WJ Chapter 14

Making Plans (3)

Guan Wujue pushed open the door to Qingjue Residence.

Just as he expected, he saw chaos everywhere.

Yun Chanjuan might be young, but her heart was truly vicious. Before leaving, she had ordered people to smash everything in Qingjue Residence that could be broken and shatter everything that could be shattered into pieces.

The Four Treasures of the Study, jade and porcelain ornaments, and other small items were naturally destroyed, but even the tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets weren’t spared—all reduced to nothing but broken wood and debris scattered across the floor. As for bedding, cookware, clothing, and other daily necessities, everything had been moved out completely clean, leaving nothing for the master of the residence.

(TL: Four Treasures of the Study = specifically, they refer to the traditional Chinese scholar’s tools: Brush (筆, bǐ), Ink stick (墨, mò), Paper (紙, zhǐ), Inkstone (硯, yàn))

Of course, Miss Chanjuan didn’t just remove things—she also sent in some new things that weren’t there before.

Guan Wujue watched expressionlessly as a bowl-sized black rat arrogantly squeaked and scurried from one side to the other, startling three or four cockroaches along the way and trampling several ants to death.

Two warty toads, reeking of the foul stench from muddy ditches, squatted haughtily on the smashed headboard, croaking loudly at the Protector. “Ribbit! Ribbit ribbit?”

The malice from a spoiled young girl of this age naturally couldn’t compare to the dangers of jianghu conflicts, but her skill at disgusting people was truly first-rate.

Guan Wujue glanced around once, then calmly closed the door and went back out.

He really didn’t have the strength or the mood to clean up this mess right now. Moreover, he would likely have to leave the sect again soon, and since this place was already uninhabitable, there was no need to stay.

He sat down casually in the corridor, leaning slantwise against a pillar as he gazed into the courtyard.

In the courtyard were the destroyed cinnabar plum trees. Every branch of each tree had been snapped off one by one, and the bright red plum blossoms had been viciously trampled into the black muddy snow, now all rotted away. Only the last trace of a faint, lingering fragrance remained in the corridor, and even that was about to dissipate completely.

The longer Guan Wujue looked, the more uncomfortable he felt. These cinnabar plum trees had been a gift from Yun Changliu years ago. Every winter they would bloom, beautiful as rouge spilled onto snow, fragrant enough to be smelled even from the Sect Leader’s Yangxin Hall.

He had thought he would see them as soon as he returned this time.

He hadn’t expected them to be gone just like that.

Some things really could disappear just like that, without warning.

Guan Wujue gradually began to feel tired. He hadn’t closed his eyes since yesterday morning until now, and he’d taken that blow from Yun Guyan, which aggravated old hidden injuries that were now aching dully. If it had been before it would have been fine, but after a year of being tortured and wandering about, he often felt his stamina couldn’t hold up anymore.

He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed softly a few times, then closed his eyes, wanting to take a short nap first.

……

He didn’t know how long he’d been dozing, but in his half-dreaming, half-waking state, Guan Wujue sensed someone’s presence approaching, as if someone was reaching out to touch him.

Like a sharp blade piercing through his mind, his constant vigilance cultivated over years instantly jolted him awake. Guan Wujue’s eyes flew open, his right hand instinctively reaching back for his sword, his left hand forming a blade strike, bringing with it deadly killing intent as it shot toward the person—but the moment he recognized the familiar face, he urgently pulled back his force.

Guan Wujue’s palm finally came to rest gently against Yun Changliu’s snow-carved, jade-like neck.

Yun Changliu wore a wide-sleeved white robe embroidered with crimson-gold dragon patterns. His features remained as cool and detached, elegantly beautiful as an immortal deity. He was slightly bent forward, still frozen in the posture of reaching out to touch Guan Wujue’s wrist.

“Sect Leader!? This subordinate has committed an offense, please forgive me, Sect Leader.”

The red-robed Protector was truly startled and hastily tried to pull back and stand up, but Yun Changliu gently pressed down on the hand at his neck, leaving him instantly uncertain whether to move or stay still.

The usually aloof Sect Leader completely disregarded that his vital point was being threatened, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Guan Wujue’s other hand gripping the sword hilt, his voice somewhat strained. “You… what happened to you?”

Guan Wujue followed Yun Changliu’s line of sight downward and saw several drops of fresh blood in the palm of his right hand, still dripping down between his fingers and snaking across the dark gold sword hilt.

He was confused for a while before realizing it might be congealed blood he’d coughed up while semi-conscious just now.

“This subordinate…”

Yun Changliu was still waiting for an answer, but Guan Wujue really didn’t know how to explain the process of angering the Old Sect Leader, so he could only gloss over it vaguely. “This subordinate clashed with the Old Sect Leader last night…”

He cleared his throat guiltily, pretending to be composed. “…and received a warning. I deserved the punishment.”

Yun Changliu’s complexion was extremely poor. He began staring at Guan Wujue again without speaking.

Guan Wujue was quite troubled by this. His Sect Leader already wasn’t good at talking, and now he was deliberately refusing to speak properly with him repeatedly—this was clearly making things difficult for him.

Especially this time, he was also completely baffled: Ah Ku was receiving acupuncture treatment at the Medicine Gate, yet the Sect Leader hadn’t stayed with him?

By all logic, after being maneuvered by his words, the Sect Leader would definitely have gone to the Medicine Gate with Ah Ku. And seeing Ah Ku react so strongly to the needles, with the Sect Leader’s outwardly cold but inwardly soft nature and his regard for old sentiments, how could he bear to leave the person alone with Guan Muyan?

