Chapter 165: If Chen Ping'an Were Here
The journey was very lively, so lively that even someone as patient as Chen Ping'an felt his ears couldn't get a moment's peace.
All of this was thanks to that azure-clad boy, who talked even more nonsense than Cui Chan.
One large and two small, in early winter, they had already traveled together for half a month. The three of them slowly walked along the desolate and cold official road. The azure-clad boy started pestering Chen Ping'an again, "When we get to the master's house in Longquan County, can you not make me do chores like sweeping floors and making beds? That's a bit of a loss of face. If word gets back to the prefectural city, they'll laugh at me for hundreds of years. How can I be the big brother to those monsters and water ghosts? Master, you don't know, but here I have wind when I want it and rain when I want it. Mention my name, and everyone gives a thumbs up—top-notch!"
Chen Ping'an pretended not to hear, because he knew that if he responded, it would be a disaster.
The azure-clad boy continued on his own, "If Master doesn't believe me, you can ask that silly girl. Even the dignitaries in the prefectural city worship me as a deity. Only that prince in the city puts on airs, treating me with mere politeness, not very warm. But he's on pretty good terms with my brothers, and we often have fun together. Master, why didn't you stop by my place? You didn't even let me give a single greeting. Otherwise, I'm not bragging—I definitely would have given Master a grand ceremony with drums and gongs and the river waters boiling!"
Through private chats with the pink-dressed girl, Chen Ping'an had a general understanding of the temperament of this river serpent.
He was impulsive, often pushed out by the Water God to take the blame. Several major disasters that shocked the Huangting Kingdom's court and public didn't even involve him, but after a few provoking words from the Water God, he foolishly took them on, thinking it was heroic. Once, chased by a Grand Supreme Elder of the Lingyun Sect, he fled over two thousand miles. The shy little girl, when talking about this, rarely revealed her true feelings, saying it would have been better if he hadn't come back.
Seeing him about to brag about his past heroic deeds again, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but interrupt, "Do you really not know that the Water God used you as a shield? Or do you know but don't care?"
The pink-dressed girl deeply agreed, secretly nodding.
The azure-clad boy didn't dare say anything to Chen Ping'an, but he sharp-eyed noticed the little serpent's gesture and sneered, "You, a little girl, what do you know about brotherly righteousness?"
With that, he opened his mouth wide, showing his white, sharp teeth, and made threatening gestures toward the girl. "If you keep blabbing and ruining my image in front of Master, I'll find a chance to eat you! Then I'll shit you out..."
The pink-dressed girl looked at him with a resentful gaze, thinking, "I didn't say anything at all! You're just picking on the weak!"
Chen Ping'an adjusted the bamboo basket on his back. Although Cui Chan had returned to the Great Sui capital's academy, he still felt a bit uneasy. But he knew that aside from worrying, he couldn't do anything else.
Chen Ping'an raised his hands, breathed on them to warm them, and looked up at the sky.
Winter had arrived.
He didn't know when it would snow this year, but he hoped to return to the small town before the New Year. If time was too tight, he would set aside the walking stakes and practice more standing stakes in the Sword Furnace. He could have the azure-clad boy transform into his true water serpent form and choose routes through sparsely populated wilderness.
The small piece of Dragon-Slaying Platform that Master Qi had cut from somewhere—Chen Ping'an left it to Li Baoping. The blind old Daoist's gift, "Searching the Mountains Diagram," he gave to Lin Shouyi.
But Chen Ping'an still had a fair amount of belongings, though they didn't take up much space. Now that he no longer needed to take care of the children's studies, his basket seemed rather empty, which made him feel a bit unaccustomed.
Back at Qidun Mountain, A Liang had robbed the Earth Deity Wei Bo, and in the end, Chen Ping'an got a withered, shriveled golden lotus seed, the last one left over. He still didn't know what use it had.
A little incense figure lived in the locust wood sword but had hidden itself again after appearing in the prefectural city.
After making green bamboo book boxes for the three of them, there were some leftover bamboo scraps. Whenever he had time, Chen Ping'an practiced carving characters, recording what he thought were wise sayings and memorable quotes.
He had a few books personally selected by the old Sage Wen.
