Missing Thoughts Literature

After Yu Sui came in, Wei Ren felt uncomfortable all over. He instinctively avoided her gaze; his current, utterly wretched state made it hard for him to face her.

Wei Ren had complicated feelings about Yu Sui, too complicated to explain in a few words.

Yu Sui walked up to Wei Ren, crouched down beside him, and said softly, "Let's talk about Lady Su."

Wei Ren tightened the hand pressed to his shoulder. Right. The reason she hadn't killed him was that she wanted to know something about Lady Su.

He had to rely on his enemy to learn about his own mother's past.

Wei Ren took a deep breath, grabbed the doorframe, and struggled to his feet. Sweat poured down him, soaking the collar of his robe, and his wet black hair clung to his skin.

He looked like he wouldn't live much longer.

Bracing himself against the wall, Wei Ren made his way into the room. He struggled over to the bed and sat down, then slowly raised his head to look at Yu Sui standing in the doorway.

He asked hoarsely, "What do you want to know?"

Yu Sui entered the room and closed the door behind her.

Left outside, Mei Chengyu: "..."

Fine. He wasn't interested anyway.

Mei Chengyu lifted his eyelids, tugged at the clothes on his shoulder, and headed back to his dorm room.

Yu Sui stood just inside Wei Ren's doorway, keeping a moderate distance from him—just within the range where she could kill him in an instant.

She felt no murderous intent toward Wei Ren at the moment, and she couldn't kill him inside Taiyi Academy anyway.

Yu Sui asked directly, "What is your relationship with Lady Su?"

"Before I answer, I need a little time to recover. Destroying my cultivation has done a number on my Five Elements Light Core. After circulating my Qi just now, I nearly didn't last long enough for you to come ask me." Wei Ren spoke softly. He loosened his fingers, picked up the Medicine Bottle from the bedside table, opened it, and slowly put a pill in his mouth.

Yu Sui waited patiently without saying anything.

The room was quiet. The window was closed, and the dim light made everything inside seem covered in a layer of gray—cold and isolated.

After taking his medicine, Wei Ren rested for a while. His expression and mood gradually settled, and at last he dared to look at Yu Sui. He said gravely, "My relationship with her isn't as good as you think. It's complicated to explain, and there's too much involved. It'll probably take a while."

"I have all the time in the world today." Yu Sui pulled the chair beside her over and sat down by the door. "On my way here, I figured we might be talking for quite a while. During that time, I'll have to make a lot of decisions, like whether I should still want to kill you the next time we meet."

Wei Ren's gaze followed her as she moved.

Yu Sui sat in the shadow by the doorway, leaning back against the chair. Facing Wei Ren, she lifted her chin slightly, her expression unreadable. "Whether we're friends or enemies depends on what you say next, and what I decide to do."

"Looks like we've got some inexplicable connection, whether we're friends or enemies." Wei Ren gave a faint tug at the corner of his mouth. After a moment's thought, he said, "Your mother, Lady Su, was a Thirteenth Realm Nine Schools Practitioner of the Agricultural School. She was an impressive figure, and once led the Agricultural School in Qingyang."

"Her strength came from mastering the Agricultural School's forbidden Heavenly Secrets Technique: Phantom Beast, which was forbidden to practice."

Lady Su had practiced the Agricultural School Forbidden Technique.

Yu Sui's expression didn't change as she listened. She seemed to have expected this news.

It wasn't strange to her that someone like Lady Su would practice a forbidden technique. Yu Sui only wanted to know how powerful she had been as a Thirteenth Realm Nine Schools Practitioner.

"In other words, at the height of her power, the Heavenly Secrets Technique: Phantom Beast let her rival a Sage," Wei Ren said slowly. "That's why nearly all the Qingyang Agricultural School disciples who practiced forbidden techniques followed her. There's nothing strange about following the strong."

"I should explain the Agricultural School's forbidden techniques, too."

Wei Ren looked at Yu Sui. "You should have some idea by now what the Agricultural School's Heavenly Secrets Technique: Phantom Beast is."

Yu Sui spoke softly. "Phantom Beast Shadows—phantom beasts manifested from Five Elements Qi. Does knowing how to summon them count as knowing a Nine Schools Technique? And does the number depend on one's realm?"

Wei Ren held up his hand toward Yu Sui, showing her a number. "Agricultural School disciples below the Tenth Realm can summon one shadow. Those above the Tenth Realm can summon two. The Agricultural School once thought three was the limit, but Lady Su broke through it. At her peak, she could summon five Phantom Beast Shadows."

