Chapter 11

Although he had long suspected that Zhu Ruo Shuang might be hiding his true nature in the Unfeeling Path Academy just like he did, hearing the other person admit it so directly still made Helan Xi feel a surge of emotion—grief mixed with joy, as if the world had fallen apart.

It had been a year. He had been walking alone in the Taihua Sect, silent and solitary for a whole year.

Before he began fasting, disciples from other academies would often go to the dining hall in groups, while he quietly took his meals back to his immortal abode to eat alone.

When faced with difficult homework, he had no one to consult or discuss with, so he had to rely on old books and slowly figure things out on his own.

When he first joined the sect, he was harassed by a “perverted” disciple from the Hehuan Sect Academy. Not only could he not curse the person freely, but there wasn’t even anyone by his side to listen to him vent. He ended up using a sound transmission talisman in the dead of night to complain to his mother.

All these things, his past, were too painful to look back on. He had gotten used to this life and had become strong enough that no one in the Taihua Sect dared to provoke him. Now, to suddenly be told that he could have made friends in the Unfeeling Path Academy as well…

He really, he wanted to cry.

Zhu Ruo Shuang wasn’t stupid. Seeing Helan Xi’s strong reaction, he immediately understood, incredulously asking, “Could it be that you also…?”

Helan Xi nodded tearfully, “I too, I too! Zhu Yun, you… do you know how I’ve been living this past year?! Do you know!!!”

Zhu Ruo Shang’s shock was no less than Helan Xi’s, and in fact, even greater: “But… but you can’t tell at all. I always thought, you and Song Xuanji, people like you, were the chosen ones of the Unfeeling Path, and I was just picked to fill the numbers.”

“Is that so?” Helan Xi felt relieved after hearing Zhu Ruo Shang’s words. “Maybe it’s because I’m too good at pretending and tricked you. Actually, I really like to talk, and when I get going, I can make Longsun Ce’s mouth break. Do you believe it?”

Zhu Ruo Shang couldn’t help but smile gently.

This was the first time Helan Xi had seen Zhu Ruo Shang smile like this, and he felt both familiar and strange, a whirlwind of emotions: “I always wanted to get closer to you all. Before joining the sect, I prepared gifts for you all. When Song Xuanji had his birthday, I snuck out in the middle of the night to deliver some snacks, but he thought I was a thief and chased me for several streets… I really wanted to talk more with you, but each of you was colder than the last. I was afraid of disturbing you, and even more afraid that you wouldn’t talk to me… I, I, I, I… I’ve been suffering!”

Zhu Ruo Shang looked at Helan Xi with a tender gaze and said, “Although I’m not fond of talking, I don’t hate it either. When alone, I find peace in solitude. Even so, there were still hard times in the Unfeeling Path Academy. You’re so lively, how did you survive this past year…” At this point, Zhu Ruo Shang suddenly remembered something. “I heard my brother mention that a well-known physician from Jinling came to request a diagnosis—was that arranged by you?”

Helan Xi wanted to keep this matter a secret, but since Zhu Ruo Shang was so clever, he knew he couldn’t hide it and instinctively responded, “Hmm.” After saying this, he panicked and cursed himself—what was going on? He had gotten used to saying “Hmm”?!

Helan Xi quickly changed his answer: “Hmm, yes, it was me! It was me!”

Zhu Ruo Shang smiled slightly, showing a guilty look. “It’s my fault. I’ve been hiding my true self from everyone in the Taihua Sect for a year. I’m sorry, Shi… Shuyu.”

This was the first time Helan Xi heard a Daoist call his given name like this, and he felt a bit shy. “Ah, no, no, no. Why are you apologizing? If anything, I’m the one who should apologize.”

Earlier, he had been upset because Zhu Ruo Shang hadn’t told him sooner, but he had also been pretending for a year. They had been classmates for so long, seeing each other every day, yet it was only now that Helan Xi realized Zhu Ruo Shang was such a gentle person inside.

Suddenly, out of the blue, he thought of Song Xuanji and abruptly stood up.

Zhu Ruo Shang was startled, “What’s wrong?”

