Lady Cultivator

If that woman was indeed who Mo Tiange thought she was, of course she was unreasonable.

Mo Tiange raised her gaze, only to see that Lord Daoist Jinghe, who was still grinning a moment ago, had put on an indifferent expression. “Let her come in.”

“Grandmaster…” Although Weiyu was dumbfounded for a brief second, she soon regained her calm and answered, “Yes.”

According to reason, Mo Tiange ought to excuse herself now. However, she really wanted to watch this play, so she thickened her skin and stayed behind regardless of the glare Lord Daoist Jinghe shot at her.

Since she didn’t respond to his glare, Lord Daoist Jinghe was too lazy to pay her any attention.

Not long after Weiyu went out, they saw that woman rushing over from outside the door. The moment she saw Lord Daoist Jinghe, the rims of her eyes instantly reddened and she immediately ran towards him, calling out with sobs, “Grandmaster!”

Once she reached Lord Daoist Jinghe, she dropped kneeling on the ground with a “plop” and grabbed his sleeve. She then looked up at him. Her eyes were gleaming with tears. “Grandmaster, I…”

Mo Tiange could see that although Lord Daoist Jinghe had a cold expression in the beginning, his expression gradually softened when that woman knelt in front of him and wept sorrowfully. In the end, he helplessly heaved a sigh then pulled her up softly. “Mingzhu, after so many years, have you realized what your mistakes were?”

The woman wiped her tears off while saying with sobs: “Grandmaster, I know I was wrong… I really missed you when I was outside—I really regret it…”

“It’s good if you really know you were wrong.” Lord Daoist let her sit next to him and said solemnly, “Tell me, what did you do wrong?”

“I…” The woman once again wiped her tears, saying, “I shouldn’t have attacked a fellow disciple…”

“And?”

She bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have forbidden others from getting close to senior martial brother. I also shouldn’t have harbored any improper thoughts in my heart… Grandmaster, I’ve really realized I was wrong—please don’t force me to stay outside by myself again, okay?”

Senior martial brother? Mo Tiange raised her eyebrows. The matters that passed through Fengxue’s lips ought to be right. No matter whether it was according to cultivation level or seniority, shouldn’t she have called him martial uncle?

Lord Daoist Jinghe’s expression became gentler. He said earnestly, “Us cultivators ought to understand the principle of ‘the heart can move at will, but the mind has to remain calm and clear.’ It isn’t that we shouldn’t feel adoration in our hearts or that we must abandon the thought of love—rather, it’s that we mustn’t be obsessed over it; we mustn’t enter a demonic barrier because of it. Can you understand that?”

The woman hung her head, nodding and weeping at the same time.

Lord Daoist Jinghe originally still had something to say, but upon seeing her appearance, he finally shook his head and said, “All disciples were summoned this time, so you indeed ought to have come back—I won’t consider this as you leaving without permission. Go back to Zhili Building first; it’s still the same as it was when you left.”

Mo Tiange saw her face, which was still shedding tears, suddenly showing an ecstatic expression. However, when that woman looked up, she toned down the emotions on her face a little bit. “Grandmaster, you’re still so kind to me…”

Lord Daoist Jinghe extended his hand to caress her head. The expression on his face was suffused with nostalgia and sadness. “You’re the child I brought up… Alright, go and get some rest. When the matter’s done with, you can go back to Cloud Ridge’s other courtyard again.”

The woman was stunned. She said, “Grandmaster, I’d like to go back to…”

Lord Daoist Jinghe showed a faint smile, but there were no other unnecessary expressions on his face. “Go get some rest. You must be tired after rushing back through such a long journey. If you still have anything to say, we’ll talk about it later.”

The expression on that woman’s face changed. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something. In the end, however, she held back, stood up and bowed. “Then, Grandmaster, I’ll head back first.”

Lord Daoist Jinghe nodded then closed his eyes, looking as if he started meditating.

The woman had no other choice. She just clenched her teeth and grudgingly left.

