Chapter 197 Strange Fire: Hi
Nian Qiuyan wasn't lying; he and Xing Chun did indeed encounter Legalist instructors when they arrived.
The instructors also came to the clinic to ask if they had encountered any Legalist disciples fighting in private. Shi Yuezhen smiled and shook her head, saying she hadn't seen them. Yu Sui and the others also said they hadn't seen them.
The Legalist instructors then left.
Xia Feichen was assigned to sit next to Li Jinshuang.
In the battle with Gu Gan just now, both of them used the Judgment Technique of Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts). However, Xia Feichen's Lingchi technique was canceled due to the Divine Mechanism Official, while Gu Gan's Lingchi Wind Blade injured him quite badly.
Although Gu Gan's divine power was exposed, some people who didn't follow the academy's rumors were unaware of it. Xia Feichen knew, but Gu Gan's sudden attack just now didn't give him the time or opportunity to distance himself.
Although the death by a thousand cuts lasts only a short time, it is extremely lethal. In the blink of an eye, the wind blades had turned Xia Feichen into a bloody mess.
Xing Chun helped lead the man into the cubicle, and Shi Yuezhen began to clean his wounds.
Recently, Cang Shu has been busy with the farm assessment and hasn't come often. Xing Chun and the others come to the clinic when they're eating, and Shi Yuezhen can lend a hand when she's really too busy.
Mei Liangyu disliked treating people's wounds, so she sat down at the table and opened the food box that Xing Chun had brought.
Nian Qiuyan slowly walked over and sat down at the table.
Yu Sui followed Shi Yuezhen into the cubicle and helped fetch water and hand over tools.
Xia Feichen sat on the edge of the bed, covered in sweat, his brows furrowed, his face contorted in pain, the black curse marks on the side of his neck twisting as well.
Yu Sui noticed that his hands were just like Mei Liangyu's last time, with wounds exposing the bone. In Yu Sui's memory, her senior brother, who had been subjected to slow slicing, remained expressionless, but Xia Feichen in front of her was groaning in pain, clearly suffering greatly.
Shi Yuezhen cut open his clothes and said gently, "It would be better if you just fainted."
Xia Feichen was thinking about tearing Gu Gan to pieces, but he forced himself to say, "I can handle it."
He tried to distract himself from looking at Shi Yuezhen, but his eyes inadvertently glanced at Yu Sui, who was changing the water next to him. The cubicle was brightly lit, and Yu Sui's profile was reflected in Xia Feichen's eyes. Her bright face and fair skin looked dazzling in the light.
Yu Sui was wringing out a damp cloth when she blinked. In Xia Feichen's eyes, her dark eyelashes trembled slightly, inexplicably reminding him of a butterfly fluttering its wings in the morning rain and mist.
Shi Yuezhen said, "Year after year."
"Hmm?" Yu Sui turned her head and looked over, just in time to meet Xia Feichen's dazed gaze.
Xia Feichen felt a sharp pain and instantly regained his senses. He turned his face away and groaned in pain, inwardly cursing himself for being injured and not thinking clearly, which was why he had seen that woman looking dazed and about to faint.
It would be so embarrassing to faint.
Shi Yuezhen said, "Go out and bring me the red jade medicine bottle on the far right of the table."
"Okay!" Yu Sui handed the wrung-out handkerchief to Shi Yuezhen and then turned to leave.
After she left, Mei Liangyu asked, "What are you doing?"
"Get something for Sister Yuezhen." Yu Sui went to the table and found what Shi Yuezhen wanted. Just as she got it, Mei Liangyu snatched it away. "Stay outside. What are you going to do inside to see that dirty thing?"
Yu Sui didn't react for a moment and asked, "What dirty thing?"
"The meat is all rolled up and rotten, doesn't it look dirty?" Mei Liangyu carried the things inside. He lifted the curtain and went in, and sure enough, he found that Xia Feichen's clothes had been taken off by Shi Yuezhen.
He gave the medicine to Shi Yuezhen and then left.
