Gui Yin endured the stunned looks from Jiu Jingyi and Ye Liuxing for a total of two minutes before he finally snapped.
“Are you done? Processed? I’m going to eat,” Gui Yin said as he lifted his chopsticks.
Ye Liuxing placed his chopsticks on top of Gui Yin’s to stop him. “He went to another dimension to find you. And you’re still saying he doesn’t like you?”
“Gui-shixiong, we know that your last relationship was…but this is obviously different,” Jiu Jingyi said.
“Exactly!” Ye Liuxing exclaimed. “Besides, think about it this way! No one will ever be as horrible as that man. You should just take your chances.”
Gui Yin recalled the blurry face of that young man in his dream and then glanced at Jiu Jingyi and Ye Liuxing. “First of all, I still don’t remember that person properly. Second, I told you it’s not like that. He considers me a good brother. It’s nothing like you two are thinking.”
“I would never go that far for someone I just considered a good brother,” Ye Liuxing mumbled. He smiled sardonically. “You two must be very good brothers.”
Jiu Jingyi rolled her eyes. “Just ignore him. He never has anything good to say.”
“I—”
“But what about you?”
“Me?” Gui Yin raised a brow. “What about me?”
“Do you like him?” Jiu Jingyi curiously asked.
Ye Liuxing turned to Gui Yin with an equal amount of interest.
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “Must we ask this kind of question?”
Alas, how could someone not fall for someone like Langxia? Not only good at caring for people but also had a mouth full of sweet words.
In the twenty-first century, he had indeed fallen for Langxia. However, in this reality…well, things remained to be seen.
Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi glanced at each other. They were clearly disappointed that they didn’t receive a straightforward answer.
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “Eat!”
Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi immediately fell back into shape. They lowered their heads and hurriedly stuffed their mouths before Gui Yin could get angry.
Gui Yin sighed and softly shook his head.
When he returned to Shuangye Peak, he was surprised to see Wu Feng hanging around awkwardly, under Qin Siyi’s questioning gaze. His face had turned bright red. When he finally noticed Gui Yin, he looked as if he had met his savior.
He took a few steps forward. “L-Lord Ninglan.”
“What’s wrong? What are you two doing?” Gui Yin asked.
Qin Siyi glanced at Wu Feng. “I thought Sun-shushu sent him to watch us again, but he said that he followed you back.”
Wu Feng nodded seriously. He turned to Gui Yin, as if he were waiting for him to prove his innocence.
“Indeed, he did come back with me,” Gui Yin said. He couldn’t help but snicker a little. “If he was really here to watch us, he wouldn’t have let himself be exposed.”
“That’s true,” Qin Siyi said with another glance.
Seeing how nervous Wu Feng was, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
“It’s not that I would have kicked you out,” Qin Siyi awkwardly explained. After all, she was already used to Palace Lord Sun sending people to guard her shizun. She would actually be worried if he hadn’t.
Wu Feng nodded sheepishly. He glanced at Gui Yin and whispered, “I was sweeping the leaves when Miss Gui came out.”
It must have scared him into being unable to say a word.
Gui Yin sighed. He nodded in understanding. “Alright. It’s fine now. You continue what you were doing.”
Wu Feng nodded again and quickly ran off. Qin Siyi shifted closer to Gui Yin. She leaned back and whispered. “Shizun, isn’t he one of Sun-shushu’s trusted aides? How come he’s so timid?”
“Just because he’s timid doesn’t mean he can’t do his job. You saw him on the field.”
Qin Siyi had a vague recollection of how Wu Feng was on the battlefield. She nodded softly. When silence settled between them she cleared her throat and turned to Gui Yin.
“Shizun, actually, this disciple came back because I had something to tell you,” Qin Siyi said.
Gui Yin raised a brow. “What is it?”
Qin Siyi briefly summarized everything that had happened in Zhengyang in the past week and a half. Once she finished, she observed Gui Yin’s reaction. Seeing how dark his expression became, she softly added, “This disciple believes that it wasn’t merely jealousy.”
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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Gui Yin pursed his lips and slowly nodded. “I see.”
Then, it was similar to what happened to them in Beihua Town.
“This disciple thinks that there’s more to it than meets the eye,” Qin Siyi said. “Adding on what happened on our side, it seems like far too many coincidences stacked up together.”
Some things were difficult to notice until explicitly pointed out. Once all these random events were linked together, it suddenly didn’t seem so random anymore.
