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“You’re here again to visit Grandaunt, Master Chung Myung?” A teen asked a handsome ‘young’ man, “She’s currently in the garden, I could inform her that you’re here.”
Chung Myung waves his hand, “It’s fine, I’ll go to her, and you continue your work, Wuxie.”
He walks past Wuxie who curiously gazes at the man. The boy always wonders why a disciple of Mount Hua would come and visit his Grandaunt without fail. On each visit, he would bring trinkets or flowers, if not he would just be here to chat with his Aunt. The boy had believed that maybe the disciple saw his Grandaunt as his mother or something, but it all changed when he saw him looking at his Grandaunt with that look.
Wuxie shudders as he remembers the way Chung Myung always looks at you. It was the same look that his father would give to his mother.
As he mulled over the situation, he couldn't help but voice his thoughts aloud, "I could never imagine him being interested in old women…"
The chuckles from his mother and sister only deepened his intrigue. It was as if they shared a secret, one that they found immensely amusing.
"Hehehe…" his mother giggled softly, her eyes dancing with mirth.
Wuxie heard a chuckle from his side, it was from his mother. Who had an amusing look, she seemed to know something that he didn’t.
"Son, do you know what Master Chung Myung's real age is?" his mother asked, still wearing a mischievous grin.
Wuxie scratched his head, trying to make sense of the situation. "Well, he looks like he's in his twenties, maybe as old as Sister. Why?"
He heard his sister scoff at his words, “Oh please brother, if he really was the same age as me, I would have been gushing about him each time he visited.”
“But did you not admire him once?” With his mother’s comment, his sister blushed furiously.
“That was when I wasn't aware of his real age!” she defended herself, “and plus you can’t really blame me, with Master Chung Myung’s charming face, who wouldn’t have fallen for him?”
His sister had a point. The Mount Hua disciple really had such charms, but that still didn’t answer his question, “Mother, how old is he?”
His mother looked at him with a teasing look, “Do you know how old your Grandaunt is?”
Confused, he nods at his mother’s question, “Is she not 86 years old?”
“Yes, then minus it with 4.”
When he did what his mother said, his brain stopped for a moment. He looked at both his mother and sister. They both had an understanding look.
Wuxie's jaw dropped. He was certain he must have miscalculated, right? "He... He's 82?
His mother nodded with a knowing smile. "Yes, that's right. Master Chung Myung is actually 82 years old."
But he looks so young!
As if to read his mind, his sister laughed heartily. "Exactly! He's managed to maintain his youthful appearance, I heard it’s through a special cultivation technique."
Wuxie was still struggling to come to terms with this revelation. "So, he's only 4 years younger than Grandaunt? And he's been visiting her for all these years?"
His sister chuckled. "Seems like it. And from what I've heard, he's been visiting her for a very long time."
Wuxie couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. "That's... quite a dedication, isn't it? I thought he was just being respectful, but it's more like he's... well, courting her."
His sister joined in, "In his own unique way, yes."
As they watched Master Chung Myung approach Grandaunt in the garden, Wuxie couldn't help but smile. His perspective on the situation shifted. The mysterious disciple's visits, the flowers, and the trinkets—all took on a new meaning.
Wuxie thought of his Grandaunt and Master Chung Myung's unconventional love story, one that defied age, and had been silently unfolding under the blossoming trees for years.
—------------
Meanwhile, Chung Myung leisurely walks towards your sitting figure near the fishpond. The years have been kind to you, it seems. Even as you age, you still have that beautiful smile, even after you left Mount Hua all those years.
“I see that you came to visit again, Myung-ah”
Your voice was still the same too, it never failed to allure him. He continued to walk towards you, standing next to you as you both gazed at the dancing fishes.
“How could I not? It would be very disrespectful of me to not visit you, Senior sister.”
A light laugh erupts from you, “And you can’t do the same with your elders and the rest of the disciples?” You weren’t looking at him, but you could feel his pouting face. This made you chuckle at your junior.
