Chapter 817 - 459: Respecting Teachers and Valuing the Way (Double - )

"Ah Li, you are no longer my student," Li Zhibai said in a calm yet undeniable tone. "Chang’an is now."

Now, Xu Chang’an is her student.

And only Xu Chang’an is.

Li Zhibai did not give Wen Li the slightest bit of hope, as if she was speaking the most obvious truth.

"...Tsk."

In the room, Zhu Pingniang had only done half her makeup, and she couldn’t speak as she listened to Li Zhibai’s voice outside.

To be able to say such cruel words in such a gentle voice, that’s just Ah Bai’s nature.

"Junior brother, huh... indeed." It seemed Wen Li had already guessed this answer, and she sighed slowly, "The junior brother is indeed very talented, more qualified than I am to be your student."

"What are you talking about?" Li Zhibai waved her hand, showing a somewhat peculiar expression. "Chang’an, he is quite clumsy, not as teachable as you."

"The junior brother is not a clumsy person," Wen Li instinctively retorted.

"If he weren’t clumsy, it wouldn’t have taken him almost two years in Qi Cultivation before reaching Open Source," Li Zhibai said with a barely noticeable smile. "He also lags behind in the Sword Dao; though he learned some of your suggestions... his physique is lacking, it took him nearly half a year just to practice horse stance back then."

Li Zhibai’s voice was filled with nostalgia.

Wen Li had nothing more to say because Xu Chang’an’s performance before Qi Cultivation was indeed... not impressive.

She couldn’t argue, because if the junior brother were as perfect as she claimed, she wouldn’t need to worry about the Source Opening Pill.

"However, Chang’an does have one trait I like very much," Li Zhibai’s smile grew more pronounced.

Wen Li found it strange to discuss the junior brother with her teacher; she also thought Xu Chang’an had many excellent qualities, but the fellow sisters on the mountain didn’t seem to think so. As she was a rather indifferent person, she’d never discussed the junior brother with the other ladies.

She wanted to know the teacher’s perspective, hoping for a shared understanding.

"What is it?" Wen Li asked.

"What is it..." Hearing this, Li Zhibai slowly stood up, stretched lazily, and then sat down by the table in the center of the room. She poured herself a cup of tea, took a small sip, and said, "He is a faithful person, which is quite rare on Muyu Peak."

Yun Qian has such a husband; even Li Zhibai was genuinely happy for Yun Qian.

"Faithful..." Wen Li agreed in acknowledgment.

She thought so too.

Even Zhu Pingniang behind the door nodded, as she had just seen Xu Chang’an’s sincere disdain for the idea of taking concubines.

"And then there’s this, he is a dutiful child," Li Zhibai put down her teacup, recalling the days Xu Chang’an served her tea.

His tea-making skills were far inferior to those of the women on Muyu Peak, yet to Li Zhibai, the tea Xu Chang’an served held special meaning.

Compared to Wen Li, Xu Chang’an felt more like her own family junior.

Unlike Wen Li, at that time Xu Chang’an’s only support in the entire Chaoyun Sect was her as his teacher, so Li Zhibai could clearly sense Xu Chang’an’s admiration, respect, dependence, and trust for her.

As a woman whose age was unknown, single without offspring, the natural maternal instinct also needed an outlet.

Xu Chang’an was a perfect fit because he always troubled Li Zhibai.

He sought her help when he faced difficulties in cultivation.

When he needed a sword to learn Sword Dao, he would come to her for one.

His wife couldn’t cultivate, so he sought her to solve that problem too.

Like a ravenous person, he just kept causing ’trouble’ for her, no matter what difficulties he faced, he came to consult her or ask for help, as if he didn’t care about how much he owed her.

Li Zhibai liked this very much.

She understood well that she was delighted to see Xu Chang’an causing her "trouble". This kind of trouble was different from the ones brought by Zhu Tongjun, since Tongjun was just her sister, while Xu Chang’an was her true student.

Even though she was clear that Xu Chang’an was still an eager fledgling with no means to repay her, as an elder... seeing a junior remember her kindness and wanting to repay, yet having no means to, brought about faint, firefly-like sense of moving emotion—

To Li Zhibai, it was genuinely a charming thing.

She was indeed such an unimpressive woman.

Wen Li: "..."

This time she didn’t speak.

After all, from Wen Li’s perspective, she couldn’t possibly relate to Li Zhibai’s "duty" with any sense of connection.

Including Zhu Pingniang, who twitched slightly at the corners of her eyes, her eyebrow-drawing pen trembling so much that she had to wipe away her makeup.

Dutiful?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Her Ah Bai was still young, how could she start talking about whether the juniors were dutiful like an old lady?

Besides, Zhu Pingniang didn’t see where Xu Chang’an was being dutiful.

Wasn’t she also Chang’an’s elder?

Look at how he behaves.

Either flaunting his affections in front of her or constantly avoiding suspicion, even... even caused her trouble.

In some sense, the Glazed Technique was much more important than the body, yet Xu Chang’an destroyed it with just one sword.

Not to mention, Li Zhibai had just been drenched in rain, which was also related to him.

Dutiful...

She couldn’t agree.