It’s Not Easy Being a Master, Extra 3: Qin Yuan

About Duan Yuan’s little disguise.

It was a distant memory.

At that time, Yuan Duan had just arrived at Qianyin Pavilion. In order to avoid his fated death, he had to dress up as a girl and become the personal disciple of the Third Pavilion Master, thus becoming a disciple of Qianyin Pavilion.

Because of his special circumstance, Third Chamber Master used his supposed weak health as an excuse to separate him from the groups of female disciples so that he could practice alone.

Although little Duan Yuan was dressed as a girl, he was still a young boy at heart. He would inevitably have the naughty inclinations peculiar to boys. He could control himself when he was with the his disciple sisters. But, when he was by himself on Third Pavilion, he couldn’t help himself.

The Third Chamber Master sighed. “How are you so naughty? You just look at the big senior brother from next door. He is very well-behaved. He gets up and practices every day, oftentimes before the sun is even up. But just look at your behavior…”

Duan Yuan was lying on a tree branch, struggling to pick the fruit that was just a tad bit out of reach. His skirt soon became messed up and dirty. He asked, “Who is the big senior brother?”

“Your big senior brother is Lian Qin.” With his heart in his throat, Third Chamber Master watched as Duan Yuan climb the tall, ancient tree. The child had a good spirit root and learned things quickly. He liked him very much too. He yelled, “Hurry down!”

After much struggle, Duan Yuan finally managed to pick the fruit and jumped out of the tree with satisfaction. He tilted his head and asked, “Does he really get up and practice every day before light?”

“Of course. He is very diligent and practices relentlessly, no matter what.”

Yuan Duan frowned slightly, finding this hard to believe. He’d always had a hard time getting up in the morning and couldn’t separate from his bed until the very last moment. Sleeping in was the happiest thing in the world. How could anyone be willing to get up so early?

Ah, no. There were also his disciple sisters.

But the reason his sisters did so was because they wanted more time to dress up. Could it be that Senior Brother Lian Qin also…

This was the first time little Duan Yuan heard the name Lian Qin, followed by some weird thinking.

Later, the name Lian Qin appeared more and more in Duan Yuan’s life.

The sisters were clamoring that Senior Brother Lian Qin was so handsome and everyone was envious of Senior Brother Lian Qin’s strength. Even his master always praised, “Your Senior Brother Lian Qin is very talented. He is very hardworking and outstanding. What a good child. You need to learn from him.”

Duan Yuan flattened his mouth in dissatisfaction. He thought what he heard couldn’t be true so he decided to check it out for himself.

The next day, he had a hard time getting out of bed. By the time he finished washing up, the sky was already bright. Duan Yuan clenched his fists and walked toward Senior Brother Lian Qin’s residence, full of fighting spirit. He wanted to see how hard Lian Qin was practicing!

When Yuan Duan got to Lian Qin’s courtyard, there was no one in sight. He sighed with relief and was about to say that Senior Brother Lian Qin’s so-called morning practice were lies when the sound of water caught his attention.

The sound seemed to be coming from the house. Duan Yuan thought for a moment and decided that since he’d come all this way, he ought to at least see what Senior Brother Lian Qin was doing.

Looking at the paper window, Duan Yuan, who’d read many martial arts novels about the Jianghu, didn’t think it would be right to peek through the window.

That was the behavior of the weak. Those with real strength would…

Little Duan Yuan, that jack of all trade, employed light body skill to climb with difficulties up Lian Qin’s roof. By the time he got there, he was so tired that he just wanted to lie there and pant loudly. But, he was afraid he might be found out so he covered his mouth and tried to control his breathing.

After a while, he eased his breath. Like those strong heroes in the novels, he calmly went to lift the tiles.

Lift—

Lift again—

What!

Why can’t it be lifted?!

Duan Yuan pulled hard at the tile. After accidentally using too much strength, he ended up lifting two tiles that were stuck together, making a loud sound.

