The entire night, Gui Yin had a dream that there was a large dog sitting on his chest, poking him with its tongue whenever it didn’t get the kind of petting that it wanted. When morning came and Gui Yin opened his eyes, he was alarmed to find the child laying on his chest.
The round eyes stared up at Gui Yin, as if he hadn’t slept a wink. When Gui Yin sat up, the boy continued to cling to him, regardless of how uncomfortable it had gotten to sit in this position. Gui Yin pushed a hand through his hair and glanced at the boy as he reached for his crown and ribbon.
“Are you hungry?”
The boy nodded.
Gui Yin suppressed a yawn and pulled out the remainder of his food for the boy. He attempted to move the child, but the child remained planted in his lap, refusing to move even a centimeter.
Gui Yin sighed and pulled out a comb. He began to run it through the child’s unruly hair. “Did you sleep well last night?”
The boy nodded. He tilted his head back to cooperate with Gui Yin, but Gui Yin set his head straight and drowsily began to untangle the knots that had collected over the night.
By the time Gui Yin was finished, the boy had long finished his breakfast. Gui Yin pulled out a ribbon and carefully tied his hair. He finally turned to get ready himself. Once finished, Gui Yin left the cave.
“I’m going to take you somewhere safe. You’ll have a very comfy bed and clothes that will fit you,” Gui Yin said.
The boy stared at him silently. For a moment, Gui Yin wondered if he had understood. But with the way those eyes had suddenly lit up, Gui Yin’s doubts were temporarily subdued.
It took two days and a night to bring the boy back to Hongyan Tower. When they arrived, the servants immediately greeted Gui Yin as they would their own master. Gui Yin hummed and turned to the steward, who had been following Gui Yin since they arrived.
“Take care of this child for now,” Gui Yin said, setting the boy down. “I suspect he might be some kind of spirit, but I still haven’t been able to figure it out. He can’t talk and he eats a lot. He seems to be traumatized from something, so be careful when you’re around him. He might attack you or he might hide and run away.”
“Yes, My Lord,” the steward bowed his head. He glanced at the boy curiously. Where had their master’s partner picked up this raggedy thing?
Gui Yin crouched down and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You stay here for now, okay? I’ll be back for you.”
The boy’s eyes widened. He looked around and took in his surroundings. Just when Gui Yin thought it would be fine to leave, his sleeve was suddenly latched onto.
Gui Yin smiled helplessly. “I’ll be back. I just need to step out to take care of things—”
“Ah!”
The boy had barely made any sounds during their trip. The sudden noise surprised Gui Yin, but he didn’t give in.
“It’s too dangerous where I’m going, so I can’t bring you along. Just be good and—”
“Ah! Ah!” the boy’s cries became a little more desperate. His round eyes began to tear up and his fingernails dug into Gui Yin’s arm. “Ah! Ah!”
The steward watching to the side frowned slightly. “My Lord, it doesn’t seem like he wants you to leave him here.”
It was quite understandable. If this child had had a difficult time in the past, he would be reluctant to part from someone who just showed him kindness.
Gui Yin felt a headache coming on. He placed his hand over the boy’s hand. “You might get hurt. I won’t be able to take care of you out there. It’s safer for you here.”
The boy adamantly shook his head. His screams became louder and more desperate. Frustration mixed in with his sadness and tears began to roll down his cheeks. Gui Yin’s brows furrowed. He fell silent as he listened to the boy’s awkward squawking and finally sighed.
“Alright, alright. Calm down,” Gui Yin muttered as he drew the boy into his arms. He brushed a hand up and down the boy’s back. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not abandoning you.”
The boy’s face scrunched up as he wrapped his arms around Gui Yin’s neck. “Ah!”
“It’s okay,” Gui Yin hummed. His brows furrowed as he scooped the boy up. He let out a short sigh. Well, it was just a brief visit. He wasn’t planning on busting the place down by himself. He’ll just find the location of the cauldrons and head back to Kunlun after.
Honestly, the hardest part of this trip might be trying to get this unidentified boy past Kunlun’s gates.
“Forget it,” Gui Yin said, turning to the steward. “I’ll just take him with me.”
