Gui Yin hadn’t thought about revealing himself so quickly or so easily. He wanted to dance around in his disguise for a while longer, especially since Young Master Chong was not yet ready to reveal himself. However, the conversation he had overheard made his blood boil over. As a man of the twenty-first century—no. As a person with a moral compass, how could he pretend he didn’t hear anything? Not to mention, the way Lou Yiwen had looked at him and the way Qian Guang had looked at Young Master Chong chilled Gui Yin to the bone. Just thinking of it made him itchy all over. He had to use his greater willpower to stop himself from scratching his arms red out of disgust.
If Gui Yin already felt this way from just one glance, what about all the victims that had to suffer powerlessly in silence? And for how long had this been going on? How many people had this affected?
Just the thought made Gui Yin angrier and angrier.
His fingers twitched at his side and he irritably tapped his index finger against his folding fan. He hated that he had to hold back.
If he lashed out right now, it would implicate Yunjing Pavilion. He had to handle it in accordance with Beidou Alliance’s stipulations. However, once this clan was kicked out of the Beidou Alliance…
A dark thought flitted through Gui Yin’s mind. He hardly even noticed how uncharacteristic it was of him.
Young Master Chong didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. He revealed a small smile and only stepped a bit closer to Gui Yin, distancing himself from the three who were facing Gui Yin’s wrath. The maturity and sensibility that was on his face from before nearly disappeared. In its place was childish arrogance and mockery—something that Gui Yin completely missed.
Under Gui Yin’s pressure, Liu Yiwen and Qian Guang confessed to certain things, such as the illegal raising of taxation on the common people, or the harassment done by Qian Sect disciples, and even the act of pretending to be Yunjing Pavilion disciples by more than several members of their sect.
The more Gui Yin listened, the more irritable he felt.
“Lord Ninglan.”
The title pulled Gui Yin from his thoughts. He glanced at Young Master Chong.
“I have it all recorded,” the young man said as he held up an orb that had a swirl of fine white mist inside. “We can just send this to the Beidou Alliance’s headquarters and they will deal with the rest.”
Gui Yin wanted to agree, but something in his mind held him back. “Is it that simple?”
The young man smiled sheepishly. “I understand that Lord Ninglan has an aversion to the Beidou Alliance, but I assure you that with Yin Hua Palace’s watchful eye, they won’t dare be negligent.”
He had an aversion to the Beidou Alliance? How come this little brat knew more about himself than he did?
…No, that was a stupid question. Most everyone knew more about “himself” than he did, at the moment.
He glanced at the misty orb and finally nodded. “Then, I will leave this matter to you, Young Palace Lord.”
The young man’s eyes widened. A lovely smile lit up his elegant face. “So, Lord Ninglan has already found out long ago.”
“It was only a guess. I recall that your mother’s surname is ‘Chong’,” Gui Yin said.
“Lord Ninglan has recalled correctly. My surname is Lǐ (李), given name Fāng yīn (方荫),” the young man said, finally introducing himself properly.
“Young Palace Lord Li,” Gui Yin greeted.
“Lord Ninglan needn’t be so polite—after all, I’m still your junior. You can call me Fangyin,” Li Fangyin said.
“No, no. I should still show respect to the young palace lord,” Gui Yin said. “Besides, I do not feel comfortable referring to you by name when you refer to me as lord.”
Li Fangyin may be young, but amongst his generation he was revered as a prodigy and a talent. With a handful of half siblings born out of wedlock and a bazillion cousins from who knows where, he still managed to become the undisputed heir of Yin Hua Palace. Many rumors spread that it was because he was the only legitimate son of current acting Palace Lord, Lǐ Huánwèi (李还卫), but those with an actual brain knew that Li Fangyin had worked hard for his position. He wasn’t just a so-called prodigy.
Li Fangyin’s expression fell slightly. “Similarly, I feel that it is disrespectful if I make Lord Ninglan speak of me with such respect. This junior does not deserve it.”
Gui Yin looked at the young man in front of him and felt his heart ache slightly. He lightly cleared his throat. “Then, how about this? You can call me qianbei and I will call you Fangyin.”
Li Fangyin’s eyes lit up. “Alright, Gui-qianbei.”
The guilty parties had long been forgotten in their own homes, but they were quite relieved. They listened to their conversation with cold sweat pooling at their backs. They hoped that, after they were done with their conversation, that they would just leave. But their hopes were quickly dashed.
