“Just fine indeed,” Li Huanwei agreed. He glanced over the children, his gaze landing on his youngest daughter. “In fact, Fangyin is already grown and he will soon be slowly taking over some of the palace’s duties, but my daughter is still young. I wonder if Lord Immortal Ninglan will take her in as a guest disciple?”
Gui Yin was surprised.
In the bits of his memory, his relationship with Li Huanwei was lukewarm. Their personalities were the opposite of each other—though most of their morals were similar. It was only because of this that Gui Yin had what little respect he did for Li Huanwei, despite the man’s messy family matters. However, this respect only on the surface and cordiality was just another formality. For Li Huanwei to ask Gui Yin to look after his daughter was out of character. Gui Yin couldn’t help but wonder what Li Huanwei was pulling.
“My daughter was born timid and shy. It’s rare for her to trust strangers so easily. Since she so willingly latched on to you, I hope Lord immortal Ninglan can guide her,” Li Huanwei said.
Gui Yin glanced at Madam Li. Her expression didn’t show any distress for her daughter or embarrassment for what Li Huanwei was saying. Perhaps, this had been his intention since the beginning, before he was provoked by Gui Yin.
Gui Yin turned to Li Yan. “Do you agree?”
Li Yan stared at Gui Yin, rather wide-eyed. The matter had obviously not been discussed with her.
Shan Yu’s impression of Li Huanwei had plummeted and when she saw Li Yan’s cornered look, she couldn’t help but feel indignant.
“Li-jiejie, Shizun’s really good at making snacks! If you come with us, you’ll have a lot of snacks to eat,” Shan Yu persuaded.
Li Yan looked at Shan Yu in surprise. In the past half hour or so, she had thought Shan Yu disliked her, but now she was persuading her so gently. Li Yan felt overwhelmed by the favor.
“That’s right,” Qin Siyi said, her voice quieter because she was conscious of the onlookers. “There’s only the four of us on the peak too, so you won’t have to worry too much about strangers.”
Li Yan looked at Gui Linghuo cautiously. The boy looked back at her with a small smile, but his eyes showed his eagerness. It didn’t seem like anyone disliked her presence, but…
She looked to her father and mother. Just what were they thinking?
In fact, there was little plotting involved this time around. Madam Li just thought that her son’s newfound concern for his little sister was distracting him from being a proper successor. If he was busy worrying about a child day in and day out, how was he supposed to perform his sect duties properly? Hearing his wife’s explanations, Li Huanwei couldn’t help but agree and decided to come up with this plan.
Li Yan was not bad looking by any means and she was just the type of timid child that would garner other’s care and affection. Since Li Fangyin was close with Gui Qinle, and since he wanted to introduce his little sister as Gui Yin’s disciple’s playmates, it was the perfect chance to throw Li Yan over to this Gui Qinle.
The calculations of the adults were not seen through by the children, but Li Fangyin, who had just arrived at the scene, felt a flare of irritation.
“Father,” Li Fangyin approached them with a glowering expression. “It wouldn’t be wise to bother Lord—”
“It wouldn’t be a bother,” Gui Yin said. He glanced at Li Yan, whose gaze concentrated on him only. “Li Yan is a bright child. I wouldn’t mind teaching her a few things.”
Li Fangyin gritted his teeth. He glanced at his triumphant parents and looked back at Gui Yin. The man in his field of vision only gave him a small smile. His lips moved silently: “Let’s talk later.”
The remainder of Li Fangyin’s birthday banquet passed by without any other bumps and Gui Yin even managed to avoid all conversation with irritating parties. Just as Gui Yin and his party were about to leave Yin Hua Palace, Li Fangyin caught Gui Yin on the steps.
“I will be returning tomorrow to receive the young miss,” Gui Yin said.
“Qianbei,” Li Fangyin frowned slightly. “Let’s talk.”
“Talk,” Gui Yin glanced at Gui Linghuo and the others.
“Shifu, Shan-shimei is a little tired. This disciple will take them back to the inn first,” Gui Linghuo said.
