“Overworked, most likely,” Fan Yi concluded.
“Why did you even fight with him earlier?” Ren Yizhou scolded.
Wu Lingtian shifted slightly to sit up. “It was me who didn’t know my own limits.”
Ren Yizhou turned towards him. “What are you doing defending him? He should have known that you would have gone overboard. All you sword-obsessed cultivators are just like this! Never knowing your limits and always thinking that you can do more than can. And you know he just woke up three days ago!” Ren Yizhou had switched their targets again. “How could you ask him to demonstrate with you? You think just because he’s referred to as the Sword of Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect that he’s really a weapon? Even a sword can break when its bent too far!”
Fan Yi listened to Ren Yizhou’s scolding with a bowed head. It was like an elder scolding a child. Fan Yi didn’t try to argue back.
“Aren’t you a doctor? You should know that just because he seems fine doesn’t mean he is completely healed.”
“It was my mistake.”
“Of course, it was your mistake! Why are you always so careless?”
“It was my fault,” Wu Lingtian insisted. “Second Pillar, do not scold Sect Leader anymore.”
Ren Yizhou tilted their head towards Wu Lingtian. “Doesn’t your heart hurt? If it does, then start caring for yourself more. If you do, then Fan Yi won’t get scolded.”
Wu Lingtian’s expression remained neutral, but he couldn’t help but glance at Fan Yi. Having someone get scolded in your place certainly was not a good feeling.
“I’ll scold you once you’re healthy, don’t worry about it,” Ren Yizhou said. “You two better not pull anything this stupid again.”
Although Ren Yizhou’s voice was normally breathy and sweet like that of a lovely maiden, when they got angry, their voice seemed to lower and become an irritable growl, nearly on par with Tian Xiewen’s voice. With a huff, Ren Yizhou stood and stomped out of the room, leaving Fan Yi and Wu Lingtian to themselves.
Wu Lingtian looked at Fan Yi awkwardly. “I apologize.”
Fan Yi chuckled. “Now, you know to take care of yourself. If you faint again, then I’m the one that gets scolded.”
Wu Lingtian hummed obediently; his head lowered as if he were seriously reflecting. Fan Yi settled down beside Wu Lingtian.
“Do you feel better?” Fan Yi asked.
“Huh?”
Fan Yi observed Wu Lingtian’s expression and shook his head. He reached into his belt and fished out a piece of wrapped candy. He placed it down beside Wu Lingtian’s hand on the edge of the bed. The younger man’s eyes fell onto the piece of candy beside his hand. He picked it up and cradled it in his palm. The vague residual warmth from Fan Yi flowed to his palm and straight to his chest. His scalp tingled expectantly as if Fan Yi’s hand would reach out at any moment and land on top of his head.
“Eat something sweet,” Fan Yi said. “When it melts, just imagine that all your problems have also disappeared.”
The same soft smile; the same gentle, comforting words; the same pair of worried. The candy clutched in Wu Lingtian’s hand seemed to sear his skin as he recalled a memory from centuries ago. He heard himself say his thanks. He heard Fan Yi excuse himself, saying that he will be right next door if Wu Lingtian ever needed anything. He heard himself hum in understanding.
However, until the door closed, Wu Lingtian still hadn’t come back to himself. He felt the candy in the palm of his hand, filling the empty space left behind by his sword. His fingers carefully unwrapped the piece of candy and he mechanically slipped it past his lips and pressed it onto his tongue. The sweetness filled his mouth in under a second, washing away the bitter taste that had sat on his tongue for the past few days. A sense of calmness washed over him and the anxiety melted from his heart.
A few more days. He’ll allow himself a few more days to rest. Just a few more days of peace, before he stands up on his own two feet again.
Somewhere far away, between where Xianping and Jianshi lie, was a mountain that stretched far to the sky. A light fog laid across the premises, dancing, and rolling with the steps of the cultivators who walked by. The mountain was decorated with splendorous buildings and walkways paved neatly and without any sign of weathering.