A white jade hairpin carved with characters—Chen Ping'an once wore it in his bun in the Great Sui capital but had since taken it off and carefully treasured it. After Cui Chan left the capital with him, he said the truly valuable thing was actually the wooden box, but Chen Ping'an had left that along with three hairpins to Li Baoping. He certainly didn't feel regret about that.
A pair of landscape seals, and the significant "Still Heart, Attain Intent" seal.
And a few sheets of paper with medicinal formulas from the young Daoist surnamed Lu. To practice calligraphy, Chen Ping'an still took them out to look at from time to time.
As for that small sword embryo that looked like a silver ingot, it was said to be related to Sui Mountain in the Central Continent, exceptionally bright, able to reflect light even at night.
But now in his basket, there were some things he hadn't expected.
Besides a letter that Cui Chan had somehow written and placed in the basket without him noticing, there were also two pairs of Spring Festival couplets and a "fortune" character. In the letter, Cui Chan said this was a small token from his student, hoping the master would accept it, and assured him that the words were just words, no schemes in them.
From this, it was clear that Cui Chan had not only planned to return to the Great Sui capital but had also calculated that Chen Ping'an would make up his mind to do so. His student had already foreseen it.
Chen Ping'an found this somewhat alarming, but again, there was nothing he could say about it.
Besides that, the basket also contained two calligraphy scrolls: "Green Mountains and Clear Waters." The content was also written in a refined manner. This scroll was fairly serious, while another was more in line with Cui Chan's absurd personality, titled "Master, Please Add More Oil and Salt," entirely complaining about Chen Ping'an's stinginess.
The calligraphy... Chen Ping'an couldn't really judge the art, but he knew it was good, pleasing to the eye. Just looking at the scrolls felt like standing in that Cloud and Water Alley.
Along the way, the azure-clad boy kept chattering on, utterly tireless.
The pink-dressed girl followed obediently behind Chen Ping'an, carrying Cui Chan's book box. No matter how much Chen Ping'an urged her, the little girl absolutely refused to put anything into his basket.
Thinking back, he remembered that she was a fire serpent who had lived for hundreds of years, not Li Baoping, so she wouldn't get tired.
At that thought, the boy wished he could turn around and take just one step to be directly outside the study of the Xin Shanya Academy. He'd stand by the corner of the wall, watching Li Baoping and the others happily listening to the teacher's lectures, not being bullied, living well—letting him, Chen Ping'an, know that even if he wasn't with them, they were doing well, even better.
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath and began silently practicing his walking stakes.
---
The Xin Shanya Academy had become a hot topic of conversation in the Great Sui capital. Almost all the great clans and powerful families were discussing it, watching from a safe distance, finding it highly interesting. Of course, the families caught in the storm—like the Nanxi Chu family, the Han family of the Pillar of State, and the Marquis Huaiyuan's household—didn't find it amusing at all. Their elders were in a sour mood, their faces dark as storm clouds every time they went to court.
The Great Sui valued literature but didn't suppress martial arts, yet military men, whether at court or among the people, were ultimately not as favored as refined scholars.
The Great Sui's remonstrating officials were noble and powerful. Recently, the court was very lively. The Censorate and the Six Sections of Remonstrance each voiced their opinions on the academy students' fight, taking sides with no holds barred. Some spoke up for the old Pillar of State Han and the Marquis Huaiyuan, saying the outsider students were ruthless and lacked any scholarly elegance. Others criticized these high-ranking nobles for failing to discipline their children, arguing that the children from faraway Longquan in Dali had done nothing wrong—they couldn't just be bullied without fighting back. Then the former side retorted: how was it bullying? Verbal arguments between scholars were perfectly ordinary—how could it be elevated to "bullying"? They cited classics and historical examples, praising the spirit of pure conversation in the Nanjian Kingdom. The latter side refused to concede, countering each argument point by point.
This capital scandal, which had attracted countless eyes, started with a dispute among four children in one classroom. Later, an outsider girl named Li Baoping wounded someone with a sharp weapon. The beaten child happened to be the beloved son of the Marquis Huaiyuan, who was related by marriage to the Nanxi Chu family. The Chu family's eldest grandson was the academy's top student, sixteen years old, a renowned child prodigy, widely recognized as a true gentleman of Great Sui.
