Chapter 139: Shuyu's Past

Any restraint driven by respect, even the slightest bit, is precious.

As they were talking, the weather outside gradually turned gloomy, and a pattering drizzle began to fall. The rain struck the leaves and washed away the lingering restlessness in people's hearts, bringing a sense of calm.

This was true for both Gu Yi and Shuyu.

"It's raining. In the State of Li, once this autumn rain falls, winter is just around the corner," she said, looking out the window.

"I'll have the inn prepare some tea. Drinking it will warm us up."

Perhaps the weather was indeed turning quite cool.

The tea table was easy to set, and the tea was easy to brew. Gu Yi simply gathered his hair back and sat opposite her.

As the day was growing late and rain had started to fall, traveling further today would clearly be difficult.

The roc was not easy to travel with in the sky, and buying a carriage was equally impractical on muddy roads.

Moreover, Gu Yi actually had a great deal to say, which was why he desired such an atmosphere.

Among the things he wanted to say, romance was far from being at the very top.

"I am a person with many thoughts and ideas quite different from most people in this world. Some people like this about me, while others grow very angry—Shule is the latter. She used to be a dignified and well-mannered senior sister, but whenever she crossed paths with me, she always ended up as irritated as a spoiled young girl."

"Luyang Academy holds a lofty position in the State of Xu, and she took great pride in it. However, I didn't have a good impression of Luyang Academy to begin with. The first time I tried to enter, she was the one who came out to stop me—polite in manner, yet sharp in her words."

"For a time, I found her dignified demeanor rather uninteresting. But later on, I realized that because of your existence, not only did she dare not pride herself as Luyang Academy's top student in recent years, but her heart was also filled with constant awe. That awe was not for anything else; it wasn't because she was inferior to you, but because Luyang Academy was inferior to the Great Rain Palace. When a person is always kept under someone else's shadow and finds no joy in their heart, anxiety and boredom naturally follow."

White wisps of steam rose from the tea, and Shuyu listened quietly.

Gu Yi finally let out a sigh. "Yet, I truly never imagined that she would just die like that."

"Is this your first time encountering war?"

"Probably so."

"This is what war is."

"I understand the reasoning, but it's still quite saddening."

"She took pride in Luyang Academy and died for Luyang Academy. In truth, she herself must have been very happy."

Gu Yi still retained some lingering concepts from his past life and could not take life and death so lightly. He asked, "Is there anything in the world that could make someone feel happy even about dying?"

Shuyu replied, "Of course there is."

"For example?"

"For example, if you and I were to die together, that would be worth being happy about."

Gu Yi: ......(°△°|||)

Amidst such tender words, all he heard was sheer terror.

"You are the opponent she always wanted to surpass. In your eyes, what kind of person was Shule? Or rather, what kind of life did she live?" Gu Yi asked this probably on Shule's behalf, hoping either to tell her at her grave someday or wishing that she could hear it right now.

Shuyu held her teacup, took a quiet sip, and said, "I will remember her, because she is an opponent worthy of my remembrance, and also because you always talk about her."

"Does acting like this count as showing disrespect to the deceased?"

Gu Yi shook his head. "The first half is respect, and the second half has nothing to do with her. She wouldn't care."

Watching the tea leaves drift, Gu Yi added, "Never mind. In any case, an old friend is gone, and dwelling on these things is useless."

"You are just like the Eighteenth Floor Master," Shuyu recalled. "Back then, he was also deeply grief-stricken over the death of a friend. The Palace Master said he was too cowardly to face it, which is probably one of the reasons why he never leaves the Great Rain Palace."

Gu Yi, however, did not interpret this as cowardice.

"Let's talk about you."

Shuyu averted her gaze. "Me? What about me?"

"Just like that, you're not going back to the Great Rain Palace?"

Shuyu said, "At first I thought, if you couldn't get out of the Great Rain Palace, then we might as well get along peacefully."

Gu Yi remembered that she had indeed said such words.

"Later, when I saw that you truly disliked staying there, there was nothing for it, so I decided to follow you instead. However, there is still one thing I must tell you."

"Speak."

"I don't know if following you like this is bringing disaster upon you."

"You mean someone might try to snatch you away and plot against me?"

"My father died precisely because of this."

The word "death" was mentioned once again.

"I don't think anyone would dare to do that to me. Even if they wanted to, they would have to be capable of it."

