“You were really cool back there, Pretty Boy!” A-Qi exclaimed excitedly as she hopped from one foot to the other. She mimicked Gui Yin’s movements of holding out the jade pendant, “‘I understand if you don’t recognize me, but you should at least recognize this, right?’ If the storytellers heard about this, they would have an absolute field day!”
“A-Qi, don’t be rude to Lord Immortal,” one of the young men anxiously tugged at her sleeve.
Gui Yin chuckled. “No worries. She isn’t trying to be rude.”
A-Qi puffed up her chest at the young man. “See? This is what it means to be a lord immortal! Not only is he pretty, but he’s also forgiving and gracious. He’s nothing like the other trash from around here! When I get back, I’ll tell everyone that Lord Immortal Ninglan is the best, most amazing lord immortal there is.”
Gui Yin watched the girl amusedly. Before he could say anything else, a low cough interrupted him. His gaze drifted to the hooded man, who sat slumped on the chair provided by the city guards.
The man took great effort to sit up right before speaking again and when he spoke, his voice came out in a hoarse wheeze. “Thank you, Lord Immortal Ninglan. Without your help, I don’t know if we would have been able to get past the city gates.”
Gui Yin shook his head. “There is no need for this gentleman to thank me. The city guards were far too rude. I’m sure if it weren’t me, someone else would have stepped up.”
Gui Yin thought he could see a wry smile under the man’s hood. “You would think so, wouldn’t you? However, the person ended up being you, so I owe you a great debt.”
“No need for such words,” Gui Yin said hurriedly. He glanced at the group before his gaze drifted back to the man. “How about this? Instead of owing me a debt, just tell me your names and introduce yourselves. The joy of traveling is meeting new people. I wouldn’t mind making a few new acquaintances. I’ll start first; I am Gui Qianle of Yunjing Pavilion. This is my disciple Gui Linghuo and this is my martial nephew, Deng Yenuo.”
The man glanced up at Gui Yin. His gaze lingered on those honest eyes a bit too long before pulling away. He let out a dry cough. “This silly girl beside me is named A-Qi. This is Su Wen and Wu Feng. My surname is Sun. Many people just refer to me as Er-ye .”
“Er-ye?” Gui Yin repeated. It seems this man’s illness wasn’t the only mystery about him. Still, when in Jianghu, if one didn’t want to tell you their real name, it would be rude and even suspicious to press on. Gui Yin accepted this pseudonym with a smile. “It is my pleasure to meet you all.”
“The pleasure is all ours,” Er-ye said, a hint of a smile in his voice.
Gui Yin’s gaze remained on him for a moment longer before he pulled it away. He glanced at the nervous city guards nearby and took a seat beside Er-ye. He poured himself a cup of tea and even refilled the one Er-ye had been drinking out of.
“What brings Lord Immortal Ninglan to a place like this?” Er-ye asked. The hand he stretched out to take the tea cup was nearly skeletal, like the hand of a man who was decaying from disease. “I haven’t heard of any conference on our way over.”
“It’s Sect Leader Qiang’s birthday banquet,” Gui Yin replied. There was nothing to hide. It was common knowledge amongst these parts anyway.
“Sect Leader Qiang?” Er-ye hummed. He glanced at Gui Yin. “Are you two familiar with each other?”
“I am merely attending out of politeness,” Gui Yin said with a humble smile.
“I see. Then, that would be for the best.”
Gui Yin glanced at the hooded man beside him. “What does Er-ye me—”
The door opened with a hurried bang.
Gui Yin and his party looked up to watch a frantic, middle-aged man stop before them. The man was dressed in fine silks and had light crow’s feet at his eyes. Although he had obviously rushed over, there was not a single hair out of place. The few disciples behind him bowed immediately upon seeing Gui Yin and the middle-aged man also clasped his hands together in a salute.
“Lord Immortal Ninglan, forgive me for being unable to properly teach my subordinates.”
“Sect Leader Qiang needn’t be so courteous,” Gui Yin stood. He smiled. “Besides, it wasn’t your fault. It was because your subordinates believed they were far enough from your jurisdiction that they dared to go this far. I’m sure there will not be a next time.”
