Chapter 135 The Disciple of the Ghostly Saint
Mei Liangyu carried the remaining food box to Zhonglishan, and on the way there she called Xing Chunlai to eat at Zhonglishan's place.
Upon opening the door, he saw that Xing Chun had indeed arrived before him.
Zhong Lishan lives alone; these scions of prominent families don't really like living with others.
He didn't seem to be in a hurry to go out today, casually pulling off a coat and lazily draping it over himself, a stark contrast to his usual cold and calm demeanor.
Xing Chun patted the table, took the things from Mei Liangyu's hands, and began to fiddle with them.
Zhong Lishan looked at Mei Liangyu, who had taken his seat, and asked, "Regarding last night's events, do you have someone you suspect?"
Mei Liangyu casually replied, "No."
After hearing this, Zhong Lishan's eyes showed a hint of doubt: "Then what are you trying to say?"
He received a message from Mei Liangyu early in the morning, asking him to make time to talk, which is why he didn't rush to leave the dormitory.
"How's your Heavenly Secrets technique coming along?" Mei Liangyu looked up at him. "Is it useful against the Asura Eye of the Masters?"
“It’s not entirely useless,” Zhong Lishan said, “but we need to seize the opportunity and think about it some more.”
Mei Liangyu nodded, her gaze fixed on the bowls and chopsticks Xing Chun had set out, and asked, "Has Nian Qiuyan been acting strangely lately?"
Zhong Lishan was slightly taken aback, then raised an eyebrow and said, "You suspect him?"
“I asked him, but he wouldn’t tell me.” Mei Liangyu leaned back in his chair, his expression indifferent, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking. There was no sharp edge in his words. “It’s worrying that he won’t tell me.”
Xing Chun, who had set out the bowls and chopsticks, nodded and said, "Indeed, if he's keeping something to himself, it must be something big."
"Is it related to the Milky Way Water?" Zhong Lishan pondered. "I didn't even see him the day the Milky Way Water was stolen."
“I know,” Xing Chun said, raising his hand. “He ate dinner with me tonight.”
Mei Liangyu said, "He ate with me during the day."
Zhong Lishan looked the two of them over and asked, "You are during the day, and he is at night. What happens after you eat tonight?"
“Then I don’t know.” Xing Chun shook his head, holding the soup bowl. “He left after he finished eating. He didn’t say where he was going or what he was doing, but he left with Kong Yiyi.”
Zhong Lishan said, "Then it's best not to ask Kong Yiyi."
Mei Liangyu thought so too.
If you ask Kong Yiyi at this point, you'll either get beaten up by her, or she'll beat up Nian Qiuyan.
“But if you ask me what’s wrong, I do remember something.” Xing Chun tilted his head back slightly, staring at the ceiling as if recalling something. “Before the Milky Way Water was stolen, Nian Qiuyan practiced divination quite diligently, involving the nine arts of astrology. He also frequented the Yin-Yang School very often.”
Zhongli Shan asked, "What's so strange about that? He's not arrogant or conceited in his cultivation; he still works hard when he needs to."
Mei Liangyu slightly raised her chin: "Wait until he finishes speaking."
Xing Chun said, "Isn't he supposed to only do three divinations a day? But those three divinations can take a whole day. Moreover, divination practitioners must use divine wooden sticks to perform divinations. Nian Qiuyan, as a standard disciple of a divination practitioner, came to the Yin-Yang school's star-gazing platform."
Zhong Lishan found the explanation a bit confusing and still couldn't figure out what the problem was, so he glanced at Mei Liangyu.
Mei Liangyu explained, "Nian Qiuyan abandoned the divination techniques of the Fangji school and instead used the astrological divination techniques of the Yin-Yang school, without relying on the divine wooden divination sticks."
Zhong Lishan understood and nodded, saying, "They are all divination techniques. The astrology techniques of the Yin-Yang School and the Fangji School are somewhat similar, so it's not surprising that he knows them."
