Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the Divine Capital, Book Mountain was particularly lively at the moment.
Mr. Du from the Cottage had returned.
Although College disciples did not know much about Mr. Du, it did not affect the image of Mr. Du, the old man who was said not to know how to cultivate, in their minds. Since the first three disciples of the Cottage were all so powerful, it further displayed how extraordinary their master must be.
Perhaps some people would think that Mr. Du was lucky and all his disciples happened to be extremely talented. This was a fact, but why would he get these disciples in the first place? And why did the Cottage disciples follow him willingly? This alone was enough for the rest to ponder.
That time when Sword Saint became famous, countless people yearned for a place in the Cottage. Later, Gu Dongliu also became famous and the name of the Cottage shook the entire Eastern Barren Territory, attracting the attention of everyone. Now, after the battle between the second disciple and Qin Yu on Sky Mountain, this particular summit on Book Mountain had already become a legend. Even the members of the College were curious about what kind of mysterious place the Cottage was.
There was obviously nothing special about the place itself. Ye Futian and his team walked up the mountain. Meanwhile, Zhuge Hui, Gu Dongliu and the rest who had received the news came out to welcome them.
“Second sister, third brother,” Ye Futian shouted, smiling. The two nodded in return. However, the second sister only looked at Mr. Du. Her usually happy eyes looked somewhat wronged at the moment as she said softly, “Master, you have left us for so long. Now you finally returned.”
The old man smiled and said, “Girl, I returned because I know that you will miss me.”
“Err…” Although Ye Futian already knew on their way that Mr. Du would address his second sister like this, he still felt somewhat weird when Mr. Du really called so before her.
“You know that I miss you? Even though you are here now, will you slip away again someday?” The second sister looked at her master with her eyes filled with suspicion.
“Even if I leave, I will leave properly. What’s ‘slip away’?” The old man then looked at Gu Dongliu and said, “Three, what do you say?”
“Master, whatever you say is obviously correct.” Gu Dongliu nodded seriously.
“Yup, I think that you are better to me, unlike some girl… Sigh, she is not even as obedient as some other girls outside.” The old man shook his head and sighed, after which he walked forward with his head held high.
“Master, I’m just afraid that you will leave us here again.” Zhuge Hui walked up to Mr. Du and grabbed his arm.
“That’s better,” the old man nodded in satisfaction.
The second sister raised her head and realized that Xue Ye and Luo Fan were staring at her. Smiling, she put her hand on her belt and said, “What are you looking at? Go and cook some good food for the master.”
The two immediately shivered. After they returned from Sky Mountain, the second sister had always been doing a little action: touching her belt. This action was indeed frightening.
“Master, sister, wait for a short while. I will go and cook now,” Luo Fan said without hesitation. Then, he quickly fled from the place.
Ye Futian rolled his eyes. The second sister was grabbing the master’s arm like a little girl, while the arrogant third brother was standing beside the master quietly. From the scene, it was obvious what position the master had in the Cottage. It seemed like whether he could have a happy life in the future would depend very much on the master.
Thinking about this, he widened his eyes at Yi Xiaoshi who was beside him. Because of him, the master had such a bad first impression. Ye Futian hoped that the master would not mind that incident. Yi Xiaoshi, however, did not seem to have noticed anything as he continued to walk forward in silence.
The group arrived at the hut, where Luo Fan and Xue Ye were busy cooking. The master sat down, and the second sister also sat down beside him. The third brother remained standing so Ye Futian and the rest clearly did not dare to sit down.
“Why are you all looking at me? Sit down.” The old man widened his eyes at everyone.
“Yes, master.” The third brother nodded and sat down. Only then did the rest follow.
“Master, when you were not here, I took a disciple privately, Futian. You have also met with him. Yu Sheng is Futian’s good friend and is helping to cut wood in the Cottage. Luolan Xue is Futian’s servant and takes care of his accommodation,” Gu Dongliu said.
“Okay.” The old man nodded. Smiling, he looked at Ye Futian and Luolan Xue and said, “Kid, you really know how to enjoy yourself.”
“Master, that time I actually did not want to agree to Luolan Xue becoming my servant. However, the brothers and sisters told me that you may return to the Cottage anytime. Therefore, I asked her to stay here so that if you have anything, you can ask her for help,” Ye Futian said, smiling.
“You started thinking for me before even seeing me. How filial.” The old man smiled and looked at Ye Futian.
“That’s what I should do. The second sister and third brother have told me that as a Cottage disciple, the most important thing is to respect the master. They often remind me to show filial respect to you when I see you,” Ye Futian continued, grinning. Although Mr. Du had been smiling and looked very friendly, Ye Futian felt that Mr. Du was able to see through him, causing him to feel somewhat stressed.
“Terrific.” Luo Fan who was cooking looked at Ye Futian in admirable. When Ye Futian said this, he also complimented the second sister and third brother.
Yi Xiaoshi also sighed in his heart. He had yet to learn Ye Futian’s skills.
“Little brother is right. In the Cottage, apart from Xing’er little brother has always been the most obedient one,” the second sister said, smiling.
