Chapter 126 Late Night Topics

Nian Qiuyan's face showed no sign of anything amiss. He was still touching the scratches on his face and said softly with a smile, "I only calculated that leaving the city was an ominous sign. Besides, it's obvious that you would be chased as soon as you left the outer city."

He glanced at Yu Sui and said, "You fellow disciples are all the same."

One had spent years mingling in the outer city, accumulating various grudges; the other was a farmer from Xirang Village.

Mei Liangyu remained silent, while Yu Sui politely praised, "Senior Brother Nian's divination skills are truly remarkable."

She hadn't paid much attention to Nian Qiuyan before, nor had she had the chance. Who would have thought he would be related to Lan Du, or even Qing Kui?

Yu Sui glanced at Mei Liangyu discreetly.

Although she didn't know why, she assumed that those who were familiar with Mei Liangyu would not be the Lan Corpse who sold Lan Poison.

Or rather, Mei Liangyu could not possibly be friends with such a person.

But even senior brothers can make mistakes.

No one could rival the camouflage of the autumn geese.

The most difficult thing to distinguish in the world is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and the divination techniques of the Fangji family have taken this to the extreme.

Yu Sui kept Nian Qiuyan here tonight to observe her more. She went to attend to the matters at Mingzhu Fang first, leaving Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan looking at each other in the lobby.

There were quite a few people coming and going in the lobby, so Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan went to wait in a corner.

As soon as Nian Qiuyan sat down, someone came to make tea and serve dinner. He rolled his eyes and looked at Mei Liangyu, saying, "Junior Sister Nangong is really good to you."

Mei Liangyu said casually, "I'm her senior brother. If she's not good to me, who is she good to?"

“Didn’t she just call me senior brother?” Nian Qiuyan pointed to herself.

Mei Liangyu then turned her gaze back to him and said critically, "You actually took it seriously when I called you Fang Ji's senior brother."

Nian Qiuyan couldn't help but laugh: "Judging by the way she addresses people, it's perfectly fine for her to call me that. It's not a question of whether I take it seriously or not."

Mei Liangyu added, "There is a distinction between close and distant relationships."

Nian Qiuyan said directly, "Aren't you being too domineering?"

Mei Liangyu merely raised an eyebrow. So what?

The two chatted as they ate. While Yu Sui was reconciling accounts with Blackbeard and the others, she took the opportunity to observe their conversation through the Five Elements Light Core.

Nian Qiuyan brought up what happened that night: "Do you have any clues about that suddenly appearing mountain trigram formation?"

“I didn’t see anyone.” Mei Liangyu paused before answering. “It doesn’t seem like the work of the Tianhe Gang. It’s probably Qu Zhenghao who collaborated with someone else.”

Nian Qiuyan said, "Shall we go ask about it later?"

Mei Liangyu hummed in agreement.

After a quick meal, the two went to find Wei Lingshu, who was imprisoned.

Wei Lingshu looked at the two of them with eyes that seemed both charming and alluring, and said softly with a smile, "If you want to know so much, why don't you come closer and listen?"

Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan exchanged a glance, and Nian Qiuyan said, "You're good at this kind of thing."

Mei Liangyu warned him, "Speak more clearly."

Nian Qiuyan added, "You're quite good at things like torture."

After he finished speaking, he stepped back and distanced himself from Mei Liangyu. In the dimly lit room, Mei Liangyu stared coldly at Wei Lingshu, who was tied up.

Mei Liangyu stood in front of Wei Lingshu, his tall figure blocking the light above him and casting a shadow over Wei Lingshu.

When he doesn't speak and just stares at you coldly, he creates an invisible sense of oppression that makes it hard to breathe.

Wei Lingshu initially thought that it was just some superficial injuries, and that she could just endure it.

It wasn't until she discovered that Mei Liangyu was using Legalist interrogation techniques that her eyelids twitched.

In the dim light, one could see the lightning crackling around Mei Liangyu's body, making a faint crackling sound. If Wei Lingshu lied, the Judgment Technique would deprive her of something.

Mei Liangyu said in a low voice, "Think carefully before you answer. If you lie, it will take away your right thumb first, then your index finger, and then your left hand."

Wei Lingshu bit her lip in resentment.

Mei Liangyu asked, "Who released the divination array?"

"I don't know," Wei Lingshu replied quickly. "I don't know the other party's identity."

