Chapter 16: Outside Luyang City, By the Longevity River (I)

Zhihua nervously twisted her small hands as she paced back and forth outside Gu Yi’s door, murmuring under her breath as if rehearsing something. After making up her mind, she raised her hand to knock, but it would hover in the air before falling back down, a cycle that repeated itself for nearly half an hour.

So absorbed was she that she failed to notice someone approaching from behind.

Grandmaster Ma entered and, upon seeing the slender, fair-armed little fox spirit—her figure as willowy as a young sapling—his face instantly brightened. He crept up behind her, chuckling slyly, “Little Sister Zhihua, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for me?”

Zhihua darted away in an instant, eyeing him with disdain. “Filthy bald-head, what are you doing here? Ugh—”

She pinched her nose, overwhelmed by the stench of wine he carried. It was truly foul.

“I’m here to see my master—pah, I mean, that fellow. What about you?”

“Master?!” Zhihua’s wide, innocent eyes betrayed a hint of indignation. At that moment, Gu Yi himself opened the door. Though he had yet to speak, the little fox seemed to know what he would say, her expression tinged with reluctant sorrow.

“From now on, devote yourself to your cultivation,” Gu Yi said kindly, offering her a warm admonition.

He had initially planned to stay a few more days, but since Zhihua had been granted this opportunity, he saw no reason to linger.

“Sir…when do you plan to depart for Luyang?” she asked.

“Today,” Gu Yi replied.

Grandmaster Ma folded his arms and nodded. Today would do—departing early meant he could learn spirit talismans all the sooner. But suddenly, he realized something amiss. “She’s not coming with us?”

“May I come?” Both Zhihua and the bald man spoke at once.

Zhihua’s request came as no surprise to Gu Yi, but that this lecherous monk should also look reluctant to part was rather absurd—he was clearly unfit and still harbored ulterior motives.

Meeting Gu Yi’s gaze, Grandmaster Ma straightened his face. “No, no, I don’t mean anything by it. But you’ll need someone to take care of you on the road. I’m a grown man—clumsy and rough—I’ll say it now, I can’t manage your daily life!”

Zhihua, hesitating all morning to broach this very topic, found courage in the bald man’s intervention and joined in, “Yes, sir, how can you travel alone with nobody to look after you?”

“I understand your concern.” Gu Yi lifted his hand in a gentle gesture. “But I don’t need looking after, and besides, your demonic aura hasn’t faded. Luyang is a city of a million souls; it would be inconvenient. Focus on your cultivation. I will return.”

The little fox dared not contradict him. Though her heart was heavy, she acquiesced, knowing that beasts were generally barred from entering Luyang, save for rare spirit pets kept by nobles.

Grandmaster Ma, however, was unwilling to yield. Unaware of Gu Yi’s true identity, he pressed his point, “Master, if you leave Little Sister Zhihua behind, she’ll be all alone—she’ll be heartbroken! It’s dangerous for a girl by herself, you see the tears in her eyes? Show a little compassion! As for entering Luyang, don’t worry. If trouble arises, I’ll handle it!”

Now he remembered to call him “Master.”

Zhihua’s hopes flickered anew.

But Gu Yi would not relent. What mattered most for Zhihua now was quiet cultivation and breaking through her current stage, not following them to Luyang.

“No more talk. Let’s go.”

“You—!”

The bald man made a face at Gu Yi’s retreating back. “You’d even do something like this—are you even a man?”

He hurried to comfort Zhihua. “Don’t be sad, little sister. I’ll keep persuading him all along the way—one day he’ll change his mind. And if you ever want to know how we’re faring, we can write letters! Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Zhihua hadn’t expected that, in the end, this brash monk would be willing to do so much for her. Amidst her sorrow, she was moved, wanting to say something softer but unable to bring herself to speak.

Gu Yi could take no more. He turned and grabbed the bald man by the ear. “You lecherous monk, you’re incorrigible! Move!”

“Ow, ow, that hurts! Zhihua, remember, I’ll write to you! Ah! You brute, be gentle!”

