Zhongli Que said to Yu Sui, "The person had an injury on his hand. It didn't look new, but like an old scar. He was probably young, and the spider he had wasn't ordinary either. It had Five Elements Qi attached to it."
She looked a little worried. "I have a bad feeling about this, Suisui. You need to be careful."
Yu Sui thought again of the Agricultural School's Nine Schools Techniques. They passed information between one another using little creatures like scorpions and spiders. Anyone who wasn't an Agricultural School Disciple couldn't understand Animal Language.
Wei Ren was about to send out some kind of message. It had something to do with her.
Was it about the soil?
Or about the trial?
Or both.
Over the years, no small number of Agricultural School members had hunted her down in an attempt to take back the soil. There had also been Nine Schools Practitioners from other schools, but the Agricultural School Disciples made up the majority.
People came and went in Qingyang Imperial Capital. Though its guards were strict, there was always a way to get in.
Compared to Qingyang Imperial Capital, Taiyi Academy wasn't an easy place to enter. Yet it seemed that coming to Taiyi couldn't spare her from being hunted down and having the soil taken from her.
Yu Sui lay back down on the bed. Deep into the night, even her eyes felt faintly warm. She gazed quietly at the ceiling, yellowed by the candlelight. Living somewhere crowded made her feel as if her hair were standing on end, her nerves drawn taut.
After dawn, Yu Sui waited for the heat brought on by the strange fire to fade before slowly getting up. She washed her face, then went out.
She rode the Dragon Ladder upstairs to find Wei Ren.
Yu Sui stood outside and knocked on the door. No one answered, so she patiently knocked again.
If no one came to open the door, she would just keep knocking.
The steady thudding continued without pause. Just as Yu Sui raised her hand to knock again, the door opened.
Mei Chengyu stood in the doorway, casually draped in a loose black robe. His hair hung loose, falling over his shoulders and weighing down the robe with it. He seemed to have just woken up. His brows were faintly furrowed, his refined features cool and distant. He gave Yu Sui a chilly once-over and asked in a low voice, "What?"
Yu Sui hadn't expected Mei Chengyu to open the door. Only after hearing him speak did she come to her senses. She lowered her hand and said obediently, "Sorry, Senior Martial Brother. I disturbed your rest. I'm looking for Wei Ren."
Mei Chengyu's dark eyes shifted, his gaze slowly settling on Yu Sui's face. "He's not here."
Yu Sui nodded and stepped back a couple of paces. "Then go back to sleep, Senior Martial Brother."
Mei Chengyu shut the door.
Yu Sui blinked at the closed door. Even her footsteps were light as she left.
She had to admit, her senior martial brother was more frightening before he'd fully woken up than when he was alert.
At least when he was awake, he knew to rein in that bone-deep indifference toward everything.
Yu Sui left the dormitory and went to the Yin-Yang School's Third Practice Hall.
These were the final two days of introductory classes.
None of those who had passed the trial the day before had come back. The practice hall, once full, now held only a dozen or so dispirited students. They were the ones who hadn't passed.
Yu Sui stood at the entrance and looked around. She didn't see Wei Ren, nor Li Jinshuang or Xue Mushi. Those who had passed the trial didn't want to waste time on introductory classes anymore. They had probably gone back to their respective schools to begin proper cultivation.
She still hadn't decided whether to go to the Agricultural School to look for someone when Jing Yun Kui suddenly appeared behind her and asked mildly, "Why aren't you going in?"
Yu Sui turned around, bowed her head to Jing Yun Kui, and said, "Teacher, I passed the trial yesterday."
Jing Yun Kui gave a slight nod without saying anything, then walked past her into the practice hall.
Yu Sui quietly stepped back and left the Third Practice Hall. For a moment, she had no idea what to do.
She used Wind Riding Technique to hurry to the Taoist Saint Hall and tell Sage Chang Gen that she had completed the trial and no longer needed to go to the Third Practice Hall. She asked what she should do next.
