Watching the Mountain

Chapter 26: Chapter 21: Crashing a Class

”Xiaoque’Er has really changed a lot. She’s become more mature and much quieter. But I still prefer the way she used to be. She was a handful, but she had so much more life in her.”

As they parted, Yue Qingyu said only this to Xu Ran before quietly departing.

Xu Ran then took Little Xiyue back to Spirit Stream Peak.

On the way back to the Cave Mansion, Little Xiyue’s face was grim and she didn’t say a word. Her facial muscles were taut, as if she were holding something back.

Seeing her like this, Xu Ran reached out and gently patted the two small buns on her head. ”If you want to cry, then cry,” he said softly. ”There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Little Xiyue shook her head. Xu Ran had expected her to say something like, ’I’m not going to cry,’ but her response surprised him.

She said, ”I will cry. But not now. Tonight, I’ll find a place to hide and cry by myself.”

”Why?”

”You only took me as your disciple because my mother asked you to. That’s not a good enough reason for me to cry in front of you.”

Hearing her words, Xu Ran’s expression stiffened. He was stunned.

Xiaoque’Er had told him that while Little Xiyue looked to be only four or five, she was actually seven. She was so small because she had been abandoned and had suffered a great deal.

’But what kind of hardship could make a little girl of only seven suppress her sorrow and speak with such reason?’

He felt it defied common sense, yet Little Xiyue had managed it.

Xu Ran looked at Little Xiyue in silence for a moment before speaking in a serious tone.

”Listen to me. It doesn’t matter what reasons brought us together before. From this moment on, we are master and disciple. The past is no longer important. What matters is that now, and in the future, I am your master, and you will always be my disciple.”

Little Xiyue stared at him and asked hesitantly, ”What does that mean?”

”It means you can cry in front of me, because I am your master. As the saying goes, ’A teacher for a day is a father for life.’ I guess that makes me half a father to you.”

With that, he squatted down, opened his arms, and beckoned to Little Xiyue, showing her she could cry her heart out in his embrace without any fear.

Seeing this, Little Xiyue hesitated for a moment before cautiously stepping forward. Perhaps she’d understood what Xu Ran meant by ”half a father,” because she leaned against just one side of his body and whispered, ”Okay... I’m going to cry now.”

Xu Ran could feel how stiff her body was; she only touched him lightly, not daring to lean against him with any force.

After she saw Xu Ran nod, she let out a few quiet sobs. A moment later, seeing that he didn’t push her away, her body went limp. She opened her mouth and began to wail.

”I just found my mother, and we barely had any time together before she left again... I didn’t even get to... I didn’t even...”

She cried out, her words dissolving into choked sobs.

Xu Ran simply let her lean against him in silence, offering no words of comfort.

He felt that for a girl as sensitive yet strong as she was, words of comfort would only seem hollow.

Xu Ran watched Little Xiyue wail and nodded slightly. ’That’s more like it,’ he thought. ’This is how a normal child should be.’

*

*

*

Xu Ran had accepted Little Xiyue as his disciple, but he had little confidence in his ability to teach her.

Setting aside the fact that he was only in the Qi Cultivation Stage, he felt his own understanding of cultivation was so lacking that if he personally taught her, he might just ruin her potential.

But that was alright. He might not know how to teach, but he could solve the problem by having her sit in on some classes.

Even after his promotion to Honorary Elder, he continued to serve as Qing Xuan Master’s assistant. He absolutely loved the position; unless Qing Xuan Master himself drove him away, he would never quit.

The minimum age for entry into the Profound Pure Sect was twelve, so Little Xiyue was still too young to officially join the Sect.

So, Xu Ran went to find Qing Xuan Master. He briefly explained Little Xiyue’s background, added a few words about how he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone in the Cave Mansion, and successfully received permission to bring her along to his classes at the Instructor Hall.

Even the Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak sent his most treasured grandson to Qing Xuan Master’s Dao Transmission Hall. That alone was a testament to Qing Xuan Master’s teaching prowess.

