Dao Qiongcang was momentarily taken aback when Yu Zhiwen brought up "Guilan." He recalled that this was the name she had given to her astrolabe. Young girls often picked such fanciful names. "Little Star" was Yu Zhiwen's exclusive Divine Puppet, while "Guilan" was her frequently used astrolabe. It wasn't as practical as "Number Two" or as fitting as "Divine Sinan," but that was beside the point.
Dao Qiongcang realized why Yu Zhiwen was upset. During the Four Symbols Secret Realm incident, he had activated the Divine Array hidden within Guilan to save her life. Obviously, the young didn't understand the effort involved and were not appreciative.
Dao Qiongcang sighed deeply. The obedient girl he remembered had clearly entered her rebellious phase, albeit a bit late.
"Is this why you're angry?" Dao Qiongcang responded with a question, trying to understand her grievance.
Yu Zhiwen clenched her small fists, her frustration swelling. She opened her mouth, only to blow away strands of hair by her lips, muttering, "I'm not… mad."
She had even refrained from saying, "How dare I get mad," and her voice was barely audible.
Dao Qiongcang looked frighteningly stern, his face devoid of emotion. His most intimidating moments came when he was expressionless.
"Then you're just being petulant?" Dao Qiongcang rephrased.
"I…" Yu Zhiwen felt stifled. After a moment of inner turmoil, she burst out, speaking rapidly. "You told me to speak! When I speak, you tell me to speak less and do more. When I stay silent, you accuse me of being sarcastic and tell me to be straightforward. When I speak again, you say I'm throwing a tantrum…ugh, a fit…ah! I'm trying to discuss something serious with you, and you say, say…"
She stumbled over her words, her cheeks reddening, stomping her feet in frustration. She wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.
Seeing Dao Qiongcang's impassive face when she peeked through narrowed eyes, her anger deflated. But she had come this far. Whether she stepped forward or retreated, it felt like the same.
Mumbling, Yu Zhiwen spat out her final words: "Now, you say my tone is wrong. Is it my problem or yours…ugh."
With that, she slumped, her shoulders drooping, arms hanging limply, and her head bowed, perfectly embodying dejection.
Dao Qiongcang waited until she had finished, then said, "So, are you just blowing bubbles? I didn't understand a word."
Crack!
Yu Zhiwen nearly ground her teeth to dust. She clenched her fists tightly, then fiercely released them. "I'm sorry, I was rash. But that's because I've been sick since yesterday…"
She made up a flimsy excuse, knowing it was inadequate, but she had no other choice. Disheartened, she turned and walked away, vowing not to speak again. She felt that no one would take her seriously anyway. In their eyes, she was always a child.
Yu Zhiwen saw clearly now. Perhaps she should have been grateful to Hallmaster Dao for his secret protection. But what she wanted to express was not gratitude; she yearned for equality, privacy, respect, and freedom. Instead, she felt constrained by rules, obstacles, and limitations.
She only hated her clumsy tongue for not articulating her feelings clearly. She wished the intelligent Hallmaster Dao could infer her deeper meaning, unlike the Supreme Master's formulaic responses.
She wondered if Xu Xiaoshou would have faced this situation differently. Was growth the only way to escape the tightening net? Who could teach her how to grow up?
"Come back!" Dao Qiongcang's stern voice echoed behind her.
Yu Zhiwen rolled her eyes in secret, wiped away her tears, and composed herself, swiftly collecting all her negative emotions. When she returned to Dao Qiongcang's presence, she was once again the obedient girl from Saint Mountain, her face a perfect poker face.
"Hallmaster Dao."
"Sorry, I didn't respect your privacy. I did tamper with your astrolabe… Guilan. That was wrong of me. I apologize," Dao Qiongcang said, sighing.
"You were protecting me," Yu Zhiwen said quietly.
"But it was still wrong. I am an unqualified elder, only considering things from my perspective and neglecting your feelings. I am not even as good as my sister," Dao Qiongcang added, making a self-deprecating comparison he thought was somewhat amusing.
"It's alright," Yu Zhiwen said, her face a mask of stoicism, not betraying any trace of a smile.
Dao Qiongcang looked at her with a gaze that seemed to say, "I'm done talking. Just let me go." He hesitated for a moment, clearly caught in the awkwardness of their interaction.
Finally, he crouched slightly to match Yu Zhiwen's height, his attempt at a smile awkward and forced.
"Give me a smile," he urged.
"Hehe."
"Haha, that's a very forced smile," Dao Qiongcang remarked, his eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement.
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken words. Yu Zhiwen's unresponsive glare signaled the end of their conversation, but she had more pressing questions on her mind.
She wanted to know why the tampered Guilan had failed to intervene during Bei Huai's attack. She also wondered why, despite the Supreme Master's absence, Grandpa Yu, who was unrestricted, did not show up after being repelled.
