Chapter 67 Elite of the Mystic Sect ① - What's there to be shy about after a kiss that crosses boundaries...?
As night fell, Lan Shuyin, carrying the roasted chestnuts she had bought along the way, went to Li Yang's house with practiced ease.
The warm yellow light, carrying the aroma of food, wafted through the air, instantly dispelling the chill of the autumn night. Xuan Bingbing, wearing an apron, poked her head out of the kitchen, while Li Yang placed new cotton slippers at her feet. "We've been waiting for you!"
The dinner table was steaming, and the three of them squeezed together at the small table, enjoying each other's company. Xuan Bingbing placed a piece of pork rib into Lan Shuyin's bowl and casually asked, "How was your trip to Gangzhou? Did Guan Han take care of you?"
"Yes! They were incredibly thoughtful and helped me a lot," Lan Shuyin replied with a smile. "I also met a lot of new people; it was very fulfilling."
However, as Li Yang carefully observed her expression, she suddenly reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "Really? But I always feel that Yin Yin wasn't very happy to come back this time."
That hand gently lingered on her hair, filled with utter concern. A sudden surge of emotion welled up in her nose, and Lan Shuyin abruptly lowered her head, staring at the piece of pork rib in her bowl, desperately trying to hold back the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes.
Her unusual silence and slightly trembling shoulders did not escape her friend's notice. Li Yang and Xuan Bingbing exchanged a glance. The latter immediately tapped the rim of Li Yang's bowl with the other end of her chopsticks, changing the subject, "Oh, you talk like you're so mature! By the way, Li Yang, has your high school reunion date been set yet?"
Li Yang understood and followed up, "Next Saturday. It's been so many years since we last met, I'm actually a little nervous."
Taking the opportunity, Lan Shuyin blinked away the sentimental tears welling up in her eyes. When she looked up again, she had already forced a smile, but her voice still carried a hint of barely perceptible hoarseness. "What class reunion?"
Noticing her slightly red eyes, Li Yang frowned, but continued the conversation, "It was a reunion of our high school class."
"Huh? Has your white moonlight gone back to the country? Will he come?" Lan Shuyin's gossip spirit was immediately ignited.
Xuan Bingbing chuckled, pinching her nose and teasing, "Of course! Otherwise, why would Li Yang want to attend a class reunion? His real intentions are not what they seem!"
"Xuan Bingbing!" Li Yang glared at her reproachfully, her ears turning slightly red. "I just wanted to see our homeroom teacher!"
"Holy crap, is this something a human would say?" Xuan Bingbing rubbed her arms exaggeratedly, then turned to Lan Shuyin with a grin and began to reveal the latest news about Li Yang's "white moonlight"—he had just returned to China a few days ago and was interning in the Financial Street area. Most importantly, this time it was that boy who took the initiative to contact Li Yang.
The dining table was filled with a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere again, as if the sadness of the previous moment had never happened.
They chatted excitedly until nearly midnight before Lan Shuyin reluctantly got up to leave.
Li Yang insisted on escorting her downstairs.
A cool night breeze blew, and the streetlights in the old neighborhood cast a dim, yellowish glow on the concrete. Li Yang pulled Lan Shuyin's coat collar tighter, her gaze filled with worry. "Yinyin, are you sure everything is alright?"
Lan Shuyin met her concerned gaze, her heart warmed, and she pretended to be relaxed, saying, "What could be wrong? I just came back from a trip and I'm a little tired."
"Come on, don't I know what kind of person you are?" Li Yang gently patted her shoulder, her eyes serious. "I know you have your own ideas, but I hope you remember that no matter what you do or where you go, we will always stand behind you."
Lan Shuyin's nose tingled again, but this time she didn't lower her head. Instead, she raised her chin and gave a slightly roguish smile, "Alright, if I really get into trouble, I'll call you first to bail me out."
"That's more like it." Li Yang smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Go back now, and send me a message when you get there."
However, after Lan Shuyin's figure disappeared around the corner of the residential area, the gentle smile on Li Yang's face faded away like the tide.
