A-Xia.
The name lingered in his mind even after he awoke. He sat dazedly at the table as Shan Yu and the rest glanced at him worriedly. Gui Linghuo tentatively placed an extra piece of beef into Gui Yin’s noodles. The man ate it without even flinching. Shan Yu glanced at Qin Siyi. Soon a piece of vegetable entered Gui Yin’s bowl, a spoonful of beansprouts, a few pieces of pork ribs, even a cluster of noodles.
Li Fangyin rested his chin against the back of his hand, watching as Gui Yin mindlessly ate everything his disciples couldn’t finish. Eventually, unable to take it, he knocked his knuckle against the spot in front of Gui Yin.
Gui Yin looked up at Li Fangyin. “What?”
“Are you hung over?” Li Fangyin asked. “Su Wen said you drank a lot last night.”
“I don’t get hung over,” Gui Yin said.
Li Fangyin raised a brow. “Well, you could have fooled me.”
“I had a weird dream last night, that’s all,” Gui Yin said. “And I’m thinking about the trip.”
Li Fangyin nodded in understanding. He watched the disciples finish the rest of their food and then excuse themselves to pack. He turned back to Gui Yin. “But aren’t you excited? You get to reunite with your Sect Master-shixiong after eight years.”
Gui Yin raised his gaze and glanced at Li Fangyin. “Fangyin, have you ever read stories?”
“…Yes.”
“I mean, full-on novels depicting a made-up plotline,” Gui Yin said.
“Yes, I have.”
“Did you know that when the protagonists meet up again, nothing good ever happens.”
Li Fangyin took a moment to process this information. “Are you implying we’re the protagonists?”
“Well, we’re the protagonists of our own lives, aren’t we?”
“In that case, you must be living in fear constantly, Gui-qianbei,” Li Fangyin said. “The problems always happen to the protagonist.”
“And problems are always happening to me. I think it proves itself,” Gui Yin joked.
Li Fangyin laughed, not even bothering to argue with Gui Yin further. The two men departed from the table and watched on as the soldiers packed up their tents.
“The lower realm has run into a bit of issues,” Li Fangyin said.
“Nothing our help won’t fix,” Gui Yin said with a shrug. “But it’s impressive. Elder Shan pushed them out to Devil’s Desert. I heard that the thing in the desert swallowed up the ghost cultivators.”
Li Fangyin glanced at Gui Yin. “Perhaps the Heavens do have eyes.”
If those eyes were named Erlang, then they definitely do.
“Now, Elder Shan has moved to the southeast. I heard it’s harsher over there,” Li Fangyin said.
“Nothing he can’t handle, I’m sure.”
“He’s getting up there in age.”
“And so are we,” Gui Yin said. He glanced at Li Fangyin. “Thirty now. Congrats.”
“Thirty a few days ago,” Li Fangyin clicked his tongue. “I can’t believe I spent my twenties in a war.”
“Better than spending your childhood in one,” Gui Yin said, tilting his head towards his own disciples. “Did your sister do anything to help you celebrate? I know everyone else forgot.”
“She made me noodles and said happy birthday,” Li Fangyin said with a small smile. “They were kind of ugly, but it’s the thought that counts.”
“Were they long at least?” Gui Yin asked.
“A little too long,” Li Fangyin laughed.
“She’ll get better with time,” Gui Yin reassured him.
“What good is that going to do for me? She’ll be making noodles for her husband instead,” Li Fangyin said, a slight sulking tone to his voice. He shook his head. “I was hoping I could restructure Yin Hua Palace so that A-Yan could live there more comfortably, but now it feels like by the time this war is over, she’s already going to be someone’s wife.”
“It shouldn’t take that much longer,” Gui Yin said. He let out a loud sigh and patted Li Fangyin on the back. “I can feel it. The winds are picking up.”
“Please don’t say that. I feel like whenever you say something like that, something bad happens,” Li Fangyin said, looking at Gui Yin skeptically.
