Zhou Ying’an glanced at Wu Lingtian. “Are we leaving yet?”
Wu Lingtian had a firm frown placed on his face. Fan Yi cleared his throat awkwardly and patted the man beside him. “It’s just a few days.”
The strong reluctance to part was amusing for Fan Yi, but it was a bit troublesome when it was in front of so many people. He understood why Wu Lingtian was so clingy, but if it was official business, then they really couldn’t wait.
Fan Yi turned and pressed a kiss to Wu Lingtian’s lips. He gave the man’s hair a rough tussle and stepped back. “Hurry back.”
Wu Lingtian pouted slightly and finally released Fan Yi’s hand. He let out a sigh and stepped past Zhou Ying’an, as if nothing else would be of interest to him.
“Remember to smile while you’re out there! Smile,” Fan Yi shouted after Wu Lingtian.
Wu Lingtian let out a noncommittal grunt and took to the skies with Zhou Ying’an. Before they entered Xianping, the pair of martial siblings landed. Their appearances changed in a matter of seconds. Soon, Zhou Ying’an stood taller than Wu Lingtian and Wu Lingtian had become shorter than his usual height. They no longer looked like themselves and they had to change into new clothes.
Zhou Ying’an cleared her throat and started humming until her voice was lowered to what she remembered Tian Xiewen’s voice to sound like. “Is this good?”
Wu Lingtian frowned slightly. “A little lower.”
“Still lower?” Zhou Ying’an asked in surprise. After another bout of adjustment, Wu Lingtian gave her the ok. She looked Wu Lingtian up and down. “I’ve never seen Fan Yi look so displeased.”
“You don’t look angry enough,” Wu Lingtian said, his voice already adjusted to Fan Yi’s perfectly.
The two martial siblings ignored each other’s nit-picking and started into Xianping on a pair of horses. Although they were already disguised as other people, they wore another layer of veiled hats and kept their heads lowered, so as not to be seen by others. As they rode through a certain town, Zhou Ying’an heard a short “pft” from beside her. Her brows furrowed and she looked over to see what Wu Lingtian was laughing about.
The pair had gotten off their horses, as it was prohibited from riding through cities. Zhou Ying’an switched the reins to her other hands and wandered to Wu Lingtian’s side. Wu Lingtian pointed at the posters on the board.
“He looks uglier than usual.”
Zhou Ying’an raised a brow and leaned a little closer.
The person on the poster was Wu Lingtian.
“Why…is he on there?” Zhou Ying’an asked blankly.
“You two don’t know?”
Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an looked to the stall owner beside them. The man had come out from behind his stall to take a stroll around when he spotted Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an in front of the notice board.
“Sect Master Li’s head disciple went missing! It turns out that this Wu-something took her! What a shame. I heard he used to be a famous cultivator from the same sect. He defected and then did such a heinous thing,” the stall owner said, his hands on his hip as he clicked his tongue.
“Is that so?” Wu Lingtian looked back at the poster. “Do you know why he did such a thing?”
“Something about…ah, there’s a lot of different versions! Some say it’s because he has designs towards his own martial niece. Others say it’s because he had some misunderstandings with Sect Master Li, so he kidnapped his head disciple in retaliation. These are all rumors, but this Wu-whatever doesn’t sound like a decent person!” the stall owner scolded.
“I heard that the Hall of Impartiality was also in on it!” an auntie from across the street had wandered over. She patted her chest. “They’re supposed to be watching over the ruling sects, but if they’re not even as honorable as we think…It’s horrifying, if you think about it! Our continent is blessed with so many cultivators, but if a war starts, what are us common people going to do?”
“Right? It’s always power struggles and hierarchy,” someone nearby sighed. He glared at the bulletin board. “It seems like more and more things are starting up recently. Just what are those damned cultivators doing?”
“My husband’s brother can’t even leave Xianping to trade in Jianshi anymore! There’s all sorts of contracts being broken and now he has an excess amount of stock, but no money in return,” someone else complained. She sighed. “I feel bad for that man. He’s looking more and more haggard every day.”
Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an shared a glance. As the common people gossiped, Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an pulled away from the crowd again.
