All right—the night passed without incident.
At least on the surface.
When Gu Chengming woke, the sea of clouds outside the window was rimmed with the faintest edge of gold.
[The Qingxin Formula, rather surprised: Chengming's composure grows more formidable by the day—to actually be able to rest under conditions like last night's.]
[The Hundred Bones Resonance harrumphed: But of course! Since when was Heavenly Emperor Gu the sort to be so easily swayed by a pretty face?]
With a helpless smile, Gu Chengming rose and straightened his clothes—a set of everyday rogue-cultivator garb that Li Suizhuang had prepared especially for him. The fabric was nothing refined, but it made up for it in sturdiness and durability, and the cuffs had even been deliberately worn and frayed a little at the edges.
There had been quite a commotion the night before, yet from start to finish Li Suizhuang had never come knocking on Gu Chengming's door of her own accord. That meant she at least retained one last thread of reason, struggling to suppress the effects of her runaway cultivation technique.
From that alone—though this Imperial Physician Li carried the risk of losing control—she could still be counted a qualified colleague.
Gu Chengming was thinking exactly this when faint footsteps sounded behind him.
"Chief Banner Officer Gu is up early." The voice was gentle and mild.
Gu Chengming turned around.
Li Suizhuang was emerging from the cabin carrying a food box, her moon-white gown fluttering softly in the morning breeze. Her white hair was loosely gathered up with a plain silver hairpin, a few stray strands falling by her cheeks, making that gentle face seem all the softer.
Unlike the day before, her complexion looked much better today; her whole being seemed radiant and full of spirit.
As though all those flushing, heart-pounding sounds of the previous night had never happened at all.
"Good morning, Imperial Physician Li." Gu Chengming cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze frank.
Since he'd decided not to mention it, he would treat it thoroughly as if nothing had happened.
After all, the two of them still had to venture deep into the Harmonious Joy Sect together. If things turned awkward over such a trifle, it would only interfere with the real business.
Li Suizhuang seemed to sense his attitude as well. She set the food box on the stone table on the deck and lifted the lid—inside were several delicate breakfast items and a pot of steaming spirit tea.
"Conditions on the ship are crude; we'll have to make do with a simple meal." As she laid out the bowls and chopsticks, she said softly, "If Chief Banner Officer Gu doesn't mind, do join me."
"My thanks, Imperial Physician Li." Gu Chengming sat down across from her, picked up a piece of pastry, and took a bite.
The pastry melted in his mouth, carrying a faint fragrance of osmanthus—clearly a good deal of care had gone into it.
The two sat across from each other like this, silently eating their breakfast.
The atmosphere was a touch quiet, but not too awkward. Only now and then, when their eyes met, would Li Suizhuang instinctively look away, a barely perceptible flush rising to the tips of her ears.
This manner of hers formed an interesting contrast with her usual gentle, dignified air.
"Chief Banner Officer Gu, we should reach the borders of the Harmonious Joy Sect in about half a day... Before then, I'd like to tell you about the sect's situation, so you can be mentally prepared."
Gu Chengming set down his teacup and said solemnly, "Please speak, Imperial Physician Li."
Li Suizhuang pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "The Harmonious Joy Sect has stood for over a thousand years. Though its name carries little weight in the outside world, it is in truth deeply rooted, no less than any great sect—dozens at the fourth realm, and several fifth-realm elders who have been in secluded cultivation for many years."
Gu Chengming was somewhat surprised; this was even more impressive than he'd imagined.
In his impression, the Harmonious Joy Sect had always seemed a sect devoted to cultivating the Red Dust Art—unique in its methods, but in terms of overall strength, surely no match for the sharp-edged prominence of the Wenjian Sect.
"The outside world holds many misconceptions about the Harmonious Joy Sect."
"In fact, the sect's system of techniques is exceptionally complete—from the entry-level Red Dust Art, to the higher Yin-Yang Great Dao, and even to the Dharma-Stations one may come to occupy, every step has a clear path to follow."
