The scrolls and loose sheets of paper were spread out on the stone table under the gazebo.
A soft spring breeze brushed past them, causing a few of the sheets to fly from the table. Shan Yu reached out and snatched them from thin air. She placed them back on the table and placed rock on top of it. She propped her head up and looked between Gui Yin and Langxia, who both carried serious expressions as they looked over the information.
“Are you sure Shijie and I can’t come along with you?” Shan Yu asked sulkily.
Gui Yin glanced up and sighed before looking back down. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t let you two come with us.”
“We have experience fighting ghost cultivators,” Shan Yu protested. “Even if we can’t fight the Void Saint, there’s still all the others, right? We can just take care of those.”
“Sect Leader Shan needn’t worry. Wu Feng, A-Qi, and I will be watching Lord Ninglan and Master’s backs so you…” Su Wen’s voice trailed off under Shan Yu’s glare. He loudly cleared his throat and closed his mouth.
Langxia chuckled in amusement. He finally looked up at Shan Yu, his head propped against his palm. “Little Sect Leader, I’m afraid pretty soon you won’t even have the time to worry about whether or not you could come with us.”
Shan Yu sat up straight and looked at Langxia skeptically. “What does that mean?”
“Last night, I took a look at the stars,” Langxia said with a long sigh. He crossed his arms and shook his head with a serious expression. “Chasing very closely behind your star is quite a villainous one. It’ll continue to pursue you until you fall or until you beat them off. You’ll have to be closely on your guard and only surround yourself with people you trust, lest you fall to their deceit and then your own demise.”
Gui Yin glanced up. Why does that sound like something out of a fortune cookie?
“Looked at the stars?” Shan Yu said. She looked him up and down before lowering her chin to the table and pouting. “Sun-shushu, if you don’t want me to go, just tell me. You don’t have to make up lies. I’m not a six-year-old anymore.”
Langxia chuckled and spoke in a childish tone: “But I wasn’t lying to you.”
Shan Yu harrumphed and silently picked at the pieces of paper.
Qin Siyi returned with snacks and tea. She looked helplessly at the mess and pushed aside some of the scrolls to put the tray down. She glanced at the deflated Shan Yu, then to Langxia’s playful smile. She softly coughed.
“Shizun and Sun-shushu have been reading all morning. How about some snacks and tea?”
Shan Yu reached up and stole an osmanthus cake before the two men said anything.
“I’ll take some tea, thank you,” Langxia smiled.
When the group settled down again, Su Wen let out a loud hum. “I just don’t understand—Yankui did so much just to get close to Young Master Gui, but in the end, the Void Saint took his own son back. What’s the deal with that?”
“Kuikui didn’t want anything to do with that father of his in the first place,” Shan Yu defended him.
“I know, I know. I could tell by how he interacted with all of you,” Su Wen said. He turned to Langxia. “Master, why do you think he didn’t take Young Master Gui?”
Seeing Langxia’s contemplative look, Gui Yin made a suggestion: “Why not just take a peek at the stars?”
Langxia glanced at him and chuckled. “I can’t.”
Su Wen and Gui Yin stared at him blankly.
“Huh? Why not?” Gui Yin asked.
“If I use it too often, I’ll suffer a rebound effect,” Langxia said. “My ears will become deaf and my eyes will be blind.”
“What?!”
“I’m joking,” Langxia chuckled. “But if I use it too much, I will indeed suffer some kind of punishment. The Heavens don’t enjoy outsiders prying in on their business.”
“But you just read Yu’er’s future,” Gui Yin pointed out.
“Did I?” Langxia tilted his head. “Well, that’s different. The stars told me themselves.”
The people around the stone table could not properly process what Langxia’s cryptic words meant. Shan Yu frowned. She had only thought Langxia was joking with her, but if he really could see the future, then who were the villainous people he was talking about?
“At any rate, I shouldn’t touch anything that isn’t given to me,” Langxia said. “I’ve already expended a great deal of power rescuing you, my dearest, I’m afraid if I do any more, I’ll even lose my power of foresight.”
