Whose Dog Leash?
Three days had passed since Chen Suqiu moved into No. 13 Wave-Gazing Residence. The front courtyard was empty, while Senior Jiang had placed a Grand Yin restriction on the eastern bedroom in the rear courtyard.
It seemed Jinyi was in seclusion inside, so Chen Suqiu naturally wouldn't disturb her.
The residence was roughly four or five times the size of their old dormitory. Just cleaning such a large place all over again had left Chen Suqiu exhausted!
Wave-Gazing Residence had always been a sensitive place in the Central Palace, making it even harder to hire outside help. The buildings here were also fairly precious, so she couldn't simply wash them with Techniques. She could only clean them bit by bit!
After another three or four days of work, Chen Suqiu finally stopped, satisfied. She had to admit that Senior Jiang had lived rather roughly here before. Many rooms had been covered in dust, and he hadn't cared one bit!
After Chen Suqiu's cleaning, the residence had regained some of its former grandeur. Looking at the inscriptions on the beams and pillars in the front courtyard, markings she had only ever seen in ancient books, she felt a little vain!
When her classmates heard that she had moved to the Central Palace, every one of them looked astonished. They marveled at the Jialing Chen Clan's extensive connections: even in Luyu Port, they could secure a residence for a direct descendant of their own!
Teacher Xun was quite surprised to hear the message Senior Jiang had asked her to pass along. After accepting the Osmanthus Rain Flower Essence, Teacher Xun fell silent for a long while before replying, "So it's that Jiang!"
Meanwhile, a certain classmate who always sat behind and to the right still glanced from time to time at the empty seat beside Chen Suqiu!
Chen Suqiu made quiet calculations in her heart. Although the Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan had a Purple Mansion True Person, that elder had not appeared in public for a long time, and the Jiang Clan had flourished for several hundred years!
As for the Jiang Household's elder brother, he had achieved Grand Yin Foundation Establishment at twenty. Without even thinking about it, there had to be a Purple Mansion True Person supporting him, perhaps even an eminent figure from Yuanhuai Heaven personally!
That would put the Xiao Mountain Jiang Clan a notch below them. Still, Senior Jiang's early Foundation Establishment also meant he had little chance of leaving direct descendants. For cultivators who wanted children, the Qi Refining Stage was the most suitable time!
The Jiang Clan's bloodline would then rest on Jiang Jinyi's shoulders. She was the younger sister of a Grand Yin Foundation Establishment cultivator and possessed a Spirit Aperture herself. If her cultivation were a little higher, even the great clans of Jixia would likely be tempted to seek her hand!
But according to Jinyi, they also had a younger brother, so the Jiang Clan would have no shortage of descendants in the future!
The Qian Metal lineage was best at meticulous calculation and weighing a situation. Chen Suqiu had grown up in her Lineage, and although she was a direct descendant, she had still stood out from the rest through every step of her journey. It was precisely this knack for calculation that had earned her elders' regard.
But calculations aside, one had to treat others sincerely. The Jiang Household's elder brother, for example, put everything on the table and let her choose. Chen Suqiu rather admired the way he conducted himself!
"Student Chen, we meet again!"
This was already the third time in as many days that Gu Changhuai had met this young woman, who called herself a junior descendant of the Chen Household. Once again, she was carrying a vase. It was rather unusual for a Qi Refinement cultivator to carry such a large object in her arms instead of using a Storage Bag!
"Ah! Lecturer Ye, did you just finish class too?"
Chen Suqiu kept a respectful distance from this teacher, who also lived at Wave-Gazing Residence. He looked no more than thirty and had handsome features, but his air of nobility made her afraid to face him directly!
Qinghuan's Water Virtue was fairly prosperous, but there were only two Water Virtue Xuantian in the present world: Yuanhuai Heaven, aligned with Clear Water, and Cangming Heaven, aligned with Kan Water.
This Teacher Ye had obtained a position at the Lüyu Water Institute at such a young age and even lived at Wave-Gazing Residence. Any one of those facts alone would be enough to crush her!
"I haven't formally begun teaching yet. I've just been looking around the school and its surroundings first. I've run into you coming and going several times, Student Chen, so I suppose we're fated to meet. Do you live here too?"
Chen Suqiu hesitated, thinking that what had to come had indeed come. "Yes, Lecturer Chen. I currently live at No. 13. I only moved in recently!"
She lifted the vase in her hands to show him. "The architectural style here is too solemn, so I thought some charming flowers and plants might soften it!"
Gu Changhuai was taken aback, but nodded. He had never paid attention to such details of daily life. Like "neighbors" living in the same community, the two exchanged a few polite words and then parted!
But after Gu Changhuai turned and left, his expression darkened slightly. He had ordered an investigation into this Chen descendant several days ago, yet all of Luyu Port, the entire Central Palace, had maintained its silence toward him!
His elders at home had solemnly entrusted him with all the resources the Gu Household had secretly cultivated in Yuanhuai Heaven over a hundred years. Yet after he issued a single order to investigate, every one of them had fallen silent within days!
It suddenly seemed to Gu Changhuai that the Gu Household, with its thousand-year legacy, was more like a passing traveler in present-day Yuanhuai than a wanderer returning home!
Central Palace, where the clouds ran deep and none knew the way, the Xie Household residence!
True Person Chonglang had just received news from the school administration office. Not long ago, an immensely powerful secretary-general had openly walked through the air in the Central Palace, yet the administration office had said nothing about it!
Even the eminent figures from the grotto-heavens would not break Lüyu's rules so brazenly when they came down. Only after Chonglang had pressed the administration office again and again had they finally deigned to submit a report to their vice principal!