The steward looked at Gui Yin worriedly. “Are you sure, my lord? You could just leave him here. He’ll get used to it eve—”
The steward’s words stopped short. A heavy pressure suddenly pressed down on his shoulders. For a brief second, it felt like his skull had popped from his neck. His hand came up to touch where his neck and head connected, and the pressure disappeared as abruptly as it had happened. His brows furrowed and he glanced at the child that rested against Gui Yin’s chest. He opened his mouth to speak again but found himself unable to make a sound.
“It’ll be fine,” Gui Yin said with a small shake of his head. “I’m not planning on doing anything too dangerous. I’ll just cut my trip short and…are you okay?”
The steward swayed slightly. When his gaze refocused on Gui Yin, a small smile graced his face. He bowed his head humbly. “Yes, my lord. I was only thinking that you have quite the gracious heart. The child is lucky to have you come upon him?”
“Even if it weren’t me…well, I guess he’s lucky that he got to leave that wilderness,” Gui Yin said. He sighed and patted the boy’s back. “I apologize for disturbing you, by the way. You’re probably so busy trying to take care of everything Lord Sun left behind.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” the steward answered breezily. “I have subordinates to help me share the burden.”
Gui Yin chuckled. “That’s true.”
“Then, my lord, will you be staying for the night, or will you be setting off soon?” the steward asked.
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.
“Please tell the kitchen to prepare some things for the child to eat. I will be setting off tonight.”
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The steward’s brows furrowed as he made his way to the kitchen. His headache was slightly alleviated, but even after he had placed the order, he couldn’t remember what he wanted to say.
The steward sighed and shook his head. If it was like this, it was probably nothing important.
Gui Yin took the boy after that and left Yongxiu.
As they were traveling in the lower realm, Gui Yin had to take care to not seem too conspicuous. Still, with a quiet child by his side, he drew glances every once in a while, no matter how lowkey he dressed.
“Xiao Bao,” Gui Yin gave the child’s hair a quick toss. “After we finish this meal, do you mind if we avoid the towns and cities?”
The child that Gui Yin had unceremoniously nicknamed Xiao Bao, glanced at him with little opinion. Gui Yin smiled and passed over more sweets to the boy as he stood to pay their bill.
The child glanced at the unappetizing pastry, but still took it in his hand. He turned it this way and that, but by the time Gui Yin returned, the pastry had already been eaten in full and there was a satisfied little smile on the boy’s face. Gui Yin smiled in return and scooped the boy up.
“Did you like it? I’ll buy some more for the road.”
The boy’s eyes widened in alarm. He shook his head quickly and seemed a little worried that Gui Yin would go against his wishes and buy them anyway. Seeing how flustered the boy suddenly became, Gui Yin didn’t push the matter further. The boy probably didn’t want to bother Gui Yin than he already was.
After leaving that city, Gui Yin stuck to dilapidated temples and abandoned homes along the way. He teleported most of the way, shortening the distance by a great deal, until they finally reached the general vicinity of his destination.
One night, Gui Yin sat on the ground, observing the map as the boy slept against his thigh. His fingers hovered over the map as a soft sigh left his lips. He leaned back against the cave wall and glanced at the boy against his lap.
Since they had left Yongxiu, the boy hadn’t displayed any signs of discomfort. He didn’t even throw a tantrum as they pushed through this week of traveling. Although Gui Yin was careful to rest when he thought the boy was getting restless, he was still less careful than he might have been if he had been traveling with his disciples when they were around this boy’s age.
Gui Yin frowned worriedly as his fingers brushed through the boy’s hair. He wondered if the boy would be able to live normally once they returned to Shuangye Peak.
The boy, clueless of Gui Yin’s worries, leaned into Gui Yin’s hand. He rubbed back against it and slowly woke up, his gaze concentrating on Gui Yin until the man noticed he was awake.
“What’s wrong?” Gui Yin asked. “If you’re sleepy, then you should sleep more.”
The boy stared at Gui Yin unblinkingly. “Ah.”
“Hm?” Gui Yin raised a brow. He allowed himself to be tugged down by his pair of small hands. A light laugh was about to leave his lips when he felt something press against his cheek. He stared blankly ahead as he listened to a delighted giggle from beneath him.
He turned his gaze to the boy and rubbed his cheek. “What was that for?”