Duan Yuan was startled, and he dared not move for a while. He froze for a long time on the roof before gathering up his courage to carefully peek through the hole.

Senior Brother Lian Qin didn’t even lift his head up, as if he hadn’t noticed there was suddenly a hole in his roof or heard any sounds at all.

Senior Brother Lian Qin was bathing. Through the steam, he could only see Senior Brother Lian Qin’s strong arms and his distinct hands pushing the water.

Little Duan Yuan looked straight down. When clothed, Senior Brother Qin didn’t look very strong at all. But, after taking his clothes off, it was like this….

Duan Yuan found that he lacked words to accurately describe the bathing youth. After thinking for a long time, the only words he could come up with were “full of strength.”

He also forgot his original intention and couldn’t help but express envious admiration. Senior Brother Lian Qin seemed to be really…very handsome.

He was too focused on watching, his eyes warm and full of envy. Even Lian Qin underneath couldn’t stand it anymore.

When little Duan Yuan came to the yard, Lian Qin noticed the trespass, but he thought that it was just a junior brother who was passing through and so he was too lazy to care about it.

Lian Qin loved to be clean. Every day, after finishing his exercises, he would take a bath. The teachers and brothers around him knew his habit, and they usually don’t bother him.

But he never imagined that this junior brother would be so bold. Even after lingering in his yard for so long, the youth even climbed up his roof to peek at him through the tiles!

Lian Qin coldly finished bathing. He spun out of the water, quickly putting on his robe, even as he shot a strong wind up through the hole in the roof.

Yuan Duan was caught off guard and subconsciously blocked it. The strong wind ended up hitting the nearby tiles.

With a bang, a large section of the roof tiles shattered at once, crumbling underneath Duan Yuan’s feet. Before he could react, he fell straight down.

With a crash, he landed in Lian Qin’s bath water.

Lian Qin, “…..”

With cold eyes, he watched the youth flounder wildly in his bath water. After looking, he suddenly felt wrong. He reached out and lifted the person up. “…Junior Sister?”

He didn’t recognize Duan Yuan nor did he know his name. He only recognized that the person was wearing the standard garb for the female disciples in the sect.

Yuan Duan accidentally swallowed two mouthfuls of bath water. He sucked in a deep breath before climbing out of the tub. His clothes clung wetly to his body. Lian Qin immediately let go of him and quickly spun around.

Behind him came the sound of the junior sister climbing out of the water.

Lian Qin avoided thinking about what he’d just seen, including how the water droplets clung to the other person’s long eyelashes. He covered his discomfort with a light cough.

Then he heard the little junior sister exclaimed “wow”, and immediately he felt something attached to him—

The little junior sister, for whatever reason, hugged his waist from behind in a particularly enthusiastic manner. When Lian Qin turned back to look, he saw that the other’s wet eyes were full of worship. “Senior Brother!!”

Lian Qin, “…..”

In the end, which martial uncle was not optimistic about his disciple and allowed the disciple to act so wildly?!!

Lianqin was a 16-year-old boy. He’d never encountered this situation before. This was, of course, his first meeting Duan Yuan, who lacked common sense.

Duan Yuan hugged him and refused to let go. “Senior Brother Lian Qin, teach me how to practice!”

Wow! Even Senior Brother Lian Qin’s waist was so good to hug! The waist looked thin but when you hug it, you can feel the strong muscles underneath, which seemed to contain infinite power.

Little Duan Yuan completely forgot his previous dissatisfaction and didn’t remember what he was wearing at all. He just wanted Senior Brother Lian Qin to teach him how to cultivate into this look.

Lian Qin said coldly, “Release me. I’m not a female’s teacher—“

Duan Yuan conveniently ignored the first two words and confessed to him cheerfully, “I’m not a sister! I’m a brother!”

Lian Qin, “???”

He couldn’t bear it anymore. After yanking the person away from his body, he strode out and walked away faster and faster and faster.

