Chapter 333: Side Story: One and the Same (1/2)

Zhou Ziyun still didn’t understand but chose to drop the subject. She continued the training session with Chen Wentian watching and giving out occasional pointers. When the session ended near lunchtime, Lin Qingcheng and Zhou Ziyun went off together, having made up and became best friends once again. Left behind and forgotten were Chen Wentian and an awkward Bei Yingluo who stood to the side, not quite meeting his eye.

“Yingluo…” He called.

She jumped and bowed quickly, “Yes, Elder Mo!”

“Eh? I’m back to being Chen Mo? Didn’t you say I was your master, that all my forms were one and the same?”

“M… master! I’m sorry!”

Chen Wentian laughed, “I take no offense. Relax, come here.”

She obeyed and stood beside his chair. She had her head lowered, looking at her feet uncomfortably.

He studied her for a moment before reclining in the chair casually. “I was a little surprised by where the conversation went. Lin Qingcheng is rather special. She is my first disciple and in case you haven't noticed, she is a freak. I wasn’t surprised by her open feelings but I was surprised when you agreed with her. I remember you weren’t comfortable with the idea and I respected that. What made you change your mind?”

Bei Yingluo calmed her nerves and answered slowly, “Master, may I speak honestly?”

He smiled kindly, “I expect nothing else. Don’t worry, I am a fair person.”

“Master… I greatly appreciate your life-saving grace and the resources that I’ve been given. I really do. But lately, there’s been some unsatisfaction from my clan members which caused me to change my way of thinking.”

“Who?” He asked.

“My mother…”

Bei Yingluo explained, as tactfully as possible, how her mother got steadily frustrated by her daughter’s lack of cultivation progress as well as the lack of attention from Chen Wentian. Truthfully, he hadn’t paid much attention to her after recruiting her to his sect. Resources such as spiritual crystals and cultivation manuals were fine they couldn't replace the teachings of a master. The problem was that he simply wasn’t able to find much time for her.

She was the eleventh disciple and thus the last in the pecking order. In the past months, his attention was first focused on the ice sisters to get them into the top one hundred of the Monster Fighting Competition. Then it was the Golden Feather Hunt followed by the battle with Abbotess Liang.

Her mother expected more attention for her daughter after the major events were over but was sorely disappointed. Chen Wentian had returned from the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis and immediately disappeared into secluded cultivation with Wu Qianyu.

“I sincerely apologize. Yingluo, I’ve let you down.” Chen Wentian said, truly feeling bad for the situation.

“Master…”

“The thing with Qianyu is very important. But I agree that it has taken up much more time than I expected. I really cannot leave her at the moment and it's unfair to the rest of you. The only thing I could do is use this form to make sure you all were doing alright. I should apologize to the others too.”

Things came at him one after another and there was no rest for a hard-working master. There was still Jasmine, Lin Qingcheng, Zhou Ziyun… his time was severely limited and he couldn’t be everywhere at once. Any mother would have worried about her daughter’s prospects. It was completely natural and he didn’t blame her.

Bei Yingluo nodded and continued, “The final straw wasn’t Senior Sister Wu but Senior Sister Long’s situation. I didn’t tell them the details but simply that you would have to travel to faraway lands for long periods to help train her. When my mother heard this, she became very agitated and finally suggested that I ask Elder Mo for help and perhaps develop a relationship with him…”

Chen Wentian choked on a cup of fruit juice, “Cough, cough… really? She said that to your face?”

“She did… I rejected her of course but her words nagged at me. I recalled how you described Elder Mo as your incarnation, that you were the same person behind the physical differences. I thought about it for a while and realized the truth behind your words although I had to ignore some inconceivable parts.”

Bei Yingluo paused and looked up at him. Their eyes connected and she blushed, “My mother also told me the story of the ancestral matriarch of the Bei clan. She was a powerful woman at the Spirit Initiate Realm. She made a name for herself in Drifting Sand City using her strength and beauty. What made her unique was that she had three husbands, three at the same time.”

“Really?” His perverted imagination awoke at the possibilities of such a situation. “Wait, so… three husbands at the same time. They were fine with it and she was fine with it?”