Mei Liangyu asked, "Whom did Qu Zhenghao hire?"

Wei Lingshu immediately replied, "They came to us."

Mei Liangyu: "In what way?"

Wei Lingshu said, "It's a beast that transmits sound in the farmer's home."

Mei Liangyu: "How many people?"

"I don't know!" Wei Lingshu raised her voice. "The communication beast wouldn't have been kept; it must have been destroyed. You can't find it even if you try. All I care about is whether I can kill you tonight. I don't know anything else!"

Nian Qiuyan glanced at the somewhat flustered Wei Lingshu. Zhang Xiangyun would never leave himself any loose ends; she genuinely didn't know.

Mei Liangyu had also figured it out, so he stopped scaring her and left with Nian Qiuyan.

Nian Qiuyan covered his hand and yawned, indicating that he was sleepy. Mei Liangyu told him to go and rest first.

"And what about you?" Nian Qiuyan asked.

Mei Liangyu sat down in a corner of the lobby. "I'll wait a little longer."

Nian Qiuyan followed his gaze and looked ahead, where she saw Yu Sui talking with Blackbeard and the others. She listened attentively, nodding occasionally.

"Okay, then I'll go rest first," Nian Qiuyan said as she went upstairs.

The guest rooms are all ready.

After entering the house, Nian Qiuyan closed the door behind her, glanced around the room, and only relaxed her tense nerves slightly after confirming that everything was alright.

He raised his hand to wipe his cheek, which was itchy from the wound, and slowly walked to the bedside to sit down. By the candlelight in the room, he picked up the sacred wood talisman and gently rubbed it.

The black, glossy surface of the divination sticks reflected a layer of light under the candlelight, flickering intermittently.

Through the intermittent light, Nian Qiuyan glimpsed the first half of his life. At this moment, he appeared extremely calm, and compared to his usual gentle and docile features, he even had a hint of sharpness.

That evening, Yu Sui couldn't discern anything from Nian Qiuyan. After returning to his room, he remained silent for a long time before lying down to rest, without making any other moves.

When Yu Sui finished her business at Mingzhu Fang, she turned around and found Mei Liangyu still waiting in the lobby. At first, he was staring at her, but now he was playing with the wind-listening ruler with his head down. He only looked up when he noticed someone approaching.

"Are you done with your work?" Mei Liangyu asked, putting away the Wind Listening Ruler.

Yu Sui nodded, and as soon as she sat down, Mei Liangyu poured her a glass of water.

"Senior brother, it seems like they came here for you tonight. Why did you come to the outer city?" Yu Sui asked after taking the cup.

Mei Liangyu pondered for a moment, then tapped the table lightly with her finger: "A child I know came to see me."

Yu Sui was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "So, Senior Brother likes playing with children?"

Mei Liangyu said calmly, "How come I didn't know?"

Yu Sui answered logically and with evidence: "From octogenarians to seven or eight-year-old children, you know them all, Senior Brother."

Mei Liangyu actually thought about what she said and realized that she wasn't wrong.

"Is this child asking for your help because of some family trouble, either because he was beaten up or because he's short of money?" Yu Sui asked.

Mei Liangyu said, "You've guessed pretty accurately."

Yu Sui held a hot teacup, her bright eyes looking at the man sitting opposite her, a hint of worry on her face: "Senior brother, how can you be so easily fooled?"

Mei Liangyu looked at her with an inscrutable expression. "What would you do in my shoes?"

“Me?” Yu Sui blinked. “I can’t be friends with a kid, and I can’t give him the opportunity to ask me for help.”

Mei Liangyu couldn't help but grind his teeth, thinking to himself, "You're certainly honest."

Such words sound incredibly cold-blooded and heartless.

Yu Sui answered directly.

Mei Liangyu stared at her and said, "Do you really have to choose?"

Yu Sui took a sip of tea, fulfilling his assumption, and replied, "Whatever he needs, I'll have someone provide it."

She smiled and said, "Who told me to be a princess of the Nangong family? A princess wouldn't personally go to the outer city to arrest people."

Mei Liangyu was amused by her lighthearted tone, and gently pursed her lips before saying, "Before I came, Nian Qiuyan gave him money. I won't stop him from giving it to me, but he has to get the money back from Xiao Tu's father."

Yu Sui was stunned.

"Just because of that?" she asked.

Mei Liangyu nodded slightly.

