Literary Yearning

Chapter 6

Chapter 006

After finishing her kneeling, Yu Sui returned to her courtyard. The mute woman and others had already prepared things to massage her knees. After a fuss, she finally lay down on the bed.

She didn't have to go to the Imperial Academy today. As the sky was just beginning to brighten, the lingering heat from the Strange Fire made her sit up again. She raised her hand to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead, then touched her cheeks. The burning pain from before had disappeared, and there was no sign she had been hit.

She gently rubbed her cheeks for a long time.

Yu Sui thought back from the beginning, finally recalling the scene where Zhongli Que called her.

"Don't go out!"

This meant she knew what she would encounter if she went out.

Yu Sui fanned herself and walked to the Liudan Jade Stone, sitting down and gazing at the Strange Fire in her palm, lost in thought.

If she was of average talent, then the children around her were all geniuses, each with high talent in a certain field.

Nangong Ming had only tested her talent once. Seemingly heartbroken by the results, she never paid attention to it again.

As for her three older brothers, their future paths within the Nine Schools Techniques had already been decided during their first talent tests.

Nangong Ming's cultivation originated from the School of Names, possessing the "Shura Eye," one of the Three Yamas of the School of Names.

The Shura Eye was a unique ability of the School of Names. With just one glance, it could see your entire life. It was very useful for talent testing, but it also had a terrifying side:

It could see through all illusions and break all Military Formation techniques.

Although Nangong Ming did not personally test Yu Sui's talent, she hired an old sorcerer from the Yin-Yang School. However, she used her Shura Eye to observe the entire process, confirming that the old sorcerer's words were correct. Her foolish daughter indeed had mediocre aptitude and could not achieve anything great.

In this life, she would only be a vessel for Primordial Soil.

From the moment children's talents were tested, they began their cultivation.

Yu Sui looked back at the Five Elements Light Core in her palm. She had extracted six of them from the Strange Fire.

Although her potential had increased, she didn't know what to do with these extracted Five Elements Light Cores. Besides being able to obtain them repeatedly, what other use did they have?

She couldn't just keep them for herself to play with; that would be quite a waste.

Yu Sui rested her chin on her hand and thought for a long time.

She knew too little about cultivation; she only learned from books.

There were even fewer records of Strange Fire in this world; there was none in books.

The Five Elements Light Core contained the power of various unique abilities and mystical techniques of cultivators, but she had not joined any of the Nine Schools factions to cultivate, so she didn't know their unique abilities and mystical techniques.

Nine Schools Techniques.

If she couldn't learn from others, she would create her own.

Yu Sui stood up and placed the Five Elements Light Cores in different locations: by the bedside, on the dressing table, among the flowers in the courtyard, and by the main gate.

The next day, Yu Sui went to the Imperial Academy.

Princess Shangyang asked her why she hadn't come yesterday. Yu Sui said she wasn't feeling well.

"Did your father scold you when you went back?" Princess Shangyang asked, resting her head on her hand and smiling. "I heard that the Lin Clan matter was presided over by your father. He couldn't find your older brother useful, so he must have come to you."

Although Princess Shangyang was young and had a spoiled and arrogant temper, she wasn't an idiot. Yu Sui heard that she would go to the Yin-Yang School in the future because her talent test had the highest compatibility with the Yin-Yang School.

Unfortunately, Princess Shangyang was obsessed with Gu Gan. Seizing the opportunity, she said to Yu Sui, "Help me keep an eye on Gu Gan. If you act foolishly again and get scolded by the Prince, I can put in a good word for you, so you'll get scolded less, right?"

Yu Sui, who was sleeping on the table, silently turned her head, showing her the back of her head to Princess Shangyang.

Princess Shangyang rolled her eyes in annoyance and ignored her.

Yu Sui closed her eyes, ignoring the noisy surroundings. She detached her consciousness, attempting to connect to the Five Elements Light Cores scattered throughout the King's Mansion from the Strange Fire.

They were born from the Strange Fire, but they were also mixed with her spiritual power, allowing them to regenerate repeatedly.

Perhaps they were connected.

Yu Sui decided to try.

Her detached consciousness circled the Strange Fire. Looking through the burning flames, she saw a faint, flickering thread of fire moving within the Five Elements Light Cores placed around the King's Mansion.

Yu Sui saw from the Strange Fire:

The mute woman entered with the maids. Some maids were sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard, changing her bedding, lighting incense in the room, placing fresh flower branches in vases, and taking away the wilting ones.

A bird landed among the flowers, stealing nectar. Hearing the mute woman open the door, it flapped its wings and flew away.

Yu Sui opened her eyes, then closed them again.

The waste utilization was successful.

*

After detaching the Five Elements Light Cores from the Strange Fire, Yu Sui could also activate the connection, dispersing her consciousness to the Five Elements Light Cores.

Yu Sui practiced for seven or eight days, leaving the Five Elements Light Cores in different places and observing what effects they would be subjected to.

