Chapter 11 The First Day of Growing Up
This night, filled with danger and secrets, was fortunately undiscovered by others.
On her way back, Yu Sui used the heat of the strange fire to evaporate the moisture on her body, making it impossible to tell that she had fallen into the water twice.
This place was already close to the General's Mansion. Zhong Lique ran back through the back door, panting. The maid who opened the door for her was a trusted confidante of her mother, who covered for her the whole time.
When Yu Sui returned to Juxianlou, Sheng Fei was searching for her everywhere, almost turning the entire Juxianlou upside down. When he saw her coming back from outside with her head hanging low, he suppressed his temper and asked her where she had been.
"I want to eat those grilled meatballs," Yu Sui gestured with her hands, looking aggrieved. "But Juxianlou doesn't have them, so I wanted to go out and buy some, but I couldn't find any after searching for a long time."
Sheng Fei almost fainted from anger. The boys next to him thought he was going to give the little princess a good scolding and were ready to snatch Yu Sui away the moment he opened his mouth.
As a result, Sheng Fei just glared at Yu Sui and muttered a few words before moving on.
Yu Sui returned to the Prince's mansion unharmed. Lying on the bed, she recalled the events of the night and couldn't sleep a wink.
It seems that many people know the news that the precious soil of the farmers is inside her.
They had been lurking in the capital, keeping a close watch on her from afar. If it weren't for the royal guards, they would have swarmed her long ago.
If obtaining the Breath Soil requires killing her, then Nangong Ming keeping her alive and preventing Madam Su from obtaining the complete Breath Soil can also be considered a means of controlling Madam Su.
Will Lady Kesu remain in such a passive position?
She must have been very unwilling to accept it.
Yu Sui opened her eyes again, spread out her palms, and looked at the small flame burning in her palms.
If she hadn't remembered that Zhongli Que was still in the water and hadn't gone to save him, she would have definitely walked towards the burning strange fire.
It is indeed the most powerful force on this continent, powerful enough to influence the will of others.
Yu Sui recalled the old man's dying words and couldn't help but ask herself:
Can I do it?
Destroying the world is something like that.
Let the strange fire burn and devour the entire continent, burn the gardenias she planted in her courtyard, burn her brothers, Zhongli Que, and all the strangers in the bustling city tonight, burn everyone to death.
Is it possible?
The strange fire wouldn't be satisfied with just burning people and things it wanted to burn.
It aims to engulf and destroy the entire Xuan Gu Continent.
Heaven and earth, all things, everything.
Yu Sui stared at the flickering flame in her palm until dawn.
As the dim light shone into the room, she made up her mind: she would go to Taiyi Academy to find the Heavenly Script that the old man had mentioned could help her get rid of the strange fire.
With a goal in mind, Yu Sui began to pay attention to all news related to Taiyi Academy.
The courses arranged by the National Academy are becoming increasingly difficult, with more and more classes focusing on physical skills.
Zhong Lique couldn't learn these techniques, so she could only secretly observe the Wind Listening Ruler at night, and Yu Sui would tell her some of the skills and tips.
Yu Sui would also go to Gu Gan's study to send Zhong Li Que information about divination and prediction.
In the past two years, Gu Gan has been away from the capital for a long time, often for several months at a time. Yu Sui used the excuse of "missing" her brother Gu to go to Gu Gan's room to clean up his belongings and trim the flowers and plants, and to "reminisce about him by looking at the things" in the study.
Nangong Ming was quite happy that she was close to Gu Gan. When Gu Gan caused trouble in the capital and it was inconvenient for Nangong Ming to intervene, he would always let Yu Sui handle it.
Yu Sui was the powerful backer that allowed Gu Gan to act with impunity in the capital.
Every time Gu Gan returned from a trip, he would bring Yu Sui gifts, ranging from gold and silver jewelry to interesting trinkets, or the Four Treasures of the Study, longbows, swords, and so on—he had everything.
He would bring back anything he thought Yu Sui would like.
Gu Gan would go to a place where the Wind Listening Ruler could not transmit messages to the capital of Qingyang, so the two of them could not rely on the Wind Listening Ruler to know his current situation. Yu Sui also did not know what he was doing outside or when he would return.