Helan Xi’s expression became serious. “Zhu Yun, do you think Song Xuanji might, like us, have another side to him that no one knows about?”

Zhu Ruo Shang thought about Song Xuanji’s usual cold demeanor, which seemed to be separate from the world, and after a moment’s silence, said, “I don’t think so.”

Helan Xi walked back and forth, deep in thought. “No, I’m really curious about this. I must figure this out.”

Zhu Ruo Shang paused for a moment, then suggested, “Maybe you can ask Song Xuanji’s family. What was he like before joining the Unfeeling Path Academy?”

“But Song Xuanji is from Gusu. I don’t know anyone else from Gusu.” Helan Xi’s mind suddenly lit up, and his steps halted. “Looks like it’s time to use my strong and reliable connections in the Three Realms.”

The Helan family in Jinling, not to mention in Jinling city, was one of the top families in all of the Nine Provinces. Zhu Ruo Shang looked at Helan Xi with expectation as he took out a sound-transmitting talisman from his spiritual pouch. She guessed a few powerful names within the Nine Provinces, but she wasn’t sure which one Helan Xi would contact.

Once the talisman activated, a woman’s voice sounded, “Xi’er?”

Helan Xi replied, “Mother!”

Zhu Ruo Shang said, “… Oh, okay.”

Helan Xi’s mother asked, “What happened? Why are you calling me at this hour?”

Helan Xi quickly said, “Mother, do you have any good friends in Gusu? I need you to help me look into something urgently, it’s really, really important!”

Helan Xi’s mother responded with a confused “Hmm?”

After the talisman burnt out, Zhu Ruo Shang smiled and said, “Shuyu, why are you so impatient? Are you really that concerned about Song Xuanji’s true nature?”

Helan Xi paused for a moment, then answered honestly, “Well, not that much, just a little concerned.”

Zhu Ruo Shang nodded and said, “Well, that’s good. If Song Xuanji isn’t as cold as he appears, then at least you’ll have him by your side after I leave Taihua Sect. You won’t always be alone.”

Helan Xi frowned unhappily. “I don’t understand. Why do you always think you’ll get expelled? Everything has been resolved, and ‘Ghost Dialogue’ hasn’t been lost. Even if you ended up with Lin Dan in a dream, it was just an illusion. It doesn’t count, and it definitely doesn’t break the Unfeeling Oath.”

Zhu Ruo Shang’s gaze dimmed, as if there was something painful that couldn’t be spoken. “I say this for my reasons.”

For a moment, Helan Xi didn’t know how to comfort him. “Zhu Yun…”

Seeing that Helan Xi was sinking back into gloom, Zhu Ruo Shang brightened up and smiled, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Whether or not you’re expelled will be decided by Dean Jiang when I return to Taihua Sect. By the way, Shuyu, have you finished your homework? Can you let me take a look at your ‘Mechanics’?”

—-

Helan Xi and Zhu Ruo Shang had a long conversation. Helan Xi felt as though he needed to make up for all the conversations he hadn’t had with his sectmates over the past year.

Two hours passed, and although Zhu Ruo Shang didn’t beg for mercy like Jie Hong, he was starting to look absent, his eyes unfocused. Helan Xi didn’t want to push him too hard, but his mouth just wouldn’t stop talking.

Back in Jinling, although his mother and Jie Hong had taken turns chatting with him, those people were not Taihua Sect disciples, and there was a lot they couldn’t relate to. Zhu Ruo Shang was different; he understood every point Helan Xi made. For instance, how boring the “Nine Provinces History” class was, why the head of the Hehuan Path always looked at them with that particular gaze, when the Unfeeling Path’s immortal residence would finally be renovated, and whether Song Xuanji had become more handsome over the past year..

After Zhu Ruo Shuang could no longer continue speaking, the two of them returned to the main topic. From Zhu Ruo Shuang’s mouth, Helan Xi learned the more complete process of the Ghost Reflection Speech, which was almost exactly as he had previously inferred.

Zhu Ruo Shuang’s only older brother suffered from a severe illness and needed expensive medicinal materials every day to prolong his life. Disciples of the Taihua Sect could only return home once a year, during the New Year. In order to raise the funds for his brother’s medicine, Zhu Ruo Shuang did not go home but instead traveled to the Western Continent, where he accepted a bounty from the Lin family at the Chi Zhang Hall.

