Yu Sui and the others came out quickly and left just as fast, not giving Gu Gan and the others, who had been waiting nearby, any chance to ask what had happened. In a flash, they entered the Star Map Trial again.
Ji Meng raised a hand and wiped his face, the shock still lingering in his eyes. "She—she was only doing the beginner trial, wasn't she? How did Nangong Sui end up like that? Li Jinshuang is a Fifth Realm practitioner of the Military School. Surely she could get through a beginner trial?"
It was only an introductory trial for the Five Elements Birth Technique. It made no sense.
It would have been understandable if Nangong Sui were a Normal Practitioner and couldn't fight, but wasn't she with Li Jinshuang? How had she still ended up so battered and covered in wounds?
This was definitely not normal.
Shu Chujun, standing beside Xun Zhiya, gave a cold snort. "Li Jinshuang has the highest cultivation among them, so the highest-level trial they could get is Fifth Realm. Even a Normal Practitioner or a newly initiated disciple would have a hard time breaking through a Fifth Realm Military Formation."
"Besides, Li Jinshuang likes to stand by and watch people die. She only looks out for herself. Even if someone died inside the Military Formation, she wouldn't care."
Xun Zhiya glanced at her. Shu Chujun looked back. "Am I wrong? Last year at Dingshan Hunting Ground, Li Jinshuang—"
"That's enough," Xun Zhiya interrupted. "She didn't save you that time because, as a member of the Li family, she had a duty to save the royal family first."
Shu Chujun pursed her lips. Though she said no more, she still looked displeased.
Gu Gan stood by the Five Elements Field, deep in thought, waiting for Yu Sui to come out. She had left too quickly; he hadn't even had time to go over.
Before long, he caught sight of Mei Chengyu and the others coming from the Martial Path Arena. They were heading this way too.
As he walked, Xing Chun said to Mei Chengyu, "They look like they got beaten up pretty badly. The little girl's face is all scratched up."
Nian Qiuyan walked along with Kong Yiyi, tugging her along as he said, "Look at something else to take your mind off it. Stop thinking about Wei Kun all the time. You might as well think about me instead."
After hearing Xing Chun and the others, Kong Yiyi's attention was indeed diverted. She leaned over to peer into the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field. "Where? They were doing a Military Formation. The highest level for newcomers can't be higher than Third Realm. How did all four of them come out with black eyes and swollen faces?"
"Wasn't there a Normal Practitioner with them?" Cang Shu said with a yawn. "Meimei's junior martial sister."
Mei Chengyu said, "She isn't."
Xing Chun gave Cang Shu a thumbs-up. "She's a First Realm Nine Schools Practitioner."
Cang Shu and Nian Qiuyan both looked over at him. "Huh?"
Xing Chun said, "Nangong Sui hasn't been sleeping this whole month. She studies at Taoist Saint Hall until dawn. Every time I go to Taoist Saint Hall to eat with Mei Liangxin, I see her there. That kind of perseverance is nothing to scoff at. Looks like hard work really does pay off."
"Hey," Kong Yiyi said, reaching the edge of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field. "I've never met Mei Liangxin's junior martial sister."
Nian Qiuyan said, "The one with her seems to be your junior martial sister from the Military School too."
Kong Yiyi sat by the steps and cupped her face in her hands. "Then I definitely have to see them."
Nian Qiuyan pinched the bridge of her nose. At least she'd finally managed to distract Kong Yiyi.
Quite a few students had seen Yu Sui taking the trial in the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field. Some of them knew Sheng Zui, and everyone was astonished that Yu Sui had come out of the trial covered in blood and looking badly injured. The story spread from person to person until it reached Sheng Zui.
Sheng Zui had just finished bathing and was lying on the bed when Mu Mengbai slapped the table and sprang up. "Your little sister got hurt in the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field! She's covered in blood!"
Sheng Zui scoffed. "Which little sister have you made friends with now?"
Mu Mengbai turned to look at him. "Your little sister is my little sister!"
Sheng Zui was speechless.
Only then did he notice the message on the Listening Wind Ruler. He saw that it was about Yu Sui taking a trial in the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field, and gave a cold laugh. "She's a Normal Practitioner and still dared to take a trial. Serves her right."