Gui Yin looked at them coldly. “I hereby declare Qian Sect under lockdown. Until members of the Beidou Alliance come to investigate this situation thoroughly, you and members of your sect are not allowed to leave. Anyone who disobeys will be punished accordingly.”
Once Li Fangyin and Gui Yin left the sect, Gui Yin cast an array to surround the area. The townspeople, who had never seen such a display, marveled at their brilliance. However, they also came to realize that this was not any protective array, but was just another form of a prison.
“I’m only grateful these people were so stupid,” Gui Yin said as he and Li Fangyin returned to the city.
“If they were any smarter, they would have been more cautious.”
It was most likely because this was a low-level mission. If it was a higher-level mission, Gui Yin felt that the crooks wouldn’t be so stupid. He paused for a moment. Did that mean the difficulty of his missions would increase as time went on? Would the villains become more powerful?
He paused again.
Should he even be treating this situation as if it were a game anymore?
Li Fangyin glanced at Gui Yin. Seeing the other man spaced out, he couldn’t help but sneak a few more glances. Just as the rumors said, Lord Immortal Ninglan was extremely handsome.
“What is Fangyin planning on doing after this?” Gui Yin asked.
Li Fangyin appeared sheepish. “Nothing of note, I’m afraid. My whole purpose was to gather evidence about the Qian Sect. I’ve done my job—and Gui-qianbei even helped me seal the case. I was planning on returning to Yin Hua Palace or…”
“Or?”
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.
Li Fangyin hesitated. “There is…a peculiar case, but I did not want to investigate it on my own. It seemed a little dangerous.”
“Qtja rbga bo mjrf?” Xel Tlc jrxfv.
“Is Gui-qianbei interested?” Li Fangyin asked excitedly.
Xel Tlc’r wbeat bqfcfv jcv mibrfv rfnfgji alwfr. “…P mjc’a rjs P klii jugff ab la atbeut.”
Li Fangyin shook his head. “No need to worry about that, Gui-qianbei. Just listen to it first. If you don’t want to, then that’s fine. But if you do, this junior will be extremely grateful.”
Vfflcu Ol Mjcuslc’r fzmlafwfca, Xel Tlc mbeivc’a tfiq yea yf meglber. Lf rbbc cbvvfv, kjlalcu ab tfjg pera ktja mbeiv agbeyif Ol Mjcuslc ab atlr fzafca.
The case Li Fangyin referred to was one that took place further south, just past the edge of the Beidou Alliance’s territory. As this area stretched out into a perilous desert, few sects settled there and more and more monsters and demons began to take over. After several thousand years, the stretch of land between where Beidou Alliance ended and where Yun An Springs (Yún àn quán; 云岸泉), the sanctuary for the desert cultivation clans, began became known as the Devil’s Desert. Not only did venomous winds tear through the area, rendering it completely impossible for humans to survive, but there were also stories of people mysteriously going missing because the shifting sands would swallow them up.
Respite was found for several hundred years because of Huigu Palace. No one knew what this sect was about, where they were from, or what they even did, but once they appeared, the odd demonic happenings in Devil’s Desert ceased. Unfortunately, now that the entire sect had been wiped out, Devil’s Desert once again became a perilous place to travel.
Gui Yin listened to Li Fangyin’s narrative and couldn’t help but stop him. “So, without the protection of Huigu Palace, Devil’s Desert returned to what it used to be—how are you expected to solve this?”
“This isn’t the odd part,” Li Fangyin shook his head.
Gui Yin raised a brow. “Then what is?”
“The odd part is that, recently, no deaths have happened again,” Li Fangyin said.
Gui Yin frowned. “Isn’t that good?”
“It would be if it was something positive, but there’s something ominous about it all,” Li Fangyin said.
Because Devil’s Desert was a shortcut to many other nations and kingdoms, merchants would take the chance in the past, but after Huigu Palace disappeared, many became reluctant once more. However, one day, a desperate merchant decided to brave the desert as he had done in the past. Miraculously, he made it out alive.
Initially, everyone thought that it was just another Huigu Palace that appeared in the area but the group that took over was different. They were a group of men and women who wore cloaks that dragged on the ground and masks that covered their entire face. It was rumored that you would meet them when you were most desperate and they would extend their help.
Gui Yin furrowed his brows.
The two men arrived back at the inn and began to walk up the stairs.