Hearing this, Shuyu was pleased, but... "What if your emperor does it?"

The corner of Gu Yi's mouth curled up as he twirled the teacup in his hand. "After the Battle of Luyang, I will find a way to replace him. He will no longer be our emperor."

Shuyu was utterly shocked. "Since you are dissatisfied with him, why don't you join forces with us..."

Gu Yi waved his hand. "Replacing an emperor is simple, but changing the color of the heavens and earth is entirely different. The Yin family cannot guarantee that every emperor will be a good one, the Gu family is the same, and so is the Gu family... Therefore, just changing the person is enough. If you replace them with another clan, the realm will be thrown into chaos with little actual effect—it's not worth it, far too not worth it."

"Then what if the Yin family member who replaces him also loses the people's hearts?"

"Simple. Replace them again, until the person who ascends to the throne understands that the hearts of the people are what matter most."

"There is no such thing! You change emperors at your whim—you are a traitor to the state."

Gu Yi rested his chin in his hand. "I am no state traitor; I am an immortal from Mount Xiaoyuan. I'm merely changing an emperor, you're exaggerating."

Shuyu asked curiously, "What on earth is the principle you steadfastly uphold in your heart?"

"To be an upright person. Not a villain, not a sage, but an upright person. Do you know where the Palace Master led you astray? It's in your understanding of human beings."

Gu Yi dipped his finger in tea and wrote the character on the table: *One*.

"The simpler things are in this world, the more complex they sometimes become. Take 'One', for instance: originating from the Great Beginning, the Dao is established in One, creating heaven and earth and transforming all things. One is the origin of heaven and earth, the invincible Dao."

"People are the same way. A mere two strokes, yet how complex a person is! We can never truly see ourselves clearly, and you all, bedazzled by a pretty face, end up dividing a complex man into those who care about appearance and those who don't. Those who care are labeled villains, and those who don't are good men. How could it possibly be so simple? People are far too complex to be defined so easily."

Shuyu listened carefully, finding it made some sense, but she still said, "In the future, if you want to lecture someone, just lecture me. Don't talk about the Palace Master."

"Very well," Gu Yi accepted. "Let's save them one by one, I suppose."

The young woman chuckled softly. "It's as if we're already doomed beyond redemption."

Whether they were doomed beyond redemption or not was uncertain, but Gu Baici currently looked every bit like a tragic figure. Fortunately, Shuyu was still young, and given her past experiences...

Gu Yi suddenly remembered, "Last time you told the story of your Palace Master, and I asked you about yourself."

"Ah, well, my story isn't all that different, really," Shuyu now seemed willing to share. "I was luckier than the Palace Master in one aspect: her mother should have been of the Mo clan, so her family shattered when she was very young. My father was of the Mo clan. At least when I was very little, I was just like any normal child."

"In the past, I was exceptionally ugly."

Gu Yi: "..."

"My figure was shorter and smaller than others, and my skin was dark. Once, I accidentally overheard a conversation between my parents. My mother wanted me to look a little prettier—even just a little bit, so I wouldn't be too ugly. But my father felt that a plain and ordinary life was best; if one practiced cultivation, it would be a path seeking death. They never reached a consensus, but those words were overheard by me, a teenager at the time."

"Being a child, I didn't realize how dangerous the outside world truly was. I even felt that encountering some danger was a good thing—anything was better than being born in a mountain village, living in obscurity, and dying in obscurity, with no one caring about your joys and sorrows, and unable to even please yourself when looking in the mirror."

"Because I was ignorant, I went to practice cultivation. My mother and I secretly agreed behind my back, just to look a little prettier," she gestured with her fingers to show a tiny fraction, "as long as I looked slightly better, I would stop cultivating."

"Later on, I entered the immortal cultivation academy in the county town. My mother was not of the Mo clan; she didn't know one thing, and neither did I at the time."

Gu Yi asked, "What was that?"

The young woman paused briefly before saying, "Once you guide the undissipated spiritual mist to begin cleansing and refining the body, it will never stop."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that as long as members of the Mo clan practice even a little bit of cultivation, they easily become very attractive. Because their skin turns fair, and even scars will vanish. The circulation of the undissipated spiritual mist is cyclical and ceaseless, never stopping. Therefore, even a Mo clan member at the Meditation Realm, given a few years' time, would probably... probably not look much uglier than Shule. Perhaps not a few years, maybe close to ten years if one's realm is insufficient, making the process very slow."