Mu Mengbai waited a while. The man on the bed got up with a dark expression, threw on an outer robe, and headed out. Mu Mengbai hurried after him.
Li Jinshuang restarted the Star Map challenge and was transported into a new Military Formation.
The general defending the city wore red armor and held a blood-red sword, sitting steadily on his horse.
The unarmored Skeleton Soldiers clattered as they moved. They slowly picked up the swords and blades scattered on the ground and formed ranks to fight.
The four stood in the middle of the battlefield and looked up. At last, the City Defense King General was no longer bigger than the city itself, his crushing presence overwhelming the entire field.
Fifth Realm Military Formation: City of the Dead Pact.
In the blood-red desert, sand swirled in the wind, whipping the tattered flags on the battlefield. The four in the field all quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Ren wiped his face and looked up at the waning moon. "A City Defense General. Finally, a normal one."
Xue Mushi choked on the sandstorm. Covering his face, he coughed and sank down where he stood, his face pale.
"Don't slack off," Wei Ren said, looking down at him.
Xue Mushi said, "We'd already used up too much strength. If Nangong Sui hadn't expanded the Qi Ding hexagram technique and disrupted the balance of the Five Elements Power in Asura Hell, it wouldn't have disappeared so quickly."
As he spoke, he spread his arms and fell backward, staring blankly at the sky. "I need to rest a bit before fighting again."
Wei Ren couldn't help recalling the final scene. Across the river, the Black Armored Cavalry had drawn their swords. In the gloom, tens of thousands of golden Soul Light Cores seemed to be burning. Warhorses neighed, and the immense Five Elements Power exploded within Asura Hell. Everything he saw trembled, the vibrations seeming to rip his eyeballs apart. The overwhelming murderous intent and terror made his heart pound.
But just as they were about to be torn apart by that terrible power, the Five Elements Qi in Asura Hell fell out of balance and could no longer sustain the Military Formation, giving them a chance to escape. The Black Armored Cavalry that had tried to cross the river all vanished into its waters.
Wei Ren turned to look at Yu Sui beside him and saw that she, too, had collapsed to the ground as if utterly exhausted.
Yu Sui shifted her eyes and gazed at the waning moon overhead.
In that final moment, she had seen the Black Armored Cavalry charging at the front on the opposite bank. It held a Silver Spear, its purpose clear. Beneath its helmet, its red-gold eyes had fixed firmly on Yu Sui.
They hadn't crossed the river. The Black Armored Cavalry shouldn't have been triggered into attacking.
Yet at that moment, this Black Armored Cavalry had issued a command to the entire army, ordering them to kill Yu Sui on the opposite bank.
What had triggered its attack? Was it the strange fire?
Yu Sui had no way to confirm her guess. At the final moment, when she stood and looked toward the Black Armored Cavalry, a familiar force had stirred. Her eyes caught sight of the Five Elements Qi being drawn away and disappearing. She reached out and grasped it, throwing the Five Elements Qi in Asura Hell completely out of balance. In an instant, everything in the formation crumbled to dust.
Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye.
She would have to study this power carefully and figure out how to use it on her own.
"Li Jinshuang got a normal Military Formation, one suited to her strength. You're the only one who got Asura Hell." Wei Ren crouched down and stared at Yu Sui.
Yu Sui tilted her head and looked back at him innocently. "You said you could carry me."
Wei Ren: "..."
The wind tugged at his loose robes and the disheveled hair over his forehead. Even Wei Ren's soul was left tossing about in the wind.
At first, he'd only wanted to fish these people out so he could show off.
Who knew that every one he'd fished out would be more impressive than the last?
One had unfathomably deep strength; another had mastered a sinister forbidden technique. By comparison, Li Jinshuang, who had entered the academy already at Fifth Realm, seemed utterly ordinary.
Wei Ren found it ridiculous and sneered. "Who could carry someone through the Special Grade Armor Formation, Asura Hell?"
Yu Sui sighed. "But we made it out alive, didn't we? We combined our wisdom and abilities and managed to throw the Five Elements Qi in Asura Hell out of balance, speeding up its collapse."
"Since we didn't die, don't dwell on it."
Wei Ren said, "Something's not right."
Yu Sui laughed to herself. If he keeps asking, I'll just have to kill him.