“I wasn’t surprised at first, but what he was divining was a bit strange.” Xing Chun moved his neck, looked back at the two of them, and said slowly, “The most useful aspect of the Yin-Yang School’s astrological divination is observing the weather. Whether it will rain tomorrow, whether the rain will be heavy or light, whether the road I walk on will be flooded, whether the sun will be strong, whether the fruits and vegetables I plant will be affected by the sun, whether the wind will be strong, whether it will blow down the house, and so on.”
Zhong Lishan's expression turned slightly serious as he asked him, "What did the autumn geese divination signify that year?"
“It’s meteorology too,” Xing Chun said, scratching his head. “But to be honest, I don’t quite understand it. It’s meteorology, but it’s a kind of meteorology I’ve never seen before. Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning each have their own standards. The star chart he’s drawing is a mess, like a bunch of random things.”
Xing Chun took another sip of soup to moisten his throat and continued, "I just asked him directly what the star chart was for. I think with his strength, it's impossible for him to have made such a mess of the star chart."
Mei Liangyu pondered for a moment and asked, "What did he say?"
Xing Chun recalled the scene and was still a little concerned: "He said it was a failed divination because he hadn't figured out what he wanted to divine, so the star chart was a mess. But I felt that the star charts he drew were all traceable and had a clear goal."
At the time, Nian Qiuyan didn't want to go into details, and Xing Chun didn't press him, so the matter was left unresolved.
Even now, Xing Chun still doesn't understand what this means when he thinks about it, muttering to himself, "Could it be that he was trying to take advantage of the weather in the Upside-Down Moon Cave?"
“It won’t be too difficult for him to get into the Upside-Down Moon Cave,” Zhong Lishan said. “He is a member of the Nine Capital Guards and has patrolled these first-level forbidden areas before, so he knows more about the situation inside than ordinary disciples.”
Xing Chun shrugged and said, "Maybe the matter of the Milky Way has nothing to do with him. Maybe Meimei is overthinking it."
Mei Liangyu raised his hand and pressed his forehead acupoint, saying slowly and calmly, "The Milky Way Water cannot be touched directly with your hands. It is too toxic and will corrode you. Even an ordinary box cannot stop its toxicity. It is placed on the mysterious stone in the Upside-Down Moon Cave. If you want to take the Milky Way Water away, you will have to prepare something yourself."
"There is a type of wood called Six-Mystery Wood in the art of mechanics. It is not suitable for use as a mechanical tool, but it can be used to hold Milky Way Water because it has a very strong resistance to poison. This way, you can carry Milky Way Water on your person without any problems."
Xing Chun exclaimed in surprise, "There are such good things?"
“Few people know about this, and I only found out by chance. But I remember that a month before the Milky Way Water was stolen, he often came to the Mechanical Island to see me.” Mei Liangyu squinted. “After I left the Ancient Tower, he would still go to the Mechanical Island. I asked him what he was doing on the Mechanical Island, and he said he was going to buy mechanical scrolls.”
Zhong Lishan picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the fried dumpling: "There are indeed quite a few coincidences, but what does he want with the Milky Way water?"
“It’s possible that he didn’t want to take it, but that someone asked him to,” Mei Liangyu said. “Six-layered wood grows in the deep sea, and that area has many whirlpools and unpredictable weather, making it difficult to obtain the material…”
"Oh!" Xing Chun suddenly exclaimed, "Deep-sea vortex! That's right, this matches the chaotic signs in his star chart."
Zhongli Shan frowned and asked, "Did he go to get the Six Mystic Wood?"
Mei Liangyu said thoughtfully, "If he wanted to, he could indeed use astrology to avoid the severe weather brought by the deep-sea vortex and reduce the risk. He wouldn't need to use the divine wood divination because the Yin-Yang School's astrology is the most accurate in terms of weather, and it would also prevent his master, Changsun Zi, from noticing."
