Dreaming of the Gu God

"Follow me!"

Xu Qi'an didn't notice his sister's emotional changes, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

He led Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai through the gate of the Xu Residence, through the front yard and corridors, and straight to the back yard where the family members lived.

In the spacious inner hall, apart from Xu Pingzhi who was on duty, the whole family was present.

Xu Erlang was supposed to go to the Hanlin Academy for his duty, but since Xu Qi'an had said yesterday that he would bring his younger brother and sister back to the mansion this morning, Erlang asked for leave and stayed home to see his cousins.

The two seats at the head of the table were occupied by my aunt and my birth mother.

At the guest seats on Aunt's side, sat Xu Xinnian, Xu Lingyue, and Mu Nanzhi.

The guest seats on the side reserved for the birth mother, Ji Baiqing, were empty, with no one sitting down yet.

When Xu Qi'an led the eldest son and his siblings in, the aunt pursed her lips, barely managing to suppress her eye-roll.

She only allowed the two little brats into the house because of her nephew and sister-in-law.

Ever since Xu Lingyue stirred things up last time, the aunt has had a lot of opinions about the Xu Yuanhuai and Xu Yuanshuang siblings.

Xu Xinnian and Xu Lingyue were cunning and their faces were expressionless.

"Mother!"

Xu Yuanshuang was quite excited to see her mother.

Xu Yuanhuai's tense expression relaxed slightly.

As Ji Baiqing watched her children finally reunite, her eyes reddened slightly, and a smile of bittersweet joy appeared on her face.

"You've come to meet your aunt."

She always treated herself as a "guest" and her aunt as the matriarch of the Xu Household, maintaining a perfect balance that neither offended nor gave anyone cause for gossip.

Of course, the aunt didn't understand these subtle manipulations; she just instinctively felt that her sister-in-law was still as gentle and considerate as she had been back then, and being with her was like a breath of fresh air.

"Yuan Shuang greets Auntie!"

Xu Yuanshuang greeted them obediently, a smile blooming on her cool and pretty face.

"Greetings, Auntie."

Xu Yuanhuai's greeting sounded abrupt.

"Um!"

The aunt nodded slightly and gave a lukewarm response.

She had originally intended to give her sister-in-law a dressing down, but seeing her sister-in-law's tearful face, her heart softened.

Ji Baiqing immediately said:

"From now on, you will live in our mansion. Your eldest brother has already arranged accommodations. I will take you there."

Xu Erlang frowned and glanced at Xu Lingyue.

Xu Lingyue smiled and stood up, greeting Xu Yuanshuang as she said:

"No need to trouble you, Auntie. Let Lingyue handle these small matters."

As she spoke, Xu Lingyue had already taken Xu Yuanshuang's hand, her smile warm and friendly.

"Sister Yuan Shuang, I've long admired your name. Meeting you today, I can see you are truly extraordinary. And Brother Yuan Huai, you are handsome and talented, just as my elder brother said, with exceptional abilities."

Xu Xinnian shook his head and chuckled:

"Lingyue, there's no need for such formalities among family. You rarely leave your home, so how can you say you've long admired your name?"

Xu Lingyue turned around and scolded:

"Second brother is badmouthing others."

"As my elder brother said, Sister Yuan Shuang and Brother Yuan Huai, one Warlock and the other a martial artist, almost caused my elder brother a great loss when they tested their skills in Yongzhou. My elder brother is a rare genius, now a first-rank martial artist."

"Then, Second Brother, do you think Sister Yuan Shuang and Brother Yuan Huai don't deserve a simple 'I've long admired your name'?"

Xu Xinnian nodded upon hearing this:

"Truly exceptionally talented. Alas, I heard Yuan Huai is almost at the fourth rank. I'm ashamed of myself."

Xu Yuanshuang froze on the spot, unsure of how to respond.

Xu Yuanhuai lowered his head slightly, feeling even more ashamed.

This laid bare their past actions against Xu Qi'an.

Previously, they fought against Xu Qi'an alongside Ji Xuan and others. Now that Yunzhou is gone, they've come to seek refuge here. Anyone with a shred of shame would be so embarrassed and ashamed that they'd want to disappear into the ground.

Ji Baiqing looked embarrassed and forced a smile:

"Yuan Shuang and Yuan Huai were immature and made many mistakes in the past."

Xu Lingyue said softly:

An apology is enough.

Mu Nanzhi held the fox cub in her arms, watching with great interest.

She could certainly see that Xu Lingyue was trying to intimidate the little brat's younger siblings. While she enjoyed watching the show, she was also somewhat confused. In her memory, Xu Lingyue shouldn't be so domineering.

Yes, it must have been Xu Erlang who taught her. Erlang is a scholar, and he is most skilled at scheming and making judgments.

Xu Qi'an glanced at Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai, whose faces had suddenly turned red, and offered them a way out, saying calmly:

"You two go take a shower and change into clean clothes."

Xu Lingyue gave her older brother a resentful look, and continued:

"I'll take them."

Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai were assigned to live in adjacent houses, not with them.

Ji Baiqing couldn't let Xu Lingyue continue to bully her children, so she quickly said:

"No need, I'll take them there."

