Chapter 43
Yu Sui was still wondering how Gu Qian planned to help Wei Kun eliminate Mei Liangyu. In her view, regardless of Mei Liangyu's actual strength, the ability to summon Saint Chang Gen was a safeguard that would be very difficult to breach.
She fell into deep thought, her gaze slightly stunned, not expecting Mei Liangyu to look her way.
When Mei Liangyu saw Yu Sui, he noticed she was alone most of the time.
Going to the Outer City alone, going to Ghost Way Saint Hall to cultivate alone, going to the dining hall alone, returning to the dormitory alone, coming to attempt military formations alone.
At this moment too, she sat quietly alone on the stone steps, completely out of place with the lively dispersing crowd around her.
His friends walked ahead while Mei Liangyu lingered behind, standing in place without moving, slowly taking out his Wind-Listening Ruler.
After a moment, Yu Sui's Wind-Listening Ruler buzzed. She looked down to see:
Mei Liangyu asked: "Saint Hall or dinner?"
Yu Sui rubbed her eyes and replied: "Saint Hall for dinner."
Mei Liangyu's fingertip quickly tapped the message squares: "Let's go."
He stood in place waiting for Yu Sui. Only after Yu Sui ran to his side did they leave together.
……
After nightfall, Ghost Way Saint Hall was lit with circles of lights. The hall was tranquil, and if Saint Chang Gen's two disciples didn't come, it would be so quiet that not even an insect's chirp would be heard.
Mei Liangyu often stayed at Ghost Way Saint Hall. This place used to be his world alone, but since Yu Sui arrived, this Junior Sister also loved the Saint Hall very much, running there every day and staying almost every evening without going out.
Regarding this, Mei Liangyu told himself: if you can't stop it, accept it.
He returned from the dining hall carrying a food box and saw Yu Sui standing under a tree getting pelted with apricots by Master, only then realizing Yu Sui had already practiced to Second Level Soul Control.
Mei Liangyu sat down leaning against the stone steps and opened the food box. The aroma of food drifted out, and that person in the distance had a dog's nose, running over while clutching the green apricot in her hand after smelling the fragrance.
"Senior Brother!" Yu Sui called to him.
Mei Liangyu tapped the bowl edge with his chopsticks, signaling her to help herself.
Yu Sui also sat down leaning against the stone steps, with the food box placed between them. She was indeed somewhat hungry, but holding her bowl, her eating posture was patient and elegant, not showing any sign of great hunger, only revealing the proper manners and etiquette she'd been trained in since childhood.
Mei Liangyu was chatting with Saint Chang Gen about this military formation attempt when Yu Sui kept her head down eating without speaking. Suddenly the Senior Brother beside her turned the topic to her: "You attempting military formations alone, are you practicing death symbols and soul control inside?"
"Mm mm!" Yu Sui nodded.
Mei Liangyu looked at Yu Sui thoughtfully, but his words were for Saint Chang Gen: "The way my Junior Sister desperately cultivates looks like someone will want her dead if she doesn't learn."
Saint Chang Gen: "It's not me."
"Then could it be me?" Mei Liangyu was amused by Master's reply.
Yu Sui still had food in her mouth, cheeks puffed out, and only after swallowing said: "Senior Brother is really very smart."
Mei Liangyu raised his eyebrows at the sudden praise.
Yu Sui said seriously: "Really, I will die if I don't learn. Senior Brother, you also know about my Agricultural School Breath Soil situation. They all want the Breath Soil, and I've been hunted by Agricultural School people since childhood, plus there are Nine Schools Arts practitioners from other schools who want to seize treasure."
"Before, I was an Ordinary Practitioner who couldn't use Nine Schools Arts. Compared to them, I had no ability to protect myself and could only rely on others to save me."
"But others can't save me for life. If I can cultivate but still can't learn powerful Nine Schools Arts, wouldn't I really die?"
Mei Liangyu's slightly raised eyebrows silently observed Yu Sui. He hadn't expected her to give such an answer, but thinking carefully, Yu Sui was indeed in such a dangerous environment.
If she remained an Ordinary Practitioner for life, she could only be slaughtered at will, living the rest of her life dependent on the strong for survival.
In the future Xuangu Continent, the Six Kingdoms' situation would only become more and more chaotic.
Even if not for seizing Breath Soil, as heir to the Nangong family, there would be plenty of people who hated Nangong Ming and bore grudges against the Nangong family, and only more and more people would want to kill Nangong Ming and his children.
Yu Sui as an Ordinary Practitioner was clearly the Nangong family's most obvious and easily attackable weakness no matter how you looked at it.
Mei Liangyu looked at Yu Sui for a while. His previous opinion of this Junior Sister was that he had no opinion. Even though she had rescued Gu Qian right after arriving, since Yu Sui was the disciple Master had chosen, Mei Liangyu wouldn't do anything to her.