Xu Ran felt completely at ease letting Little Xiyue sit in on the classes to learn the fundamentals of cultivation.

When the disciples in the class saw Xu Ran arrive with a little girl, they all gathered around curiously. ”Senior Brother Xu, is this your daughter?”

”No, this is my disciple, Ning Xiyue. She’s still little, and I don’t feel right leaving her in the Cave Mansion by herself, so I brought her along. You all don’t mind, do you?”

”Not at all, not at all! Who would mind such an adorable little girl?”

Little Xiyue, on the other hand, minded a great deal. She opened her mouth, wanting to say that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself in the Cave Mansion. But seeing how enthusiastically Xu Ran was chatting with everyone, she didn’t want to interrupt, and ultimately kept the words to herself.

The Instructor Hall disciples were quite surprised to learn that Little Xiyue was Xu Ran’s disciple. One of them couldn’t help but ask:

”Senior Brother Xu, isn’t your Cultivation only at the Qi Cultivation Stage? How can you already be taking on disciples?”

Xu Ran’s expression hardened. ”What? If I can demonstrate Magic Techniques and instruct you in class, why can’t I teach my own disciple?”

”That’s different. In class, Elder Qing Xuan is the one lecturing. You’re just demonstrating the Magic Techniques. That’s completely different from personally teaching a disciple.”

”Exactly! And Senior Brother Xu, while the Magic Techniques you demonstrate are flawless... well, how do I put this... you know about the issues, right? Forgive me for being blunt, but you’re really not suited to teach a disciple.”

Hearing this, Xu Ran’s expression froze. The topic had struck a nerve.

After the harrowing ordeal involving Ye Shan’s death, it was as if his potential had been unlocked. He no longer fumbled when learning Magic Techniques; he could master them smoothly and execute them with natural fluency.

Yet, the Magic Techniques he performed were like something recited from a textbook—perfect, but utterly lacking in creativity.

He couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. ’My execution is flawless,’ he would think, ’so how can it possibly lack creativity?’

And yet, everyone said the same thing, much to his frustration. They all felt something was wrong, and he was the only one who couldn’t see it.

He had clearly assimilated into this world, and the influences of his past life were now minimal. Still, it felt as though some invisible barrier always separated him, making him feel like an outsider.

This time, however, Xu Ran wasn’t worried. ’So what if I lack creativity? A textbook-perfect technique is good enough. It’s not like before, when my fumbling made me useless in a fight.’

For the next few days, Xu Ran continued to bring Little Xiyue to class. After the Dao Transmission lectures ended, he would intentionally stay behind. Under the pretext of asking for guidance, he would have Qing Xuan Master explain the most fundamental principles of cultivation to him.

Qing Xuan Master glanced at Little Xiyue standing beside Xu Ran and immediately saw through his little scheme.

’This isn’t him asking me for guidance,’ the master thought. ’This is him getting me to teach his disciple for him.’

Qing Xuan Master didn’t expose Xu Ran’s ploy. Instead, he began to explain with great seriousness, deliberately directing his words toward Little Xiyue as he spoke.

The meaning was clear. ’I may not be saying it out loud, but I know what you’re up to, kid. I’m just waiting to see if you have the decency to blush.’

But Qing Xuan Master had clearly overestimated him. Xu Ran wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. In fact, he kept shooting pointed looks at Little Xiyue, urging her to listen carefully and memorize everything.

Little Xiyue was mortified by this whole ”class-auditing” affair. However, she knew this was her chance to learn real skills. So, even as her face burned with embarrassment, she listened with rapt attention, terrified of missing a single word and failing to learn what she needed to.

She remembered her promise to Xu Ran all too well. Once she grew up and mastered these skills, she would repay him. ’And at that time,’ she resolved, ’I’ll just have to repay Qing Xuan Master, the one who’s actually teaching me, as well.’

But these days of ”auditing” classes didn’t last long. Soon, people from the Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall came calling.