250 – One Year
Gong Tianqing let out a sound of surprise and bashfully lowered her head. But, the blush on her cheeks didn’t last long.
“… I see.”
Seeing the firm look in Gong Tianqing’s eyes after she looked up, Xue Qilin was slightly dazed.
“I will try hard. I won’t be like before. I know I hurt a lot of people…”
Gong Tianqing held the documents tightly in her arms and smiled shyly.
“Also… Little Yang told me to have a good life. Therefore — I will try hard.”
“I will try hard”, these words were spoken with slight emphasis.
Finally, after she finished speaking, Gong Tianqing’s face turned bright red. But — this time she didn’t lower her head.
It seems that my efforts were not in vain — no, Little Yang was really the one who made Little Qing change! Xue Qilin felt sentimental. She put her hand on Gong Tianqing’s head and grinned.
“Alright, alright, I understand! This Young Ancestor will support you!”
Gong Tianqing returned a bashful, light smile, and a voice as thin as a cicada’s wings flowed out from between her lips, “Thank you, Young Ancestor.”
“There’s nothing to thank for… he-he.”
Xue Qilin scratched her head and giggled, a little embarrassed. As she smiled, her eyes inadvertently fell on the things in Gong Tianqing’s arms, and she suddenly felt curious.
“Anyhow, what are you doing with all these documents?”
“Ah, these?” Gong Tianqing glanced at the papers in her arms, “These are records relevant to the previous Wulin Conferences.”
The Wulin Conferences? Xue Qilin was stunned.
Seeing her abrupt dumbfounded expression, Gong Tianqing asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
Xue Qilin issued a sound of surprise and snapped out of it.
“It’s nothing, I was just a little surprised! What’s the matter? Why did you take out information on the Wulin Conferences?”
“Oh, this is what Older Sister Teacher asked for. It seems that the Leisure Manor and the other four sects of the Five Great Sects intend to reopen the Wulin Conference. As a result, Older Sister Teacher intends to look at the previous information. In a while, she will go to the imperial capital to discuss matters pertaining the Wulin Conference with the Leisure Manor and the other four sects.
“Oh, so Little Seven wants to preview the relevant information!”
Xue Qilin showed a “so that’s why” expression and nodded in understanding. Then, she noticed that Gong Tianqing just mentioned that Qi Qiqi is going to the imperial capital.
“You said that Little Seven is going to the imperial capital for a meeting?”
Xue Qilin asked hesitantly.
She thought she heard wrong. After all, Qi Qiqi never mentioned that she is going to the imperial capital. She instinctively believed that if Qi Qiqi really wanted to go somewhere far away, she would inform her.
“Yes, because the Wulin Conference is very important. And, the vice-Temple Master Ye can’t leave at will. Therefore, Older Sister Teacher has to go there in person.”
“Ah ah, why didn’t I hear that from Little Seven?!”
Xue Qilin complained discontentedly.
“It’s probably because it was just recently decided upon and so Older Sister Teacher still didn’t have the chance to tell Young Ancestor…”
Perhaps because she felt that the other party was blaming Qi Qiqi, Gong Tianqing hastily explained like this. Xue Qilin shook her head in amusement and replied, “That’s not it.”
“By the way…” Xue Qilin pointed to the documents, “Little Qing, Little Seven is waiting for these, right? Don’t you need to hurry up and deliver them?”
Upon hearing Xue Qilin’s inquiry, Gong Tianqing immediately revealed an uneasy expression.
She seems to be worried about not having promptly finished Qi Qiqi’s order. Xue Qilin couldn’t help but want to make fun of her. However, she found that the other party is so worried that tears welled up at the corners of her eyes, and so she held back for the time being.
“Young Ancestor, I have to go…” Gong Tianqing has an awkward look on her face, “Older Sister Teacher is waiting for these records.”
“Go, go, do what you have to do!”
Xue Qilin curled up her lips and waved her hand. Gong Tianqing showed a grateful expression in turn.
“See you later, Young Ancestor.”
After a bow, Gong Tianqing turned and ran towards the main hall.
Seeing Gong Tianqing leave in a hurry, Xue Qilin is worried that the other party might fall. It was not until the lass’s back disappeared from her view that she looked away.
All of a sudden, a small bird flapped its wings and rose into the air from a tree branch, and a few leaves, which were already teetering, fell powerlessly. Xue Qilin looked up at the yellow leaves slowly falling down, realizing the passage of time.
— autumn is coming.
With the passage of time, the previously strange scenery gradually became familiar and the ties with the surrounding people became increasingly strong. The initial sense of estrangement has lessened by quite a bit.
Time can really change a lot of things. Xue Qilin suddenly felt this rather strongly.
“That said, it’s been almost one year…”
The lass murmured with a sigh.
Her voice soon dissipated like a fog in winter.
*
Although the interlude along the way took some time, but Xue Qilin still arrived at the Sword Casting Workshop before sunset.
In the end, the person wasn’t there.
— Li Wanting isn’t in the Sword Casting Workshop.
Xue Qilin asked an inner disciple of the Sword Casting Workshop, who is doing maintenance work on a sword, about Li Wanting’s whereabouts.
She thought that he would be surprised at her arrival. But perhaps the Sword Casting Workshop’s disciples are all like Li wanting, that is, they are exceptionally concentrated when they have work and won’t be easily distracted. His focus never left the sword. Consequently, it’s not surprising that he didn’t recognize Xue Qilin.
However, he doesn’t seem to be able to extricate himself from the rest of the world to the same extent as Li Wanting.
Although he didn’t recognize Xue Qilin, but he still heard her question. He hesitated for a moment, and then answered without raising his head or stopping his hands, “Elder Li should be studying mechanism arts in her house…”
After he finished answering, he closed his mouth, not wishing to be distracted anymore.
Xue Qilin made a helpless “really can’t deal with them” face and scratched her head. She didn’t care about being neglected by the other party. Anyway, she doesn’t put on airs and doesn’t like etiquette.
After learning that she came in vain, Xue Qilin returned the way she came. Although this delay wasted a lot of time, but Xue Qilin, with the “the sooner you die, the sooner you’ll reincarnate” attitude, still bore with it and ran to the East peak.
“Are you here, Little Ting?”
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard house, Xue Qilin shouted and called Li Wanting. In the end, she called several times, yet no one answered.
She isn’t here? Just when Xue Qilin suspected that she came here in vain as well —
Crackle, rattle –!
A series of sounds of things falling exploded.
What the hell? Xue Qilin was surprised by the source of the noise.
It came from a side room.
Who knows if someone is doing some demolishing work there or something. Dust gushed out from the only window in the room, which is kept half open using a stick.