“It’s rare for you to come and visit me.”
“Well,” a soft chuckle accompanied the thump of porcelain against a wooden surface. “Some unfavorable circumstances arose back at Yu Shui Manor, so I figured I would visit my shizun. What’s wrong? I can’t?”
Sect Master Zhong took in the image of the young man in front of him and chuckled. “How could that be? My doors are always open to you and Xiao Guo.”
A girl, who looked to be in her pre-teens, looked up at the sound of her pet name. She smiled cutely before lowering her head again and returning to her readings.
The man who sat beside Sect Master Zhong wore soft, pink robes with delicate silver embroidery that resembled pear blossoms in full bloom on his wide sleeves. His hair was pulled up into a topknot by a simple crown, while the rest of his hair cascaded down his back light an inky waterfall. By his side, on the table, sat a white jade xiao. His eyes shone bright, just like a starry night sky. When his gaze was lowered to watch his daughter, his lashes would brush against his cheeks, appearing lush yet not too overpowering. Those with a keen eye who might be entranced by this man’s looks might notice a small mole on his eyelid and another by his ear. His entire person was soft and warm, like the sunrise on a spring morning.
“Stay as long as you like,” Sect Master Zhong said. “I’ll have Mu Xing prepare the guest courtyard for you and Xiao Guo.”
The man clasped his hands together and bowed. “Thank you, Shizun. Xiao Guo.”
The little girl straightened and mimicked her father’s movements, “Thank you, Grandpa.”
Sect Master Zhong chuckled. He turned back to the man. “But, Xunrui, what’s the…unfavorable circumstance that you spoke of?”
“That is—”
“Feng Ling Immortal, Sect Master Zhong is seeing a guest right now!”
“I know, but I’ll be very quick. I have to head back out in a second anyway,” Situ Hong’s voice rang down the hall.
Sect Master Zhong let out a soft sigh and called out, “Mu Xing, let him in.”
There was a pause before the doors opened.
Situ Hong came in with a dazzling smile. He clasped his hands together and bowed. “Sect Master Zhong, I’ve returned.”
“You…” Sect Master Zhong sighed again.
“Situ-shushu,” a soft voice called out to Situ Hong.
Situ Hong raised his head and his gaze landed on the small girl sitting in the corner of the room. His smile stiffened as he slowly brought his gaze up to the man beside Sect Master Zhong.
“…A-ah! Xiao-xiong, what a coincidence! I….”
“You sure have done a good thing,” Xiao Xunrui smiled.
When someone spoke of a face that could cause the downfall of a country, the first person Situ Hong thought of was Xiao Xunrui. Even after seeing people like Ren Yizhou or Yu Liulin, Situ Hong felt that Xiao Xunrui really would have deserved the title of best looking bachelor of their generation. It was a shame that he was a recluse, so the ice cube back home was the one who took the title.
However, despite Xiao Xunrui’s handsome looks and his petite frame, he was also strangely strong and he had quite the talent in alchemy and music cultivation as well as medicine. If you were to cross him, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to knock you out for a few weeks.
And now…
Situ Hong laughed out loud. “What do you mean, Xiao-xiong? That—that was all Wu Lingtian!”
Xiao Xunrui raised a brow.
“I-it was!” Situ Hong rushed to Xiao Xunrui’s side like a lacky just dying to suck up to his boss. “The plan was all created by Wu Lingtian. You know me! How could I have the guts to do such a thing to you, Xiao-xiong?”
Xiao Xunrui tugged his sleeve from Situ Hong’s grasp and carefully folded it against his lap again. He raised a brow as his eyes scanned Situ Hong. “Then, do you know our history?”
“No. I don’t. I never heard anything about it from…him,” Situ Hong glanced at Sect Master Zhong before returning his attention to Xiao Xunrui. He clasped his hands together. “I swear to you that I’m innocent! If you want anyone to take out your anger on, go find Wu Lingtian! In fact, I think he’s been far too blissful recently. He thinks he’s number one in everything. It would be good if you go and teach him a lesson.”
As a result, the jade xiao lightly smacked against the side of Situ Hong’s head.
Situ Hong whimpered and took a step back. “Xiao-xiong…”
“Isn’t it good that Lingtian is spritelier again? Who are you try and ruin his good mood?” Xiao Xunrui said.
“But Xiao-xiong, it truly wasn’t me.”