“Second sister, you’re the best!” Ye Futian was somewhat touched.
The old man nodded and said, “Recently the Eastern Barren Territory is not peaceful. Girl, didn’t I warn you against fighting easily outside?”
“Master, I also did not want to, but someone really needed a good beating, so I had to fight. Furthermore, if we did not do that, they would probably send an army here directly. Since you don’t care about this, what else can I do?” the second sister said, feeling wronged. Perhaps we will only be able to see this side of second sister in front of the master, Ye Futian thought.
The old man sighed and said, “Try not to fight anymore.”
“I know.” Zhuge Hui smiled and nodded.
“Master, now the Eastern Barren Territory is in a mess. Qin Dynasty is wildly ambitious and has opened the tomb of their ancestors. Now, they even invited Donghua Clan, Fuyun Sword Clan, and Royal Xuan Temple to enter the tomb and cultivate. If Qin Dynasty really leads various forces in the Eastern Barren Territory and come here, what should we do?” Gu Dongliu asked. In the past, the master was absent so he and Zhuge Hui managed everything in the Cottage and made decisions themselves. Now the master was back so he obviously had to ask the master for his opinions.
“I don’t even understand why they are fighting for a place like the Eastern Barren Territory.” The old man shook his head. “While I was outside, I heard that the Liu Kingdom was destroyed. Futian, a few descendants of Liu Kingdom are good friends with you right? Are they the two people just now?”
“Yup, Feiyang and Chenyu are my friends. I knew them before entering the Cottage.” Ye Futian nodded.
“How miserable.” The old man shook his head and said, “Power and desire always blind people. In the past, I have warned you that because of your strength, you will naturally want to kill and have more desires. In the future, you must always remind yourself that the stronger you become, the more you should try keeping to your original self.”
“Yes,” everyone nodded. When they entered the Cottage, the master had already reminded them about this. This time he was probably telling it to Ye Futian.
“Dongliu, it’s especially for you. You’re too incisive and penetrating,” the old man said to Gu Dongliu. “You should learn from your big brother.”
“Over the years, I have been going to Sword Saint Mountain regularly to learn from him,” Gu Dongliu nodded. “However, I still feel that if we encounter a force like Qin Dynasty, one that would kill others easily to satisfy their own desires, we need to stop them by destroying them.”
“If you are slightly stronger, I think you would have gone to Qin Dynasty directly, right?” the old man asked, looking at Gu Dongliu. Gu Dongliu remained silent. There were too many unfairness in the world and it was impossible for him to intervene with everything. The Liu Kingdom did not have much of a relationship with the Cottage, and what happened to it was quite irrelevant to them. However, their destruction happened right before everyone and in particular, it affected the Cottage disciples negatively. Hence, murderous thoughts began to develop in Gu Dongliu’s mind. Thus, when Qin Ge, a prince of Qin Dynasty, came to Book Mountain for Ye Wuchen, Gu Dongliu killed all the people from Qin Dynasty. This was his sharpness.
“It is reasonable to stop their killing by killing them. I can’t say that you’re wrong. However, the people who have decided to eliminate the Liu Kingdom are still the higher-ups in Qin Dynasty. In every force, there are people of different kinds. For example, every member of the Qin Dynasty has his own family and children. If we destroy the whole dynasty, how many innocent people will die? How will it be any different from the destruction of Liu Kingdom?”
The old man seemed to have turned more solemn. He continued in a serious tone, “If one day, you can kill anyone with the sword in your hand, and you stop any unfairness you come across by killing the wrong party, how much blood will stain your hands?”
“Moreover, even if you destroy the Qin Dynasty, there will be a second Qin Dynasty in the future. The world of cultivation is always like this. He who gains power gains desires. Stopping their killing by killing them will never change anything.”
“Master, therefore you always teach us that humans are unpredictable. The only person who can change all these is the one who sets the rules,” Gu Dongliu said.
“I have just returned. Let’s not talk about such a serious topic. Five, is the food ready?” the old man shouted, smiling.
“Yes. Master, you should eat first.” Luo Fan and Xue Ye started to serve the dishes.
“Master, eat more.” Zhuge Hui helped the master to fill his bowl, while Beitang Xing’er also served the master.
Hearing the conversation between the master and third brother, Ye Futian had many thoughts in his mind. Qin Dynasty was like this because the people who set the rules within the Qin Dynasty were like this.
According to ancient books, 300 years ago the Divine Prefectures of the East were in a total mess. Peace returned only after Donghuang the Great and Emperor Ye Qing unified the world. Many schools and academies were built. That was why his hometown Qingzhou had Qingzhou Academy. However, even so, both Qingzhou Academy and Donghai Academy were filled with people with various selfish desires. Gu Mu from Qingzhou Academy and School of the Emperor Star in Donghai Academy were all like this.
In any case, real emperors were still the people who could influence the world. Now, the master had established the Cottage in the Eastern Barren Territory which only had a few disciples. Perhaps, he was trying to build a different kind of place.