Yu Sui didn't wait long before the patrol guard ca out and returned the Wind-Listening Ruler to her: "It's fixed now. If you can't send ssages next ti, co find again. Your Wind-Listening Ruler seems a bit sluggish—took several tries before it worked, but there's no major problem."
"Thank you."
Yu Sui nodded and had just put away the Wind-Listening Ruler to leave when the door opened again.
i Liangyu ca out from inside, looking down at the Wind-Listening Ruler in his hand. The Communication Courtyard practitioner beside him said: "It's impossible, don't worry. No one can crack the communication arrays of our three families. Wind-Listening Ruler inscriptions must be mutually connected to send ssages, and every single word and sound in ssages leaves traces in the Number Mountains—it can't bypass inscriptions and Number Mountains."
"Besides, the incident location was within the academy, not sowhere else. Our communication array covers all of Taiyi. No ssage can escape monitoring here, and Wind-Listening Rulers must connect through here to function."
"You saw it yourself just now—what he claid couldn't happen."
"For soone to steal runes from the three core Number Mountains of the communication array—even if the three founding masters were alive, they might not be able to do it. The Number Mountains have been modified repeatedly over all these years, becoming more solid than before. If such loopholes could appear, it would be the sha of the three families."
The Communication Courtyard practitioner declared confidently: "That kid is definitely spouting nonsense. Don't go easy on him during the Trial."
i Liangyu suddenly stopped walking forward and looked up at Yu Sui standing ahead. Yu Sui was also looking at him. Seeing that i Liangyu had noticed her, she smiled friendly.
"Too late," i Liangyu put away his Wind-Listening Ruler and said slowly, "That kid has already been released by my Junior Sister."
Yu Sui scratched her face.
The Communication Courtyard practitioner said in shock: "How could you easily let go of soone full of lies like that!"
"Exactly," i Liangyu smiled without warmth. "Why don't I help you ask my Junior Sister what she was thinking."
Only then did the Communication Courtyard practitioner sense sothing was wrong. Looking left and right, he spotted Yu Sui standing ahead with an innocent expression, then looked at i Liangyu beside him. The practitioner moved closer to him, shielding with his hand behind his back, and lowered his voice: "Is that girl ahead your Junior Sister?"
i Liangyu: "You can ask her yourself."
The Communication Courtyard practitioner imdiately turned and went back inside.
Yu Sui took the initiative to greet him: "Senior Brother, did you co to the Communication Courtyard to look at Brother Gu's Wind-Listening Ruler?"
i Liangyu walked past her toward the exit, looking straight ahead: "What's so interesting about his Wind-Listening Ruler."
The Communication Courtyard had cracked Gu Qian's Wind-Listening Ruler—the ssages inside were clean, all daily exchanges with nothing suspicious.
Everyone was a Taiyi student. Who wouldn't know that if caught after an incident, the Wind-Listening Ruler would definitely be taken by the Communication Courtyard for cracking, and all ssage exchanges would be exposed?
So Gu Qian couldn't possibly use his Wind-Listening Ruler to send ssages before taking action, leaving evidence behind.
Yu Sui followed behind i Liangyu: "Senior Brother, here."
Here what?
i Liangyu looked back to see Yu Sui had also stopped, and in her outstretched palm was the note he had left on the Ghost Way Saint Hall table earlier.
The paper bore one line: "Are you serious about taking this disciple?"
The black characters were written boldly and elegantly, each character showing superior calligraphy with strong, powerful strokes that stopped at just the right points—pleasing to the eye.
Yu Sui had initially taken this note because she was attracted by the handwriting, finding it beautiful and wanting to collect it.
Now seeing i Liangyu, she changed her mind. As i Liangyu's gaze moved from the note and slowly looked at her, Yu Sui smiled: "Master said he is serious."
i Liangyu's eyes reflected Yu Sui's bright smile for a long ti. He seed to want to see sothing in Yu Sui's face but couldn't be certain. Finally, he just raised an eyebrow slightly and indicated the note in her palm: "If you took it, it's yours."