“I still don’t understand what’s odd,” Gui Yin said. “Sure, it is a little creepy, but…”
“The odd part is that after the merchant safely passed through and returned home, his wife said he went through a large personality change,” Li Fangyin said, his voice becoming more urgent. “He began talking about…about some kind of god.”
“Some kind of god?”
Li Fangyin nodded. “He even created an elaborate shrine for the god, saying that it was the god of fortune.”
“Then…he just found a new religion,” Gui Yin said.
Li Fangyin shook his head. “That’s not it.”
Gui Yin knew that it was not that simple as well. He wasn’t in the twenty-first century anymore, after all. He was in a world where gods truly existed, even if they lived on a separate plane. It was a world where, so long as even the smallest pebble was properly worshipped, it could gain the sentience of a deity. If the wrong thing was worshipped, the outcome could be disastrous.
“Then, what happened next?”
Li Fangyin pursed his lips. “Months later, the man committed suicide. It looked like he had killed himself in offering to the god.”
Gui Yin stopped in front of his room. He looked at Li Fangyin. “Sacrifice to his god?”
Li Fangyin nodded.
Gui Yin’s expression became serious. He sighed and pinched his brows. “Come in first. Let’s talk about it more after we’ve eaten something.”
Gui Linghuo looked up as the door was pushed open. He stood and greeted his shizun and Li Fangyin. Qin Siyi mirrored his actions.
“How is Shizun and Young Master Chong back so soon?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“They were stupid and we caught them easily,” Gui Yin said simply. “We have something more serious to worry about though.”
“Stupid…?” Qin Siyi’s question tottered out. She glanced at Li Fangyin and shifted closer to Gui Linghuo.
Li Fangyin smiled. “I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself. My name is Li Fangyin, the heir to Yin Hua Palace. You two can just call me Li-gege.”
“How could they?” Gui Yin frowned.
Li Fangyin turned to Gui Yin. “I thought we agreed not to be so formal with each other, Gui-qianbei.”
“That shouldn’t extend to my disciples as well,” Gui Yin said. He looked at them. “Since he is the heir to Yin Hua Palace, you should refer to him as Young Palace Lord Li.”
Li Fangyin shook his head. “There really is no need. Besides, children shouldn’t have to suffer under propriety every day of their lives. It’s better to be a little freer.”
Gui Yin glanced at Li Fangyin.
Yin Hua Palace was known to have particularly strict rules. That was how each leader came out more excellent than the rest. However, Li Fangyin not only abandoned his sect’s rules, but also disregarded the basic set of propriety in interacting between major sects. As someone from Yunjing Pavilion, a sect that was so casual that others mocked them to be a “beggar sect” behind their backs, of course, Gui Yin didn’t mind. He was just worried about what troubles it might cause in the future.
Like two little rabbits, Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi were waiting on Gui Yin’s decision.
Gui Yin met their gaze. “If there are other people around, make sure to call him Young Palace Lord.”
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi nodded.
“Li-gege,” the two children greeted.
Li Fangyin grinned. He looked between the two of them. “My sister should be just around the ages of you two.”
A wistful sigh left his lips. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind making a few more friends.”
“Next time we visit Yin Hua Palace, I will bring my three disciples,” Gui Yin said with a small smile. “It wouldn’t be harmful for these children to make friends outside of their sect as well.”
Li Fangyin’s eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Gui-qianbei.”
“There’s no need to thank me over something like that,” Gui Yin said as he poured Li Fangyin a fresh cup of tea.
Gui Linghuo scanned Li Fangyin from the tip of his toes up to his head. His eyes narrowed slightly, but no words of accusation left his mouth. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Li Fangyin glanced over. Upon meeting the boy’s gaze, Li Fangyin only smiled. The smile carried no ill-will, but Guo Linghuo couldn’t help but glare at the young man.
Gui Yin’s mind was elsewhere. His hand was placed on the table and his index finger lightly tapped the side of his folding fan. His neat brows were furrowed and his lips were pressed into a thin line. Even the two disciples, who had followed Gui Yin for several years, would catch themselves admiring him once in a while, much less Li Fangyin, who had never met Gui Yin before in real life. As the lord immortal shuffled through his thoughts, he was oblivious to the admiring gazes from the younger generation beside him.
“Huo’er, Siyi,” Gui Yin finally pulled himself from his thoughts.
The children sat straighter in attention.
“Young Master Fangyin informed me of a mysterious case that might involve what could be a man-created god,” Gui Yin said. “It’s too dangerous for you two to come along. Would you two mind if I sent you back to Yunjing Pavilion first?”