A thin layer of ice formed in her eyes as she took out her phone from her coat pocket and dialed a number.
"Hey? Help me find out where Wei Ji is."
...
After Lan Shuyin left, she did not immediately hail a taxi.
The night breeze on her face was refreshing. She walked aimlessly along the empty sidewalk, trying to let her thoughts settle in the cool air.
I don't know how long I walked, or how many street corners I turned, but the surrounding scenery gradually became unfamiliar. The streetlights were spaced far apart, casting a dim, yellowish light that barely illuminated a small area, while beyond that lay deep darkness.
At a crossroads, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
In the middle of the intersection, five figures stood eerily—four facing the four cardinal directions, standing ramrod straight and motionless. The third stood in the middle of the road, holding an incense burner or something similar in his hands, from which a wisp of purplish-black smoke rose.
There was no sound, no conversation; the five of them just stood there stiffly.
Intuition told Lan Shuyin that this scene was unusual and not like ordinary nighttime activity. Curiosity drove her to get closer and see what was going on.
"If I were you, I wouldn't have gone there."
A soft, slightly languid, and magnetic male voice suddenly came from beside me, clearly penetrating my ears.
Lan Shuyin turned her head to look.
In the shadows to the right stood a tall, slender man. His long black coat accentuated his imposing figure, and his hands were casually in his pockets, his relaxed demeanor completely out of place with the tense and eerie atmosphere of the intersection.
Seeing her looking over, the man slowly stepped out of the shadows. The light from the streetlamp outlined his sharp jawline and straight nose, making him quite handsome. However, his eyes, as he looked at her, held a hint of something that was hard to tell—whether it was scrutiny or amusement.
He gestured with his chin toward the five people at the intersection, "You've disturbed someone's ritual to invoke the gods. If it fails... they might kill you."
Lan Shuyin's heart stirred slightly, "Summoning a deity?"
The tall man nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the center of the intersection, his tone somewhat nonchalant, “Hmm, a rather low-class variant of ‘Five Ghosts Transporting Wealth.’ Look closely, the incense burner has three legs, yet it’s suspended half an inch in the air. The incense burning inside should be a guide incense mixed with corpse oil and Yin Sha grass. The smoke is purplish-black, straight and doesn’t dissipate. This is knocking on the Yin Gate.”
He paused, seemingly quite knowledgeable about this, and continued, “I’ve been here for a while. Judging from this setup and the incense offerings, they’re not just asking for small fortunes, but rather forcibly borrowing the fortune of a region, perhaps even ‘taking someone else’s lifespan to make up for their own losses.’ This kind of ritual that goes against the natural order of Yin and Yang is most vulnerable to being disturbed midway. Whether it’s a living person bumping into it or a vehicle carrying wind, once the incense is cut off or the direction is shifted, it’s considered a failure.”
What happens if we fail?
The man turned his head, the dim streetlight casting shifting shadows on his eyes. "Those who are willing to risk everything to perform such sinister arts are mostly desperate, with no other options and a death wish. If they are interfered with by outsiders, all their efforts will be in vain..."
He clicked his tongue lightly. "What do you think a group of people who are already reckless would do in despair? Killing the root of the trouble that disturbed the ritual to vent their anger wouldn't be surprising at all."
He observed Lan Shuyin's calm expression and casually added, "Of course, even if the ritual succeeds, one of them will die a violent death; that is the price."
Lan Shuyin shrugged. "It does sound like it's best not to bother them."
"I am Tang Xiuchen from the School of Physiognomy," the man suddenly introduced himself, then looked at her, "And you?"
Lan Shuyin was taken aback, and subconsciously repeated, "Tang Xiuchen?"
The name is exactly the same as the name of Li Yang's "white moonlight".
However, he spoke of the principles of physiognomy.
Although I don't know how the Xuanmen has developed now, in my previous life, the so-called Xuanmen was very diverse and had a lot of different factions. For example, the Fengzhi clan's ancestors broke away from the Yin-Yang Dao and established their own sect.
Is there really such a coincidence in the world?
She was secretly surprised, but the man seemed to see through her, a slight smile playing on his lips as he said with certainty, "You know me."