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.
Ciatbeut la kjr afwqbgjgs, la kbeiv yf fzagfwfis lcmbcnfclfca.
“Alright,” Gui Yin sighed. He looked back at the information at hand. “Then, do you have any idea why they targeted Huo’er in the first place?”
Ve Qfc rtbbx tlr tfjv. “Ciatbeut P’nf ajlifv Tbecu Zjrafg Tjcxel yfobgf, P mbeiv cfnfg obiibk tlr rtjvbk afifqbgajalbc. P’w regf atja kjr ktfc tf kfca ab wffa eq klat atf qfbqif ogbw Ljio Zbbc Jeia.”
“Did your da-shixiong mention anything about this after he woke up?” Langxia asked the two young women.
Hlc Vlsl rtbbx tfg tfjv. “Lf rjlv tf yjgfis gfwfwyfgr atf oluta.”
“He probably blacked out after the ghost qi started running amuck,” Shan Yu said.
“How troublesome,” Langxia hummed. He took a bite of osmanthus cake. “Well, let’s dissect this, shall we? Half Moon Cult has been collecting human sacrifices. What could that reason be?”
“To grow their own power,” Shan Yu said.
“Cause chaos in the world?” Qin Siyi weakly offered.
“Or they could be creating some sort of monster,” Gui Yin said.
“All valid responses,” Langxia agreed. He slowly chewed and let out a long hum. “But which is the real one?”
Qin Siyi frowned. “Sun-shushu, didn’t you mention something about the great demon Qiao Ceng? The human sacrifices have to do with him, right?”
Langxia shrugged. “Possibly.”
Gui Yin’s frown deepened. “If they’re really trying to break Qiao Ceng out, then this will be a whole other headache. But what does that have to do with Huo’er and Yankui?”
“Da-shixiong has a unique physique, doesn’t he?” Shan Yu pointed out. “Maybe one of him would be a hundred sacrifices or something?”
Langxia fell silent as he thumbed through the possibilities in his mind. “Say, how secure do you think Whirlpool Prison is?”
Whirlpool Prison was the cultivation world’s strongest prison. Created carefully by Kui Wanming’s shizun, it was used to house the dastardliest of offenders.
In the beginning, it was only a temporary cell that prisoners would be placed in before they could be executed. However, with the appearance of Qiao Ceng, its sole purpose became holding the cultivation world’s strongest enemy.
An eight-lion matrix that was placed in the middle of an ocean. A swirling whirlpool kept the stone tower in place, making it difficult and nearly impossible for anyone to try and break in without first being sliced to a million pieces. Even if you knew the sigils and passwords to enter the stone tower, the moment you tried to break the chains, the tower would flood. It wouldn’t be enough to kill the prisoner, but it was enough to get rid of any intruders. And there was no use searching for a person who could undo the chains since they had all died in the process. That was how the world’s strongest chains were created—with the sacrifice of the cultivators, who used their spiritual energy to forge said chains.
Only those at Yunjing Pavilion knew how to safely get into the Whirlpool Prison and only Lin Cangyuan knew the password into it. It was impenetrable and unfindable, making it the world’s highest security prison.
“Even if the Jade Emperor came down, he would have a hard time breaking Qiao Ceng out,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia hummed. “But we believe that Half Moon Cult is trying to break Qiao Ceng out? Do they have that ability?”
Gui Yin fell silent. Realization flickered through his eyes. “Huo’er wouldn’t have been a sacrifice. With his physique, he would have made the perfect vessel.”
Qin Siyi and Shan Yu felt chills run down their backs.
“Th—then, isn’t Yankui in grave danger?” Shan Yu exclaimed.
“Probably,” Langxia casually said. He looked at their incredulous faces and decided to offer them some comfort. “However, I’m sure danger won’t fall upon him so soon. If they’re really trying to use Yankui as a vessel, they’ll need more souls to summon Qiao Ceng from his body.”
