Wu Lingtian’s gait as he crossed the zig-zagging bridge was casual and at ease, as if he were walking back to his own home.
Although Fan Yi had offered to build Wu Lingtian his own residence already, Wu Lingtian had rejected him on the grounds that the sect was far too poor, thus, they wouldn’t be able to afford residence. Besides, Fan Yi had a perfectly functional guest courtyard with a large magnolia tree growing in it. It was neither too big nor too small and was just enough for Wu Lingtian, who had nothing on his person. What was the point of building another residence?
After confirming again that Wu Lingtian really didn’t mind, Fan Yi dropped the topic and Wu Lingtian breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps it was a bit odd, but Wu Lingtian wanted to be close to Fan Yi. Sharing the same house was just enough to satiate this urge.
As soon as he crossed the bridge, Wu Lingtian found his way to Fan Yi’s courtyard. He first knocked on the bedroom door, but upon not receiving an answer, he switched to the study. After a few minutes, he heard a muffled “come in” before he finally pushed the door open and entered.
Fan Yi was slipping something back into his shelves when Wu Lingtian was closing the doors behind him. He walked back over to his desk and raised a brow.
“I thought you were entertaining guests.”
“Let me come along,” Wu Lingtian said.
After a bout of surprise, Fan Yi laughed. “I thought I already made myself clear that you can’t come.”
“If it’s dangerous, then all the more reason I should go,” Wu Lingtian said. “Even without my sword, I can be of help.”
“You know full well it isn’t just because of your sword,” Fan Yi sighed. “Your illness stems from your heart. You need to remain in a calm and relaxing environment until you recover enough. If you come with me, something might appear that will trigger you again.”
“Then, wouldn’t that just mean I’ll stay in the sect forever?”
Fan Yi frowned. “Don’t say that. That’s not true. You may come and go as you please, but you must not follow me, that’s all.”
“But why?” Wu Lingtian asked. He wanted to beg Fan Yi to not go, but there must be a reason he was leaving in such a hurry only after a few days of returning to the sect. So, instead, he could only insist on following. His chest began to tighten with anxiety.
“It’s dangerous. And these are not places I want you to go to,” Fan Yi said patiently. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Wu Lingtian’s face didn’t betray any emotions. In fact, his voice hardly betrayed his anxiety. However, Fan Yi felt a tiny bit nervous as he looked at Wu Lingtian.
“If there’s something on your mind, then say it,” Fan Yi coaxed gently. “I won’t get mad.”
“Sect Leader Wang left a long time ago,” Wu Lingtian slowly forced out the words in his mind. “I don’t want to lose you either.”
Fan Yi lowered his gaze. He moved towards Wu Lingtian and gently placed his hand on top of his head. He sighed and rubbed it a few times, “I’m not going to die. It’s not dangerous to that extent. It’s just dangerous for you. And it’s not because you lack a sword or that I think you’re useless, I just don’t want you to strain yourself and make your condition worse. Is that clear?”
Wu Lingtian nodded.
“I’ll be fine,” Fan Yi said. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a jade bottle. He shook the pills inside around. “I even have this to protect myself in the winter months. I’m all prepared.”
“You won’t be back in the winter?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“You sure latch onto the strangest words,” Fan Yi laughed as he put the pills away. “I’ll try to settle matters as soon as I can, but if not, it might even trail into winter.”
Wu Lingtian lowered his gaze. That’s a long time. Several months, at least. It was still summer and there was still another month or so until autumn came. If Fan Yi didn’t come back until spring, that’d be nearly half a year.
“I’ll send you letters to update you on how I am,” Fan Yi said. “We’ll be in constant contact, that way if something did happen, at least you’ll know.”
Wu Lingtian nodded again.
“A-Tian, look at me,” Fan Yi stepped a little closer.
Wu Lingtian lifted his head.
“Breathe,” Fan Yi inhaled slowly and exhaled through his mouth.
Wu Lingtian followed Fan Yi breathed until he felt the knot in his chest slowly unravel again.
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.
“Listen to me closely,” Fan Yi said. “I’m not going to die. I will be very careful. If something happens, I will send a distress signal. Alright?”
“Yxjs.”
