Chapter 1432: The Old Urchin Discusses the Dao and Heaven and Earth, Snowy Night Mountain Discusses Yin and Yang and Ghosts

Gui Lan?

Dao Qiong Cang was startled for a moment.

When his gaze fell on the xing pan in Yu Zhi Wen's hand, he remembered that this was the name of her device.

Young girls always came up with flashy names for things.

Just as "Xiao Xing Xing" was Yu Zhi Wen's exclusive tian ji kui lei, "Gui Lan" was her go-to xing pan.

Of course, it didn't compare at all to "Er Hao" or "Tian Ji Si Nan" in terms of quality, practicality, or how fitting their names were... Well, that wasn't important.

Dao Qiong Cang finally realized what grudge the little girl was holding against him!

During the Si Xiang Mi Jing incident, Yu Zhi Wen had nearly rushed out of the secret realm at the last moment, heaven knows what she was thinking.

At the critical juncture, Dao Qiong Cang had activated the hidden tian ji array in the zi mu zhen within Gui Lan, saving her life.

Clearly, the young one didn't understand the elder's intentions and didn't appreciate it at all.

Dao Qiong Cang let out a long sigh.

The obedient girl from his memories was gone.

Her rebellious phase had arrived, late but inevitable!

"Is it because of this that you're mad at me?" Dao Qiong Cang asked in return instead of answering.

This?

So, was this just a trivial matter?

Yu Zhi Wen clenched her small fist, and the pent-up frustration in her heart swelled even larger. When she opened her mouth...

It only blew away the hair by her lips, and she muttered:

"I... didn't... get mad?"

She even changed "dare" to "did," and didn't dare to raise her voice.

Because Dao Dianzhu's face was terribly dark right now, though he still looked expressionless—and that was when he was most frightening!

"Then, are you throwing a tantrum?" Dao Qiong Cang rephrased.

"I..." Yu Zhi Wen felt unbearably stifled, but in the end, she hit rock bottom and rebounded. She closed her eyes and spilled it out like beans from a bamboo tube, speaking at top speed:

"You told me to speak!"

"You said when I speak, I should talk less and do more."

"When I don't speak, you say I'm being sarcastic and should speak directly without beating around the bush."

"When I speak again, you say I'm sulking or throwing a fit... Ugh, temper or tantrum... Ah! Anyway, I'm discussing something serious with you right now, and you tell me, tell me..."

After slipping up, Yu Zhi Wen's cheeks turned red, and she even stamped her feet twice.

She wished she could dig a hole and bury her clumsy self. She couldn't even get her words out right.

And when she opened her eyes a slit to see Dao Dianzhu still expressionless, that anger of hers deflated on its own.

But she'd already said this much!

It was a knife either way, whether she stuck her neck out or shrank back.

Yu Zhi Wen mumbled and forced out the last half: "You say there's something wrong with how I speak—is it me with the problem, or you... Ah."

As soon as she finished, the girl puffed out her chest, let her shoulders droop, her hands pulled straight by the weight, and her head hung low, perfectly embodying utter dejection.

Dao Qiong Cang waited a while, confirming she was done, then suddenly said:

"So, are you just babbling? Barabara, I didn't understand a word."

Crack!

Yu Zhi Wen nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces.

She clenched her fist tight, then angrily released it.

"I'm sorry, I was rash again."

"But that's because I started feeling sick yesterday..."

She casually made up a lie—this was wrong, of course, but Yu Zhi Wen had no time to worry about that.

She felt disheartened, hung her head, and turned to walk away.

She didn't want to talk anymore.

She swore she wouldn't say another word about it ever again.

Just as she'd thought, whenever she talked about these things with them, no one paid attention to the point.

In their eyes, it was all about themselves!

Who would bother arguing with a little kid?

In their view, no matter how old she got, she was still just a child!

A child's struggle for the great dao was like playing house, their mental games were like riddles, and their tian ji techniques were just tools for making handicrafts...

You could have all the good things in the world.

But only if it's under my control, because that's the only way you won't cause big problems.

Fine, so when could she break free from that control?

When you grow up.

Fine, so when would that count as grown up?

Silly child, growing up isn't fun. In our eyes, you'll always be a kid.

No solution!

One Gui Lan, one act of protection.

Yu Zhi Wen saw it clearly; maybe she should be thanking Dao Dianzhu for his secret protection?

But what she really wanted to say wasn't that.

Equality, privacy, respect, freedom... That's what she wanted to talk about.

Gloom, rules, hitting walls, constraints... That's what she felt.

