[BL] Eternal Spring ✔️

第三十八章

A/N  Sorry guys, I was busy for three weeks and its finally spring break (￢0￢)

"Shifu."

The bamboo forest's green was muffled by the carpet of white snow. With fingers dipped in frost, they stood vigil over the pair of figures, one ten paces behind the other. The young man's call reverberated across the stalks, swallowed rapidly by the chill air. The man ahead paused, turning his head slightly. His posture was ramrod straight, sword by his side and dark robes dusted with soft flakes. His thin lips curled up, the boundless disappointment and ridicule rising in that pair of wolf's eyes shattering the illusion of peace.

"You still dare to come here? Are you offering your head to me?"

With gentle movements, the young man directly knelt in the snow, kowtowing to the teacher who'd raised him for more than a decade. "Qingyuan asks for his master's forgiveness. I...have been unfilial."

"Tsk, you still know to ask?" Mo Wu turned to face his disciple, the sword in his hand ringing out as it was unsheathed. "I might as well directly kill you!" Liu Qingyuan lifted his head.

"Master, this time...," He slowly got up, ignoring the blade pointed at his chest. "I won't be going back with you."

"You think I still want to take you with me? Come. Do you dare to fight me?" Staring down the edge of his master's sword, Liu Qingyuan felt a sting in his heart. After all, for most of his life, this was the very scene he'd feared the most; that a day would come that his master saw him as trash by the side of the road. Now, he'd seen part of the world and he understood the complexities behind human emotions. Nothing was simply black and white, and love and hatred were interwoven indefinitely.

"As you wish." He lowered his head, slowly, but resolutely drawing his own sword. Since he'd decided on this path, he'd have to have the conviction for it. "Today, this disciple will fight you. Our paths...will be separate from today onwards." Mo Wu's eyebrow twitched, displaying a trace of surprise. After more than a decade, how could he not recognize the hint of worship in the boy's eyes? It seemed that things had truly changed, if he wasn't willing to give up everything for him anymore.

"Very good!" Mo Wu's face twisted and he lunged forward without warning. Liu Qingyuan hurriedly raised his sword, melodious chimes ringing out in the forest as their blades clashed. The two exchanged moves, communicating through the sweep of the blade. Stubbornness, anger, disappointment. Resolutment, determination, and unwillingness. Mo Wu kicked Liu Qingyuan solidly and he stumbled back into a tree, spinning aside at the last moment. Chips of bark flew into the air. With the clang of metal accompanying their dance, he trapped his master's sword between the two solid forks.

"Why do you have to target him?"

Mo Wu sneered, pushing Liu Qingyuan's sword away. The branch, along with several bamboo fell to the ground, sending up a plume of icy flakes. "You still want to ask?" Liu Qingyuan gasped slightly, stinging pain crawling up his arm as his blood painted the snow red. He blocked Mo Wu's next blow, but inevitably was still pushed to the ground. He turned his head slightly, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed in the face as Mo Wu thrust his sword downwards. The hair at his temple stirred, disturbed by the slight vibrations carried through the air from the blade.

"Why him?" He persisted, teeth gritted as he held Mo Wu's arm in an effort to stall him for just a moment. "Why their royal family? You have long wandered the world, what grudge do you have with them?"

The sword was pulled loose from the ground at the same movement Liu Qingyuan pushed up. He was slightly heavier than his master, so even if his master was superior in training, he was still unbalanced for a moment. That gap was enough for Liu Qingyuan to get out of his passive position. The two men breathed hard, facing each other with disordered silhouettes.