When Mo Tiange saw the woman showing a very brief disdainful and envious expression as she passed by her, Mo Tiange just picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip expressionlessly.

It was only after the sound of her footsteps could no longer be heard and the hall became quiet that Lord Daoist Jinghe finally opened his eyes and looked in the direction the woman left. His eyes were full of sorrow.

This was the first time Mo Tiange ever saw this unscrupulous master of hers showing such a sad expression. For an instant, she suddenly felt jealous over the woman who’d just left. Although her master never put on airs in front of her and even allowed her to be cheeky, he never looked at her with such a gaze—a gaze one would use to look at a cherished child.

She knew that no matter how well her master treated her, her place in his heart most likely couldn’t compare to that woman.

Upon realizing what she was thinking about, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but laugh mockingly at herself. She just felt jealous because of Zhenji two days ago, but now, she felt jealous because of her master—what was going on with her? In addition to the fact that she shouldn’t be obsessed over these matters, on what basis could she want Zhenji and her master to treat her even better than before? The person teaching Zhenji these past twenty years wasn’t her, and she also wasn’t a child brought up by her master.

“Tiange,” Lord Daoist Jinghe suddenly called her.

It took Mo Tiange a while to snap out of her thoughts before she looked up. “Master.”

“Do you know who she is?”

Mo Tiange slightly wrinkled her brows. “I think… that should be Senior Martial Uncle Qingyuan’s daughter.”

“Correct.” Lord Daoist Jinghe, who wasn’t at all surprised that she guessed correctly, leaned against his dragon couch, staring into the distance. “This is a matter of more than a hundred years ago. At that time, it hadn’t been long since I advanced to the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and I wholeheartedly wanted to walk further down the path towards immortality, so I often went out to look for fated chances. For this reason, the disciples I had also frequently put down their own cultivation-related matters and went on the go for my sake.”

“Although Qingyuan was my disciple, he didn’t have a very good aptitude. Back then, I took pity on him because I saw how he always cultivated diligently, so I accepted him as my disciple despite his general aptitude. That child had a sincere heart. He always felt that he could only succeed in forming his Gold Core because I was looking after him, so he was most respectful towards me. When he handled matters on my behalf, he always did his best.”

“… When Qingyuan went out one time, he accidentally came across a ten thousand year old Tieli Tree. He knew I wanted a Tieli Fruit, so he wanted to pluck it. Who knew… that the Tieli Tree was unexpectedly guarded by an eighth rank demonic beast…” At that point, Lord Daoist Jinghe closed his eyes. “When I saw his Life Lantern go out, I went all the way there to look for him and finally discovered that he actually died without leaving even a single bone behind.”

Mo Tiange was stunned. An eighth rank demonic beast was equivalent to an early stage Nascent Soul cultivator, while that senior martial brother was only in the Core Formation realm. How could he possibly defeat the beast? It was no wonder master had such tolerance towards that overbearing grand-disciple of his—so her father died for master.

“Master…” she said softly, “You’re telling me all of this because…”

A bitter smile appeared on Lord Daoist Jinghe’s face. “Do you think I don’t know what kind of temper Mingzhu has? She lost her father when she was a child because of me, but I failed to teach her properly—looking back at the whole situation, it’s me who owes her. After I took her under my wing, I pampered her too much, thus forming her condescending personality. Although I knew perfectly well she did some things wrong, I never had the heart to be strict with her until one day, she severely attacked a fellow disciple…”

Mo Tiange once heard about this matter from Luo Fengxue. Wei Jiasi was severely injured by that woman, and the reason was simply because Wei Jiasi received an errand to wait upon Senior Martial Brother Shoujing.

“The child she injured was Xuanyin’s disciple and also my grand-disciple. No matter how I loved Mingzhu, I mustn’t be too partial—I had to punish Mingzhu, ruthlessly putting some restraints on her. Nevertheless, that child has long been spoiled by me. Not only could she not change for the better, but she even became worse than before, totally unrepentant… I was extremely disappointed. In my anger, I banished her to a separate courtyard thousands of miles away from here. Without a summons, she mustn’t return to the mountain.”