Mjc Tl uglccfv. “Vliis. Dfrlvfr, atlcx jybea la j yla wbgf. Qtb jw P? Qtb lc atlr kbgiv mbeiv yfra wf lc j oluta?”
Qe Olcualjc gfjiis vlv offi j yla rliis joafg tf ujnf la j yla wbgf atbeuta. Dea tlr kbgglfr kfgfc’a ecobecvfv. Mjc Tl’r gfpfmalbc bo atf mbiv kjr j kfii-xcbkc gewbg. Qtfcfnfg jcsbcf rjk atf rfma ifjvfg lc atf rqglcu jcv jeaewc, tf kbeiv jigfjvs yf vgfrrfv jr lo la kfgf klcafg. Qtfc la kjr jmaejiis klcafg, tf kbeiv cba yf rffc jcsktfgf. Qe Olcualjc vlvc’a xcbk atf fzjma gfjrbc, yea remt jc fzagfwf ofjg bo atf mbiv wera cba yf jcsatlcu ubbv.
“What are you thinking?” Fan Yi asked.
“Make sure to keep warm,” Wu Lingtian said.
“I will,” Fan Yi laughed. “Anything else?”
“No,” Wu Lingtian shook his head.
“Really?”
Wu Lingtian looked Fan Yi in the eyes. Well, he was thinking about something else. But it wasn’t like he could just tell the man.
Wu Lingtian shook his head again. “Nothing else.”
“Alright,” Fan Yi smiled. “Thank you for worrying about me, A-Tian.”
Wu Lingtian nodded mutely.
Fan Yi watched him with a hint of amusement mixed in with his confusion.
In all honesty, during the past few days, Fan Yi had seen that Wu Lingtian seemed to be opening up more and more. Even during their brief trip away, the reticent man had spoken his mind more. At the last meeting before they headed home, Wu Lingtian hadn’t held back in the slightest and slapped everyone across the face. Yet, Fan Yi noticed, there were times when Wu Lingtian clammed up again. He wouldn’t talk and would only nod or shake his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to either, it was just that he seemed to be incapable of speaking.
But even if Fan Yi noticed this, he wasn’t sure what he could do. He wanted to make Wu Lingtian feel comfortable, but he didn’t even know where to start. And now he would be leaving for an unknown period of time. It was a bit troublesome.
“A-Tian,” Fan Yi called out to him again.
Wu Lingtian obediently lifted his head and met Fan Yi’s gaze.
“Since I’m leaving soon, shall we go down to the town? You’ve mainly just been up in the sect. There’s a lot of WuYe that you haven’t seen, right?” Fan Yi smiled.
Wu Lingtian nodded slowly.
“Let’s go tomorrow night then! It just so happens to be the summer festival.”
“…Summer festival?” Wu Lingtian raised a brow.
He had never heard of a summer festival before.
“Towards the end of every summer, there’s always a celebration. The shops close and people set up stalls to sell their wares and talents. Everyone dresses up and wears masks as they watch little shows and play games,” Fan Yi said. “It’s a lot of fun. It wouldn’t be great to stay in the sect anyway, since it’s going to be quite empty. You can tell Lord Feng Ling and Lord Wuma so they can see some sights as well.”
“Alright.”
“Then, tomorrow night,” Fan Yi smiled. “Don’t forget.”
Wu Lingtian nodded. He began to head out the door but paused and hesitantly looked back. “Sect Leader.”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
“…Thank you.”
The doors creaked open and closed gently. Fan Yi let out a sigh as he leaned against his desk. “What to do…?”
Fan Yi fiddled with a small porcelain statue that sat at his desk as he thought back and forth about Wu Lingtian’s condition. He was perfectly fine earlier, then he must have gotten this way because he was worried about Fan Yi. Although Screeching Sparrow Sect had emergency signals that could directly reach the sect at a moment’s notice, one could really only reach the person in danger if the person was still lingering in Jianshi and Fan Yi was sure he’d be wandering to other provinces as well.
His finger rubbed against the statue until his gaze finally fell on the mirror that sat in the corner of his study. He put the rabbit down and stood up. After a moment he pulled a communication talisman from his belt and murmured a spell.
