Xu Qi’an had always been a calm man. While his mind spun with thoughts, he wasted no time speaking, and asked in a low voice,
“National Teacher, do you love me?”
Luo Yuheng covered her mouth with a soft laugh, and, in a tender voice full of affection, said,
“Xu Lang, we have been cultivating together for so many days, naturally, we are now Daoist partners. If I didn’t love you, how could I practise dual cultivation with you?”
National Teacher’s social death is growing even more severe… Xu Qi’an felt a heaviness in his heart, but put on an expression of deep affection as he said,
“Chu Yuanzhen and Master Hengyuan are here. They’re both my friends, I’m going to go and greet them.”
Luo Yuheng replied, “I’ll accompany you.”
Having spoken, she lifted the quilt, her chest momentarily exposed.
“No need. If you go as well, how could they possibly remain calm?”
Upon hearing this, Luo Yuheng did not insist. She just shot him a smiling glance and said nothing more.
For some reason, Xu Qi’an felt uneasy. He dressed quickly and left the room, heading to the inn’s main hall.
It was already past dawn, the sky grey and hazy. The hall was lit with candlelight, and steam wafted from the rear courtyard as the cook prepared breakfast.
“Knock, knock!”
Xu Qi’an rapped on the counter to wake the dozing inn attendant and said,
“Open another guest room.”
The inn attendant, surprised, asked, “Why so?”
He had a good memory and recognised this guest in blue robes who had checked in just before dusk.
Why did one person need two rooms? Was he too rich to care?
Xu Qi’an’s expression turned cold. “Less nonsense.”
Seeing this, the inn attendant wisely said nothing more. He accepted the money, recorded the booking, and handed Xu Qi’an a key.
After pocketing the key, Xu Qi’an finally replied to Li Miaozhen:
【THREE: I’m in Tongfu Inn. After entering the city, walk one li down the main road and you’ll see it.】
He tucked the Earth Book fragment into his robe and sat down on the most prominent seat facing the inn door.
After waiting about a quarter of an hour, Li Miaozhen, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan appeared and stepped over the threshold into the inn.
“Brother Chu, Master Hengyuan, long time no see, are you well?” he greeted them with a smile.
He looked at Li Miaozhen last. In his mind, he recalled Li Lingsu’s trademark opening, Long time no see, I’ve missed you dearly, though my body has wandered, my heart has remained with you.
“Lady Flying Swallow, you look as elegant as ever. Where is my little concubine, Susu? Have you taken good care of her for me?”
However, as soon as he began to speak, he reverted to the sort of greeting more fitting for Xu Qi’an.
Li Miaozhen, detecting the familiar tone, rolled her eyes naturally. “Oh, is that so? Well, tonight you can sleep with the paper doll.”
Though Susu had the lotus seed, she still had not regained a human body. Xu Qi’an more or less understood the reason. One factor was the sun,1 but more importantly, once a beautiful female ghost regained her human form, her related spells and powers would be lost.
That was the price that had to be paid to become human again.
For that reason, the ghost had not yet made up her mind.
The four of them shared a knowing smile. Xu Qi’an stood at the right moment and guided them upstairs to his newly opened room.
He took out the key, unlocked the door, lit a candle, and produced two jars of yellow wine and four large bowls from the Earth Book fragment.
“This is wine I stocked up on while travelling. Have a taste.”
“What excellent wine!”
Chu Yuanzhen was a man who loved good drink. After a tentative sip, his eyes brightened. “This would be even better warmed.”
“A true connoisseur.”
Xu Qi’an chuckled.
He ordered the inn attendant to bring a small stove, lit some charcoal, and as the wine was warmed, they chatted idly.
Xu Qi’an recounted his adventures since leaving the capital in some detail, from Yongzhou to Leizhou, and then back to Yongzhou.
He spoke freely of all sorts of happenings, big and small, as they came to mind.
“Your experiences are as colourful as ever.”
Chu Yuanzhen held up his bowl, took a sip, and smiled. “So, does that princess consort count as your confidante now?”
Li Miaozhen narrowed her pretty eyes.
Must you always mention what shouldn’t be mentioned… Xu Qi’an lowered his head and drank.
Chu Yuanzhen smiled and said,
“Speaking of which, I’ve never seen the princess consort’s true face, but I do know that, even compared to the National Teacher, she is said to be more beautiful. Among the thousands of ladies in the capital, very few are truly stunning.