That evening, Yu Sui was cleaning up the flowers and trees that had been broken by the wind and rain the night before in Gu Gan's courtyard. She was busy until very late, after all, she wanted to go all out in her act.
The courtyard gate was suddenly flung open from the outside, and only a young man in a white undershirt rushed in, carrying an unconscious girl on his back, draped in his blue robe.
Yu Sui, who was sweeping up fallen flowers, was startled: "Brother Gu?"
“Sui Sui, it’s just in time,” Gu Gan said, slightly startled when he saw her, but then relieved. He said urgently, “People from the Communications Institute will be coming here later, so please help me stop them.”
Yu Sui stood there, blinking as she watched him carry her into the house, before finally letting out an "oh" after a while.
Many people from the Communications Institute came, along with guards from the capital. Their dark military uniforms were imposing and dignified, exuding an aura of oppression. The adults were all a head taller than her. Yu Sui stood in front of the courtyard gate, gently rubbing her slightly cold arms.
Unfortunately, it was an acquaintance who came.
He was the patrol guard who once taught Yu Sui the word-filling technique and star-locating in the Imperial Academy. A few years later, he was promoted and was no longer in the Imperial Academy.
In the current Communication Five Elements Academy, Dean Li Xiang raised his hand, signaling the others to stop, and bowed his head to Yu Sui, who was standing in front: "Princess."
The young girl standing at the courtyard gate said in a clear voice, "Lord Li, what a coincidence! What are you doing here so late?"
Li Xiang looked up at the small courtyard behind Yu Sui, his expression somewhat hesitant: "Someone abducted a prisoner from the Communications Institute. This prisoner had attempted to infiltrate the Qingyang Communications Institute's central hub and is suspected to be a foreign spy."
"Oh, I see." Yu Sui raised her hand to press down the hair that was being blown by the night wind, and smiled as she said, "I'm here to clean up the clutter in the courtyard. The wind and rain were too strong last night, and all the flowers and trees inside are leaning and falling. It will probably take a long time to clean them up."
The people behind Li Xiang had different expressions. They understood Yu Sui's meaning, but were also somewhat unwilling and wanted to step forward, but were stopped by a look from Li Xiang.
“In that case, we will not disturb the princess any longer.” Li Xiang did not hesitate any longer and simply left.
He didn't want to clash with the troublesome Nangong Prince's Mansion.
After Li Xiang and the others had all gone far away, Yu Sui turned around and pushed open the courtyard gate to go inside.
She had just reached the door when she heard a sharp crack from inside. The girl, both embarrassed and angry, exclaimed, "You pervert! You took off my clothes!"
Gu Gan, inside the room, rubbed his slapped face and sneered, "You can only see me taking off your clothes, but you can't see me forcing the poison out of you?"
The girl retorted angrily, "I didn't ask you to save me!"
"Fine, then get up and leave quickly. I don't want to be implicated by you." Gu Gan said and left.
Yu Sui, who was standing at the door, took two steps back. Gu Gan, who came out of the door, still had lingering anger in his eyes. Half of his face was burning with pain, and the red finger mark was very obvious.
This girl looks like she's about to die from her injuries, but she hit someone with considerable force. He really treated her kindness like dirt. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have gotten himself into this mess.
Gu Gan was inwardly grumbling when he almost bumped into Yu Sui, who was standing at the door. He only managed to suppress his emotions after catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye.
"Lord Li and the others have left," Yu Sui said. "Brother Gu, are you hiding any prisoners that the Communications Bureau is after?"
Gu Gan lifted his eyelids: "Let's not talk about this, it's bad luck."
He originally wanted Yu Sui to go and check on Xiang Feifei in the room, and help her apply some medicine or something, but then he thought that Yu Sui was, after all, a princess of the royal family, who had been pampered since childhood and would not know how to take care of people, so he kept his words to himself.
"Come on, didn't you have dinner? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you." Gu Gan led Yu Sui towards the small kitchen.