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 get it. I trust you,” Xiao Xunrui placed his xiao back against his lap.
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“…I admit, I did help,” Situ Hong said sheepishly. He scratched his cheek with his fan before glancing at Xiao Xunrui with a sheepish smile. “How did it go?”
“How did it go?” Xiao Xunrui’s brows furrowed. The xiao smacked Situ Hong against the side of the leg. “You still have the courage to ask me how it went?”
“Ah! Xiao-xiong!” Situ Hong groaned as he took another step back. “I’m only asking out of worry!”
“More like you want to gossip,” Xiao Xunrui snapped.
“It went well,” Xiao Guo whispered.
Situ Hong looked over his shoulder and hurriedly sat down beside the girl. “It went well? How well?”
“It went well for Father,” Xiao Guo corrected. She glanced at her father. “That man was kicked out as soon as he reached the sentry.”
“Wh—you didn’t even see him!?” Situ Hong exclaimed.
“See who?” Sect Master Zhong finally asked.
“See Wuma Qiongling,” Xiao Xunrui answered his shizun before turning back to Situ Hong. “All I sensed was a stranger, so I sent him off.”
“And then he came back,” Xiao Guo whispered.
“H-he came back!?” Situ Hong gasped. He looked at Xiao Xunrui. “And then?”
“I…sent him off again, obviously!” Xiao Xunrui huffed.
“Father saw him the second time,” Xiao Guo said. “However, Father claimed not to recognize him.”
“How could I? His entire smell was different. He smelled demonic,” Xiao Xunrui grumbled, his fingers fiddling with the tassel of his xiao. “How am I to know whether he was real or fake? So, I sent him off.”
“And he came back a third time,” Xiao Guo said.
Situ Hong looked between father and daughter. Even Sect Master Zhong listened with one ear up.
“He…he said some things and then I realized it was really him,” Xiao Xunrui said. “Then, I sent him off again.”
“A third time!?”
“Father and he had a long talk, then they had a bit of an argument. But this time Wuma-shushu stayed a week,” Xiao Guo said.
“Xiao Guo,” Xiao Xunrui frowned.
“A…a week? And you call him ‘shushu’?” Situ Hong stared blankly into space. His head snapped up to look at Xiao Xunrui, “Wait…shushu? He’s younger than you?”
“He’s still older than you,” Xiao Xunrui said. “So, don’t get any funny ideas.”
“Well, I just never expected—no! Wait, you let him stay for a week? And then why did you decide to run off?”
“This…” Xiao Xunrui’s face began to redden. “Stop asking so many questions!”
Situ Hong looked to Xiao Guo. However, this time, the girl remained quiet. His gaze slowly trailed over to Sect Master Zhong, though it was quite obvious that the older man hadn’t even know about Wuma Qiongling.
The room fell into an unsettled silence. Xiao Xunrui huffed, “At any rate, I’m avoiding him now. If I hear again that you’ve helped him—”
A thin needle appeared between Xiao Xunrui’s fingers. Situ Hong gulped and laughed. “This—Xiao-xiong, why would I help a stranger and not you? If you went south and he asks me where you went, I’ll say north. If you went to Jianshi, I’ll say you went to Xianping. Even if he chains me up, I’ll give him false information!”
“Why would he chain you up?” Xiao Xunrui frowned. “Qiongling isn’t that type of person.”
“…Of course, of course,” Situ Hong smiled stiffly.
Wasn’t this obviously just a lover’s quarrel? This stupid guy was still defending the bloodthirsty demon lord even when he was actively running away.
Hearing Xiao Xunrui’s words, Sect Master Zhong showed a complex expression. However, as someone who had seen a lot and who understood little about Xiao Xunrui’s personal life, he opted not to ask any more questions. Instead, he turned to the stiff Situ Hong.
“Feng Ling, why did you rush over?”
Having his attention brought back to reality, Situ Hong’s expression immediately turned grave. But first, he looked to Xiao Guo with a smile. “Xiao Guo, are you hungry? Uncle will give you money and you can go get a snack with Mu Xing-gege.”
Xiao Guo stood immediately and accepted the money that Situ Hong gave her. She thanked him and bowed to Xiao Xunrui and Sect Master Zhong before exiting the room.
“Some things shouldn’t be overheard by children,” Situ Hong poured himself a cup of tea. He took a sip, “Well, I was called out to Zhao Village by Lingtian.”
