The result of the standoff overnight was that Lei Xiuyuan fell ill. During Luo Chengji's morning lecture, Lei Xiuyuan collapsed without warning halfway through, causing the instructor considerable concern. Luo had always cared deeply for Xiuyuan, hoping to win the boy over through personal connections so he might choose to serve the Embrace Sky Sect in the future.
It had been decades since a cultivation disciple had fallen sick, and disciples of Immortal Sects never experienced ailments like common colds. Xiuyuan's sudden illness left the instructors uncharacteristically at a loss.
Zuoqiu Xiansheng was temporarily away from the Academy on business, and none of the remaining instructors were well-versed in medicine. Luo Chengji could only channel several streams of Wood Elemental Spiritual Energy into Xiuyuan's body, hoping its nourishing properties might aid his recovery.
After carrying Xiuyuan back to the Quiet Mystery Chamber, the instructors exchanged sighs. Lin You remarked with a laugh, "I wonder how Instructor Mo usually trains his disciples in physical fitness. For a cultivation disciple to catch a cold and collapse is truly unheard of."
The comment was particularly cutting, almost provocative, yet Mo Yanfan remained silent as if he hadn't heard. Miao Lanxin coughed and changed the subject to ease the tension: "This child likely doesn't come from a wealthy family. Though I'm no physician, when I checked his pulse just now, I found his constitution delicate. He must have endured much hardship at such a young age and will need careful nurturing in the future."
Hu Jiaping lit some Mind-Calming Incense in the censer and led the instructors out of the chamber. "With Zuoqiu Xiansheng absent and none of us skilled in medicine, we shouldn't make hasty diagnoses. Let's wait a day. If he improves by tomorrow, well and good. If not, I'll go fetch a physician. That said, the boy was fine yesterday. How could a cultivation disciple, protected by Immortal Techniques and immune to temperature extremes, suddenly catch a cold?"
Mo Yanfan remained silent for a long while. He alone among those present likely knew the reason for Xiuyuan's collapse, but it concerned his sect's reputation, so he couldn't speak openly. After some thought, he suddenly said, "Brother Hu, may I request leave for a few days? There's an urgent matter I must attend to at my sect."
Hu Jiaping was surprised. Leave? Before being invited to teach at the Academy, Zuoqiu Xiansheng had made it clear to all instructors that no leave would be permitted during their teaching tenure.
"I know this request is extremely rash, but circumstances leave me no choice. When Zuoqiu Xiansheng returns, I will personally apologize to him."
Seeing Mo's insistence, Hu could only nod. "The tests are in a few days. Return as soon as possible. I'll cover your martial arts classes in the meantime."
Mo Yanfan clasped his hands in thanks and stood to leave immediately. Lin You couldn't help stepping forward. "You're leaving now—"
Mo replied softly, "I'll return within days. Take care of yourself."
Lin You's expression flickered between shock and delight before she lowered her head with a quiet murmur of acknowledgment.
Luo Chengji, ever oblivious, turned back in puzzlement. "When did Instructor Mo and Instructor Lin become so close?"
Miao Lanxin shook her head and left without answering. Hu Jiaping slung an arm around Luo's shoulders with a smile. "Brother Luo, let's not pry into others' affairs. Though, you really should work on your perception."
As they exited the Disciple Rooms, it was noon break, yet the rooms were empty. With the tests approaching, the children were likely all practicing their cultivation during the break, leaving no one to rest.Hu Jiaping spotted Li Fei walking slowly from afar and couldn't help rolling his eyes. He went up to meet her with a laugh, "Girl, coming to see your little sweetheart?"
Li Fei looked at him helplessly. What little sweetheart! How could this teacher speak so frivolously! Was this any way to talk to a student? But since she had indeed come back for Lei Xiuyuan, she couldn't be bothered to argue and simply nodded.
"Such affection at such a young age," Hu Jiaping continued blithely. "He's asleep inside. Go take a look, but don't wake him. You can handle serving tea and water."
Li Fei didn't want to exchange another word with him and immediately quickened her steps toward the courtyard. The door to the Quiet Mystery Chamber was slightly ajar. Pushing it open gently, she was greeted by a soothing, elegant fragrance—someone must have lit incense. This was her first time entering Lei Xiuyuan's room, and she couldn't help glancing around. The furnishings were no different from those in other rooms, but aside from the teapot and cups provided by the Academy, there was nothing else on the table. He didn't seem to own a single personal item.