Li Suizhuang hesitated a moment, then said aloud the warning she'd meant to give:
"So once we reach the Harmonious Joy Sect, Chief Banner Officer Gu, remember this—do not grow reckless just because Director Zhou is backing you. This is not the Great Qian, after all. If certain things were to happen... Director Zhou would not be able to help in time."
"Tread carefully in all things."
Gu Chengming looked thoughtful, and after a long while thanked her for the reminder.
Seeing this, Li Suizhuang smiled and shook her head, dropping the tiresome topic and instead saying, "Another half day, and we'll see the Harmonious Joy Sect's territory."
The Harmonious Joy Sect was actually closer to the Capital than he'd imagined.
The flying vessel had traveled south all the way; though its current territory lay beyond the capital region, it was still the heartland of the Great Qian, thick with the bustle of human life.
Gu Chengming walked to the railing and looked down.
Where the clouds thinned, he could faintly make out the waterways and official roads below...
Entering the mortal world through the red dust, was it?
Gu Chengming thought again of that tiny little Senior Sister Fu.
"Come to think of it, Imperial Physician Li—your relationship with Senior Sister Fu seems to be more than just fellow disciples?"
At his words, a trace of nostalgia flickered in Li Suizhuang's eyes.
"She was my senior sister when I was at the Harmonious Joy Sect, and the person who treated me best," she said softly. "Back then my aptitude was mediocre, and I was often bullied within the sect. It was Senior Sister Fu who protected me all the way through. Later, when I left the Harmonious Joy Sect, though she said things about us going separate paths, whenever I was in trouble, she was always the first to appear."
Li Suizhuang glanced at him, a hint of mischief flashing in her eyes.
"You and Senior Sister Fu seem to hit it off quite well. I hear that when you first met her, you even remarked that her figure was... lacking?"
Gu Chengming felt a bit awkward. Though that was indeed what he'd thought, he still said, "That was a misunderstanding, surely?"
"A misunderstanding?" Li Suizhuang covered her lips and laughed softly. "Senior Sister Fu has it all written down in her little notebook. Once we reach the Harmonious Joy Sect, Chief Banner Officer Gu had best be careful—don't give her the chance to take revenge."
Once the two of them got talking, the earlier awkward atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Gu Chengming struck while the iron was hot and asked several more questions about the Harmonious Joy Sect, all of which Li Suizhuang answered one by one, her manner considerably more relaxed than before.
As they chatted, Gu Chengming suddenly recalled something.
"Come to think of it, Imperial Physician Li..." He looked at the woman beside him, curiosity in his eyes. "I've long harbored a certain question. With your attainments in the healing arts, why did you choose to remain at the Imperial Academy as a medical officer?"
This was a question he'd wanted to ask for a while.
Li Suizhuang's medical skill was exquisite; he'd experienced it firsthand during his disguise. That technique of perfectly adjusting bone, flesh, and qi-mechanisms was by no means something an ordinary healing cultivator could manage.
With her abilities, she would surely be a core-disciple-level figure within the Harmonious Joy Sect.
Why would such a talent run off to serve as a mere medical officer at the Great Qian's Imperial Academy?
Though the position of chief medical officer of the Imperial Academy was no low one, compared to a Harmonious Joy Sect elder, it still fell considerably short.
Hearing this question, the smile on Li Suizhuang's face stiffened slightly.
She was silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
"There's much you don't know, Lord Gu. My remaining at the Imperial Academy was not by my own will."
Her voice grew somewhat low, as if recalling some distant past.
"Back then, I struck a bargain with that Master."
"That Master helped me accomplish something... something extremely important to me. In exchange, I had to remain at the Imperial Academy as a medical officer for a term of sixty years."
"Once the term is complete, I will naturally return to the Harmonious Joy Sect."
The Master.
Hearing those two words, Gu Chengming's brow rose slightly.
This title was not unfamiliar to him.
During his time at the Imperial Academy, he had vaguely heard of this figure's existence.
