“Happy birthday, Gui-shixiong!”
“Happy birthday, Le-shixiong.”
Gui Yin looked at the gifts that had been pressed into his hands and looked at the three people surrounding him. He blinked at them blankly as his fingers brushed against the small packages. A short, sheepish laughter escaped from him.
“You still gave me presents,” Gui Yin said, a small smile gracing his face.
“It’s just a little gift to represent our thoughts to you,” Jiu Jingyi said. She nudged Gui Yin with her shoulder lightly. “Le-gege wouldn’t deny a gift from Jiu-meimei, right?”
Gui Yin ducked his head to hide his laughter. The cheesy childish nicknames made his ears redden. He glanced at Lin Cangyuan and Ye Liuxing, who were looking at him equally as expectantly.
“Can I…open them?” Gui Yin asked.
“Of course, you can!” Ye Liuxing exclaimed. He awkwardly touched his nose. “But I’m just not sure if what I picked is to your tastes.”
“Even if it isn’t, I’m sure I’ll find some use for it,” Gui Yin said.
Gui Yin first opened Ye Liuxing’s gift. His eyes widened as he turned the book in his hand.
“You’re always talking about how you want new books to read, so I got you this one,” Ye Liuxing said. “Is it bad?”
“No, it’s good,” Gui Yin felt a bubble of excitement. In the week or so he had been here, he had been going through the book collection of the original owner and found that his taste in books was rather similar to himself. But since he had just about thumbed through all the books in his personal library, so he had been thinking about going down to get new books.
“Then, you’ll like mine too,” Jiu Jingyi tilted her chin towards the package in Gui Yin’s other hand.
It was another story book—one that told tales mixed with fantasy and reality of the famous heroes of Jianghu.
After setting the two books aside, Gui Yin opened the sandalwood box Lin Cangyuan had given him. Instead, it was a simple hairpin. Gui Yin looked up at Lin Cangyuan.
“Just a welcome back gift,” Lin Cangyuan smiled. “Nothing too fancy.”
Gui Yin felt a bit of warmth circulating within his chest. He smiled at the three people. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Well, you don’t have to be that sincere,” Ye Liuxing laughed awkwardly. He clapped Gui Yin on the back a few times. “It’s just to show our appreciation.”
“Appreciation?”
Ye Liuxing’s smile weakened slightly. He glanced at Jiu Jingyi and then back to Gui Yin, a hint of confusion in his eyes. “Yeah. Appreciation.”
Gui Yin looked at Ye Liuxing uncertainly. “I haven’t done anything recently. Or, rather, with my amnesia, I’m probably more of a burden.”
“But you breathed, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“We’re just glad you were born. And alive still,” Ye Liuxing laughed. His eyes crinkled into lovely crescents. “We’re grateful that you got to be our martial sibling and that you got to be part of our Yunjing Pavilion’s family. Isn’t that all we need?”
Jiu Jingyi and Lin Cangyuan nodded in agreement.
“That’s what birthdays are for,” Jiu Jingyi said. “To show that you’re glad that that person was born and that they chose to be in your life.”
Gui Yin looked down at the gifts in his hands blankly. Ye Liuxing said something else and Lin Cangyuan scolded him gently, but Gui Yin didn’t hear any of that conversation.
At some point, Gui Yin had walked all the way back to Shuangye Peak. His mind was still in a haze, unfocused in anything that he was doing. He had long tucked the gifts away into his Qiankun sleeve, but his fingers still fidgeted against each other, as if he were looking for something to grasp onto.
As he made it to the top of the stairs of Shuangye Peak, he heard a loud squeak in the form of his name.
Gui Yin looked up just in time to catch a ball of yellow launching itself into his arms. Soon, another followed, and, finally, Gui Yin saw Gui Linghuo hesitantly walk up to him.
Gui Yin’s smile widened. “Do you want to join too?”
Gui Linghuo’s ears reddened. “No need.”
Ignoring Gui Linghuo’s weak refusal, Gui Yin shuffled forward and pulled his head disciple into the hug as well. He rubbed the heads of the children in his arms.
“What’s wrong? You missed me this much? I was only gone for half a day.”
“Of course, this disciple missed Shizun,” Shan Yu whined. She buried herself further into his chest. “Without Shizun here, the peak is so boring!”
“That’s right, Shizun,” Qin Siyi nodded in agreement. “Shuangye Peak is only Shuangye Peak if Shizun is here. If it’s just us and Da-shixiong the whole place feels cold and empty.”