The talisman floated in front of him and began to glow.
“Uncle,” Fan Yi called out sweetly once the words on the talisman turned blue.
“…What do you want? Haven’t I already sent over some money?”
“This isn’t about that, I have something to ask you,” Fan Yi brought the talisman over to his desk.
“What is it?”
“You know a lot about spells and talismans, right?”
“Why are you asking about this? Do you need help with a spell?”
“Something like that,” Fan Yi sat down and began to prep some paper.
He heard Sect Master Zhong sigh. “See, your mother was right about you when you were younger! She said you always ran off and never studied. Now, look at you. You’re a full-grown adult but you’re still coming over to me to ask about spells and talismans. If you had studied harder, you wouldn’t have to do such an embarrassing thing.”
Fan Yi had heard this many times growing up and even more times after he had become an adult, thanks to this naggy uncle of his. He simply nodded his head and hummed along, completely used to this routine. Once Sect Master Zhong had talked himself out of things to say, Fan Yi started on his question.
“When you become cultivation partners, there’s a tradition to exchange items that will tell of the other person’s life or death, right?” Fan Yi said.
“There is. Why?”
“What’s the spell for that again?” Fan Yi asked, his brush ready as he waited for Sect Master Zhong’s answer.
“…Why?”
“I just need to know it,” Fan Yi said.
“Yes, and I’m asking you why? Do you have a cultivation partner? I’ve been telling you to get one for years! Where did you suddenly have the time to find one?”
“It’s not a cultivation partner, it’s just Wu Ling—”
“Wu Lingtian is your cultivation partner!?”
“We’re not partners,” Fan Yi said. “I’m just asking because Lingtian is worried about my upcoming trip. I figured if I put something with that spell on it then he won’t have to worry every day, since he’ll know I’m still fine.”
The other side was suddenly silent.
Fan Yi looked up at the talisman. It was still working. He frowned. “Uncle?”
“You…you’re doing this because he’s worried?”
Fan Yi sighed. After a moment, he spoke again, “This is off record, okay?”
“This is a family call, of course it’s off record.”
“Lingtian has an illness linked to his heart. I’m not sure what it is but whenever he’s overly stressed or worried, it triggers something in him and he falls into a precarious state. It would passable if it was just fainting or becoming feverish, but from what I’ve observed, he’s much more susceptible to the invasion of heart demons,” Fan Yi said. This was something he hadn’t fully explained to Wu Lingtian yet. “I don’t know the cause of it and I’m not even sure if there’s a way to cure him, but I’m trying to keep him stress free until I figure out why this happens.”
“And you leaving the sect on a journey is a trigger?”
“He’s an orphan,” Fan Yi said. “He lost Sect Leader Wang and he lost Rong Meihua. He doesn’t have his old sect anymore and everyone here is nice, but he’s always taken a while to open up to people. Right now, I’m all that he has.”
Sect Master Zhong fell silent again. “What about Feng Ling?”
“How could that be the same?” Fan Yi asked.
Sect Master Zhong still found the situation a bit surprising. “Since when did you care so much for another person?”
“I told you before, I feel responsible,” Fan Yi sighed. “Uncle, could you just tell me the spell for that talisman? There isn’t enough time for me to find a shop that sells them around WuYe.”
It was a simple enough spell. He could find an object that could withstand enchantments and slap it on that no problem. Sect Master Zhong finally relented.
“Fine, fine,” Sect Master Zhong sighed.
After telling Fan Yi, they quickly ended the call. Fan Yi stood and made his way over to Tian Xiewen’s residence. Without considering anything else, Fan Yi knocked on Tian Xiewen’s door. He heard a grunt and then some frantic shuffling. A moment later, the door opened. Tian Xiewen completely blocked the inside of his room. He leaned against the doorframe and smiled at Fan Yi.
“Fan-ge, what brings you here?”
Fan Yi looked at Tian Xiewen’s disheveled appearance and didn’t even need to ask. “Do you have any small portable objects that can handle enchantments? I need two.”
“Small portable objects?” Tian Xiewen frowned. “Like, an accessory?”
“Yes,” Fan Yi nodded. “That would be best.”
