Chapter 114
This was also the first time Yu Sui had heard someone say such words to her. After being stunned for a moment, she smiled and walked forward: "Senior Brother, you're making big promises upfront. Be careful you don't regret it later."
Mei Liangyu walked with her toward the Ghost Way School, saying lazily: "If I regret it, you'll be the one who's heartbroken."
Yu Sui said: "I won't be."
Mei Liangyu said: "Junior Sister, don't be afraid. You might be heartbroken for a day or two, but I'll probably be dead directly."
Yu Sui couldn't help but laugh with a "pfft" sound, looking up at him. Mei Liangyu gazed straight ahead without deviation. His originally elegant and cool face now carried a hint of mischievous cunning.
The two passed through the Ghost Way School and walked toward the Saint Hall at the back. The surrounding buildings gradually decreased, replaced by forest paths.
Yu Sui walked while listening to Mei Liangyu speak, her gaze lifting to look at the forest grassland beside them. Small flowers poked their heads out from the grassy roadside: purple ones, white ones, pink ones, in clusters and individual blooms.
They had reached the grassy area without paths. Mei Liangyu usually traveled using wind-riding techniques and rarely walked so leisurely like this.
When Yu Sui first arrived, she had run urgently due to time constraints, rushing past without carefully observing the roadside scenery.
Tonight there was finally time.
Both walked unhurriedly. Yu Sui received a message from Wei Ren saying the building-climbing matter was no problem, he had already tested it with Xue Mushi.
Yu Sui: "......"
"By the way, Senior Brother, who were those two people who almost fought with you earlier?" Yu Sui put away her Wind-Listening Ruler and looked up to ask Mei Liangyu.
"Zhang Xiangyun from the Technical Arts School, and Luo Fu from the Taoist School." Mei Liangyu frowned slightly: "If possible, it's best not to have any dealings with those two."
Yu Sui asked: "Do you have a grudge with them?"
"Too many to remember clearly." Mei Liangyu snorted lightly.
Yu Sui said thoughtfully: "I seem to have heard them mention my elder brother's name. Senior Brother, you know my elder brother, right?"
"I know him, but we're not close." Mei Liangyu recalled: "Han Bing keeps a very low profile at Taiyi. Unlike Sheng Hao, he doesn't cause trouble or show off. I hear he's a loner and doesn't like making friends with others."
While saying this, several memories flashed through Mei Liangyu's mind as he pondered.
Though Han Bing supposedly had no friends at Taiyi, he had very occasionally seen Han Bing together with Zhang Xiangyun's group once or twice.
The fact that Han Bing had no presence was indeed true.
His presence was so low that if Yu Sui didn't actively bring him up, Mei Liangyu wouldn't even remember Han Bing was also from the Qingyang Nangong family.
"My elder brother is indeed that kind of person." Yu Sui said softly.
The two arrived at the Ghost Way Saint Hall. The main hall's door was open, and Yu Sui saw the portrait fluttering in a corner lifted by the night wind. She indeed had some questions she wanted to ask Master.
Yu Sui chatted with Saint Chang Gen about matters in the main hall while Mei Liangyu sat on the threshold with his back to them, playing with his Wind-Listening Ruler.
He received many messages and browsed through them quickly. One caught his attention:
"The Saint who went to Dan Kingdom to execute a World Destroyer has returned."
Mei Liangyu's eyes moved slightly as he read this. His peripheral vision glanced backward, then he put away his Wind-Listening Ruler and stood up: "I have something to do. I'm leaving first."
Yu Sui, who was still talking with Saint Chang Gen, turned back to look but only saw Mei Liangyu's figure departing using wind-riding techniques, seeming somewhat urgent.
She blinked and turned back to look at the portrait: "Master, you mentioned before that my realm cannot improve, but I can refine Five Elements energy to determine the strength of my power."
"According to this explanation, what realm would my current power match?"
Saint Chang Gen answered: "When you can achieve Soul Control Third Layer, you've reached the Fifth Realm."
