When dinner came about, Yu Ning came to retrieve Qin Siyi.
She took her down a set of long, narrow passages that must have led underground at some point. A while later, they emerged in a round room, where Shan Yu already was. The bored look on her face made Qin Siyi feel relieved. There was a lack of urgency now and the obvious anger from before had vanished.
Hearing the sound of the door, Shan Yu finally looked up. Her eyes lit up and she hurriedly rushed to Qin Siyi’s side.
“Shijie!”
Qin Siyi smiled and rubbed her head. “Did the meeting go well?”
Shan Yu rolled her eyes. She took Qin Siyi’s hand and tugged her over to the table. “Don’t even get me started on them.”
“That bad?” Qin Siyi softly asked.
Shan Yu’s gaze darkened as she began to pile food into Qin Siyi’s bowl. “Let’s just say I’ve started to understand what Sun-shushu meant about villainous characters and needing to find the right people to trust.”
She glanced at Yu Ning, who silently bowed and left the two of them in the office.
“Let’s eat first,” Shan Yu said with her usual smile. “We’ll talk more about it later.”
Qin Siyi hummed. She glanced at Shan Yu multiple times throughout the meal. She was as usual, but there was a subtle difference about her that Qin Siyi couldn’t place. Perhaps it was the way she held herself. Back at Shuangye Peak, Shan Yu was the most junior disciple of a great lord immortal, who would do anything to shield his disciples. But here in the Zhengyang Shan Sect, she was the one who held the power. No one could protect her and there were many who were trying to drag her down.
Shan Yu met Qin Siyi’s gaze and smiled. “What’s wrong, Shijie? Is there something on my face?”
“No,” Qin Siyi said with a light shake of her head. She piled food into Shan Yu’s bowl. “Have more.”
Shan Yu glanced at the shrimp in her bowl for a moment before pouting. She held her bowl towards Qin Siyi. “Shijie, can you deshell the shrimp for me?”
Qin Siyi looked at her in surprise. She sighed. “Look at you. You’re already a sect leader, yet you won’t deshell your own shrimp?”
Although she scolded Shan Yu, in the next moment, the shrimp was brought back into her bowl. Shan Yu watched happily as Qin Siyi put down her chopsticks and began to patiently shell the shrimp. She was just about to put it back into Shan Yu’s bowl when Shan Yu petulantly opened her mouth. Qin Siyi sighed again but fed her anyway.
Shan Yu hummed. “Delicious! I’ll deshell some for Shijie.”
“Deshell them for yourself,” Qin Siyi said helplessly.
“No way! Shrimp tastes best when there’s someone else to deshell it for you,” Shan Yu said. She carefully shelled the shrimp and showed it to Qin Siyi with a proud smile. “Look! Doesn’t it look nice?”
“It does.”
“Say ‘ah’,” Shan Yu smiled. She put the shrimp in front of Qin Siyi’s lips and waited for her to open her mouth.
Qin Siyi reluctantly parted her lips and took the shrimp.
“Doesn’t it taste better?” Shan Yu asked. She licked the juice from her fingers with a bright grin.
Qin Siyi averted her gaze. “Eat properly. Don’t we have work to do after this?”
“Oh,” Shan Yu murmured dispiritedly.
Just as she was about to continue eating, another shrimp landed in her bowl. Shan Yu’s eyes lit up. She looked up at Qin Siyi, but the other’s nonchalance made her unable to say anything. She smiled softly to herself and ate the shrimp. It really did taste better this way.
Once the meal was finished, Shan Yu began to seriously walk Qin Siyi through the series of complex arrays that were laid throughout Zhengyang. The longer she spoke, the more Qin Siyi felt as if her head was about to explode. The scale of complexity was beyond comprehension. Even when it was broken down into small parts, it would be difficult for laymen to understand. Qin Siyi could only grasp a fraction of it, only because she had spent a majority of her life studying matrixes and arrays.
By the time night had fully fallen, Qin Siyi finally pulled back. She looked at Shan Yu. “Do you have any idea on who could have done this?”
Just by looking at the intricacies of the arrays and matrix, Qin Siyi finally realized why Shan Yu believed it was an inside job. Even the most talented of cultivators would not be able to understand the inner workings and structures that went on in the sect unless they had several decades to study it. Qin Siyi understood bits, but she had only scratched the surface.