What should have been a simple farewell became a scene heavy with sentiment, the slowly closing door and the receding vision of Zhihua’s beautiful face leaving Grandmaster Ma’s heart aching with both longing and loss.

...

They left Quanmen County and followed the official road north. In a day’s journey, they would reach Luyang. Gu Yi and Grandmaster Ma traveled light—just one man and one horse—making their way north step by step.

“Young Master Gu, I’m doing this all for you.”

Gu Yi replied, “I’ve always considered myself mischievous, but you’re truly shameless. What nonsense are you spouting now? And what will you finally call me?”

“I remember you’re my master at heart, but I just can’t say it out loud.” Grandmaster Ma wiped at reddening eyes. “Truly, I’ve always been a man to risk everything for a beauty. If it were any other time and a girl looked at me with such longing at parting, I’d stay no matter what.”

But was she looking at you? Gu Yi scoffed, mocking him, “Wasn’t it just three days ago you vowed to vanquish demons?”

Grandmaster Ma replied, “Ah, you don’t understand. I never meant to kill her—I wanted to follow your example, bring her home, and teach her well.”

Teach her?

Gu Yi could only shake his head. No wonder this fellow, a product of the Luyang Cultivation Academy, had yet to reach the Guardian realm—his mind was so scattered, how could he ever find focus?

Moreover, the man was an incorrigible chatterbox.

“Young master, what should I write in my first letter to Zhihua?” The bald man jounced on horseback, occasionally cackling with sly delight. “I must think carefully—I can’t just scribble anything. I don’t expect to move her to tears, but at least my sincerity should be felt.”

“Why not compose a poem?” Gu Yi suggested with a laugh. “But she’s a fox, not a human. Is there something wrong with your thinking?”

“Oh, right, right…” Grandmaster Ma rested his chin on his hand, pondering. “But a poem might be too subtle—Zhihua might not understand it.”

“It’s not about subtlety,” Gu Yi said. “She’s a fox spirit, yes, but she’s illiterate. Whether you write poems, songs, or plain speech, she couldn’t read it. And she certainly couldn’t reply—she doesn’t know how to write.”

Grandmaster Ma was dumbfounded.

“What?!” It was as if his heart shattered. “That can’t be! Are you trying to keep us apart?”

He clutched his bald head, unable to accept the truth, his psychological defenses crumbling.

“You’re truly a headache,” Gu Yi sighed. “Think for a moment—Zhihua grew up in the mountains. I knew her mother—she was an ordinary fox who, by chance, began cultivating. She couldn’t read, so who could have taught Zhihua? She never attended school, no one instructed her—how would she know?”

In these times, there were plenty of illiterate people, and even more illiterate spirits.

She spent her youth cultivating, not learning to read. Did you expect her to be born with literacy?

Grandmaster Ma was devastated. “So all my feelings for Zhihua will never reach her? Master, let’s go back and bring her with us!”

“No!”

“You’re heartless! And stop calling me ‘baldy’ from now on!”

Suddenly, Gu Yi’s brow furrowed, frightening Grandmaster Ma out of his playful mood. “Master, I was just saying…”

The horse came to a halt. The official road ran beside the river; there were paths and trees, but no people, no carts.

“Something’s wrong,” Gu Yi said.

“No, no, really, I was just speaking without thinking,” the bald man blurted, thinking he was about to be punished for his earlier disrespect.

Snorting, Gu Yi paid him no heed. Instead, he led the horse in a slow circle, surveying the area. “I almost didn’t notice with all your chatter, but do you recall—since Xiaoyuan Mountain was sealed, many seekers have been turned back. With this weather, there should be travelers on the road. It wouldn’t be a bustling crowd, perhaps, but we haven't seen a single soul…for four or five minutes, at least?”

Reminded, Grandmaster Ma’s expression changed instantly. His brows drew together as he carefully focused his senses. “It’s an illusion cast by a demon—I’ve felt Zhihua use something similar on me before.”

The road, the trees, the river—all appeared as usual, but the path ahead was no longer leading them to Luyang.