Five Phantom Beast Shadows.

Yu Sui repeated the number in her mind.

Wei Ren continued, "Each Phantom Beast Shadow has the strength of a Thirteenth Realm practitioner."

Yu Sui lifted her eyelids slightly. Lady Su's strength did sound almost heaven-defying.

"In the Agricultural School's eyes, the Heavenly Secrets Technique: Phantom Beast was powerful, but the shadows bred in darkness, carrying murderous intent, malice, and wicked energy. In battle, they could become uncontrollable, slaughter an opponent, or turn on their master. That's why the technique was forbidden."

Wei Ren explained patiently, "Once, a practitioner of the Phantom Beast technique was consumed by it and killed hundreds of Agricultural School disciples. After that, the Agricultural School practitioners across the continent declared it a forbidden technique. No one was allowed to practice it. Any Agricultural School disciple who practiced it in secret would be expelled and branded a traitor. Any Agricultural School disciple who saw one could kill them."

Even so, Agricultural School disciples kept practicing the Nine Schools Technique, Phantom Beast.

"This happened about two hundred years ago. Practicing the Heavenly Secrets Technique: Phantom Beast used to be perfectly normal. But after several Sages of the Agricultural School declared it forbidden, disciples who knew the technique were forced to destroy their own cultivation. Those who refused became enemies of the Agricultural School and could be hunted down."

"These Agricultural School disciples were called traitors," Wei Ren said. He couldn't help laughing, but the movement pulled at his wound, and he immediately grimaced in pain.

Yu Sui stared at him and asked, "What does the Agricultural School's forbidden technique have to do with the Soil of Breath?"

"Hm?" Wei Ren looked at her in surprise, then smiled with his gaze lowered. "You're nothing like the fool they described."

"As the Agricultural School's Treasured Item, the Soil of Breath produces an endless supply of Five Elements Qi, keeping Nine Schools Techniques stable over long periods," Wei Ren said simply. "With the Soil of Breath, the Phantom Beast technique can't turn on its master. It has no weaknesses anymore."

"The Agricultural School has long since split into factions, but they all feel the same way about 'traitors.' So those of us who practice Phantom Beast had no choice but to go to Yan and seize the Soil of Breath, to clear the Phantom Beast technique's name and get the Agricultural School to withdraw the traitor label, so we wouldn't have to hide anymore."

"Yan?" Yu Sui said in surprise.

Wei Ren was even more surprised. "You mean you don't even know your mother was from Yan?"

Yu Sui blinked gently, then smiled slowly. "That's right."

It wasn't just in the past. Even these last two years, Lady Su had barely spoken a few words to her.

Wei Ren laughed, too. "Compared to you, I know far too much."

"Yan was powerful at first, and the Agricultural School was strongest there. The Soil of Breath was also in the hands of Yan's Agricultural School Sage. But decades ago, Yan and the Agricultural School had both already split into factions and were locked in fierce internal struggles. The other Five Kingdoms carved up their territory, leaving the people to live in dire straits."

Wei Ren coughed softly twice, sinking into his memories. "Some of Yan's Nine Schools Practitioners had already lost hope in their kingdom. Lady Su was one of them."

"The person who raised me said Lady Su seized the Soil of Breath so that we 'traitors' could live normal, peaceful lives without being hunted down anymore.

"Yan was beyond saving, and no one would come to our rescue. But Lady Su would."

Yu Sui gave a soft sigh, sounding almost nonchalant. "She doesn't seem like that kind of person."

"People choose to believe whatever they want. I can't help that. It's what I was told growing up: Lady Su did us Agricultural School traitors a great favor. She gave herself to Qingyang King Nangong, then was hunted after taking the Soil of Breath. Even her Eldest Daughter was implicated and killed." Wei Ren raised his head and stared at Yu Sui. "As for you, people don't have a good impression of you. Because you existed, the Soil of Breath inside Lady Su was transferred to you. But Nangong Ming controlled you, ruining Lady Su's plan and giving him leverage to restrain her."

The Agricultural School traitors followed and trusted Lady Su, not her children.

"Over the years, more and more people in the Qingyang Imperial Capital have tried to kill you. But did you know? The Agricultural School disciples who came after you were mostly the ones in Yan who were still resisting and desperately trying to save their country."

"Because they wanted the Soil of Breath more than anyone, and needed it more desperately. They wanted to reclaim it, heal Yan's Agricultural School Sage, and save Yan, which had already been carved up from within."

"We've just been watching, along with Nine Schools Practitioners from other schools who wanted to seize the treasure."

