Missing Thoughts Literature

This night, full of danger and secrets, fortunately passed without anyone else discovering what had happened.

On her way back, Yu Sui used the scorching heat of the strange fire to evaporate the water on her body. There was no sign she had fallen into the water twice.

This place was close to the General's Mansion. Zhongli Que, panting, ran back through the rear gate. The maid who opened it for her was one of her mother's trusted attendants and helped cover for her the whole time.

When Yu Sui returned to Juxian Tower, Sheng Fei was searching everywhere for her. He had nearly turned the whole place upside down. Seeing her come back from outside with her head drooping, he held back his temper and asked where she had been.

"I wanted to eat those grilled meatballs." Yu Sui gestured with her hands, looking terribly aggrieved. "But Juxian Tower didn't have any, so I wanted to go out and buy some. I searched for ages but couldn't find any."

Sheng Fei was nearly angry enough to faint. The young men nearby all thought he was about to give the Young Princess a furious tongue-lashing. They were already ready to snatch Yu Sui away the moment he opened his mouth.

But Sheng Fei only glared fiercely at Yu Sui and muttered a couple of complaints before letting it go.

Yu Sui returned to the mansion safe and sound. Lying in bed, she replayed the night's events in her mind and stayed awake until dawn.

It seemed that many people knew the news that the agricultural treasure, Xirang, was inside her.

They had been lurking in the Imperial Capital, watching her from afar. If not for the mansion's hidden guards, they would have swarmed her long ago.

If obtaining Xirang required killing her, then Nangong Ming keeping her alive and preventing Lady Su from obtaining the complete Xirang could also be a way to keep Lady Su under control.

But would Lady Su remain passive forever?

She must be just as unwilling to accept this.

Yu Sui opened her eyes again and spread her palm, looking at the tiny flame burning there.

If she hadn't remembered that Zhongli Que was still in the water, if she hadn't gone to save Zhongli Que, she would definitely have walked toward the burning strange fire.

It truly was the most powerful force on this continent, powerful enough to sway another person's will.

Yu Sui remembered what the old man had said before he died. She couldn't help asking herself:

Could I do it?

Destroy the world?

Let the strange fire blaze and devour the entire continent, burn the gardenia she had planted with her own hands in the courtyard, burn several of her older brothers, Zhongli Que, and all the strange men and women in tonight's bustling streets. Burn everyone.

Could she do it?

The strange fire wouldn't be satisfied with her burning only the people and things she wanted to destroy.

It wanted to swallow and annihilate the entire Xuangu Continent.

Heaven and earth, all living things. Everything.

Yu Sui stared at the wavering flame in her palm until dawn.

When the first light crept into the room, she made up her mind. She would go to Taiyi Academy and find the Tianzi Text the old man had told her about—the one that could free her from the strange fire.

*

With a goal in mind, Yu Sui began paying attention to all news about Taiyi Academy.

The courses arranged by the National Academy also grew more and more difficult, and there were increasingly more classes in the Technique of Physical Strength.

Zhongli Que couldn't learn any of that, so she could only secretly study the Listening Wind Ruler at night. Yu Sui would tell her the key points and techniques.

Yu Sui also went to Gu Gan's study and sent Zhongli Que information about Divination and Prediction.

Over the next two years, Gu Gan spent a long time away from the Imperial Capital, often gone for several months at a stretch. Using "missing" Brother Gu as an excuse, Yu Sui went to his room to clear away clutter and trim the plants, "gazing at objects and remembering the person" in his study.

Nangong Ming was quite happy to see her grow close to Gu Gan. When Gu Gan caused trouble in the Imperial Capital and Nangong Ming couldn't step in himself, he always sent Yu Sui to deal with it.

Yu Sui was Gu Gan's backing in the Imperial Capital, letting him swagger wherever he went.

Whenever Gu Gan returned from an outing, he brought Yu Sui a gift. He brought her everything from gold and silver jewelry to amusing little trinkets, the Four Treasures of the Study, longbows, and swords.

Anything he thought Yu Sui might like, he brought back for her.