"Master, can you teach me how to cultivate?" Yu Sui sat by the table, propping her face in both hands as she looked up at the portrait.
"I do intend to teach you how to cultivate," Sage Chang Gen replied. "But you also need to cultivate at the academy. If you're expelled, I won't be able to teach you anymore."
Yu Sui nodded thoughtfully. "Then should I go to the Ghost Dao School now?"
Sage Chang Gen said, "There's a copy of your senior martial brother's family cultivation method on the table. You can read it first."
Hearing that, Yu Sui glanced at the next table and got up to walk over.
There were all sorts of things piled on Mei Chengyu's desk. Before Yu Sui arrived, he had been the only one who could come and go freely in the Taoist Saint Hall. No one had ever bothered him about what he did, so all kinds of odds and ends covered his desk. It looked like a mess. As long as he could find what he needed at a glance, that was all that mattered.
Yu Sui didn't tidy up his things either. She searched through them and gently pulled out the sheets of paper buried at the very bottom. Her eyes reflected the rows of elegant characters written across the white page.
Black and white seemed born to oppose one another, yet on the page they blended together in perfect harmony.
Yu Sui gazed admiringly at the neat little characters. She hadn't even really read the content; she just thought every character was so pleasing to the eye that she couldn't help but marvel.
So this was what it felt like to come across something you loved.
"Who taught Senior Martial Brother to write like that?" Yu Sui asked curiously.
"I did," Sage Chang Gen answered.
"Then your handwriting must be beautiful too, Master," Yu Sui said. "Where can I see something you've written?"
"Your senior martial brother put it away. For the rest, you might have to go to the Shenbao Book Pavilion," Sage Chang Gen said. "Only Grade A Disciples can enter the Shenbao Book Pavilion. You can't go in for now."
"I'm your disciple. I want to see my own master's handwriting, and I'm not allowed?" Yu Sui asked in surprise.
Sage Chang Gen replied, "No."
"Then can't you go get it for me? You wrote it yourself."
Sage Chang Gen replied, "No."
He added, "I can't move freely around Taiyi. If I show up in many places, I'll alarm a lot of people."
Yu Sui thought that made sense. The idea of an embodied consciousness was intangible and invisible, and people would only be frightened by it.
"Does the Shenbao Book Pavilion have lots of cultivation manuals and secret texts?" Yu Sui asked as she looked at the Ghost Dao School's cultivation method Mei Chengyu had written. "Are there lots of records related to cultivating the Nine Schools Techniques, like the Heavenly Secrets Technique and Mystic Technique?"
"There are," Sage Chang Gen replied.
"I wonder how long it'll take me to become a Grade A Disciple," Yu Sui said.
She did know some Grade A Disciples, but she wasn't close with any of them. If she told them she wanted to read books related to the Mystic Technique, she was afraid they'd get suspicious. She didn't want anything to connect her to the words "Mystic Technique."
Sage Chang Gen had even kept Mei Chengyu in the dark. That showed he also believed the fewer people who knew about the Mystic Technique, the better.
Yu Sui did think of someone.
She considered it carefully and decided it might work.
So she took out her Listening Wind Ruler and focused on fiddling with it.
Sage Chang Gen didn't ask what she was doing.
"Master, I'm going to the outer city tonight. I'll come back and see you afterward." Yu Sui got up and headed for the door. "I'm off."
Yu Sui had arranged to eat with Gu Gan at the Dining Hall.
She said she'd left in a hurry the day before and hadn't explained herself properly, making Gu Gan worry. Now that they were face-to-face, they could talk through what had happened.
Gu Gan came as promised.
This time, the two of them met on the Dining Hall's fourth floor. It was around noon, and the place was still crowded.
Gu Gan had come alone. He frowned as he looked at the injury on Yu Sui's face.
"Didn't you use the medicine I gave you?" he asked.
Yu Sui touched the scar on her face. "I used the one Third Brother gave me last night."