His eccentricity lies in his stubbornness about certain details and his own logic. He doesn't change according to the rules of the world or others. Points that others can't even imagine are insurmountable for Mei Liangyu.

Dealing with people like that is quite difficult; you don't know where to start and you don't understand their own rules.

Yu Sui used to be a little afraid of this kind of person; they were too troublesome, requiring constant attention to observe and guess.

At this moment, Yu Sui stared at Mei Liangyu, looking somewhat dazed.

However, when she was with her senior, she did not feel that tension and fatigue.

Indeed, people are different.

Yu Sui held up her cup and drank her tea, listening to Mei Liangyu say nonchalantly, "It's always been a problem to be bothered by others. You get used to it and don't care who did it."

After it happened so many times, he got used to it, and eventually he didn't even bother to think about who wanted to kill him.

He would usually use that time to think about what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Not to mention that he himself would also deliberately cause trouble for others.

Mei Liangyu's perception of the world was always one filled with war and death.

He realized at some point that people's vitality is fleeting, and can vanish in an instant.

“Senior brother, when I first came to the academy, Brother Gu was…” Yu Sui noticed Mei Liangyu’s frowning gaze and, holding his teacup, changed his words without changing his expression, “Regarding the Upside-Down Moon Cave incident, did you initially suspect that Gu Gan had taken the Milky Way Water, which is why you refused to release him?”

“If he had taken the Milky Way Water, he wouldn’t have been caught. We would have just suspected that Gu Gan knew something or was cooperating with someone,” Mei Liangyu said. “But after further observation, I found that he was just unlucky.”

Yu Sui said, "That's when he started to dislike you."

Mei Liangyu wore an indifferent expression that said, "I don't care if he likes it or not."

"Strange, if it wasn't Gu Gan, then who could have entered the Upside-Down Moon Cave without anyone noticing and taken away the Milky Way Water?" Yu Sui's fingers were tucked into her wide sleeves, her eyes full of innocent curiosity. She propped her chin up with one hand, her tone tinged with a hint of admiration. "Gu Gan had to work with a lot of people tonight to finally get into the Upside-Down Moon Cave from the Leisure Pool. How powerful must someone be to evade the Legalist patrol instructors and the Nine Capital Guards to sneak in and steal the things?"

How amazing?

Mei Liangyu's eyes flickered slightly, but before he could think, Yu Sui asked him, "Senior brother, can you do it?"

“The top-tier disciples of the Nine Capital Guards can patrol the forbidden areas and are much more familiar with some parts of the forbidden areas than other disciples. It’s not impossible to make sufficient preparations,” Mei Liangyu said after a moment’s thought.

Yu Sui gestured again: "Last time in the Dragon Slaying Cave, I saw that Senior Brother and Senior Brother Nian worked together very well. If you all cooperated, could most of the forbidden areas in the academy be breached?"

Mei Liangyu asked her, "Which forbidden area do you want to enter?"

"I won't go there," Yu Sui said obediently.

Mei Liangyu didn't believe her obedient appearance.

They say they won't trespass, but secretly they've practically turned the forbidden area into a sieve.

Mei Liangyu asked her, "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

They can't possibly be trying to prove that the theft of Yinhe Water has nothing to do with Gu Gan.

Yu Sui remained obedient and said, "If this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have come to Taiyi, and I wouldn't have met my senior brother."

Mei Liangyu was touched by these words, and her gaze softened.

“The Milky Way Water wasn’t stolen. Even if Gu Gan was caught breaking into the Upside-Down Moon Cave, he wouldn’t have been punished so severely by the Legalists. If it weren’t for saving him, my father wouldn’t have sent me to Taiyi to deliver the Di Su Tian Ping.” Yu Sui’s words carried a hint of regret. “These past few months have felt like years. I suddenly wondered what I would be doing in Qingyang if I hadn’t come to Taiyi.”

When facing Mei Liangyu, Yu Sui realized that she couldn't tell him about Nian Qiuyan, and it would be even more impossible to tell him directly.

She didn't want Mei Liangyu to know anything about Qingkui.

Regardless of whether her senior brother would feel sorry for her or find her malicious, Yu Sui simply didn't want Mei Liangyu to know.

Although Yu Sui would occasionally jokingly mention things that happened at the Prince's Mansion, indicating her hostile stance towards Madam Su, she did not want Mei Liangyu to have any deeper contact with the other members of the Nangong family, or even to know of their existence.

