Chapter 169 Decisive Action is Key
When Nian Qiuyan held the sacred wooden divination stick, Mei Liangyu didn't move. He heard Nian Qiuyan say, "You guys can encounter all sorts of strange things just by going to sea. Could it be that you've run into some kind of evil star? Do you want me to tell your fortune and change your luck?"
Mei Liangyu said, "Your divination is not cheap."
Nian Qiuyan nodded and said, "Indeed."
Mei Liangyu chuckled, sat down at the table, leaned back in his chair with an extremely relaxed posture, and tapped the side of the Six-Element Wood with his finger: "This thing isn't cheap either. I'll trade it for a divination with you."
“Okay.” Nian Qiuyan sat down with him, seemingly without much thought, and readily agreed. Her gaze swept over the Six Mysterious Wood, and she placed the Divine Wood Token on the table.
Mei Liangyu patiently watched him cast the divination. Nian Qiuyan answered all his questions, telling him about his experience underwater and Xing Chun's desire to buy the Situ family's spirit puppet.
During the divination by the autumn geese, the tea boiling on the stove behind them made a sharp sound. Mei Liangyu got up to extinguish the fire and returned with the teapot.
Mei Liangyu sat down again and, while adding water to his cup, suddenly asked, "I just remembered, you're from the State of Yan?"
Nian Qiuyan manipulated the divination array with one hand, without even looking up, and said, "Yes."
Mei Liangyu joked, "The Yan Kingdom is weak now. Your military strategy is so amazing. Haven't you ever thought about going back to the Yan Kingdom and becoming a great general or something?"
Nian Qiuyan also laughed and said, "Even if I become a saint, I will not be eligible for the position of Grand General of Yan Kingdom."
Mei Liangyu said, "Once you become a saint, you don't need to be a great general anymore."
“Meimei, you are far away in Taiyi and do not understand the situation in Yan. Yan is plagued by internal strife and constant warfare. The other five kingdoms have been dividing up Yan's power without bloodshed, and almost all of Yan's royal family and nobles have been killed.” Nian Qiuyan stared intently at the divination array under her command, her tone still gentle. “The noble families of Yan have fallen, and most of the court officials are controlled and supported by other countries. If you want to become a general in Yan, people from Qingyang can do it, people from Nanjing can do it, but people from Yan cannot.”
Mei Liangyu poured water into his cup: "Is this why you came to Taiyi?"
“In Yan, there’s constant fighting, poor food and sleep, and friends you make today might die on the battlefield tomorrow,” Nian Qiuyan said. “Any mediocre sorcerer with a bit of ability will have no chance to rise if they don’t choose a side. If you want to become a saint in Yan but don’t have a reliable backer, you might end up as a wanted criminal who commits many evils in Yan.”
Mei Liangyu picked up the cup with one hand, his expression indifferent, revealing neither joy nor sorrow: "This kind of Yan state is indeed disappointing."
Nian Qiuyan sighed almost inaudibly, "That's why I came to Taiyi. It would be best if I could stay in Taiyi for the rest of my life."
“If you can’t stay in Yan, you can go to Qingyang, Nanjing, or Taiyuan,” Mei Liangyu said casually. “Why are you thinking of staying in Taiyi?”
Nian Qiuyan seemed to have thought of something, and smiled with her eyes slightly narrowed: "Because everyone in Taiyi is equal, and there is no war."
"The three kingdoms you just mentioned were also at war."
Mei Liangyu took a sip of tea, but it was too hot, so he put the cup back: "These three kingdoms are just fighting amongst themselves, so it's just some minor skirmishes, which is much better than the situation in Yan Kingdom."
Nian Qiuyan did not answer. She waved her hand, flipped the divine wooden divination stick from the array, stared at the hexagram for a moment, and then said slowly, "Meimei."
Mei Liangyu lowered her eyes to look.
Nian Qiuyan pointed to the fiery red star in the divination and said, "Your love life is going to be very bumpy."
Mei Liangyu's eye twitched as she heard this: "I asked you to help me change my luck, but who asked you to predict my love life?"
“It’s all a kind of ‘luck’, there’s no difference.” Nian Qiuyan looked at the divination and explained in a deep thought, “People don’t think your relationship is good. If you get together, you will lose more than you gain. You’ve also run into the Blood Fiend Star, which means you’re in danger of losing your life. You might even be burned to death.”
Mei Liangyu leaned back in his chair and sneered, "I like it, so why should I care whether others think it's good or not?"