Gu Gan gave a soft snort. "His definitely isn't as good as mine."
Yu Sui smiled. "I'll try yours tonight. Will the scar go away quickly?"
"Of course. I guarantee it won't leave a trace on your face," Gu Gan promised.
Yu Sui touched her face and said, "I have a Five Elements Light Core, so I can cultivate the Nine Schools Techniques. I wonder what Father will think when he finds out."
"What could he think? You're not a Normal Practitioner, and you can cultivate the Nine Schools Techniques. He'll be thrilled," Gu Gan said with a smile. "Suisui, what are you afraid of? Cultivation can only help you. I'd like to see who dares say County Princess Nangong is a Normal Practitioner again."
Gu Gan even took the initiative to tell Yu Sui about the Five Elements Birth Technique.
Yu Sui listened intently.
They'd rarely talked about this sort of thing before. Since Yu Sui had been a Normal Practitioner, Gu Gan hadn't often discussed it with her. She wouldn't have understood, and though he could patiently explain, they couldn't find common ground in these topics.
On top of that, after Gu Gan went to Taiyi Academy, he hadn't returned to the capital for two years, nor had he kept in touch with Yu Sui.
But now that Yu Sui could cultivate the Nine Schools Techniques, the two of them suddenly had a lot more to talk about.
"Oh, right. The Ghost Dao School has a Nine Schools Technique called Spirit Extraction. It can knock the three spirits—mind, soul, and spirit—out of a person, turning an opponent into a walking corpse. It's really interesting." Gu Gan racked his brain for every Ghost Dao School technique he knew and chatted away with Yu Sui. "It's the Ghost Dao School's Heavenly Secrets Technique, but you're so clever, Suisui. I'm sure you'll be able to learn it someday."
"Cultivation can be a little tough, but you don't need to push yourself too hard. Whatever happens in the future, I'll protect you."
Yu Sui nodded along as she poured tea for them both. "You don't need to worry about me, Brother Gu. Just focus on yourself. I only need to learn a few Nine Schools Techniques so I can protect myself. I can't have you protecting me forever."
"I don't want to cause trouble for you or hold you back."
Gu Gan raised his brows slightly. "I'm doing it willingly. How could I think it's trouble? And you're not holding me back."
Yu Sui said again, "But one day, you'll start a family and make a life for yourself. You should protect the girl you love, your future wife and family."
Gu Gan looked at her and said, "I do have someone I love, and I'm protecting her now. I'll protect her in the future, too. If I ever start a family, she'll be the one I marry."
Yu Sui asked curiously, "Who is she?"
Gu Gan's expression faltered. He looked at her helplessly. "You'll find out when the time comes."
His Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. Gu Gan took it out and opened the message.
Yu Sui was still pressing him curiously. "Why? Can't you tell me now? Is it someone I know?"
"You..." Gu Gan had just begun to say something when he froze at the message on his Listening Wind Ruler.
The sender was unidentified. The message began with only one character: Gan.
"I heard you're planning to break into the Hanging Moon Cave again?"
Who was it?
Holding the Listening Wind Ruler, Gu Gan lightly touched the text field with his fingertip but didn't type a single character. He stared intently at the message, his thoughts growing distant as Yu Sui's voice kept pressing him for an answer.
Another new message appeared:
"I was only thinking about the Milky Way Water. Didn't expect you to be even more ambitious. You're breaking into the Hanging Moon Cave to steal the Futuo Tower."
When Gu Gan saw the end of the message, his pupils shook. His hand tightened slightly around the Listening Wind Ruler.
Yu Sui asked, puzzled, "Brother Gu?"
"Who are you?" Gu Gan's expression turned cold as his fingers flew across the text field to reply.
But the other party kept talking as if no one else were there. "Why don't we work together? Many hands make light work. Otherwise, it won't be long before everyone at the academy knows you're gathering information on the Futuo Tower. By then, getting expelled will be the least of your worries, won't it?"
Gu Gan asked, "Are you threatening me?"
