Chapter 557: Heart-to-heart talk between master and apprentice

"Dong dong dong..."

A dull knock suddenly sounded, again and again, hitting the door regularly, breaking the original silence in the room.

Yun Yun was immersed in distressed thoughts and was brought back to her senses by the sudden knock on the door.

She was startled at first, then frowned slightly, stood up, and looked towards the door.

When Yun Yun cast her gaze, a clear and pleasant female voice came from the direction of the door: "Master, it's me, Nalan Yanran."

The voice was like a clear spring in the mountains, revealing a sense of agility and charm, and it actually added a bit of vitality to this slightly dull atmosphere.

Hearing the voice of her own disciple Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun's slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

She waved her hand lightly, and the fighting spirit in her body surged out. The force was like an invisible thread, lightly pulling the door open.

As the door of the palace was slowly pushed open, a beautiful figure appeared in Yun Yun's sight. It was Nalan Yanran.

She was tall and graceful, like a tall green bamboo in spring, exuding a fresh and refined charm.

She was wearing a blue and white dress, the hem of which swayed gently in the wind, as if she was dancing, adding a touch of liveliness to her.

The shiny black hair was carefully pulled back into a single ponytail, with the slightly curled ends adding a bit of heroic spirit.

It was dotted with a few unique hair accessories, small pearl flowers, or delicate silver bells, which swayed gently with her movements, making subtle sounds, like playing a pleasant piece of music.

Her skin was whiter than snow, and glowed softly in the sunlight, as delicate and flawless as mutton-fat jade.

And those legs are long and straight, wrapped in white silk, which brings out the beauty to the fullest, revealing a unique purity and elegance that makes people unable to take their eyes off.

Her face was exquisite like a painting, with eyebrows as dark as distant ink, eyes like stars, revealing agility and intelligence, and lips that were naturally red. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned with a faint smile, showing her delicate and sweet look. Anyone who saw her could not help but praise this girl for her beautiful appearance.

Looking at Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun nodded gently, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and she said softly: "Yanran, come in first, don't stand at the door."

After getting Yun Yun's permission, Nalan Yanran nodded slightly, took light lotus steps, and walked into the palace.

As Yun Yun's direct disciple, Nalan Yanran was very familiar with Yun Yun's residence. She found a comfortable place to rest and then sat opposite Yun Yun.

The master and the disciple have always gotten along well with each other. Yun Yun has always been gentle to Nalan Yanran and has not taken the red tape and rules between master and disciple too seriously.

After the two of them had an initial chat and shared some interesting stories about daily life and cultivation, Yun Yun picked up the teacup, took a sip of the tea, then put it down and looked directly at Nalan Yanran with a bit of curiosity in her eyes, and asked directly to the point:

"Yanran, I'm afraid you didn't come to me just to talk about these daily things? Is there something else important?"

When Nalan Yanran heard this, a look of embarrassment instantly covered her face. Her beautiful lips slightly opened, as if there were thousands of words stuck in her throat, but she really didn't know where to start.

He looked particularly conflicted, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Even his usually lively eyes showed a hint of hesitation.

Yun Yun took in Nalan Yanran's expression and her heart skipped a beat, as if a heavy stone had been pressing down on her.

The faint joy on her face gradually faded like the tide. She frowned slightly, her eyes fell deeply on Nalan Yanran, and finally she let out a long sigh. There was helplessness in that sigh, as if she had already anticipated that what she was about to hear would be something she didn't want to face.

After a while of hesitation, Nalan Yanran finally mustered up the courage, slowly met Yun Yun's gaze, bit her lip, and said softly, "

Master, Elder Gu He has come to visit again. He said he wanted to discuss some matters concerning cultivation with you, and also said he had recently refined some elixirs and specially brought them to you as a gift. "

"And... and even the Grandmaster specially asked his disciples to come and tell him that you are now the current leader of the Yunlan Sect, which concerns the reputation of the sect. You cannot lose your manners and must meet him in person."