So early in the morning, many disciples in Qianyin Pavilion saw their acclaimed Senior Brother Lian Qin walking fast, his face shifting between blue and white.

Behind him quickly staggered a little sister. The little sister was wet from head to toes and her eyes were trained worshipfully in front of her. While chasing, she shouted happily, “Senior Brother, wait for me!”

This little sister looked vaguely familiar—Wait!

Was that the most precious junior sister, Duan Yuan, the disciple of the Third Pavilion Master?

The disciples looked at each other. Their mouths gradually widened to let out a long, meaningful “Oh” sound. After which, they all showed an intrigued and excited expression.

…

About Lian Qin.

Lian Qin’s weapon was a guqin. It was originally a normal guqin with five strings.

After Duan Yuan exposed his identity to Lian Qin, he didn’t have any worries at all. He would often come over and stick to Lian Qin for days on end. For this reason, he also overcame the habit of oversleeping.

The Third Chamber Master saw Duan Yuan suddenly so diligent. He was so happy that his disciple could learn from Lian Qin, especially knowing that Duan Yuan had already disclosed his identity and still wasn’t ignored.

However, on the surface, Yuan Duan was supposed to practice together with Lian Qin. But, in fact….

Lian Qin sat, muttering expressionlessly. Next to him was the little junior brother… who was chatting out all his thoughts.

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, it’s so hard. Second Senior Sister asked me what color rogue she was wearing today. I said the same color. She immediately murdered me…” Little Duan Yuan let out crying sounds. “Sixth Junior Sister asked me today, ‘Is my lip color okay?’ I agreed, saying, ‘Like yesterday, it’s very pretty.’ Sixth Junior Sister also murdered me.”

“It’s too hard, Senior Brother… Do you know how to distinguish the color of rouge? Hurry up and teach me. I can’t practice until then.”

He leaned over and had a light, powdery fragrance on his body. Lian Qin didn’t know which sister it was from.

Lian Qin opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and reached out to push him farther away. Looking at Duan Yuan’s pitiful face, he said, “…I don’t know.”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally looked at Duan Yuan’s aggrieved eyes. He whispered, “You can come over to practice. Just don’t be so loud so others won’t know.”

Duan Yuan’s grievances were swept away immediately, and he cheered, “Okay, Senior Brother! I’ll come here every day! Rest assured, I won’t let others discover it!”

He rubbed his hands excitedly, eager to try. “I recently learned a new trick that would make me as light as a bird…”

Lian Qin, “…..”

Lian Qin recalled his recent experience with Duan Yuan’s ability to climb roofs, and he was silent for a long moment. He changed his words. “It’s okay if others find out. Just pay attention to safety.”

Having won Lian Qin’s consent, little Duan Yuan was no longer restricted and appeared on time everyday to practice with Lian Qin.

His cultivation progressed rapidly.

The Third Pavilion Master was very happy. When Duan Yuan quietly said that he wanted to gain practical experience with Senior Brother Lian Qin, he didn’t think too much and agreed.

By this time, Duan Yuan had grown up somewhat. His temperament was much calmer. He could pretend to have a gentle and pure appearance in front of everyone. Only in front of Lian Qin, could he relax for a moment.

Yuan Duan followed Lian Qin to go out to practice. Since it would just be him and Lian Qin, he didn’t bother disguising himself. He was so happy that he dragged Lian Qin’s sleeves all around.

Lian Qin followed him, all the while scolding him. But, he didn’t force anything.

Only later, something happened. Little Duan Yuan accidentally angered a big monster. The monster was very fierce. In order to save him, Lian Qin cut off the five strings from his guqin and even suffered some minor injuries before managing to kill the monster.

Little Duan Yuan was also injured. His arms were all wet with blood, but he didn’t care about it at all. He hurried to see Lian Qin and then looked at Lian Qin’s guqin in tears. “Senior Brother, the strings are broken…”

These strings were made out of extremely special materials, which Lian Qin had managed to find with much difficulty. To find this material again would be nearly impossible.

