Chapter 183, surnamed Han, Han Ziyang
After Yu Sui finished talking with Xue Mushi, she went out to the Ghost Path Holy Hall. When she arrived, she found that Mei Liangyu had dragged a chair to the outside of the Holy Hall and was not staying inside.
"Senior brother, what are you doing?" Yu Sui stood in front of the steps and looked at him in confusion.
Mei Liangyu lay back in the chair, pulled the blanket over herself, and said lazily, "Let the breeze blow on me."
Yu Sui glanced into the sanctuary. His master was there too. Judging from his senior brother's attitude, it seemed like the two of them were having a tiff.
This was the first time Yu Sui had ever seen something like this.
She walked to the chair, bent down, and whispered to Mei Liangyu, "Did you and your master have a fight?"
Mei Liangyu raised her eyelids, gesturing for her to come closer. Yu Sui then lowered her head again, the tips of her hair falling onto Mei Liangyu's cheek, cool and itchy. The familiar scent approached, causing Mei Liangyu to unconsciously slow her breathing.
His junior sister had a fragrance, just the right amount, neither too strong nor too weak, which could only be smelled when very close. It felt warm to him, like the scent of oranges seen in winter, or like the shadows of trees seen by looking up at the window in summer. Strangely, it was a scent, but it made him think of some fragmented images.
Mei Liangyu's eyes flickered, and his gaze rose, meeting Yu Sui's patient and obedient gaze as she waited for him to continue. His breathing suddenly quickened, and he pulled the blanket over his head, saying in a low voice, "I'm going to sleep."
The sudden breeze from the blanket startled Yu Sui, causing the gold hairpin dangling from her black hair to sway gently and rustle.
"Senior brother," Yu Sui asked softly this time, "Are you angry?"
Mei Liangyu did not answer.
Yu Sui was no longer in a hurry to go in and see her master. Instead, she stood by the chair and watched Mei Liangyu, patiently asking, "Are you angry with your master or with me?"
Mei Liangyu lifted the blanket covering Yu Sui's face, her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at her with suspicion: "What did you secretly do to make me angry?"
Yu Sui shook her head: "No."
Mei Liangyu said, "If you dare to say that, then it is true."
Yu Sui raised her hand as if to swear: "I really didn't."
Mei Liangyu stared at her for a while, then pulled the blanket back up to cover her again. Her voice came from under the blanket, sounding rather somber: "Go find your master."
Yu Sui reached out and tapped on the blanket, but Mei Liangyu ignored him, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.
"Senior brother." Yu Sui called out tentatively. Seeing that he did not move, she gently lifted the blanket and touched Mei Liangyu's brow with her warm fingertips before he opened his eyes, soothing his furrowed brows. She whispered, "Sleep."
Yu Sui thoughtfully covered him with the blanket again.
The thin blanket covering his head blocked Mei Liangyu's vision, and when he opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness. However, he could still recall Yu Sui's appearance from the lingering warmth between his brows, and he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth slightly.
Yu Sui entered the main hall and looked up at the portrait: "Master."
"What's wrong with Senior Brother?"
Although no one told Yu Sui the specifics of what happened or what was going on, Yu Sui had already figured it out: in his senior brother's lost memories, his master was definitely not a warm and kind figure to him.
On the contrary, it is something that brings pain and hatred.
But Mei Liangyu said nothing, and Yu Sui pretended not to know anything.
The Sage Changgen replied, "There's no need to pay him any mind."
The master and apprentice were arguing.
Yu Sui chatted with Sage Chang Gen for a while, soothing Sage Chang Gen's heart, which had been deeply hurt by his rebellious eldest disciple's sarcastic remarks.
As Yu Sui was about to leave, the Sage Chang Gen said, "Your cultivation level has improved."
Yu Sui was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Yes, I don't know why, but not long after I fought with that senior from the Buddhist family, my cultivation level improved. I wonder if the Buddhist family has some special methods that caused it."
She was waiting for her master to notice and point it out, and then see how her master would view the matter.
Detecting another person's cultivation level is not something everyone can do, but people can clearly perceive the difference between the Five Elements Light Core and the Divine Soul Light Core realms. In other words, those at the Thirteenth Realm can perceive the approximate realm of others.
