We met the goal over on ko-fi, so extra chapter!
“Send Elder Shan my regards,” Gui Yin said, gently patting Shan Yu’s head as the girl bounced around. He looked at Qin Siyi with a slight frown. “Are you sure you don’t want your Da-shixiong to go with you too?”
Qin Siyi nodded. “No worries, Shizun. I will be careful. Besides, Da-shixiong needs to help you.”
“That’s true, but,” Gui Yin frowned.
Li Fangyin glanced between the two parties and lightly cleared his throat. “Gui-qianbei.”
“You definitely can’t leave the camp,” Gui Yin said.
“Not me,” Li Fangyin said. He glanced at the two men behind Gui Yin. “But what about them?”
Su Wen frowned immediately. “Absolutely not. Master sent us here to serve Lord Ninglan.”
Gui Yin fell into a silent contemplation. He looked at them. “But just one of you is enough, isn’t it?”
“N—”
“It’s just for a few days,” Gui Yin said. “And I would argue this is also serving me.”
Su Wen glanced at the two little girls and back to Gui Yin indignantly.
“Su Wen, you go with Siyi and Shan Yu,” Gui Yin said.
“M-me!?”
“Wu Feng doesn’t talk much,” Gui Yin said, lowering his voice so only the two men could hear. “If he goes, I’m afraid the girls will be uncomfortable.”
“Bu—”
“I trust you,” Gui Yin said, patting Su Wen’s shoulder. He turned back to the girls. “Let Su-gege go with you.”
Shan Yu and Qin Siyi looked at Su Wen, who was still fuming. Only when he made eye contact with the girls did he slowly calm back down. He forced a smile and awkwardly waved his hand. “Hello…”
Gui Yin said a few more worrying words to Qin Siyi before sending the group on their way. Shan Yu glanced at the reluctant Su Wen and smirked slightly.
“Who’s your master?” Shan Yu asked curiously.
The two men at Gui Yin’s side had appeared when his disciples weren’t around. They had been curious as to who they were for a long time, but they hadn’t had the chance to ask. Now that Su Wen was alone, without Gui Yin, they could finally get some answers. Su Wen glanced at Shan Yu and then to Qin Siyi.
“I don’t think you’d know him,” Su Wen said.
“Just give us a name then,” Shan Yu said.
“Shan Yu, don’t be rude,” Qin Siyi said, tugging her hand slightly.
Shan Yu ignored her. “If we don’t know him, then what’s wrong with just giving a name?”
“He’s…he’s surnamed Sun,” Su Wen said.
Shan Yu frowned. “Surnamed Sun? What’s his first name?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you not know if he’s your master?” Shan Yu asked in disbelief.
“Master is a mysterious man. If he doesn’t want us to know something, then we won’t ask,” Su Wen said.
“Then, what do other people call him?” Shan Yu asked.
“He goes by many names,” Su Wen said. “He used to use Er-ye, but recently, he goes by something else.”
“Er-ye?” Shan Yu’s eyes widened. She looked at Qin Siyi. “Do you think it’s the same guy?”
Qin Siyi frowned slightly and glanced at Su Wen.
Su Wen wasn’t a cowardly person, but when he saw the way Qin Siyi looked at him, he almost flinched. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Miss Qin, do you have a question too?”
“What’s your master’s relationship with my shizun?” Qin Siyi asked.
Su Wen had noticed this in the few short days and the week he had spent with Gui Yin’s disciples—they were all fiercely protective of him. But he wasn’t sure why. Sure, Gui Yin had pretty looks, but it shouldn’t warrant such guarded disciples, right? And Gui Yin wasn’t exactly naïve or innocent, so why was everyone so cautious?
“They’re pen pals,” Su Wen said. “They write to each other.”
“Pen pals?” Qin Siyi frowned.