Why was the situation in the lower realm so downplayed until the very end? Were the people in the Upper Realm truly cowards, or was there something else?
Gui Yin fell silent. He finally turned to Qin Siyi. “Let’s go to Zhengyang.”
“Yes, Shizun.”
Gui Yin paid Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi a quick visit to tell them where he was going. After rounding up Wu Feng, they didn’t waste any time and quickly left for Zhengyang the same afternoon.
When Gui Yin arrived, they were immediately greeted by the sect’s guards.
“Lord Ninglan, you’re back?”
Gui Yin smiled politely. “Hello. Could we seek an audience with the Sect Leader?”
“Ah, yes! Of course,” the guard said.
Gui Yin and the other two stood off to the side. His gaze scanned their surroundings.
Because of the cultivation level of those who remained in the Zhengyang Shan Sect, they must have missed the traces of demonic energy that lingered in the shadows and stuck to the trees. Gui Yin’s eyes narrowed. He reached up and snapped a twig from the tree. Under Wu Feng and Qin Siyi’s curious gaze, Gui Yin sniffed it. The sour, putrid smell invaded his olfactory senses.
Gui Yin coughed violently and pulled the twig away.
“Shizun, what’s—”
“Shizun!”
The excited voice was followed by hurried footsteps and then a heavy weight. Gui Yin stumbled forward several steps as Shan Yu excitedly jumped about. She finally released Gui Yin and hopped in front of him.
“Shizun, how did it go? Did you manage to save Yankui?” Shan Yu asked. She looked around, her smile stiffening. “Where’s Sun-shushu?”
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “Who are you excited to see? Me or your Sun-shushu?”
“Of course, it’s you!” Shan Yu quickly said. She glanced at Qin Siyi and gave her a questioning look.
Seeing this, Gui Yin sighed deeply. He snapped his fan open. “He got injured. He’s recovering.”
“O-oh! He’s recovering,” Shan Yu gasped. She let out a relieved sigh and mumbled, “I thought he angered Shizun somehow and was being forced to kneel on the washboard.”
“You’re going to be forced to kneel on the washboard,” Gui Yin said as he lightly tapped her forehead. “This master came all the way here to help you and you’re just standing here spewing nonsense.”
“Ah?” Shan Yu stared at Gui Yin, then met Qin Siyi’s eyes. “Oh, right. Of course. Hehe, I nearly forgot.”
Qin Siyi, Gui Yin, and even Wu Feng gave Shan Yu a disbelieving look.
Shan Yu softly cleared her throat. “How about we go in first?”
Shan Yu guided Gui Yin and the others to her study. Once there, she tightly shut the door and, for good measure, set up a sound barrier. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat down again.
“It’s not convenient to do anything around here recently,” Shan Yu said.
“Have you noticed?” Gui Yin asked.
Shan Yu processed the cryptic question, but still had to shake her head. “I’m not sure. I just know that there are people I can’t seem to trust. And…sometimes, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m being watched.”
Qin Siyi felt a chill run down her back. “Like you’re being watched?”
Shan Yu nodded as she settled down.
Gui Yin sighed and tossed the twig onto the meeting table. “Well, that’d be expected. There are traces of demonic energy everywhere.”
“What?” Shan Yu and Qin Siyi looked up at Gui Yin.
Gui Yin tilted his chin towards the twig. “In the trees, in the grass, even on a few animals that are native to this place. I don’t know how they did it, but it seems like the ghost cultivators have infiltrated Zhengyang Shan Sect.”
Shan Yu pursed her lips as a sickly feeling rolled about in her stomach. “Then…then what do we do?”
“We’ll have to purify this place,” Gui Yin said. He frowned. “My guess is that there were certain protections that Elder Shan put in place that failed once he died, allowing the ghost cultivators to plant so many bugs. That or there was someone who was a mole.”
Shan Yu’s hands clenched into fists. “Shizun, could you please examine my granduncle?”
Gui Yin was surprised by the suggestion, but when he remembered what Qin Siyi had told him, he finally nodded.
He quickly wrote down instructions on how to handle the purification and handed it to one of Shan Yu’s retainers before following Shan Yu to the dungeon.
Zhengyang Shan Sect’s dungeons were old and rotting. They were not a facility that the sect spent much money on, since enemies were not in their plans. They had long stopped being a militaristic sect and saw little use in maintaining a prison. However, that meant that the current three people who stayed in the prison were living in unfortunate conditions.
However glorious they were before was how horribly they lived now.
