Chapter 624 - 192: The Missing Senior Brother
"Chen Yan senior... do you have any dissatisfaction with my actions?" On the phone, Chu Keqing’s voice carried a slight tremor: "Is it because I protected Luo Qing that it upset you?"
Chen Yan was taken aback and then said softly, "Keqing, I didn’t think that way."
"Really?" Chu Keqing’s tone had a hint of grievance: "You only replied with a ’good’ character; I thought you were unhappy."
"I’m really not unhappy." Chen Yan pondered: "After all, he is your senior brother. I understand if you want to protect him. Besides, this matter isn’t too severe. Although I am annoyed, it’s not to the point of wanting to kill. You breaking one of his legs is punishment enough — but he always uses your name to deceive others. Even if he doesn’t manage to swindle people close to me, he will still harm others."
"Mm, after this time, he won’t use my name to do these things anymore." Chu Keqing said.
"That would be best, otherwise, a deception is a deception, regardless of who it’s against." Chen Yan sighed: "You should have done this earlier; otherwise, it’s just indulging evildoers."
Chu Keqing’s voice on the other end trembled: "I..."
Then she was silent for a moment, speaking softly: "Chen Yan senior, I’m not trying to excuse Luo Qing; it’s just... there are reasons for why he became this way.
My senior brother, since childhood, has always felt bitter in his heart."
After a pause, she continued softly: "He is my master’s only son. From the moment he was born, everyone took it for granted that he would be the rightful future Cloud Sect Leader.
Many of my master’s disciples are exceptionally talented; several of them successfully embarked on the path of cultivation and achieved accomplishments.
But Luo Qing, the presumed ’next Sect Leader successor,’ couldn’t even get started in cultivation, despite years of hard training, unable to sense even the slightest Primordial Qi.
My master’s disappointment in him, the disciples’ gossip behind his back, and his identity as the ’Sect Leader’s only son’ and ’future Sect Leader successor’ pressured him through his youth and young adulthood until he became increasingly twisted... Luo Qing wasn’t as bad as he is now when he was young.
It was only later, when he fell into despair, that he gave up on himself and let things slide."
As she spoke, Chu Keqing seemed to sniffle, her voice tinged with nasality, murmuring: "I know, no matter what, he shouldn’t harm others. Whatever his problems, they shouldn’t be an excuse for hurting others.
It’s just... it’s just that, so often, it’s hard for me to be harsh.
My master was very kind to me, and it’s really hard for me to be too harsh to his only son left behind.
Moreover... when I was young and just started cultivating, Luo Qing was also very good to me, treating me like a brother..."
Chen Yan sighed upon hearing this, then stated in a serious tone: "Keqing, no need to say more, I’m not angry with you.
I have no objection to how you dealt with Luo Qing."
After a pause, he said slowly, "However, I still want to give you a piece of advice. Since you still hold the bond of fellow disciples with Luo Qing, you should keep a closer watch on him. Don’t let him continue to harm others; otherwise, when disaster strikes, he will have to bear the consequences.
The proverb says ’spoiling a child is akin to killing him.’ Your feelings for him shouldn’t be used to clean up his mess after he’s caused trouble but instead should be spent on keeping him in check regularly."
Chu Keqing was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "I understand, these past years I’ve acted inappropriately. In the future, I will assign someone to keep an eye on him, to prevent him from having the chance to stray again."