After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 77

Zi-sheng and He-lan Mian-mian secretly discussed something, though it was unclear exactly what was said. After a long while, Zi-sheng left with a darkened expression. This brat is so quick-witted, does she even need me to look after her?

He-lan Mian-mian smiled as she watched Zi-sheng leave, then tidied her clothes and slowly walked back to the classroom.

As expected, the first thing Ning Song-wu asked when she saw her return was: “Do you know Senior Brother Zi-sheng? What did he just say to you?”

He-lan Mian-mian replied without reservation: “A distant relative. We don’t visit often, so he didn’t know I had entered Northern Vengeance Palace. He was just a little excited to see me.”

“You are actually Senior Brother Zi-sheng’s distant relative?” Ning Song-wu propped her chin on her hand, deep in thought. “This world is so small… Senior Brother Zi-sheng must also come from a prestigious family, right…”

Lan Ze, who was sitting not far away, heard this, turned her head, and said with a mocking smile: “Prestigious family? You underestimate your Senior Brother Zi-sheng too much. How is it that you’ve been in the Withering-Prospering Pavilion for three years and don’t know? He is a member of the royal family, the third son of the current Emperor!”

“What?” Ning Song-wu was stunned.

“Enough! Lan Ze, a slip of the tongue may cause a lifetime of trouble. You’d better be careful what you say!” He-lan Mian-mian chastised Lan Ze’s hurtful words. The usual innocence in her cute eyes was gone, replaced by the innate majesty of royalty. She glared at Lan Ze and looked at Ning Song-wu with some concern.

Contrary to her usual self, Ning Song-wu did not immediately jump up to argue with Lan Ze. Instead, she stared blankly, lost in thought.

“Ning Song-wu, what’s wrong?” He-lan Mian-mian asked caringly.

Ning Song-wu frowned, then shook her head: “Nothing… She’s right…”

“Ning Song-wu…”

A lump formed in Ning Song-wu’s throat, and then she spoke with a hint of a sob: “I’m fine… I’m just afraid of Master… I’m afraid Master won’t want me anymore…”

Only after coming to the Grand Flight Pavilion did she realize that she was no different from anyone else. In fact, in some ways, she was inferior to others. If she could previously rely on being the disciple of the Venerable of the Withering-Prospering Pavilion, what did she have now?

It had been over ten days, and Master hadn’t come to see her even once.

Why? Why? Why doesn’t Master come to see me? Is Master really, truly planning to leave me in the Grand Flight Pavilion forever?!

He-lan Mian-mian took out a handkerchief to wipe away the tear that had spilled from the corner of Ning Song-wu’s eye and sighed.

Below Southwest Peak, in the Sword Forging Pool.

“Ran Fan-yin, you should take a break.” This was not the first time Jiang Yue (蔣悅) had come to persuade Ran Fan-yin, and the worry between his brows was growing heavier.

The stone door of the Sword Forging Pool was tightly shut. Inside, the heat was overwhelming and scorching. Staying for long gave one a feeling of nausea and retching. Even though it was freezing cold outside, Jiang Yue only wore a single layer of clothing, his sleeves rolled high. Despite dressing so lightly, his back was soaked with sweat.

The situation for Ran Fan-yin was even worse. Jiang Yue had been in this place for a hundred years and still found it difficult to adapt. She was a woman. How could she endure such suffering? Her temples and hair were completely wet with sweat, which dripped constantly down her cheeks, and the carving knife she held in her hand kept trembling.

“Just a little more to carve, and it can go into the furnace for drying tonight,” Ran Fan-yin’s voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Yue handed her a cup of water, saying helplessly: “How many days have you gone without sleep? It’s just a sword mold. You are treating it like embroidery. Is a single sword worth this much effort?”

On the nearly complete clay mold, a delicate sword shape about three feet and three inches long had taken form. The sword body bore a perfect, intricate phoenix totem, its head raised as if it were about to soar and sing in the nine heavens, incredibly gorgeous and moving.

“The last time I made a sword mold was when I was studying the art of sword forging in the Grand Flight Pavilion in my childhood. I haven’t touched it for so many years, so it inevitably takes more effort. If I handed it to Senior Brother, a sword mold like this would probably be done in two days.” Ran Fan-yin spoke an unusually long sentence, her expression gentle and serious. Only her tea-colored eyes were frighteningly red, with a dense ring of blood vessels around her light-colored pupils.

“After you finish this, go back and rest for a few days before coming again. As for the ore for the sword body, should we use what I have here, or…”

“No, use mine.”

Jiang Yue raised an eyebrow: “Yours? Did you hide some forging stone?” Before Ran Fan-yin could answer, Jiang Yue slapped his forehead: “Wait! Don’t tell me… it’s that one…! The one Master gave you back then…!”

Ran Fan-yin nodded. With her movement, two more drops of crystalline sweat rolled down.

“That was the apprenticeship gift Master gave you! Such a precious forging stone, are you sure you want to use it on this sword?”

“A thing only has value when it is put to use. That forging stone, if not forged into a sword, will forever be a useless rock.” Ran Fan-yin’s expression was calm, as if that forging stone was not her own.

The forging stone Hong Sheng-cen  gave Ran Fan-yin was just as important as the swords Ran Fan-yin gave Zi-sheng and Cen Ran, and the Flowing Jade she gave Ning Song-wu—an important gift from the sect. Leaving aside the significance of the item, the value of that stone alone was unparalleled, a material for which no second piece could be found in the world. The items Hong Sheng-cen gave out were never common.