This eldest Chu grandson, who lived up to his reputation, didn't show up immediately after hearing about it. But two of his academy friends—the youngest grandson of the old Pillar of State Han and a young man from a wealthy local clan—went to find trouble with the girl. They didn't start a physical fight, but they certainly spoke rudely. Unfortunately for them, Lin Shouyi, a fellow countryman of the girl, happened to run into them. One thing led to another, and they ended up rolling up their sleeves for a brawl.
The two were no match for the proud disciple of the great Confucian Dong Jing. They were beaten black and blue, utterly miserable. This forced the Chu eldest grandson, also regarded as a "jade of cultivation," to step in. He found Lin Shouyi, and the fight was spectacular. The Chu youth used his heirloom Dharma artifact, the Cloud-Thunder Qin, whose strings were made from lightning gathered by grand cultivators and refined through secret methods. Each pluck sent thunder rolling, an impressive sight. The outsider youth Lin Shouyi, who had already made a name for himself in the capital, also performed admirably. His righteous Five Thunder True Method, also at the third realm, allowed him to fight with skill despite facing a superior Dharma artifact, making a name for himself in the process.
It was said that this clash of youthful pride even drew the attention of the great Confucian Dong Jing and a group of elderly scholars who rushed over to watch from a distance—both to enjoy the spectacle and to prevent accidents.
In the end, the Chu eldest grandson had to break one of his lightning strings. Lin Shouyi suffered numerous light injuries, not severe but his skin was torn and he was in considerable pain.
Actually, the academy had internal factions. When the Emperor visited the academy, although he didn't witness such a huge commotion, his imperial gifts to the outsiders showed clear favoritism. After that, the academy masters paid noticeably more attention to those students' lessons, which naturally angered the local Great Sui students. And those who had followed the vice-headmaster Mao Xiaodong from the old Dali academy to this new one had likely endured their share of grievances in a foreign land. So, except for a few, the vast majority stood firmly on the side of Lin Shouyi and Li Baoping.
Thus, Shanya Academy split into two camps, each united in shared hatred.
The atmosphere within the academy was tense and combative.
But strangely, the masters and teachers turned a blind eye and a deaf ear, which largely encouraged the spread of this atmosphere.
At this critical moment, someone else stepped forward to pour oil on the fire.
The son of the late General Pan Maozhen—an eccentric youth who had never interacted with anyone—found Lin Shouyi after he had recovered. He let himself be hit by Lin's thunder magic and then delivered a punch that sent Lin Shouyi flying. This time Lin was truly seriously wounded, vomiting blood incessantly. He struggled to get up, but the Pan youth struck him on the head again, sending him crashing to the ground like a broken kite. The young general's son, decisive as a veteran soldier on the battlefield, even spat on Lin Shouyi.
Only then did the academy teachers step in, forbidding any further private fights.
But the strangely named girl, Xie Xie—an unremarkable, dark-skinned young woman with a serious demeanor—didn't even go to visit Lin Shouyi. She directly sought out the Pan youth that same day and beat him until blood flowed from all seven orifices. He could only flee for his life. If not for a teacher hastily intervening to stop her pursuit, that young martial arts prodigy would have become a chronic invalid.
Finally, the escalating farce seemed to be drawing to a close with the arrival of an academy student.
This student was a legendary figure. From a humble background, he was recognized as having the knowledge to serve as an assistant instructor before even coming of age. He had left Great Sui to go to Guanhu Academy, where he passed the joint assessment of nine renowned gentlemen from the entire continent, earning the official title of Confucian Worthy. His return to Great Sui was a triumphant homecoming, laden with honors.
The Great Sui court specially dispatched the Vice Minister of Rites to welcome this young Confucian Worthy ten miles outside the city. What made others even more envious was that the Emperor sent a high-ranking eunuch from the palace to gift him a priceless set of the Four Treasures of the Study, as a mark of commendation.
Thus, this academy student, Li Changying, entered Donghua Mountain bearing the title of Worthy and the Great Sui Emperor's imperial gifts.
The first thing he did upon entering the academy was to find Li Huai and apologize.
Then he visited Lin Shouyi, who was bedridden from his injuries. Finally, he stood before the girl Xie Xie and said that both sides should stop acting on impulse—Shanya Academy was, after all, a place of learning.
After Li Changying left, Xie Xie remained silent from beginning to end.