"I don't know her." Lan Shuyin shook her head. "She just shares the same name as a friend of a friend of mine."
You seem somewhat wary of me.
"I don't have the habit of telling strangers my name."
Tang Xiuchen smiled, indicating his understanding, "I didn't either." He then changed the subject, his expression becoming more serious, "The reason I'm here tonight is because I used my sect's Qi-observation technique to divine a few days ago. The divination indicated that a woman would pass by this intersection at this time."
He paused, his gaze falling on her face with a hint of helplessness. "The divination says that this woman... can save my life."
Upon hearing this, Lan Shuyin raised an eyebrow. "Save your life?" She repeated, pressing her hand to her chest, revealing a frail appearance. "I'm sorry, I'm weak. I get out of breath just from running, and I'm afraid I'll be blown away if the wind is strong. I'm not the person you're waiting for."
Unwilling to delve into the other person's intentions, she ended the conversation after saying, "I'm leaving, bye-bye."
Without giving Tang Xiuchen a chance to speak again, Lan Shuyin turned around and quickly left along the way she had come.
I felt a little disappointed. I had originally wanted to see how the five people who invited the gods would end up, but this inexplicable talk of "saving lives" ruined my mood.
Her footsteps seemed to have a mind of their own. Lan Shuyin wandered around, and when she came to her senses, she saw a familiar sign—"Neon Night."
She frowned slightly, feeling inexplicably irritated.
The bar street was brightly lit late at night, and the people coming and going were mostly young people of all kinds.
She didn't approach, but stood in the shadows in front of a bookstore across the street that had already closed, staring blankly at the door.
After standing there for a while, Lan Shuyin let out a soft breath and was about to leave this place that was making her mind wander when she turned around and looked up. She saw that Wei Li was standing a few steps behind her, quietly maintaining a just-right distance. She didn't know how long he had been watching her.
His face was expressionless, but his usually gentle and smiling eyes were now churning with a complex and profound emotion, like worry, or some kind of repression, or something even deeper.
Lan Shuyin's gaze fell on the corner of his mouth, where a small patch of skin was broken, with a trace of bright red blood seeping out, which was particularly noticeable on his overly pale skin.
She instinctively took two steps closer to him, her brow furrowing slightly. "Are you injured?" Then, she instinctively thought of the fox-tailed figure swaying behind the shop window and blurted out, "Did that fox do this?"
Kui Li seemed not to have reacted yet, a genuine look of confusion flashing in her eyes, "...What fox?"
“I saw that nine-tailed fox from Fengmen Village today.” Lan Shuyin stared into his eyes, her tone inquisitive. “She opened a shop in the downtown area. I clearly remember seeing you take her away back then. Did she escape, or…”
She was halfway through her sentence when she saw Wei Li's sudden change in expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instantly realized another possibility, so she immediately shut her mouth.
Seeing her suddenly fall silent and the fleeting look of surprise in her eyes, Wei Li immediately understood her guess. He almost subconsciously took a step forward, then stopped abruptly, and said seriously, "She has other opportunities and chose to serve the Palace Master. Occasionally, she comes to visit for official business, that's all."
He casually drew a line, and seeing Lan Shuyin lower her eyes and remain silent, he changed the subject, "Since we're already here, how about we go in for a drink?"
Lan Shuyin glanced at him in surprise, then nodded in agreement, "Okay."
She assumed that when Wei Li said "have a drink," he meant drinking alcohol. Since she had never seen him drink before, she couldn't help but feel a little curious.
But she was clearly overthinking it.
Kui Li led her away from the noisy area. A waiter opened a hidden door for them, leading them through a quiet corridor, and finally stopping in front of the familiar [Silent Room].
Seeing those three characters on the doorplate again, Lan Shuyin's thoughts were different this time. She felt that the character "yin" was silently pointing at her, and a subtle unease swept through her heart.
To conceal her momentary unease, she looked at him in the soft indoor light and casually started a conversation, "Speaking of which, I think I heard you talking to that nine-tailed fox when I went to your office once. It sounded like... you were quite close? I remember she used to be quite afraid of you, but she's not anymore."