Xia Feichen was already in pain and irritable. Hearing Mei Liangyu's words, he almost vomited blood in anger. Just as he turned his head, Shi Yuezhen opened the medicine bottle and brought it close to him. After smelling the fragrance in the bottle, he instantly lost consciousness and collapsed.
Xing Chun and the others were sharing food, and Yu Sui went over and took some food to Li Jinshuang.
Yu Sui asked her, "Is that unlucky guy next door also from Nanjing?"
Li Jinshuang nodded: "Xia Feichen, he is the son of the General of Nanjing."
Yu Sui sat by her bedside, puzzled, and asked, "How could the son of the General Who Protects the Nation be so rude to his own Holy Maiden?"
“He…” Li Jinshuang frowned slightly as she mentioned this person, carefully choosing her words, “He is someone who admires strength. I’ve heard people say before that Xia Feichen doesn’t agree that the Holy Maiden is the future crown prince of Nan Jing. The two of them are also disciples of the Legalist school, so the Holy Maiden…”
Li Jinshuang paused at the end, racking her brains, but she didn't know how to describe it, or rather, she dared not say it.
Xun Zhiya's strength is inferior to Xia Feichen's.
The various experiences and information Li Jinshuang gained in Nanjing made her less optimistic about Xun Zhiya.
The General of the Nation remained neutral, neither favoring the other princes and princesses nor taking sides with the Holy Maiden.
The princes and princesses of the Southern Kingdom, without official titles, held no real power and could never compare to Xun Zhiya. Although Xun Zhiya was bestowed the title of Holy Maiden and designated as the crown prince, she was sent to study at Taiyi Temple.
Therefore, everyone speculated that the king was giving other princes and princesses a chance.
In Nanjing, there are quite a few princes and princesses with outstanding abilities. When Xun Zhiya was studying at Taiyi, they fought fiercely and bloodily in Nanjing.
Prince Nan Jing was also a ruthless person.
Yu Sui joked, "In Taiyi, is Shu Chujun the only one who recognizes her as a saintess?"
Li Jinshuang shook her head: "And Gu Gan too."
Yu Sui asked in surprise, "Only two?"
“There are many more,” Li Jinshuang said helplessly. “Those who don’t recognize her as a saintess are a minority.”
Yu Sui nodded and said "Oh".
Li Jinshuang looked at her hesitantly, and Yu Sui peeled an orange for her, putting a segment to her mouth: "Just say what you want to say."
"Do you know when the Holy Maiden met Gu Gan?" Li Jinshuang asked after eating an orange.
"Is it outside of Taiyi?" Yu Sui asked.
Li Jinshuang nodded.
Yu Sui laughed and said, "I was just guessing. I have no idea when they met."
She didn't ask Gu Gan either.
Li Jinshuang explained, "Last night I overheard Shu Chujun talking to the Holy Maiden. The Holy Maiden said that Gu Gan was the person she met when she was a child."
They didn't hear what she said after that; they stopped talking as soon as they saw her enter the dormitory.
“When he was a child?” Yu Sui said, “He was indeed not often in the capital of Qingyang, and I don’t know where he went.”
It's unclear whether this "childhood" refers to before or after Gu Gan was brought back by Nangong Ming.
In the search for the fragments of the Floating Pagoda, Qingyang cooperated with Nanjing, and it's understandable that Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya acted together.
As for whether the two were old acquaintances, Yu Sui had no information on that. She had not obtained any clues about Gu Gan's background over the years.
The two whispered to each other in the cubicle. After a long while, Mei Liangyu knocked on the wall outside, signaling that Yu Sui should go back to rest, as she had to continue her cultivation tomorrow.
Yu Sui then left the clinic with him, and politely greeted Xing Chun and Nian Qiuyan as they left.
When Nian Qiuyan heard Yu Sui obediently call him Senior Brother Nian and say goodbye, he could only respond with a polite smile, tapping the crossword puzzle on the Wind Listening Ruler under the table, and sending a message to Yu Sui: "?"
Goodbye? Give me a chance to meet again!
Nian Qiuyan held the wind-listening ruler, her expression momentarily complex.
He could sense that he would become increasingly anxious before he could have a proper talk with Nangong Sui.