It was an innocent kiss from an innocent child, so there was really nothing for Gui Yin to get worked up about. But for a brief moment, panic flickered through Gui Yin’s mind, making him pause. What was wrong with this situation? If it had been Gui Linghuo, Siyi, or Shan Yu when they were children, he would barely have reacted. Maybe he would have even scooped them up and given them a big hug. But this boy…
His neck was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace, erasing any suspicions that had just arisen in his mind. He let out a short grunt, but still complied and lifted the boy into his arms. He patted the boy and breathed a small sigh.
He was probably just on edge. After he had remembered everything, he hadn’t quite been himself. Not to mention, Langxia was still…
Gui Yin rested his chin against the boy’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
He missed Langxia.
“Ah?”
“Huh?” Gui Yin tilted his head towards the boy. “It’s nothing.”
The boy squeaked again and pulled back to look at Gui Yin. He held his face and tilted his head curiously.
“I just…have someone I miss,” Gui Yin muttered. A beat of silence later, he shook his head with a small smile. “I’ll just spend more time with him when I get back.”
Gui Yin’s hand remained loosely around the boy, but his mind had long shifted elsewhere. The boy watched his absentminded expression, and his eyes slowly grew cold.
The small hands smacked Gui Yin’s cheeks, drawing him from his thoughts again. Gui Yin clicked his tongue and lifted the boy up.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum all of a sudden?”
“Ah! Ah!”
“If you want to sleep, then just sleep,” Gui Yin said, laying the boy back down on his lap. He patted his shoulder. “Goodnight.”
The boy didn’t look resigned, but he still remained obedient. His expression cooled as he closed his eyes again, but the sight of Gui Yin’s absentminded expression seemed to be burned into his mind.
When morning came again, Gui Yin found that the boy had crawled into his arms in the night. He chuckled and gave the boy’s hair a quick ruffle before getting up to get them ready for the day. Once breakfast was served and eaten, Gui Yin lingered hesitantly by the entrance of the cave. Finally, he cast a few spells and turned back to the back.
He gave the boy’s cheek a small pinch. “I’m going out for a bit. You stay here and be good, okay?”
The boy stared at him blankly. When he saw that Gui Yin was about to leave, he charged forward and grabbed him by the legs.
“Ah! Ah!”
Gui Yin gently pulled the boy’s hands off of him and smiled. “I’ll be back before sundown, so don’t worry. Afterwards, I’ll take you somewhere very nice where you can eat all you want and make a lot of new friends. How does that sound?”
The boy frantically shook his head. Tears began to surface in his eyes as he persistently clung onto Gui Yin’s legs.
Gui Yin gave the boy’s head a gentle pat. “Don’t throw a tantrum. I’m not abandoning you. I promise, I really will come back.”
Gui Yin thought about it for a moment and handed the boy Feng Hua. “Here. I need this, don’t I? If I leave it with you, that means I’ll definitely come back.”
The boy stared at the heavy sword in his hands in surprise. His head abruptly rose, but it was too late. Feng Hua fell to the ground just as Gui Yin stepped out of the cave.
The boy ran towards him but was sent back by a sudden force.
He fell to the ground and stared at Gui Yin in shock.
“Don’t run around anywhere,” Gui Yin said. He glanced at the little array he had set up. Well, it wasn’t like the boy could leave even if he wanted to.
Gui Yin bowed his head and quickly left the premises.
He’ll make it a quick and painless trip, so the little thing won’t think that Gui Yin had left him. He shook his head slightly. Was it just in his life to always pick up the stickiest ones? It was like that with Langxia, then it was his disciples, and now it was this child.
Gui Yin shook his head. Well, forget about it. He picked up the child, so he should be responsible.
Gui Yin turned his attention back to the matter at hand. At some point, he had wandered to the edge of the cliff. He frowned slightly and looked around. The last hideout should be around here somewhere, but he didn’t feel anything. His brows furrowed. Did that mean it was underground?
He closed his eyes and concentrated his spiritual energy. He stepped back from the cliff and turned slowly.
His eyes snapped up abruptly and he began to head to the left.