……
Late afternoon.
Coming out of the Communication Courtyard, Yu Sui asked Blackbeard thoughtfully: "I'm not the type who makes people dislike on first eting, am I?"
Blackbeard didn't dare be presumptuous and answered properly: "Princess is clever and bright—of course not."
He thought to himself: Though one wouldn't think her clever and bright on first eting, she certainly wouldn't reach the level of being disliked. A well-behaved and lovely girl like the Princess would actually be quite popular.
Yu Sui said worriedly: "Li Jin Shuang doesn't really acknowledge , and Senior Brother doesn't really acknowledge either. Is it their problem or mine?"
Blackbeard answered quickly and decisively: "Of course it's their problem."
"But Senior Brother doesn't seem to want to get along peacefully with . Elder Li also said before that Senior Brother isn't soone who would accommodate . Plus with Brother Gu's situation, his impression of must be very bad." Yu Sui sighed. "Can you look into my Senior Brother? I want to think about how to get along with him."
Blackbeard nodded repeatedly: "No problem, Princess, rest assured. I'll handle this."
Rather than blindly searching on her own, it was better to use available resources.
Blackbeard had lived in the outer city for years and definitely knew more than soone like her who had just arrived at Taiyi on her first day. He also had more connections.
Besides, now with the emperor far away, the hidden guards who usually followed her wherever she went weren't here either. Within the academy, Yu Sui experienced freedom for the first ti.
Yu Sui and Blackbeard toured the academy to familiarize themselves with the terrain. She frequently checked her Wind-Listening Ruler along the way. Blackbeard was tactful and never looked at or asked about the Wind-Listening Ruler.
Though she had transmitted cipher text into Taiyi's communication array through the Wind-Listening Ruler, she needed ti for it to spread and contaminate, because the communication array here was truly enormous.
Taiyi's communication array was the largest Yu Sui had ever seen.
She once thought the communication array in Qingyang's imperial palace was large, but comparing them today, it could barely be considered large-scale next to Taiyi's communication array.
Qingyang's imperial capital was also vast, yet couldn't achieve coverage of the entire capital with just one Communication Courtyard—instead, it was divided into nurous communication arrays by region.
Whenever Yu Sui went out, hidden guards would follow. Her every move was monitored by the Nangong family, both to prevent the "Breath Soil" from being seized and because Nangong Ming needed to control this chess piece's every action.
When situations required it, Nangong Ming would also expose Yu Sui to danger. He would first throw out bait, making those competing for Breath Soil mistakenly think they had a chance to strike. Once, when Yu Sui was captured, if not for using Strange Fire to learn that soone was always following her, she would have had to act herself to survive.
Fortunately, she didn't act that ti, because the one following her was Nangong Ming himself.
The hidden guards' existence seed like protection for Yu Sui, but they also imposed the greatest restrictions on her.
This directly led to Yu Sui, who needed to visit communication arrays to see Number Mountains to find connection points, having to rack her brains to find ways to visit different communication arrays.
Only last year had Yu Sui successfully managed to avoid personally seeing Number Mountain operations, instead taking the initiative to attack by planting cipher text to contaminate Communication Courtyard Number Mountains and conduct surveillance from within.
Over these years, what Yu Sui saw from communication arrays in different regions was mostly people's daily exchanges, mixed with so ambiguous and obscene words between n and won, or curses and condemnations of certain people or events.
Truly useful top-secret conversations—people like Nangong Ming would never use Wind-Listening Rulers for discussion. On Wind-Listening Rulers, they only reported locations and eting tis.
After gaining a clearer understanding of Nangong Ming's forces in the imperial capital, Yu Sui couldn't help but marvel at her luck back when she sent ssages to Zhongli Que.
If Zhongli Que had revealed that Wind-Listening Rulers could send ssages without requiring inscriptions, she definitely wouldn't have survived until now.
