Missing Thoughts Literature

Chapter 37

When Yu Sui entered, Wei Ren felt uneasy all over. He subconsciously avoided her gaze, finding it difficult to face her in his current disheveled state.

Wei Ren's feelings for Yu Sui were complicated, impossible to explain in a few words.

Yu Sui walked up to Wei Ren, squatted down, and leaned close to him, saying softly, "Let's talk about Lady Su."

Wei Ren tightened his grip on his shoulder. Right, she hadn't killed him because she wanted information about Lady Su.

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

Wei Ren took a deep breath, grabbed the door frame, and stood up in a sorry state. Sweat poured down him, soaking his clothes and plastering his dark hair to his skin. He looked like he wouldn't live much longer.

He leaned against the wall and walked into the room, struggling to reach the bedside and sit down. He slowly looked up at Yu Sui, who was standing by the door.

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

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

Mei Chengyu, who was shut outside: "..."

Fine, he wasn't interested anyway.

Mei Chengyu flicked his eyelids and, holding his shirt, returned to his own bedroom.

Yu Sui stood at Wei Ren's doorway, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far—just within the range where she could instantly kill Wei Ren. At this moment, she harbored no killing intent towards him, and she couldn't kill anyone within Taiyi Academy.

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

"Before I answer you, I need to recover. Crippling my own cultivation caused significant damage to my Five Elements Light Core. After circulating my energy just now, I almost couldn't wait for you to ask me." Wei Ren spoke softly. He loosened his fingers, picked up the medicine bottle from the bedside table, opened it, and slowly took the medicine.

Yu Sui waited patiently, saying nothing.

The room was quiet. The window was closed, and the dim light cast a gray, cold, and lonely pall over everything.

After taking the medicine and resting for a while, Wei Ren's expression and mood calmed down. He finally dared to look at Yu Sui and said in a deep voice, "My relationship with her isn't as good as you think. Explaining it is complicated and involves too many things. It will probably take some time."

"I have plenty of time today," Yu Sui said. She pulled over a chair from the side and sat by the door. "When I came, I also thought we might talk for a long time. During this time, I will also have to make many decisions, such as whether I will still harbor killing intent towards you when we meet again."

Wei Ren's gaze followed her.

Yu Sui sat in the dimness of the doorway, leaning back in her chair. Facing Wei Ren, she slightly lifted her chin, her eyes filled with an unclear, somber expression. "Whether we become friends or enemies depends on what you say next and what I decide to do."

"It seems we have a rather inexplicable fate, whether as friends or enemies," Wei Ren said, a slight curl of his lips. After a moment of thought, he began, "Your mother, Lady Su, was a practitioner of the Thirteen Realms and Nine Schools Technique from the Agricultural School. She was a very powerful existence and once the leader of the Qingyang Agricultural School—"

"Her prowess lay in mastering the Heavenly Secrets Technique, Phantom Beast, which the Agricultural School had forbidden," Wei Ren continued.

Lady Su cultivated a forbidden technique of the Agricultural School. Yu Sui's expression remained unchanged. This news seemed to be something she had already anticipated. For someone like Lady Su, cultivating a forbidden technique didn't seem strange to Yu Sui. She only wanted to know how strong she was as a practitioner of the Thirteen Realms and Nine Schools Technique.

"In other words, with the Heavenly Secrets Technique, Phantom Beast, her peak strength could rival that of a Saint," Wei Ren said slowly. "Therefore, almost all disciples of the Qingyang Agricultural School who cultivated forbidden techniques followed her lead. It's always natural to follow the strong."

"I also need to explain the issue of the Agricultural School's forbidden techniques."

Wei Ren looked at Yu Sui and said, "The Heavenly Secrets Technique, Phantom Beast, of the Agricultural School—you should have some idea about it now."

Yu Sui said softly, "Phantom Beast Shadow, a phantom beast materialized by Five Elements Qi. Is that considered a Nine Schools Technique, with different realms?"

Wei Ren held up his hand and showed Yu Sui a number. "Disciples of the Agricultural School below the Tenth Realm can only summon one shadow. Disciples above the Tenth Realm can summon two. The Agricultural School believed the limit for Phantom Beast Shadow was three, but Lady Su broke this limit. In her prime, she could summon five Phantom Beast Shadows."

Five Phantom Beast Shadows. Yu Sui repeated the number in her mind.

Wei Ren added, "Each Phantom Beast Shadow possesses the strength of the Thirteenth Realm."

Yu Sui slightly raised her eyelids. Lady Su's strength did indeed sound somewhat heaven-defying.

"In the eyes of the Agricultural School, although the Heavenly Secrets Technique, Phantom Beast, was powerful, the shadows were born from darkness, containing killing intent, malice, and evil energy. During combat, they could become uncontrollable, leading to the slaughter of opponents or even backlash against the master. That's why it was forbidden."

