HSSB356: Two Sikong Qings
Xu Fei had always been mature and capable. Even now, his expression remained sunken.
However, Yan Zhaoge could feel that he wasn’t actually calm inside.
“Senior apprentice-brother Xu,” Yan Zhaoge pondered for a bit before saying, “That year, Little Shi Jun should only have been three. It can’t be certain how much he understood about the situation back then.”
“The matter with senior apprentice-brother Shi afterwards, and also with eldest apprentice-uncle, if Little Jun asks about it after waking up…”
As Yan Zhaoge said this, his voice became slightly heavier.
Hearing his words, Xu Fei said softly, “All these years, Jun’er has been in slumber. He should not be aware of all that’s happened in the outside world.”
“While he looks to already be ten years old, his mind and memory should have remained at when he was three, with time needed for him to adjust to it.”
“He has always been clever and intelligent. I believe that as time passes and he grows up, he will be like other children in the future.”
“When his mind has grown healthy, I will tell him everything, not keeping things from him.”
Xu Fei raised his head, thinking for a bit, “Including the matter of senior apprentice-brother Shi falling to the dark side as well as what happened afterwards-I will tell all I know to Jun’er.”
Yan Zhaoge nodded quietly, “That’s also good. Otherwise, if someone in the know were to tell him the truth afterwards and he feels that we have been deceiving him, it would instead birth resentment within his heart, easily allowing those with malicious intentions to make use of him, just hoping that it will not be like with senior apprentice-brother Shi.”
Sighing softly, Yan Zhaoge shook his head, “This possibility does exist.”
Xu Fei gazed at the ice coffin, “At the same time, there is also the possibility of him agreeing with Master’s actions.”
Yan Zhaoge said, “This will have to depend on your usual education of him, senior apprentice-brother Xu. People have different understanding of things; everyone’s views on the same issue can be vastly different. Even for grown-ups like us, it would also be very hard for us to completely avoid letting our likes and dislikes influence our judgment, let alone children.”
If nothing went wrong, Shi Jun would be entering Broad Creed Mountain following this. As long as he was talented enough and could pass the test to become a core, direct disciple, his Master had already been decided to be Xu Fei.
This was Xu Fei’s own personal request, at the same time also being the will of the clan.
Xu Fei said quietly, “I will fulfil my duties as a Master. Still, at the end of the day, Jun’er’s personal path in life still has to depend on Jun’er himself. Some things cannot be forced.”
Yan Zhaoge agreed with him, “Yes, that is indeed so.”
As time passed, Yan Zhaoge could feel the vitality within Shi Jun’s body flourishing within the ice coffin.
Focusing on Shi Jun, he saw that while his eyes were still closed, his eyelids moved slightly, as though his eyeballs were moving about beneath.
“It’s coming,” Yan Zhaoge and Xu Fei both had their spirits raised greatly.
Yan Zhaoge bent down and clapped down on the ground before him with his palm, the small scale spirit formation within the room instantly circulating, countless spirit patterns lighting up.
A great amount of dazzling, coloured steam rose up within the room. While it was formless, the vitality contained within could tangibly be felt.
As Yan Zhaoge tapped lightly on the ice coffin, the steam converged where the ice coffin was, before unceasingly merging within it.
The body of the boy within the ice coffin moved once more, his eyes finally opening.
Seeing this, Yan Zhaoge and Xu Fei both let out simultaneous sighs of relief. The two exchanged glances, actually having the feeling of a lifetime having passed.
The boy rubbed his eyes, as though he had just awakened from sleep, wanting to flip over his body to sit up.
Yan Zhaoge waved his hands, the lid of the coffin opening, as that boy gazed dazedly over.
Two big, one small, the three stared at each other for a long while before that boy gradually came back to his senses, first smiling at Xu Fei, “Uncle Xu!”
Then, he looked at Yan Zhaoge, sounding slightly doubtful, “Little Uncle Yan?”
“Right, it’s me,” Yan Zhaoge smiled.
Shi Jun’s intelligence was such that he had already been able to recognise people from the time he was still a little child.
However, when they had last met that year, Yan Zhaoge had still been a youth of a bit over ten years. Currently, already a youth of over twenty years, his appearance had surely changed somewhat, causing Shi Jun to be unable to confirm his identity immediately.
However, hearing Yan Zhaoge’s reply, little Shi Jun instantly smiled happily.
Surveying his surroundings, he asked curiously, “Where’s father and mother? Where’s grandfather?”
Yan Zhaoge swivelled his head to look at Xu Fei, sighing softly, “Senior apprentice-brother Xu, it’s all yours.”
Yan Zhaoge had already handed over the ice coffin containing Ying Yuzhen’s body over to Xu Fei to take care of.
Hearing his words, Xu Fei nodded, moving forward and lifting Shi Jun out of the ice coffin. Only now did Shi Jun react, lowering his head to look at his hands and feet as he realised perplexedly that he seemed to have grown by a lot, as though his body was not his.
After accompanying Little Shi Jun for a while, Yan Zhaoge turned and left the room, leaving it to Xu Fei to deal with things.
He walked towards the courtyard. Currently, it was dawn, the newly rising sun today exceptionally beautiful.
Seeing the sunrise, Yan Zhaoge murmured to himself, “Sunrise is good ah, a new sun born in the morning…”
Now, Ah Hu entered the courtyard, understanding as he saw Yan Zhaoge, “Young Master, Little Shi Jun has awakened?”
Yan Zhaoge nodded, “Yeah, senior apprentice-brother Xu is taking care of him inside.”
Ah Hu gave a simple and honest laugh, “This way, Elder Shi can also be a little more comforted.”
Yan Zhaoge asked, “In coming here, is there something?”
“En, Young Master, it’s like this,” Ah Hu’s expression appeared slightly strange as he answered, “Walking in the city just now, I heard a rather strange piece of news.”
After having holed himself up within Stone Rock City for a number of days, seldom leaving their lodgings, Ah Hu had gradually refined the dragon blood that remained within his body, finally no longer appearing like a sad blue giant.
In recent days, the big guy finally dared to go out onto the streets once more. Thinking back to the earlier situation, it really was something that he wanted to cry bitterly about.
Ah Hu said, “In Stone Rock City, a seaman mentioned that travelling through the Outer North Sea earlier, he encountered Miss Sikong.”
Yan Zhaoge said casually, “Junior apprentice-sister Sikong? She decided earlier on to temper herself in the outside world, accompanying Jade Sea City’s Senior Brother Song, Junior Sister Li and the others in coming to the Water Domain. Leaving the Water Domain for an outer sea afterwards, it is not that strange.”
“While it is very dangerous, it was a path that she herself chose, and we are not in a position to say much about it.”
Ah Hu scratched his head, “Young Master, Miss Sikong heading out for tempering and someone spotting her outside would indeed not be any strange at all.”
“However, that seaman said that he saw two Miss Sikongs.”
Hearing his words, Yan Zhaoge lifted his brows slightly, “Oh, could they be twin sisters? This is indeed rather unexpected. Junior apprentice-sister Sikong is an orphan, having entered the clan at a young age; I had not heard that she had any relatives. I would not have thought that she would actually have such an encounter on the outer sea; it can also be considered something to rejoice about.”
Ah Hu pulled back the corners of his lips, “But, Young Master, from what that seaman said, Miss Sikong and the other party were fighting at that time.”
After pausing for a moment, he increased the intensity of his tone, “It was not sparring, but a true life and death battle!”