Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 406 : Qiao Wei’s Heartache

Chapter 406: Chapter 406 : Qiao Wei’s Heartache

After that day, Qiao Wei went to visit Zhang Fengxi’s little house in the Bamboo Stream Village.

Sunlight glinted off the freshly painted wood, but the windows, dark and unwelcoming, offered no glimpse of life within. The renovation was complete, yet the house remained eerily still, a monument to a vanished presence.

Seeing Qiao Wei’s forlorn figure stand in front of the locked house for a long time, the villagers came out to greet him.

"Master Qiao Wei, we are so happy that you came to visit. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Esteemed gentlemen, do you maybe have any idea about the residents of this house?"

"Ohh, that house, well... It seems that it is up for sale. Does Master Qiao Wei want to buy the house?"

The villagers faintly recalled Qiao Wei dropping by when the house was still being renovated.

"Oh, no, I just wish to speak with the owner," Qiao Wei said with a tinge of disappointment. "Never mind, I will go back now. Thank you, everyone."

The villagers waved goodbye at him, and then one of them cried out, "Master Qiao Wei, we will make sure to inform the owner of the house about your intention to buy the house, if you want."

A gentle smile played on Qiao Wei’s lips as he swiveled his head in the villager’s direction.

"Mmm, thank you."

Unfortunately, Zhang Fengxi was never going to return.

On the other hand, Bai Ling’s unwavering refusal to let him go gnawed at Qiao Wei’s already wounded heart. Every attempt at conversation was met with a wall of silence, her dismissal as absolute as the sun setting each night. Days bled into each other, the weight of his conscience growing heavier with each passing dawn.

Finally, at a breaking point, Qiao Wei knew he couldn’t bear the suffocating impasse any longer. Risking Bai Ling’s wrath, he decided to confront his shizun, Bai Siyang.

"What? You want to leave the sect???" Bai Siyang’s bellow ripped through the temple, scattering a flock of birds from their leafy haven outside.

In front of him, Qiao Wei was kneeling with his sword held above his head. Speechless, Bai Siyang’s grip slackened, allowing the delicate vase in his hands to slip down his numb fingers and hit the stone floor with a bone-jarring crash.

"Disciple is not filial. Shizun, please punish me one last time," Qiao Wei said with a tense facial expression. Bai Siyang stared at Qiao Wei, convinced that the latter had lost his mind. What was the use of punishing someone who intended to leave?

"I cannot just accept this one-sided decision of yours, Qiao Wei," Bai Siyang barked at him. "You have been with me ever since your parents passed away. You are my right-hand disciple. You are supposed to marry Little Ling and succeed me as the next Wushan Temple Sect Leader! How can you just leave everything behind like that???"

Qiao Wei squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before he answered, "I have to do this because I am no longer able to marry Little Ling."

Sinking onto the chair, Bai Siyang let out a heavy sigh, massaging his temples as if trying to exorcise the weariness weighing him down.

"Is that it? Do you have other reasons?"

Qiao Wei shook his head.

"There is none."

"In that case, you no longer have to marry Little Ling," Bai Siyang decided with a guttural huff. "You will continue serving as a member of Wushan Temple Sect."

Hesitantly, Qiao Wei tilted his head back, his eyes drawn as if by an invisible thread to his shizun’s face.

"But Shizun, Qiao Wei is not worthy. I have disappointed both you and Little Ling. I don’t know how to face the both of you in the future..."

A weary sigh escaped Bai Siyang’s lips. In two swift strides, he was at Qiao Wei’s side, a hand firm on his elbow to haul him upright.

"You silly disciple. I am not a narrow-minded person. The entanglement between men and women is a very sensitive matter. I do not wish to enforce it, even if my own daughter demands it."

The minute tremble of Qiao Wei’s lips indirectly told Bai Siyang that he guessed correctly.

"Little Ling insisted on the marriage, didn’t she?" he sighed.

"It was all my fault," Qiao Wei insisted. "I have disappointed Little Ling greatly."

"She is eighteen," Bai Siyang arched his brow at Qiao Wei. "She will have a lot of young men lining up to be her husband in the next ten years or more."

"... Shizun is wise. But still, I don’t think that I am strong enough to shamelessly walk around the sect ground, knowing that I have hurt Little Ling so."

Bai Siyang shook his head in disbelief.

"You young people often overthink trivial matters and make a mountain out of a molehill. In that case, I will send you off for now. It will take you at least a week before you can return to Mount Wu. I believe that it will serve both you and Little Ling well."

Qiao Wei cupped his hands before Bai Siyang.

"Qiao Wei thankfully accepts Shizun’s decision. Will Shizun please enlighten this disciple about the nature of this mission?"

Bai Siyang fetched a roll of parchment from his desk and handed it over to Qiao Wei.

"This is an invitation to the Discussion Conference at Tian’an Shang Sect’s residence in Jiangnan. You will represent me and attend the Discussion Conference in my stead."

The words hit Qiao Wei like a left hook, his jaw thus went slack with shock.

"But Shizun, I..."

The Discussion Conference was a gathering reserved for the highest echelon of leadership among the ten greatest sects. Bai Siyang’s decision to send Qiao Wei instead of attending on his own only meant one thing -- Qiao Wei was still the successor to Wushan Temple Sect Leader’s position.

"I don’t want to hear any objection," Bai Siyang said with a gruff voice. "Bai Ling has the right to decide who she wants to marry, and I have the right to decide who shall become the next sect leader."

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Author’s note :

Beloved readers,

I need to inform you in time that my new book, "The Pregnant Cannon Fodder Is Looking For A Second Husband" starts its MGS period in February, thus I need to focus on this novel to stockpile Chapters for release.

That being said, "Dance Of The Dragons" will be put on hold for max. 1 month, and will resume 1 ch daily release starting from 1st March until the novel ends.

The privilege pricing for February has been updated.

I encourage you to read the Chapters within this month so that you don’t have to buy privilege for next month. You can start buying again in March, when I release a Chapter daily.

You are welcome to read my new work although it’s not a BL. New BL work will be announced close before "Dance Of The Dragons" concludes (⁠´⁠∩⁠｡⁠•⁠ ⁠ᵕ⁠ ⁠•⁠｡⁠∩⁠`⁠).

This author loves you all!