Gu Gan sometimes went places where messages couldn't be sent to Qingyang Imperial Capital through the Listening Wind Ruler. The two of them couldn't use it to keep up with each other, and Yu Sui had no idea what he was doing out there or when he would return.

That night, Yu Sui stayed late at Gu Gan's little courtyard, clearing away the flowering branches broken by the previous night's storm. After all, she had to see the act through.

The courtyard gate was abruptly flung open from the outside. A young man wearing nothing but a white undershirt hurried in, carrying an unconscious girl on his back. His green robe was draped over her.

Yu Sui, who was sweeping fallen blossoms off the ground, jumped in fright. "Brother Gu?"

"Suisui, good thing you're here." Gu Gan looked surprised to see her, then relaxed. He said urgently, "People from the Communication Institute will find their way here soon. Help me hold them off."

Yu Sui stood in place, blinking as she watched him carry the girl inside. Only after a little while did she answer, "Oh."

Quite a few people from the Communication Institute arrived, bringing the Imperial Capital Guards with them. Their black uniforms were solemn and imposing, carrying an air of intimidation. The adults were all a head taller than her. Standing at the courtyard gate, Yu Sui gently rubbed her arms, which had grown a little cold.

As it happened, they were familiar faces.

They were the patrol guards who had once taught Yu Sui the Character Filling Technique and Star Constellation Positioning at the National Academy. After several years, they had been promoted and no longer worked at the academy.

Now the dean of the Communication Five Elements Academy, Li Xiang, raised a hand to signal the others to stop. He bowed his head to Yu Sui, who stood in front of them. "County Princess."

The young woman at the courtyard gate spoke brightly. "Official Li, what a coincidence. What are you doing here so late?"

Li Xiang looked up at the small courtyard behind Yu Sui, his expression somewhat hesitant. "Someone broke a prisoner out of the Communication Institute. The prisoner once tried to infiltrate the Central Hub of Qingyang's Communication Institute and is suspected of being a spy from another state."

"Oh, I see." Yu Sui raised a hand to smooth back the hair the night breeze had ruffled at her temples, smiling with crinkled eyes. "I came to clear the clutter from the courtyard. The storm last night knocked all the flowering trees askew. It'll probably take me quite a while to clean up."

The people behind Li Xiang exchanged glances. They understood what Yu Sui meant, but some were still unwilling to give up and wanted to step forward. Li Xiang stopped them with a look.

"In that case, we won't disturb you, County Princess." Li Xiang didn't hesitate any longer. He turned and left.

He didn't want to get into a confrontation with the troublesome Nangong household.

Only after Li Xiang and the others had gone some distance did Yu Sui turn and push open the courtyard gate.

She had just reached the door when she heard a sharp slap from inside. The girl snapped furiously, "You lecher! You actually took my clothes off!"

Inside the room, Gu Gan rubbed his slapped cheek and sneered. "Your eyes can only see that I took your clothes off, but not that I forced the poison out of you?"

The girl snapped, "I never asked you to save me!"

"Fine. Then get up and leave. I don't want to get dragged into your mess either." Gu Gan turned and walked away.

Yu Sui took two steps back. Gu Gan came out of the door with anger still in his eyes, half his face stinging and a bright red handprint showing clearly.

The girl looked like she was about to die from her injuries, yet she had plenty of strength when it came to slapping people. He'd meant well, and she'd treated him like a donkey's liver and lungs. If he'd known, he should never have gotten tangled up with such a nuisance.

Gu Gan grumbled inwardly as he nearly ran into Yu Sui standing by the door. He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and quickly composed himself.

"Official Li and the others left," Yu Sui said. "Brother Gu, did you hide a prisoner the Communication Institute is hunting?"

Gu Gan lifted his eyes. "Don't bring that up. It's bad luck."

He had originally wanted Yu Sui to check on Xiang Feifei in the room and perhaps apply some medicine for her. But then he thought better of it. Yu Sui was a County Princess, raised in luxury. How would she know how to care for someone? So he swallowed the words.

"Come on. You haven't had dinner, have you? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you." Gu Gan led Yu Sui toward the small kitchen.

