Chapter 55 Senior Brother, are you still angry?
After staring at Yu Sui's reply for a moment, Mei Liangyu burst out laughing.
He picked the last apricot and then asked the Sage Changgen if all the apricots on the tree had been eaten by Yu Sui.
Sage Changgen replied, "Although she picked them, I didn't see her finish eating them."
Mei Liangyu searched the sanctuary but couldn't find the apricots that Yu Sui had hidden. She sent her a message while returning to her quarters to wash and change.
He also summoned his friends to find his junior sister.
With sleepy eyes, the friends read the message from Mei Liangyu asking for their junior sister, then slapped the Listening Wind Ruler over the bed, yawned, closed their eyes, and went back to sleep.
Yu Sui and Xue Mushi were sitting side by side in the Yin-Yang Five Elements Field, listening attentively to Li Jinshuang continue:
"Over the past few years, I have tried to communicate with it several times, but it has been to no avail."
Yu Sui obediently raised her hand and asked again, "The sword spirit doesn't want to communicate with you?"
A moment of hesitation flashed in Li Jinshuang's eyes, but she ultimately shook her head honestly: "No, it seems to have given me a clue... but I'm not sure."
She looked up at Yu Sui with a bewildered expression. Her usually calm eyes were now veiled in mist, and she unusually lost her composure, revealing a hidden vulnerability.
"What are you unsure about?" Yu Sui asked softly.
Her tone and expression revealed a gentleness and softness that gradually made Li Jinshuang lower her guard, allowing her to vent her uncontrollable urge to speak.
"I'm not sure if what I understand is what the sword spirit wants," Li Jinshuang said with a tense expression, her tone obscure. "It doesn't like me."
Xue Mushi scratched his head, puzzled: "How could a sword spirit that is born and accompanies its master not like you? However, your sword spirit is special. Perhaps you unintentionally did something to offend it. Why don't you apologize to it?"
These are all he can think of.
Yu Sui propped her head up with one hand and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye: "This doesn't seem like something that can be resolved with an apology."
Xue Mushi was stunned, at a loss for what to do.
“It doesn’t like me, the me you see now.” Li Jinshuang said this with a blank stare, as if she dared not acknowledge the gazes others were giving her.
Upon hearing this, both Xue Mushi and Yu Sui couldn't help but scrutinize Li Jinshuang.
"Is there something wrong with her now?" Xue Mushi asked Yu Sui in a small, nervous voice, afraid that he would say the wrong thing.
Yu Sui also answered in a low voice: "The problem we see in her now is that she hasn't rested well, her complexion is bad, she's in a bad mood, and she's dressed as a man."
Xue Mushi suddenly understood after hearing this.
Yu Sui tried to simplify the question, so she said, "You mean, the sword spirit doesn't like men, but likes women?"
Xue Mushi was shocked and exclaimed that he had never thought of such a way of thinking.
Li Jinshuang tacitly agreed with Yu Sui's words, nodding silently.
The problem is probably more complex than this, but it can be summarized and explained in this way.
Xue Mushi thought for a moment and said, "But you are a woman."
Yu Sui continued to simplify the issue: "You're dressed as a man right now, so the sword spirit doesn't like you. But to put it another way, if you change back to women's clothing, won't it like you then?"
Xue Mushi thought it made sense and nodded in agreement, saying, "It's very possible. Maybe it was your male attire that angered the sword spirit, which is why it acted so recklessly."
Yu Sui thought to herself that Xue Mushi's words were perfectly coordinated.
Li Jinshuang kept a straight face, not looking at the two of them, her head lowered, as if she was extremely nervous, suppressing an inexplicable fear in her heart, and was covered in sweat.
In a hoarse voice, she uttered the words she had said countless times before: "I am a man."
In the past, when the other party heard her say this, they would either laugh or get angry.
At that moment, Li Jinshuang heard Yu Sui say, "You are not."
There was also a clear agreement from Xue Mushi: "Yes, yes, you're not."
Yu Sui spoke with a hint of seriousness, but her tone remained gentle, as if soothing a frightened kitten: "If you like wearing men's clothing, then I have nothing to say."
She recalled what Blackbeard had said before: due to internal strife, almost all the male members of the Li family in the Southern Kingdom had died out. The matriarch, who barely managed to support the Li family, insisted on the old-fashioned ways, believing that only the men in the family were the pillars of the clan and could bring glory and security to the family.
Some elderly people's outdated ideas are very difficult to change, especially stubborn elderly people who hold power and can manipulate you at will. They think you should do things a certain way, and you can only do it the way they say.
“Li Jinshuang, just because you wear men’s clothing doesn’t mean you are a man, nor does it mean you can become the glory of the family or a representative of courage, decisiveness, and composure. These are things that women can do, not things that are exclusive to men.”