This Junior Sister wasn't annoying, which was Mei Liangyu's latest assessment of Yu Sui, so he also accepted that Ghost Way Saint Hall, which used to have only him alone, had suddenly become a place another person frequented.
As for how Yu Sui lived as heir to the Nangong family in Qingyang before, how she would live after coming to Taiyi, what stories she carried, what difficulties she faced, Mei Liangyu never cared. These belonged to others' private affairs, and he wasn't very interested.
Only tonight, hearing Yu Sui so directly express her pursuit of and urgency for Nine Schools Arts, did Mei Liangyu follow her train of thought and spend some time thinking about Yu Sui's situation.
These words weren't meant for Mei Liangyu, but for her Master, Saint Chang Gen.
She wanted Saint Chang Gen to understand her situation and difficulties, then teach her more and more powerful Nine Schools Arts.
"First eat your fill, then heal the wounds on your face." Mei Liangyu's gaze fell on Yu Sui's cheek, his sight sweeping over those deep and shallow scars one by one. "At least at Taiyi, absolutely no one can kill you."
……
Yu Sui returned to the dormitory, still thinking about Gu Qian and Wei Kun joining forces.
Gu Qian wanted Wei Kun to lure Mei Liangyu to the Outer City on the 15th.
This would be easy to arrange. Mei Liangyu was already watching Wei Kun, wanting to kill him in the Outer City. If Wei Kun went to the Outer City himself, Mei Liangyu would undoubtedly follow.
But why specifically the 15th?
There were still three days until the 15th.
What plan could Gu Qian think of?
The Wind-Listening Ruler conversation didn't reveal much. These two should have met privately to discuss further. Yu Sui hadn't met with Gu Qian these past days and hadn't placed monitoring light cores with him.
She just hadn't expected Gu Qian to be so efficient.
Just a few days ago he said the Zhongli Shan matter was left to him, and he'd immediately contacted Wei Kun, preparing to cooperate and target each other.
Yu Sui flopped onto her bed, rolled around once, rolling into the corner against the wall, burying her head in the soft bedding. Only after nearly suffocating did she lift her small face, her fair nose tip pressed red.
She rolled her eyes, planning to follow Gu Qian and see what extent he could achieve in targeting Mei Liangyu.
It would also be perfect to see what strength the current Gu Qian possessed.
Having practiced Ghost Way Second Level Soul Control, the Five Elements Light Cores separated by the second soul could be controlled by mental intention to move.
Before, Yu Sui could only control them to self-destruct, unable to control their movement.
Moreover, after these days of formation attempts and refinement, her light cores seemed more powerful than before, with increased contained power and stronger destructive force when shattered.
Yu Sui spread her palm, separating a Five Elements Light Core in her palm. Her fingertip lightly touched it, making the light core transparent and barely visible to the naked eye, hidden within clothing and hair, very difficult to detect.
Clearly spherical in shape, yet under her gentle breath it became as light as dandelion seeds.
Early the next morning, Yu Sui contacted Blackbeard, saying she wanted to go shopping in the Outer City on the evening of the 15th for new jewelry and clothing, asking him to have shopkeepers reserve their goods.
Blackbeard complied.
Yu Sui then went to Ghost Way Saint Hall as usual, continuing to spar with Master while trying to reach Third Level Soul Control. In the afternoon she took elective courses at Medical School and School of Names, running back and forth between these two schools to attend classes.
She was actually quite busy too. When encountering Mei Liangyu on the road, she would greet him first, then hurriedly run off.
Mei Liangyu seemed completely unaware of what was about to happen, also busy with his own cultivation, only recently often together with Zhongli Shan. Yu Sui didn't inquire whether he had told Zhongli Shan about the Nangong family targeting him.
After listening to Medical School and School of Names classes for several days, Yu Sui gained deeper understanding of these two schools' foundations. At Medical School she also learned to recognize many medicinal herbs. Fortunately the academy didn't limit the number of electives, so she could slowly learn the basics of every school.
On the morning of the 15th, Yu Sui waited outside Gu Qian's dormitory door. She raised her hand and knocked, waiting for someone to come out.
But it wasn't Gu Qian who opened the door.
The one who opened the door was a white-robed young man still drowsy with sleep. He seemed very tired and somewhat confused, his curled long black eyelashes trembling lightly as his hazy eyes examined Yu Sui standing at the door.
The young man's appearance was extremely delicate, like a white porcelain doll's face and complexion. His overly beautiful features made him appear somewhat feminine, though his eyes and brows were innocent.
Yu Sui was slightly surprised. She did know who the person before her was: Gu Qian's roommate, Wen Yanghui, young master of the Wenyang family, one of the three great mechanism families.
"Looking for whom?" Wen Yanghui rubbed his eyes and asked her drowsily, his voice gentle.