If Yu Sui randomly bypassed inscriptions to send ssages to others, it would eventually alert the Communication Courtyard. The Communication Courtyard would search through all Six Kingdoms to find her if necessary.
Then she wouldn't just offend the Communication Courtyard, but the entire Yin-Yang School, Taoist School, and Technical Arts School.
Whatever Yu Sui did, she had to be cautious and extrely careful.
……
i Liangyu returned to the Ghost Way Saint Hall.
The door wasn't closed, leaving a narrow gap, as if for convenience of opening next ti, or as if left for him—it could an many things, like provocation.
i Liangyu examined it carefully for a mont and saw no signs of the door being chopped or kicked. It could even be called "unhard"—aside from opening when it shouldn't have, there was nothing wrong with it.
So how had she opened the door?
Perhaps Nangong Sui had lied and actually could use Nine Schools Arts.
i Liangyu squinted slightly and pushed the door open to enter.
The hall's lighting remained the sa, with flickering candlelight above, but enveloped in tranquility and warmth.
He walked to the desk and looked down, his gaze casually sweeping over the table surface as he asked: "What's so special about my Junior Sister that caught your attention, old master?"
Ink flowed on the suspended paper.
Saint Chang Gen's answer appeared in i Liangyu's mind: "Fate."
i Liangyu pulled over a chair to sit at the table, crossing his arms in a relaxed posture: "Master, fate cos in many types. You and I have an ill fate—what kind do you have with her?"
Saint Chang Gen answered: "Good."
i Liangyu laughed: "So I'm the only bad person."
Thinking about it carefully, when he decided to keep Gu Qian under continued observation during the Trial, he was indeed a "bad person" in Yu Sui's mind.
Yu Sui thought that because of rescuing Gu Qian from the Legalist School, i Liangyu's impression of her was definitely bad.
i Liangyu also thought that because of the Trial decision regarding Gu Qian, Yu Sui's impression of him was definitely bad.
After all, they were childhood sweethearts.
i Liangyu twirled his brush and asked again: "My Junior Sister says she can't use Nine Schools Arts—how did she open the door?"
Saint Chang Gen answered: "An ability she was born with."
i Liangyu adopted a humble, inquiring attitude: "For example?"
Saint Chang Gen said: "Ask her yourself."
As i Liangyu chatted with his master in the Saint Hall, the sky outside gradually darkened. His Wind-Listening Ruler glowed faintly with a ssage from the [Eat Well] group:
Xing Chun: "Food?"
It was dinner ti again.
i Liangyu replied no.
The other two also replied no.
Xing Chun: "Give a reason for not eating, right now."
Zhongli Shan: "Practicing Military Formation Array, until tomorrow morning."
This one had no ti to eat.
Cang Shu: "Master Liu's class, can't leave."
This one couldn't eat.
i Liangyu: "Not hungry."
This one didn't want to eat.
After a while, Xing Chun replied: "I'm dead. When you want to eat, lift my coffin lid and pull up."
i Liangyu put away his Wind-Listening Ruler, picked up his brush to silently copy a complete Ghost Way ntal cultivation thod on paper, then got up to leave.
He first went to accompany Xing Chun for dinner. Hearing Xing Chun ntion that new students had enrolled today and would be assigned to residences reminded him that he seed to have a new roommate, so he headed toward the residence.
When i Liangyu reached the residence, it was quite late. Lights lined the surrounding paths, and night mist was rising. He stepped on fallen flowers covering the ground as he entered the residence gate. The first floor was nearly empty now. Being too lazy to use Wind-Riding Techniques to go upstairs, he walked toward the Dragon Stairs.
Soone was standing at the Dragon Stairs.
i Liangyu recognized her even before getting close.
He stopped at a distance, watching Yu Sui continuously scribbling at the Dragon Stairs door's access symbols, but still unable to draw the correct runes to activate the Dragon Stairs.
She really seed to know nothing about Nine Schools Arts.
i Liangyu strolled over to Yu Sui's side, extending his hand first to draw the correct runes while asking: "Which floor?"
