Chapter 7 - A Different Path

Opening the door and looking at the empty room, Liu Yu sat down silently at the table, his face full of complex emotions.He had been sitting there all day.

As the sky grew darker and the sun had gone down, Wu Chi dragged his tired body back to his house.

“Who’s there?” After taking a step inside his room, Wu Chi felt the abnormality and asked in a cold voice.

“It’s me.”

When Liu Yu’s voice rang out, Wu Chi’s nerves immediately relaxed and he said while grinning, “Senior Brother, you’ve frightened me! Why did you sneak into my room without saying a word in advance?”

“You usually aren’t afraid of ghosts knocking at the door if you don’t feel guilty about something. Tell me… did you do something bad behind my back again?” With a cold gaze, Liu Yu questioned Wu Chi.

“No, I’ve always been the most honest.” Wu Chi shook his head like a rattle drum, and he changed the topic.

“Senior Brother, I’ll brew you a cup of tea.”

Liu Yu reached out his hands to stop Wu Chi, and said, “Well, never mind, Junior Brother, let’s go back early tomorrow morning.”

His hand that was reaching the teapot paused slightly, and Wu Chi became confused.

“Senior Brother, why? Didn’t we have a deal that we won’t go back until the funeral of Master Zhou?”

“The situation has changed, and the Shadow Sword Villa is in danger now. With our abilities, we can’t assist the Shadow Sword Villa in resolving the current trouble so it’s better for us to leave as soon as possible.”

Shaking his head, Liu Yu continued, “Now, go pack up your things. I’ll go and bid farewell to Miss Zhou later.”

“!”

When Wu Chi saw that Liu Yu was going to leave, he quickly stopped him and said, “Senior Brother, isn’t this too rude? We should leave after the funeral of Master Zhou.”

“Oh?” Liu Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at Wu Chi questioningly.

“This isn’t what you said before. Junior Brother, tell me, why do you want to stay?”

“…No, I want to go back.” Wu Chi quickly denied, “I only think that since we’re already here, we might as well complete the goal of our visit, which is to stay for the burial, right? The burial is only by a few days, and we aren’t short of time anyways, yes?”

Liu Yu banged his fists on the table, and the cup on his table was knocked due to the shock from the slam. His face showed a sign of anger, “Damn, up to now, you still won’t tell me the truth?”

“N-No, I… didn’t do anything!”

“You still dare to pretend to be innocent? Tell me, where did you go today?” Staring at Wu Chi, Liu Yu asked impatiently.

Wu Chi wasn’t foolish and knew that he couldn’t hide this matter anymore. He touched his nose and carefully asked, “Senior Brother, you knew about  matter?”

“You are so close to Miss Zhou that you even practice together every day. This matter was known to almost everyone. Who else do you want to hide it from?” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Wu Chi’s face finally changed. “Senior Brother, are you telling the truth?”

“Luo Kun has sent out the news to take your life, do you think it’s true or not?”

Looking at his junior brother complicatedly, Liu Yu asked in a disgruntled way.

After patting Wu Chi on the shoulder, Liu Yu warned him, “Junior Brother, you shouldn’t be too close to her! We aren’t qualified to be involved in this trouble. Listen to my words and let’s leave the Shadow Sword Villa early tomorrow morning.”

“Senior Brother, I…” This moment, Wu Chi’s heart became a mess, his voice became somewhat bitter, and he became silent…

“Come on, Junior Brother, this matter isn’t what we can handle.”

…

On the other side.

“Come back, Miss. He won’t come back.”

The first ray of dawn that fell on Zhou Boyan’s body seemed a little cold. Biting her lips tightly, Zhou Boyan said nothing, but she was feeling a sense of loss.

Usually at this time, Wu Chi would sit cross-legged and absorb the morning .

Nobody knew how long it took for Zhou Boyan to break out of her silence, she softly spoke.

“Uncle Shui, who can I trust now?”

“After the death of Master Zhou, today’s Shadow Sword Villa became nothing but an empty shell, everyone who stayed could be aiming for materialistic gain. Now we can only believe in ourselves.” With a sigh, the middle-aged man said slowly.

During the past few days, Wu Chi had accompanied Zhou Boyan to practice sword, and this matter was clearly known to the middle-aged man.

Although he never believed that Zhou Boyan could reverse the Shadow’s sword intent, Wu Chi’s existence could undoubtedly provide her with some hope.

If the worst comes to the worst, even the slightest bit of hope can provide her with the strength to move on. The problem was… Luo Kun’s power was stronger than anyone else.

When it came to opposing Luo Kun, ?

“?” Her fingers, which were holding the hem of her clothes, became pale due to her exertion. Zhou Boyan closed her eyes and muttered to herself in a quiet voice.

Opening his mouth, the middle-aged man wanted to console her, but nothing came out of his mouth…

Maybe Zhou Boyan didn’t expect a response from her muttering…

…

Their carriage was parked at the gate of Shadow Sword Villa the same as when both of them first came.