Yu Zhiwen was no longer a child. She understood the answers, but she knew that asking questions she already had the answers to would only cause pain for both herself and others. One person's pain was more than enough; there was no need to add another.
The atmosphere grew quiet, broken only by the awkward smile on Dao Qiongcang's face.
He wiped the playful expression away, straightened up, and turned his gaze towards the night sky, lost in thought. After a long pause, he pointed to the sky and said, "That's the sky."
Before Yu Zhiwen could respond, he pointed to the ground. "And this is the earth."
Engaging in what seemed like a dialogue with himself, he measured the distance between the sky and the earth with his hands, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "The distance between sky and earth is what I aim to break. That's what I said back then."
Dao Qiongcang shook his head with a wry smile. "To them, this is quite amusing."
Yu Zhiwen was taken aback, initially dismissing his words as yet another sarcastic joke. But Dao Qiongcang's demeanor was different this time.
Turning away, Dao Qiongcang crouched slightly, as if searching for ghosts in the night. He placed a finger to his lips and made a very small, very light gesture… "Shh…"
Yu Zhiwen was stunned. It was the first time she had seen Hallmaster Dao behave like a mischievous child, seemingly amused by his own antics.
Seeing her incredulous expression, Dao Qiongcang chuckled, stood up, and placed his large hand on her head, his tone wistful as he gazed into the distance. "No matter what you want to say or do, others may not always give you the answers."
"The only advice I can offer remains the same: Follow your heart and stay safe."
Yu Zhiwen's lips parted slightly, her starry eyes reflecting a sense of imperfection as she looked at the night sky.
Dao Qiongcang picked up the broken arm of Divine Sinan, toyed with it for a moment, then handed it to her. "A masterpiece by Xu Xiaoshou."
The night deepened, and the snow on the mountains shimmered faintly. Xi was suddenly summoned back by Hallmaster Dao, a strange decision given that Dao Qiongcang chose to admire the night mountains alone with him, sending Yu Zhiwen away.
The mountain they returned to was a nameless forest peak, about a hundred miles from the Southern Zone entrance of Jade Capital City. Rarely visited by people, it was only inhabited by the cries of night birds.
Occasionally glancing back, one could see the Southern Zone gate of Jade Capital City under the moonlight. The snow here had accumulated to just above the ankles, creating a sharp sizzle with each step as the cold seeped in.
Xi shivered uncontrollably, realizing he had misjudged Hallmaster Dao's interests after seeing the image recording bead of the battle. His search direction shifted from the women and macho men of the capital to the Southern Region's evil cultivator, the thief.
With "half a day" left until the deadline, why had Hallmaster Dao brought him here so quickly?
"Do you know why I brought you here?" Dao Qiongcang asked, walking through the snow with his hands behind his back.
Dragged… Xi replied solemnly, "Yes, this is the place where 'he' stayed!"
"Oh? Have you confirmed it?" Dao Qiongcang asked, his tone casual.
"Reporting to Hallmaster Dao, almost."
"Then how do you know someone stayed here?"
"Excellent visibility, it's a great vantage point, and there are no traces… Before Hallmaster Dao brought me here, I hadn't even considered this place… It's clearly suspicious!" Xi carefully chose his words, feeling as if he were beside a tiger ready to pounce.
"Oh, just because I brought you here, you assumed it to be true?" Dao Qiongcang asked, calm and collected.
"Uh…" Xi struggled for a response.
"As an intelligence worker and Chief of the Transformation Division, you're not reckless. You act on instinct and, as an ancient swordsman, you follow the whims of a Spiritual Cultivator well."
"Uh…"
"The inability to find the person doesn't mean the Transformation Division is incompetent. It indicates that the enemy is well-hidden and extremely powerful. The lack of traces is the best trace. This is very thought-provoking. I have learned from this."
"Uh…"
Xi's scalp tingled. Was it the weather? Or was the place filled with too much negative energy? Why did Hallmaster Dao sound so sarcastic?
"If you want to criticize the Transformation Division, just say it. If you want to criticize me, just say it too. Why beat around the bush?"
"Are you speechless?" Dao Qiongcang asked, turning to look at the young man, who seemed to be sweating profusely in the snowy night. "Or is the weather too cold, freezing you to the point of stuttering? Are you a goose?"
The cold night air was sharp and unforgiving, but the real chill came from Dao Qiongcang's playful yet biting remarks.
"Hallmaster Dao, I was wrong!" Xi exclaimed anxiously, his tone as though he'd just stumbled upon a trap.
"Where did you go wrong?" Dao Qiongcang asked, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to Xi's flustered state.
"I was wrong in…"
"If you know you're wrong, just correct it. There's no need to spell it out. Some things, when said aloud, only serve to annoy," Dao Qiongcang cut him off, his eyes reflecting a hint of impatience.