“Really?” Gui Yin glanced at Gui Linghuo.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xel Olcuteb wfa Xel Tlc’r fsfr jcv delmxis jnfgafv tlr ujhf. Vtjc Te cevufv tlw lc atf rabwjmt ecali atf sbecu ybs cbvvfv tlr tfjv.
“Efjiis?” Xel Tlc jrxfv jujlc.
Gui Linghuo glanced at Gui Yin. “Yes, Shizun. It’s hard to control Shan-shimei and Qin-shimei without you.”
Ktf akb ulgir aegcfv ab uijgf ja Xel Olcuteb, yea atf ybs rwlifv kjgwis ja atf nfcbwber ujhfr. C ygluta ijeut frmjqfv Xel Tlc.
The three children turned to look back at him in surprise. Shan Yu, who had only been around for a year, had never heard Gui Yin laugh so brightly. But it wasn’t just her who had never experienced this, even Gui Linghuo who had been here since he was seven had never heard his shizun laugh so freely.
Gui Yin’s arms squeezed the three children tighter for a moment before he finally released them. He took a step back and looked at them with a pair of warm, gentle eyes.
“It’s my pleasure to have you three as my disciples.”
Shan Yu’s eyes widened. She pursed her lips as she squeezed the edges of her robes. “Shizun…”
Qin Siyi shook her head. “It’s our honor to have you as our Shizun!”
“Yeah! That’s right,” Shan Yu nodded aggressively.
Gui Linghuo glanced at his two martial sisters before turning back to Gui Yin. “Shizun.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s go in to talk first. Shizun must be tired from leaving the mountain for the first time in so long. We can sit down and talk some more.”
Gui Yin chuckled and agreed with Gui Linghuo’s thoughtful suggestion. He allowed Shan Yu to take his hand and drag him down the cobbled path towards the main hall they shared. Gui Yin raised a brow as he silently followed the three children, quietly wondering what these little chicks had planned this time.
Just before they entered the room, Shan Yu turned around. “Shizun, close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes?” Gui Yin raised a brow.
Shan Yu nodded. “Close them really, really tight.”
Gui Yin glanced at Gui Linghuo. Seeing as the boy didn’t show any objection to Shan Yu’s suggestion, he obediently closed his eyes.
“Okay, now, walk forward carefully!” Shan Yu exclaimed. “Don’t trip!”
Gui Yin chuckled. “Okay, I won’t trip.”
“Careful! Careful!”
“Okay, okay.”
Qin Siyi moved ahead of them to push the door open. Gui Linghuo ducked in first to make sure he was in the optimal position to light the candles in the room. Shan Yu carefully guided Gui Yin forward, no longer as spritely and reckless as she was just a few seconds before. Gui Yin had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from laughing.
The children were being so sincere. If he laughed now, wouldn’t they be offended?
Silence followed the next few seconds. Gui Yin felt Shan Yu let go of his hand and move from his side.
“Is it dark enough yet?” Shan Yu whispered to Qin Siyi.
Gui Yin raised a brow. “The sun is just beginning to set. Shall I stand here until it’s night time?”
There was a short silence.
“It’s summer, so days are longer,” Qin Siyi whispered.
“It should be dark enough,” Shan Yu insisted. Gui Yin heard her little feet patter about impatiently. “It’s dinner time anyway, isn’t it?”
Gui Linghuo sighed.
In the next moment, Gui Yin felt a hand that was slightly larger than Shan Yu’s wrap around his own. He allowed himself to be tugged forward towards what he assumed to be the dining table.
“Shizun, you can open your eyes.”
Gui Yin did as he was told.
The large room, which was normally empty save for a few side tables and chairs, had been immaculately decorated with various table cloths and banners. Some of the decoration seemed out of place, but it was arranged as tastefully as possible. Although there was still a trail of sunlight, streaming in through the paper windows, the room was just dark enough to show off the few candles that were carefully placed around the room, allowing the room to look as if it were a scene straight from a fantasy novel.
Gui Yin looked at the faint orbs that circulated the room and held out his hand for one of them to land on.
“Where did you learn this spell?”
“Wu-shixiong taught us,” Gui Linghuo said. “He said it would make the room look prettier.”
Gui Yin glanced down at the food on the table. They were simple dishes that children who were just trying to cook wouldn’t be able to get wrong, but they were cooked to perfection. He glanced over at the three kids by his side. One was a little princess whose hands had never touched water until she came to the sect, while the other two fully relied on the dining hall to provide them with food.
“Who helped you cook?” Gui Yin asked in amusement.
“Pan-shijie,” Qin Siyi said.