“Junior Brother, get on the carriage!”

Looking at Wu Chi, who was still standing in the doorway, Liu Yu said with mixed emotions.

If possible, he would not let Wu Chi leave at this time. Unfortunately, with his strength, and the strength of Iron Sword Group, he would surely die in vain, and might even implicate their entire school.

“Senior Brother, am I in the wrong?” Feeling lost, Wu Chi asked hoarsely.

“Yes, you are wrong. You are wrong in not practicing hard. You are wrong in being so lazy in the past.” Patting Wu Chi’s shoulder, Liu Yu said softly.

“The world is a cruel place, your destiny  be yours if you have no strength. If you don’t want to repeat today’s events, practice well. With your talent, you may not lose out to those disciples from famous schools in the future.

It was difficult to grow up without experiencing a setback. In Liu Yu’s eyes, this setback was not necessarily a bad thing for Wu Chi.

However, watching his lazy junior brother being so depressed now brought him indescribable pain.

After a long silence, Wu Chi suddenly bowed down his head to Liu Yu.

“Sorry, Senior Brother, I can’t go back.”

Although his voice was very light, it was full of determination..

“What are you going on about, Junior Brother?” Liu Yu couldn’t help turning pale upon hearing this.

“Do you know what it means to stay?”

“I don’t know what it means to stay, but I do know what it means for me to leave.”

With a strong shake of his head, Wu Chi resolutely spoke up.

“What you said before about me not practicing well made me understand a lot of things.”

“The practice itself is not always smooth sailing, you have to face many difficulties and multiple obstacles. I can back down once, but I can’t back down for a lifetime.”

He took off the identity talisman that symbolizes his identity as a disciple of the Iron Sword Group from his waist and placed it on the carriage. Wu Chi’s face then became relaxed.

“From childhood, you always said that I was mischievous, so… let me be mischievous once again.”

“”

Liu Yu resolutely objected, “This is a matter regarding your life and death! I can’t let you go. Even if I need to force you back, I will do so.”

“Senior Brother, you can tie me up once, but can you tie me up for a lifetime?” There was no hesitation in his voice, and Wu Chi asked back calmly.

“Stop talking nonsense. You have to go back with me today.” Glancing at Wu Chi, Liu Yu heavily shouted at him.

During the conversation, Liu Yu took a step, and tried to catch Wu Chi. He resorted to using strength.

For many years, when Wu Chi didn’t obey him, he used this method to deal with his mischievous junior brother.

A clear and crisp sound of drawing the sword, like a flash of thunder, stunned Liu Yu.

Wu Chi took out his sword and pointed it towards Liu Yu.

Luo Kun was caught unprepared by Wu Chi’s move.

“You drew your sword against me?”

Shaking his head, Wu Chi softly replied,”I am far weaker than you. If I don’t draw my sword first, I will be captured by you in a moment.”

This sword was, of course, not meant to hurt his senior brother, but to prove his resolve.

“Junior Brother, are you crazy?” Liu Yu asked incredulously.

“I’m sorry! But I have made up my mind, this is a path I have to walk on, no matter what the result will be! This is my sword path.”

These simple words sent Liu Yu’s heart in a tremor…

His eyes fell again on Wu Chi’s face. The face was still immature, but under that immature face, it was neither a mischievous facade of the past nor a face of someone who wanted to prank others, but a serious face he had never seen before.

“Senior Brother, as you’ve said earlier, even though this isn’t a matter I should meddle in, I still want to try… maybe this is the way I should live my life…”

At this moment, Liu Yu finally saw a trace of their master’s shadow on his junior brother, and had also realized many things.

The original anger seemed to disappear in an instant, and he silently looked at Wu Chi for a long time, and then sighed softly.

“Junior Brother, you have really grown up.”

In fact, Liu Yu always thought of Wu Chi as a little child. Although he had talent, he could not meet up to their master’s high expectations.

From the depths of his heart, there might even be a little bit of disdain towards his junior brother who was always lazy!

However, it was only at this moment that he finally understood the difference between his junior brother and other disciples in the school.

Perhaps that was what their master said about the person’s heart and their path of the sword.

The carriage slowly left and gradually disappeared from Wu Chi’s vision.

“Take good care of yourself, Junior Brother!”

Pushing the window open, Liu Yu said without looking back.

Everyone had a different path to thread. He couldn’t help force Wu Chi to follow his own path nor could he follow Wu Chi’s path.

The Iron Sword Group was too small to withstand the current turbulence. He undertook the responsibility of inheriting the Iron Sword Group, so he couldn’t act arbitrarily like Wu Chi.

Besides, he knew very well that even if there were no responsibilities placed on him, he still wouldn’t have the courage to do so.

The best he could do was to say goodbye to his junior brother and wish him luck…