A little higher rested another peak, containing only three small buildings. Despite their size, their appearances were not at all inferior to the ones below. One was the dormitory, another was the archives, and the remaining one contained a study in the back with a courthouse in the front. The courthouse was lightly decorated. It had large pillars holding up the ceiling and between the pillars nearest the front sat three tables on each side. Against the wall sat three more tables—one table sat just before a painting of a white dragon. To the left and right were the two other tables.
At the moment, a man wearing purple brocade robes sat at the head of the courthouse. His hair hung slightly in front of his face while the rest was pulled back by a simple jade pin. An earring hung from his right ear, twinkling slightly whenever it bumped against another piece of itself. Although he sat in a prestigious seat, his posture could only be described as horrendous. He leaned against the left arm rest while the rest of his body sprawled across the chair. His two legs were crossed beneath him and his shoes sat on the floor just under him. However, no one said anything to correct him.
The man lazily looked up after reading over the document. “So?”
Li Ran showed a look of displeasure. “We would like to search Screeching Sparrow Sect on the basis that they may be harboring Wu Lingtian.”
The man yawned loudly. He picked up one end of the scroll and threw it onto the other end. He leaned his chin against his fist. A slow smirk spread across his face. “Permission denied.”
“You—”
“Not enough evidence,” the man shrugged. “If you were to just barge into an unorthodox sect, I’m afraid there would be a war. I don’t really like wars, Li Ran.”
“Sītú Hóng(司徒红), you’re really too much! You’re just trying to protect Wu Lingtian!”
“Me? Protect Wu Lingtian? Is he my dad? Why would I protect him?” Situ Hong quirked an eyebrow and slowly sat up. He pointed outside the courthouse. “Go out there and read the sign again. This is Frost Cliff Pavilion, Li Ran. We are a division of the Hall of Impartiality—we are the law. What would become of the law if we were to help every person that we remotely have connection to? Unless you think I’m not fit to be the leader.”
Li Ran glared at Situ Hong wordlessly.
Situ Hong slowly settled back down and let out long yawn again. “All I’m saying is that you need to bring up evidence. Evidence that he did, as you claimed, killed Lord Immortal Wan Li, and evidence that he is, as you claim, staying at Screeching Sparrow Sect. If you can give up evidence of these two things, then I will personally go to Screeching Sparrow Sect to fetch Wu Lingtian. It’s that simple.”
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.
“C cewyfg bo beg rfma’r vlrmlqifr rjk—”
“C cewyfg bo sbeg rfma’r vlrmlqifr rjk,” Vlae Lbcu lcafggeqafv. Llr ojc rcjqqfv bqfc. Ktf iluta ygffhf mjerfv tlr tjlg ab oibja jkjs ogbw tlr ojmf. “Dea lrc’a atja pera kbgv bo wbeat? Dglcu bnfg tlr rkbgv jcv kf mjc ub atgbeut lar gfmbgvr.”
Li Ran clenched his jaw. “It’s broken.”
“Who broke it?” Situ Hong asked, his eyes still shut. “Such an important piece of evidence, yet someone broke. That someone must be an idiot.”
“It broke on its own,” Li Ran shot back.
Situ Hong opened one eye. “Why are you reacting so strongly? It’s not as if I called you the idiot. Goodness.”
Situ Hong closed his eyes again. “Well, I’ve said my piece, and I have listened to your piece. I believe we are done here.”
“But—”
“A-Min, show the guest out.”
A youth who looked a bit like Situ Hong appeared from the shadows of the courthouse. He held out his hand politely. “This way, Sect Leader Li.”
Li Ran threw one last glare at Situ Hong and stomped out of the courthouse along with Sītú Mǐn(司徒闵 ).
Situ Hong fanned himself several seconds longer before he slowly opened one eye after the other. His fan snapped shut against the palm of his hand and he stood. He let out a loud sigh, which was more on par with a scream, and began pacing.
When Situ Min returned, Situ Hong had already walked in a circle five times. “Ge, I thought you said that that we, Frost Cliff Pavilion, are part of the Hall of Impartiality, so we must be impartial to any and all things that happen in the cultivation world.”
“Yes, but it’s Wu Lingtian! Your Tian-gege,” Situ Hong said. He smacked the fan against his forehead a few times. “Just how the hell did he get himself into this kind of situation?”