Nian Qiuyan was still intently looking at the divination, looking quite serious. It seemed that something had surprised him. Mei Liangyu was afraid that if he continued to divine, he would discover Yu Sui's secret. She pretended to be angry and pointed a finger at the table. The energy of the five elements that she pointed out shattered the divination on the other side.
“Divination is meant to bring good fortune and avoid misfortune. Since we know it’s not a good thing, we might as well end it sooner rather than later.” Nian Qiuyan wasn’t annoyed and looked up at Mei Liangyu.
“There is another saying in divination,” Mei Liangyu said. “Good or bad fortune is self-evident. Not all ominous signs need to be avoided. Know your fate and change it. How to change it is up to me.”
After he finished speaking, his expression relaxed a bit, and he said casually, "Besides, I don't believe in this."
Nian Qiuyan was amused by him.
He was used to it. Like Zhonglishan, Mei Liangyu believed the auspicious omen but said he didn't believe in such things if it was an ominous sign.
“Since you’ve made your decision, I won’t try to persuade you any further.” Nian Qiuyan glanced at Liu Xuanmu and extended her hand, saying, “I’ll accept the reward for this divination.”
Mei Liangyu stared at him, her eyes upturned, her phoenix eyes reflecting Nian Qiuyan's composed face. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "I'll tell your fortune too."
He acted as soon as he finished speaking. When he stood up, he placed one hand on the table, and a copper coin flipped along his slender fingers. Finally, Mei Liangyu pressed the coin on the table with his index finger, pointed at it, and swiped it backward. Six copper coins appeared on the table, each in a different position in the divination array.
Nian Qiuyan seemed quite interested. He put away the Six-Headed Wood and asked, "What is it?"
Mei Liangyu stared at him and said, "Let's see where we meet again after we leave Taiyi."
Nian Qiuyan paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand from his sleeve and curled it up. He saw the divination array that Mei Liangyu had set up. The landscape was picturesque, but the location of each copper coin was very clear, representing the six kingdoms of the Xuan Gu Continent.
He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked up at Mei Liangyu. Mei Liangyu was also looking at him. Five elements energy swirled around his fingertips, and six golden five elements energies flew towards the six copper coins, shattering the illusions one by one.
The copper coins in Qingyang, Taiyuan, Nanjing, and other locations were all smashed, leaving only the Yan Kingdom's coins.
Just as Mei Liangyu was about to look down at the result, the door was opened from the outside, and Xing Chun shouted, "Meimei, there's no food on this boat!"
As autumn geese twitched slightly in her sleeve, Mei Liangyu lowered her eyes, and the copper coins that had fallen on the Yan Kingdom's location scattered.
"How can there be no food?" Nian Qiuyan looked at Xing Chun who came in. "Did you come to the wrong place?"
Xing Chun and Zhong Lishan were both stunned. "What are you doing here?"
"Why can't I be here?" Nian Qiuyan smiled, her eyes crinkling. "The three of you have been missing for so many days, especially in such a dangerous place as the Abyss Sea. How could I not come looking for you?"
He stepped forward, put his arm around Xing Chun's shoulder, and naturally led him towards the door. Xing Chun then started chatting with him.
Zhong Lishan looked at Mei Liangyu and saw that he was looking down at the divination array on the table. After a long while, he destroyed the divination array without expression.
"Have you two talked?" Zhong Lishan asked.
“No,” Mei Liangyu said. “I gave him the things and let’s see what he does.”
He still didn't lay it all out and explain it clearly.
Perhaps it was because he knew Nian Qiuyan's personality.
When things no longer go as he wants, Nian Qiuyan will choose to make a clean break.
Zhong Lishan listened thoughtfully, then slowly turned his head to look at the two people walking away outside the door.
Mei Liangyu suddenly coughed twice, covering his mouth. Zhong Lishan turned around and saw blood flowing from between his fingers. His expression changed slightly, and he stepped forward.
"What happened?" Zhong Lishan asked.
"Didn't I tell you? I've been poisoned." Mei Liangyu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Zhongli Mountain remained silent.
He acted so normally before, there was no sign of anything wrong with him, and he even talked about being poisoned so casually, as if he were joking.
Looking back now, neither the Six Mysterious Wood nor the Milky Way Water should be underestimated.
Zhang Xiangyun originally intended to find Nian Qiuyan, strongly urging him to find a way to retrieve the Milky Way Water from Mei Liangyu himself. However, he didn't find Nian Qiuyan; instead, he saw Nian Qiuyan go to find Mei Liangyu himself.
Luo Fu and he waited outside for a long time, and saw Nian Qiuyan and Xing Chun leave chatting and laughing. He wondered how Nian Qiuyan and Mei Liangyu's conversation went inside.