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi’s eyes widened. Gui Linghuo’s first reaction was to look at Li Fangyin accusingly. The look lasted only a split second. It was enough for the young man to feel the boy’s animosity, but not enough for Gui Yin to notice. Qin Siyi, as well, glanced nervously to Li Fangyin.
Li Fangyin might come from a respectable household—or so he claims—but the way he looked at their shizun was obviously one of admiration or even something more! How could they leave their innocent and naïve shizun in his claws?
Li Fangyin was unaware of the children’s thoughts. He watched on in silence, as a third party, and waited for the children’s responses.
“Huo’er? Siyi?”
Guo Linghuo cleared his throat. “This disciple thinks that it would be a good chance to learn from Shizun and Li-gege.”
Qin Siyi nodded along enthusiastically.
Gui Yin frowned. “It’s very dangerous. A man-made deity is nothing to be trifled with. Not to mention, I have a feeling that this situation might be linked to something bigger. If you are worried about our trip, I can always create another opportunity for us to go on one.”
Qin Siyi tensed when she noticed Li Fangyin’s gaze soften. A loud shout left Siyi’s lips. Gui Yin looked at her, startled.
“B-but…what about Shan-shimei? If Shizun doesn’t pick her up within the two weeks, she might think Shizun has abandoned her,” Qin Siyi said.
Gui Yin’s eyes widened. He fell silent for a moment. “Well…if I can’t make it, I can send someone else to retrieve her. Either way, she will be back on Shuangye Peak in two weeks.
“B-but…But,” Qin Siyi looked at Gui Linghuo.
“But,” Gui Linghuo dragged his gaze away from Qin Siyi and looked at Gui Yin again. “Sect Master and Ye-shishu told us to watch over Shizun carefully.”
“Didn’t I say that was unnecessary?” Gui Yin asked helplessly.
“But!” Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi spoke in unison.
Gui Yin held up his hand. “Not more ‘but’. I really can’t in good conscience bring you two along with me. You two will go back to Yunjing Pavilion.”
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi were left with their mouths hanging open. A light chuckle interrupted their dilemma. They looked over to Li Fangyin, who had grown a pair of wolf ears and a tail in their eyes.
“You two don’t have to worry. I will take good care of Gui-qianbei.”
Gui Yin frowned. “Like I said, I don’t need to be taken care of.”
Li Fangyin smiled. “I understand that. However, if there is anything Gui-qianbei needs along the way, this junior can also take care of it.”
A sense of immediate crisis coursed through Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi. What could they do? It was true that, with their cultivation and their age, they would just be dragging Gui Yin and Li Fangyin down during their mission. But what could they do? Was there anything they could do? They had to do something! This Young Palace Lord or whatever was obviously planning on eating their shizun!
In order to save time, a message was sent back to Yunjing Pavilion for someone to come and retrieve Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi.
The person who answered was Ye Liuxing.
Aside of taking care of the harvesting and shipment of spiritual herbs, during the few gap months Ye Liuxing had nothing to do. Therefore, the peak lord of Zi Cao Peak was known as the freest of the four lord immortals of Yunjing Pavilion. Some might say he was even freer than the disciples of the sect.
When Ye Liuxing arrived, Gui Yin didn’t even bat an eye.
“Take these two back to the sect.”
Ye Liuxing’s mouth opened and closed. He glanced behind his senior martial brother, towards the young man who still kept a gentle smile. “…Young Palace Lord, what a coincidence to see you here.”
Li Fangyin cupped his hands together and bowed gracefully. “Lord Caowen, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Ye Liuxing looked at Gui Yin. He glanced at Li Fangyin again and smiled before pulling Gui Yin aside. “Shixiong, what are you doing with that stinky brat?”
“Stinky brat?” Gui Yin raised a brow.
Ye Liuxing clicked his tongue. “This is why we didn’t want you to leave the sect.”
Gui Yin looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s fine,” Ye Liuxing shook his head. “Even if you had your memories, I doubt you would even know the rumors about Li Fangyin. Anyway, just know that he likes arguing with his father, he’s overprotective of his sister, and he especially—especially—likes handsome men.”
Gui Yin nodded. The two martial brothers stared at each other intently for a while before Gui Yin pulled away. He straightened his wide sleeves. “Make sure to send me a message when you reach Yunjing Pavilion. Contact me immediately if anything happens to Huo’er and Siyi.”