Li Jinshuang looked at them and said calmly, "You carry the Agricultural School Forbidden Technique, Phantom Beast, yet you're an Agricultural School Disciple. That's not right either."
"Oh!" Yu Sui sat up and pointed at Wei Ren. "I know about that. I heard my master say the Agricultural School classified Phantom Beast as a forbidden technique because it harms both others and the practitioner. If an Agricultural School Disciple learns it, the Agricultural School kills them on sight."
Wei Ren rolled his eyes toward Xue Mushi, who was lying behind them. "I'm not the only one who learned a forbidden technique."
With all three of them staring at him, Xue Mushi scratched his head and sat up again. After a moment's silence, he ventured, "How about we keep each other's secrets and pretend we know nothing?"
Faced with the threat of the Special Grade Armor Formation, he'd already decided to go all out. That was why he'd revealed the forbidden Seven Kill Hexagram.
"I have no objections," Yu Sui said first.
Li Jinshuang looked toward the City Defense General up ahead and said calmly, "That works."
Wei Ren was still crouching. He propped his chin on one hand and looked at Xue Mushi. "If I said I wasn't willing, would you kill me?"
Xue Mushi froze, then shook his head. "No."
"You've learned the Seven Kill Hexagram, so why not learn to be a little more ruthless?" Wei Ren clicked his tongue. He stood and looked toward the City Defense General. "Fine. We'll all pretend we know nothing. Once we leave this Military Formation, we'll forget everything that happened tonight."
In the brief silence, someone's stomach growled.
Everyone: "..."
The silence went, "Grrr."
Xue Mushi lowered his head and quietly pressed a hand to his hungry stomach.
Yu Sui pretended not to have heard anything and stood up. She rolled her neck, her eyes reflecting the Skeleton Soldiers picking up their swords. "We only pass the trial once we kill the City Defense General, right?"
Li Jinshuang didn't answer, but drew her sword.
Xue Mushi silently got to his feet, a copper coin flickering into view between his fingers.
The Phantom Giant Python's shadow had already spread among the Skeleton Soldiers at Wei Ren's feet. The Black Giant Python shot into the sky, bit through the ranks of Skeleton Soldiers, and threw their formation into disarray.
None of the four said a word, yet all shared the same unspoken desire to finish the fight quickly.
So the two practitioners who had learned forbidden techniques had no more reservations. They unleashed the Seven Kill Hexagram and Phantom Beast, slaughtering indiscriminately across the field.
For Wei Ren and Xue Mushi, a chance like this was rare.
Li Jinshuang led the charge, clashing swords with the City Defense General on horseback.
Yu Sui stood at the very back. Five Elements Qi gathered around her, and tiny Thunder Serpents flickered into view at her sides. But Yu Sui didn't move. She was still observing and testing, trying once more to use Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye.
It could see through all illusions and Military Formations, foresee the future, divine the unknown, capture the Five Elements Qi, and perceive what ordinary people could not.
Then why can't I use it freely?
What went wrong this time?
Yu Sui quieted her mind and focused, carefully sensing everything around her. She tried to see the Five Elements Qi flowing through the Military Formation, but failed.
After Li Jinshuang beheaded the City Defense General, the Military Formation broke. Everything scattered like the ashes of a battlefield after war.
Yu Sui sighed softly as she saw the others turn back to look for her.
This time, the four of them came out of the Military Formation much faster than before.
But because Yu Sui was covered in blood, those waiting outside felt the wait drag on unbearably. At last, the Star Map opened and transported the people inside the trial back. Gu Gan immediately used the Wind Riding Technique to rush into the Star Map Arena.
"Someone beat us to it." Xing Chun nudged Mei Chengyu. "Want to go take a look?"
Mei Chengyu hadn't answered when Kong Yiyi had already stood up. "Li Jinshuang!"
"You know her?" Nian Qiuyan asked.
Kong Yiyi nodded. "She's been the Military School's biggest topic lately. She entered the academy at Fifth Realm, so it looks like the Military Formation they just faced was based on Li Jinshuang's strength."
Xing Chun suddenly understood. "Then it's understandable they got beaten up so badly."
Though Yu Sui and the others looked covered in blood, these people had sharp eyes. They could tell the blood had merely stained their clothes. At most, the four students had some superficial injuries. They just looked a little disheveled.
