Chapter 11: Meeting My First Love Again
February 09, 2013 Author: Gu Zhenren
Chapter 11: Meeting My First Love Again
“Sister, Chu Yun only intervened to save Fei Yan because he calculated that she was in danger. He must have ulterior motives. We could have acted alone, so why did we agree to his terms?” Yi Yan asked Hua Mei her doubts in private.
“Regardless of his motives, he is indeed Fei Yan’s savior. This cannot be denied. Furthermore, he could have hidden his identity as an Abacus Master but revealed it without hesitation, which shows his upright and noble character. Most importantly, it’s his integrity. I investigated him, and he even gave up his coming-of-age ceremony and risked his life to rescue his adoptive father. Isn’t this integrity worthy of our trust?”
“Filial piety is the most important of all virtues. A filial person’s wickedness and ruthlessness will only go so far. Moreover, his formidable combat strength is an even greater asset. And he’s an Abacus Master, Yi Yan, haven’t you always wanted to spar with a peer?”
Hua Mei spoke eloquently, and her words gradually eased the frown on Yi Yan’s brow.
Yi Yan’s bright eyes, like the moon, flickered. “Indeed, among the professions of Beast Masters like Alchemists, Weapon Forgers, and Egg Appraisers, Abacus Masters are the rarest. Meeting an Abacus Master with whom I can communicate is truly fortunate. It might greatly help me break through my current bottleneck.”
Thinking this, Yi Yan’s usually calm tone couldn’t help but carry a trace of excitement.
That very night, Chu Yun and the Rouge Women’s group set up camp in a hidden mountain valley. Yi Yan approached Chu Yun and directly proposed her request to exchange knowledge as Abacus Masters.
“Exchange?” Chu Yun looked deeply at Yi Yan, neither agreeing nor refusing.
The beauty before him was like a clear white lotus, with translucent skin, eyes as clear as the bright moon, and hair like a cascading waterfall. She was elegant and approachable, refined and detached, with a serene disposition that also revealed a hint of worldly indifference.
“What, are you unwilling?” However, no matter how indifferent she appeared, Yi Yan’s expression stiffened slightly at this tactful refusal.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling, alas…” Chu Yun shook his head, sighed, and said in a deep tone, “Look at the bright moon and sparse stars tonight; the night is gentle. Why don’t we take a walk in the mountains?”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Yi Yan’s eyes. A man and a woman in the moonlit forest, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?
However, before she could respond, Chu Yun had already stepped forward.
“If you want to go, let’s go. What’s there to fear, that he’ll eat me?” Yi Yan gritted her teeth and followed closely behind.
The moon was full and round like a mirror, casting a gentle, watery moonlight. The night was not lonely; the dense, dark green branches were draped in a light gauze of moonlight.
A small mountain stream leaped in the moonlight, glittering with crystalline scales, as dazzling as diamonds.
A nightingale, hidden from sight, sang its melodious tune, its voice like the clear ringing of bells.
Chu Yun walked ahead, immersed in the beauty of nature, speaking no words. Yi Yan followed closely, feeling somewhat nervous.
“Do you know that Abacus Masters are also categorized?” Chu Yun suddenly spoke, his voice clear and mellow, startling Yi Yan.
She blinked her eyes, carefully chose her words, and then replied, “I am naturally aware of this. Among Abacus Masters, there are Star Calculators, Dream Speakers, and Diviners. These are the three major schools of Abacus Masters, with Diviners being the most numerous. Diviners with the talent for Weapon Forging can even create well-known strategies and schemes.”
“You are quite correct,” Chu Yun nodded, then shifted the conversation. “In fact, besides these three major schools, there is another one called the Yi Master.”
“Yi Master?” Yi Yan’s eyes widened immediately upon hearing this, revealing her curiosity.
Chu Yun was, of course, speaking off the cuff, but he maintained a solemn and serious expression, speaking with extreme earnestness and certainty. “Precisely.”
It wasn’t that he wanted to lie, but it was necessary for his subsequent actions. He needed to find an excuse to make his suggestions, based on his past life memories, carry sufficient weight and be convincing.
“Yi Master… why have I never heard of it?” Yi Yan was influenced by Chu Yun’s serious tone. She chewed on the words a few times, her eyes shining brightly, clearly piqued by curiosity.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to communicate, but this Yi Master school places more emphasis on natural talent, like an innate ability. It’s like a school of its own, incomparable to other schools, and impossible to communicate with.” Chu Yun spoke with great solemnity, his eyes bright and shining, gazing sincerely at Yi Yan.
His gaze carried his style of action, forward-looking, crystal clear, and seemingly filled with a hint of passionate emotion.
Yi Yan met his gaze for a moment, her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but shift her gaze away.
“Is that so? Then how do you usually perform calculations?” Yi Yan did not give up, possessing the spirit to get to the bottom of things.
“On a whim.” Chu Yun gave her a response that left her speechless.
“On a whim?”
“It’s when I suddenly get a feeling, like just before rescuing Miss Fei Yan. This feeling is almost like intuition; I can’t explain it clearly. It’s as if it’s a guidance from heaven.” Chu Yun spoke with an air of deep wisdom, never needing to prepare his bluffs.