Just as the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had its Director and the Night-Watch Bureau its Director, the true master of the Imperial Academy was not one of those nominal chancellors on the surface, but this being known as "the Master."
Yet in all his long time in the Capital, Gu Chengming had never seen this Master's true face. All he knew were a few scattered fragments of words.
Such as: Zhou Qingmu had once been this Master's disciple.
Such as: when the Great Qian was founded, this Master had, by their own strength alone, quelled three rebellions for the Founding Emperor.
Such as: a hundred years ago, when the demon race invaded the south, it was this Master who personally stepped in, slaying a sixth-realm great demon at the border and thereby preserving the Great Qian's northern defensive line.
But beyond that, there was no further news.
Gu Chengming's heart stirred, and he was just about to press further when he heard Li Suizhuang say:
"Lord Gu seems very interested in that Master?"
"Just a bit curious." Gu Chengming said frankly, "I've been in the Capital so long, yet never once seen this Master's true face."
"That Master has always lived in seclusion, keeping apart from worldly affairs." Li Suizhuang shook her head slightly. "I've had few dealings with him myself."
Gu Chengming nodded thoughtfully.
Before they knew it, the sun had climbed directly overhead, and the flying vessel gradually lowered its altitude.
The once vast and boundless sea of clouds gradually thinned, replaced by stretches of lush green mountain forests and winding, meandering rivers.
And amid those forests, faint wisps of cooking smoke could be seen curling up—a place where quite a few people had gathered.
"Almost there." Li Suizhuang stood and pointed below. "That is the town built in reliance upon the Harmonious Joy Sect."
Gu Chengming looked where she pointed.
There, amid green hills and clear waters, a sizable town sat imposingly.
The town's layout was rather unusual—not square and orderly like an ordinary city, but spreading out naturally along the rise and fall of the terrain, carrying a free and unrestrained charm.
What surprised Gu Chengming even more was that the sky above this town was actually shrouded in a faint halo of light.
"A fourth-tier grand formation."
Li Suizhuang seemed to see through his confusion and explained softly, "Though this is a mortal town, in truth quite a few rogue cultivators live here, along with some outer disciples of the Harmonious Joy Sect... To protect their safety, the sect laid down a protective grand formation here."
Gu Chengming had once seen mortal towns like this within the Wenjian Sect, surviving in reliance upon a great sect—most of whose inhabitants truly had not a shred of cultivation. And their whole way of life relied basically on the Wenjian Sect's system.
But this one was different... At least on the surface, the Harmonious Joy Sect seemed to place considerable importance on this town.
Li Suizhuang seemed to read Gu Chengming's thoughts and promptly explained, "The Harmonious Joy Sect cultivates the Red Dust Art, which requires a great deal of Red Dust Qi to aid cultivation. And where does Red Dust Qi come from? Naturally, from the joys and sorrows, the partings and reunions of the teeming masses."
"So every generation of the Harmonious Joy Sect's masters has placed great importance on the development of the surrounding towns. This place is not only a training ground for outer disciples, but also an important source from which the sect gathers Red Dust Qi."
Gu Chengming suddenly understood—no wonder the Harmonious Joy Sect would lay down a grand formation of such scale here. Yet such an expenditure was hardly something an ordinary sect could manage.
"Let us first find lodging in the town." Li Suizhuang withdrew her gaze and turned toward the cabin. "Before formally entering the Harmonious Joy Sect, let's first sound out the latest news. The sect has been sealed off for a long while, after all, and the intelligence circulating outside may not be accurate."
"Very well." Gu Chengming nodded in agreement.
Li Suizhuang's consideration was indeed thorough.
To rashly enter a sect whose situation was unclear would be no different from throwing oneself into a trap. Better to first pause in the town, gather some intelligence, get a clear understanding of the actual state of affairs inside the Harmonious Joy Sect, and then decide.
More importantly—
Gu Chengming raised his head and looked at the faintly visible pink aura above the town.
That was the color of Red Dust Qi.