Before Yu Sui could answer, a loud crash came from inside, and a graceful figure burst out of Gu Qian's room angrily: "Gu Qian! Why don't you wear clothes when you sleep! What did you do last night!"
"Ask yourself. What did you mean barging in and pulling off my blanket? I don't wear clothes to sleep but I was still covered by blankets." Gu Qian replied from inside the room unhurriedly.
Xiang Feifei angrily kicked the door: "Hurry up and get dressed!"
Yu Sui withdrew her gaze. Wen Yanghui beside her showed no other reaction, seeming accustomed to such situations. She said to Wen Yanghui: "I'm looking for Brother Gu."
Wen Yanghui made two "oh" sounds and turned back to shout: "Gu Qian! Someone's looking for you!"
Xiang Feifei turned back and paused seeing Yu Sui standing at the door.
Yu Sui looked obedient, standing there quietly without fuss, her moist eyes carrying a gentle shallow smile, tender skin bearing faint thin scars, appearing pitifully touching.
Xiang Feifei remembered Yu Sui.
Years ago when she had infiltrated Qingyang's imperial capital's communication array, she was discovered and pursued, but happened to be rescued by Gu Qian and hidden in his home to recover. During that time, Yu Sui often came over.
This Qingyang Princess Nangong had a close relationship with Gu Qian, which Xiang Feifei had known then. When these two interacted, they were like siblings, yet not siblings.
In Xiang Feifei's eyes, Gu Qian and Yu Sui's relationship was ambiguous, with no possibility of stopping at the childhood sweethearts sibling stage.
Men were all the same, loving to say one thing while meaning another.
Back when she said she would capture Yu Sui to threaten Gu Qian, the young man who had been indifferent to her the previous second immediately turned hostile, claiming she was his childhood sweetheart little sister, yet he could darken his face just seeing her walking and chatting happily with another young man on the street.
Xiang Feifei rolled her eyes, her smile turning wicked as she lightly kicked the door again: "You better hurry up, Princess Nangong is still waiting at the door."
Gu Qian came out fully dressed, glaring at Xiang Feifei before looking toward Yu Sui at the door, his expression gentle: "Sui Sui."
"Brother Gu, I'm going shopping in the Outer City today. Do you want to come with me?" Yu Sui invited.
"Sure," Gu Qian agreed immediately. "I'll accompany you."
Yu Sui smiled with curved eyes: "Great, then we'll go to the Outer City together tonight."
"Tonight?" Gu Qian hesitated. "Sui Sui, not during the day?"
"I have to attend Medical School classes during the day, only have time in the evening." Yu Sui looked as if she knew he was in a difficult position, gazing at him expectantly: "Can't Brother Gu go in the evening?"
Xiang Feifei beside them gave Gu Qian meaningful looks, signaling him not to forget important matters by being bewitched by beauty.
Gu Qian's eyes showed helplessness: "Sui Sui, I'm sorry, tonight won't work. I have something I must do."
Before Yu Sui could speak, Gu Qian raised his hand in a swearing gesture: "I promise next time I'll definitely have time to accompany you."
"Alright." Yu Sui lowered her head slightly, looking somewhat disappointed. She nodded helplessly: "Then Brother Gu should go handle important matters first. I just haven't seen you these past days and wanted to play together, spend more time with you."
Gu Qian felt his heart soften, but tonight's matter truly couldn't be delayed. He could only coax Yu Sui first, promising that next time he would absolutely make time to accompany her.
Only after Yu Sui was coaxed away did Gu Qian breathe a sigh of relief.
Standing inside the room with arms crossed and leaning against the wall, Xiang Feifei snorted lightly.
Gu Qian looked over with a headache: "What's wrong with you now?"
"She still has the mood to find you to play?" Xiang Feifei said incomprehensibly. "You're almost dead from busyness, and she's no longer an Ordinary Practitioner but still doesn't focus on cultivation. She comes to find you to play and gets unhappy when there's no time."
"Sui Sui is timid, and it's her first time leaving the imperial capital for such a long journey, coming to unfamiliar Taiyi. I really haven't spent much time with her recently." Gu Qian rubbed his brows.
Ji Meng came out yawning: "We're not at Taiyi to play. The Princess can't expect you to accompany her every day, right? She's grown up too."
Huo Xiao, standing with Xiang Feifei, said nothing, only glancing at Gu Qian. Gu Qian frowned and asked: "What?"
"As long as it doesn't interfere, that's fine," Huo Xiao said unhurriedly. "This is the first time I've seen you spend time coaxing someone."
Gu Qian said dissatisfiedly: "What kind of talk is that? Let's discuss serious matters. Xiao Hui?"
He knocked on Wen Yanghui's door, opening it to see the other person sprawled on the bed yawning.
"How are arrangements on Saint Chang Gen's side?" Gu Qian asked.