And what kind of nonsense was in the report? It said there had been a reason for the incident, that it concerned matters of great importance, and that the secretary-general had been forced to act. It even took special care to emphasize that the principal had personally looked into the matter!
The school administration office was at its wits' end. Didn't Chonglang know which department was directly above them? It was the secretariat of the principal's office!
When you lofty immortals fight your battles, couldn't you spare a thought for the people doing the work down below?
"My lord, the one from the Gu Household has arrived!"
True Person Chonglang grunted, tossed the administration office's report into the trash, and rose to go to the hall! Three days ago, the Gu Household's young master had followed the old custom and sent a "family letter," saying he would visit today!
But he had clearly returned to Wave-Gazing Residence long ago, so why go to all this trouble? Who was he observing these rules for? That row of old, weathered houses?
In the Xie Household's main hall, Gu Changhuai studied the hall's design with mixed feelings. Even the Xie Household of old had become so plain!
After quite a while, the Xie Household's sky-holding white jade pillar, the vice principal of Luyu University and dean of the Water Virtue Institute, emerged wearing a standard school-issued professor's robe!
Gu Changhuai hurriedly rose and greeted him. "Uncle!"
The Gu and Xie Households had taken charge of Yuanhuai Heaven one after the other. The Gu Household was the clan of True Lord Dongyuan's wife, while the Xie Household was True Lord Xuancheng's own kin. When True Lord Xuancheng took charge of Yuanhuai, the Gu Household of that time had thrown its full support behind him, so the two households had enjoyed a deep friendship ever since!
"Changhuai, how long have you been in Lüyu? Have you gone to see the principal?"
True Person Chonglang sized up this Child of Fate of the Gu Household. The last time he had seen Gu Changhuai, the young man had only completed four cycles of Embryonic Breathing. In less than a dozen years, he had now reached Foundation Establishment!
The Immortal Foundation Sinking Feather Abyss, cultivated through the Record of Gun Transforming into a Black Fish and Seeking the Sea, was indeed worthy of being a foundational method of the Weak Water path. Gu Changhuai's profound-pool manifestation had solidified around him, and within the sunken abyss, the shape of a black fish could faintly be seen emerging!
Gu Changhuai smiled bitterly. "I've been in Lüyu for some time, but True Person Chonghuan still hasn't arranged to meet me. I think the principal must have been delayed by something!"
"And Secretary-General Lin? He's not only the principal's direct disciple, but also a disciple who has been to Xuantian. Have you gone to see him?"
Gu Changhuai shook his head again. He had gone to the principal's office once, but had not met Senior Brother Lin in person. All he had received was the appointment letter his senior brother had left at the secretariat.
True Person Chonglang was just about to speak when attendants brought in freshly brewed spirit tea. He waved them away, signaling that they were not to come in again!
Gu Changhuai accepted a cup of tea and said with a somewhat subdued expression, "Uncle, neither True Person Chonghuan nor Senior Brother Lin will see me. They may still disapprove of the Gu Household returning to Yuanhuai Heaven!"
True Person Chonglang showed no expression at those words. He merely took a sip of tea and watched the steam rise from it. "The Gu Household's planted agents in Yuanhuai Heaven that you mobilized a few days ago-I was the one who pulled them out!"
The True Person looked at the astonishment on the Gu Household young master's face, then continued, "I don't understand. Why did you use the intelligence network the Gu Household left behind just to investigate a student's background?"
"You're a lecturer at Lüyu. You have countless perfectly open ways to access a student's records here, yet you chose the stupidest method."
Gu Changhuai was struck speechless. He didn't understand why his uncle had acted so ruthlessly over such a "small matter." Judging by what had happened over the past few days, the Gu Household's last remaining resources in Yuanhuai Heaven might have been entirely wiped out!
"Why, Uncle?"
"Why?" True Person Chonglang sneered. "Why did you think your Gu Household's planted agents were still just Gu Household agents? Do you know how many masters they've changed behind your backs?"
"As for why they still took orders from your Gu Household, naturally, your thousand-year-old household's name still carries some weight. More importantly, it makes such a useful skin. Why would they shed it?"
"The Gu Household has been away from Yuanhuai Heaven for too long-so long that you can no longer see what Yuanhuai Heaven is now. You've grown so rotten that you still act according to the thinking of the old days!"
Gu Changhuai rose in dismay and bowed deeply to his uncle. "Please instruct me, Uncle!"
True Person Chonglang did nothing, letting the Weak Water Child of Fate remain bowed before him. "After Chonghuan took over Lüyu, Metal Virtue flourished as Luyu Port rose to prominence. Then the Thunder Palace established itself in Lüyu, and Hengbao Group followed!"
"Faced with such a great tide, the agents you left behind all changed allegiances and became someone else's dogs. Yet over one insignificant matter, you took hold of their old leashes and ordered them to work for you!"
"To avoid giving anyone more cause to laugh, I personally cleared out those agents wearing the Gu Household's skin!"
Gu Changhuai remained bent at the waist, his head lowered. Since he could remember, he had never suffered such humiliation. It wasn't that his uncle was holding him down and preventing him from completing his bow and rising; it was a naked humiliation.
How dared those people treat the Gu Household like a child? Gu Changhuai suddenly realized that the intelligence the Gu Household had received about Yuanhuai Heaven over the years was probably all what certain people wanted the Gu Household to see!
"Rise. I expect this incident has helped you see quite a few things clearly. Lüyu has always watched certain people's little schemes; it simply can't be bothered to deal with them, nor is there any need to."
With a lift of his finger, True Person Chonglang raised the Gu Household's Child of Fate to his feet. Seeing the dismay in his eyes, Chonglang sighed inwardly that the young man was still not mature enough. "Tell me, then. You rushed to Lüyu only a few months after Foundation Establishment. What is the Gu Household plotting this time?"