---
The Great Sui Emperor was not known across the continent as a diligent ruler. Generally speaking, he was not particularly famous—not as brilliant as the Dali Emperor, not as culturally refined as the Nanjian Kingdom's monarch, and not even as renowned as the already-defunct Lu Emperor. But the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent was always wealthy in the south and desolate in the north. Great Sui stood out in the north, and even the nobles of Nanjian were willing to interact with them. The Gao clan of Great Sui were also frequent guests at Guanhu Academy.
The Great Sui Emperor rarely called high officials, including the Six Ministers and other pillars of the state, for a small court session in the Nourishing Heart Studio after the morning court. But today was an exception. However, the Minister of Rites and many other generals and ministers knew that the academy incident had reached a point where the Emperor himself had to intervene.
So the short, elderly man who also served as the academy's headmaster became the focus of attention. This Heavenly Official, the foremost among the Six Ministries, walked in with his court friends, showing no sign of panic. The short but powerful Minister of Rites appeared confident, but the "parties involved," like the old Pillar of State Han, wore sour expressions.
The small court session proceeded tepidly, not even as lively as the charcoal fires in the small braziers in the room. The Emperor merely rehashed some undecided matters from the grand court. Everyone present had spent most of their lives in officialdom and was familiar with such routine affairs, so they quickly passed resolutions one by one. These would soon be transmitted from the central government to the local authorities.
After the major matters were settled, the Emperor took a sip of still-warm lotus seed soup. Everyone perked up, knowing the main event was about to come.
The Emperor set down his cup, looked around, and smiled, "What, my dear ministers, are you all waiting to see my joke?"
The old Pillar of State Han, though in his seventies, was still vigorous and imposing. Sitting upright in his chair, he exuded authority without anger, yet even he looked a bit embarrassed. The Marquis Huaiyuan, who was in his prime, fidgeted uncomfortably. As hereditary nobles and meritorious descendants of Great Sui, they usually stayed out of the court's spotlight, rarely attending morning court unless for major matters—this was an unwritten rule. But today, several high-ranking officials, including the old Pillar of State, had kindly tipped him off that it would be best to attend morning court, lest something happen and he have no chance to defend himself.
Seeing several ministers about to rise and confess their guilt, the Great Sui Emperor smiled and gestured downward, "No need to stand. Just sit and speak. I am not here to interrogate anyone today. I just want to know some facts, not hearsay. You have no idea—even Xuan'er and the others have been talking about this every day in the Study of Admonition. Their lessons are a mess, and their head teacher is so furious he told them to just go study at Shanya Academy instead."
The smallest in stature but highest in official rank, the Minister of Rites slowly rose and recounted the general sequence of events, speaking impartially.
The Great Sui Emperor smiled and asked, "Was it Old Mao himself who said not to interfere with the children's fights?"
The Minister of Rites nodded. "Indeed."
The Emperor hummed in acknowledgment. "I understand."
Then he fell into thought.
In truth, none of the high ministers present were naïve enough to think the Emperor was truly in the dark. Did they think the Great Sui intelligence services were idle?
The annual secret expenditures of the Great Sui Ministry of Revenue just to counter infiltration by Dali agents and spies were enormous, even if they made no noise.
In fact, if the Lu Emperor had heeded Great Sui's advice back then, not been so arrogant, and believed the intelligence provided by Great Sui's spies to prepare early, even if the fall of his kingdom couldn't have been prevented, it wouldn't have happened so fast—so fast that even the refined civil officials of Great Sui couldn't help but curse the Lu court for being a bunch of useless good-for-nothings.
If the civil officials felt this way, the military officials felt it even more strongly.
The Great Sui Emperor slowly came back to himself and smiled at the old Pillar of State Han and a few others. "Let it be, then. It ends here. Children fighting among themselves—even if there's no ill intent—still needs to be kept within bounds."
The first half of the Emperor's words were almost identical to what Mao Xiaodong of the academy had said earlier.
Then the small court session adjourned.
The Great Sui Emperor kept the Minister of Rites behind.
The short old man watched the monarch stand up, walk over to the brazier, and squat down to personally poke at the charcoal with iron tongs. The eunuch guarding the door didn't take over, and the old man found it unsurprising.