Here, perhaps, he could more directly feel just how severe the effects of the Harmonious Joy Sect's runaway technique truly were.
The flying vessel gradually descended, at last mooring at a dedicated dock outside the town.
Gu Chengming and Li Suizhuang walked down from the vessel side by side.
The dock bustled with comings and goings—there were lavishly dressed rogue cultivators, itinerant peddlers carrying bundles on their backs, and even a few disciples in the Harmonious Joy Sect's standard attire maintaining order.
How to describe it?
If the Great Qian's Capital was a dignified, composed noble young lady, then this place was the top courtesan of a pleasure house.
The taverns and teahouses along the streets bore signboards with names like Soul-Melting Pavilion, Drunken Spring Breeze, Land of Tenderness, and the like.
The female cultivators passing by dressed rather boldly too—wrapped in thin gauze, half-revealed and half-concealed, walking with dainty lotus steps and swaying waists, enough to set a man's heart astir.
Even more outrageous were the pill shops.
Gu Chengming merely glanced casually at a shop window and saw things like Seven-Times-a-Night Pills, the Unbending Golden Spear Powder, and Charm Bone Soul-Melting Salve—and they weren't cheap either, the lowest starting at fifty spirit stones. Highway robbery, wasn't it?
And those magic-tool shops were even more absurd, all full of oddly shaped implements.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance flew into a rage: This place is downright wicked—why is it all this kind of trash magic tool? Could these even beat a man to death?]
Gu Chengming thought to himself: is it not possible that these simply aren't meant for fighting, Hundred Emperor?
Over the next several hours, he and Li Suizhuang split up, agreeing to meet at a teahouse in town.
He was in charge of gathering news, while Li Suizhuang went to call on some old acquaintances, to see whether she could learn about the situation inside the sect from them.
After this, Gu Chengming discovered several very interesting things.
First, the Red Dust Qi in Joy Town was indeed a bit excessively thick.
Second, the town's rogue cultivators had a very complicated attitude toward the Harmonious Joy Sect.
Gu Chengming pretended to be drunk in a tavern and pried a good deal of information out of several rogue cultivators.
Supposedly the Harmonious Joy Sect had abruptly sealed its mountain and closed its gates a month ago, cutting off all contact with the outside world. Something major seemed to have happened inside the sect; several elders had not shown their faces in a long while. A few days back, someone had seen a strange celestial phenomenon appear over the sect's mountain gate—yin and yang qi intertwining, as though something were about to break free of its seal.
Third, and the point that most caught Gu Chengming's attention.
In a magic-tool shop in town, he had seen Li Suizhuang's figure.
He had happened to pass that shop at the time, and out of the corner of his eye had glimpsed a familiar plain-white figure standing before the counter, seemingly commissioning something.
Gu Chengming had meant to step forward and greet her, but for some reason his feet had, as if by some ghostly compulsion, come to a halt.
He hid at the street corner and watched Li Suizhuang draw a handful of spirit stones from her sleeve. The shopkeeper woman quickly finished a magic tool of the corresponding specifications, and from the shape of her lips he could even make out her asking with a smile whose commission this was.
Li Suizhuang did not answer, and quickly tucked the thing into her sleeve.
Once he realized what was happening, Gu Chengming immediately turned and left, pretending he had noticed nothing.
Some things were better left un-probed.
At dusk, the two met at the teahouse.
Li Suizhuang's expression was as usual, the gentle smile still hanging on her face, as if nothing had happened.
She informed Gu Chengming of the news she'd gathered one item at a time, her words clearly organized and her analysis penetrating, showing not the slightest hint of anything amiss.
Gu Chengming also related his own discoveries. After the two exchanged intelligence, they agreed they should enter the Harmonious Joy Sect as soon as possible.
"In that case, let us set out tonight." Li Suizhuang rose and smoothed her sleeves. "If we travel through the night, we can reach the mountain gate by tomorrow morning."
Gu Chengming nodded in agreement.