Lei Xiuyuan was sound asleep on the bed, quiet and still. Tiptoeing over, Li Fei sat on a chair and stared at him—she had half-expected him to wake, but it seemed he was truly asleep.
The sleeping Lei Xiuyuan seemed slightly more approachable, more like the person they had first met—timid and weak, yet gentle, considerate, and attentive. Perhaps due to his illness, his face was unnaturally pale, his forehead damp with sweat, and his long eyelashes trembled faintly, as if he were dreaming. Delicate as a girl, with his black hair tangled across his face, he looked even more so in sleep.
Li Fei watched him for a long while, but he showed no signs of waking. She decided to wait there until he did, then question him thoroughly—taking advantage of his weakened state to press him for answers.
The fragrance in the room gradually grew richer, warm and inviting. Li Fei felt her head nodding forward—she hadn't slept all night, and the Mind-Calming Incense in the burner was too soothing, lulling her into drowsiness. Had Lei Xiuyuan still not woken? She glanced at him blearily—his eyes were closed. Unable to resist any longer, she drifted into sleep amidst the fragrance.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she suddenly heard knocking. Blinking groggily, she wondered—where was she? What time was it? Looking around, the bed curtains didn't seem familiar. Pushing herself up, she realized she had fallen asleep leaning against the edge of the bed while sitting on the chair.
Someone seemed to be watching her. She turned her head and met Lei Xiuyuan's damp, misty eyes, startling her so much she toppled off the chair.
"You shameless pair—" Hearing movement inside, the door was pushed open, and Ji Tongzhou stood there, his face ashen, staring at them in disbelief. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "In broad daylight! You—you actually...!"
Li Fei scrambled up from the floor. Why was Ji Tongzhou here? Oh, right—she had come to interrogate Lei Xiuyuan but had fallen asleep thanks to the incense. Outside, the sunset glow was already visible, and her heart nearly shattered—the afternoon was Mo Yanfan's fist-and-sword class! She had skipped it!
Lei Xiuyuan, draped in his outer robe, leaned against the headboard and said coolly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Who let you in?"Ji Tongzhou walked in with a frown, as if he had stepped on something filthy, and angrily said, "You think I wanted to come here? Hu Jiaping made me!"
Mo Yanfan had suddenly taken leave, so Hu Jiaping temporarily took over the fist-and-sword class. However, it seemed he had no intention of teaching properly. After instructing everyone to practice on their own, he wandered around the Academy flirting with that black-veiled woman. When class ended, he emerged from who-knows-where and stopped Ji Tongzhou, saying, "You three living in the same courtyard have always been at odds. Now that Lei what's-his-name is sick and the little girl went to see him, you should go too... Oh, and bring some food."
Ji Tongzhou felt as if he had swallowed a fly and coldly replied, "I'm not going!"
Hu Jiaping patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "If you don’t go, then don’t bother taking the upcoming test. The Academy doesn’t want talentless kids, let alone heartless ones."
And so, Ji Tongzhou had no choice but to grab some food and reluctantly knock on the door of the Quiet Mystery Chamber. After knocking for a while with no answer, he was secretly relieved—until he suddenly heard movement inside. Unable to resist, he pushed the door open and saw Li Fei leaning over the bed where Lei Xiuyuan lay.
"Here, take this!" He tossed the food onto the table, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Again, Hu Jiaping forced me!"
He turned to leave, but Li Fei quickly called out, "Wait! I missed this afternoon's class..."
She hadn’t meant to skip, but now she wondered if there’d be punishment—like being banned from the northern dining hall for ten days.
"What’s it to me if you skipped?" Ji Tongzhou threw the words over his shoulder and slammed the door behind him.
Li Fei stood there dazed for a moment before deciding to let it go. Since skipping was already a fact, she might as well deal with it later. Right now, the important thing was that Lei Xiuyuan was awake!
She walked to the bedside, looking down at him coldly. "You're awake."
Lei Xiuyuan leaned weakly against the headboard, his voice feeble. "You're awake too."
