The difference between Yin Hua Palace and Yunjing Pavilion could be described as Heaven and earth. While Yunjing Pavilion only kept under a hundred disciples, Yin Hua Palace had over several thousand. Their palace overtook a great deal of the mountain range they occupied. From the front to the back, everything worked to show off the immense wealth they had accumulated over the several thousand years they had been an established sect. Their disciples were always dressed in perfectly pressed white and silver uniforms. Their hair, regardless of gender, was bound up in a neat bun. Swords sat at their waists, accompanied by a waist pendant that signified they were a part of this sect. Everything, from the walls to the ground, were an alabaster white. From far away, it was difficult not to mistake it as a palace of clouds.
The road up the mountain was rather straightforward, though it contained over three thousand steps. As cultivators marched up this extravagant path just to make it to the young palace lord’s twenty-first birthday, they looked as insignificant as ants from the view above.
Gui Yin looked down the steps, a light scoff leaving his lips. “I’m surprised no one has teleported.”
Shan Yu and the others shifted from foot to foot as they waited for Gui Yin to approach the servant, who had come out to greet them. In his distracted state, Gui Yin only wandered back after he was satisfied. He looked at the servant, still bowed, and turned to his disciples.
“Why didn’t you three say anything?”
Gui Linghuo looked at Gui Yin sheepishly. “Shifu, you didn’t hear us…”
“Ah,” Gui Yin cleared his throat. He profusely apologized to the servant. “Next time, if something like this happens, just swat at me.”
The servant paled slightly. How could he dare swat at a lord immortal? Still, he politely accepted the offer. “Lord Immortal, this way.”
Gui Yin hummed and followed after the servant, his eyes scanning the sect as they walked. It was definitely aptly named a palace.
“Lord Immortal is the first one to arrive. This servant will first take you to the gardens. That is where the Young Palace Lord and the Young Lady are,” the servant said dutifully.
“Mn. Thank you.”
Gui Yin counted the minutes that passed as they traveled to the gardens. By the time they arrived, Shan Yu was in Gui Yin’s arms, and it seemed to have been an hour to half an hour. What they saw first was Li Fangyin, stooped over a dog. In his hand was a string that was tied around an intricately made collar for this dog. Gui Yin squinted his eyes slightly. It wasn’t a regular dog, but its appearance resembled something like a husky and a German Shepherd.
The servant lightly cleared his throat. “Young Palace Lord, Lord Immortal Ninglan and his disciples have arrived.”
Li Fangyin stood abruptly, startling the dog at his side. His eyes sparkled as he saw Gui Yin walking towards him, right behind the servant. He lightly cleared his throat and turned to the servant.
“Thank you. You may leave first.”
“Yes, Young Palace Lord,” the servant bowed and quickly left the scene.
“It took nearly an hour to walk all the way over here,” Gui Yin said, setting Shan Yu down. “Does your Yin Hua Palace have to be that large?”
Li Fangyin was smiling as soon as the servant left. He took three large strides to close the gap between the two of them. “It’s big, isn’t it? Apparently, it’s because my ancestors used to be some type of royals, so they wanted a sect that would reflect that.”
“Does that mean this big brother is a prince?” Shan Yu asked, her eyes sparkling.
Li Fangyin snapped out of his admiration of Gui Yin and looked downwards. His smile went from one of excitement to one of gentleness. “No, I’m not a prince. But who might you be, little princess?”
“I’m Shan Yu! I’m the only granddaughter of Elder Shan of the Shan Clan,” Shan Yu said, her little chest puffed out. “I’m also Lord Immortal Ninglan’s last disciple. It’s nice to meet you, Young Palace Lord.”
“So, it’s the Shan Clan’s young miss,” Li Fangyin said, somewhat amazed by the child’s boldness. He turned to the other two children.
Gui Yin nudged them forward a little to prevent them from hiding behind him.
“Linghuo greets the Young Palace Lord.”
“Siyi greets the Young Palace Lord.”
Li Fangyin smiled in amusement as he crouched down to their level. “It’s nice to see you two again…Oh, right. How old are you kids again?”