In fact, Nalan Yanran had long been aware of Gu He's love for her master.

After all, Elder Gu He's admiration for Master Yun Yun is a secret known almost to everyone in the sect.

But in the heart of his own master, there really was no romantic admiration for Elder Gu He; at most he just regarded him as a friend.

But what made people helpless was that over the years, their own master seemed to be determined and had been trying to bring the two of them together, hoping that they could be together, but he didn't care much about his master's true inner thoughts. This made Nalan Yanran anxious, but she didn't know what to say.

After hearing what Nalan Yanran said, Yun Yun couldn't help but frown slightly, and her originally peaceful mood suddenly became depressed.

She was silent for a moment. Although her heart was full of helplessness and resistance, she finally nodded gently and said slowly:
"Okay, since it's Master's order, I naturally can't ignore it. Moreover, as the current leader of the Yunlan Sect, I must follow the proper etiquette of a leader and not let others find fault with me. This is something you need to learn from, Yanran. After all, it won't be long before you become the next leader of the Yunlan Sect."

After saying that, Yun Yun stood up first, took light steps, and walked slowly towards the exit of the palace.

Seeing this, Nalan Yanran also stood up quickly and quickly followed Yun Yun's pace. However, the expression on her face at this moment inexplicably became a little melancholy, her brows were slightly wrinkled, and she looked like she was worried.

Yun Yun was a sensitive person and she quickly noticed that there was something wrong with Nalan Yanran's expression.

She couldn't help but stop and turned around, with a look of concern in her eyes, and asked softly: "Yanran, what's wrong with you? Looking at your expression, are you worried about something?"

Nalan Yanran was slightly stunned, as if she had not expected the master to ask this question suddenly. Then she hurriedly shook her head, forced a smile, and said, "Master, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something about cultivation and was a little distracted."

However, Yun Yun was Nalan Yanran's master and had been with her for many years. She knew her disciple's personality very well. How could she be easily fooled by Nalan Yanran's words?

She pondered for a moment, raised her eyebrows slightly, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She said in a somewhat joking tone: "Yanran, are you worried that your master will do the same thing to you as your master did to you in the future and make arbitrary arrangements for your partner?"

Upon hearing this, Nalan Yanran became flustered and waved her hands repeatedly, eagerly denying, "No, Master, that's not the case at all. Yanran has never had any such thoughts..."

Seeing Nalan Yanran's panicked explanation, Yun Yun just chuckled and shook her head, not wanting to delve into whether this was true or not. Then her expression became serious and she slowly said:
"Yanran, if you really think so, then it would be great. But Master can tell you something here. Choosing your partner is a major event in your life. Master will not interfere in this matter. As long as it is someone you really like, it's fine."

"Take your engagement with the Xiao family for example. Didn't your master personally bring you to discuss the cancellation of the engagement? Even now, looking back, if you were really tied to the Xiao family and fulfilled your engagement with Xiao Yan, it would have deepened the relationship between Yunlan Sect and the Xiao family. Given the rapid development of the Xiao family, it would have been a very beneficial thing for our Yunlan Sect. Maybe the Yunlan Sect would be more prosperous now."

"But even though the elders in the sect had many arguments about this matter at the time, I have never regretted my original decision, because you are my disciple, Yun Yun. As long as your decision is reasonable, I, as your master, will naturally support it with all my strength."

When Nalan Yanran heard Yun Yun's words, her eyes couldn't help but turn red, and crystal tears suddenly sparkled in her eyes, those tears were full of emotion and gratitude.

Her lips trembled slightly, and her voice was choked with sobs as she called out, "Master..."

Nalan Yanran was naturally very clear about how much controversy the decision to cancel the engagement with the Xiao family had caused afterwards.

With the rise of Xiao Ling, the Xiao family's development momentum has become increasingly rapid, and the controversy caused by this incident has also become increasingly greater.

