Su Yao had gone no further the moment she laid eyes on a fluffy spirit beast.
She had meant to keep a few spirit foxes once, and her own disciple had vetoed it flat.
"Master... do you have any idea how much spirit beasts like that shed? And you're this lazy. In the end it would be me cleaning up after them."
The image of her disciple wearing that fussing expression surfaced in Su Yao's mind.
A thread of regret welled up in her.
And Dumpling was being kneaded into every shape a dog can take, which was misery past speaking of.
"Woof... stop touching me, damn it!"
Dumpling lay belly-up, rubbed into a sprawl of four splayed legs.
Seeing how happily Su Yao was playing, all the childishness in her not the least bit worn away.
"So this Elder Su really is no different from a child."
Gu Ning had no wish to disturb the one person and one dog at their game, and turned to go into the room and find Su Qiuyin.
Only to find a small twin-tailed head sprouting conspicuously from the door frame.
"Huh?"
Gu Ning looked at this appalling attempt at concealment, braced a hand against her forehead, and laughed helplessly.
She reached out and, with a clunk, rapped Su Qiuyin's small head.
Gu Ning had used no force at all, only a light knock, but Su Qiuyin still let out a startled little yelp, exactly like a cat taken by surprise.
"Eek!"
Su Qiuyin came out of the room, her small face faintly red.
"Senior Sister, I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose..." Su Qiuyin could hardly fail to know why her master had taken Gu Ning outside.
Wasn't it for her sake?
She knew, too, that she had been acting out of character, driving herself into a dead end over cultivation, and had secretly entered the sect grand tournament.
Her master was displeased. All she had ever wanted was for Su Qiuyin to apply herself in the field she was good at, rather than forcing herself endlessly at what she was not.
Su Qiuyin knew that perfectly well. But she wanted more than that to prove that she was not so bad at cultivation either, that she would not always be hiding... behind Senior Sister.
Her eyes darkened, and a single tear welled at the corner.
Gu Ning knew nothing of what was going on inside Su Qiuyin. She only saw a girl on the point of crying.
She grew anxious, assuming she had knocked her too hard.
"Are you all right, Junior Sister? Did I hurt you?"
A trace of guilt surfaced on Gu Ning's face, and she reached out a hand.
Su Qiuyin had not expected to find herself quietly in tears again, and hurried to lift her head and explain, so there would be no misunderstanding.
"It's nothing, Senior Sister. I'm only weak, that's all." Su Qiuyin shook her head. "It's just that on the last mission I was no help at all, and Senior Sister had to protect me and worry over me. It was Qiuyin's shallow cultivation dragging you down."
Watching Su Qiuyin blame herself, timid and small, Gu Ning felt as though she were looking at the shadow of her own past life.
In her past life she had been an ordinary boy, ordinary grades, ordinary family. And sensitive and full of doubt, dwelling for ages on one small mistake, terrified of displeasing anyone and being frozen out. She had walked on eggshells to keep a friendship, doing everything she could to please the other person.
Hearing Su Qiuyin talk like this, Gu Ning was fairly certain of it. Su Qiuyin was that same sensitive, fragile sort who sees only her own faults and never the thing that shines in her.
Gu Ning felt all the more that she had to help her.
Thinking that, Gu Ning reached out a fair hand and stroked Su Qiuyin's cheek.
She said softly, "Qiuyin, do you still remember the promise we made when we were small?"
At that faintly cool palm, Su Qiuyin lifted her small face in disbelief, looked at Gu Ning, and her mouth opened.
"A promise?"
"Yes." Gu Ning looked earnestly down at Su Qiuyin. "Did we not promise that if you ever wanted to learn the sword, I would teach you?"
"Learn... learn the sword... can I really?"
Su Qiuyin looked at that intimate gesture and felt her head was going to burn itself into confusion, her lovely pupils turning into spirals, the words coming out of her in broken pieces.
Gu Ning withdrew her hand and said in a joking tone.
