Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Qin Shu tilted her head and looked at Fu Tingyu. She agreed. Although Master always wore a cold expression, a reassuring presence about him bespoke calm and a feeling of trustworthiness. He would not lie to them.

  “Only by climbing the mountain to see Master will all doubt be dispelled.”


  Fu Tingyu nodded and continued walking with her.

  Qin Shu might not remember the situation on the mountain, but Fu Tingyu remembered. He had been there once and knew what was going on, but it did not mean he broke the array.

  Qin Shu had to be the one to break it.

  Even if she could not remember a large portion of her past, experience had ingrained those skills in her. Her mind might not remember, but her body still did.

  Qin Shu knew how to break the array. Even though it was not the same as before, it was only a matter of time before she cracked the seal.

  Climbing Mount Qi was an arduous undertaking.

  It took them quite some time to reach the platform midway up the mountain. The platform overlooked the ancient city of Feng Yue, the sight of which caused a sigh to escape Qin Shu’s lips, “It’s such a waste of Master’s skills for him to lead the life of a hermit on Mount Qi.”


  Fu Tingyu could not help but give his pennies worth, “This is an era unsuited for Master. Things would have been different were we living in ancient times. He would have been a general, proficient in the military arts: arranging troops and setting up grand arrays.”


  Qin Shu burst into laughter, “Hubby, you’ve read my mind.”


  Just then, a cold voice rang from above. “Why are you here?”


  Qin Shu looked up. Standing on a tilting tree growing out of the steep mountain wall was a figure clad in white. It was a tall, slender man whose clothes fluttered in the wind. It reminded her of those mysterious figures in Wuxia dramas.

  Who else could it have been but her Master?

  How did Master know they were here when they were only halfway up the mountain?

  “I wanted to ask you a few questions, Master.”


  “Why didn’t you call, then?” The man clad in white asked.

  Qin Shu took a few steps forward, arriving at the edge of the platform. She faced her Master and said, “I can’t describe or explain these things over the phone. I needed to speak to you face-to-face.”


  Fu Tingyu stood by Qin Shu’s side. He stared at the man in a white windbreaker, doubt flashing in his eyes.

  It was his first time seeing his Master since descending the mountain, and he had many doubts.

  If it were not for Qin Shu confirming the man was their Master, he would not have known who it was speaking to them.

  His appearance had changed.

  If he thought their Master looked young in the past, it could not hold a candle to the man before him now.

  The only thing that hadn’t changed was his Master’s temperament. It was still as cold as ever. No one could glean his thoughts.

  Could Master have disguised himself in the past?

  Nevertheless, Master was still his Master however he looked. Respectfully, he greeted, “Master.”


  The man glanced at Fu Tingyu briefly before returning his attention to Qin Shu. “What is it you wanted to ask?”


  Qin Shu composed herself, organising her thoughts. With a sly smile, she asked, “Master has a girlfriend, doesn’t he?”


  The man paused, a thoughtful expression colouring his face. It only took a moment for him to guess how Qin Shu had come by such a piece of information. “Did Xiao Jiu tell you?”


  Qin Shu nodded. “Yes. Master has always lived a life of seclusion, and I feared you would be lonely. I even thought of introducing someone to you…… I’m relieved.” Qin Shu tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear before continuing, “Master, why don’t you take Mistress out for some fun? You could always stay with us at Bright Garden if you’d like a change of pace.”


  Mistress?

  What a sweet name.

  “We like the peace out here,” said the man in white.

  A foxy grin lit her features. “Master, I still have some other questions I would like to ask you.”


  “Ask them, then.”


  “Were you close to my mother? Is Master’s name Ziqing?” Qin Shu asked.

  A stunned silence accompanied Qin Shu’s question. Slowly, the man nodded.

  Qin Shu arched a delicate brow, revealing her sparkling canines, a saccharine smile gracing her lips. “So that’s why Master treats me so well.”


  Fu Tingyu turned to Qin Shu. He did not think she would dive to the heart of the matter so quickly.

  The man stared at her for what felt like an age. He flashed forward from his perch on the crooked tree, appearing before Qin Shu.

  Qin Shu exclaimed in praise, “Master is so amazing.”


  The man ignored her bit of flattery. “Xiao Bao, what is it you really want to ask?”


  “I want to show you something.” Qin Shu opened her backpack and withdrew Wen Xin’s portrait, giving it to her Master. “Did you draw this portrait of my mother?”


  The man blinked in surprise. He accepted the preferred article, staring at it with a complicated look. He never thought he would see it again, this painting. Had it not been destroyed when she left this world? He did not expect it to reappear in Qin Shu’s hands…… and so remarkably well-preserved too……

  “Where did you get this painting?”


  Qin Shu sized up the man and felt something amiss. Her Master had drawn it – there could be no doubt about it.

  “I took it out from the room in Qin Hai’s villa.” She replied cautiously.

  The mere mention of Qin Hai’s caused the man in white to purse his lips.

  Her Master’s silence encouraged her to speak. “I brought this painting with me because I wanted to compare it with Mistress’s likeness.”


  He could guess the true purpose behind Qin Shu’s visit. Still, he wanted to hear it from her lips.

  “Why do you want to see her?”


  “Master, I want to see the Mistress who looks like my mother.”


  The man eyed the portrait in his hand and suddenly thought of Xiao Jiu. Such an intelligent child, he was.

  “You must have guessed it was Xiao Jiu who told me. You’re not wrong. Xiao Jiu was the one who described how similar the Mistress and my mother looked. Please, won’t you let me see her? I want to know if she bears some relationship with my mother.”


  Just as he expected, it was Xiao Jiu, that child.

  “What’ll happen after you see her?”


  Qin Shu felt a surge of excitement. There had to be a reason they looked so similar. If nothing else, the fact her Master knew her mother was enough to point them in a particular direction.

  Fu Tingyu wrapped an arm around Qin Shu’s shoulder in support, gently nudging her back to her senses. It would not do to get too excited. “Master, Bao’er has always missed her mother. That’s why she was so anxious to meet Master’s wife, who is said to look a lot like her mother.”


  After they got married, it was only right to call Wen Xin ‘Mother’.

  As for Mistress, that was how his wife addressed their Master’s spouse. Naturally, he would follow his wife’s lead.

  The man sighed, a hint of helplessness reflecting in his cold, emotionless eyes.

  “I can bring you to see her, but you must promise me one thing.”


  “What is it? Please tell me, Master. I’ll agree to anything you ask of me.” Qin Shu responded enthusiastically.

  “You may only stand by the side and watch.” The man said.

  “Okay.” Qin Shu agreed without thinking.

  The man directed his gaze at Fu Tingyu and said, “Wait here.”


  Fu Tingyu was not willing to wait there and protested. “I want to accompany Qin Shu.”


  The man was not asking for Fu Tingyu’s opinion; he was informing him of his decision. With a step, he closed the distance between him and Qin Shu. Wrapping his arm around her waist, the two of them disappeared in the direction of the mountain’s summit.

  Fu Tingyu was so angry that his face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Unfortunately, his martial might was nowhere near the requisite level to break the array. He was still stuck at the peak of Silver-ranked strength. He watched helplessly as his Master took his wife away, powerless to stop him.

  He always felt their Master kept too many secrets.

  –


  At the summit of Mount Qi……

  Qin Shu felt her vision blur for a second, and in the blink of an eye, they were standing at the peak of Mount Qi.

  The sprawling streets of Feng Yue bore the vicissitudes of time, an ancient city in a modern world. She could not help but sigh. “If only I were as strong as Master…… I could go anywhere I please.”


  “.……”