He noticed that when Li Suizhuang smoothed her sleeves, the motion was somewhat deliberate, as if she were confirming whether a certain something was still inside her sleeve.
But he said nothing.
Deep night.
The flying vessel hovered in a mountain area less than a hundred li from the Harmonious Joy Sect's mountain gate, waiting for the moment of entry at dawn.
Gu Chengming lay on the hard plank bed in the cabin, both arms pillowed behind his head, utterly without any desire to sleep.
Even though the sound-isolating formation had been turned up to its maximum, the commotion coming from next door still bored clearly into his ears.
If last night's had been merely restrained, tonight's sounds were somewhat unbridled.
"Creak—creak—"
That was the mournful wail of a wooden bed frame swaying violently, in a regular rhythm.
Accompanying the swaying of the bed frame was the dull thud of a heavy object striking the cabin wall, one after another, with such force that even the hanging painting on Gu Chengming's side trembled faintly.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance wondered inwardly: refining the body so late at night?]
Gu Chengming gazed speechlessly at the ceiling.
Just don't drag me into refining the body with you.
...
The next morning, the flying vessel arrived at the foot of Red Dust Mountain.
Gu Chengming stood at the ship's rail and gazed into the distance. He saw a towering peak standing amid clouds and mist, its slopes rolling and undulating, with several palaces and pavilions faintly visible dotted among them—flying eaves and bracket sets, carved beams and painted rafters, all glowing with a faint golden light beneath the morning sun.
And most striking of all was the yin and yang qi that encircled the entire peak.
The two currents of black and white were like two roving dragons, one to the left and one to the right, shrouding the whole of Red Dust Mountain within.
That was the Harmonious Joy Sect's mountain-guarding grand formation—the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation.
Supposedly this formation had been laid down by the Harmonious Joy Sect's founding patriarch, using that innate spirit-treasure, the Yin-Yang Fish, as its formation eye; it could withstand a sixth-realm cultivator.
"Imperial Physician Li, how shall we proceed next?" Gu Chengming asked in a low voice.
"I've already sent word ahead to the sect, informing them of the purpose of this trip." Li Suizhuang nodded slightly. "Once we enter the mountain, you need only follow behind me, speak little and observe much."
She paused, then added, "Oh, and—from now on, you are a medical apprentice I brought from the Imperial Academy. Your surname is Gu, single given name An. Remember, do not expose any information related to the Night-Watch Bureau."
"Understood."
Gu Chengming nodded.
Gu An—this alias was simple and easy to remember.
The flying vessel slowly descended and came to rest on a platform at the foot of the mountain.
The moment the two disembarked, several figures came up to greet them from the mountain gate.
At their head was a middle-aged female cultivator in pink palace attire, her features gorgeous, her figure voluptuous, every gesture carrying the distinctive charm of a mature woman.
Behind her followed four young female disciples, each with outstanding looks and an extraordinary air.
"Junior Sister Li!"
That middle-aged female cultivator raised a smiling face from afar, striding forward and grasping Li Suizhuang's hand in one motion.
"You've finally come back! It's been years—Junior Sister's grace is as ever!"
Li Suizhuang smiled faintly, letting the other hold her hand. "You're too kind, Senior Sister Yun."
Senior Sister Yun?
Gu Chengming silently noted the title, standing to one side and observing the scene before him.
This Senior Sister Yun seemed on good terms with Li Suizhuang, quite warm in conversation, but Gu Chengming somehow felt her smile was a bit forced, with a barely perceptible scrutiny hidden in the depths of her eyes.
"And this is?"
Senior Sister Yun's gaze soon fell upon Gu Chengming, tinged with curiosity.
"This is a medical apprentice I brought from the Imperial Academy. His surname is Gu—you may call him Little Gu." Li Suizhuang introduced him blandly. "On this return to the sect, I need him to assist me."
"Oh? A medical apprentice from the Imperial Academy?"
Senior Sister Yun looked Gu Chengming up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on that utterly ordinary face of his, then promptly lost interest.