The trail was weak, threatening to fade at the slightest gust of wind. Gui Yin had to pause and observe more than several times. He sighed in mild irritation but tried to keep his patience. Luckily, the longer he walked, the denser the resentful energy became. His steps slowed once more as a gust of wind danced through his hair.
The hand around his fan tightened. His heart began to race. He forced a smile on his face despite the horrible premonition settling in his chest and he bowed his head in a friendly manner as the group ahead of him approached him.
“Lord Ninglan?” Li Huanwei’s voice reached Gui Yin’s ears as he straightened back up.
Even without looking at them, Gui Yin already noticed the suppressive atmosphere. At first, they had been confused and now, they were wary.
“Lord Ninglan, what are you doing all the way out here?” another sect master asked. He glanced at his companions. “I thought you were an honorary guest in Kunlun, enjoying your seclusion.”
“I was previously,” Gui Yin agreed. He glanced out into the vast ocean that was still within sight. “However, I instinctively felt that something was wrong, so I came here to check.”
“Came here to check?” Li Huanwei raised a brow. He glanced back at the underground dungeon that they had stumbled upon. It was clear that there used to be arrays set up, but they had all been scrubbed clean.
“Not here,” Gui Yin clarified. “I mean the Whirlpool Prison. I wandered here just because I sensed everyone’s presence. May I ask if something had really happened?”
The men glanced at each other. Gui Yin’s gaze flickered to their weapons that were slowly being strangled by their grips.
“Funny you say that,” Li Huanwei said. “We were here looking for my son.”
Surprised flickered over Gui Yin’s expression. “Your son? What happened to Fang—the Young Palace Lord?”
Li Huanwei smiled sarcastically. “The boy suddenly said that he had something to investigate and came all the way out here. It’s been months since I last heard from him, so I went to the spot he had marked on the map and found this area. We had just arrived and then Lord Ninglan suddenly appeared, saying something was amiss.”
Gui Yin glanced at the small cove behind the men. His palms began to sweat.
If it was a run in with anything else, Gui Yin might not have appeared so nervous. After all, his explanation was perfectly sound. He was one of the few people who could monitor the arrays around Whirlpool Prison. Since he had sensed that something was wrong, he came out of seclusion to check on it. Whirlpool Prison housed the most dangerous person on earth, so it was a given that he wouldn’t waste any time.
However, in front of these handful of people who were either strung up from whatever they had recently seen or weren’t even on the righteous side, Gui Yin had become the perfect target to place their doubts onto.
He glanced at Li Huanwei. This man claimed that his son had been investigating this area and had suddenly gone missing, but where was the proof? Li Fangyin had been tasked with investigating Yin Hua Palace by Gui Yin, so there was little to no reason that he would snoop all the way here. Unless…
“You haven’t found him yet?”
“My son?”
Gui Yin hummed. “Yes, the Young Palace Lord.”
“We haven’t,” Li Huanwei said.
His back faced the rest of the search party and his eyes remained steadily trained on Gui Yin. Gui Yin’s heart tightened. There was no way this man would…kill his own son, would he?
The crowd beside Li Huanwei began to shift. One, slightly more level-headed member of the party, lightly cleared his throat.
“Palace Lord Li, Lord Ninglan came on official business. We shouldn’t keep him. If you have any other questions, perhaps we should ask after he returns from inspecting the—”
The man’s words abruptly trailed off. The birds that had just been peacefully resting in the trees above scattered in terrified squawks. Smaller and bigger animals that had been lurking nearby all took off in an abrupt sprint.
The group of men, who had earned their seats as some of the most respected cultivators in society, began to wobble. Their steps faltered as the leaves above them shook. Gui Yin’s brows furrowed as he reached out a hand to steady himself against a tree.
“An earthquake?” someone postulated.
“So suddenly?” another denied this suggestion. “This part of the continent normally never has earthquakes.”
“Then what is—”
“There!” someone shouted.
Gui Yin turned to the vast ocean once more. His eyes widened as he watched as the white clouds in the sky suddenly blackened. The previously blue landscape turned a horrific crimson. The sky, which had been clear before, began to rain black soot. Gui Yin lifted a hand and watched as the black flecks stained his palm.
A dense, back crushing pressure descended on the eleven cultivators, causing some of a lower level to bleed from their orifices.
“Qiao…Ceng,” Gui Yin muttered.