“I’m thirteen, Siyi is eleven,” Gui Linghuo glanced at Shan Yu. “She’s six.”
Li Fangyin clapped his hands together. From the children’s perspective, it was out of excitement. From Gui Yin’s perspective, it was clearly to excite the children. “Perfect! You’re all around the same age as my little sister.”
“Your…little sister?” Gui Linghuo asked warily.
“Don’t worry, she’s a very sensible child,” Li Fangyin said, laughing. It was clear that Gui Linghuo, as the oldest brother of the group, didn’t want to have to babysit another little girl. “She went off to pick flowers for my friends—that is, Gui-qianbei. She should be right over there.”
Li Fangyin pointed down a flower path. Shan Yu’s eyes widened. She turned to Gui Yin. “Shifu…”
“Go,” Gui Yin said with a helpless smile.
Shan Yu giggled excitedly and ran off first. Qin Siyi gasped and quickly followed to ensure Shan Yu didn’t make any trouble. Only Gui Linghuo lingered behind.
“Huo’er, why are you still here?” Gui Yin asked, his hand rubbing the child’s head.
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.
“The girls can play together,” Gui Linghuo said, weakly making an excuse.
“Cgf sbe ibbxlcu vbkc bc ulgir cbk?” Xel Tlc gjlrfv j ygbk.
“R-cb! Pa’r pera…” Xel Olcuteb rtloafv lwqjalfcais. Lf ibbxfv eq ja Xel Tlc qifjvlcuis.
“Qtja vlv atlr wjrafg rjs yfobgf kf ifoa?”
“…Dea…” Xel Olcuteb qbeafv tlr ilqr. Lf uijcmfv tfiqifrris ja Ol Mjcuslc.
Ktf sbecu wjrafg kjr regqglrfv atja atlr ilaaif ybs ibbxfv ja tlw jii bo j revvfc, yea tf mbeivc’a tfiq yea offi j alcuf bo ibculcu. Lf tjv jikjsr kjcafv j ilaaif ygbatfg. Valii, tf gfwfwyfgfv tlr mbcnfgrjalbc klat Xel Tlc ogbw yfobgf. Pc ojma, atf akb ilaaif ulgir kfgf olcf klat wjxlcu oglfcvr, la kjr atlr ybs atja tf kjr kbgglfv jybea.
“Just introduce yourself to her,” Li Fangyin said. “My little sister is really cute! She’s like a little fairy. Even if you don’t want to be friends with her, I think it’s definitely worth it to take a quick look.”
Gui Linghuo shifted, somewhat tempted. He was at the age where he was beginning to be able to differentiate between what he found pretty and what he found ugly. Although it wasn’t good to judge appearances, Gui Linghuo couldn’t help but be curious.
“Just go. Gege and your shizun will be waiting for you guys right here,” Li Fangyin coaxed.
Gui Linghuo hesitantly nodded.
“Da-shixiong! Why are you still dawdling over there for!?” Shan Yu asked, shouting with all her might. She waved her small arms. “Hurry, hurry!”
Gui Linghuo let out a soft sigh. Even if he could convince his shizun to let him stay here, it seemed that his little shimei wouldn’t let him off. “I got it, I got it. I’m coming!”
Li Fangyin stood and watched Gui Linghuo jog over to the two little girls. “I see what you mean when you say he’s responsible.”
“Right?” Gui Yin let out a soft sigh. He turned to Li Fangyin. “Shall we sit and await their return?”
“Let’s,” Li Fangyin said, the excited sparkle returning to his eyes.
On the other side, Gui Linghuo was being haplessly pulled forward by an overly excited Shan Yu. He glanced at Qin Siyi, who was walking behind all of them with an equally helpless expression on her face. Gui Linghuo understood how Qin Siyi might feel—he was the same—but the feeling was most likely amplified in the younger girl.
The two of them had gone to social gatherings such as these before, but each time they had been shunned. The children there didn’t look kindly upon them. At first, it was because they were from a “beggar” sect, like Yunjing Pavilion. Eventually, it was because the two of them were orphans without a relative to rely on. It was a great honor, as well, to be disciples of Lord Immortal Ninglan, but this didn’t stave off the hostility the children received. In fact, it amplified it.
