Chapter 9: Father and Daughter (Part 2)

Not long now! Hearing this, my heart suddenly tightened, and then I felt a kind of indescribable sadness and grief. In fact, in terms of relationship, Master Liu and I were not very close, and we had not met many times.

But what is my sadness at this moment? Is another person related to me and my master going to die? Or have I unconsciously developed some feelings for Master Liu?

I don’t want to think about this, but I admit that I feel uncomfortable. I don’t know if I should say this, but his daughter has a limited lifespan, only two years. In fact, Master Liu doesn’t have to do anything in two years, even though he once told me that he would take his daughter with him.

When I thought about this, I became even more silent. I couldn’t say anything about my reluctance or my doubts, and I certainly couldn’t say anything good, because I was facing life and death.

As if anticipating my attitude, Master Liu didn’t care about my silence at the moment, but said, “My body is considered to be exhausted and dying. If I perform the ritual again, even if I don’t go with my daughter, I definitely won’t live for a few more days. It’s better to go together, and have a companion on the road to the underworld. Chengyi, it won’t take long. If it weren’t for you bringing Guan Laidi back to life, I wouldn’t be at ease.”

“Master Liu, bringing Guan Laidi back to life is something I promised you, so it doesn’t matter if we delay our departure date a little. Besides, we originally decided to leave at the end of spring and beginning of summer, so this time is still appropriate.” I said as calmly as I could.

“Well, that’s good. I hope you can come to me a month in advance. I still have…” Master Liu’s expression was solemn, and it was clear that this was also a key point. I was listening carefully, wondering why I had to come a month in advance.

But at this moment, a sharp voice came from downstairs, interrupting our conversation: “Old thing, are you saying that you did it on purpose? Don’t talk to me about this. This has nothing to do with you. Old thing, what is your psychology? Are you going to blame me for the rest of your life? To put it nicely, you’re saying you’re worried about your daughter. To put it bluntly, are you a womanizer? ! You really are…”

I knew the voice was that of Guan Laidi, no, Liu Zhenmeng. I didn’t want to describe the extent of the abuse, but I saw a hint of fear in Master Liu’s eyes, and a wry smile on his face. He was silent and didn’t dare say much, but he wasn’t angry.

I am already past the age of passion. If it is not necessary, I can ignore general events, but at this moment, I don’t know why, the anger rising in my chest cannot be suppressed. Is this the kind of thing a daughter should say to her father? Is this the kind of thing a father who is willing to sacrifice two years of his life for you and bear the consequences of ten lives should say?

So, I didn’t even look at Master Liu’s expression, and I took a few big steps out of the room, stood in the hallway, and shouted in a low voice to Liu Zhenmeng, who was still yelling downstairs, “Apologize to your father!”

“I don’t think…” Liu Zhenmeng didn’t want to say no to me, but then she realized that something was wrong, so she froze for a moment, stopped talking, and realized that I was standing upstairs looking at her.

“Heh heh heh…” She looked at me and put on a smile, but I felt a bit awkward. Guan Laidi was originally pretty and simple, but now she was wearing expensive clothes and makeup, but no matter how I looked at her, she didn’t look as good as before. Maybe I didn’t know how to appreciate her.

Liu Zhenmeng laughed a few times and then said to me, “I know you, I recognize you, I am fine now, and I have to thank you! How did you have time to come here? You see, I haven’t even said thank you to you properly. There is nothing in this house, so how about I invite you out to dinner as a thank you.”

I was a little taken aback. Do I know her well enough to invite her out to dinner? And then leave Master Liu at home?

“He is my little friend, not one of those men you fool around with. He wouldn’t go out to dinner with you.” I suddenly turned around and found that Master Liu had already stood behind me. Under his hoarse and unpleasant voice, there was a kind of exhaustion that could not be concealed.

Liu Zhenmeng’s face suddenly turned ugly, and she scolded, “Old thing, who are you calling a fool? What kind of fool are you talking about? You better tell me clearly. You old…”

“You’d better not say it. I’ll tell you a secret, okay?” I could guess what she was going to say next. My face was extremely ugly, and I couldn’t help but interrupt Liu Zhenmeng.

Master Liu, who was standing nearby, weakly grabbed my arm, but I decided to ignore him. Should I let him live like this for the remaining six months? Although he didn’t say anything, I could guess what he was thinking.

Facing me saying this, Liu Zhenmeng did not get angry, but instead put on a smile, as if she was looking forward to my secret. She looked like she was going to go upstairs, but I said, “No need to come up, just stand there and listen. It’s not like you can’t hear it.”

