After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: What are you thinking about?

Chu Xianning still held the water whip in her hand.

Jiang Huai continued to stand under the waterfall, not dodging or avoiding, looking like he was ready to accept his punishment. Chu Xianning raised the water whip again, as if each droplet was drenched in sunlight, the dazzling whip fell before Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai closed his eyes in panic, but the anticipated pain did not come.

“Scared now?” Chu Xianning slightly lifted her chin.

“Scared,” Jiang Huai admitted his mistake obediently, with a lowered gaze.

Only then did Chu Xianning let go, and the water whip turned into a puddle on the ground. She turned her face away.

“Get dressed, we’re going back.”

With that, Chu Xianning turned and left.

Jiang Huai quickly changed his clothes and caught up with the slowly walking fairy-like master, arriving by her side, the faint scent of flowers reaching his nose. The intense summer light was fierce, and Jiang Huai opened an oil-paper umbrella, enveloping both himself and Chu Xianning underneath.

Holding the umbrella meant they had to be closer. Chu Xianning pursed her lips slightly, her voice tinged with a hint of reluctance.

“I’m not hot.”

“The sun is too glaring; it’s better to have some shade,” Jiang Huai replied with conviction.

Chu Xianning was always like this; if you gave her a reason, she seemed too lazy to argue further, perhaps also because she hated trouble?

Jiang Huai held the umbrella as they slowly strolled through the lush mountain paths. Passing disciples occasionally glanced their way, then became mesmerized by Chu Xianning’s beauty, staring for a long time.

The faint scent of flowers along the way put Jiang Huai in an excellent mood. Luckily, when he made the umbrella, he had envisioned this scene, so he made the umbrella not too large, which meant they had to stay close. Their bodies occasionally brushed against each other unintentionally, then quickly moved apart.

Chu Xianning became more and more awkward as they walked, eventually speeding up her pace in a huff, with Jiang Huai following her like a persistent dog until they returned to the courtyard.

Chu Xianning went to the pavilion, while Jiang Huai turned and left.

He was going to catch the spirit shrimps he was raising.

Jiang Huai grew up on Guangxue Mountain, which was vast, and the entire mountain belonged to him and Chu Xianning. Therefore, he had cultivated a large area of wasteland and ponds. Beneath the wasteland, warm spirit jade nourished the soil, and in the ponds, Jiang Huai had thrown several spirit jades. The small shrimps that grew in the ponds absorbed the essence of the spirit jade, becoming crystal clear and plump.

Jiang Huai picked some vegetables and caught a basket of shrimps. The vegetables were simply stir-fried, tender and green, ready to be served, while the spirit shrimps were blanched, only needing a couple of small dishes of soy sauce. Jiang Huai liked to add a little vinegar to the soy sauce to enhance the fragrance.

The shrimp and vegetables were brought to the pavilion, where Chu Xianning picked up her chopsticks and tasted a bit of the vegetables.

She had always been aware of Jiang Huai’s culinary skills, and to this day, she had not grown tired of them. Although she had been abstaining from grains for many years and her desires had long been curbed, once they were stirred, they seemed unstoppable, like a boulder rolling down a mountain. The vegetables were crisp, sweet, and perfectly fresh.

Meanwhile, Jiang Huai had already started peeling shrimp with his bare hands, placing the peeled shrimp meat gently onto the plate in front of Chu Xianning. She glanced at him sideways and said.

“I can peel them myself.”

Jiang Huai continued, after popping a peeled shrimp into his mouth.

“Doesn’t the master hate trouble?”

Chu Xianning picked up her chopsticks, lightly dipped a piece of shrimp in soy sauce, and brought the tender, crystal-clear shrimp to her moist, red lips. She gently bit into it, and the slight frown on her brow relaxed.

Outside the pavilion, the sun hung high, but inside it was cool and pleasant. When Jiang Huai had renovated the pavilion, he had placed a piece of cold marrow jade on the roof, which he activated in the summer to keep cool. He often lay on the long bench in the pavilion to sleep while Chu Xianning sat quietly on the other side, either reading or daydreaming.

Time seemed to slow down again, becoming distant and leisurely. Jiang Huai cooked sixteen shrimps in total, peeling them all by hand, eight for each of them. The white jade plate of vegetables was already empty, and Chu Xianning, with her delicate hand supporting her cheek, gazed towards the distant pond.

The lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom, with several dragonflies perching on the lotus leaves. Having eaten his fill, Jiang Huai, with nothing else to do, set up his easel and began to paint the lotus and dragonflies before him. Chu Xianning sat quietly by his side, watching his brush move, the ink coming to life on the paper.

Both were silent, and the world seemed to grow quiet too, with only the sound of the wind rustling the leaves. Jiang Huai finished the painting, stamped his seal on it, and looked back at Chu Xianning.

“Isn’t the master going to take a nap?”

Usually, at this time, Chu Xianning would have gone back to her room to rest.

“About to sleep,” Chu Xianning replied, then stood up and walked towards Jiang Huai’s room, while Jiang Huai went out for a while; he was heading to Lingxue Lake.

…

Jiang Huai climbed the mountain for a good while before knocking on Lingxue True Person’s cave abode. The Lingxue True Person, dressed in a summer gown, opened the door and showed a hint of surprise upon seeing him.