Wei Ren patiently explained, "There was once a person in the Agricultural School who cultivated the Phantom Beast and suffered backlash, killing hundreds of disciples. Afterward, it was listed as a forbidden technique by all Agricultural School practitioners on the continent, and cultivation was prohibited. If any disciple of the Agricultural School secretly cultivated the Phantom Beast, they would be expelled from the Agricultural School and branded a traitor. Any disciple of the Agricultural School could kill them on sight."

Even so, there were still constant disciples of the Agricultural School who cultivated the Nine Schools Technique, Phantom Beast.

"This happened about two hundred years ago. Cultivating the Heavenly Secrets Technique, Phantom Beast, was once a normal thing. Since it was listed as a forbidden technique by several Saints of the Agricultural School, disciples who could use the Phantom Beast were forced to cripple their own cultivation. Some were unwilling, so they became enemies of the Agricultural School and were hunted."

"These disciples of the Agricultural School were called traitors of the Agricultural School," Wei Ren said, unable to help but chuckle. However, the laugh caused his wounds to ache, and he immediately frowned in pain.

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

"Hmm?" Wei Ren looked at her with some surprise. He lowered his gaze and smiled, "You're not as stupid as they say."

"Primordial Soil, as a treasured item of the Agricultural School, possesses inexhaustible Five Elements Qi, which can make the Nine Schools Technique stable for a long time," Wei Ren said simply. "As long as there is Primordial Soil, the possibility of backlash from the Phantom Beast can be avoided, and it would have no weaknesses."

"The Agricultural School has long been divided internally, but their attitude towards the existence of 'traitors' is the same. Therefore, we traitors who cultivate the Phantom Beast had to go to the Yan Kingdom to steal Primordial Soil, to vindicate the Phantom Beast, to have the Agricultural School retract the term 'traitor,' and to live without hiding."

"Yan Kingdom?" Yu Sui was a little surprised.

Wei Ren was even more surprised than her. "You don't even know that your mother is from the Yan Kingdom?"

Yu Sui blinked lightly and slowly smiled, "Indeed."

Even setting aside the past, in the last two years, Lady Su hasn't said more than a few words to her.

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

"Initially, the Yan Kingdom was powerful, and the Agricultural School's influence was strongest there. Primordial Soil was also controlled by the Yan Kingdom's Agricultural School Saint. But decades ago, at that time, both the Yan Kingdom and the Agricultural School were the same – already fractured, with severe internal strife, allowing the other five kingdoms to carve them up. The common people lived in dire straits."

Wei Ren coughed lightly, sinking into memory. "A portion of the Yan Kingdom's Nine Schools Practitioners had already become disillusioned with the Yan Kingdom. Lady Su was one of them."

"The person who raised me said that Lady Su seized the Primordial Soil so that we 'traitors' could live a stable, normal life, no longer hunted.

The Yan Kingdom was beyond saving, no one would come to save us, but Lady Su would."

Yu Sui let out a sigh, saying casually, "She doesn't seem like that kind of person."

"People wishfully believe it, and I can't do anything about it, because that's what I've heard since I was young. Lady Su bestowed great kindness upon us Agricultural School traitors. She went to Qingyang and served Prince Nangong. After obtaining the Primordial Soil, she was pursued, and even her eldest daughter was implicated and killed." Wei Ren looked up at Yu Sui as he spoke. "As for you, people's impression of you isn't good. Because of your existence, the Primordial Soil was transferred from Lady Su's body, but you were controlled by Nangong Ming, causing Lady Su's previous plan to fail completely. It also led to her being threatened and restricted by Nangong Ming."

The Agricultural School traitors followed and trusted Lady Su, not Lady Su's child.

"Over the years, the number of people trying to kill you in the Qingyang Imperial Capital has only increased, but do you know who killed you the most? It was the Agricultural School disciples from the Yan Kingdom who were still resisting, desperately trying to save their country."

"Because they are the ones most desperate and eager for the Primordial Soil, to reclaim it to heal the Yan Kingdom's Agricultural School Saint and save the Yan Kingdom, which has already been divided from within."

"And we were just observing, along with Nine Schools Practitioners from other factions trying to seize the treasure."

Wei Ren continued to stare at Yu Sui, not missing any emotion in her eyes at that moment, as if waiting, or perhaps searching.

His contact with Yu Sui was brief, only a few days, yet incredibly profound. These short days were enough to overturn all the personal intelligence he had gathered about Yu Sui.

The young princess of the Nangong King's manor was not a normal practitioner. She was not foolish and dull-witted. She was not merely an insignificant weakling.