Yi Yan, however, was not so easily fooled. When it came to Abacus Masters, her usual elegant and calm demeanor vanished, replaced by an effervescent passion. She continued to ask questions, while Chu Yun secretly suffered, desperately trying to steer his answers toward intuition.
Yi Yan, unable to obtain the information she desired, was unwilling to give up and found herself helpless against Chu Yun. It felt like dealing with a turtle that had withdrawn into its shell, with no way to attack.
Out of necessity, she finally made a request. “If that’s the case, then may I trouble Young Master Chu Yun to perform a divination on the spot?”
Chu Yun spread his hands and shrugged helplessly. “As I said, it’s on a whim; I can’t control it.”
“Hoo!” Yi Yan exhaled in frustration, biting her lower lip, her bright eyes staring intensely at Chu Yun.
Under the moonlight, her skin was like jade, draped in a layer of moonlight, making her appear even fairer and softer, making one want to kiss her. Her eyes sparkled with an extraordinary brilliance that would make even the moon pale.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Chu Yun felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at.
“I always feel that your words are not entirely truthful, and that you seem to be hiding something. Of course, I have no basis for this; it’s just a feeling. I wonder if this counts as the ‘whim’ you mentioned?” Yi Yan finally couldn’t help but confront Chu Yun.
Chu Yun’s heart leaped, and he sighed inwardly, “A woman’s intuition is truly formidable.” However, he knew that he absolutely could not change his stance at this moment, or all his efforts would be in vain.
“Alas, I have told you the truth. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.” He turned around, looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, and inwardly lamented—lying to an Abacus Master, especially a female Abacus Master, was more difficult than fighting Bei Guangguang.
Yi Yan stared at Chu Yun’s retreating figure, her gaze flickering for a moment, and then she sighed softly, “I believe you. Young Master Chu has no reason to deceive me. Alas, what a shame. I had hoped to have a spar and exchange with a fellow Abacus Master.” Yi Yan bid her farewell.
Her disposition was serene; she disliked conflict. Her life’s passion was the path of the Abacus Master, which she even considered her lifelong dream. Now, returning disappointed after coming with high hopes, she had no patience to stay any longer.
Chu Yun did not turn around. He gazed at the full moon, opened his mouth a few times as if to speak, but in the end, it all turned into a long sigh.
He fell into reminiscence of the past.
That year, he was driven out of Shu Island and became just another ordinary Wanderer among thousands. His first mission was to explore the Endless Forest.
He had imagined everything too beautifully, toiling uselessly in the boundless forest, eventually finding himself cornered and in a desperate situation.
Then, he encountered the members of the Rouge Women’s group, who had secretly obtained the inheritance of the Ten Thousand Beasts King. He was saved from the brink of death, and under the kind guidance of the women of the Rouge Women’s group, he truly understood the cruelty and reality of the Wanderer world.
At that time, encountering warmth amidst cruelty, a young man’s feelings naturally blossomed. Although it seemed very naive now, he still confessed to Yi Yan when they parted.
Ultimately, he left in dejection. He also truly understood Yi Yan as a woman; she was determined to walk the path of the Abacus Master for the rest of her life, with no energy to spare for anything else.
At the time, he didn’t understand, and under his shame, he left without saying goodbye. Then, in his past life and the present, when he saw his youthful first love again, on this very night, he suddenly realized that he was, in fact, the same kind of person.
He was determined to reach the highest peak of the Beast Master path, to witness all the scenery in the world, so as not to have lived in vain. He would commit all his mental and physical energy to this dream. Even the increasingly vast and tempting power of the Shu Family did not sway him in the slightest.
Even though this dream was as distant as the bright and alluring moon in the night sky, far out of reach.
“But this is a dream…” Chu Yun raised his hand as if to grasp something. The moonlight was like water, casting shadows on his face. Despite meeting his first love again, his heart was calm and tranquil.
If possible, he wouldn’t mind spending his days with Yi Yan either. But he would never force it.
Fate is like a book; you might miss it by flipping carelessly, and shed tears by reading too earnestly. Go with the flow; don’t force it.
To summarize it in two words—
Go with the flow.
However, while emotions can be left to fate, dreams must be pursued with all one’s might. If assisting his father and expanding his influence were the first steps toward his dream, then the inheritance of the Ten Thousand Beasts King was the second step.
This was the inheritance of a King level expert. It was no exaggeration to say that it could elevate a mortal to heaven in one step!
Although Chu Yun had successively obtained the treasures of the Sea Dragon King and the Fire Duke, the former was defeated by Chu Bawang, leaving very little of his wealth. Most of the Fire Duke’s wealth was plundered by the Earth God and destroyed in the lava cave.
But the inheritance of the Ten Thousand Beasts King was different; it was a complete inheritance. Becoming an Inheritor was equivalent to inheriting the entire fortune of the Ten Thousand Beasts King. In his past life, it allowed the third-rate sect, the Rouge Women’s group, to develop into a first-rate force and flourish.
The importance of the Ten Thousand Beasts King’s inheritance to Chu Yun was self-evident!
He had to obtain it!
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