The walls trickled with water. There was a disgusting mildew smell all around. The ground was cracked and uncomfortable. Bugs and rats had long made their homes in the walls. Although it had been briefly swept and cleaned, the floors seemed to have absorbed the scent of urine and vomit a long time ago.
Gui Yin couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose. He was suddenly glad that Langxia was injured and unable to come. If it was that man, he’d definitely throw a fit if he was forced to step foot in a place like this, right?
Qin Siyi and Wu Feng had volunteered to stay behind, leaving Gui Yin with only Shan Yu. And Shan Yu had been silent the entire way.
Gui Yin didn’t bother interrupting the silence. He knew that his little disciple needed space. She was still young. This was the first time she had faced such betrayal. It would definitely be difficult to process.
When they reached the hallway that would lead them to her granduncle’s cell, Shan Yu suddenly stopped. Her fists clenched at her side.
“Shizun…”
“Hm?”
Shan Yu pursed her lips. “Can good people be made to do bad things?”
The question was one an innocent child might ask, but Gui Yin knew what Shan Yu was implying. He let out a long sigh.
“So long as a person has their seven emotions and six desires, there will always be a chance that a good person can be made to do bad things,” Gui Yin said. “Even a person with a good heart has things they are envious of.”
“Even you can be swayed?” Shan Yu asked.
Gui Yin met her eyes.
To Shan Yu, Gui Yin was an untouchable existence even above her grandfather. He was the picture-perfect definition of an immortal. If there was anyone in the world who could ascend to the Celestial Realm, Shan Yu had no doubt that it would be her shizun. Yet, here he was, saying that anyone and everyone could be corrupted. Did that extend to him? Was such a horrifying thing true?
Gui Yin contemplated the question for a while before nodding. “If I wanted something enough, there would be a chance that demonic energy could corrupt me.”
Shan Yu averted her gaze.
Gui Yin let out a soft sigh. He reached over and rubbed Shan Yu’s head. “Silly child.”
Shan Yu lowered her head further. “You’re not telling me the entire story. Shizun, this disciple is no longer a child.”
Gui Yin took his hand away from her head. He fanned himself and finally nodded. “It’s true that as long as one has seven emotions and six desires, they will be susceptible to corruption. However, the person needs to first have the desire before anything can cause it to run wild. That is why us cultivators are so careful about heart demons, are we not? While cultivating, we must keep a clear mind and heart, otherwise our desires will corrupt us and send us to a disastrous path.
“Temptation is something devil cultivators are most adept at. If one has a weak mind and is susceptible to temptation, they will naturally be corrupted by their own heart demons,” Gui Yin said. He glanced at the door in front of them. Even from here, he could see flecks of demonic energy.
At some point, the old man must have had a Qi Deviation, but since he was a skilled cultivator, those around him hadn’t noticed. In fact, it must have been a long time since he had been corrupted.
Shan Yu clenched her jaw and slowly breathed out. She nodded. “This disciple understands.”
“Do you want to come in with me?” Gui Yin asked.
Shan Yu nodded. Determination filled her gaze. “I have to.”
She couldn’t rely on her shizun her entire life. There will be a day where he won’t even be around to help her anymore. She had to learn to handle things herself too.
Gui Yin hummed and followed her into the prison cell.
The old man sat in a dark corner, his eyes vacant.
Food was delivered regularly, but the elderly man had long stopped eating. His cheeks were sunken in as his lips were chapped. His mouth hung open as he breathed heavily. As he had aged, his skin seemed to have thinned, revealing his veins and arteries more clearly. Gui Yin narrowed his eyes and coughed softly.
This old man reeked of demonic energy.
Hearing the sound, the elderly man looked up. “…Yu’er, is that you?”
Shan Yu pursed her lips. She trembled slightly and the resolve from just a few seconds ago began to crumble. She glanced unsurely at Gui Yin. Only when the man nodded slightly did she take a deep breath and answer.
“It’s me.”
The elderly man chuckled. “Have you finally decided on how to punish this old man?”
Shan Yu could feel a subtle heat building up behind her eyelids. Her nose began to sour and she couldn’t help but glance away. Her eyes closed and the words she had been prepared to say couldn’t leave her lips.
The elderly man in front of her actually looked quite like her own grandfather. Out of all his brothers and sisters, her second eldest granduncle and her grandfather looked most alike. In their old age, when their cultivation had caught up with each other, many thought that they were twins. When a man, using that face, said such words to her, Shan Yu felt as if her heart was being squeezed.