The Five Elements Light Cores detached to the outside world would disappear on their own after twelve hours.

Fortunately, they were small enough, only the size of a fingernail. Hidden in dark places, they were not easily discovered, and no one would think that someone was crazy enough to detach their Five Elements Light Cores and just leave them around for fun.

As Yu Sui grew older, she could no longer rely on her status as a "child" to glean useful information from Nangong Ming and Lady Su. She rarely heard anything related to the Primordial Soil anymore.

Now that she had discovered the use of the Five Elements Light Core, Yu Sui decided to place one with Lady Su to see if she could hear anything.

Recently, Lady Su had also been monitoring her studies. Yu Sui had to report to her every day. After kneeling outside the door and reciting her textbooks, Yu Sui went inside to pour herself some tea. Gu Gan happened to arrive, and Lady Su got up and moved away from behind the screen.

Yu Sui seized the opportunity and placed the Five Elements Light Core on a bookshelf behind the screen.

She made an excuse about being hungry and left, taking a detour back to her room, and asked the Mute Woman to bring dinner to her room.

Yu Sui sat under the Liudan Jade Stone, resting her chin in her hands, closing her eyes and concentrating.

The Strange Fire swayed gently, and Yu Sui saw the scenery from the Five Elements Light Core through it:

Lady Su walked into the room, followed by Gu Gan. Gu Gan frowned and said, "Lin Shouxian betrayed my father. I want to take his head with my own hands. Why did you act first?"

"You want revenge, but you cannot rush," Lady Su said. "You are too weak now. Just focus on becoming stronger. As for the rest..."

She stopped midway through her sentence, her brow suddenly furrowed, and her gaze shifted to behind the screen.

Yu Sui was slightly stunned. In an instant, an invisible pressure seemed to transmit to her through the Five Elements Light Core. A dangerous and fatal pursuit was flying towards her.

Lady Su walked leisurely towards the screen, her eyes scanning the room sharply.

Yu Sui subconsciously wanted to crush the Five Elements Light Core, and miraculously, the Five Elements Light Core hidden in the bookshelf obeyed her command and disappeared without a sound.

The scenery in the Strange Fire vanished.

Yu Sui touched her eyebrows, her dark eyes filled with calmness.

It seemed this was the keen perception of a Thirteenth Realm expert. Trying to obtain information from Lady Su and Nangong Ming through such means was still too naive.

After this incident, Yu Sui became even more cautious when using the Five Elements Light Core.

But she was not without gains.

At least she knew that Gu Gan truly bore a deep-seated hatred and that Nangong Ming and Lady Su were both supporting his revenge plan.

Yu Sui had considered placing a Five Elements Light Core at Gu Gan's home, but then she thought about it. He had Secret Guards following him, and their cultivation realms would not be below that of a Tenth Realm master. It was possible that Nangong Ming would also go to check on him. If Nangong Ming discovered it, he could lock onto the suspect just by searching who had visited Gu Gan's home.

The risk was too great, so Yu Sui gave up.

*

Gu Gan wanted to become stronger, so he naturally cultivated desperately. The Nangong King's Mansion provided backing, helping him find resources.

Yu Sui took the opportunity to learn by visiting Gu Gan's home.

Gu Gan didn't notice Yu Sui's schemes at all. While he was meditating and practicing the Breathing Technique, Yu Sui would sit beside him with her small stool, resting her chin in her hands and watching.

When Gu Gan opened his eyes, he would see that delicate and exquisite face, her eyes moist and shining like gems, her posture of resting her chin in her hands and tilting her head was obedient and cute, which softened his heart.

"Are you hungry?" Gu Gan asked after thinking for a moment. "Do you want to eat at the King's Mansion or here?"

"Not yet hungry," Yu Sui shook her head and glanced at the sky. "If we eat here, will Brother Gu buy it?"

Gu Gan stood up and said, "I'll make it myself."

Yu Sui expressed surprise, "Wow, Brother Gu, you can cook yourself?"

"I used to do it often," Gu Gan said.

"Don't the maids usually do that?" Yu Sui asked.

Gu Gan sighed and walked towards his small kitchen. "What do you want to eat? Never mind, I can't make the delicacies from the King's Mansion. You'll have to make do with home-style cooking."

"Anything is fine," Yu Sui tilted her head and looked over. "Anything Brother Gu makes is fine."

Gu Gan said okay.

Yu Sui followed him and watched him wash water and vegetables. She rolled up her sleeves and said, "I'll help too."

"Don't move!" Gu Gan immediately stopped her. "Just wait here. I'm afraid if you come, the porridge will be burnt."

"Oh." Yu Sui took her small stool and sat by the door again, blinking her eyes. She said, "Brother Gu, I'll share Father and Mother with you. You can be a child of the King's Mansion too. That way, I can see you at the King's Mansion every day and won't have to run back and forth."

Gu Gan looked back at her impatiently. "I have my own Father and Mother."