Above that are the Saints, whose detection is more accurate than that of those at the Thirteenth Realm.
After a long pause, the Sage Chang Gen replied, "The five elements within your body are changing, but these changes are difficult to divine or observe, so it is unknown whether they are good or bad."
When Yu Sui heard him say that, she knew that even her master couldn't see through her secret, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since it can improve one's cultivation level, it should be a good thing, right?" Yu Sui smiled innocently, her eyebrows curving upwards.
Saint Changgen said, "Indeed, your path of cultivation will finally become smoother."
Yeah?
Yu Sui was somewhat incredulous that his master had pointed it out.
The Sage Changgen said, "If your father knew, he would be very happy."
Yu Sui's heart pounded in her head, and a hesitant look appeared on her face. She whispered, "Master... could you please not tell my father yet? I want to wait until I return to Qingyang before telling him and give him a surprise."
She racked her brains trying to figure out how to persuade Saint Changgen, resorting to her usual tactic of feigning weakness and pitifulness.
“My father has always regretted that I am a person of the Plain Arts and cannot cultivate. I also suffered a lot because of this when I was a child, so I want to tell him in person how much I have grown.”
Yu Sui raised her watery eyes and looked earnestly at the portrait.
Sage Changgen said, "Since he sent you to Taiyi, it means he still has hope for you. If you had known earlier, it would have been of more help to your cultivation."
Mei Liangyu, who was lying on the chair, couldn't stand it anymore. She threw off the blanket and sneered, "Master, when did you become so fond of meddling in other people's family affairs?"
Saint Changgen: "This concerns your junior sister's cultivation."
Mei Liangyu sat up and looked into the main hall: "Is it because of my junior sister's future cultivation, or because of your deal with Prince Nangong?"
Sage Chang Gen: "What deal do I have with Nangong Ming?"
Yu Sui only realized after Mei Liangyu spoke that she seemed to have become a pretext used by her master to test her senior brother. She quickly turned around and looked at Mei Liangyu: "Senior brother!"
She said pitifully, "Don't argue with Master."
Mei Liangyu sneered, his gaze passing over Yu Sui and looking at the portrait in the hall, his dark eyes revealing no depth.
Although he still had a cold, mocking expression, he didn't say anything more.
Yu Sui said, "Master, if you think it's better to tell Father, then do it this way. I mentioned the cooperation to my senior brother before, but he was still angry about the letter Father sent, which is why he talked back to you."
Her face was full of disappointment, and she seemed to have given in, but cold sweat was breaking out on her back.
At this moment, the atmosphere inside and outside the main hall of the sanctuary became subtle, as if something was about to erupt at any moment, requiring only a word or a glance to reveal itself.
Ultimately, it was the Sage Changgen who shattered the peace.
He said, "Your senior brother cherishes you very much. Since that's the case, let's do as you say."
It's a good thing that the apprentices love each other.
As long as the eldest disciple remains in Taiyi forever, he will never remember.
Seeing that Saint Changgen had relented, Yu Sui became even more certain that what had just happened was not her master's original intention, but rather a test of Mei Liangyu using her situation, with the key point being Nangong Ming.
Saint Changgen didn't care about Yu Sui's secret or the strangeness of her Five Elements Qi. The only thing he cared about from beginning to end was Mei Liangyu.
Yu Sui started to talk about other things to ease the atmosphere, but Mei Liangyu couldn't stand it. She threw off the blanket, stood up, and called out to Yu Sui in the main hall, "Let's go."
Yu Sui whispered goodbye to her master, and on the way out with Mei Liangyu, she pretended to persuade her senior brother not to be angry.
Once outside, Yu Sui asked, "Senior brother, shall we go back to our dorm?"
Without turning his head, Mei Liangyu asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Yu Sui replied, "A lodging."
The two walked together toward the dormitory. When Yu Sui jogged a few steps and walked side by side with him, Mei Liangyu glanced at her and asked, "You've reached the sixth realm?"
Yu Sui nodded: "I was promoted in the Undersea Mechanized City."
She paused for a moment and then added, "The mechanical island was so much fun before that I kept forgetting to mention it."