Shan Yu shifted nervously. “Does Shizun not like it?”
Gui Yin stepped towards the table and picked up a pair of chopsticks. He randomly selected a dish to taste. Only after swallowing did he turn to look at the three children.
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi had always worked hard and excelled in cultivation. Even during their monthly evaluations, they were never this nervous. Their fingers fidgeted at their sides. Shan Yu was even worse. She resisted every fiber of her being telling her to demand an answer from Gui Yin and waited in silence.
“It tastes good,” Gui Yin complimented. “I’ve never had anyone do this for me before. I really appreciate it.”
Gui Linghuo’s eyes widened. Shan Yu shrieked in happiness as she hugged her martial siblings beside her. Qin Siyi’s face was flushed with excitement and she even bounced along with Shan Yu.
As the three children celebrated, Gui Yin sat down to eat a few more bites. Once their excitement died down a bit, the three children joined him at the table as well.
As they ate, Gui Yin asked them about their day. When he asked, he expected complaints about how difficult it was to prepare a party by themselves, but nothing of the sort came from their mouths.
Shan Yu whined about how she had trouble with a certain concept in her book, while Qin Siyi talked about how amusing the martial siblings from another peak were. Gui Linghuo had little to offer, but he ate silently and only interjected when parts of Shan Yu’s story were incorrect.
Gui Yin listened patiently, but he couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since he had such a harmonious dinner with so many people.
…It seemed like he had never had one before.
Dinner was always a place for fighting or to pick at each other’s faults. The best dinners Gui Yin had experienced were ones that were done in complete silence.
“…Shizun?”
Gui Yin’s attention was drawn back to reality. He looked at Gui Linghuo.
“Shizun, are you okay?” Gui Linghuo asked.
Gui Yin softly shook his head. “I’m fine. I was just thinking…”
Gui Linghuo waited patiently for Gui Yin to continue.
“…Thinking that I should cook you all a meal next,” Gui Yin said.
Shan Yu’s eyes widened in excitement. “Can it be wonton soup?”
“It can be whatever you want,” Gui Yin said with a gentle pat to her head.
“I want to eat Shizun’s personally made wontons,” Qin Siyi said with some excitement in her eyes.
Gui Yin chuckled. He glanced at Gui Linghuo to see his reaction, only to find that the boy was looking at him with an equal amount of excitement.
“Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll make some wontons for dinner,” Gui Yin agreed.
“Shizun is the best of the best!” Shan Yu shouted. “I want to marry Shizun even more now!”
“What are you saying?” Qin Siyi clicked her tongue. “If Shizun is going to marry anyone, it has to be someone who knows how to cook and clean and take care of him. You can’t do any of those things.”
“I-I can learn!” Shan Yu looked at Gui Yin seriously.
“Really? Then, tomorrow, why don’t you go and clean the library?” Gui Linghuo suggested.
Shan Yu’s eyes widened. She gulped slightly and buried her head into her bowl of rice. “W-well, I’m still young. I can learn another time, right?”
Gui Yin laughed. “Alright, you two. Don’t tease her too much.”
Shan Yu rushed to hug Gui Yin’s arm. She stuck her tongue out at her two elder martial siblings. “This is why I love Shizun the most.”
“Who wants to be loved by you?” Gui Linghuo rolled his eyes.
Qin Siyi said nothing, but shook her head, as if in agreement with Gui Linghuo.
“Shizun,” Shan Yu whined.
“Your martial siblings are just teasing you,” Gui Yin laughed. He rubbed Shan Yu’s head. “Be good and sit up properly so you can eat.”
Once dinner was finished, Gui Yin took the dishes back to the kitchen.
The servant, who had stopped by to deliver groceries for the week, froze upon seeing Gui Yin. “Elder Gui, I could wash those if you would like?”
Gui Yin shook his head. “It’s fine. I don’t exactly have to wash the dishes personally anyway.”
Since Gui Yin had lost his memory, he had long dismissed the maids and servants that looked after the peak. He found it unnecessary, considering the fact that there were only four of them and the peak was actually quite small. Besides, doing one’s own chores strengthened their character. It would be horrible if Miss Shen’s little protagonists were raised to become young masters and young misses.
However, as someone who was a sect elder, Gui Yin obviously didn’t personally do the dishes. He used a cleaning talisman to tidy up the kitchen and put the bowls and plates away by hand.
Once he finished, he left the kitchen and returned to his own room.