Yu Sui followed behind him, listing things as she walked. "Pepper Meatballs, Meat Burgers, Lean Meat Porridge..."

"Tomorrow. I'll make them for you tomorrow." Gu Gan pushed open the kitchen door. "Tonight, let's eat something light. I'll make you a bowl of noodles with two eggs."

Yu Sui stood at the doorway and drew out an "Oh."

"Then I'll go back to sweeping the courtyard," she said.

Gu Gan poked his head out through the window. "What are you sweeping for? Leave it. I'll do it later."

Yu Sui spun the broom around once. Suddenly, a Black Shadow sprang over the courtyard wall, flipped through the air, and landed with a stylish flourish—right in front of her.

"Gu Gan! You run off with someone and leave me alone to clean up after you? Is that how brothers treat each other?!" The furious young man vaulted over the wall and was about to confront Gu Gan. After charging two steps forward, he spotted Yu Sui and immediately started stammering. "S-sorry, I think I came to the wrong place. Is this the wall of the Nangong household?"

Yu Sui looked at him in surprise.

Ji Meng, the youngest son of Chief Ji of the Imperial Medical Institute. They had been among the same group of children who entered the National Academy to study.

As the son of a concubine, Ji Meng had been bullied by other children more than a few times early on. Gu Gan had fallen out with those noble scions and saved him, so Yu Sui often saw Ji Meng playing with Gu Gan.

Because of her Third Brother, Ji Meng wasn't close to her.

"You're the one who ran too slowly. How's that my fault?" Gu Gan poked his head out again. "Go get her out of here. I don't need you hanging around and causing me trouble."

Ji Meng looked over. "Didn't you bring her here yourself?"

Gu Gan sneered. "She's been poisoned. Go check on her, and don't let her die in my place."

Ji Meng scratched his head. "I'm a man. Wouldn't that be awkward?"

He was afraid she would slap him too.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ji Meng glanced at Yu Sui. Wasn't the County Princess right there?

Gu Gan glared at him. "Get in there."

Ji Meng went inside with a collection of bottles and jars.

Xiang Feifei, poisoned and wounded, had long since passed out. Ji Meng examined her injuries and saw they were indeed serious, so he focused on cleaning her wounds, drawing out the poison, and applying medicine.

Yu Sui sat at the table eating her noodles. By the time she finished, Ji Meng still hadn't come out. Gu Gan went inside to check on them partway through. When he returned, he wasn't angry, so everything should have been fine.

Gu Gan came over and sat across from her. He folded his hands, rested his chin on his arms, and watched Yu Sui eat.

"Do you want some?" Yu Sui lifted a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks and offered them to him.

"You eat," Gu Gan said. "I just like watching you eat."

Yu Sui smiled, eyes curving, and lowered her head to continue eating.

Gu Gan asked her, "You won't have to go to the National Academy next year. Have you decided where you'll go to cultivate?"

Yu Sui didn't even look up. "I haven't decided. Where are you going, Brother Gu?"

Gu Gan said, "I'm definitely going to Taiyi."

Yu Sui said, "Then I'm going to Taiyi too."

Gu Gan couldn't help laughing. "Why do you follow me wherever I go?"

Yu Sui lied without even blushing. "Because I feel safe with you, Brother Gu."

Even if she didn't follow him, Nangong Ming would find a way to send her to Gu Gan's side and make her protect him.

Gu Gan sighed. "I really don't know what to do with you."

The young man was still going through his voice change. His voice was low, but the helpless fondness in it was unmistakable.

*

After Yu Sui finished eating, Gu Gan walked her back. Neither of them expected to run into Sheng Fei at the entrance as he returned from Taiyi Academy.

At eighteen, Sheng Fei was much taller than the two of them and had lost the innocence of his younger years. That sharp, haughty air was firmly etched into his brows.

He had inherited Nangong Ming's looks completely, but their temperaments were poles apart.

His father was gentle and feminine.

His son was a bristling thorn, wicked and sarcastic.

Seeing them return late at night, Sheng Fei's anger flared. He glanced at Yu Sui. "Aren't you coming over?"