She didn't give Mei Liangyu a chance to speak, and changed the subject, saying, "Is Master really angry today?"
"Does he look angry to you?" Mei Liangyu said expressionlessly.
Yu Sui said with difficulty, "There's nothing to see here."
Mei Liangyu: "..."
Although he knew it was inappropriate, Mei Liangyu couldn't help but laugh at her words.
When Yu Sui saw his icy expression soften, she couldn't help but smile.
Mei Liangyu knew about Yu Sui's warning to him at the Ghost Path Holy Hall, but he did not tell Yu Sui about the conflict between himself and his master.
Perhaps, given her intelligence, she had already guessed something.
Once they returned to their quarters, the two parted ways.
Mei Liangyu went to find Yan Xiaochuan, woke him up from his sleep, and asked him how he could sleep with his cultivation level.
Yan Xiaochuan rubbed his eyes, looking completely bewildered, before being taken by Mei Liangyu to a military strategist's place to practice swordsmanship and physical skills.
Yu Sui sat on the edge of the bed and saw this scene through the Five Elements Light Core, her expression thoughtful.
Holding the wind-listening ruler, she pondered for a moment and then sent a message to Elder Yan, asking him to help investigate Lin Chenghai and Hu Gui.
Yu Sui said, "If I'm not mistaken, they should be people from the Yan state."
And my senior brother must also be from the State of Yan.
Nangong Ming was renowned far and wide, and countless people feared or hated him, but none disliked him more than the people of Yan.
Lin Chenghai said that it was Nangong Ming who caused the Yan Kingdom to become a prey for the other five kingdoms, and that he also wanted to take the Xirang back to the Yan Kingdom's sage, Yan Manfeng.
Yu Sui encountered many agricultural sorcerers from the Yan Kingdom who wanted to kill him and seize the Breath Soil. If he was lucky, he could live a little longer and say a few more words. They all called Yan Manfeng the Sage of Yan and were his followers, showing him respect and worship.
Lin Chenghai addressed him by his first name, suggesting he was more like a close friend of Yan Manfeng.
Whenever the State of Yan is mentioned, the words "Sage of Agriculture" and "Fertile Soil of Agriculture" come to mind for Yu Sui.
In the struggle between the six states, the Yan state was the first to suffer.
Yu Sui knew that Nangong Ming had been targeting the Yan Kingdom, but she was unaware of Nangong Ming's specific actions in the Yan Kingdom. Because she could not leave the capital of Qingyang, she could only monitor news within the capital through Shushan.
Nangong Ming's whereabouts and plans are undoubtedly Qingyang's top secrets and would never appear in the Listening Wind Ruler's communications, making it impossible for Yu Sui to find out.
At that time, she didn't dare to let her light core get close to the thirteenth-realm sorcerer, lest she be detected.
Occasionally, rumors would circulate that some important figure had died in the Yan Kingdom, but Yu Sui was not interested. Even when news reached the capital of Qingyang, it was always brought into the palace by a sorcerer of the thirteenth realm and personally delivered to the Qingyang Emperor.
There is also a sage presiding over the Qingyang Imperial Palace. Yu Sui had to concentrate fully and be extremely careful when using the Five Elements Light Core in the palace several times.
Most importantly, Yu Sui was neither interested in nor had any thoughts about the fate of the Yan Kingdom; she herself had a host of problems to deal with.
Yu Sui didn't consider herself a "Qingyang person" at all. She didn't like this Xuangu Continent, let alone the six kingdoms within it.
She hated this world from the bottom of her heart.
If my senior brother was from the State of Yan, it would also explain his attitude of hiding things from me.
In his memory, Nangong Ming was definitely not a good person with a positive image; in other words, Nangong Ming was his enemy.
Thinking of this, Yu Sui's expression became slightly strange.
To outsiders, she is Nangong Ming's daughter and the heir personally chosen by Nangong Ming. They might feel sorry for Yu Sui after learning about her experiences in the Prince's Mansion, but they would never think that she would hate her father.
In this world, only Elder Yan knew of her hostility towards Nangong Ming.
Since he is from the State of Yan, perhaps Elder Yan knows something.
Yu Sui recalled the first time she met Elder Yan.
