18: Chapter 18 Time Flies

His reasons for coming were varied—sometimes bringing pastries, sometimes making excuses about passing by, and sometimes even bringing a martial arts notebook, saying, "I've come to discuss insights with the Hall Master." You have to admit, this person really has some insight into martial arts. His understanding of Innate True Qi differs from yours, and after several exchanges, you have indeed gained something.

But you are not a fool.

When he "passed by" your Shuangyue Martial Arts Hall for the seventeenth time, you finally decided to make things clear.

That evening, you finished your last round of sword practice in the martial arts arena, and the students had all dispersed. Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue was still sitting on the steps, flipping through a book, but you noticed his eyes were not on the pages at all.

You walked over and stood in front of him.

"Young Master Liu."

He closed the book and looked up at you. The afterglow of the sunset hit his face, and the light in his eyes was too bright—bright enough that no language was needed to explain.

You sighed.

"I bear a deep blood feud," you said, word for word. "It is impossible for me to marry in this lifetime. You should give up on this idea."

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue was silent for a while.

You thought he would be like those suitors you had rejected—either angry, embarrassed, or leaving dejectedly.

But he did not.

He stood up, patted the dust off his hem, looked into your eyes, and said very seriously, "I understand."

Then he paused.

"But you can only refuse me pursuing you; you cannot refuse me liking you. These are two different things."

You were stunned for a moment.

He cupped his hands to bid farewell and turned to leave. His pace was as steady and composed as ever, his silhouette clean and crisp.

You stood in place, watching him walk away, with only one thought in your mind—how is this person different from others?

No pestering, no forcing, no shameless clinging, and no flying into a rage from shame. He just told you plainly that he liked you, then accepted your rejection, but at the same time, did not intend to give up.

You suddenly didn't know what to do.

You had experience dealing with hooligans; just crush a stone to dust. Dealing with those who pestered you, a cold face a few times would make them disperse. Dealing with the powerful who forced you, you had long prepared a knife in your heart.

But dealing with a decent, boundary-respecting, and open suitor... you had no countermeasure.

You couldn't just beat him up, could you? He hadn't done anything excessive.

Forget it. You told yourself, just ignore him, and he would naturally give up after a long time. You had seen this mentality of wanting something more the less you could get it; it would be fine once the novelty wore off.

But the novelty did not wear off.

Three years passed.

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue still appeared near your martial arts hall. The frequency dropped from every other day to once or twice a week, but it never stopped. He still brought pastries, still came to chat with you about martial arts, and still looked at you with that gaze you couldn't quite explain.

You had spoken to him several times.

"Young Master Liu, it's impossible for us."

"I know." He replied like this every time, then changed the subject, "Regarding the Qi transformation of the fifth form of the Frost Moon Sword Technique you mentioned last time, I went back and thought about it for a few days, and I have an idea, listen to this..."

You realized you actually couldn't hate this person.

Even at certain moments, you would unconsciously look forward to him coming. Not because of anything else, but because in this city, he was the only person who could have deep exchanges with you about martial arts.

Even the Magistrate's wife had sought you out several times, hinting in her words that she wanted you to marry Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue. You declined one by one, with a polite but firm attitude.

When the Magistrate's wife came for the last time, she said helplessly, "Miss Lin, I, as a mother, cannot stop my son's taste, but he is not young anymore..."

You lowered your head: "Madam, it is I who am not worthy of Young Master Liu."

This day.

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue found you again.

But he was different today.

He stood at the entrance of the martial arts arena, his eyes red and sunken, as if he hadn't slept for several days. Green stubble had sprouted on his chin, and his moon-white martial robe was a bit wrinkled.

Seeing him like this, the sword in your hand paused.

He walked in, stood in front of you, and was silent for a long time.

Then he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse: "Senior Sister Lin Shuang, are you really unwilling to marry me?"

The hand holding the sword hilt tightened.

"My parents are forcing me to get married." He lowered his head and gave a bitter smile, "They say I'm already thirty-two, and if I don't settle down, I'll be letting down my ancestors. I've dragged this out for three years, and I can't drag it on any longer."

You were silent for a few seconds.

"Congratulations." You said.

Your voice was very calm.

"Getting married early is a good thing. I've said it many times; it's impossible for you and me."

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue stood in place, looking at you motionlessly.

You thought he would explode, would question, would be unwilling, would be angry.

But he did not.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then he cupped his hands to you.

"These three years, I've disturbed you." His voice was very soft, "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry.

You watched him turn and walk out of the martial arts arena step by step. His back was straight, but his steps were unsteady; when he reached the door, he even staggered and had to support himself on the doorframe to keep from falling.

You stood in place holding your sword, watching his back disappear at the end of the alley.

You felt relieved.

But beneath the relief, something indescribable was pressing down.

You didn't know what that was.

Perhaps you didn't want to know either.

Three days later, you received his wedding invitation. A red cover with gold lettering. You opened it and glanced at the bride's name—the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, from a family of scholars.

You didn't go. You pressed the wedding invitation under the corner of the table and taught the students to practice martial arts as usual that day.

On the day of the wedding, you heard the sound of firecrackers and suona horns coming from the north of the city, across more than half the city.

Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue never came again.

Time flew by, more than ten years passed. Nothing major happened in Great Qing, only hearing that several martial arts sects were inexplicably wiped out by Great Qing.

Your martial arts hall became more and more prosperous, and Disciples grew up one after another. Among them, your eldest Disciple—a thin and weak girl named Chen Xiaoyu—successfully broke through to the Innate realm in the fourteenth year of following your cultivation, becoming the first Innate Martial Artist of the entire Shuangyue Martial Arts Hall.

When the news spread, the entire Qingyang County was shaken. A Post-Heaven Peak female Hall Master had actually taught an Innate Disciple. Many people re-evaluated your teaching level.

But your own body was going downhill year after year.

Those irreversible cracks in your Meridians were like hidden sores buried in the foundation; they didn't show when you were young, but as you aged, the toxicity seeped out bit by bit. Your Qi and blood began to decline much faster than a normal person's. In your early thirties, you looked like you were in your forties; before you were forty, you already looked like you were in your fifties.

Your temples had turned white in large patches. The wrinkles at the corners of your eyes deepened year by year. The skin on the back of your hands lost its luster, veins protruded, and you were no longer as strong as before when holding a sword.

One day you looked in the mirror, looking at the old face in the mirror, and thought of yourself at twenty.

At that time, the face under your veil made people unable to forget after a single glance, making the son of the Magistrate chase you for three years without letting go.

Now, you don't even need to wear a veil. Walking on the street, no one would look at you twice.

You smiled. You flipped the mirror upside down on the table.

You handed the daily management of the martial arts hall to your eldest Disciple, Chen Xiaoyu, and only occasionally taught students yourself. Most of the time, you sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, flipping through martial arts notes intermittently.

You thought, perhaps just growing old and dying like this, ending this simulation, wouldn't be bad.

But heaven did not follow human wishes.

Another two years passed.

Something happened to Great Qing.