劍問蒼天 - 第232章 殺意 - 翰墨軒

Only then was Lu Xueling truly startled, and for a moment she did not know what to say. That Wen Pei and Song Dayi harbored feelings for each other was known to most; the sisters of Xiaozhu Peak often teased Wen Pei about it in idle moments. But back then, when Tian Buhui had come up the mountain to seek a marriage alliance for Song Dayi, Master Shuijing had refused him outright, leaving Wen Pei quietly heartbroken and sullen for many days. Now, with Master Shuijing putting the question to her so abruptly, Lu Xueling's thoughts raced, and she could not decide whether it was better to speak plainly or to cover for Senior Sister Wen Pei a little more.

But what experience did Master Shuijing not have? From Lu Xueling's few moments of hesitation alone she saw most of it, and she shook her head and gave a deep sigh.

Lu Xueling grew anxious. She and Wen Pei were on the best of terms; though her own path in love had been rough, she hoped all the more that this senior sister who had looked after her since childhood might find a good home. After hesitating several times, she summoned her courage and said, "Master, in truth, Senior Sister Wen—"

She had not spoken more than a few words when Master Shuijing said mildly, "Enough, enough. Pick a day, and we may as well marry Wen Pei off."

Lu Xueling was stunned, scarcely able to believe her own ears, and her face showed it plainly. Master Shuijing glanced at her and smiled. "What? Do all of you disciples think me a stubborn old thing, too hidebound to ever consent to a disciple's happiness?"

Lu Xueling was overjoyed for Wen Pei and hastened to smile. "Master, what are you saying? How would your disciples ever dare think such a thing? Let me be the first to thank you on Senior Sister Wen Pei's behalf!"

Master Shuijing looked at that rare, genuine smile of Lu Xueling's; the corner of her mouth moved, but then she gave another soft sigh, turned around, and stood with her hands clasped behind her back, gazing silently at the sea of clouds in the distance.

In her delight, Lu Xueling noticed that something was strange in Master Shuijing's expression, and she said cautiously, "Master, why did you suddenly think of this matter?"

Master Shuijing was silent for a moment, then instead of answering, asked, "Xueqi, you came with me to Dazhu Peak as well. What do you make of your Uncle-Master Su's death?"

Lu Xueling's expression turned grave. She pondered a moment, then said solemnly, "Your disciple believes that Uncle-Master Su and Uncle-Master Tian were deeply devoted to one another, and that she followed after him. There was no sign of suffering in her face."

"Indeed," Master Shuijing sighed softly, staring blankly into the distance. After a long while, she said, "I never wished for you all to be troubled by matters of the heart and let it hinder your cultivation. But this cultivation of a lifetime—what does it all come to in the end?"

Lu Xueling did not understand what Master Shuijing meant and for a moment dared not respond. She only listened as Master Shuijing went on slowly: "The talk of immortality remains vague and illusory. A lifetime of bitter cultivation merely buys a few hundred more years of empty time. Your Uncle Su treated a century of cultivation and a human life as nothing—such resolve and such vision truly surpass mine by I know not how much."

For some reason, a sudden ache rose in Lu Xueling's heart, and she called out, "Master..."

"A lifetime of cultivation, cultivating a lifetime—one attains the Dao, yet cultivates away one's humanity. What is the point of such suffering?" Master Shuijing gave a long sigh and said calmly, "In truth, what is the Dao, and what does it mean to attain the Dao? I have cultivated my whole life, and to this day it has grown truly blurred to me."