This young princess did not live so happily. Everyone was unfortunate, and she was no exception.

Wei Ren believed that Yu Sui, with her intelligence, would grasp the implications of the information he had just revealed.

He was waiting for Yu Sui's reaction to confirm his guess.

Yu Sui leaned back in her chair, her posture relaxed. Wei Ren couldn't tell if she had realized the problem or not. He only heard her say with a smile, "You Agricultural School traitors have only been observing all these years, yet you directly tried to kill me after I arrived in Taiyi."

In her light tone, Wei Ren caught a faint, almost imperceptible sigh.

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

Seeing that she was neither sad nor angry, accepting it all calmly and indifferently, Wei Ren understood and also smiled. "It seems your relationship with Lady Su isn't good at all. It's not the mother-daughter affection and mutual reliance I imagined. No wonder. I can understand why I was sent to Taiyi this time."

Yu Sui's bright black eyes reflected Wei Ren's pale face. She sat up slightly, leaning forward a bit, and chuckled softly. "You try being her child, living under her for eighteen years, and then you'll know what my relationship with her is like."

Wei Ren was captivated by the smile in Yu Sui's eyes. Suddenly, he thought of the scene underwater, and the fear of death instantly descended upon him. He subconsciously averted his gaze.

"You don't need someone too powerful to kill a normal practitioner, but if the location is Taiyi Academy, it becomes very troublesome. That's why they sent me. Not to brag, but among the younger generation, I'm the most capable." Wei Ren covered his mouth and coughed, his expression returning to its usual carefree demeanor. "After all, I can control three phantom beast phantoms at the Fifth Realm. The organization values me quite a bit. They sent me not only to kill you and seize the Primordial Soil, but also to study well in Taiyi."

He sighed, "Unfortunately, the only promising seedling in the organization was killed by you."

Wei Ren spoke as if it were about someone else, not himself. There wasn't a hint of resentment in his words.

Yu Sui sized him up for a moment. "If I had known you were so capable, I would have killed you even if it meant losing points."

"If we must hurt each other, then I can only speak plainly." Wei Ren grinned and said, "It was your mother, Lady Su, who ordered me to kill you."

Yu Sui felt no surprise at all.

Her first reaction was, It's finally here.

"I see you don't seem surprised or saddened. It's likely that over the past decade or so, Lady Su wasn't a mother who inspired dependence in her child." Wei Ren fiddled with a medicine bottle in his hand, tapping it rhythmically against the table, producing a knock, knock, knock sound that matched the rhythm of his speech. "It's the same for me. In the eyes of my master and others in the organization, Lady Su is the savior of these traitors. But in my eyes, she's just a Thirteenth Realm cultivator who failed to seize the Primordial Soil."

"As for the forbidden arts of the Agricultural School, I have high talent, so I learned them if I could. Heavenly Secrets Technique is powerful; why wouldn't I learn it if I could?" Wei Ren chuckled as he spoke. "After learning it, I found it wasn't as difficult or terrifying as people said. I'm confident I won't suffer backlash, so I'm not very concerned about the Primordial Soil saving traitors. I'm simply interested in the Primordial Soil itself."

Yu Sui blinked at him. When this person spoke of Nine Schools Techniques, he inexplicably put on airs, full of confidence and utterly unwilling to admit defeat.

"Lu Haiye was also acting under orders. My master received Lady Su's instructions. They communicate using Agricultural School sound transmission beasts, and only Agricultural School disciples can interpret their language. I was with him then to ensure I could protect you from death. Seeing you act on your own, I also wanted to see what hidden strength you possessed." Wei Ren became more relaxed as he spoke, as if convinced Yu Sui wouldn't kill him, and returned to his usual carefree demeanor. "Let me remind you, my master is deeply devoted to Lady Su. As Lady Su's most loyal dog, even if Lady Su ordered him to kill me one day, he would do so without hesitation."

Yu Sui said, "Loyal dog."

"Your focus should be on 'deeply devoted.' A man like that, how could he tolerate the woman he loves being with another man and even having that man's child?" Wei Ren's gaze fixed on Yu Sui. "My master's most hated person is your father, Nangong Ming. Second most hated is you, Nangong Sui."

Yu Sui chuckled, "An incompetent man."

Wei Ren was amused by her assessment. As he laughed, his wound pulled, and his face contorted in pain.

"Your father, Nangong Ming, is also a ruthless person. That's why I find it strange. For someone like him, who held Lady Su hostage, how could he let the news of the Primordial Soil being with a normal practitioner spread to all six kingdoms?"

"Agricultural School disciples from the Yan Kingdom are continuously rushing to the Qingyang Imperial Capital. Every Agricultural School disciple who attempts to save their homeland dies in the Qingyang Imperial Capital."