“Alright,” Gui Yin nodded. “Be careful. If you decide to go out and play, stick together, okay?”
Gui Linghuo nodded. Shan Yu looked at her martial brother quizzically, a protest about to leave her mouth, only for Qin Siyi to steer her away. Gui Yin watched the children for a spell before turning to Li Fangyin.
“What’s the matter?”
Li Fangyin looked around, making sure there wasn’t a third party listening, before turning to Gui Yin. “I apologize for the trouble my parents may have caused.”
“There’s no trouble at all. Like I said, Li Yan is a bright child. I don’t mind taking her under my wing at all.”
“Still—”
“Your parents think this is what’s best for their heir,” Gui Yin interrupted. He watched Li Fangyin’s expression cloud over. “Just be glad they’re giving Li Yan to someone you trust, rather than shoving her to the side.”
Li Fangyin let out a low sigh. He held his head as his brows pinched tightly.
“Don’t worry about it too much,” Gui Yin said, comfortingly patting Li Fangyin’s shoulders. “I know what your father is like—if you fight against this now, it’ll only yield a worse outcome.”
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.
“P pera…tbk mbeiv atfs cfuifma atflg vjeutafg ilxf atlr?” Ol Mjcuslc jrxfv lcvlucjcais.
“Tlc Lej Ujijmf tjr jikjsr yffc ilxf atlr,” Xel Tlc rjlv.
Ol Mjcuslc wfa Xel Tlc’r ujhf. Lf mbeiv rff atf glvlmeif vffq lc tlr erejiis mjiw ujhf. Mbg j wbwfca, tf kjr jrtjwfv bcmf jujlc jrtjwfv ab yf jqjga bo Tlc Lej Ujijmf. Lf kjr jirb wbgf jrtjwfv ab yf atf tflg bo remt j qijmf.
“But you’ll be the next Palace Lord,” Gui Yin said. He smiled gently. “I haven’t known you long, but I know you’re different from your father. You’re quick to admit your wrongs and you’re much easier to get along with.”
The shame in Li Fangyin’s chest lifted slightly. He smiled shyly. “Thank you for the compliment, Gui-qianbei.”
“Don’t thank me,” Gui Yin shook his head. He grinned as he fanned himself. “I’m just excited to see what this younger generation has in store. The state of affairs now…well, life is long. When it’s your turn to run the world, I just know you’ll do better than your predecessors.”
These were Gui Yin’s sincere thoughts. He saw potential in Li Fangyin and even in Gui Linghuo that he didn’t see in the ones dominating the stands.
As promised, the next day, Gui Yin returned to pick up Li Yan.
The parents didn’t come to send their daughter off, but Li Fangyin accompanied his little sister, along with a few of their attendants, to the front doors where Gui Yin and the others were waiting. Li Fangyin knelt down and pulled his little sister into a hug.
“Ge, don’t be so sad,” Li Yan said, awkwardly patting her brother’s head. “I’m okay! I-I also think this is a good chance to learn something. I’ve been in Yin Hua Palace my whole life, you know? And I don’t…have many…friends…”
Li Yan’s voice trailed off under her brother’s gaze. His brows were furrowed tightly, completely unlike his usual friendly countenance.
“I’ll take care of Yin Hua Palace. I’ll make sure that when you come back, our parents won’t be able to push you aside again,” Li Fangyin promised.
Li Yan smiled softly. She gave her big brother a kiss on the cheek and hastily pulled away before Li Fangyin could say anything else. “Work hard, Gege! I’ll wait for you to come pick me up!”
Li Fangyin nodded. He remained crouched for a moment as he watched Li Yan join the other children. He stood and turned to Gui Yin with an extremely unwilling expression. The older man sighed and patted Li Fangyin on the shoulder.
“You,” Gui Yin shook his head. “Just think of it as passing your sister off to a babysitter. If you want, you can come over to our Yunjing Pavilion to visit any time.”
“Alright,” Li Fangyin glanced at his sister again. He shifted closer and whispered. “Qianbei, my little sister won’t say it, but she’s afraid of the dark. Could you give her a few more candles so she doesn’t feel embarrassed leaving them running at night?”