Qiang Fuheng nodded. “Naturally, naturally! Once is enough of a disgrace to last me a lifetime. I truly cannot believe…ah, forgive me for being so rude. Who are your companions, Lord Ninglan?”
“Ah, this is Er-ye and his companions,” Gui Yin vaguely introduced them. “They were the ones the city guards were giving the hardest time.”
A flash of irritation passed through Qiang Fuheng’s eyes that Gui Yin didn’t miss. However, his actions were the exact opposite.
“My goodness, my sincerest apologies! I cannot believe they were so discourteous to you, Sir. Is there anything we could do to make up for it?”
Gui Yin glanced at Er-ye. To his surprise, he was met with a pair of depthless eyes. For a moment, he froze. The pair of eyes drew him in, making him want to approach the other man.
“Not at all,” Er-ye said. “It was not you who burdened me, but your subordinates. As Lord Ninglan has said, it was not your fault.”
Qiang Fuheng seemed satisfied with this response. “On my way here, I heard that you wanted to see Doctor Zheng? How about I send some servants to escort you to his residence? That way, you won’t have to wait in the long queue or even risk being turned away.”
“If Sect Leader Qiang insists, this humble one is unable to reject your offer,” Er-ye said.
Once Qiang Fuheng settled Er-ye’s temporary residence, as well as made sure there was a servant who could later take them to Doctor Zheng’s manor, he turned his attention back to Gui Yin.
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.
“Obgv Pwwbgaji Rlcuijc, klii sbe yf ugjmlcu ws tbwf jr j uefra?”
Xel Tlc rtbbx tlr tfjv ufcais. “P ralii tjnf j ofk atlcur P kbeiv ilxf ab yes lc abkc. Po la’r jigluta klat sbe, kf’ii tfjv ab Mfcusjb Vfma abwbggbk.”
Hljcu Metfcu cbvvfv. “Ktja lr wbgf atjc jigluta, Obgv Pwwbgaji! Po sbe cffv jcsatlcu, offi ogff ab mbcajma wf. Ktf lcc bkcfg klii xcbk tbk ab gfjmt wf.”
“Thank you, Sect Leader Qiang.”
“No need for pleasantries. Really, there is no need.”
After a few more short exchanges, Qiang Fuheng finally left, leaving Gui Yin, Deng Yenuo, and Gui Linghuo.
“What do you two think about him?” Gui Yin asked.
Gui Linghuo frowned. “He’s a two headed snake.”
“Yenuo?”
“I agree. When we were with Er-ye and them, I saw him scowl when he saw the state of their clothing.”
“It’s always reassuring to see a man standing at such high power looking down on other people,” Gui Yin sighed. He fixed his sleeves. “Though, that Er-ye sure is a character.”
“That girl, A-Qi, was interesting,” Gui Linghuo murmured.
“What? Are you interested?” Gui Yin asked.
Gui Linghuo scrunched up his face. “Shizun, she’s probably much older than me.”
“Children have crushes on older people all the time. But you’re right—you shouldn’t have such thoughts so young,” Gui Yin nodded in approval.
“They were odd,” Deng Yenuo agreed. “I could sense the cultivation levels of the servants, but I couldn’t detect Er-ye’s cultivation level at all. Gui-shishu, did you have any idea what it was?”
Gui Yin thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I wasn’t exactly paying attention, but if I could guess he could probably fight me head-on if he really wanted to. He had that…aura.”
Gui Yin fell silent for a moment and thought about those depthless eyes. When they were on their way out, Er-ye’s gaze shifted to Gui Yin for a split second. In that moment, with the sunlight hitting his face in a certain way, Gui Yin could make out subtle golden flecks. Among the abyss-like darkness of his gaze, the golden flecks were like brilliant stars against the night sky.
“Do you think they’re really rogue cultivators?” Gui Linghuo curiously asked.
“They never said they were rogue cultivators, but it does seem like they aren’t from around here,” Deng Yenuo said. He looked at Gui Yin. “Shishu, what do you think?”
“I think we shouldn’t think about it too hard,” Gui Yin said. He looked between the two boys in front of him. “Everyone has their own secrets. It’s true that they were a bit suspicious, but they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions. That one surnamed Sun most likely really is here just to see a doctor. And if they really are foreigners, after this meeting, I highly doubt we’ll run into them again.”