“It’s already beginning,” Zhou Ying’an murmured.
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.
“But what can we do? Is there a peaceful way to resolve this?” Wu Lingtian asked, his expression cold.
Itbe Tlcu’jc uijcmfv bnfg. Vtf aegcfv jkjs klat j rlut. “Ktfgf lrc’a. P pera atlcx la’r j rtjwf. Rbatlcu ylu tjr tjqqfcfv lc rb wjcs sfjgr, yea cbk la yblir vbkc ab atlr. Aera yfmjerf bcf qfgrbc tjr rbwf bvv byrfrrlbc klat qbkfg.”
“Pa wjs tjnf yffc qfjmfoei tfgf obg sfjgr, yea la kjr cfnfg qfjmfoei lc Mfcusj,” Qe Olcualjc rjlv. “Qf pera cfnfg ofia atf glqqifr bo kjg. Ktfgf’r jikjsr mbcoilma. Pa pera mbwfr vbkc ab ktb’r lcnbinfv jcv tbk lcoiefcalji atf qjgalfr lcnbinfv jgf.”
Zhou Ying’an fell silent.
The two got onto their horses again, once they were outside the town’s gates, and rode on to the next city.
The restaurant they were meant to meet at was bustling. They were led to a private room. Once the doors were closed, Wu Lingtian turned to closely examine the people before them. His eyes widened the slightest. Among them were Situ An.
Zhou Ying’an’s surprise was more difficult to mask. It was just a good thing that Wu Lingtian was blocking her from their view. The two of them sat down awkwardly and their discussion began. For a majority of the time, it was the neutral sects speaking. As they spoke, Situ An’s expression seemed to grow more and more sour. Eventually, he laughed sarcastically and placed his cup down.
“Sect Leader Situ, is there something you would like to say?”
“I’m not even either of these two gentlemen, but just listening to you makes my blood boil,” Situ An said. “Why are your demands so unreasonable? The only reason we’re here today is to discuss what we are to do about Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect and the Hall of Impartiality, but you’re talking about something far in the future.”
“Sect Leader Situ, these demands aren’t unreasonable! We are thinking about the future of our sects!” one of them argued.
Situ An scoffed. He glanced at Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an before turning back to the two men. “The future of your sects? Have you ever thought about the common people? Before coming here, Sect Leader Fan made it very clear what this meeting was about. If you two don’t understand, then you should just leave.”
“This—the man himself hasn’t spoken! Who are you to kick us out?”
The two sect leaders turned to Wu Lingtian expectantly. Against their expectations, they were faced with a cold expression.
“Leave.”
The next minute or so was filled with slamming, grumblings, and protests. Wu Lingtian rolled his eyes as Zhou Ying’an quietly drank her tea. Soon, the private room fell quiet again.
“Sect Leader Situ—”
“Lingtian.”
Wu Lingtian froze.
“….and Ying’an,” Situ An’s frown deepened. “Why are you two here instead of the Pillars from Screeching Sparrow Sect? Did something happen?”
Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an glanced at each other.
A disbelieving chuckle left Situ An’s lips. “Hey, I watched you two grow up. Do you think I don’t know your personalities? Besides, if you wanted to act like Sect Leader Fan, at least try a little harder. He’s known for being a smiling Buddha with a knife hidden behind his back—Lingtian, you haven’t smiled once since you took your hat off. And Ying’an—I suppose you won’t know that Third Pillar’s personality well, but your movements are far too dainty. He may be rumored to be a prince, but he’s still a rough man! How could you move like that and expect anyone to be fooled?”
“Those two that just left were fooled,” Zhou Ying’an said, her appearance shifting as her voice became a higher pitch again.
Wu Lingtian took his disguise off as well. He looked at Situ An helplessly. “It can’t be that easy to figure out.”
“I admit, your shizun taught you two very well. It’s just you two didn’t bother fixing your little habits,” Situ An chided. He nudged the plate of bitter melon. “You didn’t even attempt to eat these!”
“No one likes bitter melon,” Zhou Ying’an protested.
