Super Soldier in the City-Chapter 2044 - 2107: Taking Responsibility for You
"Sort of, but I just gave a few pointers," Murong Yuanqing said. When he mentioned his disciple, a hint of sadness flickered in his eyes. Once, Murong Yuanqing had a disciple, but unfortunately...
Li Yifei was aware of this matter, yet he still spoke earnestly, "A mentor’s guidance is unforgettable. Once a teacher for a day, a teacher for life. Elder Murong’s kindness to me is something I remember every moment."
Qingqiu glanced at Li Yifei disdainfully and said, "Do people outside still talk like this nowadays?"
"Hmm?" Li Yifei was taken aback, then realized what Qingqiu meant. His face warmed up, thinking he should speak more formally to an elder, but Elder Qingqiu’s words cut him down. He awkwardly smiled and added, "It’s not how we usually speak; I just wanted to express my feelings."
Murong Yuanqing chuckled from the side.
Qingqiu rolled her eyes dramatically and said, "So what? Do you think an Innate Expert can break through my sword formation?"
"Uh, no, I never thought to test this sword formation. But just now, when you activated it, I had to defend myself. I couldn’t just stand there and let you stab me with your swords, right? I’m not Elder Murong," Li Yifei said, embarrassed.
The last sentence was really what Li Yifei wanted to convey. Confronting this extremely powerful and enigmatic Elder Qingqiu, Li Yifei couldn’t stay completely calm, so he preferred to deflect the matter to Murong Yuanqing.
"Him?" Qingqiu sneered, looking disdainful, and continued, "He’ll never amount to much in this life!"
"That’s true, not many years left for him to live, so it’ll just be like this," Murong Yuanqing responded as if he didn’t understand, following her words. This naturally made Qingqiu pout again.
Qingqiu turned and walked back, with Murong Yuanqing following her. Li Yifei paused, then followed as well. Do capable people always act so strangely? Just moments ago, they were ready to fight, but after a few irrelevant words, they just turned and let the guests in?
Following behind, Li Yifei’s eyes wandered. Upon entering the grass hut, he noticed how sparse it was, with almost no furniture, just a simple bed with a seemingly new blanket. It was just an ordinary thatched cottage.
However, the entire mountainside platform was within the formation method, so there was no worry of being cold in winter or hot in summer; it was entirely adjusted by the owner’s mood.
Qingqiu sat on the bed, and Li Yifei and Murong Yuanqing exchanged a glance. Li Yifei set down the black box, went outside to bring in two wooden stools as makeshift seats, let Murong Yuanqing sit first, and took a seat himself.
The stools were quite low, and the two had to sit with their legs bent, resembling schoolchildren waiting for a teacher’s scolding.
"People close to death come to my place, speak, what do you want?"
"Uh...it’s for his matter." Murong Yuanqing was clearly taken aback, pointed to Li Yifei, and explained, "This black box, please identify it. I suspect it’s a Mohist War artifact from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but I’m not very knowledgeable about this. I thought you, being an expert, should have a look."
"What’s there to see if it’s not for me?" Qingqiu remarked, but her eyes were already drawn to the black box. Li Yifei noticed her interest and handed it over, but Qingqiu didn’t take it and said, "You old coot, you have a lot of affection for this young man, risking being killed by me to come here."
"Hehe, living one more day is a gain. While I’m alive, visiting to say sorry is enough. I know you love researching these things, so since he has one, I thought I’d let you see it as well," Murong Yuanqing said, still chuckling.
Why keep talking about life and death, Li Yifei found it unsettling. Though Murong Yuanqing had indeed reached the end of his lifespan.
Surprisingly, Qingqiu didn’t retort, instead looking at Li Yifei and asking, "What’s your name?"
"Li Yifei," he replied.
"Ordinary name," Qingqiu commented. Li Yifei’s mouth twitched—had this woman spent so much time in the mountains that everyone seemed to owe her something?
After speaking, Qingqiu finally took the black box. With a flick of her finger, the box opened, revealing its true nature. Li Yifei had seen it before, and Qingqiu had observed it from afar, but now it captivated her upon closer inspection.
"You two leave," Qingqiu suddenly instructed in a cold tone after observing it for a few seconds.
Li Yifei looked at Murong Yuanqing, who nodded, and they both stood up and exited, closing the hut’s door behind them. Walking a bit farther, Li Yifei glanced back, and Murong Yuanqing said, "Don’t worry, Qingqiu won’t covet your treasure."