He let out a sigh as he poured the two boys a cup of tea. “Let’s just treat this as an interesting story to tell others when we get back and move on.”
Deng Yenuo accepted the cup of tea and glanced at Gui Yin.
A sickly man who somehow contracted a deadly illness that brought him to this place. The attendants around him were only around the same level as Deng Yenuo. If they ran into any danger, would those attendants be able to defend him? Or perhaps, despite being so sickly, the man was still able to fend for himself. It was beyond strange. Not to mention, although the sickly man was dressed in drab, he had an elegant prose. If he dressed up a bit, he would undoubtably be able to fit into high society.
If Deng Yenuo realized these points, then Gui Yin must have realized it as well.
These words were not directed towards Gui Linghuo, who was too young to look past the surface, but were directed at himself and Deng Yenuo. Although it was fine to be curious, at the end of the day, this was none of their business. There were crouching tigers and hidden dragons everywhere in Jianghu. If you were curious about all of them, you were bound to be implicated and meet a horrible end.
Though Gui Yin had warned Deng Yenuo, in the dead of night, his own mind couldn’t help but drift back to those starlit eyes. Every time he closed his eyes, they haunted his vision, getting more and more vibrant the less he wanted to think about them.
In the end, Gui Yin sat up in his bed. He stared out the door and thought, momentarily, about going on a walk. He kicked off the covers and slipped his shoes on. Just as he was about to push the door open, he froze.
No. Wait. Wasn’t this what always happened in stories?
There was a mysterious man who obviously came from sketchy origins. A character cannot get him out of his head. They go on a walk in the middle of the night and the two meet. If the person was the main character, they would fall in love during their brief conversation. If they were a side character, they would stumble upon the man’s important and secretive conversation and the side character would be silenced.
Gui Yin took a step back.
Although he still wasn’t sure what was happening, for now, he felt that he should follow his knowledge about plotlines and stay away from that man. According to Miss Shen’s outline, the protagonist was one of Lord Immortal Ninglan’s three disciples, so even if he dared to be arrogant, he wouldn’t begin to think himself to be the main character. At most, he was a plot-important side character. However, if he stepped out there and ran into Er-ye, he might just become cannon fodder.
Gui Yin breathed in sharply through his teeth. In fact, wasn’t there a potential protagonist at his side right now? Gui Linghuo was sleeping in a separate room tonight. If he ended up wandering out and running into the man then…
Gui Yin shook his head. He pushed the door open and went next door. He lightly knocked on the door and waited until Gui Linghuo opened it.
“Shizun?” the child rubbed sleepily at his eyes.
“Ah, were you already asleep?” Gui Yin appeared a bit sheepish. “I was having a bit of trouble sleeping, so I thought about coming to talk to you. I hadn’t realized it was already so late.”
Hearing this, Gui Linghuo’s eyes lit up. He took a step back to let Gui Yin in. “If Shizun would like to talk, this disciple is willing.”
“No, no, you go ahead and sleep,” Gui Yin put on an embarrassed smile.
Seeing this, Gui Linghuo became even more awake. “Actually, this disciple was also having a bit of trouble sleeping. Could Shizun tell me a story?”
Gui Yin really wanted to applaud this child. Obviously, he had been fine just a few minutes before, but now, in order to save him face, he actually lied and acted spoiled to sell the story. Gui Yin’s smile became a bit more sincere as his chest warmed. He patted the top of Gui Linguo’s head.
“Alright. I’ll tell you a story,” Gui Yin chuckled.
As the door closed behind Gui Yin, he felt a bit of a chill go down his back. He glanced down the hall. His gaze lingered for a moment, but he couldn’t even see a flicker of a shadow.
Once the door creaked close, the candles that lit the hallway were snuffed out by a cold wind.
Gui Yin’s eyes opened to the tasseled curtains, not too far from the bed. He let out a sigh and sat up. His face was grave, as if he had just received horrible news. He rubbed at his face for a moment before leaving the bed and washing his face with the basin of water Gui Linghuo had prepared.
Gui Linghuo, who had been up for an hour now, glanced over at his mentor. The man still looked elegant despite having just awoken. His eyes had a dazed glaze over them until he finished washing his face.