“Mm…there’s probably something in the treasure vaults,” Tian Xiewen scratched the back of his neck. “If you go to the end of the hall, everything in there can handle enchantments, but a lot of them are pretty useless otherwise. They’re mainly accessories that we send out to sects whenever its someone’s birthday.”
“Alright,” Fan Yi thanked Tian Xiewen and turned to leave, but not before glancing back at the bite mark on Tian Xiewen’s neck. “…You two play nice.”
“…Will do, Fan-ge.”
Fan Yi shook his head and left to the vaults, which were hidden on another peak.
He landed smoothly at the side of a mountain and continued walking forward.
The mountains in Screeching Sparrow Sect were layered with charms and traps. Only those with the waist pendent can enter freely in such areas. For places as important as the vaults, only the four Pillars had access to it. Right now as it stood to the naked eye, there was nothing in front of Fan Yi except for a mountain. However, when he walked forward a bit more, the illusion broke, revealing an iron door just before him where the mountain side had been. Fan Yi mumbled a spell and waited until the iron door opened with a loud groan.
He stepped in and ignored the equally obnoxious sound as the door closed. He stepped down the hallway as the torches flickered on as soon as he stepped past. He bypassed the secret libraries, the rooms filled with elixirs, a few rooms decked out to be a green house for rare herbs, and finally made it to the room of useless trinkets Tian Xiewen talked about.
He pushed the door open and looked at the piles upon piles of treasures they had collected over the years. Although there were many, none were that valuable. There were just things that had meager protection charms on it and looked nicer.
Fan Yi let out a sigh as he began to look around for something small enough to keep on a person. The important thing was that there was two of the same thing so that the spell he wanted to cast would work.
He spent until the sun set in the vault rooms and still couldn’t find the thing he was looking for.
There were some hairpins, but what was the point of those? There were weapons—fans, knives, daggers—but that couldn’t be used for Fan Yi’s intended purpose.
From what he remembered, a lot of those cultivation partners used waist pendants. The colors in the jade would shift depending on the partner’s status, but Fan Yi imagined Wu Lingtian, sitting in the middle of the night and waiting to see if the color would change. He shook his head and disregarded that idea.
He needed something that was easy to see and easy to be kept on the person.
Maybe a bracelet. Maybe a…
Fan Yi stopped at a pile. He bent down and picked up a sandalwood box. It wasn’t anything phenomenal and was actually a bit beat up around the edges. He brushed his hand over the box to dust it off before opening it. Inside sat two, slim rings. Fan Yi walked towards the torch light and held them up to get a clearer look.
They were both black in color and didn’t seem remarkable in the slightest, however the spell on them was precisely the thing Fan Yi was looking for.
“There were actually rings like these in the vaults?” Fan Yi mumbled. He glanced at the top of the box again and remembered who had sent them.
It was a few hundred years now, but they were sent as a gag gift for Fan Yi’s birthday by the newly wedded Hu Rongming. Although he couldn’t make it, his insincere birthday wish was for Fan Yi to find a partner for himself.
Fan Yi scoffed and turned the ring around in his finger. He had been annoyed with such a gift and told Zhu Xue or Zhu He to just toss it into the vaults. It was a good thing he hadn’t told them to burn it.
Because the rings were created with the spell already embedded in, it would actually be better than anything Fan Yi could have done. He double checked to make sure there weren’t any strange traps hidden inside and left the vault happily.
Unbeknownst to him, as his fingers drummed against the side of the box, a soft smile graced his face. He wondered if Wu Lingtian will like this gift.
Like, like
Definitely like like ~
Like like
He’ll literally jump in joy
I have to admit to a morbid curiosity about what the second and third pillars exactly do together. Can you blame me though? One forges weapons and the other is already blindfolded! Hey, what if Fan Yi’s ring tells him Wu Lingtian is dead every time his heart does it’s funky thing? Really though, I think being linked will help tremendously with that.
ayo 😳…
….Fan Yi sir, you’re gonna give Wu Lingtian a ring? a matching ring?? gifted to you with the intent you give it your cultivation partner???
…….well ngl i would probably do the same alcgakxhsk it’s convenient!!
just homie vibes, y’know?