Yu Sui followed behind him, chanting as she walked: "Sichuan pepper meatballs, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), lean meat porridge..."
"I'll make it for you tomorrow." Gu Gan pushed open the kitchen door. "Let's eat something light tonight. I'll cook you a bowl of noodles with two eggs."
Yu Sui stood at the door and drawled out an "oh".
“Then I’ll go back to sweeping the yard,” she said.
Gu Gan poked his head out of the window: "What are you sweeping? Leave it there, I'll sweep it later."
Yu Sui spun around on the ground with a broom when a dark figure suddenly darted out from the courtyard wall, flipped over, and landed gracefully, right in front of her.
"Gu Gan! You fucking ran off with your men and left me to clean up the mess, are you even a brother?!" The angry young man climbed over the wall to confront Gu Gan, but after taking two steps forward and seeing Yu Sui, he suddenly stammered, "I-I'm sorry, I think I've come to the wrong place. Is this the wall of the Nangong Prince's Mansion?"
Yu Sui looked at him in surprise.
Ji Meng, the youngest son of Chief Physician Ji of the Imperial Hospital. They were among the children who entered the National Academy at the same time.
Because he was born out of wedlock, Ji Meng was bullied by other children a lot in the early days. It was Gu Gan who broke ties with those young masters from aristocratic families and saved him. Yu Sui often saw Ji Meng playing with Gu Gan.
Because of Yu Sui's third brother, Ji Meng was not familiar with her.
"You blame me for running too slowly?" Gu Gan peeked out again and said, "Hurry up and take him away, so he won't stay here and cause me trouble."
Ji Meng looked over: "Didn't you bring it back yourself?"
Gu Gan sneered: "She's been poisoned. Go check on her, and make sure she doesn't die here."
Ji Meng scratched his head: "I'm a man, isn't that inappropriate?"
He was afraid he would get slapped too.
Ji Meng glanced at Yu Sui out of the corner of his eye. Wasn't the princess here?
Gu Gan glared at him: "Go now."
Ji Meng took the bottles and jars into the house.
Xiang Feifei, who had been poisoned, had already fainted. Ji Meng looked at her injuries and saw that they were indeed quite serious. He then focused on cleaning her wounds and removing the toxins before applying medicine.
Yu Sui sat at the table eating noodles. After she finished eating, Ji Meng still didn't come out. Gu Gan went in to check on her for a while and came out without showing any anger, so everything should be fine.
Gu Gan walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down, folding his hands together, resting his chin on his arm, and watching Yu Sui eat noodles.
"Do you want some?" Yu Sui picked up a piece of noodles with her chopsticks and handed it to her.
“You eat,” Gu Gan said. “I just love watching you eat.”
Yu Sui smiled, her eyes crinkling, and buried her head in her food.
Gu Gan asked her, "You won't need to go to the National Academy next year. Have you thought about where you'll go to cultivate next?"
Without looking up, Yu Sui said, "I haven't decided yet. Brother Gu, where are you going in the future?"
Gu Gan said, "I'm definitely going to Taiyi."
Yu Sui: "Then I want to go to Taiyi too."
Gu Gan couldn't help but laugh and said, "How come you follow me wherever I go?"
Yu Sui lied without blushing: "Because I feel safe with Brother Gu."
Even if she didn't chase after him, Nangong Ming would try his best to throw her next to Gu Gan so that she could protect him.
Gu Gan sighed, "I really can't do anything with you."
The boy, still going through puberty, had a deep voice, but it wasn't hard to hear the helplessness and doting in his words.
After Yu Sui finished her noodles, Gu Gan escorted her home, but unexpectedly they ran into Sheng Fei, who was returning from Taiyi Academy, at the door.
Eighteen-year-old Sheng Fei was much taller than the two of them, and he had lost his childishness. That sharp arrogance was firmly rooted in his eyes and brows.
He completely inherited his father Nangong Ming's appearance, but he had a completely opposite temperament to Nangong Ming.
My father is gentle and feminine.
The son is an exposed thorn, a strange and evil creature.
When Sheng Fei saw the two of them return late at night, he was furious. He glanced at Yu Sui and said, "Aren't you coming over here right now?"