How could two street rats who had no name, prominence, or title become Lord Immortal Ninglan’s disciples, while they were stuck under no name masters?
Of course, Gui Linghuo knew that this was from the teachings of their greedy parents. And Qin Siyi knew that the hateful gazes they used to look at her would fade as they grew older. But that didn’t make the two children any less adverse to mingling and making friends.
That was also why they had disliked Shan Yu at the beginning. She was just the same type of person as the others who scorned them, except she didn’t have any envy because her shizun was also Lord Immortal Ninglan. Still, sometimes, the two of them can’t help but wonder—if their shizun had refused to take Shan Yu, would she react the same as everyone else?
Shan Yu’s steps slowed to a halt. She looked back at her martial siblings.
She found that the two of them were often similar in ways that she knew she could never relate. She knew that the two were orphans, but she found that she couldn’t pity them. Somehow, she knew that pity would only make them dislike her more, so she tried to treat them as she treated everyone else—with an air of entitled brattiness. But she wished she could understand them more.
When she told this to her grandfather on her last trip back, he had simply coddled her and said: “With due time, Yu’er. You’ll realize why there is a barrier between you and them and you’ll be able to find ways to break it down.”
Shan Yu nodded to herself. She straightened and squeezed Gui Linghuo’s hand tightly. The boy snapped from his thoughts and looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Da-shixiong,” Shan Yu’s milky voice whined as she hugged Gui Linghuo’s leg. “Do you not want to meet the Young Lady?”
“I…” Gui Linghuo hesitated. He forced a smile. “It’s not that. I’m just tired from walking.”
Shan Yu knew it was a lie. She turned to Qin Siyi. “Shijie, are you also tired from walking?”
“Huh?” Qin Siyi hadn’t expected to be asked such a question. She shook her head. “Um, I’m not tired. I’m just…hungry…”
Another lie. Shan Yu didn’t know why her martial siblings lied so much. Her grandfather always said lying was bad!
Shan Yu puffed up her cheeks. She detached herself from Gui Linghuo’s leg. “I can find the Young Lady myself! You two can go back.”
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi glanced at each other.
Shan Yu pursed her lips and awkwardly corrected her speech, “Da-shixiong and Shijie can head back first.”
Seeing that the older children didn’t move, Shan Yu leaned her weight back petulantly. She looked between the two of them with a pout, her hand still linked with Gui Linghuo’s. Finally, she let out a loud sigh and stomped her feet.
“I won’t care about Da-shixiong and Shijie anymore! Hmph!”
“Ah! Shan Yu!” Gui Linghuo’s hand was thrown to the side as Shan Yu sprinted off.
“Gosh, what’s her deal again?” Qin Siyi asked irritably, the two of them already running after Shan Yu.
Gui Linghuo felt a tinge of guilt. He had noticed the way Shan Yu’s gaze warily flickered between himself and Qin Siyi. He always knew that children were sensitive to emotions—hadn’t he been growing up? Perhaps she realized they found her a bother, or maybe she thought that they disliked her.
“Siyi,” Gui Linghuo’s voice was sterner than usual.
Qin Siyi looked to her shixiong in surprise. Even when Shan Yu was throwing a tantrum, he wouldn’t use such a tone. She looked away, irritation growing in her stomach.
“Shan Yu! Don’t run so fast!” Gui Linghuo said, forcing himself to speed up a little to catch up to her.
“Forget it! I hate you two!” Shan Yu said, the indignation bubbling over to pure anger. She felt tears stinging her eyes.
“You—Shan Yu, let’s talk about it!” Gui Linghuo said, successfully catching up to her. He reached out, gripping her around the waist, and sliding forward she Shan Yu still plastered to his chest. As the little girl screamed and kicked, Gui Linghuo held her still.
“Let go! I don’t want you to touch me! You’re mean!”
Gui Linghuo narrowly avoided her flailing hands.
“Why are you being so unreasonable this time?” Qin Siyi snapped. “Da-shixiong didn’t even do anything!”
