Chapter 323 For so many years, I've been the one protecting you.

Although the Xiaoyao Pool has many branches, they are all connected. There are hardly any people in the deeper parts of the water. The night mist is illuminated by the smoke signals from the six kingdoms in the sky. As soon as Yu Sui poked his head out of the water, he heard a splashing sound.

The girl's eyes were shimmering with tears. She had just smiled when she heard someone standing on the shore say, "The smoke from the Six Kingdoms."

Yu Sui looked up and finally realized where the shimmering light on the water was coming from. Familiar lights on the black sky formed words that caught her eye, causing the smile in her eyes to vanish quickly.

Yan Manfeng is dead.

Yu Sui didn't know how to describe her feelings at that moment. Her mind seemed to go blank for a moment, and her thoughts were incoherent.

"Sui Sui." Gu Gan reached out his hand to the girl who was still in the water. "Come up quickly."

Yu Sui gazed at the sky, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks, the streaks of water on her skin making her appear exceptionally delicate and pitiful.

Gu Gan frowned: "Sui Sui."

Yu Sui didn't reach out; she lowered her eyes and climbed ashore on her own.

“Yan Manfeng is dead, and the Prince will definitely take action. Now that you are in Taiyi, they won’t dare to lay a hand on you, so you don’t need to be afraid.” Gu Gan comforted the silent girl. He remembered that Yu Sui had once said that she was very afraid that the sorcerers of the Farmer’s Clan would kill her. “With me here, I will never let them hurt you.”

Yu Sui couldn't quite describe her feelings for Yan Manfeng. The information about Xirang and Yan Manfeng was intertwined. Every time someone mentioned Madam Su's past deeds, they would inevitably mention Yan Manfeng as well. It seemed that both she and her daughter had an inseparable relationship with Yan Manfeng.

Over the years, many assassins have come to kill her, all believing that they wanted to kill her and steal the treasure of the Breath of Earth. But in fact, there were many reasons why people wanted to kill her.

People killed her for Yan Manfeng, for Xirang, for Nangong Ming. Yu Sui looked at the news announced by the Six Kingdoms' Xinyan. Now one reason to kill her had disappeared, but the number of people who wanted to kill her had increased, and they had become more and more determined and crazy.

Gu Gan saw that Yu Sui remained silent, staring only at the cigarettes from the Six Kingdoms. Her face was completely drained of color, and her pale expression made her look even more pitiful, both sorrowful and indifferent.

He felt a pang of pity and softened his tone, saying, "Sui Sui, with his death, you must be even more careful from now on. Even if you can already cultivate the Nine Streams Technique, the world outside Taiyi is far more dangerous, and your current strength is still far from sufficient."

Yu Sui glanced at him sideways: "Then what do you think I should do? Should I wait for you to go and kill all those people?"

"Just like you said, my strength is far from enough, Brother Gu, are you enough?" The girl's dark pupils stared at him without blinking, her tone as gentle as ever, yet it made Gu Gan feel an unprecedented sense of oppression. "How are you going to protect me? Kill everyone who wants to kill me? Would you do that?"

Gu Gan couldn't give an answer immediately. The person in front of him was a familiar face, yet for the first time, he felt completely unfamiliar with him.

He didn't react for a moment, then said, "I will."

"Is this what you call protecting me?" Yu Sui pinched out Zhou Tian Fire with her fingertips to dispel the dampness from her body. The water droplets on her hair and the water marks on her face disappeared instantly. She was still staring at Gu Gan. "Brother Gu, have you forgotten that all these years, I have been the one protecting you?"

"I will protect you so that you can do whatever you want in the capital, and even protect foreign spies when your people in the National Academy come to your door. I will protect you so that you can harm other noble families in private, but no one will dare to trace it back to you."

"I'll protect you so that even if you end up in the Chongtai Third Prison, you'll come out alive. In the capital, I've given you everything you need, Brother Gu. Doesn't that count as me protecting you?"

Her eyes were clear, but her usual smile was gone.

Gu Gan saw a hint of stubbornness and coldness in the girl's face; the girl who usually had a sweet and lovely smile seemed to exist only in his imagination.

“Sui Sui, I…” Gu Gang had just started to speak when the girl said to herself, “It’s your turn to protect me now.”