“There are only three: The Zhenbei Princess Consort, the National Teacher, and Her Highness Huaiqing.
“To win the affection of any one of them is a great blessing indeed.”
Everyone had different tastes. Chu Yuanzhen was a roaming swordsman and scholar, to whom beauty, talent, and swordsmanship were everything,
And this lady had all three.
Ah, apologies, but all the beauties are from my own pond… Xu Qi’an, knowing the National Teacher was staying in this very inn, dared not pursue the topic further.
“It’s a bit early to say. For all we know, even Princess Huaiqing may harbour secret feelings for Silver Gong Xu.”
Li Miaozhen hummed mockingly. She did not pursue the Huaiqing subject, as, in the Holy Maiden’s eyes, a proud and talented woman like Huaiqing could never fall for a rakish, womanising man like Xu Qi’an.
Even if she felt some fondness, it would never be more than that.
“So where are the others, and what should we do with them?” Chu Yuanzhen asked.
“I’ve put them away in the stupa tower. Yesterday, we fled here in haste, the National Teacher and I only managing to tend to our wounds.”
Dual cultivation counts as tending wounds, too… he amended in his mind.
“Is Li Lingsu in the tower as well?” Li Miaozhen asked.
Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan both looked his way. They already knew that Number Seven was Li Lingsu, the one that had vanished over a year ago after being pursued by ‘enemies.’
Xu Qi’an nodded affirmatively, then paused before explaining,
“To hide my identity, I called myself Xu Qian, not Xu Qi’an, in front of him. The persona I put on was of a beyond-mortal expert several hundred years old, an unfathomable figure who could even outplay the Jianzheng with ease.
“He believes it completely, shows me nothing but respect and awe, only daring to grumble inwardly.”
Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Hengyuan found this all quite reasonable at first, since it made sense for Xu Qi’an to conceal his identity while walking the jianghu. But as they listened, the three Earth Book fragment holders soon exchanged glances and fell silent.
Sir Xu’s old habits have flared up again…
A leopard does not change its spots…
Haha, if Li Lingsu found out, what sort of expression would he make…
Having finished, Xu Qi’an got straight to the point:
“There’s a saying, ‘paper can’t wrap fire.’ Sooner or later, the Holy Son will find out who I am. As for this, I haven’t yet thought about how to handle it. Do you have any suggestions?”
Li Miaozhen quickly raised her hand and suggested,
“Why let him find out at all? Rather than make things awkward, wouldn’t it be better to keep it from him for as long as we can?”
Chu Yuanzhen recalled his days in the northern wilds, that two-room burrow dug with his heel beside the campfire, and said with great solemnity,
“Miaozhen is absolutely right.”
Not satisfied with watching the Holy Son suffer social death alone, you two want everybody to witness it? You complete bastards… Xu Qi’an shook his head with exaggerated seriousness:
“No! That would be far too unfair to him. He’d feel as though the whole world was making a fool of him.”
Chu Yuanzhen said sincerely, “Ningyan, that’s not the case. First, you had your reasons for hiding your identity. Second, the Holy Son is broad-minded. He wouldn’t feel we bullied him over something like this.”
You don’t even know him…
Xu Qi’an insisted, no, no, it would be wrong.
Li Miaozhen argued, yes, yes, this would be just fine.
Xu Qi’an argued that he wasn’t that sort of person.
Chu Yuanzhen replied that none of them were, either.
In the end, Xu Qi’an reluctantly agreed to his two companions’ suggestion.
“So be it, then! Please, cooperate with me, do not reveal my identity.”
Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen nodded in satisfaction.
“Amitabha!”
Master Hengyuan, who had witnessed all this, simply felt that his own kind nature made him out of place among these people.
“By the way, why is the National Teacher here in Yongzhou?”
Li Miaozhen finally asked the question that had always weighed on her mind.
Ah… Xu Qi’an’s heart suddenly sank. He realised the importance of this problem.
The cultivation method of the Human Sect had the side-effect of backlash from karmic fire. As the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect and as a registered honorary disciple of the Human Sect, Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen understood this well.
Emperor Yuanjing sought dual cultivation with Luo Yuheng because fortune could extinguish karmic fire.
More dangerously, the holders of the Earth Book fragments now knew Xu Qi’an possessed fortune.
Xu Qi’an held the bowl, drank a mouthful of wine, and, under cover of bowing his head, glanced quickly at Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen out of the corner of his eye.