"I’m not really worried about that; it’s just...Elder Qingqiu and you..."
"The two of us? It’s complicated," Murong Yuanqing sighed.
Oh, so it’s complicated, Li Yifei thought, seeing Murong Yuanqing silent for a while before he continued, "This story has to start decades ago. We were familiar, oh, I should start from our first meeting. It was during a mission, a few of us were ordered to rescue important figures, among them was Qingqiu’s husband. They had just married that day, hadn’t even consummated, when trouble arose. When we arrived, the people we were to rescue were already captured by another group. At that time, our strength wasn’t as formidable as it is now, so we were helpless. After a period of stalemate, those people suddenly attacked, aided by reinforcements, and though we were stronger, we were outnumbered and couldn’t hold them off.
Thankfully, we had a talented person skilled in formation methods among us, creating chaos, allowing us to rescue a few crucial people, including Qingqiu and her newlywed husband. After losing a few men, we fled, with them pursuing us. A day later, we suddenly realized some of our escapees were missing, but no one else knew where they’d gone!
It turned out Qingqiu’s husband was with those people, a traitor, and highly skilled. I was walking with him when he suddenly attacked, stabbing my side. Luckily, I was alert, and seeing him attack, I managed to dodge, escaping serious injury. Angered, I retaliated...and ended up killing him."
"When Qingqiu and the others heard the commotion and arrived, they saw me kill. Though it was later proven that I did eliminate a traitor, and he was indeed with the enemy, killing several of us on the way, Qingqiu believed I had killed her husband and therefore..."
"So she hated you until now? Wasn’t it an arranged marriage era, not free love, how deep could their feelings have been?" Li Yifei curiously cut in.
Murong Yuanqing shook his head, leaned closer to Li Yifei, and whispered, "In truth, she wasn’t too saddened by her husband’s death. After burying him, she came to me and said, ’Since you killed my husband, you must take responsibility for me.’
"Haha!" Li Yifei’s eyes bulged, barely suppressing laughter. He envisioned several scenarios but hadn’t expected this outcome. What kind of logic was that?
Seeing Li Yifei’s confusion, Murong Yuanqing explained, "I was perplexed too, but Qingqiu claimed it was a custom in her tribe she had to follow. But at that time, you know, my heart belonged to someone else, so how could I agree? Moreover, the country’s fate was hanging in the balance, how could I consider such matters? So, I refused. Qingqiu pestered me for a while, but I was focused on the mission, and after ensuring her safety, I headed elsewhere. Over the years, we met a few times; Qingqiu took up martial arts, excelling in swordplay, advancing rapidly, seemingly enduring numerous hardships. The last time we met, her swordsmanship had reached master levels, her formation complex enough to warrant my caution."
Hmm, that makes sense. Back then, Murong Yuanqing had someone in his heart, and Li Yifei recalled Su Lio’s grandfather, who was similar, understandingly nodded, saying, "Many people indeed sacrificed much in those times."
"Hehe, it’s all in the past. A century has passed, and those of us who survived have nothing to fuss over now!" Murong Yuanqing said, with a bittersweet yet calm smile.
Looks like you haven’t entirely let go, Li Yifei thought. While the old events weren’t really Murong Yuanqing’s fault, he wasn’t blameless either. From what it sounded like, after those events, Qingqiu neither remarried nor held another, perhaps cultivating to this day as a maiden, and must have retreated here post-establishment of the country. Li Yifei speculated but held back from asking—if Murong Yuanqing didn’t speak, he wouldn’t press.
"The last time I saw her was here. When news spread that Sword God Qingqiu was retreating to this place, I rushed over. Her appearance was as you see; she summoned a storm of sword light against me, but when it reached me, she withdrew it, not causing harm."
"Understood, I get it," Li Yifei kept nodding.
"Understand my ass!" Murong Yuanqing’s emotions suddenly twisted, cursing before rubbing his face, almost self-reproachfully saying, "If I hadn’t been so stubborn back then, agreed to her, things might be different now. The country was established, peace restored, we old-timers have few roles to fill, it’s time to enjoy life, but she passed many years ago. Still, facing Qingqiu, I can’t speak up—after all, I was the one who heartlessly rejected, even avoided her, how could I even thickly face her now?"
"I think... maybe it’s not too late to talk about it now, of course, that’s from my perspective. After all these years, if Qingqiu—Sword God—still held resentment, she would have killed you earlier, instead of scaring us with a sword formation," Li Yifei suggested.