Wei Ren kept his eyes on Yu Sui, not missing a single emotion in her eyes. He seemed to be waiting, or searching.

He had only known Yu Sui for a few days, but their brief acquaintance had left a deep impression. Those few days had been enough to overturn everything he knew about her.

The Young Princess of King Nangong's Mansion was not a Normal Practitioner, nor was she dim-witted and dull, nor merely a weakling who didn't matter.

The Young Princess wasn't living such a happy, carefree life, either. Everyone was unfortunate, and she was no exception.

Wei Ren believed Yu Sui was clever enough to grasp the news he'd just shared.

He was waiting for her reaction, to confirm his suspicions.

Yu Sui leaned back in her chair, her posture relaxed. Wei Ren couldn't tell whether she'd realized what the problem was. He only heard her say with a bright smile:

"You Agricultural School traitors have spent all these years watching, but the moment I came to Taiyi, you went straight for the kill."

A faint sigh, nearly imperceptible in her light voice, didn't escape Wei Ren.

Yu Sui asked, "Did someone tell you to act?"

Wei Ren saw that she wasn't angry or sad, only accepting it with calm indifference. Understanding dawned on him, and he smiled as well. "Looks like you and Lady Su aren't close at all. It's not the mother-daughter bond, relying on each other, that I imagined. No wonder I understand now why she sent me to Taiyi this time."

Yu Sui's bright black eyes reflected Wei Ren's pallid face. She sat up slightly and leaned forward. "You can be her child, too. Live at her mercy for eighteen years, and then you'll know what my relationship with her is like."

The smile in Yu Sui's eyes bewitched Wei Ren. He abruptly remembered the scene beneath the water, and the fear of death crashed over him. He instinctively broke eye contact.

"You don't need anyone particularly powerful to kill a Normal Practitioner. But doing it inside Taiyi Academy makes things very troublesome, so she sent me. Not to brag, but I'm the strongest of the younger generation." Wei Ren covered his mouth and coughed. His usual carefree expression returned. "After all, I could control three Phantom Beast Shadows at the Fifth Realm. The organization thinks highly of me, too. They didn't just send me to kill you and seize the Soil of Breath; they wanted me to study hard at Taiyi."

He sighed. "Too bad you snuffed out the organization's only promising talent."

Wei Ren spoke as if this were someone else's affair, not his own. There wasn't a trace of resentment in his words.

Yu Sui looked him up and down. "If I'd known you were that strong, I should have killed you, even if it cost me points."

"If we're going to hurt each other, I might as well be honest," Wei Ren said with a wide grin. "Your mother, Lady Su, sent me to kill you."

Yu Sui felt not the slightest surprise.

Her first thought was, At last.

"You don't look surprised or upset at all. In the past decade or so, Lady Su must not have been the sort of mother who made you feel dependent on her." Wei Ren held the Medicine Bottle in his hand and tapped the tabletop now and then, making a soft, steady sound that matched the rhythm of his words. "It's the same for me. In my master's and the others' eyes, Lady Su is the savior of all these traitors. But to me, she's just a Thirteenth Realm practitioner who failed to seize the Soil of Breath."

"As for the Agricultural School Forbidden Technique, I'm talented, and I could learn it, so I did. The Heavenly Secrets Technique is powerful. Why wouldn't I learn it?" Wei Ren smiled as he spoke. "After learning it, I found it wasn't as difficult or terrifying as people said. I'm confident I won't be consumed by it. So I don't really care about using the Soil of Breath to save the traitors. I'm simply interested in the Soil of Breath."

Yu Sui blinked at him. Whenever he talked about Nine Schools Techniques, he got rather full of himself—utterly confident, and unwilling to back down.

"Lu Haiye was following orders, too. The one who received Lady Su's instructions was my master. They communicate using the Agricultural School Sound Transmission Beast, and only Agricultural School disciples can decipher Animal Language. I went along to make sure I could keep you alive. When I saw you acting on your own, I wanted to see what strength you were hiding." The more Wei Ren spoke, the more relaxed he became. He seemed sure Yu Sui wouldn't kill him and was acting as carefree as before. "Let me warn you: my master is utterly devoted to Lady Su. As the most loyal dog at her side, even if she told him to kill me one day, the old man would do it without hesitation."

Yu Sui said, "Oh. A loyal dog."

"You should be focusing on the utterly devoted part. A man like that couldn't stand the woman he loves being with another man, let alone having that man's child." Wei Ren pointed his gaze at Yu Sui. "The person my master hates most is your father, Nangong Ming. You, Nangong Sui, come second."