“What candles? We have artificial night pearls,” Gui Yin said. He patted his chest. “My own invention. I’ll even give one to her to put by her bedside.”
Li Fangyin smiled. “Also, she’s susceptible to the cold. When winter comes around, please remind her to wear a few more jackets.”
“Okay.”
“She’s also a little peculiar. She likes vegetables more than meat, but she’s been sickly since birth. You must make her eat a bit more,” Li Fangyin said. “I don’t think she’ll whine while she’s over there, but she might sneak away before finishing her meal.”
“I understand,” Gui Yin nodded.
“Also, she likes reading a lot, but she may be too shy to ask for books or for where the library is. Be sure to show her around before,” Li Fangyin said.
Gui Yin nodded repeatedly. “Alright, alright.”
“She also needs a bit more sugar than the regular person, otherwise she’ll feel faint. I gave her a bag of candies already, but could you please make sure she still has some in a few months?”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“And also—”
“Fangyin,” Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “How can you nag more than my own mother?”
Li Fangyin’s face flushed.
Of course, this was a completely unfair comparison. After all, Gui Yin’s mother never even batted an eye in his direction.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gui Yin said. “I’ll make sure she’s warm and well fed. When you come to pick her up again, her skin will be softer and whiter and she’ll definitely be chubbier. Happy?”
Li Fangyin nodded sheepishly. “Thank you, Qianbei.”
“Forget it, forget it. Don’t make it sound like you owe me. Remember,” Gui Yin said, “I want to teach her. Okay?”
Li Fangyin nodded again in understanding. He glanced at his sister one last time, gave a reluctant wave of his hand, and returned inside with his entourage of attendants. The doors creaked closing, leaving Gui Yin with the four children.
Gui Yin let out a huff as he fanned himself. “I haven’t heard someone so long-winded in forever. Even Sect Master-shixiong doesn’t nag me so much.”
“Isn’t it because Sect Master-shibo knows that you won’t listen?” Gui Linghuo pointed out.
Gui Yin frowned at his head disciple and turned to Li Yan. “Xiao Yan, is there anything you need before we head back?”
“Need? Um, no,” Li Yan quickly shook her head, the ornaments in her hair swaying. “My brother already packed everything for me.”
“I bet he packed five years’ worth of things,” Gui Yin said. He looked to his disciples. “What about you three?”
“I just miss my bed,” Shan Yu groaned, slumping dramatically against Qin Siyi.
“I don’t need anything, Shizun,” Qin Siyi replied obediently as she hoisted Shan Yu back up to a standing position.
Gui Linghuo also had nothing he wanted to see away from the sect. Gui Yin let out a soft sigh as he began to walk the children off the mountain Yin Hua Palace took residence.
“Most children would be clamoring to stay out of the sect, but you three are all excited to return to the mountains,” Gui Yin said. “I can’t tell if you’re all obedient or just boring.”
“Then, Shizun, is there anything that you want to do?” Shan Yu asked, dragging her feet and allowing Qin Siyi to pull her along.
“Mm…” Gui Yin let out a long hum as he fanned himself. His gaze was more concentrated on the vast blue skies. Such nice clear weather in this summery heat really made one long for the ocean.
After a while, he turned to the children with a smile.
“How about going to the sea?”
“The sea?” Qin Siyi tilted her head.
“Mn! Your sect master-shibo is off on a trip and your Jiu-shigu is looking after the sect,” Gui Yin said. “We can take this time to have a little bit of fun before heading back.”
Yin Hua Palace was actually quite close to the seaside. If they could all fly by sword, they would make it there in a day’s time. However, since the children were not yet able to fly, if they took a carriage it would take about a week. A week would be a little too long to leave Jiu Jingyi hanging.
After a long moment of contemplation, Gui Yin finally made a decision. He reached into his Qiankun pouch and pulled out a circular device.
Li Yan looked at it curiously. “Laoshi, what’s this?”
“This is my personal invention,” Gui Yin said.