Gui Yin flourished his fan. “And I’m the one who’s superstitious.”
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.
“I’m not superstitious. You’ve just proved many times that you have a crow’s mouth.”
“Rbk, atja’r pera gevf. Lbk jybea P megrf sbe klat tjnlcu j yfjealoei klof jcv j tberf oeii bo mtlivgfc? Qlii la kbgx atfc?” Xel Tlc jrxfv, gjlrlcu j ygbk.
“Rb atjcx sbe. Qtb xcbkr ktja megrfr sbeg kfii klrtfr klii mbwf klat,” Ol Mjcuslc rtevvfgfv.
Xel Tlc ijeutfv, qjaalcu Ol Mjcuslc bc atf rtbeivfg jr Ve Qfc jcv Qe Mfcu rabqqfv lc ogbca bo atfw. Lf gfaglfnfv tlr tjcv jcv aemxfv la lc tlr riffnf jr tf gjlrfv j ygbk, kjlalcu obg atf akb wfc ab rqfjx.
“My Lord, Wu Feng has abruptly been summoned back,” Su Wen said.
Gui Yin’s brows furrowed. He glanced at Li Fangyin.
Without knowing who Su Wen and Wu Feng’s master was for the past eight years, Li Fangyin had not been inclined to ask questions either. Seeing that they were talking about something extra private, Li Fangyin excused himself, leaving the three men to walk further into the forest to hide their conversation.
“Did that man say why?”
Su Wen shook his head. “We only received a letter. Not to mention, it wasn’t even from Master—it was from A-Qi.”
“The little girl?” Gui Yin frowned. He held out his hand. “May I read it?”
Wu Feng glanced at Su Wen. When Su Wen nodded, Wu Feng reached past his robes and pulled out the carefully folded letter. Gui Yin opened it and began to read through the contents.
It was as vague as it could possibly get. There were little details about what had actually happened, but Gui Yin noted the lack of mention of Huigu Palace. He recalled a few details Erlang had given him on what his next big project was and then glanced at the two men in front of him.
“Well, even if you both returned, I wouldn’t have anything to say to that,” Gui Yin said, handing the letter back. He looked at Wu Feng seriously. “But be careful. Since this letter isn’t from your master directly, I fear the situation may be more urgent than it seems on the surface.”
Wu Feng appeared surprised for a moment. Gui Yin thought that he had been surprised by the thought of danger, but when Wu Feng spoke again, Gui Yin could only laugh.
“You’re very kind, My Lord.”
“You two have helped me for eight years. I’m not heartless,” Gui Yin said. He looked to Su Wen. “Are you sure you don’t need to return?’
“The letter says only one of us needs to return,” Su Wen said, but there was hesitation in his voice.
“Well, prepare to depart at a moment’s notice too,” Gui Yin said. He turned to Wu Feng. “Be careful. I hope we can meet again.”
Wu Feng clasped his hands together and bowed low. “You as well, Lord Ninglan.”
Wu Feng nodded to Su Wen and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Gui Yin fanned himself silently for a moment before nodding and finally saying a thought that had been on his mind for the past eight years: “He doesn’t talk much.”
Su Wen laughed. “That’s because he isn’t used to it. He used to be a mute.”
“A mute?” Gui Yin looked to Su Wen.
Su Wen nodded. “When I knew him as a child, he couldn’t say a word. It wasn’t until around the time we met you that Master finally found a way to help him speak.”
Gui Yin nodded slowly as the pair walked back to the camp. “Speaking of your master, I heard that he used to be unable to speak as well?”
“Not exactly. His vocal cords had been damaged badly, not to mention his neck had been mutilated,” Su Wen said. “Luckily, after cultivating for so many years, they’ve recovered quite well. Still, he doesn’t enjoy speaking loudly. Even speaking a little above regular volume will agitate this throat—or so he says.”
“You don’t think they actually do?”
“I believe most of the pain is psychological,” Su Wen said, smiling sadly. “After all, being abused in such a way is a pain you’d be unable to forget.”