Chung Myung complained to you that he wasn’t being disrespectful to the elders. They just kept on stopping him from visiting you, and he didn’t like that. As for the young disciples? Those brats were the ones being disrespectful! Not him!
Chung Myung couldn't help but voice his frustrations to you. He leaned closer, his tone of exasperation. "Senior sister, you won't believe the audacity of those elders! They keep stopping me from visiting you as if paying my respects is some kind of crime! Even Elder Brother Chung Mun thinks it’s troublesome!"
You chuckled at his indignant expression. "Myung-ah, you do have a reputation for causing a bit of trouble from time to time."
He raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "Trouble? Me? Never! I'm just misunderstood."
You couldn't help but laugh at his playful protest. "And what about the younger disciples, Myung-ah? You called them disrespectful."
"As for them," he continued, his annoyance growing, "they have no respect for their seniors! They don't understand the significance of your presence, Senior sister. They see you as an outsider, someone who left Mount Hua, and they underestimate the wisdom you hold."
You appreciated his protective stance and his loyalty to both you and the traditions of Mount Hua. "You've always been fiercely protective, Myung-ah. But remember, they look up to you. They see you as a role model, even if they don't always show it."
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "If this is their way of showing admiration, I'd rather they just spar with me. At least that would be more straightforward!"
You reached out and patted his hand affectionately. "You're a complicated man, Myung-ah, but that's what makes you unique."
He sighed, his frustration melting away as he looked at you with fondness. "I suppose you're right, Senior sister. I just want to spend time with you without all these interruptions."
A gentle breeze rustled the cherry blossom trees around you, creating a fleeting moment of serenity. As Chung Myung relishes your gentle touch just like before.
"You truly never changed, Myung-ah," you remarked, your voice tinged with nostalgia.
He turned to look at you, his expression of longing. "You always have a way of calming my temper, Senior sister."
You smiled warmly at him, appreciating the bond that had endured despite the passage of time. "That's what my elder sisters are for, Myung-ah. To guide and advise their troublesome juniors."
You retreat your hand, Chung Myung wants to hold your hand a little longer. But he knew better than to do that.
His gazed fascinated at your aging figure, he couldn’t help but clench his fist. ‘If only I was there to help…. You could’ve stayed a little longer.’
When Chung Myung was still young, he overheard one of the previous Elders how his senior sister’s QI core was suddenly broken during your isolation. He ran to your room only to see your forlorn figure. His cheerful and gentle Senior sister was no longer who she was.
With each passing day, your body keeps getting weaker and weaker. He could always see you struggle to hold your sword as you train—even with how much the others have told you to not. But you were stubborn, you were so stubborn that when he saw you collapsed from the strain of your body. He panicked.
You isolated yourself from everyone and coped inside your room. But that didn’t stop Chung Myung though.
He had done everything he could to lift her spirits, to make her smile, but it had never been enough.
The image of you leaving the sect, and returning to your family, had been etched into his heart like a scar. It was a moment of profound loss, a feeling of abandonment that had haunted him for years.
‘If only….’
“Myung-ah?”
Chung Myung snaps from his train of thought. He gazed into your concerned eyes, he could feel the weight of those memories pressing on him.
He forced a smile, a facade to hide the turmoil of emotions that had gripped his heart as he got lost in the painful memories of your past. It was a time he had never truly moved on from, a time when he had watched helplessly as you, his beloved senior sister, had slowly withered away. "It's fine, Senior. I was just... lost."
He didn't want to dwell on the past, nor did he want to burden you with his melancholy thoughts. Instead, he decided to cherish the present, the moments he still had with you.
With a more genuine smile this time, he replied, "Thank you for being here, Senior. Your presence is a comfort to me."
You reached out and gently touched his face, offering a silent reassurance. He responds with him leaning towards your touch. He will truly treasure these moments with you.