Chapter 320 - 209: Lantern Festival

Chapter 320: Chapter 209: Lantern Festival

’I was in the wrong, yet he handled it with such dignity. That’s a rare thing. If I refused to be civil about it, that top-ranked Grandmaster from the Flying Dragon List would have come with his greatsword to *make* me civil...’

Xie Yuan let out a breath and nodded. Then, he heard Situ Qin say,

"Maybe it isn’t such a bad thing."

"Tell me more."

Xie Yuan had always admired Situ Qin’s sharp wit.

Situ Qin leaned against the tea table, cupping her chin in her hand as she mused,

"With things like this, if they don’t start off on the wrong foot, then as long as you behave yourself, Master Xie, and don’t go provoking him again, it can’t turn out too badly, can it? This was an act of goodwill from Li Xingtuo."

Xie Yuan nodded slightly. ’She has a point.’

"Then there’s nothing to worry about! Maybe it’ll even become a famous story in the future! You know, ’The Entry of Grandmaster Xie Yuan, the Nth-Generation Sect Leader of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect,’ and all that?"

Situ Qin clapped her hands and laughed.

Xie Yuan thought of the mountain of scrolls piled up in front of Li Xingtuo and gave a wry smile.

"I don’t care if it becomes a famous story or not, as long as it doesn’t become a joke. As for becoming Sect Leader, that’s even more impossible."

"But you seem pretty confident about the ’Grandmaster’ part, Master Xie!"

Situ Qin said with a grin.

Xie Yuan cupped his hands in a respectful salute.

"I’m just following in the footsteps of Grandmaster Situ!"

Situ Qin giggled. ’Chatting with Xie Yuan is always so much fun.

’If only every day could be like this.’

Situ Qin’s eyes sparkled. Seeing that Xie Yuan’s expression had brightened, she said with a radiant smile,

"See? It’s not such a big deal, is it? Let’s leave it at that. You can rest here for the next couple of days; you’ll be safe with me. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and we can go see the displays together. The festival in Yunzhou Prefecture always has a great atmosphere."

"Alright. As you wish, Miss Qin."

Xie Yuan said with a smile. After talking with Situ Qin, he felt he had a much clearer perspective and was finally able to relax a little.

’In fact, this was the only place he could truly let his guard down.’

He exchanged a bit more small talk with Situ Qin before a maid led him to the guest courtyard to rest.

From the start of his trials in the West Desert, to his return to Cloud Mountain, his ascent of Sword Peak, and his journey back down, Xie Yuan felt like a nerve inside him had been stretched taut. He hadn’t had a single moment of proper rest.

After Xie Yuan left, Situ Qin remained in the hall, picking absently at the pastries, lost in thought.

Aunt Hong appeared silently, replaced the tea and snacks, and asked softly,

"Miss, what are you thinking about?"

Situ Qin snapped out of her trance. After a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice sounding somewhat distant.

"Aunt Hong, I feel a little strange."

Aunt Hong watched her quietly and asked,

"Strange how?"

"Today, when Master Xie was talking about his adventures, I didn’t find it interesting anymore."

Situ Qin said, dazed.

"I usually love hearing adventure stories, but when he was telling his today, I didn’t find it interesting in the slightest. My heart just ached, I felt worried, and I was even a little angry. Even knowing he made it out safely, I couldn’t shake those feelings.

"I even got angry with him, forbidding him from doing this and that. I’ve never cared what other people do before—it’s none of my business. But the thought of him going off on another adventure makes my chest feel tight, and I get so worried I just want to give him every protective talisman I own... Aunt Hong, I’ve never felt this way before. What’s wrong with me?"

With a gentle expression, Aunt Hong looked at the innocent, sheltered young woman and said softly,

"Silly girl, you already know the answer yourself."

Situ Qin shuddered and was silent for a long moment.

She then let out a soft sigh, a trace of melancholy clouding her beautiful face, and the sight of it made Aunt Hong’s heart ache.

"So this is what it feels like? Even when he’s right beside me, I find myself unhappy.

"I’m overjoyed when I first see him, of course. But then I think about how he has to leave again, how he’ll be facing danger all alone, and my spirits just sink.

"Aunt Hong, is there any way to make him stay with me always, so we can face the dangers of this world together?"

Aunt Hong shook her head, her tone grave.

"Miss, you mustn’t ever think that way. Men are like birds that can’t be caged. The more you try to leash him, the more fiercely he’ll struggle, until he breaks the cage and flies away for good. For an honorable man like him, one who values relationships, you must let him go freely. If you support him from the sidelines, he will remember your goodness, and he will always come back to you in the end."

Situ Qin contemplated this for a moment, then nodded and muttered to herself,

"If I can’t make him stay with me, then I’ll just stay with him instead. It’s the same difference..."

She took a deep breath, shot to her feet, and started heading out.

"Then I must start training harder! If my cultivation is strong enough, I’ll be able to protect him! Then I won’t have to worry anymore."

Seeing the conclusion Situ Qin had reached, Aunt Hong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Still, her newfound diligence was ultimately a good thing.

A man’s arrival helps a woman mature, while a woman’s departure helps a boy become a man.

"Aunt Hong, please bring me that music book."

Situ Qin called over her shoulder to Aunt Hong as she walked away.

Aunt Hong, who had just been pleased by her desire to train, was startled by this request. She hesitated before saying,

"Miss, isn’t it a bit too soon for that?"

Situ Qin shook her head repeatedly.

"It’s not too soon at all. You and Tai Bo were right, and... *she* was right, too. I should have started working hard long ago instead of wasting my talent. Otherwise, in this dim and murky world, one can find endless things to regret."

Her heart brimming with the passions of first love, she let out a soft, melancholic sigh and headed toward the waterside zither pavilion on her own.

Aunt Hong watched Situ Qin walk away, seeming to have matured in an instant, her own expression a mixture of complex emotions.

’Before today, her lady had never known the meaning of sorrow.’

’For some reason, she felt a flicker of anger toward Xie Yuan, but all she could do was let out a soft, helpless sigh.’