Chapter 85
After having dinner with Qi Qiqi, Xue Qilin returned to Heyun Dorm .
After crossing the long hallway and walking into the courtyard where her room is located, she saw the girl who disappeared throughout the afternoon .
Reflecting silver-white light, a bright sword blade whistles through the air rhythmically, as if a beautiful music composition .
Immersed in silver-white moonlight, dancing lightly, Shui Yuner draws one beautiful flower in the air after another with the practice sword in her hand .
She is practicing swordsmanship, the Merak Swordsmanship to boot .
Although she isn’t proficient in martial arts, but Xue Qilin’s memory isn’t bad .
After a short look, she realized that the girl is practicing the unique swordsmanship of the Merak Temple .
In order not to disturb the other party, Xue Qilin watched from the side .
The lass’s expression gradually turned into surprise .
The moves of the introduction to Merak Swordsmanship reproduced by Shui Yuner flow naturally .
Even though she is still a distance away from Situ Mutou, and her execution of the sword moves is somewhat reserved, but Shui Yuner’s is indeed performing the basic sword moves of Merak Swordsmanship . This is a testament to the girl’s learning ability .
After a while, the girl sheathed the sword and exhaled a long breath .
Xue Qilin immediately clapped her hands in praise and approached Shui Yuner .
“Little Yun you’re doing really well, your performance of Merak Swordsmanship is so vivid and colorful!”
Shui Yuner smiled back, silent .
The smile is slightly strained, but Xue Qilin didn’t notice it .
At this time, Xue Qilin suddenly recalled the earlier events .
“Little Yun, where did you go in the the afternoon? I looked for you . ”
After quarreling with Liu Chengzong, in order to determine whether the eavesdropper was Shui Yuner, she looked around for the girl . She searched for the whole afternoon, almost traversed the entire outer temple, and even asked Nangong Mingming . But in the end, her efforts were in vain .
“Um... I had something to do . ”
“Oh, so ah...”
She doesn’t know if it is a misconception or not, but Xue Qilin feels like Shui Yuner appears a bit strange, like she she doesn’t want to talk .
“By the way, you didn’t come back to the courtyard house all day?”
Shui Yuner trembled gently .
“... I didn’t . ” She answered .
She really didn’t? Xue Qilin wondered . Although she often lacks manners and looks foolish, but that doesn’t mean she is stupid . Many times, she is just too lazy to think – no, she just isn’t used to suspect others .
However, if she delves deeper into it, it will make Shui Yuner feel distrusted .
Therefore, Xue Qilin asked no more, and chose to believe her .
The conversation stopped, and a silence between the two ensued .
“... If there’s nothing, then I’d like to practice some more . ”
It was this sentence that broke the silence .
“Oh... okay, okay . ”
Unable to adapt to Shui Yuner’s indifference, Xue Qilin doesn’t know how to react momentarily .
What happened to her?
“Little Yun, are you... in a bad mood?”
Feeling that Shui Yuner is dispirited, Xue Qilin asked, hesitant .
Shui Yuner shook her head, “No, just tired . ”
Xue Qilin glanced at the sky . It’s already the hour of the rat [1] .
Surprise welled up inside her . She didn’t know that she spent the whole evening enjoying Qi Qiqi’s “hospitality” .
“It’s late already . Little Yuner, you should go rest... Besides, you said you’re tired . ”
Shui Yuner shook her head again, “No, I still want to practice . ”
“Hey, don’t overdo it... Rest is also important . ” Xue Qilin continued to persuade . She didn’t want to see Shui Yuner fall ill because of fatigue .
Shui Yuner shook her head, “I’ll practice some more . ”
Why is she so ... desperate? Before Xue Qilin got angry with the other party because of her words falling on death ears, she pondered this question .
There is a reason why Shui Yuner practices martial arts . She wants to get formidable personal strength, and as such, chose to practice martial arts .
Moreover, she seems eager and determined .
Xue Qilin knows this much .
But... why does she want to practice with the sword this hard? Does she think that magic has a requirement of the physique? If this is the case, then it’s not difficult to understand why Shui Yuner would be this hardworking .
“Little Yun, in fact, magic doesn’t have much requirements on the physique . So...”
The lass’s words were interrupted by a loud shout .
“I know!”
Startled, Xue Qilin shoulders jerked . She has never heard Shui Yuner shout like this .
“When have you ever taught me magic?” She asked in an interrogative tone .
Not expecting to be questioned by Shui Yuner, Xue Qilin was taken aback for a moment, and overlooked the other party refer to her as “you” instead of “little Senior Disciple Sister” [2] .
Yes, she used “you” .
“... It’ll take some time . Some things have to be prepared first . ” Xue Qilin explained a little .
Suddenly she felt that her words are too lackluster . Is it because she isn’t telling the truth from the beginning?
Perhaps yes, perhaps not .
If yes, then should she tell her everything?
But where should I start? Xue Qilin feels distressed about this .
She is sometimes too clumsy, especially so when dealing with people she cares about .
People in fact are unexpectedly incompetent . The more important a thing is, the more they care about it . But they often fail to grasp the main point, and are even at a loss about what to do, and lose themselves . They often forget what is most important .
More importantly, sometimes, hesitation is fatal .
“... You said it’ll take time . How long will it take?”
The girl suddenly smiled .
A bright and pure smile suddenly burst into bloom, and its brilliance dispelled everything...
But there is nothing, no emotion in Shui Yuner’s eyes .
They are empty, like dark night skies devoid of stars and clouds .
That’s an expression that can only be described with the word strange .
The smile and the eyes form a gap, a strong sense of incongruity that seems to transform into some kind unknown coldness giving off the creeps .
Her thoughts stagnant, Xue Qilin couldn’t respond . There is only the girl’s face in her eyes . As if the expression has some kind of evil power, she cannot avert her eyes .
“... Little Yun?”
The voice sounded unexpectedly hoarse, almost like a cry that was squeezed out from the throat .
It was like a bubble bursting . Although the voice was weak, but it unexpectedly succeeded in erasing the strange expression on the girl’s face .
With Shui Yuner back to normal, everything just now disappeared like a lie .
All that remains is just a picture engraved in her mind .
A picture that seems to be impossible to get rid off .
“Sorry, I’m tired . ”
Shui Yuner showed a feeble smile that looks like it will disappear at any time .
Suddenly, Xue Qilin was afraid a little .
She doesn’t know what she was afraid of, she just has this feeling .
Is she afraid that Shui Yuner will disappear in front of her eyes? Perhaps .
I must say something . Xue Qilin thought deep inside .
“I have something to tell you...”
“I’m tired!”
Shui Yun’er interrupted the lass’s words .
As if proclaiming her existence amid a crowd, she shouted at the top of her lungs, emotional .
“I...”
... I’m really tired . Can I have a rest?
Keeping this sentence to herself, Shui Yuner turned around and walked to her room rapidly .
Without even taking her scabbard, she disappeared from Xue Qilin’s field of view .
Unable to adapt to Shui Yuner’s abnormal behavior, Xue Qilin could only watch the girl leave .
The lass missed the opportunity, the opportunity to call the figure to stop .
[1] – Hour of the dragon – 11 pm to 1 am
[2] – Take this sentence as example: ‘When have you ever taught me magic’ . In general, Shui Yuner would have said in Chinese: ‘When has little Senior Disciple Sister ever taught me magic’ . Which I in turn would have translated as: ‘When have you ever taught me magic, little Senior Disciple Sister’