Then, he said to Xu Qi'an:

"Ningyan, come to my place for dinner, Mother. I'll cook you some Yunzhou dishes."

She was conflicted, wanting to be close to her eldest son but also afraid to get close.

The main reason is that Xu Qi'an has never called her "mother".

She then dared not call herself a mother.

Xu Qi'an nodded:

"Good."

After watching his birth mother leave with his younger siblings, Xu Qi'an turned to his little brother and said:

"Go to the study, I need to talk to you about something."

The two brothers entered Xu Qi'an's study. After closing the door, Xu Qi'an said:

"Tomorrow, write a memorial asking His Majesty whether he wants to appoint a new Director. Several of the current Director's disciples are vying for this position."

He recounted the "struggle" between Yang Qianhuan and the others.

Xu Xinnian stroked his chin and said:

"I suddenly had an idea. The Ministry of Revenue is having a headache over the compensation for the fallen soldiers of the Gu Clan. Why not let the Bureau of Astronomy pay the money, and tell them that His Majesty will favor whoever pays the most?"

"Of course, this is just a preference; it doesn't necessarily mean that someone will be appointed as the supervisor."

Anyway, the Bureau of Astronomy has money.

This is a scheme to fleece the Bureau of Astronomy. Xu Qi'an thought about it and decided it was a good idea.

"Perfect timing. I'll be going to Southern Frontier soon to bring Lingyin back. I'll take care of delivering the compensation."

"What do you think of the two of them?" Xu Erlang asked abruptly.

"They'll be raised by my mother. Luckily, they're both simple-minded kids." Xu Qi'an stroked his chin.

"Actually, I suspect that Xu Pingfeng sent them to the capital to negotiate peace on a whim. That way, if Great Feng wins, they'll have a place to stay. If Great Feng loses, Yunzhou can rescue them, so they'll be fine no matter what."

"Perhaps!" Xu Erlang offered no comment.

After finishing their business, Xu Qi'an chuckled.

"There's going to be some excitement later. My birth mother is no pushover. Right now, she's not focused on the power struggles within the household; she's only thinking about repairing our relationship so she can adapt to life in the Xu Residence."

"The rivalry between her and Lingyue will be particularly interesting. Oh right, Wang Simu is no pushover either. After you two get married, tsk tsk, I won't need to go to brothels anymore. Just watching this family of women fight each other will be endlessly entertaining."

"Now that's more like a wealthy family, they can't even have a power struggle within the household, what kind of elite family are they?"

"Back then, when there were no tigers in the mountains, my aunt, the monkey, was king."

Xu Xinnian chuckled:

"Yes, before Si Mu, there's also Prince Lin'an and Luo Yuheng, it'll be quite a spectacle. Big brother, I'm really looking forward to your wedding with Prince Lin'an, do you think the Imperial Advisor will cause a ruckus with his sword?"

No, there's also Mu Nanzhi, and even more. Xu Qi'an's gloating expression gradually disappeared, and he flicked his sleeve, saying:

Sharp-tongued!

"You're a piece of trash with the second-worst talent."

Xu Xinnian, having been hit where it hurt, also flicked his sleeve and let out a cold snort.

He muttered to himself: I'm at least better than Lingyin.

Ji Baiqing led her children to their lodgings. After arranging the rooms, she ordered the servants to boil water in preparation for their bath.

"Don't go there unless it's absolutely necessary, and don't provoke Lingyue. She remembers all the hostility you two showed towards Ningyan. The two siblings from the second branch of the family are very protective of Ningyan. How could Xiaoru, such a simple-minded person, raise such a formidable daughter?"

Ji Baiqing gave a word of advice, saying:

"Yunzhou is gone, so there's no need to mention it again. Since Ningyan brought you back, it means the past is over and he won't hold it against you. Live well in the capital from now on, and he won't treat you unfairly."

After saying that, she glanced at Xu Yuanhuai and said softly:

"Mother knows you are capable and don't need to rely on your elder brother, but can that compare to wandering the martial world? If you want to make great progress in Martial Dao, the guidance of a first-rank martial artist is better than anything else. He may not be willing to accept you now, but in time, that little bit of distance will disappear."

"And Yuan Shuang, if you want to continue in the Warlock System, you can't leave the capital, you can't leave the Bureau of Astronomy."

Xu Yuanshuang whispered:

"Mother, if Yuanhuai and I are leaving, will you come with us?"

Ji Baiqing shook her head slightly:

"I've been with you for almost twenty years. From now on, I want to spend more time with him. Just looking at him will make me content."

Xu Yuanhuai couldn't help but ask:

"He really got promoted to the first rank? What about Uncle, Father, and Ji Xuan? What happened to them? Where did they run off to?"

In his eyes, his father was a god-like figure. Even if his elder brother became a first-rank martial artist, his father would be safe. His father always had a way out and would never be in dire straits.

Ji Xuan was a third-rank martial artist, a master of the Transcendent Realm.

We can't win the battle, but escaping shouldn't be a problem.

Ji Baiqing shook her head and sighed:

They're all dead.