Kui Li was raising his hand to lead her to the tea table when he heard this, he paused. He turned to the side, his arm lightly brushing against her sleeve, and led her to sit down in front of the tea table.
He walked around to the other side and calmly began warming the cups and taking out the tea. Steam rose gently, and it wasn't until Lan Shuyin began to regret bringing up the most sensitive topic that Wei Li spoke up, "What you heard wasn't her."
His tone was slightly somber, tinged with caution. When Lan Shuyin looked up, she noticed that his expression was quite strange, giving off a "think it over" vibe. But she chuckled to herself for her overthinking; how could someone as capable as Wei Li, who could handle anything with ease, possibly panic?
She was about to ask, "How did you know which time I was referring to?" when he interrupted her.
“Since I took over Ni Chang Ye, Jiuwei has come here three times.” He picked up the purple clay teapot and slowly poured water. “The first two times, I vaguely felt that she… had some ulterior motives. Coincidentally, a friend of mine who already had someone he liked was present that day, so she cooperated with me to put on a show. I originally wanted to make her back down, but I didn’t expect…” His voice trailed off, and he didn’t finish his sentence.
But Lan Shuyin felt that he was referring to that one time. She hadn't expected to be there that day too.
She gently stroked the warm teacup with her fingertips and asked curiously, "By the way, does that nine-tailed fox have a name?"
"I don't know."
"But you have a name."
"I am a human being."
“That makes sense, and you’ve even become a boss.” Lan Shuyin rested her chin on her hand, examining the exquisite mask beside him. “Speaking of which, why do you always wear a mask?”
“I am not the real Wei Ji.” Wei Li slowly poured the brewed tea into her cup, the rising steam blurring his features. He stated frankly, “Years ago, during a mission, a man, on his deathbed, asked me to take care of his pregnant wife and young daughter, entrusting me with all the wealth he had accumulated in his life. At that time, I needed a suitable identity to expand my influence and make it easier to find…whom I was looking for. So I took over his business and created Neon Night. It was all a matter of fate.”
"Besides, wearing a mask makes it easier for me to do other things with my real appearance."
Lan Shuyin followed up on his words and asked, "What is it?"
Kui Li was silent for a moment, then her voice became clearer, "Treasure hunting. My ancestors passed down some secret techniques for treasure hunting, so I travel all over the world searching for all kinds of rare and precious treasures."
She was somewhat surprised, "Your ancestors must have been spiritual practitioners, right?"
"Yes, he was one of the first Pathfinders to awaken."
"Wow, isn't that amazing?"
"He can deduce heavenly secrets and command ghosts and gods; he is almost omnipotent."
“No wonder…” Lan Shuyin picked up her teacup and suddenly said leisurely, “His junior is also powerful enough to turn into a little girl at will.”
The room fell silent instantly.
Kui Li's hand holding the pot stopped, as if something had suddenly grabbed his throat. Even his usual composure cracked, revealing a hint of embarrassment that was hard to hide.
Lan Shuyin looked at him with a calm and composed expression.
The silence lasted for a long time before Kui Li sighed, put down the teapot, and explained softly, "That's not a transformation technique. It's a body created by mixing special spiritual soil with heart's blood."
"Why did you do that?" Lan Shuyin asked.
“Because of the way you looked at me.” Wei Li raised her eyes to meet her gaze. “Although you didn’t say anything, your eyes were full of disappointment. You were saying, ‘Ah Li, you’re so cold-blooded.’”
“I don’t understand why you reacted that way, but I want to understand, I want to know everything about you. But I don’t dare to approach you with my real identity, afraid that you will be even angrier. I also don’t dare to transform into a young boy, worried that you will not like it. In the end, I thought that a seemingly harmless little girl might be the best way to make you lower your guard.”
His voice gradually lowered, carrying a hint of barely perceptible bitterness, "I just want to learn how to feel and understand... the worldly joys and sorrows that you care about, like an ordinary person."