Shan Yu smiled bitterly. “I have a few guesses. There’s my third uncle. Or it could be the elders from my grandfather’s generation. There were a handful who opposed me when I first accepted this position, but they’ve since shown their support. I don’t want to believe it’s them.”
Qin Siyi observed Shan Yu for a moment. She gripped her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “Then, where do you want to begin with the investigation?”
Shan Yu glanced at their hands. The cold expression on her face warmed slightly. She turned her hand so she could grasp Qin Siyi’s in return. “This is where I need Shijie to cooperate with me.”
Qin Siyi raised a brow curiously. “In what way?”
“My mother and my cousin will be in charge of repairing the arrays. I will obviously have to be there as well or they’ll have more reason to abdicate me. However, Shijie, I need you to keep an eye on everyone. If anyone so much as twitches, then write them down,” Shan Yu said. “Fei Yang will be helping you.”
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.
“Fei Yang?”
“Vtf’r ws batfg jaafcvjca,” Vtjc Te rjlv. “Tbe mjc agera tfg. Vtf kjr qfgrbcjiis ibbxfv joafg ys ws ugjcvojatfg jcv wbatfg ktfc rtf kjr sbecufg, ilxf Te Rlcu. Ktfs’gf ybat nfgs ibsji ab wf.”
Hlc Vlsl cbvvfv.
“Ktfgf lr jirb Vtjb Qfc,” Vtjc Te rjlv. “Po sbe cffv jcsatlcu ab yf vbcf, sbe wera mjii tlw. Gb cba afii jcsbcf jcsatlcu, cba fnfc wf.”
“Why not?” Qin Siyi asked.
“Outside of this room, the walls all have ears,” Shan Yu said. “Shao Wen was my grandfather’s attendant. If even Yu Ning and Fei Yang can’t be trusted, then he can be.”
Qin Siyi seemed to have understood something. “I see. I understand.”
Shan Yu smiled. She gave Qin Siyi a big kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Shijie! Once we catch the culprit, I’ll throw you a big party!”
Qin Siyi’s cheeks flushed. She lightly nudged Shan Yu away with negligible strength. “Stop that. You’re not a kid anymore.”
Shan Yu giggled. “Alright.”
While Shan Yu began to lay out a giant net to trap the traitor, Gui Yin and Langxia had just set foot in the lower realms.
“Seriously, can’t we just fly?” A-Qi groaned as she tugged her horse away from a gnarled roots. She slumped against the horse’s neck and unhooked a foot to nudge Wu Feng’s shin. “Wu Feng, couldn’t you have found faster animals?”
“Don’t complain,” Su Wen cut in before Wu Feng could respond. “These horses are already a demonic breed! Don’t look down on them just because they can’t fly.”
“They’re fast, sure, but we could get there faster,” A-Qi sighed. She glanced at Gui Yin and pulled her horse up to him. “Lord Immortal, don’t you think so?”
“It’s your Lord Immortal who said we shouldn’t fly,” Langxia drawled. “Why are you coming to him to complain?”
“Hah!? Why!?” A-Qi exclaimed.
Gui Yin softly cleared his throat. “This is the lower realm. People around here prefer to travel by foot or by horse carriage if it’s nothing important. If we fly, we’ll attract attention and those at Yinfeng Valley might notice.”
“But even from Kunlun to Yinfeng Valley is a four month trip! By the time we get there, not only will that kid be dead—Qiao Ceng will have probably been revi—ouch! Why are you hitting me?”
Su Wen retrieved his hand. “Stop talking nonsense. Didn’t I already say these aren’t normal horses? We traveled from Yunjing Pavilion to the Lower Realms in just an afternoon! Do you really think it’ll take us four months to get to Yinfeng Valley?”
“It’ll be eight days at the least,” Wu Feng said.
“Is eight days not a long time?” A-Qi rebuked. “A lot can happen in eight days!”
“But eight days isn’t four months!”
“People can die in a second—eight days is still a long time!”
“But it isn’t as exaggerated as four months.”
“You just don’t want to admit that I’m right,” A-Qi said.
“Are you talking to yourself?” Su Wen shot back. “You’re the one who won’t admit that you’re wrong.”
Langxia silently pulled himself and Gui Yin ahead of the three attendants. His silence and calm demeanor told Gui Yin that he had long gotten used to their bickering. A soft chuckle left his lips, causing Langxia to glance over.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, I just think that you have very cute attendants,” Gui Yin whispered.