“Mm? Oh? No one, huh? I suppose your auntie is a nobody, huh?”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Zhou Ying’an murmured weakly.
“Uncle,” Wu Lingtian interrupted.
Situ An frowned. “What?”
“…You’ll join us?” Wu Lingtian asked.
Situ An sighed. His brows were furrowed tightly. “I didn’t think it would become like this. I thought it would be solved by the Hall of Impartiality somehow, but when I received news that it had been burned down—and even more absurdly, that you and the Hall of Impartiality were sided together to ‘wrongly punish Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect’—I knew that I couldn’t just sit around. Besides…”
“Besides?” Wu Lingtian tilted his head slightly.
“…I kicked that brat out. Now that the situation has escalated to this point, I have to make him come home,” Situ An said. After a moment he looked between the two martial siblings. “How is he?”
“He…” Wu Lingtian’s voice drifted off. He turned to Zhou Ying’an.
Zhou Ying’an smiled wryly. Wu Lingtian had been busy handling his own issues. Where would he have the time to worry about someone else?
“He’s fine. The usual. I wouldn’t say he’s too effected by everything. He’s useful, still,” Zhou Ying’an said. “But he does miss A-Min.”
Situ An scoffed. “Of course, he does! That boy was attached to his older brother like a little tail. Even he’s been depressed recently because that brat isn’t around.”
“And I think he misses you too, Uncle,” Zhou Ying’an said.
Situ An stilled. He looked at her skeptically. “You don’t have to coax me. I know you’re a good kid, but even if he speaks poorly of me, I will still try to bring him back.”
Zhou Ying’an shook her head. “He misses you. It was snowing pretty heavily where we were, and he mumbled something about wondering if you were dressed warmly enough. Another time he was wondering if your old injuries were aching again.”
Wu Lingtian glanced at Situ An. The man had allowed himself to age a bit more naturally, after having children. Although he wasn’t in his fifties or sixties, he lingered around his late thirties and early forties. But in the past, he never had gray hair. Now, looking at him again, Wu Lingtian noticed a few light streaks.
“Actually, he really cares about Purple Bamboo Sect,” Wu Lingtian said. With a sheepish smile, he added, “When we were younger, he had great pride in it. The only reason he ever did things that might embarrass the sect was because of me and Xiao-xiong. And family is the thing that’s most important to him.”
Zhou Ying’an nodded. “It’s always been that way. Even when we were working in Frost Cliff Pavilion, if A-Min wasn’t by his side, he’d be uncomfortable for days.”
“…You’re all acting like I’m not aware,” Situ An grumbled. He sighed. “I admit, I was too harsh on him before. When I thought of the possibility that he might have died, I…I just hoped that I could confirm he was okay if I joined those two old rats here today. As for everything else…well, I can’t just sit back and do nothing when the world has come to this point.”
The treaty Fan Yi had given them was passed over to Situ An. The conditions were read over. They were all reasonable, only saying that whoever agreed to join their alliance would have to fight by their side. Things like separation of territories were not brought up and Situ An didn’t question it.
Most neutral sects were only neutral because they didn’t have the power to fight in the cultivation world’s power struggles. Purple Bamboo School had always been different from that.
Once everything was settled, Wu Lingtian and Zhou Ying’an prepared for their departure.
“The other two,” Situ An’s words trailed off.
“We don’t need more people on our side,” Wu Lingtian said.
Zhou Ying’an looked at Wu Lingtian in surprise. The two powerhouses—Fan Yi and Wu Lingtian—were both crippled by their own illnesses. Sure, there were more powerful cultivators on their side than in Xianping, but Xianping outnumbered them greatly. Not to mention the puppets.
Situ An looked amused, but he said nothing to point out the flaw in Wu Lingtian’s statement. “We will join you once your camp is set up.”
“We will be in contact,” Wu Lingtian said.
Zhou Ying’an silently followed Wu Lingtian out as their appearances turned back into disguises. Zhou Ying’an tugged at Wu Lingtian as they walked down the stairs. Wu Lingtian glanced back.
“Don’t need people on our side?” Zhou Ying’an whispered.