Wei Ren said softly, "A normal practitioner is enough temptation for all the Agricultural School disciples of the Yan Kingdom to risk everything, clinging to that sliver of chance and possibility to seize the Primordial Soil."

Nangong Ming only needed one Yu Sui to tie down the Yan Kingdom's Agricultural School, making them willingly walk into their deaths.

Initially, he only spread the word that the Primordial Soil was with a powerless child. Later, this child was a normal practitioner. Although Nangong Ming regretted it somewhat, he also used this to give the Yan Kingdom's Agricultural School hope, allowing them to deliver themselves over the past eighteen years.

"The Yan Kingdom has no Saint. The only Agricultural School Saint was severely injured due to the loss of the Primordial Soil. If he were to recover, the Yan Kingdom wouldn't be in its current state of being slaughtered, and the citizens living in the Yan Kingdom wouldn't have lost all hope."

Because of the Six Kingdoms' Non-War Covenant, no country's cavalry set foot on Yan Kingdom's land. There were no battles or smoke of war in any part of the Yan Kingdom, yet it was infiltrated from the top. For decades, Nine Schools Practitioners from the five kingdoms continuously entered the Yan Kingdom, instigating conflicts and causing the Yan Kingdom's Nine Schools forces to reshuffle.

As long as the Non-War Covenant was not lifted, the Yan Kingdom would truly be "fractured."

"Are you from the Yan Kingdom?" Yu Sui asked.

"I grew up in Qingyang, so if anything, I'm a Qingyang person," Wei Ren said, blinking. "It doesn't matter what country I'm from. What I'm curious about is you. Did Lady Su or Nangong Ming ask you to pretend to be a normal practitioner, or did you deceive Lady Su and Nangong Ming?"

Yu Sui's Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. She took it out, tapped it, and replied perfunctorily, "Don't you think it's dangerous to know too much?"

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

"Besides, this will determine whether I follow you or continue to follow Lady Su."

Yu Sui's hand paused as she filled in the blanks. She looked up at Wei Ren, who raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. "Didn't you say it yourself? Whether we're enemies or friends."

Wei Ren had indeed told her a lot of information today, far more than Yu Sui had imagined. It gave her a deeper understanding of Lady Su and Nangong Ming, and she even guessed some things she hadn't realized before.

While Yu Sui was pausing to think, Wei Ren continued, "You said you and Lady Su each have half of the Primordial Soil, and that's why Lady Su wants to kill you. I can understand that now. She observed you for eighteen years, only making a move after you left the Imperial Capital. I don't think she was being lenient or reluctant. She probably had people from the Nangong family in the Imperial Capital, making it difficult for her to act."

In Wei Ren's eyes, someone like Lady Su, a former peak expert comparable to a Saint, would never accept her current situation.

Being controlled by others, her old wounds unhealed, having been proud her whole life, only to become a prisoner because of her second daughter.

Wei Ren wasn't surprised that Lady Su wanted to kill Yu Sui.

But he mostly believed he was naturally detached and had no concept of family affection.

Yu Sui, however, thought that even if Lady Su was controlled by Nangong Ming and remained alone in the Imperial Capital, how could she be so sure that Lady Su was truly alone?

Yu Sui scoffed softly in her heart. It seemed she hadn't thought enough.

Nangong Ming probably wanted the Agricultural School forces loyal to Lady Su, so he wasn't in a hurry for Lady Su to recover.

And the main reason Lady Su hadn't acted against her all these years was that Nangong Ming threatened her with Qingkui.

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

Nangong Ming knew the whereabouts of Qingkui and Mister Zhou. Perhaps Qingkui and Mister Zhou had been living under Nangong Ming's surveillance all these years.

Did Lady Su suddenly try to kill her because she felt the time was right, or was she a bit too hasty?

Why the rush?

Yu Sui's peripheral vision caught the medicine bottle in Wei Ren's hand, and she suddenly froze.

The previous message flashed in her mind.

A young lady named Chu Jin had come to the Imperial Capital, known as the Little Medical Saint of the Medical School.

This Little Medical Saint had gone to the Nangong King's manor to treat Lady Su's old illness.

Old Man Yan said the Little Medical Saint did not meet Lady Su.

Zhongli Que said she was only a few years older than us.

How many years older was Qingkui than her? Three years.

Was it because of Qingkui?

Yu Sui's eyelashes trembled slightly. She lowered her gaze back to the slightly glowing Listening Wind Ruler. Her fingers hovered over the fill-in-the-blanks, and her eyes reflected the message Zhongli Que had just sent:

"I just got back from the medical clinic. Sister Chu's clinic is so lively, with so many people coming every day."

Sister?