Yu Sui pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Where are they?"

Gu Gan paused his rice washing and said in a low voice, "They are dead."

Yu Sui just blinked blankly.

Gu Gan changed the subject. "Even if you're willing to share Father and Mother with me, your three older brothers wouldn't agree. Besides, your Father is the most noble Royal Duke of Qingyang Nation. He can do whatever he wants in Qingyang Nation. You dare to give him away."

Yu Sui said, "Father and Mother both like you. As long as they are willing, it doesn't matter if the older brothers are not."

Gu Gan was amused by her words, laughing until he was out of breath. Finally, he bent over and squatted down, still laughing for a long time.

Yu Sui didn't understand why his sense of humor was so low.

*

As soon as it got dark, Gu Gan had already set a table full of dishes. Yu Sui picked up her chopsticks and tasted each dish in small bites.

Gu Gan was about to ask her if it was delicious when the Listening Wind Ruler on the side of the table glowed slightly.

Yu Sui glanced sideways. The Listening Wind Ruler was ink green, its light shimmering like jade, about three inches long. Gu Gan picked up the Listening Wind Ruler and swiped across its surface, revealing messages sent by others.

Gu Gan looked at it for a moment before putting it down.

The Listening Wind Ruler was an advanced product jointly manufactured by the Taoist School, the Yin-Yang School, and the School of Techniques. As long as it could connect to a nearby Communication Array, messages could be transmitted to each other even from a thousand miles away.

Its function was comparable to the mobile phones Yu Sui enjoyed playing with in her previous life.

Within the Xuangu Continent, the Six Kingdoms had established countless Communication Arrays. Except for certain desolate and inaccessible regions, almost all areas were covered by these arrays.

The Listening Wind Ruler was a luxury item. Its high selling price made it unaffordable for ordinary people, and those who could afford it were not ordinary themselves.

Yu Sui didn't have one because she was still young and had stayed in the Imperial Capital, never traveling far. The mute women or guards who served her always wore Listening Wind Rulers to ensure messages could be transmitted at any time.

However, these also came in public and private versions. The Listening Wind Rulers owned by the King's City guards, for example, were used for official business and were considered public rulers.

As the unique skills and arts of the three schools were modified and improved, the functions of the Listening Wind Ruler became increasingly powerful, and its scope of application widened.

The Listening Wind Ruler Gu Gan had put down lit up again. He didn't look at it, and Yu Sui asked, "Who is it?"

"Princess Shangyang," Gu Gan replied, signaling her not to worry.

Yu Sui, feigning innocence, asked, "Brother Gu, can messages sent via Listening Wind Ruler be intercepted by others?"

Gu Gan, like a little adult, explained to her, "It's impossible. The Listening Wind Ruler integrates the abilities of the Taoist School, the Yin-Yang School, and the School of Techniques. It contains three vast and complex mystical arts, which even they themselves cannot decipher."

Yu Sui exclaimed in surprise, "Why? Didn't they create the Listening Wind Ruler?"

"The Listening Wind Ruler itself isn't important; what's important is the central Communication Array that transmits the information," Gu Gan said, taking a few bites of food as he continued to explain to his naive childhood friend. "Have you ever seen a Communication Array? The Imperial Academy has a super-large Communication Array, bigger than this room."

"It's covered in Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and the operational ciphers of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The characters formed by the fusion of these elements are beyond human imagination."

Yu Sui had never actually gone to see it.

She nodded repeatedly as she listened. After Gu Gan finished speaking, he asked, "Why don't you have a Listening Wind Ruler?"

Yu Sui replied blankly, "I don't know."

Gu Gan sighed, "Never mind. Tell me when you get one."

Yu Sui: "Okay, okay."

*

That night, as Yu Sui lay in bed in the King's Mansion, lost in thought, she mused, If only I could decipher the Communication Array—whenever she thought of this, her heart felt strangely calm, as if a force was soothing and guiding her.

Yu Sui learned the location of the Communication Array at the Imperial Academy from Gu Gan. During her lunch break, she went to find it alone.

A strong wind blew that day, making the flowering trees lining the Forest Path sway violently.

Petals and fallen leaves danced freely, falling and then rising again. Yu Sui walked up the steps, entered the Communication Institute, and as she walked through the gate, she saw glowing mountains inside.

The ground was a luminous star array, with countless stars falling into it. The triangular mountains were covered in dense characters that spun rapidly. The colorful ribbons wrapped around the mountains turned slowly, with numbers and symbols appearing and disappearing.

Numbers.

Runes.

They alternated in operation, a design of exquisite craftsmanship. Vast and mysterious powers connected and flowed. Yu Sui stood between these mountains, as insignificant as an ant.

She looked up, her extremely dark pupils reflecting the scenery of the mountains. Every flashing number and rune was etched into her heart.

Yu Sui gazed at the Communication Array before her. The rapidly rotating communication ciphers that others saw appeared slow to her, allowing her to discern all the information.