"However, as one's realm improves, the undissipated spiritual mist becomes increasingly perfect, gradually beginning to shape the physique and trim the waist."

It seemed Gu Baici had said something similar. Gu Yi remembered, "The speed at which the spiritual mist cleanses the body varies, but over time, the effects are roughly the same. Is that right?"

"Half right," Shuyu said. "With different realms, the effects are naturally different. The spiritual mist slowly adjusts bodily changes, such as adjusting height—something only achieved at the Returning to Simplicity Realm. In fact, Mo clan girls with too low a realm will end up with very fair skin and pretty facial features, yet remain short and plump."

Gu Yi always felt these descriptions sounded far too mystical. Could things really be like that?

"But it is true that the speed varies. If a clansman could enter the Returning to Simplicity Realm overnight like the Eighteenth Floor Master, their transformation overnight could equal decades of change for an ordinary person."

"Ah..."

Shuyu returned to her own story and continued, "My mother and I simply didn't know this; we didn't realize there was no such intermediate state as 'just looking a little better'. Moreover, we hadn't considered my talent. I sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in a very short time—entering meditation in the spring, establishing my intent in the summer, and guarding my spirit before autumn even arrived."

"In less than a year, my entire appearance changed drastically. Back then, I was still a little girl and only felt overjoyed by such changes, failing to notice the shifts in the people around me. Until one night, someone broke into my room and tried to abduct me."

"I didn't know who they were, nor why such a thing was happening. Although I had reached the Spirit-Guarding Realm, I followed my mother's wishes—and deep down, I felt the same way: I hadn't cultivated to become an immortal or to become stronger; I merely wanted to change my appearance a little. I rarely fought with others, and my mindset was no different from what it had been half a year ago."

"So I was terrified. After escaping that night, I rushed straight back home, hoping to return to the sides of my father and mother, but..."

"... But when I arrived home, I didn't receive the comfort I had imagined. Upon seeing me, my father flew into a furious rage; he beat not only me but my mother as well. At the time, I didn't understand why and felt deeply wronged. Later on, my father packed our things overnight and hurriedly fled with my mother and me."

Shuyu frowned tightly, as if recalling something heartbreaking. "Thinking back now, my mother was not of the Mo clan—she was perhaps afraid, but not to that extent. My father was different. He knew he was of the Mo clan, and right at the start of our flight, he was utterly terrified. Overnight, he transformed into someone I didn't recognize at all..."

With slightly trembling lips, she said, "I still remember that night, my father was so terrified he couldn't stand. He was naturally a robust man, but that night, under the white candlelight, his body trembled, his legs turned to jelly, and he couldn't stand up no matter what. He kept shaking, practically roaring at my mother to grab all the money."

"I had a favorite stuffed rabbit woven from bamboo, which my father had made to comfort me." Shuyu spread her hands to measure. "It was about this big. I couldn't bear to leave it behind, but my father threw it straight into the fire without even looking. My mother asked if there was still some rice in the jar and whether we should bring that too... My father was truly terrified. Aside from a couple of changes of clothing and some silver, he literally didn't let us take anything else."

"We suggested waiting—saying that since he couldn't stand, we could wait until daylight to leave the village. But my father refused. Although his voice stammered, he insisted that we must leave immediately. When we went to help support him, he wouldn't let us, telling me to hand him the candle."

Listening to this, Gu Yi felt his heart rise to his throat. Just how terrified must that father have been on that night?

"What did he want the candle for?"

Shuyu raised her brows. "He dripped hot candle wax into the palm of his hand, using the burning pain to drive away his fear."

Gu Yi's pupils instantly constricted!

"My father finally managed to stand up. Supporting us, he fled through the twilight via another path leading out of the village. As soon as we reached the mountain, we saw our house burst into flames—the people who had come to capture me had arrived. I had lived in the village for over a dozen years, yet I had never seen or heard anyone mention that there was a secret passage there. Probably only my father knew of it. Escaping the village through that passage, even if the pursuers blocked the village entrance, they still couldn't find us."

"I still remember the sight of my father draped over the grass at the top of the mountain, breathing heavily and swallowing hard in sheer tension, his hand gripping mine trembling continuously. My mother and I both cried, but he didn't. He brought us away."