She knew nothing about Old Man Yan's past and didn't inquire much about it. She only knew that he was from the State of Yan. Occasionally, when she was interested, she would ask Old Man Yan about things related to the State of Yan, but he would just pretend not to hear her.
Over time, Yu Sui stopped asking. She was more curious about other things than the State of Yan.
Even late at night, the capital city of Qingyang is still brightly lit.
The jujube tree next to the rain pavilion was already bearing fruit, the tree was full of fruit, densely packed. Even though the young man sitting in the rain pavilion had his eyes gouged out, leaving only dark holes, he still faced the direction of the jujube tree with a leisurely expression.
The sacred wooden divination sticks on the table are in the center of the glowing divination array, surrounded by images of mountains, seas, jungles, deserts, and snowfields.
Sitting opposite the young man, Old Yan was looking down at the wind-listening ruler in his hand.
Shan Rong asked gently, "What does she want this time?"
"She wants to investigate news from the Yan Kingdom. People from the Yan Kingdom have gone to Taiyi." Old Man Yan stared at the Listening Wind Ruler, his eyes unmoving, his voice hoarse, "It's Lin Chenghai."
Shan Rong smiled and said, "The deal for the spirit puppet has been finalized. This time it involves the Yan Kingdom. Do you want to help her investigate?"
“Since Lin Chenghai went to Taiyi, it means they are trying to take people away.” Elder Yan did not answer directly. His gaze shifted from the Listening Wind Ruler to the divination array opposite. “Yan Manfeng is dying soon. The people in Taiyi need to return before Yan Manfeng dies to be of any use. The time is approaching. It doesn’t matter if she knows.”
Shan Rong sighed softly, "It's a pity that Mr. Zhou chose Madam Su, otherwise Yan Sheng wouldn't have ended up like this."
"As a sage of the Yan Kingdom, he was affected by the oath of non-aggression in Qingyang and was unable to use his full power to heal Su Xing. Su Xing will not return to the Yan Kingdom either." Elder Yan said in a calm tone, "It seems that he wants to cultivate Qing Kui as a sage of medicine and then let her heal Su Xing."
Shan Rong smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou is deeply in love with Madam Su, but Madam Su will never give up the Breath Soil. The best way to cure her is to take back the other half of the Breath Soil."
Old Yan said, "She can't take it back."
Shan Rong smiled and nodded slightly, reaching for the wooden divination sticks on the table: "I've cast the divination."
He flipped the wooden divination sticks in the array, his movements as if he were turning over a heavy brick. His fingertips turned slightly white, and it took him a while to successfully flip one over.
A wisp of the Five Elements Qi, which flew out from the Divine Wood Talisman, danced at various coordinate points within the divination array before finally settling in the Eastern Forest.
“As expected, he is not in Canhai Prefecture.” Shan Rong gently stroked the divine wooden divination stick with his fingers. Circles of incantations appeared near the forest in the divination array. He pondered, “That is the border between Zhou and Yan, the land of the Legalists, and the territory of the Han clan.”
"The Legalists possess the art of settling the world, and the Han family of the Legalists, who inherit the bloodline of 'Heavenly Punishment,' possess the power to change the rules of the world." Elder Yan stared at the divination array and said, "The Han family has not produced an inheritor with 'Heavenly Punishment' for hundreds of years, but since Nangong Ming has rushed to the Legalist land at this time, it means that this inheritor has appeared."
Shan Rong flicked the incantation patterns in the divination array with his finger, and the golden incantation patterns dispersed, transforming into a row of even more profound and difficult-to-understand runes.
Old Yan asked, "How is it?"
"The Han family married off their daughter, but on their wedding night, the entire family was slaughtered." Shan Rong's fingers gently stroked the row of runes. "The murderer took away the Han family's daughter, Han Lian, and he himself... also surnamed Han, Han Ziyang."
[Author's Note]
Wishing you a happy Lunar New Year's Eve, a happy Spring Festival, and a happy and healthy new year!
Just to be on the safe side, I probably won't be able to update from the first to the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. I'll be posting a leave notice. If I have time to write, I'll post it when I'm done. I won't be home until the tenth day of the Lunar New Year.
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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