Xi's face shifted from ghostly white to an unsettling greenish hue, feeling more uncomfortable than if he'd swallowed a live eel. Was Hallmaster Dao in a particularly foul mood today? Who had dared to provoke him?
"The atmosphere on Saint Mountain isn't exactly conducive to learning. Young people shouldn't try to absorb everything indiscriminately. Picking the dregs and discarding the essence is a bad habit," Dao Qiongcang continued, a hint of old-school wisdom in his tone.
"I… will learn from this," Xi stammered, trying to salvage the situation.
"Did you handle the matter assigned to you personally?" Dao Qiongcang smoothly shifted the topic, maintaining his composure.
"Yes!" Xi said with a renewed sense of pride. "I personally handled the investigation, scouring a radius of hundreds of miles. Without Hallmaster Dao's guidance, I would've found this place eventually!"
"What if I told you this place isn't where he's hiding, but merely a location I stumbled upon by chance?" Dao Qiongcang's tone was casually provocative.
"Uh…"
"Are you frozen again?" Dao Qiongcang teased, his eyes narrowing. "Or have you gone mute?"
"Reporting to Hallmaster Dao, no! I just… have nothing to say!" Xi admitted, feeling like a reluctant punchbag at the moment.
"You're speaking so loudly. Do you also disturb the peace in Jade Capital City like this, or are you expressing dissatisfaction with me?" Dao Qiongcang's words were edged with a sharp, playful sarcasm.
"No! Just a bit… Oh, I'll speak softer." Xi felt extremely wronged, his words tumbling out in a jumble.
"Were you busy with this all night?" Dao Qiongcang asked again.
"Yes." Xi sighed with relief, convinced that this was a straightforward answer. He had worked hard, even if he was a bit slow.
Dao Qiongcang sneered slightly, "When you realize you're busy, you're no longer a qualified Chief of the Transformation Division."
Xi was stunned.
Dao Qiongcang continued, "Yi never busied himself like this. He was always wandering the mountains and waters, casually building intelligence networks."
"Chief, you don't have to do everything yourself. If you don't learn to trust your subordinates and delegate tasks, are you planning to spend the rest of your life as a busy bee for the Transformation Division?"
Xi opened his mouth to refute but found himself silenced by Dao Qiongcang's criticism.
"Think about why you were busy as Deputy Chief. Now that you're Chief, why are you still the only one busy?"
"Your methods are flawed; your thinking is still that of a subordinate. These are things your Supreme Master can't teach you, so I will."
After a thorough reprimand, Dao Qiongcang's tone softened slightly. It was rare for him to offer advice in such a manner.
Xi, feeling enlightened, solemnly clasped his hands and bowed. "I have learned."
"Don't just learn, and don't linger in thought without action. You young people are all like this… Think about what you should do next!"
"What I should do…"
"Spiritual cultivators vie for the Dao, and ancient swordsmen strive for fame. Bazhun'an has already given you the answer. So, will you contend for the Seven Sword Deity?"
"I…"
Xi wanted to mention his duties as Chief of the Transformation Division and the extra missions he had to complete. How could he possibly find time to compete for rankings?
But he realized Hallmaster Dao had already preemptively blocked this argument. It seemed trouble was brewing.
Dao Qiongcang's mysterious and inscrutable nature was truly terrifying.
"I will adjust myself." Xi earnestly bowed with clasped hands, answering without protest.
Dao Qiongcang nodded slightly, signaling the end of that particular discussion.
He changed direction, scooping up a handful of snow and letting it slide through his fingers.
"You said there were no traces left by him here?"
With that question, Xi broke out in a cold sweat. Had Hallmaster Dao already discovered the previous hiding place of the Southern Region's evil cultivator? His casual remark about wandering around had just been a joke!
"I… need to search," Xi said cautiously, not daring to act recklessly.
"What are you waiting for?" Dao Qiongcang asked, his tone implying impatience.
"Huh? Waiting for what…"
"To search. Do you want me to accompany you in idling in this snowy mountain overnight?"
"I…" Xi almost cracked under the pressure, feeling for the first time that Hallmaster Dao, when throwing a tantrum, was even scarier than the Supreme Master.
"I'll search right away…"
He dared not delay any longer. With determination, he clasped his hands together, his eyes shimmering with the faint glow of a blue sword.
Under the night sky, the forested mountains and snowy plains seemed eerie, but Xi pressed on, driven by the formidable presence of Dao Qiongcang.
Dao Qiongcang kept his hands behind his back, squinting slightly as he observed the young man with a thoughtful gaze. This was the first time he personally witnessed Xi in action.
The reason for this night's mountain trial wasn't because he saw Xi as a genius needing guidance. Dao Qiongcang simply felt…
It was time to seriously study the Phantom Sword Technique.