Yu Sui walked towards the door, but Gu Gan grabbed her wrist and tied a gold and jade bracelet around her wrist: "Aren't you afraid of the heat? This is southern jade that can cool you down in the summer. You don't even need to touch Liudan jade to cool down in the summer."
He gave her this in front of Sheng Fei; Yu Sui didn't even need to guess that the two of them were definitely going to fight later.
But she ignored all that, touched the bracelet and smiled, "Thank you, Brother Gu, I'll head back now!"
As soon as Yu Sui reached the door, Sheng Fei grabbed her and, without her noticing, removed the gold and jade bracelet from her wrist, then tossed it to Gu Gan.
“You dare to wear all sorts of dirty things on your hands,” Sheng Fei sneered, grabbing Yu Sui and saying, “What did I tell you before? I told you not to associate with this piece of trash.”
Yu Sui wondered if it was because there were too many geniuses at Taiyi Academy and the competition was too fierce, because Sheng Fei seemed to be getting more and more irritable and short-tempered. He always seemed unhappy when he came back, and he would explode at the slightest thing about her and Gu Gan.
She had considered asking Sheng Fei about Taiyi Academy, but Sheng Fei had a terrible temper and didn't want to mention it at all.
"Third Brother," Yu Sui called softly. Gu Gan stepped forward, intending to take Yu Sui away from Sheng Fei, and a battle was about to break out. The moment Gu Gan reached out, Sheng Fei threw Yu Sui behind him, and an invisible wave of energy collided between the two, causing a shockwave.
Yu Sui staggered to her feet and looked up to see that the two men had already started fighting.
Both of their Five Elements Light Cores were in operation.
Any supernatural ability or technique requires the maintenance of "qi". The Five Elements are the operating form of innate qi. The "innate qi" obtained from heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers and all things is transformed into a personal power form to support the concrete existence of supernatural abilities and techniques.
Each family has its own method for cultivating the innate energy.
But the essence remains the same. When Yu Sui first came into contact with these things, he felt that the practice of the Nine Schools of Arts was like what the Taoists said: One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things.
Heaven and earth are one.
The innate Qi is two.
The Five Elements are represented by the number three.
However, Taoist disciples would compare the One to "Tao" rather than Heaven and Earth in their practice.
Sheng Fei has entered a renowned family and his cultivation has now reached the seventh realm. Gu Gan has not entered a family to cultivate, but his Five Elements Light Core has also reached the fourth realm.
The two did not use any special abilities or magical techniques, relying entirely on pure martial arts skills. When their fists collided, their qi clashed, and the shockwaves swept across, making Yu Sui's face sting.
The moment Gu Gan and Sheng Fei clashed fists, Gu Gan was knocked back. A surge of energy rushed back into his heart, as if to shatter his internal organs. Two moments later, Gu Gan lost his balance, and the Five Elements Qi exploded, sending him flying again.
Just as Gu Gan was about to fly and crash into the wall, Nangong Ming, who had returned from outside, reached out a hand from the carriage and, with a wave of his hand, removed the five elements energy attached to Gu Gan, allowing him to regain his balance and stand upright.
"What are you doing?"
Nangong Ming stepped down from the carriage, his expression unfriendly.
Sheng Fei's eyes flickered slightly, he snorted coldly and turned his head away, leading Yu Sui into the mansion.
"Sheng Fei." Nangong Ming called out in a deep voice, then looked at Gu Gan. Seeing that he was alright, he went inside.
That night, Yu Sui escaped unscathed, without any incident.
Sheng Fei wasn't so lucky. He was scolded by Nangong Ming, and because he argued back, he got into a fight with Nangong Ming and was slapped across the face from a distance.
Looking at Sheng Fei who had been slapped, Yu Sui felt inexplicably happy; finally, she wasn't the only one who had been hit.
Nangong Ming told her to go out, and Yu Sui obediently went out, probably because the scene of her father beating his son would be too violent and he didn't want her to see it.
After Yu Sui left, someone went to inform Madam Sheng. Madam Sheng rushed over and took Sheng Fei away, saving him from being beaten so badly.