On a deserted path late at night, Yu Sui stood still, saying she was too tired to walk. Mei Liangyu looked at her for a while, then sneered, "Couldn't you just say that your senior brother carried me back?"
Yu Sui shook her head: "No."
Mei Liangyu bent down and carried her back on his back.
Yu Sui lay on his senior brother's back playing with the wind-listening ruler. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Nian Qiuyan's message. After so many days, he still didn't know to give some useful information first, and only kept probing.
If the card "Autumn Goose" is useless... then destroy it.
The next morning, after finishing his work, Gu Gan went to find Yu Sui, still thinking about seeing her at the clinic the night before.
They couldn't find anyone at the dormitory, but learned through telepathy that Yu Sui had gotten up early to attend class.
"I'm fine, it's just a minor injury. I've been training very hard lately, trying to become stronger." Yu Sui dealt with Gu Gan with ease, making him give up on coming to find her.
Finally, she asked with concern, "How is Xun Zhiya? Sister Yuezhen said she has a disordered Five Elements, isn't that very painful?"
"It's all over now." Gu Gan didn't elaborate on Xun Zhiya's matter, but instead asked, "What have you been practicing lately? With Mei Liangyu?"
Yu Sui said, "Yes, I'm practicing the incantations of the Ghost Daoist school. My senior brother and master taught me together."
Gu Gan frowned upon hearing this, feeling annoyed. He had been too busy lately to spend time with Sui Sui, otherwise Mei Liangyu wouldn't have taken advantage of the situation.
He could only tell Yu Sui not to overexert herself during her cultivation.
Yu Sui said, "I'm not tired. I only practice for a little while each day."
When Yu Sui cut off the telepathic communication and looked up, she saw Xing Chun staring at her with a stunned expression. She looked somewhat innocent.
Xing Chun nudged Mei Liangyu beside him with his elbow: "I admire your junior sister's ability to lie through her teeth."
Mei Liangyu glanced at him sideways: "You can't envy that."
Yu Sui will spend the next period of time focusing on Gu Gan.
Gu Gan is searching for the lost fragments of the Floating Pagoda, and is also busy improving his own strength.
He cultivated both the doctrines of Fa and the doctrines of Buddhism, putting in twice the effort of others.
After the secret of the Celestial Official was revealed, although it attracted the covetousness of many, it also attracted the initiative of many instructors who wanted to study the Celestial Official's abilities. Gu Gan's talent was indeed high, and his growth rate was also fast.
Chen Xian and Fan Xi were still studying the wind-listening ruler given to them by Gu Gan at the Institute of Communications. Because the Institute of Communications had a lot of things to do recently, they hadn't come up with any useful information yet.
Therefore, Gu Gan has been busy with the assessments and trials of the Legalist and Fa schools of thought recently.
More than a month later, Yu Sui finally finished learning the book "Ling Xian" from Xing Chun.
Xing Chun suggested taking her to the Yin-Yang School to see the "Lingxian Diagram". Yu Sui hesitated, afraid that her master would find out. Mei Liangyu, who was playing with the Wind Listening Ruler next to her, said: "Go ahead, Master will be busy from today onwards."
"What's so busy with, Master?" Yu Sui asked, puzzled.
Mei Liangyu stood up and said, "I'm busy helping the people on Mechanical Island test the new mechanisms, so I won't be back at the academy for a while."
Xing Chun looked at this one, then at that one, shook his head and sighed, "You two are really being kept under the thumb of Saint Chang Gen."
With Mei Liangyu's assurance, Yu Sui felt no guilt and went with Xing Chun to the Yin-Yang School to see the "Lingxian Diagram".
The Yin-Yang School has a huge celestial globe field, where the largest celestial globe in the Xuan Gu Continent was built.
The celestial sphere is located on Xuanji Mountain, a site of Yin-Yang philosophy. Before ascending the mountain, one must pass through a small wooden gate.
Only those who pass through this gate can be considered to have entered the mountain gate.
On the left side of the mountain gate are the four characters “Researching Yin and Yang”, and on the right side is the phrase “Exquisitely Understanding the True Nature of the Universe”.