Yu Sui started toward the entrance, but Gu Gan caught her wrist and fastened a bracelet of gold and jadeite around it. "Aren't you always afraid of the heat? This is southern jadeite that'll keep you cool. You won't have to lean against Liudan Jade Stone to escape the heat in summer."

He was giving her something like that right in front of Sheng Fei. Yu Sui didn't need to guess: the two of them would surely start fighting soon.

But she didn't care about that. She ran her fingers over the bracelet and smiled. "Thank you, Brother Gu. I'll head back now!"

Yu Sui had barely reached the entrance when Sheng Fei grabbed her, deftly removed the gold and jadeite bracelet from her wrist, and tossed it back to Gu Gan.

"You'll put any filthy thing on your wrist," Sheng Fei sneered, grabbing Yu Sui. "What did I tell you before? I told you not to associate with this good-for-nothing."

Yu Sui didn't know whether there were too many geniuses at Taiyi Academy or the competition was too fierce, but Sheng Fei seemed to be growing more and more irritable and short-tempered. Every time he came home, he seemed unhappy, and when it came to her and Gu Gan, he was set off in an instant.

She had considered asking Sheng Fei about Taiyi Academy, but his temper was awful, and he didn't want to talk about it at all.

"Third Brother," Yu Sui called softly. Gu Gan stepped forward to take her away from Sheng Fei. The fight was about to break out. The moment Gu Gan reached for her, Sheng Fei flung Yu Sui behind him. An invisible wave of force surged between the two of them as their energies collided.

Yu Sui staggered but managed to steady herself. When she looked up, the two were already fighting.

The Five Elements Light Cores of both men were in motion.

Any Supernatural Ability and Esoteric Skill required "qi" to sustain it. The Five Elements were the forms taken by the circulation of innate qi. "Innate qi," drawn from the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and all things in nature, was converted into an individual's form of power, sustaining the tangible manifestation of Supernatural Ability and Esoteric Skill.

Every school had its own way of circulating innate qi to cultivate.

But though the methods varied, the underlying principle was the same. When Yu Sui first encountered these ideas, she thought the cultivation of the Nine Schools Techniques resembled the Daoist saying: "One gives birth to two, two to three, and three to all things."

Heaven and earth were one.

Innate qi was two.

The Five Elements were three.

Sheng Fei had joined the School of Names, and his cultivation had now reached the Seventh Realm. Gu Gan hadn't joined any school to cultivate, but his Five Elements Light Core had still reached the Fourth Realm.

Neither of them used Supernatural Ability and Esoteric Skill. They relied entirely on pure martial techniques. When their Fist Winds clashed, qi collided and shook the air. The resulting shock wave swept through the courtyard, stinging Yu Sui's face.

Gu Gan was knocked back the instant his fist met Sheng Fei's. A surge of qi rebounded into his chest, as if it were about to shatter his Five Viscera and Six Bowels. Two beats later, Gu Gan failed to steady himself. His Five Elements Qi erupted, sending him flying.

Just as Gu Gan was about to slam into the wall, Nangong Ming reached out from the carriage after returning home. With a casual wave of his hand, he stripped away the Five Elements Qi clinging to Gu Gan, allowing him to steady himself and land on his feet.

"What are you doing?"

Nangong Ming climbed down from the carriage, his expression displeased.

Sheng Fei's eyes flickered. With a cold snort, he turned his head away and led Yu Sui into the mansion.

"Sheng Fei." Nangong Ming called to him in a low voice, then looked at Gu Gan. Seeing that he was unharmed, he went inside.

Yu Sui made it through the night without a scratch.

Sheng Fei wasn't so lucky. Nangong Ming reprimanded him. When Sheng Fei refused to back down and talked back, he argued with Nangong Ming and was slapped across the face from a distance.

Watching Sheng Fei get slapped, Yu Sui felt strangely pleased. At last, she wasn't the only one getting hit.

Nangong Ming told her to go out, and Yu Sui obediently did so. He probably thought the sight of a father beating his son would be too brutal for her.

After Yu Sui left, Nangong Ming sent someone to inform Lady Sheng. Lady Sheng hurried over and took Sheng Fei away, saving him from many more blows.