“Cute,” Langxia echoed. He scoffed and softly shook his head. “They sure are cute.”
Gui Yin smiled. He glanced back at them curiously. “They all seem very close to each other.”
“They should be. I picked them up around the same time,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin was surprised. “’Picked them up?’”
Langxia nodded. “There was a sand storm that day. I went out to check on a certain something, but then I saw that a caravan toppled over. I later found out that it was another group who was funneling kids into Qi Du Tower. I didn’t know at the time and just went out to fish out whoever I could before the sands swallowed them. Those three are some of the ones I picked up that day.”
“What about the others?” Gui Yin softly asked.
“There’s a few who work at Huigu Palace as chefs now. A few others who are blacksmiths. A couple others who are regular guards,” Langxia shrugged. “These three were the youngest amongst the group and they were super sticky. I couldn’t get rid of them even when I tried.”
Gui Yin laughed. “I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”
Langxia glanced over. “What kind of person?”
Gui Yin thought about it for a moment before flourishing his fan. His eyes peered over the top of his fan. A smile was evident in them. “The tolerant kind.”
Langxia chuckled. “Tolerance? I just can’t be bothered.”
Gui Yin hummed.
Langxia raised a brow and Gui Yin simply shrugged in response.
A person without their emotional root would show their basest personality. If a person was naturally aggressive, they would be unable to hide their aggressive nature. If the person was naturally kind, they would show a kinder side even without their emotions. Langxia, someone whose emotional root had long been damaged, still braved a sand storm to save people. And when a trio of children continued to bother him, he actually didn’t kick them out.
No matter what Langxia said, Gui Yin didn’t think he simply “couldn’t be bothered”.
Langxia lowered his gaze. He frowned at the fuzzy feeling in his chest and glanced at Gui Yin. “What are you thinking?”
“Hm? Nothing.”
If it was nothing, then Langxia wouldn’t be able to feel his emotions right now. He frowned slightly.
“The sky’s darkening,” Gui Yin said. He looked back to A-Qi and them, who had stopped bickering. “Shall we set up camp here?”
“Yes, Lord Immortal!” A-Qi cheerfully answered.
Su Wen wanted to chide her about her laziness, but he was already being pulled away by Wu Feng.
Camp was set up rather quickly and dinner was made even faster. Gui Yin ate the fragrant fish and sighed longingly.
“If only I could have a meal like this on the battlefield,” Gui Yin said. “It would have been easier to go out there every day.”
“Too bad Master was too busy with his own business,” A-Qi pouted. “He could have been Lord Immortal’s personal cook!”
“Who calls their own master a personal cook?” Su Wen clicked his tongue.
A-Qi rolled her eyes and burrowed into her food.
Gui Yin softly chuckled. He glanced at Langxia, who was clearly paying them no mind. His entire demeanor screamed “I’m used to this, don’t look at me”.
When dinner was finished, Su Wen and the others went to clean up, leaving Langxia and Gui Yin to their own devices
Gui Yin glanced at Langxia, who was laying on the sleeping bag and staring up at the sky. He thought about it for a moment before laying down beside him. Because they had settled in a clearing, the trees were sparse, allowing a clear view of the night sky. Gui Yin was somewhat mesmerized.
It hadn’t been long since he had returned from the twenty-first century. There, with all the smog and light pollution, it was difficult to see a clear view like this. He felt a rare peace settle in his heart. Whether it was glee to be able to enjoy such a view or happiness that this was his original universe, Gui Yin couldn’t tell.
“It’s started.”
Gui Yin glanced over. “What’s started?”
“Your most junior disciple’s trial,” Langxia said. “Close your eyes.”
Gui Yin did as he was instructed. He felt a hand touch his and, in the darkness in front of him, saw a projection appear before his eyes. The image was crystal clear, but there was no sound. He could clearly see Qin Siyi and Shan Yu pouring over a mountain of materials in a small, hidden room.
Gui Yin’s fingers twitched against Langxia’s palm as the image disappeared. He opened his eyes and turned to his side to look at Langxia.
“What was that?”
“A projection,” Langxia said.
“You can do that too?” Gui Yin asked in awe. “Isn’t that like the Xuanguang Mirror in Journey to the West?”
Langxia hummed. “A bit, isn’t it? But it’s a bit different. I just temporarily borrowed Heaven’s Eyes.”