"Yes."
Gu Gan's eye twitched violently. He took a deep breath and replied at once, "You think sending messages without using a coded seal could leak out without anyone noticing? That's no less serious than me collecting information about the Futuo Tower. Those three schools will turn the place upside down to find you."
"You can tell them, but no one will believe you."
After the other party sent that message, Gu Gan watched helplessly as the earlier messages vanished one by one. There was nothing he could do to stop it. His heart sank.
"How about it?"
Gu Gan had only just seen the message when it vanished again.
His face darkened as he replied, "What do you want?"
"To celebrate our first collaboration, go to the Shenbao Book Pavilion and fetch a few books."
Gu Gan held back his temper and asked, "Are you messing with me?"
"It's only a Grade A location. Can't you do it? I don't want to work with someone who can't even break into a Grade A location and steal something, let alone steal the Futuo Tower."
Gu Gan asked, "What are you trying to do?"
"You have one day. If you can't get them before dawn tomorrow, everyone at the academy will find out what you wanted from the Hanging Moon Cave."
After the messages on the Listening Wind Ruler vanished again, Gu Gan was so angry he wanted to smash something. Then he looked up and saw Yu Sui watching him with concern. "Brother Gu, is something wrong?"
"Nothing." Gu Gan shook his head and put away the Listening Wind Ruler with a dark expression. He got to his feet. "Suisui, eat by yourself for now. I have to go take care of something."
Gu Gan was certain that the person who'd sent the message was the other person in the Hanging Moon Cave a month ago.
Had the other person found out about him after he'd exposed himself in the Hanging Moon Cave last time?
Then why had they come to him now?
Countless thoughts flashed through Gu Gan's mind, finally stopping at the other person's last message.
Damn it, he felt like this person really would spread the news.
Gu Gan hurriedly contacted his Grade A buddy, Wen Yanghui.
Yu Sui propped her chin in one hand and blinked as she watched Gu Gan hurry away.
She'd never thought she and Gu Gan were childhood sweethearts.
They were only using each other.
After leaving the matter of finding the books to Gu Gan, Yu Sui finished the rest of her meal alone. She rested for a while before leaving the academy and heading to the outer city.
It was already afternoon. Black Beard was waiting at the academy gates with a carriage.
When he saw Yu Sui, he walked over. "County Princess, this way."
Yu Sui didn't use Wind Riding Technique to hurry to the outer city. She still chose to take the carriage.
She lifted the curtain and looked outside. Along the way, she saw high mountains, the sea, and flower-filled woods beside the road. Seabirds occasionally spread their wings and skimmed past. A black sea eagle flew higher and higher. The farther the carriage traveled from the academy, the more she could see around the bends, including other small islands in the distance.
On the way, Black Beard told Yu Sui about the Nangong Family's various businesses in the outer city.
Yu Sui was somewhat distracted, thinking about the relationship between Gu Gan and Nangong Ming.
Nangong Ming wouldn't waste his time or feelings on someone useless. But he treated Gu Gan differently, which meant Gu Gan was more than just talented.
When it came to talent, Gu Gan seemed about on par with Sheng Zui. But there had to be something Gu Gan had that Sheng Zui didn't, something that made Nangong Ming favor him.
Maybe they had common interests and goals in their work together.
Nangong Ming definitely knew Gu Gan's parents. That was why he'd helped Gu Gan get revenge, sending the Qingyang officials who'd offended his parents and indirectly caused their deaths to prison. Over the years, plenty of people he'd sent to prison had died there.
Yu Sui believed that Gu Gan's parents must have had a very good relationship with Nangong Ming.
And probably with Lady Su, too.
Lady Su also treated Gu Gan differently.
It was as if she were looking after an old friend's child.
Sometimes Yu Sui felt that Lady Su treated Gu Gan like her own son.
Lady Su taught Gu Gan to recognize the Agricultural School's medicinal and poisonous herbs, and also taught him the Agricultural School's Animal Language.
