A/N: We’ve reached the goal again! Thank you to the monthly and one off supporters over on ko-fi for this bonus chapter! If you would also like to support me and get closer to achieving an extra chapter, click the link below to tip me on ko-fi uwu
“Lord Immortal Ninglan, a letter came to you from Yunjing Pavilion.”
Gui Yin glanced away from the chess board. He placed the pawn back down and took the letter. He turned it in his hand curiously and glanced at the front. “From Yunjing Pavilion?”
Su Wen nodded.
He glanced at Gui Linghuo and Yankui. Yankui was hanging off of Gui Linghuo like an angered cat. His brows were tightly furrowed as he looked at the chess pieces in front of him. Once in a while, Gui Linghuo would lift one and read off the character that was etched into the pieces. Yankui looked as if he were trying his hardest to remember, but it was clear that the word wouldn’t connect with the character any time soon.
Gui Yin had read over the letter in a short amount of time. His brows were raised curiously as he frowned and reread it.
“Shizun, is there something wrong?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“Well, not wrong, necessarily,” Gui Yin said. “It’s from Fangyin.”
“Li-ge?” Gui Linghuo straightened. “Why did he suddenly write to you, Shizun?”
“There are some things we were investigating and he wrote to me with some new findings,” Gui Yin said. His voice trailed off and he frowned. He turned to Su Wen. “Is your Master done with A-Qi yet?”
“Not yet, My Lord,” Su Wen said.
“I see,” Gui Yin murmured. He folded the letter and tucked it into his sleeve. “Thank you, then.”
Su Wen bowed and quickly left. Yankui leaned over the table curiously. “Is it something we shouldn’t know?”
Gui Yin glanced at Yankui in amusement. “It’s not that. But it’s a lot to explain.”
Yankui hesitated and looked at Gui Linghuo. He wasn’t quite used to the speech of those from the Upper Realm, so he couldn’t figure out if Gui Yin was being polite or if he truly meant his words. Gui Linghuo gently petted Yankui’s hair before he turned back to Gui Yin.
“If Shizun is willing, this disciple will listen.”
Gui Yin nodded. Although Gui Linghuo was still recovering, it would still be better for him to learn about what was happening in the outside world. He thought about where to start for a moment, before he began from what Yankui had told them of. Gui Linghuo listened silently, the knight piece turning between his fingers as Gui Yin spoke. His gaze darkened slightly and he placed the knight piece back down as Gui Yin drew to what had recently happened in Zheng Yu Lake.
“So, Li-ge suspected that his own father might be conspiring against Beidou Alliance with the Half Moon Cult?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“There is that possibility,” Gui Yin said. “Though, it wouldn’t be the Beidou Alliance he’s conspiring against. Rather, it would be the entire cultivation world. The Beidou Alliance isn’t without its moles, I believe.”
Gui Linghuo’s expression became severe. “That’s troublesome.”
“It is,” Gui Yin agreed.
The establishment of the alliance came about to punish those who were defying the natural order of the world and to punish evil. However, if the alliance itself was corrupt, then that meant Gui Yin would have to have concrete evidence before he accused anyone, lest the alliance turn the gun on him and accuse Gui Yin of everything he had exposed. And if not that, then Gui Yin had to be careful of the spies amongst the righteous sects.
Zhengyang Shan Sect was in shambles with in-fighting. And because of their unstable position with their new and young sect leader, their allies had long abandoned them. Yunjing Pavilion had started to lose the faith of the public in the five years that Lin Cangyuan and Gui Yin had been unavailable. Their loose alliances with various sects across the Upper Realm had also defected. Most of those that had left Zhengyang Shan Sect and Yunjing Pavilion had flocked towards Yin Hua Palace, whose power has remained stable since they had the least heavy hand in the war.
Depending on how many spies there were in the righteous sects, exposing early on that they knew about the revival of the demon god would result in a fight that would harm the confused righteous sects, while aiding the traitors who were onboard with the revival of the demon god.
Gui Linghuo frowned. “I just don’t understand why a righteous cultivator would side with devil cultivators.”