Li Fei had no patience for his wordplay. She dragged the chair closer and sat down, cutting straight to the point. "Now you can talk, right? If you don’t, I’m not leaving."
Lei Xiuyuan turned his head to look at her expressionlessly. After a long pause, he murmured, "I’m hungry. Bring me the food."
"Talk first, then eat."
"I don’t have the strength to talk without eating."
"..." Li Fei had no choice but to hand him the food—a bowl of corn porridge and two steamed buns.
Lei Xiuyuan shakily picked up the porridge and stirred it with a spoon. Before he could take a bite, his weak hands spilled much of it onto his sleeves. Li Fei gritted her teeth, watching him take one spoonful only to spill another. After barely eating any, he set the porridge aside and began nibbling at a bun. Half an hour passed, and he hadn’t even finished half of it.
"Could you eat any slower?" He was definitely doing this on purpose!
Lei Xiuyuan gave her a helpless look, his damp eyes innocent and sickly. "I’m a patient."
Li Fei suppressed her anger and started pacing the room like a caged animal. Another half-hour passed, and it was already dark when Lei Xiuyuan finally sighed and set the remaining food on the nightstand. "Could you step out for a moment? I need to change clothes."
Li Fei snapped, "Change after you talk!"He ignored her and simply took off the underwear stained with corn porridge. Li Fei had no choice but to turn her back, cursing the bastard countless times in her heart.
After waiting for a while with no movement from him, Li Fei grew impatient and snapped, "Are you done changing or not?"
No answer came. She immediately turned around, only to see Lei Xiuyuan had changed his clothes and fallen back asleep on the bed. Unable to hold back any longer, she pounced on him, yanking him up with a fierce glare. "If you don't speak now, I'll throw you out! Let your illness kill you!"
Lei Xiuyuan glanced at her and whispered, "I told you, what you want to know—I can't say it, nor can I speak of it."
"I don't believe you!" Though she wasn't sure how powerful that familiar-sounding "Oathbound Technique" was, Master had once said that no Immortal Technique, no matter how formidable, could cover every loophole. There was no such thing as a perfect, flawless technique.
Lei Xiuyuan replied indifferently, "Believing or not is your business. Speaking or not is mine. That person's background is immense. Even if I told you, it would be meaningless—just adding unnecessary trouble."
"I don't care about any of that! You have to tell me!" Li Fei refused to back down.
Lei Xiuyuan chuckled. "Why must I tell you?"
"You owe me!" She stared straight at him. "You deceived me—you have to make it up to me!"
He wore an expression of near exasperation and helplessness. "Did you really consider that useless fool a friend?"
Li Fei didn't answer. She stubbornly kept her gaze locked on him, demanding an explanation here and now.
Lei Xiuyuan struggled slightly. "Fine, I'll tell you. Let me sit up properly."
Li Fei released his collar, but before she could react, he suddenly leaned in and exhaled lightly onto her face. A strange, icy fragrance flooded her senses, and instantly, her vision blurred. She collapsed onto the bed, unconscious.
"...So troublesome." Lei Xiuyuan flicked her cheek lightly with his finger, then fell silent.
The next day, Li Fei woke in her own Thousand Fragrance Chamber. For some reason, she had slept incredibly deeply and comfortably, feeling refreshed and clear-headed. She sat up in confusion—something felt off. Hadn't she been in Lei Xiuyuan's room yesterday? When had she returned to her own?
She remembered questioning Lei Xiuyuan, and him finally relenting, agreeing to speak. Then... then what? She had suddenly fallen asleep?
After hurriedly washing up and changing into her Disciple uniform, she stepped outside. Dawn hadn't yet broken, and it was still some time before sunrise. The door to the Quiet Mystery Chamber was slightly ajar. Unable to resist, Li Fei pushed it open, only to find the room empty. The leftover steamed buns and corn porridge from yesterday still sat on the bedside table, but Lei Xiuyuan himself was nowhere to be found.
As she stood there dazed, Ri Yan's hoarse voice suddenly sounded by her ear. "What are you doing awake instead of sleeping?"
Li Fei started slightly and saw the little white fox, who only woke briefly every ten days, appear before her. He glanced around, sniffing lightly, and asked curiously, "This isn't your room?"