Mei Chengyu stayed where he was. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sheng Zui using the Wind Riding Technique to rush into the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Field. He glanced at Gu Gan, who had already gone over, and couldn't help smiling. He sauntered over to watch the commotion.
Yu Sui picked sand and bits of reed fluff from her hair. She had just begun to say, "Let's go wash up first. I'll treat you all to a meal at the Dining Hall in a bit," when Gu Gan reached her and said softly, "Suisui."
When he got closer, he smelled the blood on Yu Sui. His already furrowed brow knitted tighter. He couldn't imagine what his timid, delicate childhood friend had been through inside the Military Formation.
"Hmm?" Yu Sui looked up. Gu Gan took her hand and frowned as he examined it. "What happened? How did you get so many injuries?"
Wei Ren raised a hand to wipe his face and answered as if Gu Gan weren't there. "It's already evening. Food at the Dining Hall is expensive."
"I have money." Yu Sui ignored Gu Gan too, turning first to look at Wei Ren. "Eat whatever you like when we get there."
Wei Ren, whose entire body seemed to spell out the word poor: "..."
"Fine." Wei Ren slung his outer robe over his shoulder and left with Xue Mushi.
"Brother Gu, I only got some superficial injuries from the Military Formation trial. I'm fine." Yu Sui turned back to Gu Gan and smiled, her eyes curving. "Did I scare you?"
Gu Gan frowned. "You've never been hurt this badly in your life. Your face is scratched too."
Yu Sui withdrew her hand and touched the wound on her face.
"Don't touch it. I'll put medicine on it when we get back," Gu Gan said. "Since you're a Normal Practitioner, why didn't they let you open the Star Map? That would've kept the level as low as possible. Why did they have Li Jinshuang open one at the highest level? They even got you hurt like this."
His tone had grown a little harsh. He suspected Wei Ren and Xue Mushi of ill intent, and his expression had turned cold.
Wei Ren and Xue Mushi, who hadn't gone far: "..."
Wei Ren laughed silently and kept walking. "Leave him be. He's just a fool she's got wrapped around her little finger."
Xue Mushi nodded in agreement.
Yu Sui was just about to explain that she was already a First Realm Nine Schools Practitioner when Sheng Zui arrived. Sheng Zui pulled Yu Sui behind him and gave Gu Gan a cold look.
Gu Gan said expressionlessly, "I don't want to argue with you right now."
"Third Brother, brother!" Yu Sui caught hold of Sheng Zui's hand and stopped him before he could speak. She pulled Sheng Zui away first and waved at Gu Gan, who stared in astonishment. "Brother Gu, you go on ahead. We'll talk later."
As she left, she spotted Mei Chengyu and the others at the edge of the field and waved to him too.
Mei Chengyu's gaze followed Yu Sui as she went farther away.
Gu Gan felt a little unsettled. This was the first time Yu Sui had left with Sheng Zui first, leaving him behind on his own.
Xun Zhiya asked Li Jinshuang, who stood silently to one side, "Are you hurt?"
Li Jinshuang shook her head lightly.
Shu Chujun demanded, "You faced a Fifth Realm Military Formation, didn't you?"
Li Jinshuang lowered her head and said nothing.
Shu Chujun continued, "With your abilities, could you really lose so badly in a Fifth Realm Military Formation? There were four of you. Even if one of them was a Normal Practitioner dragging everyone down, surely it wouldn't have been that bad."
Gu Gan looked over and asked, "Why did you have to open it? Wouldn't it have been better to let Suisui do it?"
Li Jinshuang looked at Xun Zhiya. "Saintess, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
She bowed her head slightly in respect, then turned and left.
Shu Chujun said angrily, "Look at her! She doesn't listen to a word anyone says!"
Xun Zhiya looked helpless, unsure how to resolve the conflict between them.
Gu Gan felt troubled, but Sheng Zui was delighted. Yu Sui had finally taken a stand, and he was very pleased with it. His usually cold, cutting expression softened considerably.
"How did you get so hurt?" Sheng Zui looked down at Yu Sui as they walked. "Besides your face, where else? Does it hurt?"
"No, that's all. I was just scratched by the arrow rain in the Military Formation. The blood isn't mine either. It's from the formation." Yu Sui smiled as she spoke.