Even if she looked past his appearance, this was a man who had watched her as she’d grown up. She didn’t have it in her heart to punish him.
“…Second Eldest Granduncle,” Shan Yu slowly said, “I’ll give you one last chance. If you tell me why you did it…who told you to do it…then I’ll let you go.”
The elderly man laughed hoarsely. “…Yu’er, you’re still too naïve. If there is a weed, you must pull it out from its roots, lest you leave it to ruin your beautiful garden.”
The elderly man looked up and met Gui Yin’s eyes. “Lord Immortal Ninglan, you understand this philosophy, do you not?”
Gui Yin humbly lowered his gaze. “Yes, sir, I do. However, the choice is not mine to make. I am here to give my student courage—not to make the choice for her.”
The elderly man slowly lowered his head as well.
Silence filled the cell as Shan Yu looked carefully at the old man in front of her. She took a few steps closer and slowly knelt down. The elderly man’s eyes widened. Even Gui Yin instinctively took a step forward. Shan Yu placed her hands on the ground and slowly lowered her head.
“You—”
“Please…” Shan Yu said, her voice turning nasally. “Please don’t make me harm my own family.”
Gui Yin turned his head away as Shan Yu lifted her head and bowed again.
“Yu’er…”
“I know you,” Shan Yu said softly. “You aren’t this kind of person. You’ve been swayed by evil. If you’ll just tell me what happened…tell me how it happened, I’ll spare you and Second Uncle and Second Aunt.”
The elderly man pursed his lips as he watched his grandniece prostrate. He slowly closed his eyes. “Enough.”
Shan Yu stilled.
“…I was weak. I’m sure your mother told you, but I was jealous when your grandfather was given the sect leader position. Over the years, I had thought I’d come to terms with it, but…I hadn’t…” the old man let out a long sigh as he rested his head back against the wall. “Yu’er, in fact, I should have been dead a long time ago.”
Gui Yin averted his gaze. He silently excused himself and left the space to Shan Yu and her granduncle.
A long time ago, the elderly man had met his death. But he had been unwilling. He hadn’t gotten what he wanted most in life and now his life was going to end far before his siblings. It was all unfair. Just as he was about to take his last breath, these were the poisonous thoughts that filled his mind. Like maggots, they ate at the last of his reason and in that split second, he had gone into Qi Deviation.
When he came out of it, he was no longer alive, but he was yet to die. He found that something had protected him. At the time, he had been happy. Anything was better than dying. If he was alive, he would still have a chance to…to…
Gui Yin let out a long sigh as he listened to the story on the other side of the heavy iron door. He softly shook his head and fanned himself.
A human’s greed was the strongest power in the world. It could bring the dead back to life and give new meaning to living. However, this wasn’t always a good thing. Greed was all consuming. Just like with Shan Yu’s granduncle, people could easily walk down the wrong path in order to achieve what they most wanted.
“Now, you know the truth,” the elderly man said with a dry smile.
After his brother had died, he had started to question if everything he was doing was actually right. But when he saw his son and his daughter-in-law, those questions flew out the window again. The sect leader position should belong to his son, if not to him. There was no reason a girl who had just come of age should be able to sit in this position.
Then, they destroyed the matrixes. And when they were caught, the elderly man finally snapped out of it.
Without the resentment and greed to fuel his desire, he was already dying—but this was a fact he kept hidden from his softhearted niece.
Shan Yu pursed her lips as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. She shuffled forward and hugged her granduncle tightly. “I understand. Thank you.”
The elderly man stared over her shoulder in a stunned fashion and finally sighed. This was the little girl his younger brother had raised. She was kind, but strong. Such a person was more than fit to be sect leader. Given time, she might even be better than her grandfather.
The elderly man sighed and let go of the last of his resentment. He gently stroked her head as a small smile lifted his lips.
“Yu’er, be careful…this old man fell into their schemes…that means there are many…many more people out there who are the same.”
Gui Yin and Shan Yu both seized up at that moment.
“Whether it be in our Zhengyang Shan Sect…or your shizun’s Yunjing Pavilion…or even the greater Beidou Alliance you must…must be…careful.”
The old man in Shan Yu’s arms stopped breathing.
A while later, his body turned cold.
The large metal door creaked open and Shan Yu felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
“…Let’s go.”
Shan Yu hummed softly. She gave the elderly man one last hug and slowly stood. She lowered her head and followed her shizun out of the cell.
:< hugs for Shan Yu ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
thanks for reading!!
Thank you for the update!