Yu Sui made a sound of surprise, turned to look, and watched i Liangyu open the Dragon Stairs and walk inside.
"Sixty," Yu Sui answered.
i Liangyu stood in the middle of the Dragon Stairs, glancing up at her: "Not coming in? Planning to walk up the stairs?"
Only then did Yu Sui enter.
Watching the Dragon Stairs ascend, Yu Sui couldn't help but scratch her cheek.
She had just discovered that the Dragon Stairs' chanism operations were sowhat similar to Number Mountain operations. She was testing whether she could use Number Mountain runes to control and modify the Dragon Stairs activation runes, but then Senior Brother arrived.
Hopefully he hadn't noticed her intention.
Yu Sui obediently stood in the Dragon Stairs corner. i Liangyu, near the exit, glanced at Yu Sui in the back and asked in a neutral tone: "Can't use Wind-Riding Techniques?"
"Haven't learned yet," Yu Sui answered.
i Liangyu asked again: "Didn't morize the Dragon Stairs runes either?"
Yu Sui felt relieved: "Haven't morized them yet."
i Liangyu: "Then walk up the stairs tomorrow."
Yu Sui nodded: "Mm!"
i Liangyu: "......"
He looked at Yu Sui with an inscrutable expression, receiving only Yu Sui's confused, innocent gaze in return.
i Liangyu stopped the Dragon Stairs and told her to get out.
Yu Sui walked while looking at him longingly: "Senior Brother, you're not angry enough to kick out, are you?"
"Follow what I just drew." i Liangyu gestured with his chin toward the Dragon Stairs activation interface, wanting Yu Sui to learn stroke by stroke.
Yu Sui hadn't actually failed to morize how to draw the Dragon Stairs runes, but at this point, if she said she actually could draw them, i Liangyu would definitely stuff her into the Dragon Stairs and have it bury her underground.
She had no choice but to follow i Liangyu stroke by stroke.
Regarding playing dumb, Yu Sui had been doing it for over ten years—she didn't mind doing it a bit longer. She even pointed to a certain spot and asked i Liangyu earnestly: "Senior Brother, why does it have to be drawn this way?"
i Liangyu's answer was quite cold: "Don't worry about why it's drawn this way. Just rember how to draw it."
Looking at this symptomatic teaching approach, Yu Sui felt he definitely shouldn't take disciples in the future.
After i Liangyu saw that Yu Sui had learned well enough, he let Yu Sui do it herself and stopped drawing along. The two rode the Dragon Stairs up and down, down and up, repeating many tis. Yu Sui felt the timing was about right and said during this ascent: "Thank you, Senior Brother. I've learned it."
She hadn't expected this Senior Brother to be a man of action—acting imdiately when he decided to do sothing, while cleverly avoiding making people feel offended or annoyed.
i Liangyu leaned against the Dragon Stairs wall, examining Yu Sui standing in the middle under the gentle moonpearl light for a long ti before asking: "You took so long just to learn Dragon Stairs runes, yet could open the Saint Hall door with Class A defensive spells in less than half an hour."
The ascending Dragon Stairs suddenly stopped.
Yu Sui looked up, then sideways at i Liangyu: "Senior Brother, I always have things I'm good at and things I'm not good at."
i Liangyu: "What are you good at?"
Yu Sui rolled her eyes: "Good at opening doors, I guess."
i Liangyu scoffed: "Dragon Stairs doors are also doors."
Yu Sui also smiled: "Then I'm good at opening Saint Hall doors, but not good at opening Dragon Stairs doors."
Their gazes t, neither avoiding the other's eyes. In i Liangyu's view, Yu Sui smiled brightly, the upturned strands of hair on her head seeming to take root, sprout, and bloom, swaying small flowers that complented her bright, charming smile, drawing people deeply into her surface appearance while making it difficult to perceive the depths beneath.
After just a mont, both seed to sense sothing and turned their gazes toward the Dragon Stairs.
Why had it stopped moving?
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