Yankui glanced at Gui Linghuo. “It’s simple really. Two words—human greed. Some people embark on the devil path because they had no other choice—survival is more important to them. However, there are scum of the earth who lack a talented for anything other than breathing and eating, so they take the ‘easy’ way—that is, to sacrifice their body and even their soul to gain power.”
He leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. “You might look at your neighbor and think that there would never be any way that they could fall onto the devil path, but it’s really simple. As long as you have desires, anyone could fall onto the devil path. You can. Laoshi also can.”
“That—”
“Xiao Kui is right,” Gui Yin said with a slight nod. “The human heart is an unfathomable thing. When one feels as if they have been pushed into a corner, anything is possible.”
Yankui nodded. “You may think it’s impossible, but it’s far easier to manipulate one’s heart demons than you think. And if the person’s mental fortitude is bad, then, well—” Yankui shrugged, “Easier pickings for us.”
“Us?” Gui Linghuo raised a brow.
“Them,” Yankui cleared his throat. He wrinkled his nose. “I meant them.”
Gui Yin chuckled at Yankui’s embarrassment. He sighed. “Well, that’s the truth of the world, isn’t it?”
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.
Gui Linghuo glanced at Gui Yin. “So…do you really think Palace Lord Li is involved in something like that?”
“Po Vtjc Te’r ugfja ecmif mbeiv yf…kfii, ab yf tbcfra, P vbc’a atlcx Ol Lejckfl lr mjqjyif bo rbwfatlcu ilxf atlr. P’w regf tf’r yffc wjclqeijafv rbwftbk,” Xel Tlc rjlv. “Lf’r j yjv qfgrbc, yea tf lrc’a fnli.”
Tjcxel uijcmfv ja Xel Tlc jcv ribkis, yea ibevis, rlqqfv tlr afj. Xel Tlc jcv Xel Olcuteb ibbxfv ja tlw.
“I didn’t say anything,” Yankui innocently pouted.
Gui Yin raised a brow. “But you want to.”
“The human heart is unfathomable,” Yankui said, echoing Gui Yin’s earlier sentiment. “Laoshi, you may you think you know a person one day, but the next day, it turns out that they actually have two heads and a mouthful of fangs. Humans should never be trusted.”
Yankui paused for a moment, before shaking his head. “No, in Laoshi’s case, I should say ‘humans should never be underestimated’.”
Seeing Gui Yin’s expression, Gui Linghuo softly cleared his throat. “Well, what did Li-ge say?”
“He said we should meet up,” Gui Yin said as he smoothed out the letter. He frowned slightly. “He said there’s a lot he needs to tell me, but it’s not convenient to write it all down in a letter.”
Gui Linghuo and Yankui glanced at each other.
“Forget it, I know,” Gui Yin said.
“If it turns out Palace Lord Li’s situation is similar to Shan Yu’s great uncle, what will you do, Shizun?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“Probably encourage Fangyin to take his position as palace lord as soon as possible,” Gui Yin said. He sighed and shook his head. “If he wants to meet and talk, he probably has enough evidence to get Li Huanwei off of the palace lord’s seat.”
Silence fell over the chessboard.
Gui Yin wasn’t sure how to describe what he was feeling. He had no attachments to Li Huanwei, but there was still that sense of disbelief. What in the world had driven him to succumb to his heart demons in this way? The man had practically everything anyone could ask for.
He glanced back at the chessboard between them and stood. “I’m going to talk to your Sun-shushu about this.”
Gui Linghuo nodded. “It’s about time I return to Lord Xun’s abode.”
“I’ll walk you back,” Yankui volunteered. He hopped out of his seat and turned to Gui Yin. “I’ll be back later!”
Gui Yin smiled and watched as the two young men left the common area. He gripped the letter and headed back to Langxia’s room.
The path back was long and contained many winding hallways. In the time it took Gui Yin to get there, his mind had wandered down a multitude of different paths, none of which could be properly comprehended. His head throbbed slightly, but all he could do was sigh as he raised a hand to knock on the door.
The doors slowly creaked open, revealing the lone man, laying on the bed. His robes fell slightly to the side, revealing his scarred torso through the gauzy curtains. A soft wind blew in from the terrace, making the curtains shift and sway. As the doors closed behind Gui Yin, all the confusion and doubt were also left on the other side of those heavy doors. The tight furrow of his brow loosened with each step he took towards the bed. And when he sat down amongst the cushions, a warm hand snaking around his waist and pulling him back, a smile had already made his way to his lips.