When she was younger, she hadn’t thought much about it, but now she wondered about the validity of their relationship. What if Er-ye was just some weirdo that was clinging to their shizun? What would she do then? And if they were pen pals, did it warrant him sending two bodyguards to help Gui Yin? Gui Linghuo had described their fighting prowess, his voice riddled with suspicion—these men weren’t as simple as they seemed.
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.
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Vtjc Te jcv Hlc Vlsl uijcmfv ja fjmt batfg. Ktfs vfmlvfv ab vgbq atf mbcnfgrjalbc obg cbk.
Ktf ugbeq abbx oiluta bcmf atfs kfgf ojg fcbeut jkjs ogbw atf rmfcf bo yjaaif. Coafg akb vjsr bo agjnfilcu, atfs olcjiis obecv atf oijur bo atf Itfcusjcu Vtjc Vfma. Vtjc Te’r fsfr ila eq, rtf ybecmfv yfrlvf Hlc Vlsl fzmlafvis. Aera jr rtf kjr jybea ab rjs rbwfatlcu, j qfgrbc mjeuta tfg fsf. Vtf ifa bea jc fzmlafv rtglfx jcv gjc bnfg, glqqlcu jkjs ogbw Hlc Vlsl’r tjcv.
“Boying-gege!”
The young man turned, his arms opening as he caught the flying girl. The cultivators at his side watched in shock until they realized just who it was. Immediately, joy took over their faces.
“It’s the Young Miss!”
“Young Miss, what are you doing here?”
“Young Miss, did you come alone? That’s too dangerous!”
“Young Miss, how long have you been traveling? Are you tired?”
Qin Siyi and Su Wen glanced at each other as they silently made their way over to the group. It was no wonder that Shan Yu would be so spoiled. It was clear that she was the shining pearl of the Zhengyang Shan Clan.
Shan Yu looked past the group of men and excitedly patted them off her. She ran over to Qin Siyi and dragged her over. “Guys, this is my shijie! Qin Siyi!”
Qin Siyi nearly tripped over herself. She smiled politely to the group. “Hello.”
“And that’s my Shizun’s attendant—Su Wen!” Shan Yu said, gesturing towards the man lagging behind.
Shan Boying and the others greeted Qin Siyi and Su Wen.
“I’m here because I heard Grandpa was here,” Shan Yu said. She shifted from foot to foot as she looked up at them sweetly. “Can I see him?”
“Of course, you can,” Shan Boying said, bending down to scoop Shan Yu up. He frowned slightly and sighed. “You’ve grown bigger again.”
“Of course,” Shan Yu tilted her chin arrogantly. “Pretty soon I’ll be just as tall as you!”
Shan Boying scratched his cheek in embarrassment. For all of Shan Yu’s male cousins, he was definitely on the shorter side.
Once the group entered the camp, Qin Siyi was surprised by how fast everyone recognized Shan Yu. She watched on silently and in awe. She had never seen someone so beloved by so many people. Although they doted on her, they remained respectful. Shan Yu wasn’t just a child of the Zhengyang Shan Clan, but its successor.
They were taken immediately to the main camp. Qin Siyi felt her hands grow clammy. When Shan Yu was set down, Qin Siyi lightly cleared her throat.
Shan Yu turned around to look at Qin Siyi.
“Mister Su and I will wait for you out here,” Qin Siyi whispered.
Shan Yu frowned. “Why?”
“You should have some alone time with your grandfather. Don’t worry about us, you can take all the time you need.”
Shan Yu glanced at Su Wen. “If you don’t want him to wait by himself, then he can come in with us.”
“Why would he wait by himself?” Qin Siyi asked in confusion.
“He’s Shizun’s attendant, but you’re my Shijie. If I asked him to come with me, he’d feel awkward as well, wouldn’t you?” Shan Yu asked Su Wen.
Su Wen nodded quickly. He had been trying to figure out how to get out of it from the beginning. However, it wasn’t because he was a servant. It was because he didn’t want Elder Shan to recognize him as Huigu Palace’s Palace Lord’s attendant.
