I could feel anger rising within me, and the pig demon only added fuel to the fire. “Divine Lady, it’s all because I secretly admired Qing Han. That’s why I kept pestering him and tricked him into going with me. Please don’t blame him—punish me instead!”
At that moment, I felt like a rigid, unyielding master standing in the way of two young lovers seeking freedom and true love. My anger boiled over, and I smiled coldly. “Punish you? There’s no need. Qing Han, you’ve grown up now. Whether you stay on the mountain or leave it, who you go with is your business. From this day forward, I no longer care. Consider yourself graduated—go wherever you like.”
Those words, spoken in anger, shocked even me. I couldn’t understand why my temper flared so fiercely or why I said something so harsh.
Qing Han’s face turned as pale as paper upon hearing those words.
I felt even more irritated looking at him and turned to walk back inside.
But Qing Han wasn’t about to let me go. He moved swiftly, blocking my path, his cultivation already at a significant level.
I glanced at him. “What, are you planning to fight me?”
Instead, he knelt with a loud “thud,” the action so sudden it startled me. I took a step back. “What are you doing? Trying to scare me to death?”
Lowering his head, he said, “Qing Han was wrong. Please punish me, Master. I’m willing to accept any punishment.”
The pig demon, clearly frightened, hesitated before inching closer as if to kneel beside him and beg for mercy. But before she could, an invisible force pushed her out of the courtyard. Alarmed, she called out to Qing Han repeatedly, but he didn’t respond. The doors closed, and silence fell.
“Please, Master, punish me,” he repeated.
I ignored him and returned to my room.
But I couldn’t sit still for long—not even half an incense stick’s time. Eventually, I stood at the door and looked at him still kneeling outside, head bowed in dejection. I coughed lightly. “Still kneeling? Aren’t you planning to train this afternoon?”
He looked up at me, his dark eyes sparkling with sudden hope. “Master isn’t going to drive me away?”
Our gazes met, and I saw my reflection in his eyes. Over such a trivial matter, I had lashed out like a petulant child. With a sigh, I said, “Get up, get up. I was worried when you disappeared for two days. Do you think causing that kind of anxiety is fun?”
He bowed his head again and said, “Qing Han will never leave without informing Master again.”
I nodded, considering the matter settled.
After that, I never saw the pig demon again. Later, other spirits in the mountain told me that Qing Han had said something to her that broke her heart. She cried in her cave for three days and nights before packing her belongings and leaving Mistveil Mountain.
By all logic, I should have felt a twinge of guilt upon hearing this. But strangely, the news of her departure made me smile. My mood lightened as if I had just vanquished a rival.
It was in that moment of smiling that I first realized my feelings for Qing Han might not be purely those of a master for her disciple.
As for the second time I became aware of my feelings... that’s a much longer story.
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