The Protector naturally didn’t know he’d been outmaneuvered by his adoptive father. The problem was that Sect Leader Yun absolutely refused to speak, yet looked at him with such an expression of complex emotions…

Guan Wujue really couldn’t bear to watch his supremely graceful and unparalleled Sect Leader be stifled to death by this quirk, so he called out, “Sect Leader…”

Unexpectedly, this time Yun Changliu proactively interrupted him, saying softly, “What were you doing at Yanyun Palace? You caused Danjing’s death… why did you still go to provoke my father?”

Guan Wujue: “…” Actually, the Old Sect Leader injuring him had nothing to do with Young Master Danjing.

“You really are…” Yun Changliu frowned, but his voice was unexpectedly gentle, as if he wanted to scold him a bit but after a few words couldn’t bear to continue. “Are you even listening to this lord?

“With internal injuries, you just sit here without a care?

“Yun Chanjuan did such despicable things… how could you just let her bully you like this?

“You really are… are you giving me the cold shoulder?”

…So the Sect Leader had already gone inside Qingjue Residence to look around. No wonder he was like this—he was probably feeling terribly guilty and distressed inside right now.

Thinking this, Guan Wujue silently averted his eyes. At that moment, he suddenly had an impulse to retort: Indeed, wasn’t I afraid you’d punish me with another few dozen lashes of the Bone-Crushing Whip? The words reached his lips but he still silently swallowed them.

Those words were too harsh—how could he bear to stab at the Sect Leader’s heart like that?

So Guan Wujue just hung his head without speaking. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed the treatment of “staying silent while listening to the Sect Leader speak”—earlier at the Medicine Gate counted as once, and now barely counted as another. He didn’t know if there would be any more chances in the future.

He gazed at the wilted cinnabar plum trees in the courtyard with his mind somewhat blank, thinking to himself: Who knows if one day they’ll just disappear without warning…

—Actually, Guan Wujue rarely showed such impropriety in front of the Sect Leader. He was just still somewhat drowsy. He really wanted to continue sleeping for a while.

Yun Changliu immediately noticed he wasn’t paying attention and fell silent in the next moment, his beautifully shaped thin lips pressed into a tight line.

Guan Wujue sighed inwardly with some disappointment—sure enough, it was over.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across his face. Guan Wujue lifted his lowered eyelids. It was Yun Changliu taking another step forward, bending his head to come closer to him.

Yun Changliu stood while Guan Wujue sat in the corridor—the distance between the two of them became very close all at once.

In the courtyard, the remaining snow hadn’t melted yet.

A few sparrows hopped about, then suddenly flapped their wings and flew away together. Overhead, clouds like cotton wadding drifted slowly past. All around was peaceful and quiet.

Seeing that Guan Wujue showed no reaction, the Sect Leader looked very carefully, even somewhat cautiously, at his expression. His attitude softened all at once, and as he spoke softly by the man’s ear, it was like the first melting spring water lapping gently at the shore:

“The magnificent Four Directions Protector, so heartbroken over a few plum trees?”

Guan Wujue moved his lips and said quietly, “…No.”

Yun Changliu said guiltily, “I’m sorry…this lord will give you new ones to make up for it, all right?”

Guan Wujue smiled weakly. “Sect Leader, Wujue isn’t so worthless… they’re just a few trees, what’s there to compensate?”

Yun Changliu: “See, you are giving me the cold shoulder.”

Guan Wujue thought to himself: What is all this? Clearly you were the one who beat me and drove me away a year ago, and this time when I returned you’ve been giving me cold looks… how did it become me giving you the cold shoulder?

When Yun Changliu saw him looking down without saying a word, he felt things were going badly, and secretly regretted: Did I say something wrong again? Did I anger him again?

The Sect Leader pressed his thin lips together, then suddenly bent down and gathered his robes, crouching down in front of the Protector, forcing Guan Wujue to see his face. “I said the wrong thing this morning.”

Guan Wujue wasn’t surprised. His Sect Leader was just this kind of person—whenever he felt he’d done something wrong or wronged someone, if it wasn’t properly resolved, he would keep it in his heart.

He’d once said privately to Wen Feng that the Sect Leader was absolutely not weak or indecisive, but simply too nostalgic and too devoted. That’s why he would lose control of his emotions in rage over Little Master’s death, why he couldn’t forget Ah Ku who had risked death for him, and why he was crouching here now.

Guan Wujue sighed softly. With the Sect Leader crouching, he couldn’t continue sitting either, so he simply knelt on one knee in front of Yun Changliu. “In this subordinate’s presence, Sect Leader never needs to say the word ‘wrong’; even less so ‘I’m sorry.'”

Yun Changliu then said, “Then get up and come with me.”

As he spoke, he lightly touched Guan Wujue’s arm and tugged without much force—this was a gesture indicating he should stand up.

However, this unconsciously intimate gesture made Guan Wujue feel a spasm of pain pass through his stomach.

He really couldn’t do this, he and the Sect Leader couldn’t continue like this—it was precisely to stop this kind of thing that he’d gone to such lengths to find someone like Ah Ku! Why had things unknowingly reverted to how they were before!?

Guan Wujue covered half his face, his voice hoarse. “Sect Leader, please don’t…”

Yun Changliu interrupted him. “You can’t sleep here.”

Guan Wujue fell silent.

The Sect Leader sighed with slight worry and patiently coaxed, “…Just finding you a place to sleep, all right?”

Guan Wujue stood up helplessly and slowly, supporting himself on the pillar.

Yun Changliu’s words—he’d never been able to disobey them.