Yu Sui smiled. "What a useless man."

Wei Ren burst out laughing at her comment, then the movement tugged at his wound and twisted his face in pain.

"Your father, Nangong Ming, is ruthless, too. That's why I find it strange. A man like him took Lady Su hostage, so why would he let the news that the Soil of Breath was inside a Normal Practitioner spread across the Six Kingdoms?"

"Yan's Agricultural School disciples kept streaming into the Qingyang Imperial Capital. Every one of them who tried to save their country died there."

Wei Ren spoke softly. "A Normal Practitioner was enough to tempt every Agricultural School disciple in Yan to risk everything for the slightest chance of seizing the Soil of Breath."

Nangong Ming needed only Yu Sui to keep the Agricultural School of Yan in check, luring them to their deaths.

At first, all he had to do was spread the word that the Soil of Breath was inside a helpless child. Later, that child turned out to be a Normal Practitioner. Nangong Ming had been disappointed, but he still took advantage of it, giving the Agricultural School of Yan hope and making them come to him of their own accord over the past eighteen years.

"Are you from Yan?" Yu Sui asked.

"I grew up in Qingyang. If I had to count, I'd be from Qingyang." Wei Ren blinked. "It doesn't matter which kingdom I'm from. What I'm curious about is you. Did Lady Su or Nangong Ming make you pretend to be a Normal Practitioner, or did you fool them both?"

Yu Sui's Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. She took it out and opened the message, answering distractedly, "Don't you think knowing too much is dangerous?"

"I'm not afraid of danger," Wei Ren said. "If I can learn what I want to know before I die, that's worth it."

"Besides, it'll decide whether I follow you from now on or keep following Lady Su."

Yu Sui's finger paused over the message grid. She looked up at Wei Ren, who raised his brows at her with a smile. "Didn't you say it yourself? Whether we're enemies or friends."

Wei Ren had given her a great deal of information today, far more than Yu Sui had expected. It had given her a deeper understanding of both Lady Su and Nangong Ming, and even helped her guess a few things she hadn't noticed before.

As Yu Sui paused to think, Wei Ren added, "You said each of you had half of the Soil of Breath. Now I can understand why Lady Su wants to kill you. She watched you for eighteen years and only made her move after you left the capital. I don't think she was sparing you or couldn't bear to part with you. I figure there were people from the Nangong Family in the capital, so she couldn't act there."

In Wei Ren's eyes, Lady Su had once been a powerful figure who could rival a Sage. There was no way she could accept her present circumstances.

Controlled by another, her old wounds unhealed, proud all her life, yet imprisoned because of her second daughter.

Wei Ren didn't find it strange that Lady Su wanted to kill Yu Sui.

But mostly, he thought he was simply born without much feeling, with little concept of family affection.

Yu Sui, meanwhile, wondered: even if Lady Su had been controlled by Nangong Ming and left alone in the capital, how could she be sure Lady Su was truly alone?

Yu Sui laughed at herself inwardly. It seemed she still hadn't thought things through enough.

Nangong Ming probably wanted the Agricultural School forces loyal to Lady Su, too. That was why he wasn't in a hurry to let her recover.

And the main reason Lady Su hadn't acted against Yu Sui all these years was that Nangong Ming had used Qingkui to threaten her.

Back then, Nangong Ming had told Lady Su that he knew Qingkui had been taken away by Mister Zhou, one of the Three Saints of the Medical School.

Nangong Ming knew where Qingkui and Mister Zhou were. Maybe they'd been under his watch all these years.

Had Lady Su made her move because the time was ripe, or because she was getting impatient?

And why was she in such a hurry?

Yu Sui caught sight of the Medicine Bottle in Wei Ren's hand from the corner of her eye and suddenly froze.

The earlier message flashed through her mind.

A young woman had arrived in the capital. Her name was Chu Jin, and she was known as the Little Medical Saint of the Medical School.

The Little Medical Saint had gone to King Nangong's Mansion to treat Lady Su's old illness.

Old Man Yan had said the Little Medical Saint never saw Lady Su.

Zhongli Que had said, "She's only a few years older than us."

Qingkui was a few years older than her—three years.

Was it because of Qingkui?

Yu Sui's lashes trembled. She lowered her eyes to the faintly glowing Listening Wind Ruler, her finger resting on the message grid. Reflected in her eyes was the message Zhongli Que had just sent:

"I just got back from the clinic. Sister Chu's clinic is so lively. There are lots of people there every day."

Sister?