“Even more?” Qin Siyi echoed in shock.
“It’s a grueling process,” Langxia said. “Let’s not feel too bad for them though.”
“Still, we should try and find this child as soon as possible,” Gui Yin muttered. He looked at Su Wen. “Su Wen, you said the place he’s most likely to be in is Yinfeng Valley, right?”
“Yes, Lord Ninglan. It’s their base of operations, so it’s the most heavily guarded. We’ve tried looking around their other hideouts, but they don’t seem to have the proper facilities to hold a prisoner like that,” Su Wen said.
“Then, let’s pay Yinfeng Valley a visit,” Gui Yin said. He looked at Langxia. “You are coming with me, right?”
“Of course,” Langxia said. “Where you go, I go.”
Gui Yin turned back to Qin Siyi and Shan Yu. “You two stay put and be good. Don’t follow after us.”
“That thought never occurred to this disciple, Shizun,” Shan Yu said with an innocent batting of her lashes.
Gui Yin narrowed his eyes as an amused smile spread across his face. He turned to Qin Siyi. “Watch your Shimei.”
“Yes, Shizun,” Qin Siyi said.
Shan Yu pouted and watched as Su Wen began to pack up the materials. She nudged his thigh with her foot, drawing his attention over.
“Yes, Sect Leader Shan?”
“Say, does the stuff your Master say usually come true?” Shan Yu asked.
Su Wen nodded. “He’s quite accurate.”
Shan Yu frowned. She stood as well and walked away in silent contemplation.
While Gui Yin and Langxia left shortly after, Shan Yu remained with Qin Siyi. Her relaxed posture caused Qin Siyi to glance over a few times until she finally couldn’t stand it. She set down the materials in her hands and softly cleared her throat.
Shan Yu looked over
“A-Yu,” Qin Siyi spoke gently, “How about studying a little? Shizun assigned us new material to look over. Do you want to come over here and we can read it together?”
“Oh,” Shan Yu stood and walked over. She pulled up a chair and sat down beside Qin Siyi, but her eyes were glazed over.
Qin Siyi glanced at Shan Yu. “Do you want me to turn to the next page?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I just flipped it not too long ago,” Qin Siyi said.
Shan Yu stiffened. She glanced awkwardly at Qin Siyi and softly cleared her throat. She rubbed her nose sheepishly. “Sorry, Shijie.”
“What’s on your mind? Are you worried about Shizun?”
“No, it’s not that,” Shan Yu mumbled. “I know he’ll be fine. Sun-shushu and Su Wen and them are very strong.”
“Then…?”
“It’s nothing,” Shan Yu said. “I’m just waiting.”
Qin Siyi looked at her quizzically. “Wait—”
A loud knock on the door interrupted Shan Yu and Qin Siyi’s conversation. Qin Siyi looked up and asked the person to enter.
The person was unfamiliar to Qin Siyi, but it was someone Shan Yu very well.
The young woman knelt down and bowed her head. “Sect Leader, you must return to Zhengyang this instance.”
Shan Yu frowned, but stood nonetheless. “What happened?”
Her attendant looked up at her with fear in her eyes. “The dams are about to break. The ocean is threatening to flow in.”
“The dams are going to break? That’s impossible,” Shan Yu said. She grabbed her sword and turned to Qin Siyi. “Shiije, I have to go back. When Shizun comes back, you tell him where—”
“Shall I come with you?” Qin Siyi asked.
Shan Yu’s eyes widened.
“This is what Sun-shushu mentioned, right?” Qin Siyi asked with a darkening expression. She smiled softly. “Besides, your Zhengyang Shan Sect’s dams are held up by arrays, are they not? I remember reading about them in history books.”