“Do you know what happened?” Gui Yin asked.
Su Wen shook his head. “Of course, I wasn’t around to witness it. But from the bits Master has shared throughout the years, he should have been poisoned.”
Gui Yin nodded to himself. “Ruthless to do that to a small child.”
“Superstition and fearmongers causes the common people to do odd things,” Su Wen said. “Vilifying a child isn’t beyond that.”
“I suppose not,” Gui Yin said. He glanced at Su Wen. “Are you really not going back?”
“I can’t go back until Master summons me,” Su Wen said. “Master is very strict. If he says only one person, he means only one person. If we both go back, even if it is more helpful, we will be punished.”
“Punished?” Gui Yin frowned slightly. “Erlang doesn’t seem to be that type of person. He seems very easy-going.”
Su Wen smiled awkwardly. “He does seem that way, doesn’t he? Master is…Master is Master. He treats his subordinates gently, but that doesn’t mean he allows any mistakes. It’s expected. He went through a lot of bloodshed, betrayal, and vilification. Not to mention, Master can see through a person’s heart. If I had a gift like that, I would want absolute loyalty from everyone around me as well.”
“See through a person’s heart?”
Su Wen pursed his lips. He had said too much.
“Alright, alright. I won’t ask any more questions after this. What do you mean by that? Do you mean it literally?” Gui Yin asked.
Su Wen hesitated. “I’m not too sure about it either, My Lord. I just know that Master has some sort of ability, whether it be seeing the future or somehow reading a person’s intentions.”
Gui Yin fell silent. “That does seem like a burden to handle.”
As promised, Gui Yin no longer asked questions regarding Erlang. Even if he wanted to pry deeper, he questioned whether or not Su Wen would actually know the answers.
After another hour or so, Gui Yin and Li Fangyin’s forces departed for the lower realm. When they arrived a few days later, they were greeted by an odd ghostly smog. It was clear that the ghost cultivators had a vice grip on the lower realm.
Those who should stay behind to expand the encampment stayed, while Gui Yin and Li Fangyin took their troops to meet up with Lin Cangyuan.
Even in the afternoon, the ghost cultivators were still at their full strength. Meanwhile, the righteous cultivators seemed to even have trouble breathing. Li Fangyin charged in first, leaving Gui Yin and his troops.
“You three need to play,” Gui Yin said, glancing over his shoulder at his disciples. “I don’t need you on the battlefield right now. Su Wen, stay with them.”
“Yes, Lord Ninglan.”
“Yes, Shizun,” the disciples replied with a bit of reluctance.
If Gui Yin thought the situation in the upper realm was bad, then the situation in the lower realms was like hell on earth. Dead bodies remained strewn across the battlefield, bathing in their own blood. Demonic and resentful energy lingered in the air, making it difficult for anyone to breathe. With the thin Dragon Veins in the lower realms, it was already difficult for spiritual cultivators to operate—now they had to worry about the pollution of demonic energy.
A situation that already didn’t look so good was turned even worse when the so-called lord immortals cared more about protecting their home up above than the common people below. With only a few temples and Yunjing Pavilion fighting, the war which had started in the far east, near Yinfeng Valley, had been shoved up to the mountains of Kunlun, just before the border to the upper realm.
The first shock of sound caused the ground to tremble. Ghost cultivators and righteous cultivators alike looked up as Gui Yin descended. A song encompassed the battlefield. Although it wasn’t much, the righteous cultivators felt that their breathing had eased. The fog around them had lessened as well and, surprisingly, the ghost cultivators began to feel a throbbing migraine.
The sound of the pipa was the most jarring. It was filled with aggression. It was merciless, like the cutting winds in a desert storm. With every strike of the pipa, the ghost cultivators felt their legs waver. They could barely hold onto their senses as the righteous cultivators were spurred on by the energetic music, fighting with more vigor than they had previously.
Gui Yin landed beside Lin Cangyuan, who had been expertly picked from the crowd. The man glanced at him and heaved a sigh, as if he was just relieved from his shift at a customer-service job.