"I was rather afraid you would refuse. If you had, your master would probably have swept me out of doors."
"Master really is..."
Su Qiuyin felt the lingering touch on her cheek, and hearing Gu Ning's words, cast a faintly resentful look at Su Yao, who was busy manhandling the dog.
But looking at Gu Ning with the corners of her mouth turned faintly up, set in that cold and flawless face, Su Qiuyin felt her heart lose half a beat.
She was rather struck dumb by it.
She had thought, after walking in on Gu Ning and Yu Ruo meeting at night, holding each other, that her feelings had come to nothing after all, and no end of jealousy had churned in her.
Senior Sister had refused Yu Ruo in front of her, true, but inside she had still felt hollow.
And now Senior Sister was not only smiling at her, she remembered the promise from their childhood.
She felt there was hope again.
"Maybe the one Senior Sister likes is me?" Su Qiuyin's eyes brightened. "Mm, that must be it."
And how was Gu Ning to know that one careless word of encouragement could bring Su Qiuyin to a conclusion like that, and dig her so enormous a pit. If she could read minds, she would not have said it for her life.
"Understood, Senior Sister." Su Qiuyin lifted her small face and clenched both fists, looking thoroughly full of spirit. "I'll cultivate hard, and I'll place well in the grand tournament."
Watching Su Qiuyin pull herself together, Gu Ning smiled faintly and set her mind at rest. The last thing she wanted was for the girl to go on sinking.
Because if Su Qiuyin ever learned the truth of her own origins, Gu Ning could hardly imagine what this fragile girl would become.
Whether it was sympathy at work, or a wish to leave Su Qiuyin one beautiful illusion.
In the end Gu Ning did not speak of the jade slip she had taken from the secret realm.
Even if Su Qiuyin came to know of it one day, by then she would be strong, and she would surely be able to bear it.
Gu Ning decided to let the matter rot in her belly.
"In that case, I shall come often to guide your swordwork." So saying, Gu Ning drew out a book and handed it over.
"《The Azure Frost Art》?" The corner of Su Qiuyin's eye twitched. She had not expected Gu Ning's own natal sword art, a method only a personally taught disciple was permitted to learn, and Gu Ning was simply handing it to her.
"This is far too precious..."
"It is nothing. This is only half the volume, suited to Foundation Establishment cultivation. Master will not hold it against me." Gu Ning shook her head, signaling that she need not worry and should simply cultivate well.
Warmth spread through Su Qiuyin's heart.
Gu Ning checked the hour. There was still some time before the appointment with her master.
"Read through the sword art's core method first. If anything puzzles you, tell me."
Gu Ning said it to Su Qiuyin.
***
Evening.
Su Qiuyin had got through most of the core method, and Gu Ning had answered each of her questions in turn. Though Gu Ning also found that Su Qiuyin genuinely was not gifted at cultivation, nowhere near the original owner's grasp of it.
But diligence makes up for dullness. With enough practice in the days to come, she could surely improve.
"Whew~" Gu Ning was struck by a sudden sense of having been a private tutor in her past life, and it was exhausting.
Su Qiuyin caught the flicker of tiredness in Gu Ning's eyes and knew she had been a burden, and said, somewhat crestfallen.
"Am I still just too stupid?"
Gu Ning shook her head and comforted her.
"Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not. But so long as there is a heart willing to learn, I believe there is progress to be made."
Gu Ning simply produced a bowl of chicken soup for the soul.
"It is getting late. I should be going back."
Gu Ning rose and took her leave of Su Qiuyin.
"All right."
Su Qiuyin stood and watched Gu Ning go, though she would have liked her to stay longer.
But at the thought that there would be many more chances, she was secretly delighted.
Gu Ning reached the doorway and saw Dumpling gnawing at a spirit herb.
Coming closer, she found that Dumpling's cultivation had actually climbed a fair way, to the peak of Qi Refining, a hair short of breaking into Foundation Establishment.
"Exactly how many spirit herbs have you eaten?"