He knew that Madam Su was enough.

Mei Liangyu asked her slowly, "What did you do in Qingyang before?"

During my time in Qingyang, I couldn't cultivate, and it seems I had no contact with anything related to the Nine Schools of Arts.

Mei Liangyu rarely showed any curiosity.

As Yu Sui recalled, she replied, "I used to spend most of my time studying at the National Academy. Later, when I didn't have to go to the National Academy anymore, I would just stay in my room and read books. I actually love reading, but when I was little... they thought I didn't like reading."

“Every year, you have to go to a lot of banquets because people celebrate their birthdays and send invitations to the Prince’s Mansion. But when you grow up, you can choose which ones you want to attend.” Yu Sui’s lips curved slightly as she thought of something. “The young ladies from noble families in the capital have at least three gatherings every month, and each time they find something new to do.”

Mei Liangyu pondered: "A novelty?"

Yu Sui said, "There are many noble ladies in the capital, each with their own small circle. Because of their high status, they lack nothing, so they are much bolder than ordinary girls and dare to do many things that others dare not do. The military headquarters in the capital will imprison some prisoners who participated in the rebellion. The noble ladies will pick out some with good figures and faces and bring them to the banquet, so that others can play games to choose them as slaves. When they are tired of playing with them, they will be locked up back in the military headquarters."

Mei Liangyu gave an "oh" and lightly lifted her eyelids to ask, "A man?"

Yu Sui nodded: "A man."

Mei Liangyu asked again, "Are you going too?"

Yu Sui nodded again: "I go when I'm bored."

Mei Liangyu laughed and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Yu Sui put down the teacup she was holding and answered honestly, "I'm going to broaden my horizons."

Mei Liangyu: "..."

His expression was indifferent, as if he had always been, and his clear voice still betrayed no emotion: "How many of the prisoners are good-looking?"

Yu Sui explained earnestly, "Senior brother, those are not ordinary prisoners. Those who can be imprisoned in Bingjia Chongtai are all princes and nobles from the small rebellious countries around Qingyang. They used to be young noblemen who were well raised. Now they have fallen from heaven to the mud, which is why the noble ladies in the capital find it novel and interesting."

Mei Liangyu leaned back slightly, pressing against the cool chair back, and glanced at Yu Sui: "You also picked out some good-looking slaves to take back?"

Yu Sui didn't hide anything from him and even held up a number: "I picked one because they were making a fuss. If I didn't take the person with me, our newly formed relationship would be questioned."

Mei Liangyu paused for a moment, his dark eyes fixed on Yu Sui.

He shouldn't have asked.

Who knows how wild the seemingly well-behaved person actually is in Qingyang?

But people are just like that; even though their minds were telling them they shouldn't ask, their mouths couldn't help but blurt out, "How are the slaves you picked out being served?"

Yu Sui thought for a moment and said, "That's good."

Mei Liangyu's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, and his gaze silently followed her, capturing every subtle change in her face. Her tone, demeanor, and eyes left him with endless imagination, causing a series of guesses to erupt in his mind.

“Perhaps when people reach the end of their road, they don’t want to die. In order to seize the opportunity to survive, they can’t care about their former pride and self-esteem and obediently learn how to serve others.” Yu Sui’s thoughts were momentarily drawn away. When she looked back and saw Mei Liangyu’s extremely focused gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She slowly reached out and covered her mouth and whispered, “Senior brother, what I mean by serving others is the kind of thing like serving tea and water.”

"The noble ladies take the slaves back with them because they want to humiliate them; they would never let a dirty slave touch them."

Mei Liangyu said with an inscrutable expression, "I know."

Yu Sui added, "I only kept him for three days, and on the fourth day I sent him back to Bingjia Chongtai."

Mei Liangyu thought to himself, three days is not a short time. There are twelve hours in a day, so three days would be thirty-six hours.

Yu Sui looked up slightly at Mei Liangyu, waiting for him to speak, her expression somewhat innocent.

Mei Liangyu suppressed her turbulent thoughts and said calmly, "Your days in Qingyang were quite exciting too."

To say it was exciting would be an understatement.

Yu Sui nodded.

Mei Liangyu was caught off guard and laughed in anger.

Feeling both annoyed and amused, Mei Liangyu turned and said, "You should go to sleep."