Yu Sui said calmly, "Strong people are not divided into men and women, but your power was born from a woman, not something a man can control."
Li Jinshuang's hand holding the sword trembled as she slowly raised her head to look at Yu Sui.
Yu Sui's gaze was calm, devoid of much emotion, and her words were merely ordinary casual conversation.
Looking at Xue Mushi again, he still seemed slow and sluggish. It took him a moment to realize what Yu Sui meant, and he nodded in agreement.
Xue Mushi said, "I remember that the future crown princess of your Southern Jing Kingdom is a holy maiden, so why is your family..."
Li Jinshuang interrupted, "The Li family is different. The Li family only has women and children left, no men."
Yu Sui asked her, "Is it that there are no men left, or that there are no more talented boys?"
Li Jinshuang opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.
Yu Sui met her trembling eyes and smiled slightly.
"So there is one, right?" Xue Mushi reached out and gently touched his face, his tone slightly wistful. "Then you only dressed as a man because of the orders of your elders, not because you did it voluntarily or because you liked it."
Li Jinshuang lowered her eyelashes again and whispered, "His Majesty also dislikes the Li family. The more useless the Li family is now, the better. But Grandmother wants to rebuild the glory of the past. Under the current Emperor's nose, she wants to return to the glorious Li family of the past, the Li family that was second only to the Emperor."
Rather than saying that the grandmother wanted to restore the glory of the Li family, it would be more accurate to say that she witnessed the deaths of her husband, children, and grandchildren, and harbored resentment and couldn't swallow her anger, so she wanted to avenge them.
The current emperor of the Southern Jing Kingdom is her enemy.
“I know what she wants to do. I think… now is not the time. She’s being too obvious. If this continues, the other members of the Li family who are still alive will be in danger.” Li Jinshuang took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, “I am willing to protect them. I am willing to become like this. I am willing to be the one who protects the Li family.”
As the sky gradually brightened, the birdsong filled the air, and the chill in the air slowly dissipated.
Yu Sui looked down at the Listening Wind Ruler, which kept sending messages. Her senior brother seemed to have finished his work and started asking her where she was.
“Protecting family is certainly the right thing to do.” Xue Mushi racked his brains and said, “It seems that’s not what we’re discussing. It’s about sword spirits. If you want to protect the Li family, you need to have the power of a sword spirit. Your talent is very good, and your sword spirit is also very strong, stronger than any I’ve ever seen. It’s also very special.”
“Yes, reconciling with the sword spirit doesn’t conflict with your intention to protect the Li family.” Yu Sui replied, pointing to the crossword puzzle without looking up. “It sounds like you’ve actually realized how to reconcile with the sword spirit, but you just can’t accept it or do it right now.”
"What method?" Xue Mushi asked her.
“The simplest way is to restore Li Jinshuang to her original appearance and negotiate with the sword spirit with your most authentic self,” Yu Sui said in a light tone. “Just take off your men’s clothes and put on women’s clothes again.”
Xue Mushi turned back to look at Li Jinshuang and nodded: "Yes, yes."
Li Jinshuang's expression was extremely strange, a mixture of resistance and fear: "I can't."
“Why not? This isn’t Nan Jing Kingdom. It’s very, very far away from Nan Jing. Your grandmother can’t come and can’t control you. Even if your grandmother knew, she couldn’t come over and beat and scold you.” Yu Sui smiled lightly. “The emperor is far away. You’re in Taiyi. You can wear whatever you want. Nobody can tell you what to do.”
She looked up at Li Jinshuang and winked playfully, "I wouldn't dare to give my parents a hard time in Qingyang, but now you can make me yell at them however I want."
“Yes, yes, she had it tough too. She had three older brothers vying for the throne.” Xue Mushi realized something was off after saying that, so he added, “There were four.”
Li Jinshuang was covered in sweat, her collar was soaked, and a few strands of wet hair clung to her skin. At least Yu Sui and Xue Mushi's words made her feel less sad.
When you feel embarrassed and in pain, the comfort you receive when the people around you don't say anything harsh or hurtful is incredibly strong.
Perhaps she had never received such "benefits" before; the woman's gentle words and calm gaze brought her a moment of peace.
Li Jinshuang remained silent, unsure of what to do.
Yu Sui knew that Li Jinshuang was too awkward and that she couldn't be expected to make a decision on her own at this time, so she said, "If there is a problem, we should try to solve it. We can start by changing our appearance. If you are willing, I will take you to the outer city to try on clothes after today's class."
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and said, "I'll buy it for you."
As dawn broke, Yu Sui stood up and said to Li Jinshuang, "I'll send you a message then."
Xue Mushi also stood up, overjoyed, the problem was finally solved.
