't interrupt, but sat quietly in the firelight, occasionally glancing up in Qin Mu's direction before lowering her head again.
A night breeze blew by again, carrying the faint sounds of drinking games and the clatter of bowls and chopsticks coming from a distant restaurant.
Another section of firewood collapsed in the fire, sending up a cluster of tiny sparks that shone brightly in the air for a moment before fading away.
The group drank two more rounds of wine.
The wine jug was empty, and the remaining wine poured out was only enough to barely cover the bottom of the bowl.
The junior disciples got up one after another. Some went back to their tents, while others leaned against a wooden stake not far away, nodding their heads as if they were about to fall asleep.
Lin Qingshi drank the most, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he spoke a little slower than before, but his eyes were still bright, like sparks that had not been suppressed by the alcohol.
He glanced at the empty wine jug, then at Qin Mu: "Brother Zhao, shall we go get another one?"
Qin Mu was about to speak when his gaze suddenly shifted to the side.
The firelight could only illuminate a small open area in front of the tent; further away, the light dimmed and was swallowed by the shadows of the night.
But in those shadows, there was a spot where a very faint warm yellow light shone through.
It was a small tavern on the street corner that was still open. The door was half open, and an oil-paper lamp hung under the eaves. The wick swayed slightly in the night wind, and the halo of light spread a small patch of dim yellow on the bluestone slab in front of the door.
There was only one person sitting at the table in the tavern.
A figure in moonlight sat alone at the table, with a wine pot in front of him and an empty wine cup beside it, the rim of which showed a faint dampness under the lamplight.
He wasn't looking at the street or the pedestrians; he was just sitting there quietly.
Qin Mu's gaze lingered on that figure for a moment, then he stood up, picked up the nearly empty rice wine jug on the table, and said, "You guys drink first. I'll be right back."
He didn't explain further, nor did he turn back. He simply carried the wine jug and walked along the cobblestone path, bathed in the warm yellow glow of the oil-paper lamps, towards the small tavern.
Bai Yujing didn't look up, as if she already knew someone would come over. She simply twirled the empty wine glass in front of her with her fingertips, the rim of the glass drawing a very light arc on the wooden table.
Only when Qin Mu sat down opposite him and placed the pot of rice wine on the table did he stop swirling the wine cup in his hand and look up.
The pot of rice wine still had a little bit of firewood ash on it, which left a very faint gray mark on the dark yellow table when illuminated by the lamplight.
He didn't rush to speak, but first picked up the clean, upside-down glass on the table and poured himself a glass.
"Don't you feel bored drinking alone?" he asked casually, holding up his glass of wine.
Bai Yujing looked at him, her gaze carrying an indescribable quality, as if she were looking at someone she had known for a long time but was speaking to for the first time: "I'm used to it. The nights in the North are longer than in the East Sea, so sitting alone isn't too unbearable."
He paused, then picked up his own glass, took a sip, and said, "You seem to be having a lively time."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "The excitement is for others; I just got a free meal."
Bai Yujing put down his wine cup, his gaze falling on the rice wine still steaming slightly from the spout, then shifting to Qin Mu's face: "Are you really going to stay in the Northern Territory?"
He asked very directly, without any preamble or beating around the bush.
Qin Mu held his wine glass without drinking, only looking at the fine ripples on the surface: "Not necessarily. Still observing."
Bai Yujing was silent for a moment, then his gaze fell on Qin Mu, as if he were looking at something he was repeatedly confirming: "You've already taken that step, haven't you?"
Qin Mu did not answer immediately.
He held the wine glass, the surface of the wine swirling slightly, then he put it down, as if he hadn't heard the question, and said calmly, "What do you think?"
Bai Yujing didn't press the matter. He simply looked at Qin Mu, observing his noncommittal expression, and the uncertain light in his eyes gradually settled down.
His lips twitched slightly: "You've stepped out."
His tone was more resolute than before, like a stone that had finally settled to the bottom, no longer wavering or hesitant.
"I could sense that you had crossed that threshold the moment that light fell with your sword strike today. That's something that someone at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm can't access, nor is it something you can stumble upon by luck. You're standing on the other side of that threshold."