Lan Shuyin gazed at his rare moment of helplessness, then suddenly leaned forward and gently cupped his face in her hands.
"Don't look down, this posture doesn't suit you."
This action startled Wei Li slightly, but she did not dodge.
Lan Shuyin looked earnestly into his eyes and said, "I don't blame you. The events of my past life are like a dream to me. I just haven't figured out how to face you."
"There's a saying that the identity of a person lies in their memories. I agree with that. Because I feel like I've been a completely different person all my life. Feng Zhizhaoyin isn't afraid of death, but I am. Feng Zhizhaoyin has strong likes and dislikes, but I'm prone to going back to the same old friends... In short."
“If I didn’t have those memories, I would be Lan Shuyin through and through. But what you’re all so persistently pursuing is Feng Zhizhaoyin.” She met his deep gaze and decided to be frank. “I think we all need to figure out who that bond is really connecting us to.”
Kui Li grabbed her loosened hand, "But what I've been searching for has never been the name 'Feng Zhi Zhao Yin,' nor those memories that have already passed."
"It's the unquenchable fire in your eyes when you face dire straits. It's your stubbornness in reaching out to help others even when you're struggling yourself. It's your seemingly carefree nature, yet deep down you're more principled than anyone else—"
"These things etched into your soul won't completely change just because you change your name or your life. Your fear of death and your tendency to go back to the past only prove that you are you! It is because you have experienced loss that you understand how to cherish things more, and it is because you have tasted the bitterness of farewell that you understand that some ties cannot be severed."
“Ayin, you can’t see yourself clearly. But I can see clearly. What I recognize is the unique soul hidden beneath this skin. Whether it’s called Feng Zhizhaoyin or Lan Shuyin.”
His last sentence was almost a sigh, tinged with certainty and a hint of barely perceptible pain: "Whom does that connection link? I have no doubt."
Lan Shuyin was stunned by his words.
If he maintained a degree of restraint and boundaries when inviting her for tea, he completely disregarded them now.
The certainty and fervor in his words made her soul tremble and her heart race.
Lan Shuyin instinctively tried to lighten the mood with a joke, wanting to push away the emotions she couldn't handle, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Let me tell you, something really strange happened to me when I got here..."
She recounted in one breath the bizarre ritual of the five people invoking the gods at the intersection, and Tang Xiuchen's earth-shattering words, "You can save my life," as if it were a strange and extraordinary event. Her speech was slightly faster than usual, with an eagerness to change the subject.
"You know, these people nowadays, aren't they..." She wanted to end with a teasing remark, but when her gaze met Wei Li's still deep eyes, the word "have something wrong with them" inexplicably stuck in her throat and she couldn't say it.
Lan Shuyin awkwardly took a sip of tea and silently turned her back.
But then she thought, wait a minute, he was the one who crossed the line first, so why should she be the one feeling awkward?
She was just about to get up, ready to regroup and get back at him, when the other person seemed to mistakenly think she was trying to escape and grabbed her wrist. She looked up in surprise and met those peach blossom eyes so close to hers.
The deep emotions within had not yet faded; instead, something even more intense and direct surged forth, like a storm that had been suppressed for too long finally breaking through the dam of reason.
Kui Li's other hand had already gripped the back of her neck, giving her no room to react or refuse, and he leaned down to kiss her lips.
The kiss came suddenly.
The aroma of tea lingered, and our breaths mingled.
Lan Shuyin's mind went blank for a moment. But then she felt him trembling.
He was the one who forcefully kissed her, but why did he seem more nervous than she was?
So innocent it's almost naive, isn't it?
She hesitated for two seconds, then reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head slightly upward, turning the tables and taking the initiative.
Years later, when Lan Shuyin righteously refuted Wei Li, insisting that she was a guiding lover, Wei Li remained silent, only quietly taking out the surveillance video from that day. In the video, she was also trembling. The two of them, like electric motors, somehow managed to keep kissing.
But at this moment, Lan Shuyin simply gave a serious, light sneer after the kiss, "You're not good enough, you need to practice."
Then he walked with his head held high and chest out, his hands and feet moving in unison.
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