Both of them agreed that Nian Qiuyan and Mei Liangyu would fight, and they were already prepared to go in and steal the things.
Luo Fu closed the window, turned to look at Zhang Xiangyun, and frowned, asking, "What's his condition now?"
"Let's wait and see," Zhang Xiangyun said thoughtfully. "Nian Qiuyan is definitely confident that she can retrieve the Milky Way Water."
Luo Fu, however, was skeptical: "He's been so close to Mei Liangyu and his gang these past few years, how could he possibly be willing to break with them?"
Zhang Xiangyun sneered, "We're not on the same wavelength. He'll get tired of it once he's had his fill."
Both he and Mei Liangyu knew this.
Nian Qiuyan was never confused; he knew exactly what he wanted. Although he was a disciple of the Fangji family, he never consulted the oracle for himself.
Mei Liangyu even felt that Nian Qiuyan was the one who truly didn't believe in divination.
"Is Nangong Sui still inside?" Zhang Xiangyun turned to look at another window and saw that the door to the opposite room was closed and there was no movement.
He saw Mei Liangyu knock on the door and receive a reply from Li Jinshuang saying that Yu Sui was asleep. Only then did Mei Liangyu leave and go with Zhong Lishan to find Xing Chun.
Seeing that Mei Liangyu had left, Zhang Xiangyun went over and knocked on the door.
Li Jinshuang didn't open the door; as she said before, Nangong Sui was asleep.
Zhang Xiangyun was both annoyed and amused. How could Nangong Sui still be able to sleep at a time like this?
With her attitude and ability, she'll be sent back to Qingyang sooner or later, and who knows how badly Qingkui will bully her there.
Zhang Xiangyun didn't bother with Yu Sui and went with Luo Fu to keep an eye on Nian Qiuyan.
The academy's saints still have many things to do, and the Spirit Bird can't leave for the time being. Just finding out what those two outsiders did in Beikun City is not easy.
Compared to Leng Rouyin and Wei Xizhen, who were very thorough in their investigations, Wu Huaiwei was much more carefree.
Hu Gui and Lin Chenghai were brought in by her, so what else is she investigating?
Wu Huaiwei was willing to help her old friend Mu Yong'an in a small way, since he was on the verge of death.
After all, when a person dies, they lose everything.
She was always very forgiving of those who were dying.
Ou Rushuang and Leng Rouyin had both left the Panlong Grottoes, leaving only Wei Xizhen still trying to find something in the water. Wu Huaiwei, sitting on the Buddha statue, watched Wei Xizhen emerge from the underground river completely dry and casually asked, "What did you find?"
Wei Xizhen shook her head.
"You still won't tell me what you're looking for, otherwise I could help you." Wu Huaiwei looked at him with a smile. "Could there be something related to the strange fire here?"
Wei Xizhen used her wind manipulation technique to stand on the water's surface, looking up at Wu Huaiwei sitting on the Buddha statue: "You are the most talented saint of the Yin-Yang School, why don't you enter the water boat?"
Wu Huaiwei smiled and said, "I'm not interested in strange fire."
Wei Xizhen seemed to be asking her very seriously, "Don't you want to destroy the strange fire?"
Wu Huaiwei said, "If it could really destroy the world, then the Xuan Gu Continent would have been gone long ago. In hundreds of years, it has only burned down a few places."
Wei Xizhen added, "The strange fire is changing."
Wu Huaiwei covered her mouth and laughed, "Then I'll ask you too, why didn't the world destroyers chosen by the strange fire unite and simply burn the entire Xuan Gu Continent?"
Wei Xizhen said, "Because they will die too."
“Since the Destroyers will die if they release the strange fire, why bother with it?” Wu Huaiwei smiled, her eyes crinkling. “If no one wants to die, they naturally won’t release the strange fire, and then everything will be fine, right? Why bother researching strange fire and sea eyes, and trying to find the Destroyers? It’s too much trouble.”
Wei Xizhen looked at her and said, "Because you are a Saint, the most powerful Saint in the Xuan Gu Continent. Only someone with the power to protect themselves will not be afraid of strange fire."
The smile in Wu Huaiwei's eyes diminished slightly because of his words.
“There are many powerless people in the world,” Wei Xizhen said. “They are powerless to resist the strange fire.”
Wu Huaiwei said casually, "I know, I know. You are a sage of the Legalist school who cares about the safety of all people. I deeply admire you for your hard work for the sake of all people."
A hint of helplessness appeared in Wei Xizhen's eyes.
Wu Huaiwei wanted to change the subject, so she asked, "What happened to Elder Chang's youngest apprentice's Five Elements Qi?"
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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