Chu Yuanzhen toyed with his bowl, swirling the wine with a relaxed air, but if he was not mistaken, his back had just straightened imperceptibly.
Li Miaozhen, meanwhile, was leaning forward, staring at him with blazing eyes.
As expected, they have their suspicions…
Just as Xu Qi’an was thinking of an excuse, two knocks came on the door.
“I’ll get the door!”
Xu Qi’an took the opportunity to stand up, walked to the door, and pulled back the bolt.
As expected, standing at the doorway was a stunning beauty with a radiant smile, none other than the National Teacher he had spent the night with.
What does she want? Please don’t call me “Xu Lang” with every word… Xu Qi’an felt his scalp tingle as he stepped aside, forcing a smile:
“National Teacher, do come in.”
Luo Yuheng nodded lightly and stepped over the threshold into the room.
“National Teacher!”
Li Miaozhen and the others immediately rose to their feet and saluted.
Luo Yuheng smiled radiantly, nodded gently, and glanced at Chu Yuanzhen: “Not bad, your cultivation has improved again. Have you thought about how to advance after fourth rank?”
Chu Yuanzhen smiled wryly and shook his head.
She then turned to Li Miaozhen: “Mid-fourth rank already. Within a year, you’ll reach the peak of fourth rank. You have already surpassed your senior brother Li Lingsu.”
Both Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen felt that the National Teacher was somehow different today, lacking her usual aloofness.
Luo Yuheng looked at Xu Qi’an, face full of smiles:
“I came to Yongzhou this time to investigate the underground palace outside the city. I heard from Silver Gong Xu that its master was the founder of the Human Sect in ancient times.”
So that’s it… As someone who had personally experienced the underground palace expedition, Chu Yuanzhen suddenly understood.
He could not help but recall the dangers within and sighed:
“In fact, if Ningyan hadn’t brought Miss Zhong down with him, perhaps we could have rescued Lina directly from the outskirts back then.”
Li Miaozhen had not entered the tomb together with them but was not unfamiliar with the matter, so she nodded: “Did you discover anything?”
Since this concerned the Daoist sect, she was very concerned.
Luo Yuheng smiled: “I haven’t had a chance to explore it yet.”
Xu Qi’an quietly let out a sigh of relief, surprised by the National Teacher’s sensitivity. He thought, is this what they call, when a woman loves you, she thinks of everything for you?
“Why do you need to keep our relationship hidden?”
Suddenly, Xu Qi’an received a telepathic message from Luo Yuheng.
… He looked at the National Teacher without any change in expression, but she was smiling at him meaningfully.
Isn’t it because you’re a shark? If you could get along well with the other sisters, would I need to be such a coward… For a moment, Xu Qi’an really did not know how to reply.
“If you don’t wish to say it, I won’t force you. But in return, you shouldn’t make things difficult for me either, right?”
“What do you mean by that, National Teacher?”
“Xu Lang, I’ll give you one day to make a clean break with Mu Nanzhi and Li Miaozhen. When you return to the capital tomorrow, you’ll also make a clean break with the other women. If you’re still entangled with them, I’ll be very troubled.”
“This, this…”
“Yes, I understand your difficulty, Xu Lang.”
Luo Yuheng’s telepathic voice was full of tenderness and affection:
“If it’s not convenient for you, I’ll step in myself. Mu Nanzhi can retire to the Jiaofangsi.”
Are you a fucking demon… This person is a real yandere… Cold sweat broke out on Xu Qi’an’s forehead.
At this moment, Luo Yuheng said aloud, “I’ll return first to meditate. This afternoon, let’s go to the underground palace in Yongzhou City together.”
Li Miaozhen and the others bowed: “Yes!”
After Luo Yuheng left, Li Miaozhen said:
“Bring out the stupa tower… Xu Qi’an, Xu Qi’an? I’m talking to you.”
Xu Qi’an abruptly returned to his senses and replied blankly, “Ah?”
Li Miaozhen frowned: “What are you daydreaming about? I want to see Li Lingsu.”
“Oh, oh…”
That’s right, go and find the scumbag for advice on how to handle this situation… Xu Qi’an moved quickly, even a little hurried, and took out the stupa tower.
The dark gold tower was only palm-sized, hovering in the air. Suddenly, its gate opened wide, pulling everyone in the room inside.
…
Inside the tower, the first floor.