"The Ghost Way School's Nine Schools Arts cultivation direction focuses on the self, dividing people into three souls and six spirits, then targeting each for cultivation." Saint Chang Gen told her: "With your current realm, you've mastered the three souls and can continue cultivating the six spirits."
Yu Sui nodded obediently, taking notes on the key points Master mentioned.
She had a moment of hesitation in her heart about whether to ask about learning Nine Schools Arts using "masterless energy," but on second thought: Master already knew she had the Divine Mechanism Heavenly Eye. If the Strange Fire were exposed in the future and she truly had to oppose Master, it would be better to keep some trump cards for herself.
......
After Yu Sui left the Ghost Way Saint Hall, she checked the monitored messages from Senior Brother's Wind-Listening Ruler, which contained the keyword "World Destroyer," informing him that the Taiyi Saint who had gone out to execute a World Destroyer had returned.
Did Senior Brother leave because of this?
Yu Sui checked the sender's Wind-Listening Ruler inscription, but it showed it had already been destroyed.
Some people, when sending messages, would use disposable Wind-Listening Rulers to prevent investigation by the Communication Courtyard afterward, destroying them after sending the message.
Yu Sui also checked this person's communication history with Mei Liangyu and found only this one message.
Yu Sui had known about the returning Saint during the day, but the useful information for her wasn't when these Saints returned, but what these Saints had done in Dan Kingdom.
Many people could know about the Saint's return, but very few would send it to Mei Liangyu in this manner.
Yu Sui originally wanted to check Mei Liangyu's previously received messages, but then remembered the moment tonight when he said he liked her. Her fingertip lightly touched the cool ruler surface, her eyes moved slightly, then she swiped away the cipher interface and opened Zhongli Que's message interface to reply to her earlier messages.
If Senior Brother truly liked her, he would come tell her himself.
Yu Sui rarely had the patience to wait.
Zhongli Que had recently been frequently mentioning the Golden Armor Army captain named Gu Jun. Whether it was because Gu Jun appeared too frequently or because Zhongli Que had developed feelings, she wasn't sure.
She said that due to the strict investigation of orchid poison in Qingyang's imperial capital, Gu Jun, as a member of the Golden Armor Army, patrolled various parts of the capital daily and happened to be responsible for the area where General Zhongli's mansion was located. When Zhongli Que occasionally went out late at night, she would always encounter him setting up night patrol checkpoints on the official roads.
Besides these, there were unexpected encounters.
For example, her snow flying squirrel got playful one night and chased some small insects outside the general's mansion. When Zhongli Que wanted to play with it before sleep, she discovered the snow flying squirrel was missing. After searching the entire mansion and hearing someone say it seemed to have run outside, she went out to look for it.
Not far from leaving the mansion, she saw Gu Jun with a white furry ball on his shoulder. He said the snow flying squirrel was being chased by the Crown Prince's gray hawk and fled all the way until it happened to encounter him.
The Crown Prince liked raising fierce eagles and hawks and often brought them into the city to hunt for food.
Zhongli Que thanked Gu Jun and said the snow flying squirrel seemed to like him more and would be safer with him, so why not let him raise it.
Before Gu Jun could say anything, the snow flying squirrel flew toward her on its own, affectionately rubbing against her face and burrowing into her sleeve.
Zhongli Que immediately softened toward the little creature.
Seeing her soften, Gu Jun declined the proposal and escorted Zhongli Que back to the general's mansion.
Through these interactions, the two had inexplicably become familiar with each other.
Yu Sui directly asked Zhongli Que: "Do you like Captain Gu?"
After reading this, Zhongli Que was so startled she sat up from her bed. She sat properly by the bedside, holding her Wind-Listening Ruler with both hands, staring wide-eyed at Yu Sui's message before tapping the fill-character grid to reply: "He is indeed handsome and captivating."
Yu Sui couldn't help but laugh at this.
Zhongli Que frowned her delicate brows on the other end, racking her brains on how to express her thoughts to Yu Sui.
She said Gu Jun was handsome and captivating, but she had seen many good-looking men. Moreover, she didn't know what constituted "liking" someone; she was just encountering someone like Gu Jun for the first time.