“Then you say it.” Liu Zhenmeng’s face changed, as if I had not allowed her to come upstairs to get closer, hurting her self-esteem. Unfortunately, I didn’t care about the self-esteem of the girl I once sympathized with. The unfilial person is the one I hate the most.

“My friendship with your father is very deep. I feel uncomfortable when I see him having such a hard time. I originally had a secret that I always felt ashamed of and refused to tell. Now I can tell you, and that is that I am very good at fighting. I can’t help it. I will fight no matter if it is a man or a woman. Do you think this is a secret?” I said to Liu Zhenmeng very seriously.

“What do you mean?” Liu Zhenmeng’s eyes showed a hint of fear, but Master Liu was there, as if giving her enough courage, and she asked me in a questioning tone.

“It’s nothing, just a secret! I don’t want to come next time and see your father sitting at home, with no one to take care of him, unable to even drink a cup of tea.” My voice became a bit stern.

Master Liu sighed beside me, and in the end, he called me in a tone of reproach: “Chengyi.”

I kept quiet, but that didn’t mean I was comfortable with it. Liu Zhenmeng looked at Liu Shifu’s attitude this time, and she wasn’t trying to protect her. I don’t know what she was thinking. After a moment of silence, she suddenly snorted, grabbed her handbag, and rushed out of the house.

“You’ve made a fool of yourself,” said Master Liu, leaning against the railing and looking tired.

I didn’t answer, just kept silent for a while, and said to Master Liu, “You haven’t eaten, have you? I’ll go buy some food and some wine. Let’s drink and I’ll keep you company.”

“Okay, okay…” Master Liu hurriedly agreed. At this moment, where did he look like the mysterious, feared and respected descendant of the Shan family in Tianjin? He only looked like an ordinary, lonely old man.

“I never thought that my little girl would turn out like this. Chengyi, I feel so sad.” In Master Liu’s study, there were many dishes in front of us, and Master Liu had already eaten most of them.

We spent the afternoon chatting and telling stories about the interesting things that happened in the circle of cultivators. Unexpectedly, when the sun was setting, or perhaps the wine had had enough, or perhaps the bitterness in his heart could no longer be contained, Master Liu suddenly said something to me.

I didn’t say anything, and opened another bottle of Erguotou. Looking at Master Liu, he said repeatedly, “Pour it for me. It’s rare to get drunk a few times in life, and this may be my last time getting drunk.”

I poured the wine for Master Liu as he instructed, and in the process, I whispered to him, “What do you mean by ‘the last time I get drunk’? In a few days, you’re going to ask me to come over, right? I’ll drink with you every day.”

“Haha, that’s not possible. That month is when I’m going to pass on my tradition to you, so how can I drink?” Master Liu said to me with a pair of drunken eyes.

Master Liu wants to pass on his tradition to me? I was stunned for a moment, then shook my head gently and said to Master Liu, “Master Liu, I’m afraid I can’t learn that from you. I’m not good at it, and I don’t have the talent for it.”

Master Liu was furious and slapped the table, saying, “Do you look down on me or what? Are you going to let my craft die out? How can I face my ancestors?”

“No, really not!” I said seriously to Master Liu, and then after thinking for a moment, I said to Master Liu, “If you don’t mind, I can recommend someone to you. This kid must be a genius in making things, because he was once a master of the formation, and he is a master of the formation of the younger generation.”

“Hmm? This device formation is indeed very important. After all, many things have to work, and the main thing is to engrave the formation. I trust the character of the person you introduced, just like you and your master. I trust their character, so bring him to me when the time comes.” Master Liu took a sip of wine and surprisingly agreed very straightforwardly.

I can understand his straightforwardness. At this point in time, there is not much left in life. It is already lucky to be able to pass on this tradition, not to mention that it is a talented young man with a reliable character to carry on this tradition. Master Liu had no reason to refuse.

As if he had agreed to this, and also put down a big worry for Master Liu, he took a big drink of wine and said to me, “Chengyi, don’t blame Zhenmeng. In fact, I can’t hate her after all. It’s all my fault. No matter how good a child is, if they have to lie in bed for such a long time and suffer physical pain, and watch themselves ‘rot’, their psychology will be distorted. It’s me, it’s my fault. Why should I be angry with her?”

I didn’t say anything, I just drank with Master Liu. If thinking like this made him feel better, then let him think like this. Which parents aren’t like this? Even if their children make a thousand mistakes, in the quiet of the night, don’t they find reasons for their children in their hearts?

Fatherly love and motherly love are indivisible, the most resilient kind of love, which will never die even after death. If that is the case, why not find a reason to make yourself feel better?

There are some things and some loves that you can’t talk about principles. Even if the person you love is rejected by the whole world, you can’t help but love him (her).