Li Miaozhen and the others looked around. In front of them was a golden statue of Buddha, over ten metres high. Flanking the Buddha were nine bodhisattvas with indistinct features, with arhats behind them.
These statues were tall and imposing, making the people seem as small as ants in comparison.
Both Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen were Daoists, yet they still felt an inexplicable sense of awe.
“Amitabha!”
Hengyuan clasped his hands together respectfully.
On the road leading to the Buddha statue, four people sat cross-legged: Zen Master Jingxin, the now blind Jingyuan, the Dragon Qi host Miao Youfang, and the piously praying Li Lingsu.
Li Miaozhen gave a “hey” and called out:
“Li Lingsu, your all-powerful junior sister has come to save you.”
The Holy Son’s ears twitched. Hearing the familiar voice, he was a little moved.
He immediately opened his eyes, stared straight at Li Miaozhen, and exclaimed in delight, “Junior sister?”
Li Miaozhen scrutinised him and teased, “A year without seeing you, and you’re still so full of life. I thought women would have drained you dry by now.”
Li Lingsu snorted: “A year apart, and you haven’t improved at all, still as skimpily dressed as ever.”
Xu Qi’an suddenly understood why Li Miaozhen had left him to die in the past. So there had been personal grudges mixed in too.
Li Lingsu then turned to Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan, smiling:
“And how should I address these two Dao friends?”
Li Miaozhen pointed at the youth in plain robes: “Number Four!”
Then at Hengyuan: “Number Six!”
“Ahem!”
Li Lingsu coughed forcefully, signalling his junior sister with his eyes not to reveal anything about the Earth Book fragment.
At the same time, he studied Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan in amazement. He had not expected to see two more Earth Book fragment holders here.
That’s not right. The Earth Book fragment holders used to provide mutual help, but still be on guard with each other.
How is it that after less than a year, the holders had become friends?
What on earth happened whilst I was gone?
Hmm, since it’s just code names, Xu Qian wouldn’t understand.
Thinking this, Li Lingsu saluted Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan and introduced,
“This is Senior Xu Qian, virtuous, chivalrous, a true hero with both the air of a great knight and the steadiness befitting a senior.
“My reunion with all of you here is entirely thanks to Senior Xu’s help…”
After finishing, he found Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Hengyuan looking at him as if he were an idiot.
No, their expressions were even more complicated than that, especially the annoying junior sister, Li Miaozhen, whose face was flushed red, her snow-white neck blushing too, its muscles twitching slightly.
“What are you laughing at?” Li Lingsu frowned.
“I’m not laughing,” Li Miaozhen replied indifferently.
At this point, Chu Yuanzhen interjected, earnestly, “To be honest, we are old acquaintances of Senior Xu. Only a handful in the capital know of his existence.”
So it was true… For someone like Xu Qian, a beyond-mortal cultivator able to play chess with the Jianzheng, he must be mysterious, but the high-ranking people would surely know him… Li Lingsu nodded, a look of “I knew it, just as I guessed”.
“Fellow Daoists, although I have long been with Senior Xu, I still don’t know his origin.”
Li Lingsu secretly sent a telepathic message to his junior sister and the two Earth Book holders: “Do you know who he really is?”
Chu Yuanzhen thought for a moment before replying by telepathy: “This Xu Qian is connected to the Imperial clan. I can’t give details.”
Connected to the Imperial clan… Li Lingsu looked enlightened, and replied by telepathy:
“Heh, I guessed right. He is very close to the Sitianjian, is in charge of collecting Dragon Qi, and has connections to the Zhenbei princess consort…”
Li Lingsu’s pupils contracted, and he sent: “Could it be, could it be that he is the Zhenbei King?! But that’s not right, didn’t the Zhenbei King die in the north already?”
Though cut off from news, he was still aware of the Zhenbei King’s demise.
Li Miaozhen’s facial muscles twitched and her lips pressed tightly together, struggling not to laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Li Lingsu frowned.
“I am not laughing,” Li Miaozhen denied.
“You clearly are. I’ve had enough of you,” he said angrily.
While these private messages were exchanged, Xu Qi’an had already walked up to Miao Youfang, examining this Dragon Qi host.
If one allows the translator to make some interpretation, this is a roundabout way of saying that she’s avoiding being fucked. The word used (太阳) means sun, is synonymous with (日) which also means sun, but also as a verb means “to fuck”. ↩
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!