Her relationship with Gu Gan was unfair, but Yu Sui could accept it. There is no absolute fairness in the world, and she only needed to get what she wanted from it.

She used to have no choice in many things, but now she can decide how Gu Gan interacts with her.

"Of course!" Gu Gan said with utmost seriousness. "Of course I will protect you!"

"Brother Gu, it's always easier said than done." Yu Sui looked at him with a smile. "Actually, you used to look down on me for being a mediocre person. Even after I came to Taiyi, you didn't keep your promise. Father asked me to help you, but you never told me about the Fragment plan. In your eyes, I've always been dispensable, even..."

"Sui Sui." Gu Gan interrupted her with a stern face, "I didn't expect you to misunderstand me so deeply. What I thought protecting you was to keep you out of any dangerous situations. I don't want you to get hurt in the slightest."

Yu Sui said, "Isn't that just looking down on me?"

Gu Gan was speechless, feeling utterly helpless. He was certain that Yu Sui had become somewhat aggressive because of Yan Manfeng's incident.

Once Gu Gan came to his senses, he felt that Yu Sui's state was not unfamiliar.

Qian Ying was just as obsessive when she was being stubborn, but this was the first time he had seen Sui Sui like this, so he couldn't get used to it for a while.

Having prepared himself mentally, Gu Gan patiently reassured Yu Sui: "Sui Sui, you know the difference between a mediocre sorcerer and a low-level sorcerer. If I were to involve you in those dangerous matters..."

“Brother Gu, doesn’t that mean you can’t protect me?” Yu Sui interrupted him quietly. “I am a member of the Ping Shu sect. Those things are too dangerous. You can’t protect me, which is why you don’t let me participate.”

Gu Gan couldn't immediately refute, but his forehead twitched violently.

“You couldn’t protect me before, and you’re even less able to protect me now.” Yu Sui sighed softly. “Brother Gu, forget it.”

never mind?

What do you mean, forget it?

Gu Gan felt uneasy and, seeing Yu Sui turn to leave, immediately stopped her: "Where are you going? What are you doing now..."

“I’m going to find my senior brother. I promised I would protect him until he recovers.” Yu Sui looked directly at Gu Gan. “I will not break my promise.”

The way she looked at Gu Gan seemed to be a silent question: Did you attack my senior brother at the Anti-Ancient Tower?

Gu Gan felt his head buzzing. He was so angry with Yu Sui that he had words on the tip of his tongue, but looking at Yu Sui's face, he couldn't bring himself to speak. The anger in his chest burned brighter and brighter.

He said, "Fine, you're so concerned about Mei Liangyu, and you even doubt me... then I'll take you back to Nigu Tower and see if Mei Liangyu is still waiting for you there."

Yu Sui stubbornly replied, "I'll go myself."

"I can't let you go alone," Gu Gan said coldly.

Gu Gan led the way, and Yu Sui followed him quietly toward the direction of the Reverse Ancient Tower.

During this time, Gu Gan's wind-listening ruler kept ringing, but he didn't answer it, remaining sullen and angry.

Yu Sui listened for a while before speaking, "Brother Gu, your Wind-Listening Ruler keeps ringing."

Gu Gan glanced at her before picking up the Wind Listening Ruler to transmit his voice.

The moment the call connected, I heard Xiang Feifei yelling, "Gu Gan! Where the hell have you been! Do you even know what's going on here...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Qian Ying snatched the Wind-Listening Ruler from him: "Brother Gu!"

"Where are you? Are you hurt? Sha Qian is determined to deal with you this time! I'm sorry, Brother Gu, I lost Sha Qian. Tell me where you are first, and I'll come right away!"

Gu Gan began to comfort Qian Ying, telling her not to worry, but the image of Yu Sui's unpredictable mood flashed through his mind a moment earlier.

Yu Sui walked behind quietly, listening. From Xiang Feifei to Qian Ying, even Shu Chujun chimed in with a few words.

When Gu Gan was a child, he was very popular with girls in the National Academy. From the moment Qian Ying appeared, Yu Sui wondered if her role in Gu Gan's life was that of a gentle and lovely childhood sweetheart.

But because of the strange fire, she felt that the gentle and lovely childhood sweetheart should be Qian Ying, and that she was one of the villains who was going to turn against Long Aotian.

