The Art of Subduing Dragons

Chapter 20

This time, it was Luo Qingci's turn to be taken aback. It wasn't just because of Ruan Li's words, but also because of the hidden melancholy and mockery she couldn't completely hide when she mentioned "delusions."

This wasn't merely repeating someone else's viewpoint; it was her own inner thoughts.

"You're so young, yet you speak with such old-fashioned airs. What's 'purity of heart' and what's 'greed, anger, ignorance, and resentment'? To seek the Dao with all your heart and force yourself to be indifferent and emotionless— isn't that also a form of greed? Isn't it ignorance? Everything grows together without harming one another, and the Dao proceeds in harmony without contradiction. Nature is full of wonders, including the wind, flowers, snow, and moon. Embrace and appreciate them, as they are part of the natural order. Isn't that in line with the way of Heaven? You don't have to be obsessed, just appreciate it. What's wrong with that? Don't forget, even if you seek the way of immortality, you are first and foremost a human. If you can't even be a good person, what are you seeking immortality for?" Luo Qingci said all this in one breath before realizing that the person she was lecturing was actually a dragon, not a human.

So she clumsily added, "Even if not a human, one should still follow their own nature and walk their own path."

After saying this, she noticed the vigilance in Ruan Li's eyes and could only ramble, "As for me, I enjoy staying here, driving away fireflies, and admiring the wind and moon."

Ruan Li was silent for a long time, seemingly contemplating her words. Then she replied earnestly, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. I have gained much from it."

Luo Qingci observed her every gesture and expression, thinking to herself that her disciple had indeed improved. She was much better than the little dragon cub she once was, who used to show every emotion on her face.

She felt like teasing her properly disciplined disciple and asked, "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"Huh? No, I'm not afraid of the dark. It's just that it's inconvenient to walk in the dim forest," Ruan Li quickly refuted, caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic.

"Oh, I saw you stumbling earlier and thought maybe a ghost was chasing you."

Ruan Li hesitated, seeming to detect the teasing in Luo Qingci's tone, and fell silent again.

"Alright, I've seen you going back and forth a couple of times. You must be lost. Don't walk alone at night. Also, don't be so stubborn. You're from the same batch as the other disciples, right? They've all gone back, but you're running around on your own."

Ruan Li lightly shook her right hand and said somewhat dejectedly, "I have just taken Master Huaizhu as my teacher. According to the rules, I should have returned to Zeyuan with them. But Master forgot about this, and she flew back with me on her sword. Seeing that we were almost there, I had to walk back and come again."

This time, it was Luo Qingci who fell silent. "Your master really is unreliable. You must be feeling resentful about this."

She inwardly regretted her words. Although she wanted to maintain a somewhat poor image of the master, she didn't want to accumulate hatred. She knew well that Ruan Li was quite stubborn; she should have just let her return and walk back on her own, rather than creating such a situation.

Ruan Li, however, shook her head, sincerely saying, "She may be unreliable, but she didn't mean to make things difficult for me. She gave me a clear path and suggested I finish the remaining stretch. It was me who felt it wasn't right, so I returned."

Luo Qingci was taken aback.

Heavens, is this the heroine? So clear-headed? Even in the face of someone who has destroyed her clan and killed her father, she can still analyze things rationally without thinking the worst of them.