Little Duan Yuan cried with a sad face and asked what to do. Originally, Lian Qin wanted to tease him a few times. But, when he saw Duan Yuan’s injured hand, his heart suddenly somehow became disturbed. Finally, he lifted his guqin away and began to treat Duan Yuan’s wound with a cold face. “Since it broke, then it broke.”

On one hand, little Duan Yuan felt relieved, while on the other, he couldn’t help being anxious. “Senior Brother no longer has a weapon to use… Senior Brother, I’m really sorry…”

Lian Qin repeatedly blamed himself. It seemed like he was becoming more and more unhappy and he didn’t know where the unhappiness came from. Anyway, it wasn’t because the strings were broken. As he took care of little Duan Yuan’s wound, he sighed. “Don’t think about it. The strings weren’t good and I haven’t used them in a long time. It’s just broken. I can find something else. Don’t worry.”

Amidst Duan Yuan’s unease was a bit of happiness “Really, really?”

Lian Qin ran his hand over the guqin, and the five strings of spiritual power appeared suddenly. He then fiddled with it. The sound of the instrument was as good and perfect as it had once been.

Yuan Duan carefully touched the strings and finally smiled.

…..

The memory ended there. Duan Yuan held Lian Qin’s stringless guqin, and his thoughts went back and forth a thousand times. Finally, he couldn’t help but sigh.

It’d been a long time since he touched Senior Brother Lian Qin’s guqin.

It’d been a long time since he returned to the sect.

What’s more, this time….was his first time appearing in the sect in male clothes.

Duan Yuan felt a little uneasy in his heart. He turned his head to look at Lian Qin. Lian Qin’s face was a little pale. Although it was difficult to tell that he’d been seriously wounded, Duan Yuan knew the ice cone injury wasn’t as light as he made it seem.

Lian Qin won’t allow Duan Yuan to support him, so he volunteered to hold Lian Qin’s guqin.

Lian Qin glanced at him. He wanted to refuse, but he didn’t know what to say. Instead, he swallowed the rejection that immediately sprung to his mouth and said, “Okay.”

Duan Yuan held Lian Qin’s guqin and followed Lian Qin back to see the masters.

When he was disguised as a woman, he’d deliberately made his face ugly. Now, he was back to normal, even though he’d been gone for a long time.

Duan Yuan felt the sect disciples’ curious gaze looking at him and thought it was quite novel.

Until Lian Qin suddenly stopped and gave a little bow. “Third Martial Uncle.”

Lian Qin’s Third Martial Uncle….

Wasn’t that his master?!

Duan Yuan happily gave him a respectful bow. The Third Chamber Master glance at him suspiciously, and his eyes quickly fell to the guqin in his arms. “Ay, isn’t that martial nephew’s guqin?”

Realizing that his master didn’t immediately recognize him, Duan Yuan was a little at a loss. Then, he heard his master’s voice suddenly cheerfully said, “Aiya, martial nephew’s guqin… Could it be that this person holding the guqin is the martial nephew’s wife? Hurry, let this old master take a look.”

Third Chamber Master had long received the message that the situation regarding the secret realm had been solved and there was no longer any trouble. Thus, he began to care about other things. “Martial nephew brought his wife back, yes?”

Duan Yuan, with a blank face, met Third Chamber Master’s expectant eyes.

Duan Yuan, “……”

Third Chamber Master, “…………”

Duan Yuan, “………………”

Third Chamber Master, “………………….F**k!”

————————
Xixi: Hahaha… Nooo, I want more. But, looking at the chapter title “Qin Yuan,” Lian Qin and Duan Yuan obviously eventually got together.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Too bad we don’t get to see how.

This is it, readers. Thank you for reading and thank you so much to those who commented. May you quickly find your next binge-worthy read. As someone who’d just discovered danmei not too long ago, I have a pile of BL novels to wolf down. Hehe. *rubs hands excitedly *drools

Also, please don’t forget to rate this novel on NU. Thank you!