“Leave me alone! You two obviously hate me anyway!” Shan Yu said, her tantrum turning into real tears.
Qin Siyi stared at her in shock.
Gui Linghuo forced Shan Yu’s hands away from his face. He managed to sit up with her cradled on his lap. Her strength to struggle had depleted, but tears rolled down her face rapidly as she began to sob. Gui Linghuo looked at her helplessly.
“What could make you think that?” Gui Linghuo asked, his voice softening. “We don’t hate you.”
“You do! You do!” Shan Yu said, her voice raising.
Qin Siyi hovered awkwardly behind them. “Da-shixiong…she…”
Gui Linghuo raised a brow. Anything Qin Siyi wanted to say was immediately swallowed back down. She turned away, an unwilling look on his face.
He sighed. “We don’t hate you. We’re just tired. Haven’t we always played with you when you wanted? Your shijie wouldn’t normally say mean things to you, right?”
Shan Yu sniffled, her sobs quieting down a little. She looked past Gui Linghuo’s shoulder at Qin Siyi. “Mn…”
Qin Siyi got angry and she yelled, but she would never say anything mean.
“We don’t hate you, Shan Yu,” Gui Linghuo said, rocking slightly, the same way Gui Yin would rock whenever he would try to calm them down as children. “You’re our precious shimei.”
“But you didn’t like me in the beginning,” Shan Yu said weakly, her small hands gripping Gui Linghuo’s robes.
“That’s…” Gui Linghuo hesitated a moment. He knew it would be best to say the truth now, but how was he supposed to explain it to a child? “Um…when your shijie and I were around your age, there were a lot of people who were mean to us.”
Shan Yu sniffled. She peeled her head from Gui Linghuo’s chest and looked at him. “Why?”
“They thought it was odd that we didn’t have parents,” Gui Linghuo said, wiping away Shan Yu’s tears. “We thought you might be like th—”
“I wouldn’t!” Shan Yu interjected irritably. “I don’t have my dad! I know what it’s like! Why would I—”
Shan Yu burst into tears again. Gui Linghuo rushed to comfort her. After hearing up to this point, Qin Siyi also felt guilty. She sat down beside the two of them and gently patted Shan Yu’s back.
“We know that we understood you. That’s why we play with you now, don’t we?” Qin Siyi asked softly.
Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi glanced at each other. They knew that Shan Yu was doted on by her grandfather, but the matter of her father…
“I’m sorry, Yuyu,” Gui Linghuo said, hugging her a little tighter. “We were mean, weren’t we?”
Shan Yu tried her best to reign back in her cries. She sniffled and hiccupped, her little arms coming up to hug Gui Linghuo tightly. “Mn.”
“We’re sorry,” Qin Siyi said. “A-Yu, can you forgive us?”
Shan Yu slowly pulled her head back and looked between her martial siblings. “Then, in the future, if I do something wrong…can you tell me? I don’t like when you’re mad and I don’t know why…”
“Alright! I promise you,” Qin Siyi said, nodding enthusiastically.
“I’ll promise you too,” Gui Linghuo said with a soft smile.
Shan Yu sniffled. She roughly rubbed at her eyes until Gui Linghuo gently moved her hand aside to wipe her tears with the handkerchief Qin Siyi handed over. She remained still and let Gui Linghuo clean her.
Gui Linghuo sighed. “Also, next time you two feel tired, be sure to tell Shifu.”
Qin Siyi and Shan Yu glanced at each other. “Yes…Da-shixiong.”
Gui Linghuo looked at their sheepish expressions. “It’s normal for kids your age to throw a tantrum when you’re tired, but—”
A clear giggle interrupted Gui Linghuo’s words. His actions paused and he looked up past Shan Yu’s head. The moment he laid his eyes, he felt as if he really had seen a fairy that had descended to earth. His face slowly warmed and his lashes fluttered unnaturally. Shan Yu could feel him stiffening. She lifted her head curiously and looked behind her.
The little girl, who had laughed, started at being discovered. She shifted from foot to foot shyly, her fingers rubbing the leaves of the plant beside her.