Different status, different circumstances, different approaches.
Everything brought her an inexplicable sense of novelty.
At 18 years old, it was precisely the age when one was full of curiosity and desire to explore the outside world.
Zhongli Que wasn't like Yu Sui. Due to her status and environment, her personality had a cautious side, but also retained innocence and simplicity that hadn't been worn away.
As she grew older, Zhongli Que became increasingly vivacious and radiant. As a child, she was confused and even misunderstood her family, but as an adult, she realized she was being cherished by everyone in different ways. Because she knew this, she treasured it greatly.
Zhongli Que thought anxiously and asked Yu Sui: "Sui Sui, what counts as liking someone?"
Yu Sui: "I don't know either. You can ask Second Brother. He understands more than we do and definitely knows."
Zhongli Que unconsciously nodded: "Second Brother Su is definitely still training troops now. I'll ask him tomorrow after he's rested."
Yu Sui: "......"
She replied calmly: "Don't tell Second Brother that I told you to ask, or it will make me look stupid for not even knowing this."
Zhongli Que fell back onto her bed, declaring earnestly: "I definitely won't tell."
"Oh right, I had someone bring you a small gift." Yu Sui said: "This way you can hear Taiyi's lectures too."
Zhongli Que asked curiously: "What is it?"
Yu Sui: "You'll know in a few days."
Zhongli Que sat up again: "Sui Sui, if you don't tell me now, I'll be too curious to sleep tonight."
Yu Sui was iron-hearted and simply wouldn't tell her.
......
School of Names, Wutong Tower. The residence of School of Names instructor Mu Yong'an.
School of Names Instructor Mu was recuperating from injuries. Although Wutong Tower was within Taiyi's School of Names area, it was extremely remote and quiet, suitable for peaceful recovery without disturbance.
Only after passing through a grove of Chinese parasol trees could one see the small building halfway up the mountain, hidden among green bamboo groves with several lights burning.
Yan Xiaochuan yawned as he entered through the small building's main door, then raised his hand to pinch his brow, his face full of exhaustion, a weariness that came from within, making him collapse onto a long chair in the courtyard after taking only a few steps inside.
He stared up at the night sky above the courtyard with lifeless eyes. The small building wasn't very spacious, and this courtyard wasn't very large either, but it was enough for him to glimpse a corner of the vast world.
Someone had once told him that if you stood far enough away to look at the sky, you'd find it was nothing special after all.
"What you should care about is the distance from the sky, not its vastness and enormity."
Yan Xiaochuan extended one hand, using his thumb and index finger to frame the sky within their arc while closing his left eye and looking with his right. His mind was still recalling the woman's voice when he suddenly sensed someone approaching and alertly turned to sit up.
Mei Liangyu's figure emerged from the shadows by the door, walking to the courtyard's edge and glancing at Yan Xiaochuan sitting on the long chair.
"Senior Brother Liangyu?" Yan Xiaochuan wiped his face with his hand, somewhat surprised. Shaking off his weary state, he became lively again and stood up: "How did you come here?"
"Looking for your master." Mei Liangyu continued walking without stopping.
Yan Xiaochuan followed behind Mei Liangyu: "Master? He's already asleep."
Mei Liangyu went upstairs to the second floor, replying as he walked: "He's awake."
Yan Xiaochuan was shocked: "How do I not know this?"
Mei Liangyu answered without turning back: "How would I know?"
Yan Xiaochuan flashed ahead of him, knocking on the door first and calling: "Master, are you awake? Senior Brother Liangyu is here to see you."
A man's deep voice came from inside the room: "Come in."
"Oh." Yan Xiaochuan turned his head, looking at Mei Liangyu with eager eyes: "He really is awake."
Mei Liangyu raised his head slightly with an inscrutable expression, his gaze settling on him before tilting his head slightly to the side, indicating to Yan Xiaochuan: I'll go in, you go downstairs.
Yan Xiaochuan looked back every three steps, watching Mei Liangyu enter the room and close the door, then went back downstairs to lie on the long chair again.