"Well, since he's someone Junior Sister Li brought, then of course there's no problem." She smiled and nodded. "Come, come, let's head up the mountain first. The Sect Master and several elders are all waiting to see you."
The group ascended the stone steps along the mountain.
Gu Chengming walked at the very back, silently observing everything around him.
The scenery of Red Dust Mountain was indeed breathtaking.
Waterfalls and springs cascaded among the peaks, birds sang and flowers bloomed, and a faint floral fragrance drifted through the air, making one feel refreshed and at ease upon smelling it.
After walking for about half an hour, the group finally reached the mountaintop.
"Junior Sister Li, the Sect Master awaits you in the rear hall—go on ahead." Senior Sister Yun halted before the hall. "As for this apprentice of yours, I'll have someone take him to the guest quarters to settle in first."
"Many thanks, Senior Sister Yun." Li Suizhuang nodded gratefully, then turned to glance at Gu Chengming. "Go rest first. Once I've finished my report, I'll come find you."
Gu Chengming responded respectfully, "Yes, Imperial Physician Li."
His bearing was very humble, entirely the manner an apprentice ought to have.
Li Suizhuang nodded in satisfaction, then followed Senior Sister Yun into the great hall.
Gu Chengming, meanwhile, was led by a young female disciple toward the guest quarters.
This guide could not have been more than twenty or so, with delicate features, wearing a light-purple palace dress, a silk-tree-blossom-style jade pendant at her waist.
As she walked, she glanced back at Gu Chengming now and then, her eyes carrying a touch of curiosity.
"You're the one Martial-Aunt Li brought from the Imperial Academy?" she finally couldn't help asking.
"Mm." Gu Chengming nodded. "I'm Imperial Physician Li's apprentice."
"An apprentice." The disciple nodded thoughtfully, her gaze making a circuit over Gu Chengming as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she held it back.
The two passed through several pavilions and arrived before a quiet, secluded courtyard.
"These are the guest quarters." The disciple pointed at the courtyard before them. "If Senior has any needs, you may instruct the maidservants at the gate at any time."
"Many thanks."
Gu Chengming thanked her and stepped into the courtyard.
The courtyard was small but arranged quite elegantly. In it stood an old osmanthus tree, with a stone table and stools beneath it, and in one corner there was even a small pond, several brocade carp swimming leisurely in the water.
He made a circuit of the courtyard, and after confirming there was nothing amiss, pushed open the door and went inside.
The room's furnishings were simple—a bed, a desk, a chair, with several landscape paintings hanging on the walls; it looked reasonably fresh and clean.
Gu Chengming sat down by the bed and began to sort through the information he'd gathered that day.
The situation of the Harmonious Joy Sect was indeed not optimistic.
Of the disciples he'd seen along the way, eight in ten had been affected by the imbalance of the Yin-Yang Fish.
And though that Senior Sister Yun was outwardly warm, her words and manner carried a certain deliberateness, clearly wary of the purpose of their trip.
Most crucially, from that earlier conversation he had learned that the Harmonious Joy Sect's Sect Master and several elders had been in secluded cultivation these past days, trying to suppress the riot of the Yin-Yang Fish.
But from the current situation, their efforts had borne meager fruit.
After settling Gu Chengming in that remote courtyard called "Quiet Contemplation Court," the palace-dressed maiden turned and headed back.
This outstanding talent of the current Harmonious Joy Sect walked with a brisk step, her skirt hem flaring crisply with her movements.
In the genealogy of the Harmonious Joy Sect's younger generation, Su Xiashao was an anomaly.
She cultivated no Charm Arts and practiced no gathering-and-replenishing; she reached the second realm at sixteen and broke through into the third tier at twenty—the person universally acknowledged within the sect as most likely to bear the position of "Ultimate Yin" in the Yin-Yang Fish Formation's formation eye.
By now Li Suizhuang had already emerged from the main hall and was standing by the white-marble balustrade, gazing at the distant sea of clouds.
