Chapter 18: Shuiling's Worries

  Updated at 10 pm tonight, seeking votes

  Watching Iverson, Walker and Klia walking back and forth on the playground to supervise training, Liuyun felt that they were very much like monitors. Thinking of these three people following him, he hadn't had time to have a good chat with them yet, plus there were some things in his heart that he wanted to clarify, so he beckoned to the three of them.

  "Yun Shao, looking for us with something?" Iverson hurried over with two people.

  "Hmm. Iverson, I think you should be the leader of the three?" Through a period of observation, Liuyun discovered that Walker and Klia always followed Iverson's opinions, which made him feel somewhat strange about the relationship between the three swordsmen.

  Iverson nodded slightly and then gently nodded. "Actually, they are my attendants."

  "Since I decided to follow Yun Shao, I've been telling them that from now on we'll be following you together, and there will no longer be a distinction between master and servant. But they may not be able to change their ways immediately." Before Yun Shao could speak, Iverson hastily added.

  "Big brother, you're being too cautious." Liú Yún smiled and patted Iverson's shoulder. "I'm the kind of person who likes to ask questions when I feel something strange. Besides, I didn't accept your loyalty, I only accepted you as my brother." Although Liú Yún directly refused Iverson's loyalty, Iverson still maintained a respectful attitude towards him as if they were master and servant.

  "I once told Yun Shao that we came to the Huoyun Empire to avoid our enemies. These two people, all along the way, protected me and I was able to survive. When we set out, there were a hundred people with me." As he thought of past events, flames of hatred blazed in Aifosen's eyes.

  "Big brother, let bygones be bygones. Living in hatred is not as good as temporarily forgetting the hatred and striving hard with a light heart. When our strength becomes strong enough in the future, what should be repaid will be repaid." Only three out of a hundred people were left, how cruel the pursuit and difficult escape must have been, said Liu Yun to comfort him.

  "Yun, since meeting you, I've had a strange feeling about what I've seen and heard. It's that being by your side, maybe someday I'll have the power to avenge myself, so I chose to follow you. I hope you don't mind." Iverson said sincerely as he looked at Liú Yún.

  "Elder brother, you're worrying too much. As long as a man can make something of himself, what does it matter if he has three thousand enemies?"

  Iverson turned his head to look at the little kids on the playground, then turned back around and said seriously to Liuyun: "I've thought about it for a long time, I hope you can grant me one request."

  "Big brother has something to say, little brother will definitely try his best." Liú Yún looked at Iverson and said seriously.

  "If one day my enemies come after me, I'll take them away with me, don't you dare to stick your head out for me. These children are still young saplings, they are the hope of your future." Iverson said slowly.

  "If you treat me as a brother, you shouldn't say such things. If I treated you as an elder brother, I wouldn't agree either." Liuyun shook his head and refused Aifosen's request.

  Iverson was deeply moved, and because of this feeling, he insisted on his request even more. "If you don't agree, the three of us will leave your side as soon as possible to avoid bringing disaster to you too."

  "Alright, I'll grant your request." But in his heart, he had other plans: "If that day really comes, it will depend on whether your enemies have the ability to take me down." However, what kind of opponent could make Iverson feel so tense? Thinking that Iverson might also be from a noble background, this matter was likely related to some high-level struggles within the Western Kingdom, so Liú Yún didn't ask any further.

  Lao Ka has been in a bad mood lately. First, Liu Yun got injured and pushed all the work onto his head. Just as he was waiting for Liu Yun to recover, this kid forced the title of hospital director onto himself. He even said "the position of hospital director has always been held by old people", making Lao Ka feel that the world has changed, with old people always rushing forward while young people hide behind and enjoy the benefits.

  Complaints aside, Lao Ka still accepted Liuyun's arrangement. He knew that Liuyun must have had other things to take care of. Moreover, the sentence "peach blossoms fill the world, teacher's kindness will never fade" made him feel a hint of comfort amidst his hardships, and he obediently walked into Liuyun's trap. As for understanding human nature and grasping psychology, perhaps no one in this world was clearer than Liuyun.

  "This horse is so comfortable that it's about to fly into the sky." Liú Yún was very satisfied with his own horse-petting skills after successfully designing Lǎo Kǎ.

  Fortunately, the magic training won't start until the students have completed their first phase of training, so Old Card feels relatively free and hasn't bothered Flowing Clouds yet. As he strolls around, he sees Waterspirit staring blankly into space and decides to go bother Flowing Clouds after all.

  "Ling'er, what are you staring at here?" Old Ka walked up with a smile.

  "Oh, Uncle. Just arrived here, a bit unaccustomed." After arriving at the ranch, Old Ka began to call her Ling'er. Looking at the kind old man who was about the same age as her father, and adding that he usually took good care of her, she tacitly accepted it.

  "Ling'er, have you noticed that after that kid returned to Kaidenburg, he changed in an astonishing way."

  Lao Ka was the one who saw the changes in Liu Yun most clearly. After feeling unbelievable, he couldn't think of a solution and could only choose to believe that Liu Yun had met a master from a hidden world, which led to today's changes.

  Then, he tried to guide Shuiling, letting her slowly walk out of the shadows of the past. He knew that even a slight change in Shuiling would make Liuyun feel flustered, and then he would have a good show to watch.