Their group had stopped in the middle of the forest clearing, a far enough distance away from Yin Hua Palace and their protective arrays.
“I’ve been fiddling with this for a good few years,” Gui Yin said. “But I never found a reason to use it. Now is the perfect time to try it.”
“…Try it? This can’t be something that can fly, can it?” Shan Yu asked warily.
Gui Yin placed the contraption on the ground and pressed the button in the middle. It unfolded and expanded until it became about the same size as a crossover car. Although its compact form looked like a round mirror, its expanded form was something similar to a boat. There were no wings and there weren’t even sails to direct the wind.
The children were in awe, but the more practical Gui Linghuo looked at Gui Yin sheepishly.
“Shizun, it looks nice, but are we really flying in this?”
“Are you doubting my abilities?”
“I just don’t want to die young,” Shan Yu said.
“You won’t die. I’ve used it many times,” Gui Yin said. “I’ve flown all across the continent and back to Yunjing Pavilion. Look at me—aren’t I fine?”
“You’ve been in pseudo seclusion for so many years,” Shan Yu pointed out. “Why has no one ever seen you?”
“Did I not have a life before I took in you rascals?” Gui Yin asked. He nudged Gui Linghuo and the others up the steps that just miraculously popped up. “Get on, get on. I’ll show you how this thing works.”
Gui Linghuo helped Li Yan onto the ship as Qin Siyi pulled the reluctant Shan Yu up.
Although the outside was like a boat, the inside looked like a luxurious carriage, with multiple compartments, a table in the middle, and three cushioned seats lining the walls. There were windows on either side of the seating compartment that opened and closed. Even as the ship began to hover in the air, the objects on the table didn’t wobble or topple over.
“Come out here,” Gui Yin called into the compartment from the deck.
The children peered out curiously to see what Gui Yin was doing.
“Do you see this?” Gui Yin pointed at the strange table in the middle of the deck.
“This…looks like the teleportation array,” Gui Linghuo recalled.
“Correct!” Gui Yin nodded proudly. He put his hands on either side of the table. “The way the teleportation array works is that it links to distance shortening arrays together over a longer distance. This table contains spiritual stones, which helps facilitate that action by giving it more spiritual energy than a cultivator is able or willing to give out. Just a little bit and the teleportation array will activate.
“Many think that the table is the key to making teleportation arrays work, but that’s not exactly true. It’s the modification of the distance shortening arrays that I did that allows you to link two or more destinations together,” Gui Yin explained. “This table can be used for many other things, as long as you know how to change the function of it.”
“…How would people know how to do that?” Shan Yu asked. Her expression obviously judged Gui Yin for being a genius who thought too highly of other’s intelligence.
Gui Yin embarrassedly cleared his throat. He gestured for the kids to come closer before he laid down on the ground and pointed into the singular leg of the table. The leg was more like a thick column that flared out at the end to stabilize itself to the ground. From far away, the markings looked like plain decoration, but when you got closer, you would realize they were spells etched into the table.
“Whoa!” Li Yan exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. She had never used a teleportation array, but upon seeing the spells, she looked at Gui Yin excitedly. “Laoshi, could it be you just change the spells and it’ll work with whatever machine you put it to?”
“More or less,” Gui Yin nodded.
In a way, it was like the modern world’s coding. The table was the start of a command for whatever function Gui Yin wanted to implement. If Gui Yin changed the internal code, he could also change what the formula did. For this device, he completely erased the “code” used to activate the teleportation array and replaced it with the command to fly. He then wired it to this mechanical boat he built and made this flying contraption.
“If Shizun has a machine like this, why don’t you sell it to the Beidou Alliance?” Qin Siyi asked.
“That’s because it looks too ugly,” Gui Yin shrugged as he stood. “It’s just a boat. Cultivators like style—even a luxury carriage pulled by demonic beasts is better than lump. I have to find a better design for it before I put it on the market, but I’ve been too la—ahem. Too preoccupied.”
Too…ugly? Such a brilliant invention was abandoned for so many years because it was too…ugly?