Gui Yin fell silent for a moment. He scooted closer and whispered, “You can even do that?”
“I shouldn’t,” Langxia said. He turned to look at Gui Yin with a small smile on his face. “But I figured you would be curious.”
Gui Yin softly scoffed. He lightly smacked Langxia’s forehead with the leaves of his folding fan. “Please, what kind of line is that? Don’t do anything useless. If you get hurt, I will also hurt.”
Langxia’s expression pinched. There was something bordering disgust and shock in his eyes that made Gui Yin nearly choke on his embarrassment.
He sat up quickly and fanned himself. “I mean it literally! Don’t misconstrue my words.”
Langxia’s judgemental gaze cleared up. He propped himself up as well. “Then, is that why you asked me what I was doing last night?”
Gui Yin glanced at him. “It startled me awake.”
Gui Yin had rarely suffered injuries on the battlefield. Even when he did, the pain had not nearly been as shock-inducing. Last night’s ordeal had directly woken Gui Yin up. Even when the pain passed, a phantom of it remained behind and couldn’t be shaken off until morning. He couldn’t even imagine how Langxia would have felt.
“It’s nothing, really,” Langxia said. “But now that we know, I’ll be sure to warn you ahead of time next time I need to take my medicine.”
“There’s still a next time?” Gui Yin asked.
Langxia nodded. “I have to take it once every two weeks.”
Gui Yin frowned slightly, but tried to rein in his emotions. He somehow felt that Langxia would appreciate his pity.
Langxia laid back down properly. He closed his eyes and sighed. “Anyway, your little disciple will be fine.”
Gui Yin glanced at him. “I thought you said you couldn’t read the future too often.”
“It’s not too far in the future,” Langxia said. “By the time we reach Yinfeng Valley, those two will have found the culprit. I do wonder if she will be able to demolish the root after she’s cut down the tree.”
Gui Yin frowned. He poked him with his fan. “Say, you never told me what actually happened.”
“Someone tampered with the arrays in Zhengyang,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin’s eyes widened. “Are they crazy?! If they do that, the entire region would drown under the sea!”
“I’m sure they know,” Langxia said.
His words made Gui Yin frown.
Originally, Langxia’s mini prophecy made Gui Yin think it was just another trick to usurp Shan Yu’s position. If Shan Yu didn’t handle a sect matter properly, it would be reason to abdicate her. However, with this new piece of information, Gui Yin couldn’t help but think that this conspiracy ran even deeper.
“Then, isn’t this very dangerous?” Gui Yin muttered.
“They’re grown now. They can handle themselves,” Langxia said. He let out a soft yawn.
Gui Yin wanted to ask a few more questions, but he hesitated when he saw the way Langxia had completely relaxed. He pursed his lips and threw a blanket over Langxia. The man tugged it away from his face and glanced at Gui Yin with squinted eyes.
“Cover your stomach. The weather hasn’t completely warmed up yet,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia smiled. He properly placed the blanket across his stomach, yawned another time, and closed his eyes again.
Gui Yin watched him for a moment before laying down and turning his back to Langxia.
A-Qi, who had watched this little charade, couldn’t help but whisper to the nearby Wu Feng. “Master is a cultivator. A little wind to the stomach wouldn’t make him sick, right?”
Wu Feng nodded.
“Then, why…?” A- Qi frowned.
Su Wen rolled his eyes. “You don’t understand.”
“That’s why I’m asking,” A-Qi whispered a hiss.
Under A-Qi and Wu Feng’s questioning gaze, Su Wen merely smiled and laid down to sleep.
He wished someone would care about whether or not his stomach was exposed to the wind. But alas, while some got along sweetly, others could only watch bitterly on the side.
A/N: reminder that i have a ko-fi uwu ( https://ko-fi.com/glowingreverie ). if the dono goal is met, an extra chapter will be released along with the regular updates.
Qin Siyi and Shan Yu are so CUTE together (๑˃ᴗ˂)
and omg… Langxia adopted those three….. he and Gui Yin truly are meant for each other (๑˃ᴗ˂)
correction: they adopted Langxia LMAO. but they are both single parents, at the end of the day. they truly are soulmates–
thanks for read!
Ahh Su Wen, I feel you. ಥ_ಥ
LMAO thanks for reading!!
Awwww i’ll get u a blanket SuWen TT