“It could have been Qi deviation,” Situ Min reasoned as he sat down on one of the tables.
“Qi deviation doesn’t make you behead your master on a dark and stormy night, Xiao Min!” Situ Hong sighed passionately. He turned to Situ Min. “Besides, this is Wu Lingtian we’re talking about. There’s no way he would do such a thing even if he did go into Qi deviation.”
“Well, then are you saying that he did so without the influence of heart demons?” Situ Min questioned.
Situ Hong stopped pacing. He tossed his fan and snatched it in midair. His brows were pinched in the middle. He used the back of his fan to smack his neck as he began pacing again. “But that also doesn’t make sense.”
Situ Hong stopped and rushed towards Situ Min. “Could it have been a demon?”
Situ Min rolled his eyes. “Ge, they already said that they saw Tian-gege kill her. Once they saw him, obviously they subdued him right away. How could it have been a demon that pretended to be him?”
Situ Hong sat down on the table next to his little brother. “Then are you trying to say that it really was him that did it?”
Situ Min cupped his chin and shook his head. “Couldn’t be. If it was, then he had a reason.”
The fan was flourished open once more. “But what could be the reason?”
The two brothers sat in silence for a long time, staring blankly at the column before them. Situ Min slowly glanced over at his brother. He cleared his throat lightly and put on his best smile. “Ge…”
“No.”
“But ge!”
“Don’t ‘ge’ me,” Situ Hong stood up. He pointed his folded fan at his younger brother. “Every time you call me ge like that, I end up getting scolded by father.”
“You’re too old to be scolded now,” Situ Min said.
“Even if I was five thousand years old, so long as Father can breathe, he will still scold me,” Situ Hong said.
“But, ge, you’re his precious son. There’s no way he would scold you harshly,” Situ Min said.
“You’re his youngest child, there’s no way he would scold you,” Situ Hong countered. He crossed his arms. “If you want to help Wu Lingtian…we will have to think of some other way. But I cannot be affiliated with Purple Bamboo School, or Father will disown the both of us.”
“Then, can’t it just be a part of Frost Cliff Pavilion? We can say we want to investigate,” Situ Min sat up excitedly.
Situ Hong tapped his fan against his chin and let out a soft sigh. “I don’t want to drag down Sect Master Zhong. It’s fine. We can think of something. As long as Li Ran hasn’t—”
“Lord Feng Ling, Second Young Master Situ.”
Situ Hong and Situ Min straightened. They turned and bowed in greeting to the messenger. The messenger bowed back in return and held out a letter.
“Sect Master Zhong urgently requested me to deliver this letter. He said that the contents in it are secret and to not allow anyone to know.”
Situ Hong smiled. “When have I ever been loose lipped about the goings on in the Hall of Impartiality?”
The messenger laughed. “That is true. However, this one,” he pressed a finger to his lips, “you must not even tell your father.”
Situ Hong and Situ Min exchanged glances. The messenger bid them farewell almost at once, leaving the two brothers to their own devices again.
Situ Hong watched the man leave before he opened the envelope that was without an addressee. Inside the envelope were two letters. One was with Sect Master Zhong’s recognizable handwriting and the other was handwriting that Situ Hong had never read before.
Situ Hong pulled out Sect Master Zhong’s letter first and read it to himself.
“To Feng Ling,
This letter was written to me by a longtime friend—someone whom I think of as my own son. I would like to help him in his time of need, however if I make a move, many will turn their attention towards me and towards my relationship with this person. As the leader of Frost Cliff Pavilion, I can only leave this assignment to you. I believe that you might also have an interest in this case. If there are any questions, please come to my residence. Otherwise, outside of Young Master Situ, do not speak of it to anyone else—even the parties involved.
Sect Master Zhong.”
Situ Hong glanced at his younger brother.
“Well, open the other letter,” Situ Min tilted his chin towards the second letter.
Situ Hong folded up Sect Master Zhong’s letter and slipped it back into the envelope. He pulled out the second and held it so that both he and Situ Min could read it.