Wen Yanghui lay on the bed and raised his hand: "Tonight when the three families test mechanism arts with trial mechanism arrays, they'll call Saint Chang Gen over. Inside the trial mechanism array he cannot be summoned, but you only have a quarter-hour. Handle it yourselves."
A quarter-hour. Gu Qian nodded. That would be enough time.
Yu Sui stood in the Dragon Stairs, watching this scene through her Five Elements Light Core, raising her eyebrows slightly in surprise.
So they were using the three families' mechanism arts to trap Master.
Three families' mechanism array trials, calling Saint Chang Gen to test newly created mechanism arrays, thereby limiting summoning during that time, was indeed useful.
Huo Xiao said calmly: "Keeping Mei Liangyu alive is also a variable for next month's trip to Inverted Hanging Moon Cave to retrieve the Pagoda. If possible, it's best to completely resolve this variable tonight."
"What about Wei Kun's side?" Xiang Feifei frowned at Gu Qian. "He's no good thing either."
"Don't worry," Gu Qian smiled lightly. "Tonight we'll let them fight each other like dogs, leaving neither."
Yu Sui leaned against the Dragon Stairs wall as it descended, listening to Gu Qian and others' plotting. Just as she was thinking their appetite was quite large, the Dragon Stairs stopped and opened.
Outside stood Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan, both looking into the Dragon Stairs simultaneously.
Yu Sui couldn't help straightening up and softly called: "Senior Brother."
Mei Liangyu responded lazily and entered the Dragon Stairs with Nian Qiuyan one after the other. He asked casually: "Going to Medical School?"
He did know Yu Sui had been running between Medical School and School of Names lately.
"Mm!" Yu Sui stood outside the Dragon Stairs and smiled at him with curved eyes. "Goodbye, Senior Brother."
The Dragon Stairs door closed.
Yu Sui didn't leave. She quietly moved the Five Elements Light Core left in the Dragon Stairs, avoiding the two people's line of sight inside, letting the light core silently slip into Mei Liangyu's black hair.
She waited, confirming Mei Liangyu hadn't noticed before turning to leave.
Inside the Dragon Stairs, just as Mei Liangyu took out his Wind-Listening Ruler, Nian Qiuyan asked gently: "Should I cast a divination for you today?"
Mei Liangyu replied lazily: "What, could today be the day I die? You don't need divination to know such things."
Nian Qiuyan smiled: "True."
Despite saying this, his hand took the three wooden lots hanging at his waist.
Mei Liangyu's gaze looked over.
Nian Qiuyan said: "Since you're so confident, let me cast a divination for your Junior Sister instead."
Technical Arts School disciples could cast hundreds of divinations per day during cultivation.
But Nian Qiuyan was different. He cast exactly three divinations per day, no more, no less.
Mei Liangyu's current gaze at Nian Qiuyan seemed to write the three characters "you're sick."
He said: "Nangong Sui didn't ask you for divination. What are you casting for?"
Nian Qiuyan's expression remained gentle, his palm holding three black wooden lots of different lengths, smiling slightly: "I remember she has a close relationship with Gu Qian. Since the Nangong and Zhongli families are at odds, perhaps we can divine something else from her side."
Yu Sui, walking on the peach blossom forest path, stopped and narrowed her eyes slightly.
It seemed they already knew about Gu Qian and Wei Kun joining forces tonight?
Mei Liangyu still looked lazy: "What relation could her affairs with Gu Qian have? Gu Qian and Sheng Hao compete to do any killing or arson for her, spoiling her with clean fingers, innocent face and kind heart, knowing nothing when questioned."
Yu Sui: "..."
She hadn't known this was her image in Mei Liangyu's mind.
Yu Sui couldn't help looking down at her own hands. Her ten fingers were slender, white as jade scallions and snow, fingertips rounded, glowing softly in the sunlight. They were indeed clean and beautiful fingers.
"Indeed, Nangong Sui looks like someone without any flaws," Nian Qiuyan put away the wooden lots and turned to look at Mei Liangyu. "Since you Senior and Junior Sister have a good relationship, and you and Xiao Shan also have a good relationship, if these two families fight, who will you help?"
Mei Liangyu's expression was inscrutable: "What does their family fighting have to do with me?"
Nian Qiuyan reached up to stroke his chin: "Though it's hypothetical, it could very well become reality. Even if you hate this kind of choice, you'll encounter it someday."
Mei Liangyu curved his lips in a half-smile: "I don't need to choose. Whoever Master helps, I'll help. If Master doesn't help, then I don't need to make a choice either."
Nian Qiuyan sighed: "That's sophistry."
Mei Liangyu glanced at him coolly: "Why don't you choose yourself?"
Nian Qiuyan smiled mildly: "I don't need to choose either. Whoever you choose, I'll help you."