But Sheng Zui was momentarily stunned by her bright, smiling face.
In a daze, he felt that something was different.
The person before him was clearly his younger sister, Nangong Sui, and yet something about her seemed different.
Had she ever smiled like this before?
Sheng Zui couldn't help asking himself, but he couldn't find an answer.
Yu Sui interrupted his thoughts and said softly, "Third Brother, those two points are really important. I nearly gave my life for them today."
"What kind of Military Formation did you face? Was it that difficult?" Sheng Zui frowned. "Were those three people beside you useless?"
Yu Sui shook her head and smiled. "They weren't. I'm the useless one. It took me so long to learn the Nine Schools Techniques."
Sheng Zui stopped without meaning to. Yu Sui stopped with him and turned around.
The siblings stood in the middle of the broad road. A few moths circled the stone lanterns on either side, while the shadows cast on the ground stretched long.
Since we'd be at Taiyi Academy together from now on, Yu Sui knew she couldn't keep it secret even if she wanted to, so she came clean first. "Third Brother, I have a Five Elements Light Core. I'm a First Realm Nine Schools Practitioner now!"
Her dirty face lit up with a radiant smile. Even the blood and ghastly wounds couldn't hide it.
The night breeze stirred the strands of hair against Yu Sui's cheeks and fluttered her skirt. The tassels on the golden hairpin in her hair swayed as she turned, chiming softly.
Sheng Zui stared at her, stunned.
At last, he understood what had been wrong.
The Nangong Sui in his memories had never smiled at him like this.
Yu Sui seemed dazzling to him now.
The little girl who used to quietly follow at his side, watching him teach with an earnest or bewildered expression, had grown taller without him noticing. Just as he'd thought when he was a child, his little sister had never been beyond savingly stupid. But her foolishness had also meant she posed no threat.
Yu Sui could spend her whole life under his protection.
Sheng Zui had been certain he could keep weak, helpless Nangong Sui safe.
Yet now, the person he'd thought was destined to live beneath his wings had suddenly spread hers and flown away.
"Is that so? Did your master, Sage Chang Gen, help you?" Sheng Zui pressed his lips together and continued walking, his peripheral vision following Yu Sui.
"Mm!" Yu Sui nodded as they walked and talked. "Master is amazing. Whatever problem I have, he can solve it."
Sheng Zui gave a derisive laugh. "He's a Sage. You've only just started cultivating, so you've got a whole head full of little problems. Anyone could solve them, Sage or not."
Yu Sui laughed along with him.
Sheng Zui asked, "Does Father know?"
"He doesn't." Yu Sui looked up at him. "You're the first to know, Third Brother."
Sheng Zui nodded. "Once he finds out, he'll see you in a whole new light. He's been wrong about you all these years. I guess his Shura Eye isn't as impressive as the experts say, if he can even misjudge his own daughter's talent."
Yu Sui scratched her head. "The Shura Eye is a famous Heavenly Secrets Technique. It's really powerful, isn't it?"
Sheng Zui chuckled and urged her to hurry back to the dormitory, take a bath, then apply medicine to her face so she wouldn't scar.
When Yu Sui returned to the dormitory, Sheng Zui handed her the wound salve and left.
On the way back, Sheng Zui's brows furrowed slightly. He couldn't quite say why, but he didn't feel bad, yet he didn't feel good either. He replayed Yu Sui's words over and over in his mind, until at last one line caught his attention: "You're the first to know, Third Brother."
So Gu Gan didn't know?
Heh.
His mood suddenly brightened.
While bathing, Da Yu Sui replied to Gu Gan's message on the Listening Wind Ruler, briefly telling him about tonight's trial. She explained that she was in such a sorry state because of the fighting inside the Military Formation.
Then she asked, "Weren't you going for the Level Up Challenge today? Did you succeed?"
"No. We came close," Gu Gan replied.
He also told Yu Sui about his fight with Kong Yiyi in the Military Formation · Ancient Battlefield that day. Since they'd both been in a Military Formation, they had more to talk about than usual, and the conversation went on longer.
Yu Sui didn't put down the Listening Wind Ruler until the water had gone cold. Even as she got up and dressed, her mind was still turning over all the news she'd just learned from Gu Gan.