"Ji Xuan was beheaded by Ningyan himself in the capital. After the defeat, your father tried to escape, but failed and was killed by Ningyan overseas. The same happened to my elder brother."

"The entire clan was wiped out, completely annihilated by a heavily armored cavalry force."

"Mother deserves to die too, but I can't bear to leave you all, I can't bear to leave him."

During her twenty years of imprisonment, the bond between her and Xu Pingfeng had long since vanished, and her ties with her clan had been severed as well.

Rather than dying with them, it's more important to stay alive and protect my three children.

"Dead, dead, all dead."

Xu Yuanhuai muttered to himself, standing there dumbfounded.

None of them escaped; they were all wiped out by Xu Qi'an. Even his father, whom he revered as a god, died at Xu Qi'an's hands.

This was different from what he had thought. In his mind, although the Yunzhou army had been defeated, its key figures should have gone into hiding.

Xu Yuanhuai couldn't believe it for a moment; how could such a powerful father be dead?

But his mother wouldn't lie to him.

At this point, he gained a deeper understanding of the phrase "a first-rank martial artist".

This is a level of achievement that even a godlike father could only die with regret.

He has finally grown to this point. From the moment Joan of Arc died, his father's schemes against him failed one after another. Finally, he could no longer control this beast and suffered a backlash. Xu Yuanshuang's expression was complicated, filled with sighs, regret, sadness, and helplessness.

His father "created" him with his own hands, gave birth to him, implanted the destiny of the nation into him, and paved the way for his own imperial ambitions.

But in the end, this chess piece cost him his life.

Cause and effect, the cycle of fate.

As Warlock, Xu Yuanshuang deeply understood the terrifying nature of cause and effect.

Xu Lingyue brought in a bowl of ginseng soup, looked around, and when she found only Xu Erlang, she frowned and said:

Where's my older brother?

"I went out to run some errands."

Xu Erlang's gaze fell on the ginseng soup, and he sighed, "This soup certainly wasn't made for Second Brother, was it? Alas, Second Brother doesn't have that blessing."

Xu Lingyue quickly flashed a gentle smile:

"Second brother, you're being too polite. Lingyue knows you've put in so much effort, so she specially prepared ginseng soup for you to nourish yourself. Eldest brother, you don't need that."

Xu Xinnian nodded:

"Put it here."

Watching his younger sister leave with the wooden tray, Xu Erlang stroked his chin and hummed:

"You brat, I've got you figured out."

"You always think of your older brother first when there's something good happening. Who's your real brother, anyway?"

He picked up the ginseng soup and took a satisfying sip, then frowned and cursed:

"You brat, are you indirectly calling me weak?"

Lingbao Temple.

In the quiet room, there were two futons, one occupied and the other empty.

Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged on the futon and said in a deep voice:

"After advancing to the first rank, my cultivation stagnated. Breathing exercises became almost useless, and even dual cultivation progressed slowly."

Luo Yuheng frowned, as if in some pain, took a breath, and then said:

"After reaching the first rank, essence, energy, and spirit become one. If you want to improve, you must improve all three at the same time. Breathing exercises will obviously have no effect; they can only temper the energy mechanism."

This must be why even a first-rank martial artist faces a bottleneck. Xu Qi'an tensed his waist muscles, continuously exerting force, and said:

"So, can breaking through the bottleneck be achieved by simultaneously practicing breathing exercises, meditation, and physical conditioning?"

Normally, martial artists cultivate their Qi through breathing exercises, but once essence, Qi, and spirit are unified, breathing exercises become ineffective. To improve, all three must be improved simultaneously.

The unity of essence, energy, and spirit is the most unique and strongest quality of a first-rank martial artist, but it has also become a constraint.

Luo Yuheng bit her lip tightly, remaining silent, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"No, I've never heard of such a cultivation method," she said haltingly.

"Currently, the most effective way is to cultivate with the Imperial Preceptor."

Xu Qi'an said with a smile, "I beg the Imperial Preceptor's mercy."

"Who wants to cultivate with you? I've already said that once I advance to become a terrestrial immortal, we will have no further relationship."

Luo Yuheng gave a soft snort.

"Yes, yes, yes, I am being delusional. I only wish to come and listen to the Imperial Preceptor's sermons for one hour each day. I beg the Imperial Preceptor not to refuse."

Xu Qi'an readily accepted good advice.

Luo Yuheng gave a reserved "hmm".

At this moment, Xu Qi'an stopped everything, took out the fragment of the Earth Book from his pocket, and examined the message.

[5: Xu Ningyan, could you come to Southern Frontier?]

[Four: Lina, don't worry, Ningyan and Lin An's wedding is still some time away, they won't forget you when they hold the banquet.]

Chu Yuanzhen sent a letter teasing him.

Luo Yuheng, who was peeking out to see the messenger, suddenly turned pale.

"Why bring up something you shouldn't have said!" Xu Qi'an cursed inwardly. Then, he saw Lina pass on a message:

[Something terrible has happened! Lingyin dreamt of the Gu God.]

I dreamt of the Gu God Xu Qi'an, whose eyebrows were raised and whose expression changed slightly.

P. S.: I'll correct the typos later.