Sect Master Zhong and Xiao Xunrui glanced at each other.
Anyone who knew Wu Lingtian would know that he disliked getting Frost Cliff Pavilion involved. Anything and everything would be handled with his own hands. If it became too inconvenient, he would toss it to a junior. Only the last resort would be contacting Frost Cliff Pavilion and, even then, it would be a short message, never something like specifically summoning Situ Hong.
“What happened?” Xiao Xunrui asked.
Situ Hong gave a wry smile before recounting what Wu Lingtian had told him.
At Zhao Village, there had been an odd phenomenon where people were falling into a trance like state. After brief investigation, Wu Lingtian realized that the people had lost their hun. People can’t live without a part of their soul so, naturally, as time went on, those people would also die. Because of the people’s aversion to cultivators, no one had known about Zhao Village’s situation until Wu Lingtian arrived. Afterwards, he called for Fan Yi and began a small investigation. Only, few people were willing to cooperate.
Sect Master Zhong frowned. “Was there ever an explanation on why they had an aversion to cultivators?”
Situ Hong nodded. “Supposedly, this started five years ago and was set off by a cultivator. However, whether they are male or female is ambiguous, since accounts varied from person to person. We’ll be investigating that once we head back.”
Situ Hong recounted the rest of the story concisely.
After being rejected from digging up the graves to examine the bodies, Fan Yi and Wu Lingtian went to the undertaker to ask for the records of the deceased, only to come up with very few details. After haggling a little while longer, they managed to get a list of the deceased’s families. However, just like one might expect, they were rejected multiple times and only got information from a few houses.
“Milky eyes and a reaction to the sound of a bell,” Xiao Xunrui repeated. “Just like a fierce corpse then?”
Situ Hong nodded.
“And then?” Sect Master Zhong prompted.
And then, the two men came upon a house. The owner there pointed them towards a family that was not on the list. There, they were met with an elderly woman who spoke and moved, but was not alive.
“Did she have the Gu worm in her?” Sect Master Zhong asked.
“They didn’t get to check,” Situ Hong said. “It was far too frantic and when everything was over, the elderly woman disappeared. Lingtian said that they can’t be living corpses, because he’s sure these people died before they were tampered with.”
Situ Hong finished the story with Wu Lingtian’s encounter with the puppet master.
Silence fell on the room.
Xiao Xunrui clenched his xiao tightly. He looked up at Situ Hong. “He’s in danger then! Why did you let him run off?”
“If I don’t let him run off, then what should I do? Tie him to my waist and watch over him like a baby?” Situ Hong asked. “Xiao-xiong, he’s a grown man. If he wants to run around, then what can I do to stop him?”
“But that thing is obviously in cahoots with the demon who killed Rong Meihua,” Xiao Xunrui said. He frowned. “If what it said was true and that Wu Lingtian was still its target…”
“Xunrui, you don’t have to worry too much. After all, Sect Leader Fan is still with him,” Sect Master Zhong said. “I’m sure if anything happens, that child will protect him well.”
Xiao Xunrui’s lips pursed. He turned to Situ Hong. “Do you know where Lingtian is headed?”
“He didn’t say. He just said he was going to follow Sect Leader Fan.”
“You didn’t even ask!?”
“He has his own business to take care of! Like I said, he’s a full-grown man, Xiao-xiong. If you’re so concerned, send him a letter,” Situ Hong suggested. “Ah, there was something else,” he turned to Sect Master Zhong. “Wu Lingtian said that he’ll be joining Frost Cliff Pavilion, but only in name, and to spread it as far and wide as possible.”
“That child wants to join Frost Cliff Pavilion?”
Situ Hong smiled, “It seems something precious to him was being threatened, so he wants to establish his power.”
Sect Master Zhong lowered his gaze. “That must be why he’s sticking so close to Sect Leader Fan then.”
Xiao Xunrui frowned. He stood. “You said he’s part of Frost Cliff Pavilion, so a pavilion bird would be able to reach him, right?”
“Of course,” Situ Hong stood as well. He smiled flatteringly, “but before that, I have a small favor to ask of you.”
Xiao Xunrui turned around, a scowl on his face. “What?”
“Come with me to Zhao Village,” Situ Hong said. “In fact, it was Lingtian who suggested you look at the corpses that remained.”