Qin Siyi frowned slightly and glanced back at Shan Yu.
“I want you to meet Grandpa,” Shan Yu said, gripping Qin Siyi’s hand tightly. “Come on.”
Qin Siyi wanted to protest, but she was already being dragged into the large tent.
The moment they entered, Shan Yu excitedly shouted for the man sitting behind an imposing desk. The man looked up with a small smile. He stood and met them halfway. He glanced at Qin Siyi as he knelt down in front of his granddaughter.
“I could hear you from the entrance of the camp,” Elder Shan said, gently patting Shan Yu’s head. He turned to Qin Siyi. “You’ve grown a lot since we’ve last met. How old are you now?”
“Fourteen, sir,” Qin Siyi said.
Elder Shan laughed. “You don’t need to be so polite. Call me grandpa like Xiao Yu does.”
Shan Yu, satisfied now that Qin Siyi was by her side, released her hand and excitedly hugged her grandfather. “Grandpa, are you staying warm? Eating a lot?”
“It’s the middle of summer, you silly girl,” Elder Shan chuckled. “And I’m eating as much as I need to. What about you? You need extra food to grow big and strong.”
“I eat a lot!” Shan Yu boasted. She turned to Qin Siyi. “Don’t I?”
“She does,” Qin Siyi nodded.
“Will you two be staying here for the night then?” Elder Shan asked, looking between the two girls.
“Yes! We’re heading back the day after tomorrow,” Shan Yu said.
“How is your Shizun?” Elder Shan asked Qin Siyi.
“He’s doing well,” Qin Siyi said. She glanced between the older man and Shan Yu. “Um, Sir, if you don’t mind, I’m not feeling too well. Could I excuse myself?”
Shan Yu’s brows furrowed. “Shijie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Qin Siyi reassured her.
“Yes, go rest. Boying, go show Miss Qin and her companion to a tent.”
Shan Boying nodded and excused himself and Qin Siyi. Once it was just the two of them in the tent, Elder Shan turned to Shan Yu.
“Grandpa, actually, I came here to ask for a favor,” Shan Yu said shyly.
Elder Shan chuckled. “What kind of favor?”
“When I got to Shizun’s camp a few days ago, I noticed there weren’t that many people. A lot of them were in the medic tents too,” Shan Yu said. She swung Elder Shan’s hand as she spoke. “I was just wondering…since our sect has so many people, can’t you lend a couple to us?”
Elder Shan slowly raised a brow. “Did your Shizun put you up to this?”
Shan Yu shook her head. “Shizun only thought I came because I missed Grandpa too much. He had no idea I was going to request soldiers from you. But…if you don’t give us any, then…”
Elder Shan observed his granddaughter quietly. In the few years they hadn’t seen each other, her quick-wittedness had gained some maturity. Not to mention, her cultivation had risen quite a bit. Gui Yin and those at Yunjing Pavilion taught her well. So well that her loyalty seems to have swayed a little.
Just as Shan Yu was about to try and convince her grandfather again, the man spoke: “Why don’t you just stay here?”
Shan Yu’s eyes widened before her face puckered. “Grandpa, what are you talking about? I have to go back with Shijie.”
“Why? It’s far too dangerous. As you said, they’re lacking soldiers over there. And your Shizun is on the front lines, A-Yu. What are we going to do if something happens to you?”
“Shizun won’t let anything happen to me. And if something does, you have all my other cousins,” Shan Yu said.
“You—”
“I can’t leave Shizun and my Da-shixiong and Shijie,” Shan Yu said firmly. “Besides, what’s the difference between there and here? Yunjing Pavilion may be small in number, but you also know their cultivators are the best.”
Elder Shan’s expression darkened. “A-Yu, are you saying another sect is better than our own?”
“It’s as I said. Otherwise, why did you allow me to go to Yunjing Pavilion to study?” Shan Yu said. She glared at her grandfather. “Grandpa, you always taught me that running from my problems is a cowardly move.”