“You’re finally here,” Lin Cangyuan said.
Gui Yin flourished his fan, knocking back about twenty people, and glanced behind him. “Do you think just because I’m here, you’re done? What’s with this relaxed posture?”
Lin Cangyuan leaned against his sword as he threw his hair over his shoulder. “Let me breathe for a moment, won’t you? This battle has been going on for five days.”
“Five days?!” Gui Yin managed to slice up a crowd of ghosts before turning to Lin Cangyuan. “Why didn’t you call for us earlier!?”
“It’s more important to secure the upper realms, since that’s where all the common people have evacuated,” Lin Cangyuan said. He easily swung his sword and cut down the ghost cultivator who had lunged at him. “Now that we’ve pushed out most of those forces, of course I’d call on you. The lower realm is just their playground right now. We can take our time to take it back.”
“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Gui Yin said, looking at the dismal battlefield.
He glanced up. In the distance, if he looked out of the corner of his eye, he could see the phantom shimmer of the ghost barrier. It hadn’t gotten any worse, but it hadn’t gotten any better.
“What are those old coots at Beihuan Temple even doing?” Gui Yin asked, brows furrowing tightly.
“They said it’s difficult to mend the barrier, so they’re doing their best to keep it as it is for now,” Lin Cangyuan said. “Apparently, they need at least five great masters, but in the monks there’s only two. They tried to ask everyone else for help, but no one answered or something.”
Gui Yin frowned. He whipped his head towards Lin Cangyuan. “Why didn’t I hear of this?”
“What?”
“I didn’t hear about this at all,” Gui Yin said, cutting off a ghost cultivator’s head with a toss of his fan. He caught it midair and walked over to Lin Cangyuan. “Are you sure they asked for help?”
“Well, they said they asked someone,” Lin Cangyuan said.
Gui Yin fell silent, only moving on auto-pilot as the two of them slaughtered through the crowd of ghost cultivators. He glanced at the cultivators that were under Lin Cangyuan’s command. If they weren’t tripping over themselves, then they were bleeding out. No one here has had proper rest in god knows how long. Even Lin Cangyuan looked worse for wear.
Gui Yin’s thoughts whirled until the ghost cultivators finally retreated, for the first time in several years. He barely registered the cheering and celebration around him, even when Lin Cangyuan happily pulled him into a hug. He was pushed back, still within Lin Cangyuan’s grip, and he looked at the sect master.
“Shidi?” Lin Cangyuan frowned. He looked Gui Yin up and down. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. You take everyone else back. Li Fangyin and I will stay here to purify this area,” Gui Yin said.
Lin Cangyuan hesitated for a moment, but nodded and retreated with the rest.
Gui Yin met up with Su Wen and Li Fangyin as his troops scattered around the battlefield, taking up their position to perform the array. On Gui Yin’s signal, a hundred swords penetrated the earth and the skies began to clear little by little.
“Fangyin, Su Wen, while you were fighting, did you notice anything odd?”
Li Fangyin opened an eye and glanced at Gui Yin. “Odd how? It was just like every regular battle.”
“Lord Liaosu seemed very tired,” Su Wen said.
Li Fangyin’s brows furrowed. “Right. Everyone seemed tired, but with the pollution in the air, why wouldn’t you be?”
“But why is there so much pollution in the first place?” Gui Yin asked. “Sure, you could say that it’s because the ghost cultivators have been winning, but there’s no central place of resentful energy and we’re very far from Yinfeng Valley. You could say it’s the ghost barrier, but if the monks are doing their job, how could the pollution have traveled this far?”
Li Fangyin and Su Wen fell silent.
“Are you suggesting there may be a mole?” Li Fangyin finally asked.
“There may be. But I wouldn’t want to make assumptions. Still, we should send someone up north to investigate,” Gui Yin said.
Li Fangyin voiced his agreement.