Xiao Xunrui frowned. He glanced out the door before turning back to Sect Master Zhong. He clasped his hands together, “Could I trouble Shizun to watch over my Xiao Guo for a spell?”
“No trouble at all,” Sect Master Zhong said. “Xiao Guo is adorable and smart—everyone here enjoys her presence.”
Xiao Xunrui smiled proudly, as if to say it were natural. He turned back to Situ Hong with a small frown. “We’ll leave after she comes back.”
Situ Hong nodded and the two men settled back down to wait for the child and Mu Xing to return.
When the pair did, Xiao Xunrui gave a watered-down explanation to Xiao Guo.
He knelt down, “Anyway, be good and stay at the Hall of Impartiality. I’ll come back for you as soon as I’m done with my business.”
Xiao Guo hesitated. She glanced at Situ Hong and tugged at Xiao Xunrui’s sleeve. “But Father…your condition…”
“It’s fine. Your Situ-shushu knows about my face blindness. He’ll keep a proper eye on me,” Xiao Xunrui smiled and rubbed at his daughter’s head.
Xiao Guo hesitantly nodded. She released Xiao Xunrui’s sleeve and stepped back. “Then, be safe Father and Situ-shushu.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll protect your dad,” Situ Hong smacked his chest confidently.
Xiao Xunrui stood and rolled his eyes. “Please. I’ll be the one to look after you in the end. It’ll be great as long as you don’t cause a ruckus. I’ll have you know, I’m easily susceptible to headaches.”
Situ Hong smiled, “Of course, of course. Don’t worry, My Lord, I’ll take care to stay as quiet as possible during our journey.”
Even as the two men departed from the Hall of Impartiality, they continued to bicker.
Xiao Guo and Sect Master Zhong walked the two men to the entrance of the Hall of Impartiality. The little girl watched her father and Situ Hong descend the steps before heaving a soft sigh.
“Worried?” Sect Master Zhong asked.
Xiao Guo nodded. “Grandpa, is it really okay to let them go like that?”
“Why not? They’re both very capable and they’ll look after each other well,” Sect Master Zhong said.
“But they’re always bickering,” Xiao Guo mumbled as her father’s figure grew more and more distant.
Sect Master Zhong smiled. He rubbed Xiao Guo’s head and began to lead the child back inside. “Just because people argue doesn’t mean they aren’t close with each other. Trust me, Xiao Guo, your father and Feng Ling might be arguing now, but they’ll have a very smooth journey.”
Wu Lingtian frowned. He looked up at the sky, only to see a clear blue stretch, without a hint of clouds.
Fan Yi glanced over at Wu Lingtian and looked up at well. However, upon seeing nothing, his gaze fell back onto the man beside him. He smiled, “What are you looking at?”
“Just…it feels like there might be a storm coming,” Wu Lingtian mumbled.
“A storm?”
“…Never mind,” Wu Lingtian shook his head.
Yet, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was coming. Something inconvenient and very annoying.
Yow, Wuma and Xiao sounded like they have tons of history, can’t wait for the details on them 😀
And.. is face blindness real? I’m actually a person who remembers faces more than names, I can even pinpoint who is who when meeting online classmates irl even with their mask on, so it’s quite baffling to me that other’s can’t.
Lastly, Thank you, Author, for the chapter!😍
Face blindness is real! The official medical title is called prosopagnosia and it’s a cognitive disorder. Though, due to the setting (it is a xianxia/fantasy story after all), XXR has less of a problem navigating through his daily life bc he’s a cultivator and can sense other’s…aura/spiritual energy. Still, usually, he’ll keep someone he trusts by his side (in most cases, it’s his daughter and in the future it’ll be WMQL 👉👈).
hnnnggg i really do like wmql and xxr. i’m planning on writing tons of extras for them lmao–
Thanks for reading!!!!
Dang, I feel bad for their daily life and especially their history exams :’
Jiayou, looking forward for all the ships to develop!!!
Xiao Guo is a wonderful addition to the cast – and it seems she has a gift for communication, otherwise nobody would know what happened 😄. Ren Yizhou and Xiao Xunri have a few things in common huh? Beauty, alternatives to regular vision, contentious lovers…
Xiao Guo has high EQ. Who knows where she gets it from when her dad’s like this LOL
Xiao Xunrui is so cool :0