The Great Sui Emperor put down the small tongs, reached his hand over the charcoal fire, and said softly, "Looking through history books, pressure comes not only from relentless neighboring enemies but also from one's own people who wave the banners of loyalty to the monarch and love for the people."
The Heavenly Official's Adam's apple moved slightly, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
The Great Sui Emperor smiled self-deprecatingly, turned around, and beckoned the old man. The Minister of Rites hurried over, somewhat awkwardly squatting down beside the Emperor.
The Great Sui Emperor asked with a smile, "Why did Dali rush south so hastily? Originally, Guanhu Academy was vague, unwilling to give a clear answer. Now they're more anxious than we are. That young man Li Changying—his title of Worthy was deliberately delayed before. Now I hear there are voices inside Guanhu Academy for directly giving him the title of 'Gentleman.' Isn't that ironic?"
This was a question that absolutely could not be answered carelessly.
The short old man grew even more flustered.
The Emperor asked, "If it were Minister Ma or any of the others, they wouldn't be as nervous as you. Their backbones are much stiffer. Do you know why it was you, and not them, who was appointed headmaster of Shanya Academy?"
The short old man said softly, "Because Your Majesty's servant has the least scholar's air. As the new academy's headmaster, Your Majesty need not worry about friction with Old Mao Xiaodong."
The Emperor corrected, "Call him Old Mao."
The short old man said in panic, "Yes, yes, Old Mao."
The Emperor nodded and muttered to himself, "Whatever respect Dali can give Master Qi, I can give the same respect to Old Mao. That is the biggest difference between me and that barbarian Song of Dali."
The short old man was about to say something.
But the Emperor smiled and shook his head. "But it's not very useful."
The Minister of Rites was completely at a loss.
In fact, the Emperor rarely spoke to his ministers like this.
Aside from ten years ago, when this old man unexpectedly became the Heavenly Official of Great Sui, this was only the second time.
The Emperor sighed, "Scholarly spirit and bookishness—you scholars must have them, of course. But only having the backbone of a scholar and governing solely by virtue may not benefit the state and society."
The old man dared not remain silent any longer. He steeled himself and replied dryly, "Your Majesty is wise."
The Great Sui Emperor turned his head and smiled. "You, you're good in many ways, but you're too cautious. Stop discrediting yourself in the future. Do you think I don't know the character of your children? They wouldn't dare to embezzle the people's fertile land. Especially your youngest son—what a great seed for study. Not only is he a sure bet for the top three in the examinations, but the imperial examinations' literary arts are certainly not lacking. Why did you insist on suppressing him?"
The old man's lips trembled. Finally, he gritted his teeth, stood up, and knelt again, sobbing, "Your Majesty's servant could only use such clumsy means to share Your Majesty's worries!"
The Great Sui Emperor helped the old man to his feet and said warmly, "On the court, many say you're just a 'muddle-along good fellow,' but I think a minister like you is truly an indispensable pillar of Great Sui!"
The old man was instantly moved to tears. He felt that the grievances of the past ten-plus years were swept away. He knelt again, "Your Majesty's servant is unworthy of such trust!"
The Great Sui Emperor lightly kicked the old man, laughing in exasperation, "The dignified Minister of Rites, and you're acting spoiled? Get up, this is improper!"
The short old man finally rose, hurriedly wiping his face, "Your Majesty must forgive me for being ridiculous."
The Emperor returned to his seat and waved his hand, "Go back."
The short old man bowed and withdrew.
The Emperor pulled a Confucian classic from a small stack of books and flipped through it page by page without looking up. Casually, he asked, "I've heard there are many strange winds in the world, and one of them is called the 'Page-Turning Wind'?"
His voice was very low, but the tall eunuch outside the door still answered, "In reply to Your Majesty, indeed there is. This breeze, where it originates, there is no evidence to trace. It is only known that it delights in flipping through books, regardless of whether they are new or old. This wind is extremely subtle; even ordinary cultivators cannot detect it. If someone guides it and absorbs it into their body, this wind will slowly circulate through the five viscera and six bowels. If one often reads books, it can prolong life."
The Emperor looked up, astonished. "So good? Does our Great Sui have any?"
The white-haired eunuch shook his head. "The Page-Turning Wind is unique to Confucian academies and schools. Nowhere else has it—not even in Daoist sects, or sacred sites like the Snow-Wind Temple and the True Martial Mountain, can a single wisp be found."