The purification took until sunrise the next morning. The moment Gui Yin returned, he called for a meeting, dragging Lin Cangyuan from bed.
After he explained himself, the tent fell silent.
Lin Cangyuan rubbed the space between his brows. “What you’re saying isn’t wrong.”
“But Lord Liaosu, if we simply charge in and demand to oversee their work, the monks from the temples will become offended,” a cultivator whispered.
Shan Yu scoffed, her finger tapping the table’s surface. “If they have nothing to hide, then why would they react in such a negative way? Shizun, you can send me. I’ll go over there to see what they’re up to.”
“You can’t. We still haven’t taught the musical cultivators here the song. If you leave, we might fall into the same cycle of fighting one battle for weeks on end,” Gui Yin said. “I also can’t go.”
Gui Yin turned to Lin Cangyuan. “But you need the rest.”
“…Me?” Lin Cangyuan looked at Gui Yin, his voice barely even projecting. “You want me to go? What about Jiu-shimei?”
“I could also go,” Jiu Jingyi said with a small frown. However, when she saw Gui Yin raise a brow, she quickly shook her head. “No, never mind. If I went, who would look after the medicine and streamline the medic tent. I really wasn’t thinking!”
Gui Yin pursed his lips in amusement and gave Jiu Jingyi a small nod of approval. He turned back to Lin Cangyuan.
“See? That’s why you and Yenuo have to go. You two can just make up an excuse, saying that you wanted to visit Ye-shidi for extra medicinal supplies,” Gui Yin said. He looked at Deng Yenuo. “What do you think, Yenuo?”
“We—”
“I think it’s a good idea, Gui-shishu,” Deng Yenuo said.
Lin Cangyuan glared at Deng Yenuo.
“We’ll be a while though,” Deng Yenuo said, standing as he spoke. “Will that be okay?”
“It’ll be fine. We have more than enough troops,” Gui Yin nodded. “Just remember to come back within three months.”
Deng Yenuo chuckled. “Three months is more than enough time.”
“Wait, hold on,” Lin Cangyuan frowned as he stood as well. “What about here? Are you sure there’s enough people?”
“Your troops were so tired that they almost vomited on the battlefield. What you all need now is rest,” Gui Yin said. “Or you at least shouldn’t be fighting. Leave it to us. We were fighting an easy battle in the upper realm.”
Easy was putting it too lightly, but it was the only way to persuade Lin Cangyuan to give up.
After waffling back and forth for a while longer, Lin Cangyuan finally agreed. But when the meeting dispersed and it was only Lin Cangyuan and Deng Yenuo, the man turned to his disciple and glared at him.
“Is he your shizun, or am I your shizun?” Lin Cangyuan asked.
“You,” Deng Yenuo said gently. “But if someone else puts out an idea that is for Shizun’s benefit, then this disciple will always agree with the other person.”
Lin Cangyuan scoffed. Before he could argue, he felt a light kiss against the top of his head. His hand clenched tightly under his wide sleeves.
“Did you know when you’re tired, you tend to be fussier?” Deng Yenuo asked, his voice lower with the shortened distance between them.
“What are you doing?” Lin Cangyuan asked, pushing Deng Yenuo away with little effort. His voice no longer carried the sharp edge it had just a few moments ago. His face had flushed as he glared at Deng Yenuo weakly.
“Wondering when you’ll accept me,” Deng Yenuo said with a small smile.
Lin Cangyuan loudly cleared his throat. “Learn some propriety. We’re in public.”
“So, if we’re in private…”
“Deng Yenuo.”
Deng Yenuo laughed. Lin Cangyuan watched helplessly as the younger man doubled over, unable to contain his laughter as he usually might. Lin Cangyuan turned, leaving him and the bright sound behind.
He pursed his lips.
He almost smiled.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
thanks for read!!!!!!!!!
hmmmm the monks >.> wonder what their motivation would be to let the ghost cultivators run amok…. hm…
…well! another bonding opportunity for Deng Yenuo! good luck lover dude
thx for read uwu