Later, Zhu Ruo Shuang ventured deep into the desert and, based on the clues provided by the Lin family, found Lin Dan’s whereabouts.

“When I saw Lin Dan, he was already exhausted, on the verge of death.” Zhu Ruo Shuang took a big sip of tea and said, “I wanted to take him out of the desert, but he insisted that he had lost something very important. He refused to leave unless it was found.”

Helan Xi: “And then he deliberately led you to the tomb of Immortal Xu Xu?”

Zhu Ruo Shuang: “Yes. Looking back, I should have realized that I had never met the young master of the Lin family. From the very beginning, I was traveling with… with ‘it.’ ‘It’ knew that it couldn’t pass the test set by Immortal Xu Xu, so it had to find a disciple of the Taihua Sect to accompany it — and that’s how it found me.”

At this point, Helan Xi couldn’t help but admire Immortal Xu Xu’s thoughtful arrangements. If it had been someone else, they would have set up numerous obstacles, dangerous beasts, and lethal traps. But Immortal Xu Xu ultimately cared about “good intentions.” This meant that no matter how powerful “it” was, it couldn’t rely on its own strength to enter the final temple.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand,” Helan Xi propped his chin on the table, looking very relaxed. “Song Xuanji is certainly powerful, but ‘it’ also has the strength to fight back. Why did ‘it’ stop struggling as soon as Song Xuanji made his move?”

Zhu Ruo Shuang paused for a moment, then took another sip of water: “What do you mean?”

“It seems like ‘it’ doesn’t mind us taking the Ghost Reflection Speech back to the Taihua Sect,” Helan Xi said. “Or rather, ‘it’ wants us to take it back.”

Zhu Ruo Shuang carefully recalled the situation at that time: “‘You prideful disciples of heaven really have the same detestable appearance for thousands of years’… ‘It’ seemed to loathe the disciples of Taihua Sect. But it’s the Taihua Sect, one of the Nine Provinces of the Three Realms. Who can act recklessly there?”

“I can’t figure it out,” Helan Xi straightened up and stretched lazily. “But if I can think of this, Song Xuanji must have thought of it too. He’ll talk to Dean Jiang about it, and from there, the matter will be in the hands of the deans.”

—–

The next day was the day the Taihua Sect disciples returned to their school and sect. Helan Xi had originally planned to return with two fellow Taoists via sword flight, but unexpectedly, the Changsun family suddenly extended the full hospitality of a host, sending not only a number of local specialties from the Western Continent but also their grand ceremonial immortal boat used for appearances.

The Changsun family’s immortal boat was not much different from the painting boats used in the civilian areas of Jinling, except that it was more rugged in style. There were no carvings or silk embroidery, and it had two floors. The family emblem of the Changsun family flew in the wind, displaying a majestic presence.

Changsun Ce had changed into the black and gold school uniform unique to the Mixed Heaven Dao Academy: “Please board, fellow Taoists.”

The three from the Heartless Dao stood side by side, dressed in white, their faces cold as ice, and they remained motionless.

Zhu Ruo Shuang: “How courteous of you.”

Helan Xi: “Either a thief or a pervert.”

Changsun Ce: “…” He should’ve carried some extra chili sauce to let the three beauties of the Heartless Dao take a sniff whenever there’s nothing to do.

Song Xuanji: “Anything to say?”

Helan Xi couldn’t help but speak up: “Feel free to speak plainly.”

Changsun Ce took a deep breath and said, “I’ve helped you a lot this time. Don’t you think you should repay me?”

Helan Xi: “Song Xuanji has already copied the homework for you.”

“…Let’s set that aside for now!” Changsun Ce cracked his knuckles, looking eager: “I want you to sincerely invite me to visit the Heartless Dao Academy for a day.”

Helan Xi thought Changsun Ce was going to make an unreasonable request, but it turned out to be this? “Dude, isn’t your wish a little too humble?” He gave Changsun Ce a deep look, then turned and boarded the immortal boat, leaving behind three words with meaningful intent: “Don’t regret it.”