“Sect Master Zhong,
By the time this letter has reached you, I am sure you would have already heard about Lord Immortal Yu Lan. It is true that I rescued him from Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect. You may find me impulsive, but I find it hard to believe someone of Yu Lan’s character could do such a thing to the person who raised him. I find this case highly suspicious. If I attempted to reason with those at Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect, they will only shun me and disregard reason. That is how righteous sects always are, as you know. Therefore, I have a request to make of you—naturally, I will comply to whatever favor you may ask in the future. I hope to enlist the Hall of Impartiality in helping investigate what truly happened between Rong Meihua and Wu Lingtian that night. Although the members of Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect claims that they saw it, I still have my doubts. The case would pit the Hall of Impartiality against the righteous sects, but if Sect Master Zhong still cares for order within the cultivation world, I plead that you take this case into consideration.
Best,
Yi.”
Situ Hong slowly folded the letter and tucked it away into his sleeve.
“Is this what they call fate?” Situ Min murmured.
“I suppose it is,” Situ Hong sighed. He glanced at Situ Min. “How do you want to go about this?”
Situ Min held his hands up. “Ge, you’re the elder. I will follow whatever you say.”
“You only care about hierarchal order when you don’t want to work,” Situ Hong scoffed. His lips pressed into a firm line. “For now, we have to find someone to take over our duties while we work on this case. But how are we going to be able to do that if we don’t have an excuse?”
“The Hall of Impartiality has always been secretive,” Situ Min pointed out. “If we tell them it’s a case from them, no one will ask.”
Situ Hong nodded. “Then who…”
The sound of large wings beating against the wind sounded from outside. The two brothers glanced at each other and stepped out from the courthouse. The large bird squawked and bowed its head obediently for its owner to dismount.
A woman who looked to be in her early twenties slid off the bird. Her robes were a pale green with black embroidery. Her hair was pulled up into a braided ponytail. The whip on her waist seemed to electrify the air as she adjusted her robes. When she turned to look upon the two men, her gaze was cold and unfriendly. Situ Min took a slight step back and tugged on his brother’s sleeve.
“Zhou Ying’an,” Situ Hong greeted with a bright smile.
“Feng Ling,” the girl echoed without the same amount of enthusiasm.
“You have arrived just in time!” Situ Hong clapped his hands together. “We just accepted a mission from the Hall of Impartiality. We’ll need you to watch over Frost Cliff Pavilion while we are gone.”
Zhou Ying’an frowned. “What kind of mission?”
Situ Hong shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. “We can’t tell. You know how the Hall of Impartiality operates!”
Zhou Ying’an’s eyes narrowed. “It wouldn’t have to do with Wu Lingtian, would it?”
“Why would it have anything to do with Wu Lingtian?” Situ Hong laughed. “Do you think the Hall of Impartiality wants to offend your Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect? Even if you gave us guts the size of Heaven, we wouldn’t dare!”
Zhou Ying’an glanced at Situ Min. “Really?”
Situ Min cowered slightly before pulling up a small smile. “Zhou-shijie, how could we dare lie to you?”
Zhou Ying’an looked between the two brothers and hummed. “How long will you take?”
“Ah…unsure, to be honest. It could take a few weeks or a few months or a few years even,” Situ Hong exaggerated. “We’ll finish it as fast as we can so we can come back and alleviate you from this boring, boring position, alright?”
Zhou Ying’an nodded dismissively and turned around to tend to her giant bird mount.
Situ Hong clasped his hand together and turned around, gratefully leaving Zhou Ying’an behind.
He shuddered as soon as they were far away from Frost Cliff Pavilion. “Why is it that my generation is full of icebergs for cultivators? Wu Lingtian is like that and his shijie is also like that.”
“Could it just be disciples under Lord Immortal Wan Li?” Situ Min suggested.
“I don’t know,” Situ Hong shook himself, as if to get rid of the uneasiness. “No wonder I’m the most popular cultivator of my generation. If my only two competitors are those two bitter melon faces, of course I would win.”
“You only win for most eligible bachelor. Even then, it’s only by a few votes,” Situ Min pointed out. “Besides, Tian-gege always wins most best swordsman.”
“Am I your older brother or is Wu Lingtian your older brother?” Situ Hong raised an eyebrow at him.