Li Huanwei whipped his head towards Gui Yin. “It’s you!”
Gui Yin turned to the other man, too stunned to even defend himself.
Li Huanwei let out a wry laugh. “I just know it was you! The rumors from back in the day must have been true.”
“R-rumors? Palace Lord Li, now is not the time to be talking about this. We should—”
“You didn’t follow your shizun and your martial siblings to lock up the great demon, Qiao Ceng, because you were his lover. Isn’t that right?” Li Huanwei snapped, his voice ringing loudly despite the waves that were crashing against the side of the mountain.
Gui Yin swayed as his normally neutral face took on an ugly expression. “What are you trying to say, Li Huanwei?”
“You came to check on Whirlpool Prison? I think you actually came to free Qiao Ceng from his shackles!” Li Huanwei shouted. He unsheathed his sword and stepped forward. “You must have gotten rid of my son as well, since he had caught onto your little scheme! And to think he admired you so!”
Gui Yin was speechless at the idiocy that was currently being spewed. Luckily, Gui Yin moved out of instinct. He managed to avoid Li Huanwei’s sword and put himself a distance away.
“What kind of nonsense are you spewing right now, Li Huanwei!?” Gui Yin asked, his ears buzzing from the tremendous pressure that was quickly approaching. “Do you even understand the entire situation? How could you accuse me of something as heinous as freeing the Great Demon God, Qiao Ceng, just because of some baseless rumors of the past?!”
Li Huanwei turned to his comrades. “But don’t you all think it’s far too coincidental? What are the odds that Gui Qinle showed up just as we were about to investigate this hideout? What are the odds that Gui Qinle ‘sensed something was wrong’ and came, just as Whirlpool Prison exploded?!”
“I haven’t even gone out there! I just arrived!” Gui Yin said. He turned to the men standing behind Li Huanwei. “You all wouldn’t believe him, would you?”
Li Huanwei smirked and turned to Gui Yin. “Oh yeah? Then, tell us, what you’ve been doing the past few months. Were you really in seclusion, or were you colluding with demonic cultivators?”
“Of course, I was in seclusion!” Gui Yin said. “What are you even—”
“Then, prove it.”
“Prove it? How…How am I supposed to,” Gui Yin stared at the man in front of him, flabbergasted. He scoffed. “Fine, don’t you just need a witness statement? Let’s head back and I’ll ask Huigu Palace—”
Li Huanwei shook his head. “It’s clear that you and Huigu Palace have close relations. We can’t rely on their testimony.”
Gui Yin stared at Li Huanwei. He finally let out an incredulous laugh. “I have been cultivating at Huigu Palace this entire time. If you don’t ask them for their testimony, then who else would you ask?”
“If you left, I’m sure the people guarding the entrance of Kunlun would have taken note,” Li Huanwei said, a satisfied smugness to his voice.
The people guarding the entrance…Gui Yin’s gaze turned cold.
If Li Huanwei was so confident, then it must mean there are already traitors in Kunlun.
If Gui Yin remained and allowed Li Huanwei to gather everyone’s “testimony”, he would definitely be convicted and found to be guilty. Aside from Yunjing Pavilion, there was no one else in this world that knew how to access the matrixes in Whirlpool Prison. And everyone knew that, aside from Gui Yin, Yunjing Pavilion had been quietly trying to rebuild themselves as of late. The only outlier in this situation was him.
But if Gui Yin fled now in order to figure out who the true culprit was, it was an immediate death sentence. Those on the fence right now would immediately declare him guilty. He would become a fugitive on the run and it would be even more difficult to sort things out later.
Gui Yin held his head and let out a short laugh. He should have known. He should have been more careful. He thought that just knowing their plot to target the pillars of the upper realm was enough to keep an eye on them. He had underestimated his enemies.
He had underestimated Qiao Ceng.
“So, Lord Ninglan?”
Gui Yin’s brow twitched. The name he had so proudly earned was being spoken from a foul mouth, full of ridicule. His fists clenched tightly at his side as he raised his head to look at Li Huanwei.
He dropped Fenghua and held out his hands. “Fine. Take me back for investigation then.”
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
thanks for the chapter;;;;
Fuck
So…. The kid is really Qiao Ceng?