Langxia pressed a kiss to the back of Gui Yin’s neck. He pressed his forehead against his back as he shifted forward. “What are you making that worried face, my dear?”
“You,” Gui Yin said. He lifted a hand and pressed it to Langxia’s forehead. “How are you still so warm?”
“I was born with a higher body temperature than most,” Langxia said, his head nuzzling against Gui Yin’s outstretched hand. He fitted his cheek perfectly against the curve of Gui Yin’s palm. “Of course, my fever would seem a bit outrageous compared to what you’re used to.”
“What a load of baloney,” Gui Yin scoffed. He turned and helped Langxia back down. He tugged the blanket up slightly and pulled the lapels of Langxia’s robes back together. “Do you feel better?”
“Mn, a lot better,” Langxia nodded.
Gui Yin raised a brow.
“My back still stings a little,” Langxia admitted.
Gui Yin frowned. “I’ll apply more of the salve Lord Xun gave you later.”
Langxia nodded. He closed his eyes and rested his head against Gui Yin’s thigh. “I’m also sleepy.”
“Then, take a nap,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia shook his head. “You still haven’t told me what’s wrong.”
Gui Yin chuckled as he ran his fingers through Langxia’s hair. “I did, didn’t I? I’m worried about you.”
“This isn’t fair, Qinle,” Langxia murmured. “I was truthful.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“You’re my little fox; my little fox has always been a liar,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. He leaned back against the wall and collected a few strands of Langxia’s hair into his hands. He began to slowly braid them. “I was just thinking about…everything.”
“That’s a lot to think about,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin hummed. “It is. But the moment I stepped into your room and saw you, I stopped thinking about all those things.”
“Wow, I must be really magical,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin smiled. “You sure are.”
“Then, of everything you were thinking about, is there anything you want to discuss with me?” Langxia asked.
Gui Yin fell silent.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Langxia said.
“Qiao Ceng…”
Langxia’s eyes slowly opened.
“You knew about him from the beginning, right?” Gui Yin whispered. “Did you refrain from telling me about him because you wanted to protect me?”
“No,” Langxia said. “I knew you would have found out eventually. And if I had told you, you wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Even in the labyrinth, you nearly fell into madness, didn’t you? If I had told you earlier, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to recover. Since I saw that you would learn of your past eventually, I didn’t think it was my place to be the one to tell you.”
“Is there anything else you think that I should know?” Gui Yin asked.
“You remember everything now, don’t you?” Langxia said. “What more could there be?”
Gui Yin lowered his gaze. He looked at Langxia’s profile and reached out to touch his long lashes. “Any grievances you might have had during that time.”
Langxia closed an eye as he felt Gui Yin’s fingers lightly touch his lashes. He turned onto his back and looked up at Gui Yin. “Grievances?”
“I forgot about you and fell in love with the person who hurt you,” Gui Yin said. “Do you have anything you want to say to me?”
Langxia showed an expression of confusion before he puffed out a laugh. He sat up, one arm on the other side of Gui Yin as he rested his head against Gui Yin’s shoulder. He pulled him into a hug and hummed.
“Grievances, huh?” Langxia whispered. “I do have a few.”
Gui Yin’s heart thumped. He glanced at Langxia. “You can tell me. I won’t be upset.”
“Well, for one, you rarely initiate our kisses, but from what I saw, you’d always kiss him first,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin froze. “I…huh?”
“And you acted very spoiled in front of that man, but for some reason, in front of me, you’re always just trying to take care of me,” Langxia said with a soft sigh.
“…Wait, A-Xia—”
“But it’s okay,” Langxia said. He sat back with a slightly tilted head. “I know it’s because he seemed like a reliable person, so I’ll show you that I can be reliable too.”
Gui Yin stared at Langxia speechlessly. His mouth opened and closed a few times, as if he was on the verge of forming a word, but was unable to. He eventually closed his mouth, gulped, and averted his gaze.
“I was being serious.”
“I was too,” Langxia said.
“You’re…plenty reliable,” Gui Yin mumbled. He glanced at Langxia. “But you’re a bit too close.”
