Feng Jiu couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. "Silly girl," she said, "if you love him, you should let him know. Besides, your master might just have feelings for you too."
However, Yue'er shook her head and said, "Mother, you don't understand Master. All these years, there has never been a woman by his side, nor has he ever had a woman he fancied. I am already content just to be by Master's side. Besides, we are master and disciple; I don't want Master to be criticized by the world because of me."
If she were to break the master-disciple bond between them, she feared the world would view her master with suspicion, and she feared he would face public censure because of her. She did not want to see him treated that way because of her.
Therefore, simply being by her master's side was enough to make her content.