It was dark by now. The lanterns powered by spiritual stones lit up the peak and flanked the cobblestone walkway. The dorms were still alight, but the library, the training grounds, and the small dining hall were all dimmed now. Gui Yin’s gaze lingered on the dorms for a moment. He could just barely make out the shadows of Qin Siyi and Shan Yu running around. He could hear Gui Linghuo yelling at the two girls, but the two girls were too involved in their own fun to pay any attention to him.
Gui Yin chuckled to himself and shook his head.
Children will be children.
The cobbled path from the kitchen to Gui Yin’s residence wasn’t far away and he arrived at his door before he could think much about the day’s festivities.
As he crossed the zig-zagging bridge, he paused a moment and looked up at the maple trees around him.
Maple trees on Shuangye Peak were red year-round because of a spell. No matter how many leaves fall to the ground, the tree itself would still be lush with red. Various red leaves had fallen into the lake below the trees a while ago. By some miracle, Gui Yin had remembered the spell he had used before to clear the leaves away. Now, whenever the lives piled up too high, Gui Yin would simply wave his hand and the leaves would disappear.
Gui Yin lifted his hand. The spell had yet to form in his mind when a movement caught his eye.
His wrist turned in mid-air. The deep thrum of the guqin filled the night air. Birds flew from their spots, startled by the sudden sound. The water beneath the bridge wavered and the red leaves above trembled.
Gui Yin frowned, his hand still hovering over the body of Shui Meng. He took a few steps closer to the underbrush he had seen move.
“Who’s there?” Gui Yin asked.
His voice was met with silence, but Gui Yin knew what he had seen was not an animal. He had sensed the presence of a person.
“If you come out now, I won’t harm you,” Gui Yin said.
He looked around warily, but there was still nothing.
Shui Meng vanished in a trickle of soft blue light. Gui Yin shook his head and, again, raised his hand to get rid of the red maple leaves. He continued over the bridge and past the main hall of his residence until he made it to his room.
The candles flickered on and Gui Yin pulled his coat off. He tossed it to the side and flopped down on the divan.
He reached out for the book beside the divan and flipped it open. But, again, his movements froze.
He looked around his room.
It wasn’t that there was something missing, or that there was even something necessarily off, but Gui Yin felt as if someone had been here before.
And it was that same aura.
Gui Yin placed his book down. He stood to search his room, but the book inexplicably fell to the floor.
Gui Yin stared at it.
After a moment of hesitation, Gui Yin bent down to pick the book up. He turned the book over to look at the page it had fallen open on. He plucked the folded note from between the pages before set the book down and unfolded it.
The penmanship was clean and elegant, but it was unnatural and fairly obvious that the person had put in a lot of effort to make it presentable. If Gui Yin squinted, he could almost feel a sense of familiarity, but whenever he tried to grasp onto it, the memory would run away and scatter. He set aside his doubts for now and concentrated, instead, on the words.
Happy Birthday.
The two words stood out starkly on the white piece of paper.
Gui Yin turned it to the back and looked at it again, but there was nothing else that accompanied these words. Gui Yin frowned.
“You went through the trouble of breaking past my formations, just to deliver a birthday card to me?” Gui Yin wondered out loud.
He scoffed, but still folded up the piece of paper neatly. He tucked it back into his book.
Although the note had appeared mysteriously, and Gui Yin still couldn’t shake the odd feeling he got from the intruder, and he, for some reason, was unable to bring himself to throw it away. He glanced at the book again and then looked around the room. He wandered to his bed and sat down for a moment.
“Happy birthday,” Gui Yin repeated. He laid down and looked up at the ceiling. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He sighed and closed his eyes. “Alright. I’ll accept your birthday wishes this time.”
Because, for the first time ever, today truly had been a happy birthday.
AAAAAAAAAAA crying;;;;;; sobbing;;;;;;
Little Big Gui Yin is finally happy 😭☺
Was the cheating of his lover real or staged by someone else?!?! It had to have been his lover who sent the note, especially with him knowing the aura and memory failing with it. But is the lover salvageable?!?!????
|_・) the two unvierses reflect each other, but some things aren’t exactly the same THANKS FOR READING
Him talking to himself at the end sounds like that one time I thought my computer was hacked when I was younger so I typed out messages to the hacker on the writing app of my computer😭😭😭
LMAO PLEASE 😭😭 thanks for reading LOL
Happy birthday!! (Although I am late to the novel lol)
Thanks for the chapter owO
hehe thank you so much! i can’t believe the tenth chapter was so long ago tho…ah…
I THINK ITS THE MYSTERIOUS HOOD GUY AKA PROBABLY ERYE WHO SENT THE NOTE