“I’m not telling you to run away, but if you stay over there, you might get in their way. What can you do for them anyway? Be good and just go back to Zhengyang. Your mother has been so worried about—”
“I can help them.”
“What?”
“I can still help Shizun,” Shan Yu said, her face showing her growing irritation. She pulled away from Elder Shan’s hand. “And Shizun doesn’t care if I’m useful or not. He’ll still keep me safe.”
“Weapons won’t discriminate. You think he’ll have time to look after you if he’s being attacked from the rear and the front? Don’t be so silly, Shan Yu!” Elder Shan scolded. “Grandfather will take you back to Zhengyang. You’ll be safer there. Your Shizun will understand.”
“So, you won’t lend Shizun soldiers?” Shan Yu asked, her small face showing a cold expression.
“It’s not that I won’t. Just—”
“Forget it.”
She didn’t wait for her grandfather to finish speaking before she ran out of the tent. After asking around a little, she finally found out where Qin Siyi and Su Wen had been located. She burst into the tent at once and angrily sat down on the bed Qin Siyi had just made.
Qin Siyi glanced at Su Wen. Su Wen sighed internally and mumbled some excuse before leaving the tent. The two martial sisters remained silent for a moment. Qin Siyi finally sat down and awkwardly cleared her throat.
“Did you get into an argument with your grandfather?”
“He told me to go back to Zhengyang!” Shan Yu exploded.
“Oh.”
Shan Yu turned to Qin Siyi and frowned. “You aren’t going to say anything about that?”
“It’s…not a bad idea,” Qin Siyi said.
Shan Yu glared at her. “What?”
Qin Siyi shifted. “You’re still a child. The battlefield isn’t a suitable place for you in the first place. If you go back to Zhengyang, you at least have your mother and the rest of your sect. You—”
“You think I can just abandon you and Shizun?” Shan Yu asked.
Qin Siyi froze. She quickly shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just safer if you—”
“I don’t want to go back to Zhengyang!” Shan Yu shouted. She stood up irritably. “I don’t care if it’s safer for me or not. B-besides, doesn’t Shizun need our help anyway?! I’m already at Foundation Building. Isn’t that already good? When you and Da-shixiong were at this stage, you were already following Shizun out, weren’t you? This is just…this is just another form of training. And I won’t get in the way.”
“Shan Yu, this isn’t about you getting in our way or not. Your grandfather is just concerned for your safety. And I am too. It’s dangerous and Yunjing Pavilion is at the front lines right now. I think it would be best if you followed your grandfather back to Zhengyang and—”
“If it’s dangerous for me, then what about you and Shizun?” Shan Yu asked, her voice growing quiet.
“…Shizun is different—”
“And you?”
Qin Siyi fell silent.
“I notice things too. Most of the shixiong and shijie of Yunjing Pavilion who followed Shizun aren’t there anymore. No one wants to send them help either, right?” Shan Yu pointed out. “If I leave…what will happen to you all? What if I never get to see you again?”
“Then, what? If the worst happens, do you want to die with us too?” Qin Siyi asked, hoping she would scare Shan Yu.
Instead, the little girl nodded. Her eyes were reddening from stress. “I would rather that, then to never see you again.”
Qin Siyi pinched Shan Yu’s cheeks and glared at her. “Don’t say that. With Shizun here, how could we die? If you don’t want to go back to Zhengyang, then don’t go. You’ve always been willful anyway.”
Shan Yu dove into Qin Siyi’s arms. She wrapped her legs around the older girl’s waist and fell silent. Qin Siyi sighed, rubbing Shan Yu’s back.
“We’re a family,” Shan Yu murmured. “Family can’t be apart.”
Qin Siyi scoffed. “We’ll be family even if you did go back. Aren’t you still family with your mother and cousins?”
Shan Yu huffed and only dove deeper into Qin Siyi’s arms.