With Lady Su's help, Gu Gan had become Immune to all poisons. Ordinary toxins couldn't do a thing to him. Gu Gan could make Lady Su laugh, easing the sorrow from her face and letting her forget old grudges, at least for a little while.
Why did people favor Gu Gan so much?
When Yu Sui had been bored in the past, she would think about it. No matter how much she thought, she could find no reason. She could only accept it.
Today, after hearing the way Gu Gan spoke of Nangong Ming, she suddenly thought of something.
That was it.
Perhaps Gu Gan possessed the Mystic Technique too.
And Nangong Ming had always known.
Knowing that Gu Gan possessed the Mystic Technique, Nangong Ming hadn't tried to take it from him. Instead, he had chosen to protect him and nurture his growth.
People were simply treated differently.
"County Princess, we're here."
Black Beard's voice brought Yu Sui back to her thoughts. She lowered the carriage curtain, stepped down, and followed Black Beard into the bustling tavern ahead.
The tavern was packed with people. The first floor was filled with the aroma of food; the second and third floors held private rooms, though the third floor rang with thunderous noise, for it was a gambling hall. The fourth floor was for lodging, and only the fifth floor was used to receive guests.
Once the door was shut, the room was utterly silent.
Yu Sui walked to the table and sat down. She watched Black Beard hand over a box containing a secret letter. "This is the Prince's reply to you."
Since messages couldn't be sent through the Listening Wind Ruler, they had no choice but to correspond by letter.
Yu Sui opened it and read.
Nangong Ming praised her for becoming Sage Chang Gen's disciple and for resolving Gu Gan's crisis on her very first day there. He was very pleased with her performance. The letter said, "You've finally grown into someone useful."
"While studying and cultivating, don't forget to get the Zhongli family's child out of the academy."
Yu Sui stared at the end of the letter for a long while.
Did this mean he wanted her to drive Zhongli Shan out of Taiyi Academy?
Zhongli Ci had sent his son to Taiyi Academy not only to help Zhongli Shan advance his cultivation, but also to find a way to counter the Name School's Heavenly Secrets Technique, the Shura Eye. That would ease the pressure on the Zhongli Family, and at the very least, leave Nangong Ming with one fewer deadly weakness to exploit. In all these past years, Nangong Ming had never acted against Zhongli Shan. Was he saying this now because he believed Zhongli Shan had finally grown enough to threaten him?
Yu Sui held the letter over the candle flame and set it alight. "Find me all the information you can about Zhongli Shan at Taiyi Academy."
Black Beard nodded and immediately set to work, marveling inwardly that the Prince's chosen successor really was something: no wasted words, and quick to act.
He'd definitely picked the right side.
Yu Sui read through all the information about Zhongli Shan at the Nangong Family's tavern. It was dark outside by the time she finally rubbed her eyes. After nightfall, the heat from the strange fire grew stifling, and she fanned herself with a hand.
Black Beard had spent the whole afternoon reading alongside her, ready to answer any questions Yu Sui might have.
"County Princess, why don't you rest for a while? Have something to eat before you return to the academy."
Black Beard made the suggestion.
"Anything's fine." Yu Sui set the Listening Wind Ruler down on the table, slumped over beside it, and said listlessly, "I've read enough. I'll head back after I eat."
Seeing her like this, Black Beard didn't press her. He nodded and went downstairs to get her something to eat.
As Yu Sui lay slumped over the table, she wondered why Nangong Ming didn't give such a troublesome task to Gu Gan. Why make her do it? Was the old man testing whether she still got along with the Zhongli family's child?
Once she had "grown into someone useful," one order after another would follow, with Nangong Ming making her do things she didn't want to do.
As Yu Sui lay thinking, the corner of her eye suddenly caught a strange flash of red.
The red slipped in through a narrow gap in the window and crawled along the frame. The red spider stopped when it sensed Yu Sui watching it, and the two seemed to study each other.
Before you continue