Yu Sui had planned to go with Li Jinshuang, but she didn't see her in the dormitory. Thinking she might be in the bathhouse on the first floor, she took the Dragon Ladder down. On the way, she sent Li Jinshuang a message asking where she was.
Li Jinshuang replied that she'd already reached the Dining Hall.
Yu Sui went straight there.
Li Jinshuang had arrived first, and Xue Mushi came last. By the time he showed up, the dishes had arrived and filled a whole table. Yu Sui said generously,
"Eat as much as you want tonight. I've got money."
They'd spent so long struggling in Asura Hell that both body and spirit had taken a beating. Everyone was exhausted and starving, but Yu Sui had never seen anyone eat like Xue Mushi.
He looked delicate and thin, quiet and wooden, yet once he started eating, he seemed enormous to Yu Sui and the others.
Xue Mushi ate with utter seriousness and concentration. He paid no attention to anyone else, focusing only on his own food. When he was hungry, it seemed he'd eat anything. What took the others three or five bites, he swallowed in one.
Yu Sui and the other two watched him eat for a while. The food held between their chopsticks suddenly seemed impossible to either eat or put down. Xue Mushi, meanwhile, acted as if they weren't there at all. One plate after another went empty.
He looked like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten in hundreds of years.
To prove Xue Mushi wasn't a starving ghost from their own household, Yu Sui and the other two silently carried their bowls to another table.
The Dining Hall was quiet late at night. Even the lively second floor had only the four of them now. Usually, hardly anyone came at this hour, but Princess Shangyang happened to be craving a late-night meal and had brought her group of sisters to the Dining Hall.
Princess Shangyang also liked dining on the second floor, so she never expected to run into Yu Sui at this hour.
"Nangong Sui!"
Yu Sui, who'd been bent over her meal, heard someone call her name and looked up in confusion.
The shout also stopped Mei Chengyu and his two companions, who were in the next room, stealing food from the Dining Hall by putting their skills to use. Zhongli Shan and Xing Chun, on either side of him, both looked toward the door.
Princess Shangyang led her group of three or five companions toward Yu Sui, lifting her chin slightly as she walked. Ignoring Wei Ren, who was seated beside Yu Sui, she gracefully pulled out a chair and sat across from her.
As the beloved daughter of the Empress of Qingyang, Princess Shangyang was adored by everyone in Qingyang Nation. At Taiyi Academy, too, plenty of people indulged and pampered her.
She was now a Ninth Realm Yin-Yang School Practitioner, apprenticed to a Sage of the Yin-Yang School at the academy. She was highly talented and had a brilliant future ahead of her.
Born into privilege and pampered from childhood, Princess Shangyang had everything she wanted. The older she got, the more spoiled she became.
She always remembered how the desks had been arranged when she and Yu Sui were children at the National Academy. She'd invited Yu Sui back, but Yu Sui had chosen the irritating Zhongli Que instead, saying she wanted to play with Zhongli Que, not her.
And Yu Sui had stolen the spotlight by rescuing Gu Gan on her very first day at the academy.
Hmph.
Princess Shangyang had been busy these past few days and hadn't run into Yu Sui. Now that they'd crossed paths unexpectedly, every old grievance came flooding back. She couldn't swallow her anger.
Seeing Princess Shangyang bearing down on Yu Sui, Wei Ren carried his bowl back to Xue Mushi's table and watched the commotion there, chopsticks clenched between his teeth.
Yu Sui blinked at Princess Shangyang.
Princess Shangyang looked at her haughtily. "Why didn't you bring your favorite playmate, Zhongli Que, to Taiyi too?"
At the mention of his younger sister, Zhongli Shan shifted his eyes and walked toward the door, listening in silence.
Mei Chengyu and Xing Chun kept stuffing food into the containers.
Before Yu Sui could answer, Princess Shangyang covered her mouth lightly as if in surprise. "Oh, I forgot. You selfish woman never liked Zhongli Que after all, and wouldn't be her friend. At the banquet, you left poor Zhongli Que to play by herself, with no one to keep her company."
"That's right." Yu Sui nodded along.
Princess Shangyang tapped the table with a bent finger. "I called you hypocritical and selfish. Why are you nodding?"
"Because you're right, Princess." Yu Sui propped her head on one hand and looked at her, sincere and guileless.