After Bai Yujing finished speaking, he remained silent for a while.
He seemed to be confirming his judgment, or perhaps confirming what he was about to say:
"Your sword strike showed me a lot. That feeling... is hard to describe. It's like walking on a road you've walked for many years, and suddenly you see a light at the end of the road, but that light is something you see in someone else, not your own."
He paused, then said, "I always felt that I was still missing something. I've been standing on that gap for over a decade, unable to cross it. But today, seeing your sword light, I feel that gap seems a little narrower than before, yet also a little wider."
He looked up at Qin Mu: "If you stay, I will stay too. Your sword strike gave me a lot to think about, but I always feel it's still lacking something. I wonder if I could—often seek your guidance?"
Qin Mu looked at Bai Yujing's profile, illuminated by the dim lights of the tavern, as if he were looking at someone earnestly expressing their needs.
He smiled, picked up the almost-cold rice wine in front of him, took a sip, and put the cup down: "Okay."
His tone was flat, as if he were agreeing to something perfectly ordinary: "If you want to learn from me, you can come to me anytime."
Bai Yujing's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He didn't say "thank you," but simply picked up his empty wine glass and tapped it lightly on the edge of the table, as a very subtle response.
The lamplight flickered slightly between the two of them.
There was no one else in the tavern, only the oil-paper lamp under the eaves swaying gently in the wind, sometimes lengthening and sometimes shortening the shadows of the two people.
.......
The night was already deep, but the candlelight in the side hall of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion was still burning.
A warm yellow halo shone through the lampshade, spreading a small patch of warm light across the rosewood table, which swayed slightly in the night breeze seeping in through the window cracks.
Chen Ruoyao sat on a chair by the window, her moon-white dress gleaming softly in the candlelight.
She had removed the white jade mask, revealing a face exactly like Yun Suxin's. At this moment, her face was expressionless, and her gaze was fixed on the night outside the window.
Xu Longxiang stood at the door, having been there for a while.
His fingers were slightly curled inside his sleeve, his fingertips touching his palm, then relaxing.
He took a deep breath, stepped into the side hall, and stopped three steps away from Chen Ruoyao without sitting down.
"Miss Suxin."
Chen Ruoyao didn't turn her head: "It's so late, Young Master Xu, are you still not resting?"
Xu Longxiang paused for a moment, then said, "Zhao San is still in the city, still drinking. He shouldn't have gone far. Why don't you take this opportunity... to go see him?"
Chen Ruoyao's eyelashes twitched slightly.
When she heard him say those words, a familiar sense of disgust welled up inside her.
How much is the affection of someone who can give away even Jiang Qingxue, someone who can use his childhood sweetheart as a bargaining chip?
Now this aversion has deepened even further.
He wanted her to go, but he wouldn't say it directly. Instead, he pretended to be asking for her opinion, as if that would allow him to tell himself later, "I didn't force her."
She certainly didn't want to appear to Xu Longxiang as someone who "wanted to go."
She wanted to maintain that "she was only forcing herself for the greater good" attitude, to make him feel that she was making a sacrifice, and to make him remember this debt.
If she agrees too readily, he won't feel guilty.
He had to push that door open.
Chen Ruoyao always remembered the task Qin Mu had given her: to thoroughly control Xu Longxiang.
Therefore, everything Chen Ruoyao did was aimed at making Xu Longxiang remember her more clearly.
Although she had agreed this morning, she regretted it now, which better reflects her state of mind.
So Chen Ruoyao slowly turned her head and looked at him: "I don't want to go anymore."
Xu Longxiang paused for a moment.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words seemed to be gently pressed down on his lips by something.
He was conflicted.
He didn't want her to go, but he also wanted her to go.
If she leaves, Zhao San will stay, and Bai Yujing will also stay, then he will have an extra sword that can cleave the entire chessboard.
When this thought came to him, he felt a surge of inexplicable excitement, but also a similarly inexplicable weariness.
After a moment, he finally spoke: "Why?"
His voice carried a hint of bitterness.
Chen Ruoyao looked at him, her tone still as flat as a stagnant pool: "You want me to go?"