BTTH : Emperor Yang
Chapter 282: Conversation Between Master and Disciple
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"Haha... just a moment of impulse, and you tried to kill your own master?"
Yao Lao tilted his head back, blinking hard as he struggled to hold back the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. But in the end, he couldnât suppress itâtwo clear streams of tears slid down his aged, translucent cheeks.
His voice was full of sorrow. "I carried you out of the ruins while you were still wrapped in swaddling clothes. I raised you, taught you how to cultivate, how to refine pills, treated you like my own son... and all it took was a moment of âimpulseâ for you to conspire with outsiders to kill me? Hahahaâ!"
The old and desolate laughter echoed across the cliff side, carried away slowly by the gentle night breeze.
"Masâ" Xiao Yan opened his mouth, about to speak, but Wei Yang stopped him with just a look.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan exhaled softly and stayed silent.
"Master, Master! I know I was wrong! Fengâer truly knows he was wrong!" Han Feng remained prostrate on the ground, his body trembling as he looked up at Yao Lao, sobbing and pleading. "Master, please forgive me just this once... Fengâer promises to devote himself to honoring you from now on. Master... wu wu..."
"Forgive you?" Yao Lao shook his head. "Iâve already saidâfrom the moment you raised your hand to kill me, I, Yao Chen, no longer acknowledged you as my disciple. I have no need for a traitor who forgets gratitude and loyalty..."
As he spoke, Yao Lao let out a long sigh toward the sky. "Itâs my fault. All my fault. I never properly taught you how to be a decent person. I spoiled you, indulged you, always gave you the best of everything, and in doing so... I neglected to shape your heart."
"To raise but not teachâthat is my failure. I brought this upon myself. I reaped what I sowed. This is karma. I blame no one but myself. No one else!"
"Master, I truly know I was wrong. Wu wu... Fengâer really regrets it. After this harsh lesson, I will surely change my ways!"
Han Feng wept uncontrollably, banging his head on the ground again and again as he cried out, "Ever since you were gone, not a single day has passed without regret in my heart... Every day was filled with remorse, deep remorse... wu wu..."
Wei Yang and Xiao Yan stood silently, coldly watching it all without a word.
A long while passed.
Yao Lao finally calmed down. He let out a sigh, turned away with his hands clasped behind his back, and said faintly, "Get up. The ties of master and disciple between us are severed. From now on, all grudges are ended."
"All... ended?" Han Feng looked up, stunned. His face was full of disbelief as he stared at Yao Laoâs back in a daze.
Clearly, deep down, he couldnât accept that the person who had raised himâwho had been with him since childhoodâcould now be so utterly heartless.
He had thought that if he sincerely admitted his mistake and begged for forgiveness, Yao Lao would soften, just like in the past when he made mistakes as a child.
But he never expectedâ
"Master..." Han Feng straightened his upper body, kneeling forward several steps, drawing closer as he pleaded with an earnest expression, "Master... Master..."
Yao Lao didnât even turn around. He simply waved his hand and coldly interrupted, "Donât call me that again. From this moment on, you and I have no ties at all!"
"Y-Youâre really going to be this heartless?" Han Feng knelt there, face turning gray with disbelief, staring at Yao Lao. "You... You raised me with your own hands! Doesnât that mean anything to you?"
"...Sigh." Yao Lao let out a deep breath and said nothing more, only shaking his head.
Seeing this, Han Fengâs face slowly darkened with anger.
A fire of rage began to burn uncontrollably in his heart.
Han Feng was, without doubt, a selfish man.
In his eyes, he could betray others, hurt them, even kill themâbut others had no right to treat him the same way. He couldnât accept being cast aside so coldly.
So now, he was furious.
He felt... betrayed.
"Is it because of them?!" Han Feng suddenly shot to his feet, pointing furiously at Xiao Yan and Wei Yang. He shouted at Yao Lao, "Is it because of them?!"
"Heh." Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh.
Wei Yang raised a brow. This Han Feng actually dared to question Yao Lao so righteously?
Yao Lao slowly turned back around. The disappointment in his eyes was no longer hidden.
He stared blankly at Han Feng and shook his head, his voice now as cold as ice, "Youâre questioning me? What right do you have to question me? Who I choose to take as a discipleâwhat does that have to do with you?"