Qin Siyi could only sigh at the lack of response.
Shan Yu was a smart girl. There was no way she wouldn’t have calculated the possibility that her grandfather would try to make her go back to Zhengyang. So, why did she come all the way out here? Was it really to see her grandfather?
The next morning, Qin Siyi woke up to Su Wen looking somewhat troubled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Elder Shan and the young miss got into an argument,” Su Wen explained in a low voice.
“Is Shan Yu okay?” Qin Siyi asked worriedly.
Su Wen nodded. “She’s okay. However…”
“However?”
Su Wen smiled wryly and pressed a wooden plaque into her hand.
Qin Siyi looked down. She recognized the Zhengyang Shan Sect’s crest, but she didn’t know what this meant. She looked back up at Su Wen.
“Where’s Shan Yu?” Qin Siyi asked.
Su Wen sighed. “They made a deal.”
“Deal?”
“The young miss is going back to Zhengyang until she’s fourteen. In return, Elder Shan was willing to give us his active soldiers.”
“Active…”
“That’s about five hundred people,” Su Wen said. He sighed. “The silly girl must have overheard the adults talking at some point. But she’s smart. Instead of going back in vain, she forced her grandfather to fork out five hundred of his own people. Lord Ninglan’s worries will at least be soothed by this. But—Miss Qin?!”
Qin Siyi pushed past Su Wen. Half the tents had already been packed. Perhaps flying had taken too much out of her, so she had actually slept well into noon. She grabbed Shan Boying, who happened to be the nearest.
“Young Master Shan, where’s my shimei?”
Shan Boying smiled sheepishly. “She…already left.”
“Already left?!”
“Mn. Grandfather took her away already. She wanted to wait for you to wake up, but he said if she waited, he…would only give four hundred soldiers, so she immediately left.”
“That—is she crazy!? She’s only ten-years-old; where did she learn to make such tactical negotiations?” Qin Siyi said, her voice reaching a new pitch. “How long ago has it been? Maybe I can catch up and—”
“Miss Qin, calm down. That’s Young Miss Shan’s grandfather. It’s not as if he kidnapped her,” Su Wen said, quickly gripping Qin Siyi’s shoulders. “Besides, this is a good thing. A child has no place being on the battlefield anyway! You said so yourself—she’s only ten. A ten-year-old already knowing how to negotiate for military power isn’t natural. What else will she learn if she spends the remainder of her childhood on the battlefield? And, on top of that, she’s solved Lord Ninglan’s trouble. With five hundred people from Elder Shan’s personal militia, we’ll be able to push the ghost cultivators further east with no problem. It’s a win-win!”
“Screw your win-win!” Qin Siyi said, pushing Su Wen’s hands off of her. “She—she didn’t want to go back to Zhengyang! She wanted to stay with us.”
Shan Boying and Su Wen lowered their gazes.
Qin Siyi looked at the empty camp around her. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She knew it was for the best, but when she thought about how upset Shan Yu was, she began to grow irritated in her stead.
“I didn’t even get to say bye to her,” Qin Siyi said, her voice barely audible over her bustling surroundings.
A/N: just to make sure there isn’t any confusion next chapter, cuz it’s not mentioned until the middle/not stated right off the bat, but a time skip did happen.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
thanks for read!
AAAAAAAAAAAAA Shan Yu wanted to stay but!!!! but to get those soldiers- GRANDPA how could you use her feelings like that????? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
😔 he needed his heir to understand where she stood…THANKS FOR READING
Thanks for the chapter(s)💕💕
thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ahhhh nooo my baby Shan yu!!😭 I like her chara soo much man…how is she sooo soo matured man..I feel so sad for her even tho she’s surrounded by so many people who care for her..😭💔
Once this is all over the cultivation world is in for a great reckoning from Yunjing Pavilion. I entirely expect them to systematically cripple the other sects for their lack of response to the call to war. And Erlang will have few scruples about contributing to this as part of his repayment.