“What brings you here?”

“I wanted to ask how Lingxue True Person’s research on that formation is coming along?”

“It’s particularly profound. I haven’t fully grasped it yet. Why, do you want to take it back?”

“That’s not it. I just happened to pick up another formation diagram recently, but I can’t understand its deeper meaning, so I thought I’d let Lingxue True Person take a look.”

Jiang Huai took out a formation diagram, and Lingxue True Person’s eyes deepened as she looked at it. The diagram Jiang Huai produced was of an supreme-grade formation, a rare treasure indeed.

With the diagram, one could comprehend its profound meaning, especially since it was so intricately depicted.

But this diagram looked too new; could it be that some senior with profound knowledge in formations had drawn it recently?

“Where did you get this diagram?”

“I met a senior a while back, treated him to a meal, and he gave me this as a gift. He told me I could exchange it for money with someone knowledgeable.”

“This diagram is indeed very valuable. If you plan to sell it, I can offer you thirty thousand spirit stones.”

“Talking about money is so crass. The senior said that this diagram was like treating me to a meal, so…”

Lingxue True Person glanced at him faintly, not at all surprised. She had a feeling Jiang Huai was up to no good when he knocked. She took another careful look at the diagram in her hand.

“Tell me, what do you really want?”

“I heard Lingxue True Person has collected many fine wines, among which the bamboo wine nurtured in thousand-year-old jade bamboo is the most famous. I wonder…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Lingxue True Person immediately interrupted Jiang Huai.

“I only have three jars left, and each time one is drunk, there’s one less. Your diagram is indeed exquisite, but it’s not enough to buy my bamboo wine.”

“How about I add some spirit stones?”

“Not for sale.”

Lingxue True Person maintained her elder’s dignity fully. Jiang Huai scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, then like a magician, produced another formation diagram.

“I have another different diagram here, what do you think…?”

Lingxue True Person gave him a sidelong glance. Although she was tempted, the last three jars of bamboo wine were her treasures, which she planned to enjoy alone when in a good mood. So, she gave an excuse to completely dissuade Jiang Huai.

“Unless you bring out ten more, don’t bother.”

“Don’t rush.”

Jiang Huai began to rummage through his storage space, and after a while, he indeed produced ten more diagrams. Lingxue True Person was taken aback, her eyes widening slightly, then she crossed her arms and stared at him.

“Even a supreme-grade formation master would have to expend great effort to draw one diagram. You might as well tell me honestly, where did you get all these diagrams?”

“I have a genius friend who, at a young age, touched the threshold of the supreme grade. He had nothing better to do, so he drew quite a few while researching formations… But he always prefers to keep a low profile, fearing that fame would bring trouble, so he asked me to keep his identity a secret. I hope Lingxue True Person understands.”

Lingxue True Person examined each of the diagrams Jiang Huai handed over, all of them supreme-grade formations. Although some had minor flaws, the good outweighed the bad. These ten diagrams had already moved her deeply, but she still couldn’t help bargaining.

“One jar of bamboo wine.”

“Then I’ll add three Snow Spirit Fish.”

“Deal.”

Jiang Huai breathed a sigh of relief.

These diagrams were all drawn by him while he was studying formations, creating more than a dozen in one go. His intention wasn’t to sell them for money but to study formations. He had always explored the path of formations alone, without any master to teach him. If Lingxue True Person knew this was how he studied, she would probably be shocked to the point of dropping her jaw.

Formations were not something that could be drawn lightly. Many formation masters could become lost in their own diagrams, entangled for a long time before managing to break free, so casually drawing unfamiliar formations was particularly dangerous… But Jiang Huai never knew it was dangerous, nor did he ever feel any obstacles. At most, it was just a bit draining and tiring.

Soon, Jiang Huai obtained a jar of bamboo wine from Lingxue True Person and cheerfully went to Lingxue Lake. Watching Lingxue True Person, with a pained expression, personally catch three Snow Spirit Fish for him, he stored them all in his storage bag and then headed to the sect master’s residence, gently knocking on the door.

“Sect master, are you there?” Jiang Huai quietly pushed open the door, which swung wide open, and he saw Li Qiushan sitting in front of a Go board.

Li Qiushan, dressed in a Taoist robe, looked kind when not angry. Jiang Huai had occasionally visited the sect master before, as the sect master had always been very good to him, always thinking of him first when it came to good resources. But he had wasted his cultivation and disappointed the sect master.

“What brings you here, lad?” Li Qiushan’s white beard trembled slightly.

The last time they spoke was when Jiang Huai was rescued from the evil cultivator’s lair. Jiang Huai knelt before him to admit his mistakes, and although he was furious, he ultimately couldn’t bear to punish Jiang Huai at all.

He wasn’t truly angry with Jiang Huai, just regretful… As a sect master, if he could see a disciple from his own sect shine in the Eastern Region, the entire sect would naturally bask in the glory. But now, everything was like a fleeting illusion, and aside from regret, he had no other recourse.

“I just caught something good at Lingxue Lake, and I thought I’d bring it to the sect master,” Jiang Huai said, bringing a Snow Spirit Fish to sit in front of the sect master.

Li Qiushan looked at him, torn between laughter and tears.

“What wine are you trying to cheat me into drinking this time?”