"Where is my senior brother?" Yu Sui asked.

Mei Liangyu said, "I'll stay a little longer."

Yu Sui then got up, and Mei Liangyu said again, "If you can't sleep, come down."

"Okay." Yu Sui went upstairs to wash up.

After Yu Sui left, Mei Liangyu was the only one left in the hall.

He recalled his conversation with Yu Sui that evening, starting from Qingyang and going back to the topic of the Upside-Down Moon Cave.

If Yu Sui hadn't come to Taiyi

Following this line of thought, Mei Liangyu continued to recall that during this period his mind had been focused on Yu Sui, and he had indeed overlooked many things and delayed many discoveries.

At this moment, Mei Liangyu was alone in the hall, blending into the darkness and loneliness, occasionally raising his eyebrows to glance outside.

After returning to her room, Yu Sui went around the screen to take a bath, changed into new clothes, and ran her hand through her still dripping black hair.

Li Jinshuang's voice was low in her ear: "Tonight went smoothly. Because the Upside-Down Moon Cave led into the Dragon Slayer Cave, there were no patrolling instructors. The items have already been taken back by Gu Gan."

She paused, then asked, "How are you doing in the outer city?"

"It's nothing serious, I'll be back tomorrow," Yu Sui said.

She sat on the edge of the bed, running her fingers through her wet hair, repeating this several times until the moisture had mostly evaporated.

Li Jinshuang asked her, "How are you going to get the fragments from Gu Gan?"

Yu Sui said, "Tomorrow night, the instructors will be conducting spot checks on the dormitories, and everyone will be waiting in the corridor."

Li Jinshuang, who was still outside the dormitory, was stunned by what she heard.

Most of the time, the academy doesn't care what the disciples do in their dormitories. Even though it's said that men and women can't live together, if you do live together and it's not discovered, no one will care.

As long as you don't get caught during the teachers' random dormitory checks, nothing will happen.

However, the teachers' spot checks on the dormitories are never announced in advance; they are always conducted suddenly. Li Jinshuang doesn't know how Yu Sui knew the specific time.

"Tomorrow night?" Li Jinshuang confirmed. "The instructors will conduct a spot check of the dormitories and find that Wei Ren is not there."

“Some of the instructors are our people, especially those who conducted the spot checks on Gu Gan’s level.” Yu Sui lay back on the bed, squinting her eyes slightly, and said, “I paid a lot of money to buy these spot checks.”

Blackbeard had been in Taiyi for many years and had a lot of contact with the academy. He knew that some of the instructors at Taiyi Academy liked to take advantage of small things and were good at getting things done for money. But you needed connections and connections to get the money to go.

The instructors are very willing to cooperate on tasks that do not involve the interests of the college and are not dangerous.

Li Jinshuang asked her, "The instructors will be checking the dormitories very quickly. Will Wei Ren have enough time? If they go back halfway through, even one person will be discovered."

“I heard that every time there’s a surprise inspection of the dormitories, it takes a long time and it won’t end quickly. Also, there are always disciples arguing and causing trouble. There are hot-tempered people everywhere,” Yu Sui said. “The more chaotic it gets, the better. I suggest you find someone you don’t like or someone who has targeted you before and have a fight with them tomorrow night.”

Li Jinshuang frowned in thought: "Shu Chujun?"

Yu Sui chuckled and shrank back, saying with a smile, "That works too."

"The instructors who are working with us said that there is a mechanism in the dormitory that can be activated in case of an emergency. At that time, all the dormitory doors will be locked, and the disciples outside will not be able to enter unless the instructors release the Dragon Sealing Lock."

Yu Sui rubbed her eyes and continued, "We definitely won't use the Dragon Sealing Lock for minor skirmishes."

Li Jinshuang asked, "To what extent?"

"You'll find out tomorrow night," Yu Sui said.

After Yu Sui ended her telepathic communication with Li Jinshuang and confirmed that there was no movement from Nian Qiuyan's side, Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu returned to the academy and began to think of a way to remove the Love Gu. Her senior brother was also quietly waiting in the main hall, so she had time to check on Gu Gan's situation through the Five Elements Light Core.

Gu Gan has returned to his dormitory.

In the brightly lit room, Ji Meng and Huo Xiao were both there, and together with Gu Gan, they were all staring at the fragments of the Pagoda on the table.

[Author's Note]

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!