Xing Chun and Mei Chengyu pricked up their ears too.
Yu Sui's attitude always made Princess Shangyang grind her teeth and feel uncomfortable all over. She continued tapping the table with a bent finger, still graceful as ever, and sneered, "Weren't you and Zhongli Que close before? I told you to come back, but you wouldn't!"
"That was when we were children." Yu Sui lowered her head and kept eating.
"Don't eat!" Princess Shangyang slapped the table. The bowls on it rattled, and Yu Sui and Li Jinshuang immediately picked up their rice bowls.
"So what if it was when we were children? Do you think I'm so petty that I'd still hold on to things from our childhood?!" Princess Shangyang glared at her with almond-shaped eyes. "You were the one who chose to play with Zhongli Que. Then you abandoned her and stopped playing with her because of your father. You're even more detestable than Zhongli Que!"
Xing Chun took out his Listening Wind Ruler and sent Mei Chengyu a message: "???"
Mei Chengyu replied: "?"
Xing Chun: "Keep Xiaoshan in check later. Don't let him charge out and hit your junior martial sister."
Mei Chengyu tapped the message box: "He'd hit her?"
Xing Chun: "Last time someone badmouthed his sister, Xiaoshan knocked out three of his teeth."
Mei Chengyu: "Why would he hit Nangong Sui?"
Xing Chun: "From the sound of it, her current situation might not look too good to Xiaoshan."
The two of them looked toward Zhongli Shan by the door.
Zhongli Shan was about to raise his hand. His sleeve had barely moved when the two behind him simultaneously immobilized him with Nine Schools Techniques.
"?!" Zhongli Shan slowly turned around, looking at Mei Chengyu and Xing Chun with a head full of question marks.
Outside, Princess Shangyang's angry slap against the table sounded again. "What kind of attitude is that?!"
"What attitude?" Yu Sui held her bowl and stared at her in puzzlement. "I'm just going along with whatever you want to say."
Princess Shangyang ground her teeth, wanting to lose her temper, but Yu Sui had left her so furious she couldn't think of what to say. "You—I just don't like you!"
Yu Sui blinked at her. "I don't like you either."
Those words set Princess Shangyang off in an instant. "Nangong Sui, how dare you speak to Her Highness the Princess like that!"
"Princess! Please, let it go!" Seeing Princess Shangyang about to climb over the table and hit Yu Sui, her companions hurried to stop her.
"Let me go! Jin Zhi, let go of me! I'm going to settle this with her today. You actually dared to come to Taiyi? A Normal Practitioner like you dares to come to Taiyi!" Princess Shangyang was dragged away from Yu Sui's table by her friends and hurried toward the third floor.
The girl Princess Shangyang had called Jin Zhi glanced back at Yu Sui in the rush.
Yu Sui was looking at her too.
In those dark pupils, only Jin Zhi was reflected. The bright almond-shaped eyes looked different from when Yu Sui had been speaking with Princess Shangyang: when they turned to Jin Zhi, they were calm and icy.
Jin Zhi felt her heart seize, as if she'd been taken back to that day the previous winter.
Her hand trembled as she grabbed Princess Shangyang's. She hurriedly looked away from Yu Sui and ran to the third floor faster than anyone else.
"Let go of me!" Princess Shangyang broke free of the others and tried to go back downstairs to find Yu Sui, but Jin Zhi held her firmly at the top of the stairs. "Princess, don't go!"
Perhaps the fear in Jin Zhi's eyes had startled her. Princess Shangyang stared. "Why are you so scared? I'm going to give Nangong Sui a hard time, not you."
Jin Zhi hurriedly lowered her head, but still spread her arms to block Princess Shangyang from going downstairs.
Princess Shangyang huffed and turned to find a seat. Only then did Jin Zhi breathe a sigh of relief and join the others in trying to soothe her.
This time, Jin Zhi couldn't bring herself to put the usual effort into comforting the angry Princess Shangyang. After sitting down, she kept thinking about the look Yu Sui had given her as she went upstairs.
It was common knowledge that Princess Shangyang and Zhongli Que didn't get along. Yu Sui, who'd once been close to Zhongli Que at the National Academy as a child, had also kept her distance after leaving.
Because Nangong Ming and Zhongli Ci were enemies, the children of the two families had grown distant too.