Yu Sui looked at the flowing water at her feet. The smoke from the six kingdoms in the sky gradually disappeared, leaving only blurry outlines of light and shadow. She deliberately stopped and said to Gu Gan, "You're distracted by your conversation and walking too slowly. Let's wait until you're finished talking before we continue."

Gu had worked for so long and never imagined that one day Yu Sui would dislike him for such a reason.

But he had to stop. Qian Ying, with her amazing hearing, asked, "Are you with Nangong Sui? Are you in the treasure vault? But Brother Gu, the treasure vault is already..."

“Sui Sui and I have already come out, and now we’re going to…” Gu Gan was about to answer when Yu Sui looked at him, and that one look made Gu Gan shut up.

"You should focus on recovering from your injury first," Gu Gan changed his mind and said.

“I’m not badly injured, I don’t need to rest, Brother Gu, I…” Qian Ying’s urgent words were interrupted by Xun Zhiya, “Let me talk to him.”

Gu Gan also said, "Let me hear what the Holy Maiden has to say first."

Qian Ying reluctantly handed the Wind Listening Ruler to Xun Zhiya.

Xun Zhiya remained as indifferent as ever, her face revealing neither joy nor anger, and her tone was still icy as she spoke: "The ancient inscription has been deciphered, indicating that the fragments are in the Ghost Dao Clan's Boundless Abyss. I will be going there next."

Gu Gan pondered, "You go first, but be careful. There are quite a few people in the Wujian Abyss. The news has been released, and the academy hasn't taken any action to stop it, which means they're letting it go unchecked."

But he didn't say that a coach might step in.

It's not just the instructors; there will definitely be saints from the academy secretly helping out as well.

He planned to resolve his conflict with Yu Sui before heading to the Wujian Mountain Abyss.

Xun Zhiya responded, "There's another piece of news that's been bothering me, but not many people know about it right now."

Gu Gan: "What is it?"

"The Qingyun Society captured Sheng Fei and took him to the Yin-Yang School's top-level forbidden area, the Underworld Lake," Xun Zhiya said. "Su Xingchao went to the Discipline Department to decipher the ancient inscription. Before that, Sheng Fei was imprisoned in the Discipline Department, so I suspect..."

Gu Gan interrupted her, saying, "You think it was Sheng Fei who deciphered the ancient inscription, not Su Xingchao?"

Xun Zhiya nodded subconsciously: "That's right, otherwise why would the Qingyun Society capture Sheng Fei? I think Pu Heng wanted to get the fragment and then leave Taiyi, which is why he dared to do this."

This time, Yu Sui looked at Xun Zhiya with new respect.

Xun Zhiya still has some strength and methods in Taiyi; at least she is very familiar with Qingyun Society.

Since she has people serving her and knows how to use them, why is she so indifferent to Li Jinshuang? Yu Sui glanced at Gu Gan. Surely not all the people currently serving her were brought under Gu Gan's help.

Gu Gan didn't hide his telepathic communication from Yu Sui, so Yu Sui heard their conversation. Since it concerned Sheng Fei, Gu Gan looked at Yu Sui and saw a worried expression on her face, so he said, "I'll go find Sheng Fei. Perhaps he knows more about the ancient inscription."

Although the two had been at odds for many years, arguing from the capital of Qingyang to Taiyi, Gu Gan still believed more in Sheng Fei's abilities than Su Xingchao.

After a moment of silence, Xun Zhiya said softly, "Be careful."

"You too." Gu Gan gave some other instructions, then hung up the telepathic message and said to Yu Sui, "Did you hear that? Sheng Fei was kidnapped by the Qingyun Society and taken to the Yin Yang School's Underworld Lake. We need to go find him first."

He didn't believe that compared to Sheng Fei, Sui Sui still needed to go find Mei Liangyu.

Could Mei Liangyu compare to her own brother Sheng Fei in her heart?

Sometimes I can't even beat them.

"I understand." Yu Sui didn't refuse, but she asked, "You hate Third Brother so much, are you really willing to save him?"

“Sui Sui, over the years, when has it ever been Sheng Fei who started all the trouble for me? If he hadn’t repeatedly targeted me on purpose, our relationship wouldn’t be like this.” Gu Gan frowned and said, “Although I hate him, I don’t want him to die.”

Yu Sui pursed her lips slightly, but smiled and said, "Alright, you have to go help Third Brother, but Brother Gu, I won't help you this time."

