Light rain

The story is short; it was told to Li Xiuran by Yang Suyue a long time ago.

Long ago, there was a censor who angered the emperor by speaking frankly. The emperor wanted to kill him but did not want to bear the infamy, so he asked his ministers in court whether he should be killed. Unexpectedly, the ministers all condemned the censor's mistake.

The emperor was delighted and allowed the official to retire peacefully to his hometown.

At the time, the young Li Xiuran did not understand why the emperor was so fickle, but now he seems to have gained some insight.

Just as the two remained silent, the fighting outside abruptly stopped. Suddenly, a strong wind arose, and the corner of the carriage curtain he was clutching slipped from his grasp and fluttered outwards. Looking through the fluttering curtain, a man in blue stood with his sword at his side, the bodies of the coachman and the assassin lying at his feet, their fates unknown.

No one knows when he arrived or how he made his move.

With the wind blowing, only a pair of calm, expressionless eyes remained.

The first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, and Li Xiuran had been sitting at his desk for a long time. He got up in the early morning to record the scene of yesterday, and after finishing writing, he picked up his pen to write down today's date and weather.

May 4th, light rain.

Lin Yun left the sect in the light drizzle. Earlier, she had been awakened by the birdsong outside her window in the early morning and couldn't help but sigh at how fast time had passed. In the blink of an eye, it was time to set off on a mission.

Last night, she refused Senior Sister Bai and Master's offer to give her a farewell party. It was just her first mission, why make such a fuss?

Venerable Yichen was easy to talk to, but Senior Sister Bai wouldn't agree no matter what they said. They could only say that they would return to the sect to celebrate after she completed her mission.

For some reason, Master was always worried. When we left the sect, he stood guard at the mountain gate and instructed us: "The mission location is in Jizhou. Your senior brother Gu is also staying there. Go find him after you enter the city."

"Okay," Lin Yun replied.

She walked quite a distance, then looked back, and the purple figure still stood guard amidst the gray, white, and green. The girl, unsure how to make her master feel more secure, waved her arms vigorously at the figure, signaling, "Master, please go back!"

Seeing that Yichen hadn't moved yet, he sighed inwardly: He himself hadn't acted like an unreliable person, so why had his master been so worried? Once his senior brother was released from confinement, he would definitely ask him what his master had been like when he first went on a mission.

Lin Yun took out a communication talisman from his sleeve, cleared his throat, and said, "Master, there's no need to worry so much. I'll watch over you as you return."

Upon hearing this, Yichen reluctantly left.

Last night, he discussed with Ninghua whether he could accompany him, and the answer was naturally no. But seeing his disciple leave today, his unease grew even stronger.

He sat upright at his desk, which was piled high with the tasks he needed to handle in the past few days. His mind was in turmoil, which greatly reduced his efficiency, and the files were now piling up like a mountain.

The Venerable One lightly tapped his forehead, and a thread-like strand of spiritual energy was drawn away. With a command from him, the spiritual energy quickly flew out the window.

But he wasn't the only one who was concerned about Lin Yun's departure from the sect, whether openly or secretly.

Similarly, he wasn't the only one who was troubled.

"It's been raining non-stop these past few days." Mingqi looked out the window, where raindrops fell like strings of beads from the eaves, almost forming a curtain of rain.

Sitting beside him, Yongyun responded, "Yes, I've heard that this year has been the rainiest year since the founding of the Jingyin Sect." Not only the Jingyin Sect, but other places have also experienced a lot of rain.

This is not a good sign.

All three people present thought the same thing, but none of them said it aloud, and the atmosphere became gloomy and oppressive with the rain.

"You and Yichen haven't reconciled yet?" Ninghua had heard that a few days ago, Yichen had instructed his disciples to send the files he needed to handle to the courtyard, and he hadn't seen Yichen come to the council hall recently.

Seeing that he remained silent, they took it as tacit agreement.

Ning Hua sighed: Didn't these two make up a few days ago? Why are they arguing again? There are so many rumors circulating inside and outside...

Until the day before Lin Yunwang set off, Yichen and Mingqi were still arguing about whether or not they should go on the trip.

Yongyun witnessed the whole thing and was even more confused, having no idea what the two of them were arguing about.

But because of this incident, the rift between him and Ninghua lessened considerably. When they met again, the greetings were no longer awkward; they even shared similar views. He felt a faint, almost imperceptible joy at this, but that fleeting joy vanished as nightmares began to haunt him.

Ninghua's scrutinizing gaze made Mingqi feel extremely uncomfortable, and he practically fled.

Now it was Yongyun's turn to be uneasy—his relationship with Ninghua was far from good enough for them to be alone together in a room. Sect Leader Ning, however, remained as calm as ever. When Yongyun expressed his desire to leave and try to persuade him, he simply nodded, indicating that he should go.

"Senior Brother!" Yongyun quickly caught up with him. "What were you arguing about with Senior Brother Yichen again?"