"Right? What right?! Hahaha..." Han Feng suddenly let out a crazed laugh, his expression becoming manic. "Hahahahaâ!!"
Wei Yang and Xiao Yan exchanged glances, both frowning slightly.
If it werenât for Yao Laoâs presence, they wouldâve long since killed this man without saying another wordâwhere would they find the patience to entertain such nonsense?
"Hahahaha! âWhat does it have to do with me?â Good one!" Han Feng glared at Yao Lao and shouted, "If you didnât have new favorites, would you really be this heartless to your old disciple?!"
"Heartless? Youâre saying Iâm heartless?" Yao Lao stared wide-eyed at Han Feng, barely able to believe what he was hearing.
"Yes! Heartless! Isnât it true?!" Han Feng roared. "If not for those two being here, would you treat me so coldly? Itâs just because youâve found newer, better disciples that you no longer see me as worthy. Youâre cutting ties with me because you think Iâm no longer usefulâam I wrong?!"
"You... youâ!" Yao Lao pointed at Han Feng, trembling all over with fury. His voice thundered with rage: "You ungrateful bastard! Shameless! Selfish to the core! If you hadnât raised your hand against me back then, would I have ended up like this?!"
"Do you have any idea what Iâve been through all these years?!"
"Do you know that the Hall of Souls has never stopped hunting me down all this time? Donât tell me you werenât involved in that, too!"
"I only have this one last wisp of soul left, clinging desperately to survival, hiding in the shadows, unable to show myself. Do you know how hard Iâve fought to restore myself, just to live again?!"
"If it werenât for those two... I would have been long goneâsoul shattered, gone forever! You think I donât have the right to take on new disciples? Who else could I depend onâyou?!"
"If it had been you who found me in that condition, do you really think you wouldâve spared me?! Huh?!"
"And all thisâevery last bit of itâyou brought it on yourself!"
"And you still dare to argue?!" Yao Lao roared.
But Han Feng, unwilling to back down, snapped back, "None of this wouldâve happened if you had given me Flame Mantra! You envied my talent and were afraid Iâd surpass you one dayâthatâs why you refused to pass it on! Thatâs why I had no choice but to kill you!"
"I was your only disciple! The one you raised with your own hands! I treated you like a fatherâI was your only successor! But how did you treat me in return? You were jealous of my talent, constantly guarded against me, terrified Iâd surpass you one day!"
"That Flame Mantra... you neither cultivated it nor gave it to me! What were you holding onto it for?! Isnât it obvious? You were scared of me!"
"Donât tell me it was âfor my own good.â Donât say I wasnât ready. That was just your excuse!"
"And you still dare to say you gave me the best of everything?!" Han Feng howled in fury.
"You... you... youâ!" Yao Laoâs whole body was shaking. His chest rose and fell violently as he pointed at Han Feng, speechless with rage.
"Whatâs the matter, old man? Guilty conscience? Afraid because I said the truth?" Han Feng sneered.
"You... so this is how you really see me..." Yao Lao finally squeezed out a sentence after struggling to hold back the crushing emotions in his chest.
He truly couldnât believe it.
This disciple, whom he raised from infancy, whom he treated like his own son, actually saw him in such a vile, distorted way.
"Hmph. Did I say anything wrong?" Han Feng snorted coldly.
"So this is why you killed me?" Yao Lao asked.
"Thatâs right!" Han Feng nodded. "You knew I was secretly cultivating the incomplete Flame Mantra, but still you refused to teach me the complete version. No matter how much I begged, you never relented. So I had no choice but to kill you!"
"Such a powerful technique, one that can evolve infinitelyâyet you didnât dare cultivate it yourself, nor did you let me cultivate it. After I tasted its power, I had no other choice but to take it by force!"
"You... You beast! You ungrateful beast!" Yao Laoâs face turned ashen, his voice trembling with fury. "Jealous of you? Why would I ever be jealous of you?! The Flame Mantra... do you know the risks of cultivating it?! A thousand dangers, a path of near death at every step!"
"With your temperament, do you really think you could succeed in cultivating it?"
"Of course I know how dangerous it is to devour Heavenly Flames," Han Feng retorted, lifting his chin. "But why wouldnât I succeed? You know my talent better than anyone. If I hadnât been using only a fragment of Flame Mantra, I wouldâve reached peak Dou Zong by now!"
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