Gui Yin went behind the silk screen to change his clothes. When he came back, he was dressed in Yunjing Pavilion’s uniformed garments. His hair was decorated with a jade crown and the fatigue had been entirely washed from his face.
“Did Shizun not have a good night’s sleep?”
Gui Yin sighed. “Something like that. It’s nothing to worry about though. Come—let’s go find Yenuo.”
Deng Yenuo had already left his room earlier that morning. Gui Yin and Gui Linghuo found him just returning to the inn with a package in his arms. He smiled and greeted the two as they approached him.
“Shishu, Gui-shidi.”
“Yenuo, why did you get up so early?” Gui Yin asked curiously.
“I’m used to waking up early back at the sect and training,” Deng Yenuo said. He handed Gui Linghuo breakfast that he had bought from a nearby street stall. “Besides, something strange happened last night and people were talking about it this morning, so it woke me up.”
“Something strange happened last night?” Gui Yin’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Shishu must not have noticed since you and Gui-shidi were on a different floor. But last night, on the floor above yours, a cultivator was spirited away from his room. When others found him, he was naked and covered in chicken blood. Some rumors have even said that he seemed to be out of his mind. No one has found the cause yet.”
“Naked and covered in chicken blood?” Gui Yin echoed. He and Gui Linghuo shared a glance. “Well, is that person alright otherwise?”
“Otherwise, the person was okay, but it was an embarrassing scene. Many think that this cultivator offended someone. Even worse, they’re one of the more prominent disciples under Tiantie Sect. The banquet today,” Deng Yenuo’s voice trailed off. He shook his head. “It’s bound to be an entertaining show.”
Gui Yin sighed. He denied the food that Gui Linghuo held out to him and only patted the boy’s head. He looked between the young man and the boy. “We’re going to drop off the gift and immediately leave. Even if someone tries to talk to you, just say that there was something urgent we have to take care of back at Yunjing Pavilion.”
“Yes, Shishu.”
“Yes, Shizun.”
The last thing Gui Yin wanted right now was to be involved in some nefarious plot between the righteous sects. He just wanted a brief outing to make sure he understood this world better. If he got sucked into anything now, he was afraid he wouldn’t even make it out alive. His body and mind naturally remembered a lot of things, but what about Lord Immortal Ninglan’s natal weapons? Since he specialized in musical cultivation, Gui Yin could only assume that it had something to do with musical instruments. But other than that, he knew nothing.
His memories came from coming in contact with the thing he needed to remember, but if he couldn’t even remember how to call out Ninglan’s natal weapons, then how could he even fight?
These were the thoughts that hammered through his mind as the guard accepted their invitations and led them inside.
The first thing that Gui Yin noticed upon walking in was just how gold everything was.
From top to bottom, from things that shouldn’t glitter to things that should, everything gave off a subtle glow. There were pieces that were delicately carved from the finest jade, but also things that were decorated gaudily with high level spirit stones. Random contraptions that ran on spirit stones would mill past Gui Yin and his group every once in a while. It was obvious that they weren’t serving any function other than to show off.
Gui Yin’s expression eventually cooled to boredom. He let out a soft sigh and sent a voice transmission to the two beside him.
“It turns out, all the money the Fengyao Sect made went into decorating their sect.”
Gui Linghuo pursed his lips to keep from laughing. Deng Yenuo’s lips quirked into a smile as he greeted a cultivator from the same generation. Gui Yin turned away from the two boys and glanced across the vast hall.
It didn’t take long for Qiang Fuheng to hear of Gui Yin’s arrival. He walked over with a group of elders and prominent figures in the higher realm. A nearby servant took the gift from Gui Linghuo and quickly retreated. Soon, Qiang Fuheng was chattering up a storm with Gui Yin at the center.
“It’s rare to see Lord Immortal Ninglan at an event like this,” Qiang Fuheng said without hiding a hint of gloating in his eyes. “This humble one is very grateful to have you in attendance today.”
“Not at all, not at all,” Gui Yin humbly shook his head. He offered a sheepish smile. “Our Sect Master wanted to come personally, but since he still had some matters to attend to, he sent me in his place. I hope Sect Leader Qiang is not offended.”
Hearing this, Qiang Fuheng’s gloating expression faltered.