Gui Yin just started to turn away when his sleeve was caught again. His brows furrowed irritably. He turned to look at Ye Liuxing. “What now?”
“Buddy, he’s a,” Ye Liuxing glanced at the group, who was at a considerable distance, and lowered his voice to a whisper that wouldn’t be audible to normal humans, “A cut-sleeve.”
Ye Liuxing flapped Gui Yin’s sleeves with the desperation of someone trying to explain why eating out of the trashcan was bad.
Gui Yin stared at Ye Liuxing with mild disgust, as if he had just told him he had been having explosive diarrhea while they were conversing. He tugged his sleeve away and smoothed it out again. He leaned closer, his brows furrowed, mimicking Ye Liuxing’s expression, only with much less desperation.
“I’m also a cut-sleeve,” Gui Yin said.
Ye Liuxing clicked his tongue. “I know that! But…but don’t you think the way he looks at you is…odd?”
“How is it odd? It’s the way a junior looks at a respectable senior,” Gui Yin said. He shook his head and patted Ye Liuxing on the shoulder. “You’re reading too many novels and watching too many plays.”
“I—”
“He barely knows me outside of stories and rumors. If it’s not simply admiration, what else could it be?” Gui Yin asked.
Ye Liuxing stepped back and dramatically gestured at Gui Yin’s entire body. “Look at this! Do you know what this is?”
Gui Yin looked down at himself and then back at Ye Liuxing. “A normal man’s body?”
“You’re wrong. So wrong! This is the body of Lord Immortal Ninglan. This is Lord Immortal Ninglan’s face,” Ye Liuxing said, doing a sort of flower pose under Gui Yin’s chin.
Gui Yin smacked his hands away. “Get your pig hands away from me.”
“My dear brother, your looks are just as well-known as your heroic feats. Not to mention, all your portraits always sell you short,” Ye Liuxing said. “From your body,” he pressed a hand to Gui Yin’s abdomen, which was slapped away, “To your face—everything is perfect.”
“You’re absolutely ridiculous. What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying, why are you doubting that someone wouldn’t fall in love with you at first sight?”
“Because that sort of thing only exists in stories,” Gui Yin said. “Love at first sight isn’t real.”
“What about lust then?”
“Probable, but that doesn’t apply to the Young Palace Lord,” Gui Yin said. He sighed and looked at Ye Liuxing pitifully. “I know you’re bored out of your mind between harvesting seasons, but you should really get a new hobby.”
“I—it’s not that—”
“If you need something to gossip about, talk about Lin-shixiong and Deng Yenuo, alright?” Gui Yin said, already steering Ye Liuxing back to the group.
“Wait, Shixiong, I’m really—”
“Alright. Huo’er, Siyi, come here,” Gui Yin waved them over. “You’re heading back with Ye-shishu.”
Ye Liuxing stared at Gui Yin with a gaping mouth.
“What are you staring at? Get along now.”
“…But how am I supposed to explain this to Da-shixiong?” Ye Liuxing asked frantically.
“What is there to explain? Just tell him I’m dealing with a case,” Gui Yin said. He ruffled Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi’s hair. “I promise to take you two out again when I come back, okay?”
Gui Yin left his two little disciples with Ye Liuxing.
The trio watched Gui Yin leave with Li Fangyin, a sense of urgency and fear rising in their hearts.
With how arrogant he was, could Gui Yin actually be unaware of how attractive he looks?
me 🤝 Guo Linghuo in squinting at Li Fangyin >.>
yes it could just be admiration, but the risk of the suspended bridge!!!! WE MUST PROTECT BELOVED SHIZUN!!! Ye Liuxing, quick, take the little bunnies along to follow them >.>
He is so clueless about how people interact 😭 howwww
well Gui Yin has acknowledged that he is handsome, so i think he is aware of how folks interact but ultimately he doesn’t care (either cause he views this as a novel or/and his sucky life experiences). and that’s why i think his little family should follow and protect
Who is ML 😭
Hahahahaha I know!!! There are too many possibilities.
bahaha Gui Yin being oblivious to his looks
Thanks for the chpater ‘v’
this is so damn well written!!
Agreed!!
He’s very well aware of it and has reached the point of casually ignoring such ardent gazes, mostly because he won’t be entertaining their pursuit. He’s definitely the kind of person who needs to fall in love with someone platonically before he’s willing to accept a physical relationship. A good trait to have, for sure, though it does make it challenging to find someone in the first place because of the long lead-up period of ambiguity.