Jiang Yue was very astonished. If this sword were forged, it would probably surpass any famous sword currently existing in the world.

Does Ran Fan-yin really intend to give this sword to a small child? Could it be that she’s gone mad from staying in the Sword Forging Pool for more than ten days?

“Hiss…” Ran Fan-yin suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head. She pressed her fingers against her temples and forcefully closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Jiang Yue could only pat Ran Fan-yin’s shoulder and pass some vital energy to her. If Ran Fan-yin continued to overwork herself like this, even an iron constitution would collapse. She had suffered from headaches several times these past few days, and one night she even vomited. How could Jiang Yue feel at ease watching this?

“Your disciple had better not let down your expectations. Otherwise, how will she be worthy of you behaving like this?” Jiang Yue turned and walked toward the forging pool, looking at the molten liquid he was refining, and shook his head.

Later that night, Ran Fan-yin finally saw the sword mold enter the furnace with her own eyes. Only then did the sustained effort she had been holding onto ease, and the fatigue of her body surged over her like a tsunami. If she hadn’t had profound internal strength and an unusually resilient constitution, she would never have survived these days and nights without sleep.

Jiang Yue escorted her out of the Sword Forging Pool entrance, gave a few instructions, and then returned to the Sword Forging Pool, closing the stone door.

The world only saw the outwardly radiant and gentle Jiang Yue, a gentleman like the wind, but they didn’t know that he, too, had endured countless days and nights of suffering in the Sword Forging Pool to forge the world’s most famous swords.

Ran Fan-yin originally intended to return to the Withering-Prospering Pavilion early for a good bath, but the image of Ning Song-wu involuntarily popped into her mind. The last time she saw her, the girl was sitting dejectedly in the plum garden. Having not seen her for so many days, she wondered how Ning Song-wu was faring at the Grand Flight Pavilion.

Just like three years ago, Ran Fan-yin just wanted to go and see Ning Song-wu, even if only to peek through the window to see if she was sleeping peacefully. She had neglected Ning Song-wu’s emotions these past few days. Had the change from the Withering-Prospering Pavilion to the Grand Flight Pavilion made Ning Song-wu feel lost?

In her flowing white robes, with her long hair cascading down, her composed and measured steps were still neither hurried nor slow. Each footstep traced a winding path from the Sword Forging Pool to the Grand Flight Pavilion on the southeast peak…

Ran Fan-yin actually didn’t know which of the many disciple dormitories Ning Song-wu lived in. But upon arrival, one window alone was lit, which drew considerable attention. She had a hunch that Ning Song-wu was in that room. Ran Fan-yin followed her intuition and went up to check.

The window was slightly ajar. Ran Fan-yin looked through the gap, and her gaze instantly softened.

Ning Song-wu’s small body sat on the tall desk chair, her two legs still unable to reach the floor, swinging back and forth in the air. She was wrapped in a thick white mink fur coat. She held a brush in her hand, her eyes intently focused on an open book on the table, occasionally making annotations. Her eyes showed extreme exhaustion, but she was still forcing herself to stay awake.

Due to the hardship she endured in her early childhood, Ning Song-wu had somewhat missed the period for growth, so her stature was slightly smaller than her peers. Seeing her now, she looked even more frail. After more than ten days apart, Ning Song-wu had actually lost so much weight.

Ran Fan-yin didn’t want to call out to her. She just wanted to quietly watch her disciple for a while. But she hadn’t expected that even in her state of extreme drowsiness, Ning Song-wu’s nervous system would be so sensitive. Without warning, she looked up, and her eyes met Ran Fan-yin’s.

“Master… Master!” Ning Song-wu instantly woke up, overjoyed. She jumped up to run toward Ran Fan-yin, but her foot missed the floor, and she fell heavily.

Ran Fan-yin instantly flashed inside. She moved so fast that it was impossible to see how she had entered. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Ning Song-wu, gently helping her up by the arm.

“Master!” Ning Song-wu ignored the pain of the fall, quickly climbed up, and threw herself into Ran Fan-yin’s arms, embracing her completely. Her nose instantly felt a sting of sadness, and she rubbed her face against Ran Fan-yin’s shoulder.

Ran Fan-yin wrapped her arms around Ning Song-wu’s much-thinner back, her brows slightly furrowed. Are the days here so difficult?

“Master… I missed you so much… I missed you so much…” Ning Song-wu’s uncontrollable longing burst forth like a flood. She instantly began to cry, clinging tightly to Ran Fan-yin with the intent of never letting go.

Ran Fan-yin keenly noticed a pair of eyes watching from the other bed. She looked over.

He-lan Mian-mian had been woken up by Ning Song-wu’s cry of “Master.” She tilted her head, curiously watching the Master and disciple embrace. Is this Venerable Ran Fan-yin? Her aura is truly unique in the world, even more otherworldly than Senior Sister Cen Ran from that day, and she looks calmer and more aloof than Senior Sister Cen Ran. But why is she staring at me like that?

Ran Fan-yin looked at He-lan Mian-mian for a moment, then suddenly spoke: “I apologize for disturbing your rest. I will take Ning Song-wu out.”

With that, Ran Fan-yin maintained her posture, picked up Ning Song-wu, and vanished from the room in a flash, leaving only the window empty, where a cold wind blew through the wide-open frame.

He-lan Mian-mian raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding something and nodding her head.

So, Venerable was just embarrassed to be seen by me.