Judging from Changsun Zi's attitude last night, she seems to already suspect Nian Qiuyan.
This sage truly hates evil and punishes evil with utmost righteousness, even more so than the Legalists. If his most valued disciple were involved in creating the Orchid Poison, he would likely uphold justice and take direct action.
People who practice divination tend to judge others based on their own intuition, but conversely, they can also be deceived by others who exploit this trait.
Nian Qiuyan is very good at deceiving others by using appearances and intuition.
Even saints can fall into his hands.
Mei Liangyu didn't believe that Nian Qiuyan took the Milky Way water voluntarily, but if he really did, then there would be trouble.
This person is only good at reporting good news, not bad news. He can help you share your pain and solve your problems, but he will never let you see even a glimpse of his own suffering.
Even if Mei Liangyu directly asked Nian Qiuyan, she would only get his excuses and lies.
Mei Liangyu planned to go to the forest under the deep sea to take a look. No one from the Mechanical Family went there to collect wood anymore, so any broken pieces of Six-Mystic Wood would be very obvious.
Xing Chun and Zhong Lishan were worried about him returning to the Mechanical Island, fearing that he would be locked up in some corner of the island again and come back injured. So they agreed to wait until Xing Chun had calculated the time before going together.
That afternoon, Yu Sui took the initiative to find Gu Gan and asked him about the fragments.
Gu Gan was quite happy that she came to see him. When he heard that the topic was the fragments of the Pagoda, he composed himself and said to Yu Sui, "You don't need to worry about these troublesome things. I will take care of them."
"What if Father asks?" Yu Sui asked worriedly. "He'll definitely blame me for not doing things right. Will he make me go back from Taiyi?"
"I'm the one who lost the things, why is Your Highness blaming you? Don't be scared by Qian Ying." Gu Gan forced himself to cheer her up.
“Okay.” Yu Sui nodded obediently and said, “Don’t worry, Brother Gu, I will also try my best to help.”
Gu Gan didn't expect Yu Sui to be of any help, but seeing that she had this intention made him feel comforted.
After putting on a show of politeness, Yu Sui ignored him and returned to her dormitory to study the Heavenly Character on the fragment. She and Xue Mushi retrieved a large number of books by famous scholars on character research from the academy's library.
Taiyi Academy detected signs of orchid poison in Qiao Jun's blood and notified all disciples of the academy that evening to take blood samples for orchid poison testing.
Nian Qiuyan was waiting at Fang Ji's house for a blood test when she was found by Zhang Xiangyun, who was also a Fang Ji.
Ahead were the chattering and noisy disciples of the Fang family. Zhang Xiangyun led Nian Qiuyan to a secluded spot by the rockery and pond at the back. Nian Qiuyan was unwilling to go any further and whispered, "Don't you think it's too risky to meet and talk to me in the academy?"
“If I could, I wouldn’t want to take that risk.” Zhang Xiangyun turned around, a forced smile on his face, “But as fellow disciples of the Fangji family, what’s wrong with chatting a bit in private?”
Nian Qiuyan flicked a fallen leaf off her shoulder with her finger and casually said, "What do you want to say?"
"You have nothing to say to me about what happened last night?" Zhang Xiangyun stared at him, her tone clearly cold. "Are you really not afraid at all?"
“It wasn’t me.” Nian Qiuyan looked directly at Zhang Xiangyun. “Whether you believe it or not, I have no reason to do such a thing.”
"Really? But you haven't suffered any losses. Does anyone suspect you now?" Zhang Xiangyun persisted. "Our losses are huge."
Nian Qiuyan laughed and said, "I haven't left the organization yet, but you've already listed me separately."
When Zhang Xiangyun heard him say this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and his confrontational tone softened somewhat.
"You'd better know nothing," Zhang Xiangyun sneered in a low voice. "Given the current situation, aren't you going to hand over the stuff?"
Nian Qiuyan didn't answer, only glanced at him for a moment, then turned and left.