The Emperor sighed, "The wonders of heaven and earth are so profound. It's a pity I am an emperor."
The old eunuch smiled. "This is Your Majesty's personal misfortune, but the great fortune of the Great Sui people."
The man in the dragon robe laughed heartily, greatly pleased.
The Emperor put down the book and suddenly asked the eunuch outside the door, "Should I send Gao Xuan to study at Shanya Academy?"
The old eunuch didn't hesitate for a moment, shaking his head. "The last trip to Lizhu Cave Heaven, though dangerous, had a huge harvest. His Highness practically monopolized two great fortunes. Studying there is no longer necessary. Moreover, since His Highness dared to agree to follow this old servant into the enemy heartland of Dali, that in itself was a great fortune on the path of Dao."
The Emperor nodded, sighing, "So it seems Xuan'er is more fortunate than I am."
But the Emperor rubbed his temples, looking troubled. "But Zhen'er suffered a completely undeserved disaster. The Empress Dowager barely persuaded him to go to his fief, a happy event. Then that Gao Xuan, in Lizhu Cave Heaven, claimed to be Gao Zhen, which caused a coincidental female enemy who was passing by to bring several sword immortals from another continent to descend from the sky and find Zhen'er. Though she realized her mistake afterward and quickly apologized and left, Zhen'er has been timid since childhood and was terribly frightened."
"This is this old servant's fault. If I had known, I wouldn't have acted so impulsively in that alley in Lizhu Cave Heaven."
The tall eunuch slightly bowed, his face full of guilt.
The Great Sui Emperor waved his hand. "It has nothing to do with you. Don't dwell on it. By the way, has the true identity of that girl been found out?"
The eunuch shook his head. "Difficult. We only know she's from the area near Daoxuan Mountain, possibly related to that Sword Qi Great Wall. Truly a thorny matter."
The Great Sui Emperor sighed. "It's normal that we can't find out. After all, those northern sword cultivators aren't from the same continent. Once Daoxuan Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall get involved, it becomes even more secretive. Those two places have always been great taboos in our world."
The Great Sui Emperor finally said helplessly, "How vast the world is, and the key is that it isn't just one world."
---
Lin Shouyi now lived alone in a dormitory. His original Great Sui roommates had all moved elsewhere.
Today, his once-quiet dormitory was a bit lively.
Lin Shouyi leaned against his pillow, resting with his eyes closed.
Li Baoping held her narrow blade, Xiangfu, sitting at the head of the bed with a dark expression.
Li Huai stood a little farther away, looking pitiful, as if he wanted to cry but didn't dare.
He mustered his courage, stepped forward a few paces, and said, "How about I go apologize to those three? The academy all says that Li Changying is a Confucian Worthy, and even the Great Sui Emperor values him. They also say he's a middle-five-realm immortal. We can't beat him."
Li Baoping looked like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on. She turned her head and stared hard at Li Huai, furious. "Apologize? How have you been reading, Li Huai! If Master and Little Master were here, they'd be furious at you!"
Li Huai was startled, but this time he didn't hide away to cry. Instead, he stiffened his neck and sobbed, "Everything is because of me. I caused Lin Shouyi to get hurt. I know this isn't over, and I'm not afraid of being beaten to death... But what about you, Li Baoping? If Chen Ping'an finds out you got hurt because of me, he will hate me forever. He will never talk to me again in this life..."
Li Huai finally burst into loud sobs. No matter how he wiped his face, he couldn't stop the tears.
When Li Baoping saw Li Huai's sorrowful state, she swallowed the angry words that were on the tip of her tongue. Sulking, she said, "Li Huai, you didn't do anything wrong this time. Don't apologize. Don't worry, even if I suffer a loss, Little Master won't blame you..."
At this point, Li Baoping looked at Li Huai with determined eyes. "Because if Little Master were here, he would tell you the same thing: Li Huai, you are right!"
The mere thought of Chen Ping'an made Li Huai even more heartbroken. He crouched on the ground, wailing uncontrollably, "The academy is full of bad people. If Chen Ping'an were here, he wouldn't have let Lin Shouyi get hurt, and he wouldn't have let you be scolded, Li Baoping..."
Lin Shouyi, smelling of herbal medicine, let out a soft sigh. He didn't open his eyes, only showing a bitter smile.