“Ge, I’m only stating the truth. Why are you making it seem like I’m taking his side?” Situ Min threw back.
Situ Hong closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. “They say arguing with children makes you age faster. I should be magnanimous and ignore you.”
Situ Min scrunched his nose and shrugged to himself. They say that the truth is always the hardest to hear.
As for how they were going to investigate Wu Lingtian and Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect, the two brothers already had their own tacit understanding.
When they landed in Purple Bamboo School, they were greeted by several rounds of “Welcome back, Second Young Master Situ” and “Welcome back, Lord Immortal Feng Ling”. The two men merely bowed their way through until they made it to the Situ Manor that sat at the top of the sect. There, they were greeted once more by a few rounds of servants before they finally found their father, stoically playing the qin with Situ Min’s mother by his side.
“Father,” Situ Hong called out. “Auntie.”
“Father, Mother,” Situ Min quickened his pace and sat down beside his mother with a childish smile. Mù Yùhuá (木玉华) smiled gently as she carefully fixed her son’s hair, her gaze extremely doting.
Sītú ān (司徒安) glanced at his youngest son and looked at Situ Hong. “Finally decided to return home?”
Situ Hong smiled. “I woke up this morning and suddenly remembered I still have a bed here.”
Situ An’s gaze hardened. “It’s fine if you don’t come home, but you have the guts to take your brother out everywhere with you? He’s still young. He needs to stay at home and cultivate. If you take him to fool around everywhere, is he ever going to learn anything?”
“A-Min is talented,” Situ Hong said. “He learns faster through practical application. I’m not letting him off with cultivation either. If you want, you can check.”
Situ Min obediently held out his wrist for his father at his older brother’s words. Situ An took Situ Min’s wrist and sent a sliver of spiritual energy into his body. He retracted his hand with satisfaction in his eyes but when he turned back to Situ Hong, his gaze hardened once more.
“Why did you come home this time?”
“A while back, I was given the opportunity to teach at Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect,” Situ Hong said. “They reached out to me again recently due to the incident with Yu Lan. I decided that I will go give them a hand.”
“You decided to help?” Situ An quirked an eyebrow, finding the idea incredulous. His brows furrowed. “What is your real reasoning?”
Situ Hong glanced at Situ Min. Situ Min sat up obediently. “I actually wanted to study at Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect…if ge is there, you’d definitely let me go, right?”
Situ An frowned. He glanced at Situ Hong again. “You aren’t just going there to chase some girl, are you?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if I was? You would finally get a grandchild,” Situ Hong smiled.
“You—”
“Alright, alright,” Mu Yuhua stepped in to put the flames out before they could be fanned anymore. “It’s a good learning opportunity for the both of them. Besides, didn’t you always say you wanted to send Min’er to another sect to experience what it is like to interact with his peers? This is the perfect opportunity!”
Situ Hong’s expression eased. He smiled at his stepmother and then looked back to his father. “See? Auntie agrees.”
Situ An glared at Situ Hong. He felt his second wife’s hand against his arm and he glanced over.
“I trust A-Hong,” she said with an innocent smile.
Situ An glanced between his three family members and eventually let out a sigh. “Fine. Do as you wish then.”
“I will,” Situ Hong smirked. He pulled Situ Min up by the scruff of his collar and turned to his father’s second wife. “Thank you, Auntie.”
“Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Father,” Situ Min waved to them as he followed his brother off.
Situ An let out a long sigh and shook his head as he watched the two brothers. “Where did I go wrong in raising that first one?”
Mu Yuhua smiled a little helplessly. “I think he grew up just fine. And you should recognize that too.”
Situ An bit out a soft scoff and sighed. If Situ Hong’s mother were to see him now, Situ An wouldn’t be sure how to face her.
Ren Yizhou not afraid to call anyone out. lol
Also excited to see an investigation is happening.
Thank you for chapter
I love these two already. Ahhhhhh!!
What a phenomenal dynamic! Finally a non-evil stepmom! Ugh this story is just so dang good!! Thank you for your hard work!
I have a feeling the Situ brothers would get along well with the Screeching Sparrow Sect lol. Really can’t wait to see how their investigation matches up with what Wu Lingtian remembers.