With Lady Sheng as his backing, Sheng Fei had the confidence to talk back to Nangong Ming. Nangong Ming wouldn't really do anything to him. Setting aside all the other considerations, Sheng Fei was, after all, his own son, and he had watched him grow up.

Yu Sui was different.

Leaving aside the fact that he had watched her grow up, to Nangong Ming she was merely a pawn tied to Lady Su and a tool to protect Gu Gan. If she dared to argue with Nangong Ming, Lady Su wouldn't be there to support her.

Yu Sui thought that was the end of it.

But a few days later, when Sheng Fei left the mansion to return to Taiyi Academy, he saw the gold and jadeite bracelet on Yu Sui's wrist and exploded. Right in front of Lady Su, he had a huge argument with Yu Sui.

It could also be called him arguing by himself. Yu Sui wore a completely bewildered expression the whole time, and all she said in reply was, "What?" "Third Brother, calm down first," and "That's not how it is." Lady Su watched coldly and didn't say a word.

In the end, Sheng Fei and Yu Sui fell out and began a cold war that lasted for years.

Yu Sui touched her face. She wasn't getting involved.

There was no way to get involved anyway.

It seemed that as long as Gu Gan was alive, Sheng Fei would never be satisfied.

Sheng Fei rarely came home and no longer sent her messages. When they ran into each other at home, he treated her coldly and didn't say a word.

Her eldest brother, Han Bing, had already left Taiyi Academy to gain experience in a remote Feudal State. Her second brother, Su Feng, was cultivating at Military School Chongtai and rarely came home either. When he did, he spent time with Sheng Fei, since he wasn't keen on seeing Gu Gan.

The closer Yu Sui grew to Gu Gan, the further she drifted from her brothers.

The following year, at sixteen, Gu Gan went to Taiyi Academy.

Before he left, he told Yu Sui, "I'll go scout the way ahead. When you come, I'll be the one looking out for you."

Yu Sui smiled. "Okay!"

On a night when the moonlight flowed like water, fireflies danced in the roadside grass.

Gu Gan had only taken a couple of steps when he turned back, his expression serious. "Suisui."

Yu Sui answered, "Mm!"

Gu Gan gazed at her for a long time. In the end, he shook his head, flashed a handsome smile as he raised his brows, then waved and turned away. "I'm off. Head back."

Yu Sui watched until he vanished into the thick darkness.

When she turned sixteen, she couldn't go to Taiyi Academy, because the sorcerers still couldn't detect any talent in her compatible with any of the major schools.

Nor could Yu Sui suddenly become so clever that Nangong Ming would agree to send her to Taiyi Academy.

So she gave Nangong Ming and the others the impression that she'd suddenly become diligent and studious. If anyone asked, she said she wanted to go be with Gu Gan.

Nangong Ming was pleased with her resolve, though he was a little dissatisfied with her talent.

As it happened, war broke out again in Qingyang Nation that year. Nangong Ming grew busy and was often away from the imperial capital, with no time to fret over his daughter's talent.

Even Lady Su was often nowhere to be seen.

Without those two keeping an eye on her, Yu Sui had a lot more freedom.

It wasn't until the year she turned eighteen, after the war had died down, that Nangong Ming returned from outside the capital. On the very night he got home, he summoned Yu Sui and told her, "I've paid a huge sum in tuition to Taiyi Academy. You'll set out for Taiyi tomorrow."

Before Yu Sui could wonder what had suddenly gotten into her stingy father, making him help his daughter pursue her dream, Nangong Ming added, "Go to Taiyi and assist Gu Gan. Clear the obstacles in his way, then help him obtain the Futuo Tower."

Nangong Ming turned around and looked at the child who had grown up before him.

Her features resembled those of her mother, Lady Su, but she lacked Lady Su's coldness. A quiet calm flowed through her dark eyes, and when she looked up, she was lively and charming. She was also nothing like Lady Su in her rebelliousness; she had always been obedient and well-behaved with him.

Nangong Ming said, "This is the first task I've ever entrusted to you, Suisui. Don't let me down."

Yu Sui bowed in reply and left the King's residence the next day.