The criticisms did not only come from the Nalan family. Even within the Yunlan Sect, many people had complaints about this, feeling that they had missed a great opportunity to take the sect a step further.

Nalan Yanran would sometimes fall into self-doubt, secretly wondering if she had been too willful in her original actions, and if she had only cared about her own ideas without considering the interests of her family and the sect.

But now, after listening to the master's warm and tolerant words, she felt as if a warm current surged through her heart. The haze and guilt that had been accumulated in her heart for a long time instantly dissipated a lot. When she thought about the practices of her own master, in comparison, she felt that the master's understanding and support were so precious.

"Okay, you're already a grown-up, so don't act like this. You are the young master of the Yunlan Sect, so you have to pay attention to your image. Don't lose your composure when you meet other people later." Yun Yun shook her head with amusement, stretched out her slender jade fingers, gently wiped away some of the crystal clearness from the corners of Nalan Yanran's eyes, and joked with a smile.

After that, she did not continue to mention the slightly heavy topic before, and instead, a hint of mischief flashed in her eyes, and she teased Nalan Yanran: "By the way, Yanran, what do you think about the cancellation of the engagement now? Have you ever regretted it?"

After being teased by Yun Yun, Nalan Yanran gradually calmed down. She sniffed slightly, tidied up her messy hair, and then without thinking too much, she responded frankly:
"Although many people in the family do argue about this matter, and even my father and grandfather often talk to me about these things, I don't have any regrets about it in my heart. I always feel that there is no emotional foundation between Xiao Yan and I. Marriage is a big deal, and I don't want to marry someone I don't like at all and accompany him for the rest of my life."

Nowadays, there is really no friendship between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan. Their impression of each other has gradually faded with the passage of time, and naturally there is no relationship between them.

To Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan was just like a passer-by in her life. All the things that happened in the past were just an experience, so there was no need to regret it.

She knew very well what she wanted. Since she had made that decision in the first place, she would not dwell on the past anymore and would just move forward in the direction she had chosen.

When the topic of the two people mentioned the Xiao family, Nalan Yanran seemed to suddenly remember something, her eyes lit up slightly, and then she turned her gaze in the direction of Yun Yun, and said with a serious look:
"By the way, Master, you were in seclusion before, so you probably didn't know much. According to the news from the Yunlan Sect's deacon, Master Xiao Ling returned to the Xiao family this morning. However, this matter has not been widely spread. Only some major forces in the imperial capital have heard of it."

When Yun Yun heard this, she paused slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes when Nalan Yanran mentioned Xiao Ling. After all, the name Xiao Ling was indeed very important.

She immediately said, "Are you serious? It is said that Master Xiao Ling has not returned for several years since he went to Zhongzhou..."

"This news should not be false. After all, it came from the Mitel family. It said that the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong went to the Xiao family today to visit Master Xiao Ling, and the two had a very pleasant conversation." In response to Yun Yun's inquiry, Nalan Yanran said seriously.

"Ice Emperor Hai Bodong has always had a good relationship with Master Xiao Ling, so this matter should not be false."

Hearing Nalan Yanran's explanation, Yun Yun nodded slightly, believing it a little, and then said:
"In that case, we can pay you a visit later, but we must not be impolite."

Yun Yun was just thinking about how to find a suitable excuse to avoid the entanglement with Gu He. If she used the excuse of visiting Master Xiao Ling, it would be a good reason.

Thinking of this, Yun Yun's expression couldn't help but relax a lot. Unconsciously, she began to imagine the scene of meeting Xiao Ling and became curious.

Thinking of this, Yun Yun's originally slightly tense expression couldn't help but relax a lot, and the corners of her mouth slightly raised, outlining a faint smile.

Unconsciously, she began to fantasize about meeting Xiao Ling in her heart. Even she herself did not realize that a seed called "expectation" had been planted at this moment.

(End of this chapter)