Zhang Xiangyun pondered his actions, sneered inwardly, and followed him.
Thanks to the efforts of many parties, the events that occurred in Taiyi have been successfully reported to the outside world.
People all over the six kingdoms knew what had happened at Taiyi Academy.
In the capital city of Qingyang, the crimson hues of sunset bathed most of the city. The carved railings on the pavilions stood motionless in the dazzling light, while a white skirt swept across the shadows on the ground. A passing breeze stirred the azalea bonsai placed at the corner.
The Xuan Kui members waiting ahead saw the Little Healer Saint emerge from around the corner, and respectfully bowed their heads, presenting him with the letter in their hands.
Chu Jin, with a calm and gentle expression, took the letter from the other party. After reading the message, her brows furrowed slightly, her gentle gaze turned cold, and she crumpled the letter into a ball with her five fingers, which then turned into ashes and dissipated.
"We didn't find the Milky Way Water, but Taiyi found the Orchid Poison, and we also lost the Divine Machine Pseudo-Beast." Chu Jin spoke slowly and softly, yet her words sent a chill down the spines of those who heard them.
Two Xuan Kui members knelt down with stiff faces and explained Taiyi's situation in detail again.
Mr. Zhou stood to the side, looking down at the flower-lined path, without saying a word.
Chu Jin rested one hand on the fence and tapped it lightly, as if deep in thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Is Nian Qiuyan really afraid of nothing?"
Wu Fu, a member of Xuan Kui, knelt down and said in a deep voice, "He seems unwilling to let Mei Liangyu and the others know his identity, but if it is exposed at this time, it will also be detrimental to us."
"Mei Liangyu, I've heard that irritating name a few times now," Chu Jin sighed. "You've done it time and time again, and you still haven't dealt with it? Are you waiting for me to personally go to Taiyi to settle things?"
Although the woman spoke softly, Wu Fu felt cold sweat trickle down his forehead: "This person is not easy to deal with. He is not only a disciple of the Ghost Dao Saint, but his own strength is also considerable."
"The disciple of the Ghost Dao Saint." Chu Jin paused slightly as he recalled someone. "Tell me again what happened in the outer city. What happened to those who tried to swindle money from Mingzhu Fang?"
Wu Fu replied: "The Tianhe Gang, as the leader, threatened the Mingzhu Fang with cheating at Taixu Hall. The Black Manager summoned Princess Nangong. After Princess Nangong arrived, she revealed the secrets of the other gangs, destroyed the alliance, and seriously injured the leader of the Tianhe Gang, causing him to leave."
Chu Jin laughed upon hearing this, raising her hand to smooth her hair: "It seems that my sister Ping Shu has gained quite a lot from this trip to Taiyi. I didn't know that the Ghost Daoists had such abilities, enabling Ping Shu to start cultivating again."
"Mei Liangyu, her senior brother, took good care of her. Not long after she arrived, he helped her, a first-level sorcerer, obtain the Heavenly Secrets Technique."
"The bond between fellow students is truly enviable."
Chu Jin didn't care about this younger sister, and even felt that paying attention to her was a waste of time and energy. She already had many things to do, so how could she have time to pay attention to someone she had no feelings for?
Blood ties mean nothing. Without time spent together and an emotional foundation, they mean nothing.
Besides, Nangong Sui was too stupid and weak, and Chu Jin even looked down on him.
She knew from a young age that the future of the Nangong Prince's Mansion could not be entrusted to a stupid and incompetent person like Ping Shu.
But the current development of this fool is somewhat surprising.
Chu Jin pondered the relationship between Nangong Sui and Mei Liangyu, and an idea came to her. She said to Wu Fu, "Go back and tell Zhang Xiangyun that Nangong Sui should take over Qiao Jun's position."
Mr. Zhou turned his head and saw only the woman's beautiful face: "Since Nangong Sui wants to show her talent, then let her do something practical, and let my father see whether his youngest daughter chooses the Nangong family or her senior brother."
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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