Su Xiashao strode up and gave a bow.
"Martial-Aunt, he's been settled in."
Li Suizhuang nodded slightly and turned to leave.
But Su Xiashao showed no intention of withdrawing. She followed at Li Suizhuang's side, slowing her pace somewhat, her gaze circling Li Suizhuang's face a couple of times.
"Martial-Aunt."
"What is it?"
"That Gu An—what exactly is his background?"
Su Xiashao's question came straight to the point.
Li Suizhuang's expression did not change, her steps steady. "Didn't I already say so before the hall? An apprentice from the Imperial Academy. I mean to cultivate his talents, so I've brought him along to gain experience."
Su Xiashao pursed her lips, clearly unsatisfied with this answer.
"Just an apprentice?" She tilted her head, recalling that young man's appearance just now.
Utterly ordinary in looks, without the slightest ripple of spiritual energy about him, even seeming a bit dull—yet for some reason, he particularly drew her interest.
Seeing her so interested in Gu Chengming, Li Suizhuang couldn't help feeling a bit worried, and probed with a joking tone:
"What? Are you interested in him?"
To her surprise, Su Xiashao blinked and actually nodded frankly.
"Yes."
The answer came crisp and clean, without the slightest maidenly bashfulness.
The fingers in Li Suizhuang's sleeve curled slightly.
This was bad.
She was just pondering how to steer the topic elsewhere when, from not far off, a cold laugh suddenly sounded.
"You'd even fancy this kind of goods?"
The voice was cold and clear, carrying undisguised mockery: "Truly a disgrace to our Harmonious Joy Sect."
Li Suizhuang and Su Xiashao looked toward the source at the same time.
At the end of the corridor, a woman in a dark blue-green gown came walking slowly. Her features were pretty and clear, her brows and eyes bearing some resemblance to Su Xiashao's, only her temperament was utterly different.
The newcomer was named Su Qiuzhi.
Unlike the young-and-famous, all-conquering Su Xiashao, Su Qiuzhi had, for the first twenty years within the Harmonious Joy Sect, been all but an invisible person.
Dull in aptitude, slow in cultivation, she had lived for years in the shadow of her cousin Su Xiashao.
It was not until three years ago, when she narrowly escaped death in a secret realm, that her cultivation surged ahead; in the span of just a few years she'd broken through two realms in a row, using the reserves she'd built up in earlier years to charge into the ranks of the core disciples in one stroke.
Su Qiuzhi walked up close, first bowing to Li Suizhuang, then casting a sidelong glance at Su Xiashao.
"An apprentice, and not young by the look of him either." Su Qiuzhi's tone was indifferent. "Blood and qi in decline, root-bones already set—I wouldn't take a man like that even as a cauldron. Your taste really does keep regressing the longer you live."
Li Suizhuang felt a strange twinge—could it be she'd disguised Gu Chengming's age to look a bit too old?
Su Xiashao's eyebrows shot up, provoked by this tirade.
"What the hell do you know!"
"Heh." Su Qiuzhi gave a cold laugh, her gaze sweeping toward the direction of the Quiet Contemplation Court. "So little ambition. Too hungry to be choosy—not afraid of upsetting your stomach, are you?"
With that, she paid Su Xiashao no further mind and turned to leave, her retreating figure aloof and lofty.
"You—!"
Su Xiashao shook a fist at her retreating back, then turned to Li Suizhuang and huffed, "Martial-Aunt, just look at her! Being snide and sour all day long—who knows who owes her spirit stones."
Li Suizhuang rubbed her brow.
Red Dust Mountain was shrouded by the enormous Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation; no stars could be seen in the night sky, only the flowing radiance of the formation casting down a faint haze of light.
Within the Quiet Contemplation Court all was deathly still, with only the occasional chirp of insects.
Gu Chengming sat cross-legged upon the bed, his eyes half-closed.
The intelligence gathered during the day churned ceaselessly through his mind; the Harmonious Joy Sect's situation was even more complex than he'd anticipated.