Li Fei hesitated. She was truly tormented by Lei Xiuyuan's words—"It started because of you"—and after several failed attempts to question him, her young mind was bursting with unanswered questions. Now that Ri Yan had suddenly appeared, she finally had someone to confide in.
Returning to her own room and closing the door, she briefly recounted the situation with Lei Xiuyuan. What troubled her most was the Oathbound Technique—what exactly was it? She felt like she'd heard of it before but couldn't recall.Ri Yan's ears twitched back and forth as he seemed lost in thought. "Hmm, so that boy isn't actually malicious at heart."
"Not malicious?" Li Fei never expected such a conclusion. "He's been deceiving people all along, falsifying things and playing with people's emotions. How is that not malicious?"
Ri Yan said calmly, "You humans complicate things too much with your talk of hearts and emotions. As I see it, you've lost nothing, and knowing less actually keeps you safer in the future. Why dwell on it? If he'd rashly revealed secrets to inexperienced youngsters like you... Hmph! You can't even walk properly yet, yet think you have self-preservation skills? Sometimes ignorance is better for you!"
What twisted logic—as if this fox didn't have his own pile of secrets kept from her. Li Fei shook her head. "I truly considered him a friend and cared for him with genuine feelings, only to find out everything about him was fake. Isn't that deception? His previous actions were clearly meant to harm me. If that's not malice, what is?"
"I don't understand your notions of sincerity and emotions—that's why I say you humans overcomplicate things. You're neither missing limbs nor dead, so he hasn't harmed you. His silence, even toward the Academy, suggests whoever stands behind him holds immense influence. First, he's bound by a Word Spirit and can't speak. Second, even if he could, no one would believe him. What use would telling a fool like you be?"
Li Fei was stunned by his blunt reasoning. Ri Yan continued, "The so-called Word Spirit Art involves imbuing spoken words with spiritual energy—either to forbid someone from revealing secrets or to force them to disclose something. Though varied, the most refined forms today are Star Rectitude Hall's Celestial Sound Word Spirit Great Art and the Word Spirit Nightmare Art. The former exposes any secret without fail, while the latter kills without a trace. Remember? Back in Green Mound, that Zhen Yunzi used the Celestial Sound Word Spirit Great Art against you. Hmph! He must be seething with frustration. His cultivation has hit a bottleneck—he needs my fur and marrow to refine a Mystical Treasure to advance further. Though he hid it well when he failed to capture me, inside he was surely fuming! Serves him right! The more desperate he is to catch me, the more his progress stalls... Heh heh, severing emotions and desires? Easier said than done. How else can one advance?"
Li Fei asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'severing emotions and desires'?"
"The Celestial Sound Word Spirit Great Art and Word Spirit Nightmare Art are troublesome to master. Practitioners must undergo a peculiar training process—what you humans call 'severing emotions and desires.' Only by cutting off all emotional attachments and emptying the heart can these Immortal Techniques manifest their true power. Nowadays, few Celestials in Star Rectitude Hall are willing to cultivate these techniques."
Vague thoughts flitted through Li Fei's mind, but she couldn't grasp the key point. She sighed. Though she now understood what Word Spirit Arts were, it didn't help unravel Lei Xiuyuan's secrets. What she didn't know remained unknown.
Lei Xiuyuan had disappeared again. Given his cunning and wariness, if he truly wanted to evade her questioning, she'd never find him even after he recovered. Defeated and helpless, she sighed. She'd always been the one deceiving others under her Master's guidance, but now she'd met someone even more skilled at it. She could only admit defeat. Since she couldn't pry answers or figure things out, she might as well set this vexing matter aside for now."Let's not talk about that for now. Ri Yan, since it's still early, how about I show you around the Academy?" Li Fei rose into the air on her sword and smiled at him. "You haven't even seen what it looks like since coming here."
The little white fox shook his ears dismissively. "Just some shabby little Academy. What's there to see!"
Yet even as he spoke, he leaped onto her shoulder, his ears twitching nonstop.
Clearly eager despite his words—what a contradictory fox. The stone sword beneath Li Fei's feet transformed into a streak of golden light, soaring toward the starry sky.
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