Although no one would say it, compared to Lin Cangyuan, the sect master of Yunjing Pavilion, the illusive Lord Immortal Ninglan was certainly a more honored guest than him. This was only due to the scarcity in which he attended events.
After a certain incident a couple hundred years back, it became rare for Lord Immortal Ninglan to leave the sect to attend events. Not only that, it became rare to see Ninglan in general. When the Lord Immortal was not in the sect, he was out wandering in the world, helping the common people exterminate ghosts, demons, ghouls, and beasts. But this wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart. It was really just to temper himself and to make sure he wasn’t too far removed from the happenings of the mortal realm.
Many people admired him for this, others thought that he was a maverick. As someone who was lucky enough to have been born in the upper realm, why bother with the lower realm? Still, no matter what anyone thought, with Ninglan’s impeccable reputation, they would never talk bad about him for fear that they would be snubbed by society afterwards.
Therefore, having Gui Yin personally attend an event was an honor, but after hearing that he hadn’t come of his own volition, the melon seed eaters beside them began to jeer and snicker.
Really, how embarrassing.
The conversation became awkward after that and, soon, the others left Gui Yin and his company alone.
“Truly bothersome,” Gui Yin mumbled.
“Shizun, isn’t this enough?” Gui Linghuo lowered his voice to barely an audible whisper. “We can go back now, right?”
Gui Yin looked to Deng Yenuo.
“Shishu has to remember that you are the illustrious Lord Immortal Ninglan. If Shishu wants to leave, no one can stop you,” Deng Yenuo said. “Besides, for you to attend, Yunjing Pavilion has already given Fengyao Sect enough face.”
Gui Yin hummed. He stood from where he was sitting without touching his food. “Then, let’s go back to Yunjing Pavilion.”
Gui Yin flagged Qiang Fuheng down to tell the man that they were returning. With a stiff smile, Sect Leader Qiang suggested sending them out, only for Gui Yin to shake his head.
“How could I request that of you, Sect Leader Qiang? This is your birthday banquet, after all,” Gui Yin said with a polite smile.
After leaving the hall, Gui Yin let out a long suppressed sigh. “All he has is money and status. He’s already this old, yet he’s celebrating his birthday.”
Deng Yenuo chuckled. “What Shishu says is right. However, I still think birthday celebrations are important.”
“To an extent, right?” Gui Yin frowned. He glanced at Deng Yenuo. “Of course, if it was your birthday, Shishu will accompany you to celebrate it.”
Deng Yenuo finally let out a full-bodied laugh. He shook his head. “It isn’t going to be my birthday.”
“Shizun, it’s your birthday that’s coming up,” Gui Linghuo said. “Did you forget?”
Gui Yin glanced between the two boys. “My birthday?”
“That’s right,” Gui Linghuo nodded enthusiastically. “It’s coming up next week.”
“Next week,” Gui Yin echoed.
Even his birthday was the same.
Gui Yin shook his head. “I’m not interested in celebrating it this year. Maybe next year.”
Deng Yenuo and Gui Linghuo glanced at each other.
In fact, it wasn’t just this year. Lord Immortal Ninglan had never held a birthday celebration at any point in his life. When asked why, he had always said that it was tedious. It seemed that even without his memories, his stance on birthday celebrations could remain the same.
damn you Gui Yin for being aware of fictional tropes!!!! i wanna see that (romantic or fighting) encounter with Er-ye and his sparkly eyes!!!!! axlshxkshsj purely because Gui Yin is very drawn to this mysterious boss and i wanna see 👀
hm all this talk with birthdays tho… my own awareness of how stories go is telling me we gotta watch out for next week >.>
hehehe we’ll see how spot on those instincts are– thanks for reading!!
Loving mc for actually remembering the book tropes and being smart~
Also ML 👀 is that you
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
👀…thanks for reading!!
So good! Thank you for writing, I am loving our MC’s character and am so curious about what will happen next!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you! 😭
Avoidance tactics, a perfect score! Hahahahaha! No birthday party 😮. Let’s see if that holds…party, party, PARTY! Thanks 🤣❤️
You may know the fictional troupes, but chances are, those thoughts will be just for show and you will fall in love :3
Thanks for the chapter >v<