Mo Tiange listened to him in silence for some time then asked, “Master, you’re asking me to be a bit tolerant towards her?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe stared at her then said with a sigh, “You’re a smart girl; presumably, you’ve seen through my intentions clearly. It must’ve been at least sixty years since I ordered her to go to a separate courtyard; that child should have also experienced hardships. However, the way she looks now… which part of her is even the slightest bit repentant? Sixty years… the door-keeping disciples, my maids, all of them have changed into new ones—how could they possibly have recognized her? She came back, but instead of letting someone come to report to me, she just blindly harassed others…”

Mo Tiange cautiously contemplated the matter in her heart. This nominal martial nephew should be about a hundred sixty to a hundred seventy years old, right? Such behavior was indeed too insolent. Although her master treated the woman gently, his attitude also carried a hint of alienation. Furthermore, Mo Tiange, this martial uncle of hers, was present, but master didn’t tell the woman to greet her—obviously, her master simply didn’t intend to let her come back yet.

By the time her thoughts reached this point, Mo Tiange only felt she became jealous for no reason at all.

“I understand. She’ll only be staying for a while; even if she does anything outrageous, I’ll just ignore her.”

“En.” Lord Daoist Jinghe felt a bit relieved. “She was a child Master personally brought up; even your Senior Martial Brother Shoujing lost to her in this regard—how could I possibly not feel hurt at seeing her come back like this? I initially thought that since it’s been sixty years already, I’d let her come back if she understood what she did wrong, but she herself missed out on this chance. Her attitude’s still overbearing. There isn’t the least bit of progress in her cultivation, and she’s even learned to fool me! Considering her father, I definitely won’t be stingy with medicinal pills and magic weapons with her. But regarding Mount Taikang, she doesn’t need to think of ever coming back!”

When Mo Tiange saw her master’s face, which was always full of grins and never looked serious, showing such an unfeeling expression, she knew he was genuinely furious. That woman… was truly stupid! She put on a tearful act in front of master, but she couldn’t completely cover up her expressions. How could a formidable Nascent Soul cultivator be easy to deceive? This kind of “fool who believed themselves to be smart” was much more terrifying than just a fool.

“Master, don’t be too sad. This matter… really isn’t your fault. She and Senior Martial brother Shoujing grew up together, but didn’t Senior Martial Brother Shoujing grow up just fine? No matter whether it’s the path towards immortality or the path in life, both require us to walk through them on our own. If one’s own self cannot make any improvements, what else can one do about it?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe shook his head. How could he not know she was just comforting him? “Teaching a disciple must be done in accordance with their aptitude. This point… Master indeed failed to understand how to teach a child. I always felt it was alright to pamper her a bit since she was a girl, hence her repeated mistakes. Forget it, forget it—I’ve given her enough chances, but she’s still completely unrepentant and even learned to pull tricks. That being the case, I’ll let her stay in a separate courtyard her whole life. When she turns over a new leaf, I’ll let her return.”

Although Lord Daoist Jinghe said so, Mo Tiange knew he already gave up. She really didn’t know whether she should feel jealous or sympathetic towards that woman. Her master said so much because he hoped Mo Tiange could be a bit tolerant towards her, so obviously, he still loved her very much in his heart. Nevertheless, what he said also implied that he’d let her spend her life in a separate courtyard. He was even too lazy to talk about the mistakes the woman made.

If one’s beloved child refused to repent again and again, one’s loving heart would gradually turn cold. Master ruthlessly let her go to a separate courtyard to reflect on her mistakes. After not seeing her for sixty years, he originally hoped she could improve slightly, but the result was this. How could he possibly not be disappointed? Mo Tiange thought that if she was in her master’s place, she might’ve long refused to meet that woman, unlike her master who still treated her so gently.

Her master normally never looked so proper, but he actually became so sorrowful for that woman—it was obvious how dearly he loved her in the past, but that woman actually didn’t know how to appreciate her good fortune. That woman… was indeed not pitiful in the slightest!