Jing Jiu looked at her and thought seriously for a while.
Tonight was their first meeting; how should he evaluate her?
Appearance had never been his focus, and in the previous conversation, the little girl had shown a good temperament in all aspects.
The question is, is my opinion of you that important?
It wasn't until he remembered that Bai Zao first asked if he and Zhao Layue were Cultivation companions that he understood her meaning.
"I don't think about these things; it has nothing to do with you," he said.
"This means that in your opinion, I'm not bad."
Bai Zao's eyes suddenly brightened, like a stream illuminated by the morning sunlight.
"I remember someone said that Lo Huainan and Tong Yan could become your Cultivation companions," Jing Jiu said.
"Big Brother Luo is my father's disciple, and Tong Yan is my mother's disciple. My parents have their own ideas, but they're not my own." Bai Zao explained softly.
"Why didn't you choose them?" Jing Jiu asked.
No matter how he looked at it, Lo Huainan and Tong Yan were her best Cultivation companions, unless Zhuo Rusui or Guo Nanshan joined the competition.
"Because I don't like them," Bai Zao said with a smile.
"Do you like me?" Jing Jiu suddenly felt that this matter was a bit troublesome, so he asked.
It was ridiculous to say that they liked each other at their first meeting.
"Yes," Bai Zao said with a sweet smile.
"What do you like?" Jing Jiu asked.
"I like your chess," Bai Zao said. "Your chess is beautiful, even though you insist that chess is just a game, and it has nothing to do with beauty or ugliness."
"I probably won't play chess anymore," Jing Jiu said.
"I heard that your talent in the way of the sword is the best in Aoyama," Bai Zao said. "I like it very much."
Jing Jiu thought about it and said, "I rarely use a sword."
Bai Zao said, "This time, I gave up painting and joined calligraphy because I was inspired by your game of chess. I heard that you have a disciple in Aoyama who is also outstanding."
Jing Jiu was silent for a while and said, "Gu Qing … is right, but that's because he has a good temperament. It has nothing to do with me."
Bai Zao said, "I like your indifferent look the most. Maybe it's because I care about too many things and can't be like you, so I think you're very good."
Jing Jiu knew that it would be very difficult to change his lazy temperament. He thought about it and said, "Actually … I cultivate very hard."
After being rejected four times in a row, Bai Zao was still not angry. He said softly, "I like your appearance the most."
Jing Jiu didn't say anything. He couldn't use the Thoughtless Sword to cut a few wounds on his face.
Bai Zao said, "I'm congenitally deficient, and cultivation is very difficult. I look weak on the outside, but I've developed a straightforward temperament. I hope you won't think it rude."
Jing Jiu said, "I understand. I'll also say very directly that it's impossible."
…
…
Bai Zao left.
Jing Jiu picked up the cup of tea and walked to the window again, looking up at the night sky.
The tea was still cold.
After he said that, Bai Zao didn't say anything else. He just glanced at him.
He didn't know how to describe that look in her eyes. Faint? Or leisurely?
But he could read her eyes.
Because he had seen such a look many times in the past. It wasn't until he went into seclusion at Shenmo Peak that he saw it less often.
It was because he thought these looks were too troublesome for him when he stayed behind closed doors at Shenmo Peak.
Even now, he still avoided some places because of those looks, like Qingrong Peak …
He didn't expect to see such looks again at the Plum Meeting.
Bai Zao was a young girl who lived passionately, contrary to her weak appearance.
She was outstanding.
It was admirable.
What else could he do?
All he could do was to find a way to avoid them, just like he had done before.
…
…
The next morning, Jing Jiu woke up on the bamboo chair.
He remembered to bring the bamboo chair with him when he came out of the mountain, so he seldom slept on the bed.
The sunlight shone on the begonia outside the window. The flowers had almost fallen off, but the greenness was even more exuberant, making the eyes feel comfortable.
Jing Jiu took down the iron sword from the bookshelf and called out the sword fire. He washed his face and left the Jing House.
The disciples of Aoyama had been keeping an eye on the Jing House because they were worried that Jing Jiu would do something reckless, and so were other forces. However, they didn't discover Jing Jiu's departure.
When Jing Jiu wanted to disappear, nobody could sense his energy.
It was the same as when the swordsmen of Bihu Peak wanted to kill Zhao Layue on the Sword Peak.
…
…
In an ordinary house in an ordinary alley.
Jing Jiu pushed open the courtyard door and entered. He saw two chickens looking for food on the ground with their heads lowered.
The two chickens were very skinny. The chaff on the ground and the cabbage moss with only dead leaves left showed that they had a poor diet.
Jing Jiu glanced around the small courtyard and walked into the room.
He looked at the man sleeping on the table and asked, "Who asked you to do this?"
…
…
Shi Fengchen wasn't as bored as he had been in the last two days. He had been searching everywhere outside Zhaoge City because of the assassination of Zhao Layue, and he was busy reading the files when he came back to the city. He came back home late last night. He read the files a few more times, and fell asleep unknowingly.
Hearing the sound, he lifted his head from the table and rubbed his tired eyes.
The blurry image became clearer, turning into a tall figure.
Then, he saw the unforgettable face, and he woke up instantly, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
…
…
The case in the Mingcui Valley had aroused much speculation and discussion.
The murderer had been identified as Wei Chenzi, an elder in the Yuanying State of Zhongzhou School.
Then who was the mastermind behind this?
Royal Concubine Hu had been suspected the most so far.
Everybody knew that she had a grudge against Zhao Layue, and it could even be said that it was an unresolvable grudge.
Besides, she had a good relationship with Zhongzhou School. Given her status in the Royal Palace, it was possible for her to persuade the elder in the Yuanying State of Zhongzhou School.
Few people had already confirmed that Wei Chenzi was the assassin of Bulao Lin. But who had asked Bulao Lin to do this?
Because of the remnants of the soul-fires in the wild forest of the Mingcui Valley, many people suspected that this was a plot of the Underworld.
The Underworld might have intended to use this incident to provoke a conflict between the two leaders of the orthodox sects in Chaotian, in order to gain some benefits.
But these were only conjectures, because there was no evidence.
The truth was like the sky covered by a great deal of fog; one knew it was there, but couldn't see it.
Nobody associated Shi Fengchen with the mastermind of this assassination. Though he had led the highly achieved swordsmen of the Pure Heaven Bureau to pursue Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu for a long time, and though he had said some harsh words to Zhao Layue at the Four-Seas Banquet in front of so many Cultivation practitioners …
He was an official … and an official of the Imperial court, of course he had to say those words.
How could such a marginalized official of the Pure Heaven Bureau have the ability to threaten the Aoyama Sect? How could he be qualified to do such a big thing?
He used the word "official", but not the word "daring".
Nobody suspected Shi Fengchen.
But Jing Jiu came to his home and asked him this question.
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