Zhengyang Shan Sect and its city was built on a large lake that led directly into the ocean. While beautiful, it obviously came with its risks. However, the Shan Sect’s ancestors had all been proficient at arrays and matrixes. This area was chosen by them because it was difficult to get in normally and, if need be, the water could be their weapon. In order to protect themselves and their people, the entirety of Zhengyang was wrapped in a careful matrix that would prevent water from damaging any of the buildings and harming any of its people. Even the crop fields that were inland would not have to suffer during flooding seasons.
The arrays and matrixes were created by the first Shan settlers and, since then, had been continually fortified and enhanced over the years. For them to suddenly break meant that there was a villain behind the scenes. And it would be someone who knew the arrays and matrixes very well.
Shan Yu hesitated for a moment before turning to her attendant. “Yu Ning, gather materials about the arrays and matrixes and take them to Grandpa’s hidden study for us to look at.”
Yu Ning hesitated and glanced at Qin Siyi.
“I trust her,” Shan Yu said.
Yu Ning nodded. “Yes, Sect Leader.”
Shan Yu turned to Qin Siyi and grinned. “Then, I will be troubling you, Shijie. I’m not very good at arrays and matrixes yet.”
Qin Siyi chuckled and lightly knocked Shan Yu on the forehead. “Acting cute.”
Shan Yu giggled. Yu Ning glanced between the two of them before excusing herself first.
The trip back to Zhengyang was relatively short.
Because it was an urgent situation, Shan Yu did not stop to rest.
Qin Siyi had never seen such a serious expression on Shan Yu before. Even in tense situations, like when their shizun had gone missing, she would still find a way to laugh and joke with her or the depressed Gui Linghuo. However, as they were traveling back, the entire atmosphere was tense. Her expression was not only serious, but there was also a hint of darkness within her eyes.
Once they arrived, Shan Yu turned to her attendant.
“Yu Ning, take my Shijie to a guest room closest to my room,” Shan Yu said. She smiled sweetly at Qin Siyi. “Shijie, I’m going to call a meeting with the sect elders. With how things are right now, I don’t think they would appreciate an outsider to be there. I’ll come find you again when dinner rolls around.”
Qin Siyi nodded. She glanced back at Shan Yu and followed Yu Ning silently.
Yu Ning seemed to notice Qin Siyi’s delicate atmosphere. “The Sect Leader is always like that around here.”
Qin Siyi was startled from her thoughts. “Pardon?”
“She’s always like that. She always has that serious expression on her face,” Yu Ning said. She thought about it for a moment and added, “Ever since news of the late Sect Leader reached her, she’s never really smiled in front of anyone else. If I hadn’t been her attendant since we were both children, I think she would look at me the same way.”
“…What way?”
“Distrust,” Yu Ning said.
Qin Siyi frowned. Her voice lowered. “She doesn’t trust the people here?”
Yu Ning smirked. “She only trusts her mother and the Sixth Young Lord, her cousin. Miss Qin, you should be careful around here as well. I’m sure once they know you’re her shijie, there will be a lot of people coming close to you.”
Qin Siyi hummed and softly thanked Yu Ning.
Soon they arrived at the guest room. Yu Ning spoke quietly about what else to expect later and thoughtfully left soon after.
Qin Siyi sat down at the table.
Had it really been an accident?
Elder Shan was someone who was well-respected throughout the cultivation world. Not only had he lived to see the rise and fall of many sects, but he was a highly skilled cultivator and a seasoned fighter. At his side was his most talented grandson and his troop of loyal soldiers. This was a man who had fought many similar battles before. There hadn’t been anyone like the Void Saint on the scene, so how had he died?
And where had his backup been?
Qin Siyi brows furrowed tightly as her gaze darkened as a horrible thought dawned on her.
Where had anyone’s backup been?
i’m imagining Langxia opening a fortune cookie business now…… i think that would be fun
thanks for the chapter!
LMFAO profitting off of heaven’s gift uwu as he should– thanks for reading!
Just spent the last few days, running on no sleep so I could get through the book.
I’m completely hooked. Can’t wait to see how the story progresses
LMAO thanks for reading!!!!!!!!! hope you manage to get some good sleep now