“I want to be even closer,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin shifted his gaze away again. “Well…sure, go ahead.”
Langxia smiled and rested against Gui Yin’s body. “What else?”
“Huh?”
“What else is bothering you?”
“Li…um,” Gui Yin shifted slightly. He glanced at Langxia, who was cuddled close to him. “Um, Li Fangyin…”
“Another man,” Langxia mumbled.
“Huh?”
“Nothing,” Langxia shook his head. “What about him?”
“He sent me a letter. He said that we should meet up. I’m afraid that he’s found evidence supporting that Li Huanwei may have fallen into the same trap as Shan Yu’s grand uncle,” Gui Yin said. He sighed. “I wonder how many more there are.”
“Is that something to be troubled by?” Langxia asked.
Gui Yin raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“Li Fangyin is a capable person—he can unseat Li Huanwei at any time. He just needs a little support,” Langxia said. “If he’s become rotten, then just throw him out. That’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Gui Yin chuckled. “Is it that easy?”
“It’s that easy,” Langxia said. “But if you need to leave and talk to Li Fangyin, then feel free to.”
“I can’t leave you while you’re still ill,” Gui Yin said with a frown.
Langxia’s lips curved into a smile. “Your sentiment is enough.”
“Nonsense,” Gui Yin scoffed. He glanced down Langxia’s back, at the scars that peeked through. “You got into this state because of me. I can’t just leave you.”
“Qinle, you’re so sweet,” Langxia shifted even closer.
“And you’re—suffocating me,” Gui Yin clicked his tongue. He placed a hand on Langxia’s chest. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”
“Mm, maybe I’m not,” Langxia hummed. He nuzzled closer. “What else is bothering you?”
“I…” Gui Yin’s voice trailed off. He awkwardly cleared his throat. “I…I forgot.”
“Hm? Forgot?” Langxia asked.
Gui Yin glared at him. “Isn’t it because of you? How can I remember anything when you’re acting like this?”
“What am I acting like?” Langxia questioned. He sat back and looked at Gui Yin innocently. “You don’t know how worried I was when the labyrinth started collapsing. Every moment up until now, I didn’t get to make sure you’re okay. Can’t I do that now?”
Gui Yin looked at Langxia’s expression and found himself unable to say anything. He opened his arms and let Langxia drill himself back into his embrace. “You and your way with words.”
Langxia smiled. “My Qinle, your so soft-hearted.”
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. It was only with Langxia that he was unable to argue back against anything. But even if both of them knew this, he wasn’t going to admit it himself.
“Were you that worried?” Gui Yin asked after a while.
“I was,” Langxia said. “I was prepared to riot through all of Heaven if anything happened to you. I don’t think my heart has ever beat so fast before.”
“It won’t happen again, I promise,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia chuckled. “Are you so certain you won’t make me worried again?”
“Well…”
“It’s fine,” Langxia said. “Even if you continue to make me worried, I will continue to stay by your side and protect you. Even if you go into the most unreachable corners of the universe, I will find a way to bring you back.”
It was a ridiculous promise, but for some reason, Gui Yin believed him.
“Is there anything else?”
“I really don’t remember,” Gui Yin murmured. “I’ll tell you when I do.”
Langxia chuckled. “Then, let’s take a nap. I’m getting a little tired again.”
Gosh, I love them😩
Thanks for reading!
i cannot articulate how much i love Langxia and Gui Yin beyond just repeating that i love them ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
hehe thanks for reading!
i kind of feel bad for QC TT….our poor villain
Man, I just love the “sensei” Gui Yin that is so collected and calm, then, we just see the kind of a embarrassed mess that Gui Yin got reduced to by langxia’s cuddles haha (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧*。
Why do I have this horrible suspicion that it isn’t Li Huanwei we should worry about, but Li Fangyin… I’ve had it for awhile now.
Yes yes .. I really do not want to feel absolute betrayal from him though. I’d cry ngl .. my gawd .. the way they keep saying huanwei can’t do that . There’s someone manipulating him .. I keep thinking of fangyin … I’ll cry.. and question humanity fr
This is pure adorableness! I love how all of GY’s worries jist disappear when he’s with LX 😭😭