Most people befriended Nangong Ming. In the eyes of Qingyang's ministers, Zhongli Ci's position was somewhat precarious. Zhongli Que had only played with her clan since childhood, and outsiders were careful when speaking with her.
Otherwise, things would go as they had with Yu Sui: they'd been close at the National Academy, but after leaving, Yu Sui began keeping her distance.
So when the noble young ladies gathered to chat, they sometimes talked about Zhongli Que. Some thought she was pitiful; others thought she was pretending to be innocent. They had all kinds of opinions.
Jin Zhi was among those who disliked Zhongli Que.
Sometimes you didn't need a reason to dislike someone. You just had to see her face and know she made you uncomfortable. After that, whatever she did would rub you the wrong way.
That was how Jin Zhi felt about Zhongli Que.
Besides, Jin Zhi ran with Princess Shangyang, who also disliked Zhongli Que. That made Jin Zhi feel all the more justified in hating her.
The noble young ladies ostracized Zhongli Que, and Jin Zhi often mocked the way Zhongli Que used to circle around Yu Sui like a puppy begging its master for attention. Now that Yu Sui wouldn't play with her anymore, she really had become a stray dog nobody wanted.
Jin Zhi had also attended the palace banquet the previous winter.
As she and Princess Shangyang's companions toured the gardens to admire the plum blossoms, something delayed Jin Zhi, and she couldn't keep up with the group. When she hurried after them alone, she happened to see Zhongli Que standing beneath a plum tree, holding a sword.
They were both startled to see each other. Zhongli Que instinctively tried to explain, "I wasn't—"
Jin Zhi covered her mouth. "How dare you carry a sword?"
She was both shocked and thrilled. Zhongli Que was carrying a sword. If the news got out, tonight would be quite a spectacle.
Jin Zhi ignored Zhongli Que and ran ahead to call Princess Shangyang and the others over.
But she'd barely gone a few steps when a Five Elements Light Core exploded beneath her feet and tripped her. She fell into the freezing lake. Jin Zhi didn't even have time to scream. Just as she was about to surface, someone grabbed her by the hair and shoved her back down.
The lake was icy cold. Its bone-chilling water made Jin Zhi panic. She knew Nine Schools Techniques, but a stronger force was suppressing her.
As she struggled to break the surface again and again, only to be forced back underwater each time, she glimpsed a slender hand wearing a jade bangle through the rippling water. The instant she fought her way up and saw Yu Sui right in front of her, Yu Sui mercilessly shoved her back underwater.
That brief glimpse made Jin Zhi's heart sink to the bottom of the valley.
With a splash, Jin Zhi struggled and cried out hoarsely, "N-Nangong Sui!"
She heard Nangong Sui laugh. Gripping Jin Zhi by the throat, she said, "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while. Why not today? Are you going to tell the others what you just saw, then die? Or would you rather die right now?"
How could this be?
Jin Zhi couldn't believe it. Yu Sui held her by the throat, keeping her afloat in the water while she struggled to breathe. Jin Zhi's eyes trembled. She couldn't reconcile the demon-voiced person before her with the usually guileless, innocent County Princess Nangong Sui.
Jin Zhi was nearly unconscious. As she struggled in the icy water, her strength drained away. Choking, she felt the terror of approaching death and wept as she begged for mercy. Yu Sui slowly let go, stood, and looked down at Jin Zhi, who had collapsed in a wretched heap by the shore.
That night, Zhongli Que had stood behind Yu Sui.
Jin Zhi held her throat and looked up. Water dripped from her bangs and slid down her eyelashes, but her vision remained clear.
Behind Yu Sui, she saw not only Zhongli Que, but also the Prince's Mansion Second Young Master who'd come with her: Su Feng.
And it was Su Feng who'd allowed Yu Sui to do as she pleased, using Nine Schools Techniques to suppress Jin Zhi and keep her from getting out of the water.
People were always saying that Yu Sui and Zhongli Que had fallen out. But Jin Zhi knew the Nangong siblings and Zhongli Que got along almost too well.
The night wind blew in through the window and brushed the back of Jin Zhi's neck. Its chill pulled her back from her memories. Thinking of Yu Sui downstairs, Jin Zhi couldn't help shivering.
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