With Madam Sheng as his backer, Sheng Fei has the confidence to stand up to Nangong Ming. Nangong Ming won't really do anything to him. Putting aside other interests, Sheng Fei is, after all, his own son, whom he watched grow up.
Yu Sui was different.
Putting aside the fact that she had watched him grow up, in Nangong Ming's eyes, she was just a pawn to involve Madam Su and a tool to protect Gu Gan. If she dared to argue with Nangong Ming, Madam Su would not be there to back her up.
Yu Sui thought that the matter was over and done with.
A few days later, when Sheng Fei left the palace and returned to Taiyi Academy, he saw the gold and jade bracelet that Yu Sui was wearing and immediately flew into a rage, arguing with Yu Sui in front of Madam Su.
It could also be considered a one-sided argument on his part. Yu Sui was completely bewildered throughout, and his responses were limited to "What?", "Third Brother, calm down first", and "That's not how it is." Madam Su watched coldly from the sidelines without saying a word.
Ultimately, Sheng Fei and Yu Sui had a falling out, beginning a cold war that lasted for several years.
Yu Sui touched her face, ignoring it.
There's nothing we can do about it.
It seems that Sheng Fei will not be satisfied as long as Gu Gan is alive.
Sheng Fei rarely comes home, and he no longer sends her messages. When he does come home and they meet, he treats her coldly and doesn't say a word.
The eldest brother, Han Bing, has left Taiyi Academy to train in a remote vassal state; the second brother, Su Feng, is cultivating at Bingjia Chongtai and doesn't come back often. When he does come back, it's usually to play with Sheng Fei, since he doesn't like seeing Gu Gan.
The better Yu Sui's relationship with Gu Gan, the more distant he became from his elder brothers at home.
The following year, Gu Gan, at the age of sixteen, went to Taiyi Academy.
Before leaving, he said to Yu Sui, "I'll go scout ahead first, and when you come, I'll take care of you."
Yu Sui smiled and said, "Okay."
On a moonlit night, fireflies danced in the roadside grass.
Gu Gan took a couple of steps forward, then turned back and said earnestly, "Sui Sui."
Yu Sui responded, "Mm!"
Gu Gan stared at her for a long time, then finally shook his head, raised his eyebrows with a handsome smile, waved, and turned around: "I'm leaving, go back."
Yu Sui watched him until he disappeared into the thick of the night.
When she turned sixteen, she was unable to attend Taiyi Academy because the sorcerers still couldn't determine her talent to be compatible with any particular academy.
It's impossible for Yu Sui to suddenly become so clever that Nangong Ming would agree to send her to Taiyi Academy.
So she created the image of herself suddenly becoming diligent and hardworking for Nangong Ming and the others, saying that she wanted to go to Gu Gan's side and be with him.
Nangong Ming was satisfied with her awareness, but slightly dissatisfied with her talent.
That year, another civil war broke out in Qingyang, and Nangong Ming became busy, often away from the capital, and had no time to worry about his daughter's talent.
Even Madam Su was often nowhere to be seen.
Without these two watching over him, Yu Sui was much freer.
It wasn't until she turned eighteen, after the war had ended, that Nangong Ming returned from his travels. That very night, he summoned Yu Sui and told her, "I have paid a huge sum of tuition to Taiyi Academy. You will set off for Taiyi tomorrow."
Before Yu Sui could even guess why her stingy father had suddenly changed his ways and started supporting his daughter's dream, she heard Nangong Ming say again, "Go to Taiyi, cooperate with Gu Gan, clear obstacles for him, and help him obtain the Floating Pagoda."
Nangong Ming turned around and looked at the child who had grown up in front of him.
She resembled her mother, Madam Su, but lacked Madam Su's coldness. Her dark eyes held a serene quality, and when she looked up, she was lively and charming. She also lacked Madam Su's rebelliousness and was always obedient and compliant to him.
Nangong Ming said, "This is the first time I've given you a task, Sui Sui, you mustn't let me down."
Yu Sui lowered his head in response and left the palace the next day.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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