  "Hmm. He's gotten better now, and what he does is increasingly inexplicable." Shuiling said softly.

  "Alas, you've only seen one side."

  "Oh," Shuiling's curiosity was piqued, "then Uncle, you tell me."

  The fish has taken the bait.

  Lao Ka smiled with satisfaction, "Actually, since he came back, I've discovered that not only has he changed, but it seems like he's been through a lot of hardships. Many times, I feel like he's a very lonely and sad person. I really don't know what happened to him."

  "At least you still have me to hate, and I, who can I hate?"

  "Water girl, temporarily forget the hatred in your heart, watch over me for a moment, okay? I just think that when I fall asleep, I won't be so lonely."

  Shuiling thought of what Liuyun had said again. She knew that the sorrow, desolation and loneliness could not be disguised.

  Why, in such a mood, do you still want to make a blood oath with me? What kind of pain is going through your heart? Shuiling was momentarily bewildered.

  "This child has sworn a blood oath, I think he will do it, and you can also believe him. Ling'er, people cannot always live in hatred, if one day, when your heart no longer hates him, what will be left?" Old Ka looked at Water Ling'er who was deep in thought and continued to say.

  "What is left in my heart without hatred?"

  Shuiling's mind flashed with many scenes: he was like a child, putting his nose to the bun and smiling happily as he smelled the fragrance; he swung his sword and cut off his hair, making a blood oath before leaving; after being stabbed by Shuihan, he endured the pain and said, "I'll take your one sword, to resolve your hatred"; he stood on the stage, speaking eloquently to the wandering hearts; he smiled at Shuihan and said, "If you find me doing anything evil again, you can still stab me with your sword."

  That white-clad, long-haired figure, that sunny smile, that childlike helpless expression, became more and more real in front of Shuǐ Líng. Could it be, without hatred, these would remain in my heart?

  "I'm afraid that by the time you stop hating, he would have already given up and fallen. Xiao Yun, is actually just a pitiful child, carrying too many burdens."

  Seeing that his goal was almost achieved, Old Card struggled with all his might to squeeze out a few tears, but ultimately failed, and so he left.

  But behind him, Shuiling shed a crystal tear. This tear was without hatred.

  At dusk, Liu Yun came to the cafeteria and had dinner with the students. This was also his requirement for all instructors in the college.

  When Walker pointed out that this was not in line with the style of a noble, Old Card looked at him with a sneer, thinking: "Poor kid, can you still see any aristocratic awareness on his body? Saying such things is just asking for a scolding!"

  No sooner had he spoken than Liyun said, "Put aside your miserable aristocratic thoughts! Everything here is new, including your way of thinking. Everyone eats together and many things can be discussed at the table, which saves time. Besides, if you don't stay with your students, how can you know what they are thinking about? How can you know whether they have eaten their fill or not?"

  His past dislike of the tedious meetings in the army made Liú Yún develop a habit of discussing matters over meals within his own sphere of influence. And blending in with his teammates had always been his long-term style.

  "What a damn aristocracy, mostly just an organic combination of lard and bean dregs." This is Liu Yun's evaluation of the aristocracy in this world.

  When Liu Yun and a row of instructors entered the cafeteria and sat around the table with everyone else, the students' eyes were all drawn over. Due to disciplinary constraints, no one spoke out, but after being stimulated by Liu Yun's group, their appetite increased significantly, and they just leaned forward happily eating, making a rustling sound like spring silkworms eating mulberry leaves, which made Liu Yun feel great: "Ah, this is the feeling of a military camp!"

  When the rice in Li Wan's bowl was almost gone, a pair of white and slender hands reached over from beside him to take his bowl.

  She looked up to see Shuiling, and suddenly she was so flustered that she didn't even know where to put her hands. When she took the bowl back, she muttered a "thank you" in a daze, causing Old Cardamom to laugh so hard that he almost spat out the soup in his mouth.

  After dinner, Liú Yún left the academy alone and came to the grassland by the small river. The surroundings were quiet, occasionally you could hear a few insect calls, which added a sense of "the deeper the mountain forest, the quieter".

  The river water flows silently to the distance, the floating clouds sit on the grassland by the bank, the eyes fall into the clear river water, and gaze at the green color of the river bottom in a trance.

  "The water caltrop on the soft mud, swaying gently at the bottom of the water. In the gentle ripples of your eyes, I am willing to be a waterweed."

  "At that time, we just sat by the small river like this? I looked at your enchanting eyes and teased you. Moon, after a busy day has passed, in this dusk, I will feel empty again, as if everything suddenly had nothing to do with me, and I am still the same as before."

  "I like to take some time to think of you, struggling in the midst of longing and pain, my empty heart becomes full again. Will you still go see that small river in our hometown? Foolish girl, the happiness of two people, when savored by one person, is a strong bitterness. The kind of sorrow that comes with the passing of time, the heartbreaking tears that flow before words can be spoken, how can you bear it?"

  " Forget me, leave your thoughts with me, in different worlds, we will bravely live on together, okay?"

  The clouds floated by, lost in thought, a delicate figure stood afar, gazing longingly.

  The sunset left a drunkard's red, disappearing in the depths of the grassland, and another day came to an end.