“Sorry…I just thought it was funny…”
“What’s funny?” Shan Yu asked, sniffling loudly as she frowned at the girl.
“He’s obviously around my age, but he’s acting like my big brother,” the little girl said, her voice growing quiet at the end. “I-I didn’t mean to be rude! I just thought it was…”
“It’s okay,” Gui Linghuo stood, Shan Yu still in his arms. He smiled softly, just as he had smiled at his shimei. Only the two girls at his side noticed something a little different. “My name is Gui Linghuo, these are my shimei, Qin Siyi and Shan Yu. Are you the Young Lady of Yin Hua Palace?”
“Mn,” the little girl nodded. “My name is…Lǐ Yàn (李宴).”
Li Yan glanced between the little girls, who were observing her silently, and quickly looked back at Gui Linghuo. “U-Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t disturb us,” Gui Linghuo said quickly. “We…Um, we were actually looking for you.”
Shan Yu patted Gui Linghuo, signaling that she wanted to be let down. Once she was released, she hopped over to Qin Siyi and held onto her hand. Her eyes still scanned Li Yan silently. This type of Young Lady in prominent families were a dime a dozen—they were weak from birth and were treated like a precious piece of jade in the palm of everyone’s hands. However, in her memory, she was sure the Young Lady of Yin Hua Palace was disliked. She glanced at her shixiong and then to her shijie.
“Shijie,” Shan Yu whispered.
Qin Siyi bent a little for Shan Yu to whisper.
“Da-shixiong is acting odd.”
“He…is?” Qin Siyi glanced at her. She hadn’t noticed too much of a difference. However, she had been distracted as well. Li Yan was…pretty, to say the least.
Shan Yu’s brows furrowed slightly, but before she could whisper anymore, Gui Linghuo interrupted them.
“The Young Palace Lord wanted us to bring you back,” Gui Linghuo explained. He habitually reached out his hand. When he realized what he had done, he quickly retracted it. “Um, Miss Li, would you come with us?”
“Just Li Yan is fine,” the little girl said, awkwardly shuffling out from the foliage. Her delicate hands held a few carefully picked flowers. She hurried over to Gui Linghuo’s side and was not surprised to find that he was a bit taller than her.
“Then, you can call me gege,” Gui Linghuo said.
“Gege,” Shan Yu echoed. “We don’t even know how old she is…”
Gui Linghou’s face flushed, before he could remedy the situation, Li Yan interrupted.
“I! I’m twelve,” Li Yan said, her voice quieting at the end again. She glanced at the two girls. “What about you…?”
“Then, I suppose I would call you jiejie,” Shan Yu said boldly.
“I’m a year younger,” Qin Siyi said, seemingly unwilling to call someone else older sister.
“Then, you can also call me Linghuo.”
“Da-shixiong is a year older than Li-jiejie though,” Shan Yu pointed out.
“Yu—”
“T-then…Gui-gege…is okay, right?” Li Yan asked, her face reddening as soon as the words came out of her mouth. “O-Of course, if it isn—”
“It’s fine,” Gui Linghuo said gently. “Just whatever you’re comfortable with.”
That was so damn cute!!!!! AHHH! I feel like I’m dying of cuteness❤️
!!! Gui Linghuo is growing up :’>
From the mouths of obnoxious little sisters! Hahahaha! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
You may have explained prior and I missed it but why is their sect referred to as “beggar” sect?
even tho they’re technically rich and have strong connections, since they don’t “have manners or know propriety” like other prominent sects, they’re looked down upon…it’s really just sects who don’t like Yunjing Pav grasping at reasons to dislike them lmao in the grand scheme of things, they’re just far more casual and there’s just less rules for disciples to follow + their attitude is just more unrestrained
thanks for the chapter!!!!!
Aaaaaaay! Young love blossoming too early? Giggles
Oh, the loss of the potential little wolf pup. Oh well, I do feel a bit odd when the age difference is so stark. Even if we go by the MC’s age from the original world, he’s got 15 years on the kid. In this fantasy world, he’s got at least hundreds if not more than a thousand years on the kid, so it’s even less appropriate.