Watching the Mountain

Xu Ran was beginning to understand why Shen Wuchen’s Comprehension was rated Ding-Lower.

The man was completely single-minded. Once he decided on something, he would stick to it no matter what, making it nearly impossible to change his mind.

For instance, he believed Ye Qingyue was a wicked woman trying to corrupt his Dao Heart. As long as he was set on that idea, he would view everything she did from that starting point.

Xu Ran had a feeling that if things were left to their natural course, this student of his would probably remain single for the rest of his life.

Currently, Shen Wuchen was hard at work helping his senior brother, Zhang Zhentian, return to the path of invincibility.

’Since my student is putting in so much effort, I, as his teacher, should give him a reward. Something like... giving a little push to a major event in his life.’

He wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed meddling in other people’s affairs. If it were anyone else, he would never have interfered in such a matter.

But with Shen Wuchen, there was truly no other option. It was making him anxious just watching.

Since Shen Wuchen was such a consistent and single-minded person, then by that same logic, once he initially developed feelings for Ye Qingyue, he would remain just as consistent and unchanging about them.

Xu Ran could sense this. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be playing matchmaker.

’Judging by Ye Qingyue’s previous reactions, she must be interested in Shen Wuchen, too.’

’In that case, as his master, I’ll take matters into my own hands. I’ll see if I can make this happen and bring them together. I’ll consider it a reward for Shen Wuchen for helping his sect brother.’

*

*

*

Ye Qingyue was truly a beauty. Her features, figure, and disposition were all exceptionally charming.

More importantly, she was one of the few women Xu Ran had seen in the Cultivation Realm who exuded a distinctively youthful aura.

Different worlds and different cultures create different kinds of people.

The young people of the Cultivation Realm could be high-spirited, lively, cheerful, or even a mix of mature and childish. In terms of behavior, they weren’t all that different from the people of Xu Ran’s previous life. But when it came to their overall disposition, the difference was stark.

But Ye Qingyue was different. She gave Xu Ran the impression of having that unique, youthful energy exclusive to the high school or university students of his past life.

She was about the same age as Shen Wuchen, yet she still had the appearance of a young maiden, and her disposition had never changed.

This was perfectly normal in the Cultivation Realm, however. A Cultivator’s appearance was never linked to their actual age.

Ye Qingyue was quite surprised by Xu Ran’s visit. They had interacted before regarding matters of the Wangyue Sect, but they’d had almost no contact since.

In response to Ye Qingyue’s inquiry, Xu Ran just smiled faintly. "Wuchen is my disciple, and you are my disciple’s future Dao Companion. Is it not perfectly normal for a master like me to visit his disciple’s Dao Companion?"

In truth, it was rather impolite and quite presumptuous of him to say such a thing right away, but he had done so deliberately to see her reaction.

Of course, he wouldn’t have been so bold if not for what happened after the New Domain Grand Tournament, when she had so commandingly shielded Shen Wuchen.

It was precisely because of that moment that he dared to speak this way. He had a feeling Ye Qingyue wouldn’t get angry.

And just as he’d expected, Ye Qingyue didn’t get angry upon hearing his words. Instead, she looked at him with some surprise and asked:

"Have you already accepted him as your disciple? Didn’t he say you would only take him as your disciple after he defeated the Evergreen Sword Saint?"

"He even told you all that? It seems you two are very close indeed," Xu Ran remarked with a sigh.

Ye Qingyue seemed to realize the implication of his words only then. She lowered her head slightly, her face blushing, and said, "Please don’t tease me. You know we don’t have that kind of relationship."

Xu Ran feigned surprise. "If you say that, aren’t you afraid your fellow sect members from back then will get angry?"

He was referring to the sect members she had stopped during the New Domain Grand Tournament, and the things they had said when she denied her relationship with Shen Wuchen.

Everyone understood what was going on. Those sect members might have sounded like they were joking around, but to put it plainly, they were trying to add fuel to the fire and break the ice between the two of them.

A bit of heckling, a bit of helping a romance along—it was the most common thing in the world among young people.

’Still, Ye Qingyue’s reaction just now made Xu Ran even more pleased with her.’

’He had previously thought Ye Qingyue was too clever, that a person like her might be too much for Shen Wuchen to handle.’

’But seeing that her first reaction was to his calling Shen Wuchen his disciple, rather than the "future Dao Companion" comment...’

’...it revealed what was truly on her mind.’

’That being the case, what was there to be dissatisfied about with this prospective wife for his disciple?’

Ye Qingyue saw the smile playing at the corners of Xu Ran’s eyes and said with a sigh of resignation, "That was just some joking around between sect members. You can’t take it seriously."

Xu Ran fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Whether they were serious or not is beside the point. What matters is what you think. You should know my disciple’s personality by now. If you’re waiting for him to figure things out on his own, well, that’s going to be difficult. It’s hard to say if it would even happen in this lifetime."

"I came to you because I don’t think you’re the type to get bogged down in trivialities. You seem like someone who dares to love and dares to hate. If you have no feelings for him, I’ll leave right now, and we can pretend today never happened."

Having said his piece, he waited. After a long moment of silence from Ye Qingyue, he stood up, making as if to leave.