“It’s still the same old story.” Mingqi himself was also confused. They had clearly made up, so why were they arguing more and more fiercely about this matter? “Ten days ago, he suddenly told me that he wanted to join me in cutting off Hengyan and Yunwang’s contact.”

He tapped his forehead, looking quite pained.

“I admit that I was initially wary of her because of her unknown background. But the investigation found nothing unusual, and she is a diligent and ambitious person... so naturally I will not continue to treat her the same way I did before.”

Today, Yongyun will only be a listener, silently listening and nodding slightly.

He had his own opinion. He knew that his senior brother's attitude towards Lin Yunwang was different, firstly because her arrival was suspicious, and secondly because Zhou Hengyan treated him differently.

As the heir of the Zhou family, Zhou Hengyan's path was predetermined from the moment he was born. And among these paths, there was absolutely no option of falling in love with someone who might lead him astray.

Mingqi had thought so at first, but as time went on and she observed Lin Yun more closely, she began to despise her former self. Most importantly, she felt absolutely no romantic feelings for her disciple.

Regardless of Lin Yunwang's future identities—whose daughter, whose apprentice, or perhaps whose wife—she must first and foremost be herself, and this is what Yichen is determined to protect.

The dispute between the two lies here.

Mingqi needs her to remain vigilant and maintain an inner sense of unease.

Those whose lives are too smooth tend to have a happy life, often without anticipating failure. However, the world of cultivation is clearly cruel. Even if someone tries their best to build a peaceful, just, and resource-scarce world, the law of the jungle remains the only rule in this underdeveloped world.

Lin Yunwang understood this point very clearly.

Compared to others, she had no family to support her, and for most of the past fifteen years, she had to grit her teeth and climb up the ladder on her own.

Being mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace is a quality that the younger generation of cultivators lacks, but it is precisely what Lin Yunwang possesses and embodies.

"This isn't fair. Besides, she's neither your disciple nor your guinea pig," Yichen strongly objected. He became wary when he realized that his senior brother's intentions weren't entirely due to Zhou Hengyan.

Recalling everything that had happened, all he wanted to do at that moment was to keep his apprentice away from Mingqi, and even from Zhou Hengyan.

While pondering, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Blood, blood everywhere.

Li Xiuran stared blankly at the man in front of her.

His name was Gu Hanqiu, from the Jingyin Sect. He and Lin Yunwang were from the same sect and he was Lin Yunwang's senior brother. Because he owed a favor to Grand Tutor Su, he was entrusted by him to escort Yang Suyue and her party to Jizhou.

They have been in Jeju for more than half a month now.

This person is practically a reincarnation of a killing god; his daily routine in Jeju is killing "people".

"Come on, let's go for a walk." His tone was calm, without any sense of coercion, as if nothing could stir any emotion in him, and he himself was like still water.

Similarly, he doesn't care about other people's feelings. Even when Li Xiuran looked at Yang Suyue for help, showing his reluctance, he remained unmoved and had no intention of changing his mind.

"Go on, and come back soon." Yang Suyue seemed unaware of his gaze, which was about to materialize, her eyes fixed on the book without shifting an inch.

Well, the boy comforted himself, since it wasn't the first time anyway.

And so, he followed Gu Hanqiu, who was carrying several unconscious men under his arm, out the door.

After they left, Yang Suyue suddenly looked up, quickly walked to the window, and watched the two of them step into the main street for a "stroll". She thought to herself: What a strange person.

On the way, Li Xiuran cautiously observed the strangely behaving young man. The outline of his muscles was faintly visible under the fabric, but the lines were not particularly pronounced. If one only looked at his face, he would just seem like a calm and collected scholar. However, once his gaze fell on his arms, he would think differently.

He was carrying three tall men, who appeared to be unconscious and showed no reaction even when being carried. Beside the strangely behaving man was a boy who looked no more than 10 years old.

Li Xiuran vividly remembered the scene of his first outing like this. It not only caused panic but also alerted the government; it was his first time visiting a government office. He didn't know what Gu Hanqiu had shown the official, but he was released safely, and the official even helped dispose of the body.

These days, the residents of Jeju Island have become accustomed to the sight of a boy and a child dragging several "things." After all, this has been happening almost daily at the same time for the past two weeks. Some people have even made special trips to see this "strange spectacle."

At first, Li Xiuran would feel uneasy because of the stares of passersby, but he gradually became numb to it and can now ignore it automatically.

"Why don't you bring Wei Da along? Why do you always call me?" he muttered under his breath.

Unexpectedly, this person had excellent hearing and replied, "He is still recovering from his injury and it's inconvenient for him."

Li Xiuran stopped talking, but the complaints in his heart never stopped.

I wonder why the innkeeper let such a strange group of people stay at the inn. If he were the innkeeper, he would have kicked them out on the first day after seeing the corpse.

And this person, he cast his gaze at the person next to him, I really can't understand what he's thinking.

He glanced around casually, a hint of curiosity befitting his age. His gaze lingered on one spot, then paused, but the familiar figure quickly disappeared around the corner.