The imbalance of the Yin-Yang Fish, the Sect Master's seclusion, the elders' fruitless suppression—every sign indicated that this thousand-year great sect was at an extremely dangerous critical point.
Gu Chengming opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the faintly visible yin and yang qi outside the window.
The two currents of black and white coiled and intertwined, like two roving dragons chasing and frolicking in the night sky.
That was the outward manifestation of the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation, and the concrete embodiment of the very foundation on which the Harmonious Joy Sect was established.
Perhaps he could use the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy to sense the yin and yang qi here, as well as the Yin-Yang Fish's condition?
At this thought, Gu Chengming began to circulate the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy within his body. The instant the technique began to operate, a mysterious sense spread out from between his brows.
It was an extremely peculiar experience.
He seemed to have transformed into a roving fish, wandering through a boundless sea of yin and yang. Black and white, yin and yang, life and death, motion and stillness—all these opposing yet unified concepts gradually grew clear within his perception.
Soon, he saw that Yin-Yang Fish.
It was a mass of yin-yang qi so vast it was hard to imagine, coiled in the deepest part of Red Dust Mountain, black and white auras endlessly circulating about it. But Gu Chengming keenly sensed something amiss within.
Gu Chengming was about to delve further into his sensing, trying to find the root of the imbalance, when that vast mass of yin-yang qi seemed to detect his prying and came pouring back in reverse along his own sense.
No—it was not yin-yang qi.
It was Red Dust Qi!
Gu Chengming wanted to withdraw the technique, only to find that the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy was completely beyond his control.
Gu Chengming gritted his teeth and channeled the Qingxin Formula with all his might to suppress those stray thoughts.
Fortunately his composure was indeed extraordinary; with the aid of the Qingxin Formula, though the Red Dust Qi surged, it could never truly shake his fundamental mind.
But the problem was that this Red Dust Qi showed no sign of dispersing.
At the same time, that Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation shrouding the whole of Red Dust Mountain actually moved of its own accord to veil the Quiet Contemplation Court.
The instant the technique ceased operating, the force drawing in the Red Dust Qi vanished along with it.
But the Red Dust Qi already gathered within the Quiet Contemplation Court did not disperse; instead, having lost its guidance, it began to diffuse everywhere.
...
The night was ink-black.
Red Dust Mountain was shrouded by the enormous Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation; no stars could be seen in the night sky, only the flowing radiance of the formation casting down a faint haze of light.
Within the Quiet Contemplation Court all was deathly still, with only the occasional chirp of insects.
Outside the courtyard wall, a black shadow dropped down without a sound.
Su Xiashao had changed into a set of night-clothes convenient for movement, wrapping her graceful figure tightly.
She held her breath, her movements light as a wildcat's; with a tap of her toes on the roof tiles, she slipped into the courtyard.
Provoked all day by Su Qiuzhi, the more she thought about it the more indignant she grew, and as if by some ghostly compulsion she'd actually come to "make his acquaintance" alone.
The girl hugged the base of the wall, sneaking toward the side room where Gu Chengming was.
Just as she was about to near the window, Su Xiashao's steps abruptly halted.
Someone was there.
And right beneath the window not far ahead of her.
That person had not noticed the movement behind them; their whole body was nearly pressed against the window lattice, their frame trembling faintly in the shadows.
Suppressed panting drifted intermittently into Su Xiashao's ears.
The sound seemed rather pained, yet mixed with a certain cloying sweetness that made one's face flush and ears burn, as though straining to hold back some desire on the verge of bursting forth.
By the faint halo of the formation's light, Su Xiashao made out that figure's back.
The dark blue-green skirt hem, the cold and aloof temperament.
Su Xiashao froze for a moment, a question mark popping up over her head.
Wasn't this precisely the cousin who, just that day, had been mocking her for being "too hungry to be choosy" and having "low taste"?
Su Qiuzhi, you goddamn woman, I knew you wanted to snatch a man away from me!
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