Gu Gan didn't understand what Yu Sui meant by that. He just felt that she had become the same emotionally unstable and unpredictable girl she used to be. But Gu Gan believed that he could accept it, accept the different Yu Sui, so he just smiled and let her follow him.

Wei Ren withdrew his gaze from the sky and turned to stare at Wan Qi and Ling Jian, who were trading with someone in front of him.

During the Hundred Schools Night Parade, the location of the dining hall remains unchanged, and the dining hall is also a safe zone. The academy disciples are not allowed to make moves here, but it is only open during mealtimes and closes after one hour.

Wanqi found the information broker who operated during the night and raised enough money to buy a route map to the Yin-Yang School's Underworld Lake.

After obtaining the route map, the two got up and left in a hurry, paying little attention to the smoke signals from the six kingdoms in the sky.

When the sage of agriculture, Yan Manfeng, died, to outsiders like Wan Qi, it was merely a matter of sighing and lamenting that everyone must die eventually.

Just as Wei Ren was about to follow, he noticed that Ji Meng was still gazing at the smoke signals from the six kingdoms on the sky, so he kicked Ji Meng's chair leg and said, "Let's go."

Ji Meng was nearly knocked down by the kick, and quickly stood up, daring not to speak his anger to Wei Ren.

He was under Wei Ren's spell and dared not disobey. He could only follow Wei Ren obediently and be temporarily controlled by him, while trying to figure out what kind of spell he had been under and how to get rid of it.

"Why are you following them? Are you also going to rescue Sheng Fei?" Ji Meng tried to get some information out of Wei Ren.

Wei Ren glanced at him, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Did I tell you to speak?"

After saying that, Ji Meng felt as if his tongue had been bitten by something, and it began to feel numb and bitter. He could only babble and couldn't say a complete sentence. Then he felt a tightness in his throat, as if it was blocked, and even breathing became difficult. His face turned red.

Ji Meng covered his neck with both hands, his face extremely pale. He couldn't hold on for long before looking at Wei Ren and begging for mercy.

Wei Ren snorted: "You didn't speak when I told you to. If you don't want to talk, then keep it to yourself."

Seeing that he had no intention of helping, Ji Meng quickly nodded.

Wei Ren then stopped torturing him. After Ji Meng felt better, he took deep breaths, almost suffocating, and his numb tongue gradually recovered.

Wei Ren said to Ji Meng, "Tell me what happened after that night."

Ji Meng then told him that the mysterious person of the Listening Wind Ruler had not been found, Luo Fulan had suffered a poisoning attack and was executed by the Legalists, Zhang Xiangyun was also killed because he was involved with the Xuan Kui organization that sold Lan poison, and even the Sage of the Farmer's School, Ou Rushuang, had disappeared without a trace because of the Xuan Kui matter.

After hearing this, Wei Ren pondered to himself, "Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu are both dead, Taiyi's Xuan Kui organization has been wiped out, and even Dean Ou... all of this was done by Nangong Sui?"

Before he could come up with anything, Ji Meng's quick-thinking mind came up with another plan, and he persuaded him, "After what happened with Xuan Kui, I felt that Zhang Xiangyun was unreliable. Maybe I misunderstood you before. Now that Zhang Xiangyun is dead and the dean has agreed to let you return to the academy, it means that you are definitely fine."

Ji Meng wanted to make it all a "misunderstanding." He looked at Wei Ren sincerely and said, "I apologize to you on behalf of Gu Gan and the others. We're sorry. Consider this something we owe you. From now on, when you're at the academy, we'll definitely do whatever you ask for."

"Stop with your little tricks." Wei Ren didn't believe him at all, and said sarcastically through gritted teeth, "You guys shattered my light core and almost got me into the Dead Sea, and all you're going to do is apologize to me?"

Ji Meng smiled bitterly and said, "It was Zhang Xiangyun who destroyed your light core, not me."

Wei Ren said, "You're all in cahoots."

Ji Meng wanted to explain, but Wei Ren glanced at him and said, "I'm already being merciful by not immediately destroying your light core. What more do you want?"

With the changing seasons, Meng asked helplessly, "So what do you want?"

Wei Ren stared at the two people in front of him and said to Ji Meng, "You say what I tell you to say, and shut up when I tell you not to say anything."