Lin Shouyi knew that someone must be pulling strings behind this. He couldn't understand the open schemes in the court or the hidden conspiracies of the families, but if Chen Ping'an had stayed at the academy, things might have gotten even bigger... But even so, at least the three people in this room wouldn't be so lost, as if they had lost their pillar of support. Everything they did seemed wrong because they had no confidence in anything.
They had grown used to having Chen Ping'an by their side.
These past few days lying in bed, Lin Shouyi had thought about many things.
Only now did Lin Shouyi understand the weight of the burden on Chen Ping'an's shoulders during those thrilling decisions—like at Qidun Mountain, the ghost bride in the wedding dress, facing Zhu Lu's assassination attempt. He also understood those seemingly trivial decisions—who would light the fire and cook today, who would keep watch, how to choose the route, which scenic spots we had to visit, and so on—and how tedious and exhausting they all were.
A teasing voice sounded at the door. "Oh, our General Li Huai is crying so bitterly."
Lin Shouyi opened his eyes and looked over, smiling. "You've come."
Li Baoping's face was full of conflict upon seeing the familiar figure.
Li Huai turned his head, staring blankly at the slender dark-skinned girl. He sniffled and continued to sob, lowering his head.
Xie Xie leaned against the doorframe. "If you can't win, just endure it. No big deal."
Li Baoping opened her mouth but hesitated.
Xie Xie sighed. "There's no helping it. Even if you lent me Xiangfu, I still couldn't beat that hypocrite Li Changying."
At this point, she felt a bit helpless. If it weren't for those insidious and vicious Dragon-Subduing Nails suppressing most of her cultivation, she, Xie Lingyue, wouldn't have to be so constrained.
Xie Xie suddenly turned her head, a little surprised.
The uninvited guest walked slowly, hands tucked into his sleeves. The tall, lanky boy stood smiling at the door. He took in the girl Xie Xie standing beside him, Li Huai crouching on the ground, Li Baoping sitting, and Lin Shouyi lying down. Then he asked softly, with a smile, "Don't blame me for being late. I thought you could handle it."
Lin Shouyi closed his eyes again, clearly not fond of this deep-minded remnant of the Lu Kingdom.
Yu Lu wasn't annoyed by this, but he did suppress his smile. "The reason I came is to ask: if Chen Ping'an were here, what would he do?"
Li Huai, for some reason, remembered the commotion on the Embroidery River ferry and whispered, "Chen Ping'an would first reason with them properly."
Li Baoping's face lit up. "After reasoning, if the other side still seems to reason but actually doesn't, then Little Master would use his fists to reason again!"
Lin Shouyi's lips curled slightly, an imperceptible smile.
Yu Lu said, "Oh, then I understand."
The tall boy turned and walked away, as serene as floating clouds.
Xie Xie frowned and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Yu Lu, his back to her, waved his hand and left gracefully. "On the road, Chen Ping'an always took the first half of the night watch, and I took the second half. That's how it was before, and that's how it should be from now on."
Li Huai was bewildered.
Li Baoping widened her eyes and looked at Lin Shouyi. "Yu Lu isn't going to cause trouble for that hypocrite, is he?"
Lin Shouyi was half-doubtful. "That can't be."
Xie Xie was puzzled. "But I feel like it's exactly the kind of thing he'd do to pick a fight."
---
Li Changying loved to read and was good at it. He not only had a photographic memory but could also draw inferences, truly a seed of learning.
So the new library of Shanya Academy was his favorite place to be.
The library had no curfew. Late that night, Li Changying was reading alone by candlelight. Suddenly he looked up and smiled. "You're Yu Lu, aren't you? Is there something you need?"
Yu Lu, hands still tucked in his sleeves, the tall boy slightly hunched as usual, smiled and nodded. "Yes."
Li Changying, elegant in his Confucian robes, stood up with a full smile. "Please, speak."
Yu Lu took one hand out of his sleeve and tossed a pouch full of silver to Li Changying.
Li Changying looked puzzled. "This is?"
Suddenly, Li Changying's body tensed as if facing a great enemy.
He saw the tall boy, who had always given the impression of being polite and harmless, walking forward slowly, his smile bright. "If the money for your medicine isn't enough, let me owe you the rest, okay?"