Yu Sui and Mei Liangyu followed behind Xing Chun. Just as they passed the wooden mountain gate, the sky reversed, turning from white to black. Along the long, narrow, and high mountain path, lanterns lit up, their light the glow of stars, a pale blue and purple.
Xing Chun said to Yu Sui behind him, "The 'Lingxian Diagram' projected by the armillary sphere is the most accurate. When the seasons change, some stars will also move accordingly."
"The positions of stars are difficult to discern and remember with the naked eye. Just as the seasons change, so do the stars. The process of stars returning to their correct positions is called 'rotation'."
"A complete circle around the starry sea is called one revolution."
“The stars in the Star Sea are chaotic and disordered, orbiting each other and unable to return to their correct positions.” Xing Chun used himself as an example. “For example, in my Star Sea, I have always wanted to control the power of the stars of the Vermilion Bird in the south. The main star of the Vermilion Bird is fixed, but the other stars that form the Vermilion Bird are still spinning randomly on their own.”
"There is another possibility: once the main star is fixed, the other stars will revolve around it, and perhaps after a few revolutions, they will return to their correct positions on their own."
This really tests one's talent.
Yu Sui also explored his own star sea, but it was too big. Every time his consciousness sank into the star sea, it took time to adapt. The exploration and adaptation alone took a long time.
Mei Liangyu played with the Wind Listening Ruler as he walked, seemingly engrossed in his game, but occasionally he would chime in with a few words: "According to Chun'er, it's best to first find a way to fix the position of the main star, and ignore the smaller stars. Once the main stars in different regions are fixed, the other stars will eventually return to their correct positions after rotating hundreds or thousands of times."
“That’s just opportunism,” Xing Chun shook his head. “You can’t pin your hopes on making the stars turn back on their own, otherwise what’s the point of cultivation?”
Mei Liangyu said, "What can be compared between asceticism and talent?"
Xing Chun: "..."
He thought of Yu Sui's Nine Provinces Star Sea and said sullenly, "Having good talent doesn't necessarily mean you can play like this."
Mei Liangyu didn't even raise his head, only letting out a soft chuckle, seemingly very confident in Yu Sui's talent.
Upon reaching the summit, one can see a massive armillary sphere standing in the center of the flat land, surrounded by ancient redwood and hibiscus trees.
The armillary sphere standing at the center is a colossal bronze artifact. In its presence, the humans on the ground appear like ants, gazing up at the armillary sphere as if it were connected to the heavens.
The central pillar supporting the intricately carved bronze spheres intertwined and slowly rotates, with eight dragons guarding the central pearl, creating a majestic and awe-inspiring sight. The central pillar is engraved with mountain tortoise and bird and beast patterns. As the armillary sphere rotates, like the Yin-Yang and Five Elements field, the ground covered by shallow water reflects the Milky Way at night.
The sky and the earth were filled with stars, and the dark blue light reflected in Yu Sui's eyes. From the moment she entered this place, she felt a sense of familiarity.
Her gaze was initially drawn to the enormous bronze armillary sphere, until she looked down and saw the star map reflected in the cold water beneath her feet, and the scene of her first glimpse of the mountains instantly flashed through her mind:
One by one, mountains fell into the array of glowing stars, and countless stars also fell into it. At that time, she had already seen the position of the stars.
At this moment, Yu Sui stepped into the shallow water, causing ripples on the surface. Stars fell into her extremely dark pupils, and as she raised her eyes, her consciousness entered the sea of stars, and countless stars in her eyes flew into the night sky.
She stood at the very bottom of the Nine Provinces Star Sea Universe, in a desolate land. As stars continued to rise into the night sky, the inky night sky burst forth with light. That blinding light pierced the darkness, the shadows retreated from the ground, and the first thing to return to its place in the sky was the fiery red, scorching, and dazzling sun.
Despite the blinding sunlight, Yu Sui looked up, his gaze fixed on the blazing sun in the sky.
It was so dazzling, scalding, and burning.
It felt so familiar.
Under her gaze, the red flames that had circled the sun gradually turned black.
[Author's Note]
He studied the principles of Yin and Yang, and mastered the subtle workings of the universe. (From the biography of Zhang Heng)
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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