“We don’t. If there are puppets, then set them ablaze. If there are humans, just cut them down,” Wu Lingtian said simply. “I’ve thought about it, actually.”
“Thought about what?” Zhou Ying’an asked.
“That person has become more and more erratic recently,” Wu Lingtian said. He glanced at Zhou Ying’an. “She didn’t reveal many secrets to me, but I do know that her way of cultivation comes with a few backlashes. If my assumptions are correct, she’ll have to go into seclusion soon.”
“…Seclusion?”
“We’ll attack at that time. Of course, there’s the pesky cultivators who are willing to fight on their side, but that won’t matter. Those in Jianshi are used to seeing wars. We also have the help of Lord Wuma,” Wu Lingtian said, more to himself than Zhou Ying’an. “We need to establish a group of people and head straight for that woman. If we disturb her during her seclusion, she’ll suffer from heart demons, Qi Deviate, and then weaken greatly.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Zhou Ying’an said. “This is all riding on your assumption that she’ll head into seclusion. If she won’t?”
Wu Lingtian pulled on the reins of his horse. He looked at Zhou Ying’an with a cold expression. “Then this war is going to be a long and bloody one.”
Zhou Ying’an blankly followed Wu Lingtian until the sun began to lower. She paused and looked up. Her brows furrowed and she reached out to Wu Lingtian again. “Wait, this isn’t the way back to Jianshi.”
“I know,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Where are we—”
“You can head back first. Tell Sect Leader and them what happened,” Wu Lingtian said. He slipped off the horse.
They had been riding for a few hours now, taking them deep into the forests and further away from Xianping’s civilizations.
“I need to take a trip to Fengya,” Wu Lingtian said.
Zhou Ying’an’s brows furrowed. “I’ll go with you.”
Wu Lingtian raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure,” Zhou Ying’an said. “Those other two Pillars of yours told me to keep an eye on you. I…I don’t know your condition, but you shouldn’t go off by yourself, right?”
Wu Lingtian paused. He turned away. “It isn’t that bad.”
“It isn’t that bad, it isn’t that bad—that’s what you always say. And now, what’s this mess you’ve gotten into? Even if you don’t treat me like one, I’m still your shijie. Now that Da-shixiong isn’t around and…and your Sect Leader Fan isn’t around, it’s up to me to take care of you,” Zhou Ying’an said firmly.
“My Sect Leader Fan?” Wu Lingtian glanced over in amusement, a brow slightly raised.
“That—isn’t he? Every day, without restraint, you two are always flirting in front of everyone. It’s disgusting to death,” Zhou Ying’an grumbled. “Do you dare say you weren’t trying to stake your claim?”
“It’s still Shijie who knows me best,” Wu Lingtian said. He looked at the horses hesitantly.
“I’ll use a guiding talisman to take them back to the city. Someone will take them in,” Zhou Ying’an said. As she performed this task, she continued to grumble: “You’ve been like this since you were a child. Whenever there was something you liked and you didn’t want anyone to take away, you’d guard it carefully.”
Wu Lingtian crossed his arms over his chest with an amused smirk. “I don’t remember any of that.”
“Of course, you don’t. I bet you don’t remember how you’d glare at the other kids whenever they tried to get Da-shixiong’s attention either,” Zhou Ying’an said. She lightly patted the horses’ butts to get them going before turning back to Wu Lingtian. “That look you have is just like back then—except a hundred times worse.”
“A hundred times?” Wu Lingtian’s smile grew. “That can’t be. Shijie, you’re exaggerating!”
Zhou Ying’an glanced at Wu Lingtian’s cheeky smile and rolled her eyes. “And to think people think you aren’t the jealous type.”
“I’m not jealous. I know he wouldn’t look at anyone else,” Wu Lingtian said, shrugging as he returned to his original appearance. He unsheathed Yu Lan. “We’re meant for each other.”
Zhou Ying’an’s pretty face scrunched horribly. “Alright, I get it. I’ve had enough!”
Hahaha he’s shameless! If the neutral sects we’re at that meeting, it means they asked for an alliance, right? They should have been more cooperative, unless they had an agenda and thought they saw an opening.