After washing up, Mei Liangyu changed into clean clothes, her long robe loosely draped over her shoulders. With her long hair down, she sat on a rocking chair in her room, squinting at the wind-listening ruler in her hand, and asked again where Yu Sui was.
New messages kept flooding into his listening scale, but he didn't look at them; he just stared at Yu Sui's message interface.
He received a reply shortly afterward: "Senior brother, are you angry because of Xingzi?"
Mei Liangyu chuckled, pointing to the crossword puzzle as she replied, "What do you think?"
Yu Sui: "A few days ago, I was practicing my control over the five elements and accidentally picked all the apricots off the tree. I couldn't finish them all, and I was afraid they would spoil and go to waste, so I used them to make wine."
She only remembered that her senior brother had told her to leave some after she had almost finished picking them.
Mei Liangyu: "..."
The wine has just been brewed, so you can't drink it right away.
Yu Sui replied, "I also made apricot jam, apricot cake, and apricot preserves, which are on my desk in my dorm room. If you can't wait, you can go and get them first. I'm going to class soon."
Mei Liangyu's gaze froze.
A new message quickly appeared in his eyes: "The large bottle contains apricot wine, the small jar contains apricot jam, and the food box contains apricot cake and candied apricots."
"Senior brother, it's getting hot. When you eat cooling rice cakes and milk cakes, you can add some apricot jam and honey to enhance the flavor and make them taste even better."
"If you really want to eat apricots, I'll go to the outer city later and buy some for you."
Mei Liangyu, who had been lounging lazily in her chair, slowly sat up straight as Yu Sui sent her messages.
Compared to the fact that her seemingly innocent and kind junior sister was actually quite cunning and scheming, Mei Liangyu was even more surprised that her junior sister could make so many different dishes out of apricots.
Yu Sui calmly pointed to the crossword puzzle and asked him, "Senior brother, are you still angry?"
Mei Liangyu laughed again, not angry at all.
What's there to be angry about?
He couldn't find anything to be angry about.
Mei Liangyu got up, tied her hair, and went out to Yu Sui's dormitory. On the way, she asked her, "Where are you going to attend class?"
"The Taoist school of ghosts," Yu Sui replied. "This afternoon I'm going to listen to lectures by famous experts and physicians."
New disciples are very busy; they have to attend basic courses from various schools.
Unlike top-tier disciples, who don't care whether they attend classes or not, unless absolutely necessary, the saints from various schools will occasionally give one or two lectures, at which point the top-tier disciples will obediently go to the study hall and sit down.
Most of the time, top-tier disciples rely almost entirely on their own figuring out and various trials to cultivate, while also creating problems for disciples below top-tier while maintaining various low- and mid-level trials.
Mei Liangyu knocked on the door, and Shu Chujun opened it.
She seemed to have been waiting for someone, and knowing someone was coming, she opened the door without any warning. To her surprise, it was Mei Liangyu who came, and she was stunned for a moment.
Mei Liangyu ignored him and went straight to Yu Sui's bedroom, opening and closing the door.
Shu Chujun gasped in shock.
Xun Zhiya came out and asked, "Who is it?"
“He, he, he…” Shu Chujun pointed to Yu Sui’s room.
Mei Liangyu had a clear goal; she didn't glance at anything else and went straight to the table where Yu Sui had mentioned the bottle.
My gaze swept over the bottle of infused liquor, then I opened the jar of jam and smelled it. It had a sour and sweet aroma. Then I opened the food box. The apricot preserves and apricot cakes were different colors, one dark and one light, golden with a reddish tinge. The colors were quite pleasing.
Mei Liangyu replied to Yu Sui's message: "Why didn't you put a spell lock on this room?"
Wouldn't that mean anyone could come in?
“No need,” Yu Sui replied. “I don’t have anything in my room to take.”
Mei Liangyu: "..."
Even if he didn't look for it, there must be valuable items everywhere in this house that he could take.
Mei Liangyu glanced at the open jewelry box on the dressing table, its sparkling appearance, and then looked at Yu Sui's words, and couldn't help but laugh.
The sound of a door opening came from outside again. Shu Chujun saw Gu Gan and Ji Meng standing at the door and immediately lowered her voice and said, "Mei Liangyu is inside."
Gu Gan stopped abruptly, and Ji Meng asked in disbelief, "What's he doing here? What's he doing here?"
"He went straight into Nangong Sui's room as soon as he arrived. How was I supposed to know what he was up to?" Shu Chujun said helplessly.
Upon hearing this, Gu Gan's face darkened, and he strode forward, intending to drag Mei Liangyu out of Yu Sui's room.
As he approached the door, Mei Liangyu opened it with a food box in hand. Seeing the person standing outside, she raised an eyebrow slightly, held the wind-listening ruler in one hand, and calmly replied to Yu Sui, "Your Brother Gu is here too."
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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