The children looked at Gui Yin with complicated expressions, all with their own judgements, but united in one thought: “Laoshi/Shizun definitely lived up to his reputation of being eccentric.”
Gui Yin wasn’t one to put emphasis on appearances when it came to his personal inventions, but if they were put on the market then they at least had to look “presentable”. The children didn’t realize this, but aesthetics took more weight than practicality when it came to buying things. That was just how shallow the world was.
Gui Yin tucked his fan into his belt and tugged his wide sleeves up. “This is how you activate it.”
The children watched eagerly as Gui Yin closed his eyes and began to pour spiritual energy into the table. His hair flowed back slightly from the energy swirling through. The boat floated higher and higher into the air.
“At this point, the machine is in tune with your thoughts, because it’s feeding off your spiritual energy,” Gui Yin said. “It works a bit like your personal spiritual weapon.”
The kids nodded in understanding.
“Of course, it’s not as attune,” Gui Yin said, pulling his hand back. “But as your hand is on this table, and as you’re putting in your own Qi, you can use your thoughts to guide it. Just now, I urged it to fly to the north, so it will be doing that right about…now.”
The boat jerked and turned abruptly. The children were thrown to the side. Shan Yu and Li Yan were quickly grabbed by Gui Yin, while Gui Linghuo latched onto Qin Siyi and clung to the railing.
Gui Yin laughed happily as the boat soared through the skies, traveling at a speed that was lower than traveling by sword, but faster than a carriage pulled by a demonic beast.
“I haven’t worked out all the kinks yet,” Gui Yin explained as he dropped the children into the seating compartment. He sat down himself and crossed one leg over the other. “The ship doesn’t have a stabilizing spell on it yet, but there’s one in this compartment. You can hardly feel the turbulence.”
“Then, how do you know if there’s danger?” Shan Yu asked curiously.
“This little thing here will beep if a storm is coming,” Gui Yin said, pointing at a meter-like object behind his head. “If the wind gets too rough, then the compartment will pull back on the turbulence spell a little so whoever is piloting will know to head out to the deck.”
Li Yan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Gui Yin. “Laoshi, you’re amazing! How could you think of all these things?”
“I have nothing to do all day, so I naturally come up with such foolish inventions,” Gui Yin said breezily.
Foolish inventions. If others in the cultivation were to hear Gui Yin, they would find him pompous and arrogant. But it was the truth. Since Gui Yin rarely left the sect, he had all the time in the world too sit around and work out whatever invention came into his mind. If there was a problem, then he’d try to solve it. To him, it was like working through a puzzle—it was just that the solution usually ended up being a large piece of machinery.
However, after leaving the sect several times in the past month or so, Gui Yin began to wonder why he had chosen to go into pseudo-seclusion for so long. It was most likely a fragment of his memory that he had forgotten, along with the various other shards that were floating much too far away for him to grasp.
But it wasn’t important now. He could just remember it again when it became important later.
A/N: anyone have any guesses on why he’s been in seclusion uwu? also! I’ve updated my ko-fi to make it so that there is a goal set for an extra chapter.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
thanks for reading!
on one hand im angry at the Li parents for sending off an “inconvenient” child, but on the other hand we have a new duckling… GASP there are 4 disciples now, even number, balance :0
mm my gut is telling me Gui Yin was in seclusion cause of the day his shizun died… could also be whatever the cheating ex did… could be both? ALXHAKXJS BRAIN THREW A SPAGHETTI THOUGHT “ha, what if the ex killed Gui Yin’s shizun?” this is what i get for thinking or both i guess
uwu all three very valid possibilities– thanks for reading!
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️
thanks for reading!!!
I think my man was too traumatized and like working on some ultra secret plan that succeeded when qinle came to this world
Stupid horrible parents. I hope she stays with them along time.
My guess is that a portion of his soul fractured off when he experienced a particularly traumatic event and fell into a lower realm that operates at a different speed than that one. When he was severely injured, it was pulled through the gaps to re-integrate and ended up accidentally becoming the primary consciousness, which is why he has an understanding but not a complete recollection of his entire past. It is the other fragments of his soul protecting themselves as he heals.