"It was then that I finally realized my mistake. I said I was willing to hide with the family in a faraway place where no one knew us, and even if it was dull every day, it didn't matter. My mother felt the same way—only my father did not."

Gu Yi asked, "Why was that?"

"Because father knew that a Mo clan member in the Spirit-Guarding Realm would be recognized no matter where they hid, and as I had mentioned, the undissipated spiritual mist is a cyclical, unending cleansing of the body that never stops. Father foresaw this. Coincidentally, along our flight, we heard that the Palace Master of the Great Rain Palace was a Mo clan member and the greatest beauty in the world. That day, he was overjoyed and made the prompt decision to send me to the Great Rain Palace."

"But where on earth is the Great Rain Palace?" Shuyu asked this question with a hint of a crying tone.

Gu Yi understood. The Great Rain Palace was an ancient treasure hidden within that landscape painting scroll; it had no fixed, concrete address whatsoever.

"That's enough, you don't need to go on." Sensing that her emotions were on the verge of collapsing, Gu Yi hurriedly stopped her.

In truth, without her saying it, he could roughly guess.

During the prolonged journey of searching for the Great Rain Palace, their family was still hunted down and chased, and Shuyu's parents must have ultimately sacrificed themselves to protect her.

She ended up crying anyway, two crystal-clear tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I actually dared to follow you because I knew you were an immortal from Mount Xiaoyuan." Shuyu wiped away her tears with her fingers, her crying leaving her with a heavy nasal tone.

Gu Yi nodded heavily. "I know. I'm an immortal from Mount Xiaoyuan—people should burn incense just to pray I don't cause trouble for them, let alone dare to trouble me. Besides, I have the Long-legged Cat and Yan Lang following me. If someone tries to attack me, what will you do?"

That beast appeared with a *swish*, standing with hands on hips, "Who?! Let me teach them a lesson!"

Perhaps too excited, his shout even carried spiritual energy, and the resulting burst of aura made the house creak in protest.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. I was just making an analogy. If someone tries to abduct Shuyu, would you allow it?"

"Of course not! No matter what, we've been old acquaintances in the palace for a long time!"

"What about Yan Lang?" Gu Yi asked, glancing at the window where he had been lingering mischievously.

"Same here!"

"So you see, unless a Sage arrives, forget about harming you—they wouldn't even be able to scratch me. Look at the Long-legged Cat; if only a single Harmony Realm cultivator comes, it wouldn't even be enough for him to warm up."

"Haha, that's true. But if a Sage Realm cultivator comes, I'm running away. For instance, if the Palace Master comes, you must notify me in advance."

Gu Yi chuckled and shook his head.

Normally perhaps, but at a crucial moment, expecting to rely on these two beasts was a thought as foolish as the beasts themselves.

"All right, you two go play."

The Long-legged Cat licked his face shamelessly and asked, "Can you give us another gold ingot?"

"You spent it all already?"

"The two of us just went to a major city a hundred miles away. Wow, there are so many fun things there, the money was all gone in a flash."

Shuyu reproached, "In just half a day? That money went much too fast, didn't it?"

"It's fine." Gu Yi fished out another piece. "Go on and play. If I had stayed in the Great Rain Palace for decades before finally getting a chance to come out, never mind a single gold ingot, I'd spend an entire mountain of gold."

The two beasts nodded repeatedly. "Indeed, indeed."

The Long-legged Cat reverted to its true form—a cat—and leaped onto the tea table. "Gu Yi, let's hurry up and head to that place you mentioned, the Imperial Delicacy Pavilion. Didn't you say there's fish to eat there?"

"The finest embroidered perch in the world." As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yi's expression suddenly changed.

"What's wrong? Don't look so serious—we won't be able to eat it?!" The Long-legged Cat bounced up and down.

"We can definitely eat it; the Imperial Delicacy Pavilion always has embroidered perch. But the young woman who cooks the best embroidered perch has been in poor health. I just don't know if she has gotten any better after practicing the technique I gave her."

The Long-legged Cat jumped around in anxiety, even threatening to scratch Gu Yi. "You're too坑 (treacherous), kid! Then let's hit the road right now! Tell me all her ailments, I'll cure her myself, guaranteed to fix her right up! I'll serve her every day just like I serve the Palace Master!"

Seeing him in such a frenzy, Gu Yi and Shuyu couldn't help laughing out loud.