She just hated how tongue-tied she was, unable to explain or clarify these things.

She had hoped the clever Dao Dianzhu could pick up on the deeper meaning from her words, not respond like her shizun with rote formulas.

Tsk, what a disappointment...

Shen Gui Mo Ce, just like that...

Yu Zhi Wen walked step by step, thinking more and more about how wronged she felt, her head down as if seeing her spiritual anchor.

Xu Xiao Shou, if you were me, what would you do?

That net that tightens the more you struggle— is the only way to break free by getting bigger?

Who can teach me how to grow...

"Come back!"

A shout came from behind from Dao Dianzhu.

Yu Zhi Wen rolled her eyes inwardly, wiped away her tears, and quickly packed away all her negative emotions like a pro.

By the time she returned to Dao Dianzhu, she was back to being the obedient Yu Zhi Wen from Sheng Shan, expressionless.

"Dao Dianzhu."

"I'm sorry, I didn't respect your privacy. I did tamper with your xing... um, Gui Lan. That was wrong, and I apologize to you." Dao Qiong Cang sighed.

"You're just protecting me."

"But that's still wrong. I'm not a good elder; I only thought from my own perspective and forgot your feelings. I'm not even as good as my sister." Dao Qiong Cang made what he thought was a funny analogy.

"It's fine." Yu Zhi Wen didn't laugh.

Dao Qiong Cang looked at the little girl, whose face said, "I don't want to say more; just let me go," and he opened his mouth but held back.

Finally, he crouched down slightly to her eye level, forcing a stiff smile:

"Smile for me."

"Hee hee."

"Ha ha, what a stiff smile that is."

Yu Zhi Wen gave him a flat stare in response, then said no more.

She actually had harsher things to say.

She wanted to ask why there was a backup in Gui Lan, but when Bei Huai hurt her, it didn't activate.

She wanted to know that since her shizun couldn't come, Yu Grandpa had no reservations, so why did he back off after one strike and never show up again.

Yu Zhi Wen wasn't a child anymore.

She knew the answer.

Of course, she also knew that asking these questions with obvious answers would hurt not just one person, but two.

One person hurting was enough.

No need for another.

The scene fell silent for a moment because of Dao Dianzhu's awkward laugh.

Dao Qiong Cang put away his playful expression, stood up, and looked back at the night sky, lost in thought.

He stood there for a long time, then suddenly pointed to the night sky: "This is heaven."

Without waiting for Yu Zhi Wen's response, he pointed to the ground: "This is earth."

It was like he was talking to himself, a unconscious smile on his lips, like a child putting down his Tian Ji Si Nan and using his hands to measure above and below:

"The distance between heaven and earth is the distance I want to break. That's what I said back then."

He shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly: "In their eyes, that's utterly ridiculous."

Yu Zhi Wen was taken aback and started taking this question she thought was a joke seriously.

Dao Qiong Cang turned around and hunched over like an old rascal, looking around warily as if guarding against ghosts in the dark night. Then he put a finger to his mouth, very quietly and subtly...

"Shh..."

Yu Zhi Wen was stunned.

She'd never seen Dao Dianzhu acting so childishly and almost burst out laughing.

Seeing her barely contained expression, Dao Qiong Cang stood up with a smile, placed his large hand on the little girl's head, gazed into the distance, and said wistfully:

"No matter what you want to say or do, others can't give you the answers."

"The only thing I can remind you of is still that same phrase."

"Follow your heart, and stay safe."

Yu Zhi Wen's red lips parted slightly as she looked at the night sky, and inexplicable sparkles appeared in her star-like eyes.

Dao Qiong Cang took the damaged tian ji arm, toyed with it for a bit, and handed it to the little girl.

"Xu Xiao Shou's handiwork."

"The distance between heaven and earth."

Night fell over the house, and the mountain snow shimmered faintly.

Xi was suddenly called back in the midst of his busyness.

Strangely, Dao Dianzhu chose to appreciate the night mountain with just him, no one else, not even Yu Zhi Wen, whom he shooed away.

How odd!

Returning to this mountain.

This mountain was about a hundred li from the south gate of Yu Jing Cheng, an unnamed forest mountain.

It was rarely visited, with only birds crying in the night.

Glancing back occasionally, you could see the south gate of Yu Jing Cheng faintly visible under the moonlight.

The snow in Yu Jing Cheng wasn't heavy, but this mountain had accumulated a layer up to the ankles. Stepping on it made a "crunch," and your ankles turned icy cold.

Xi was shivering.

He'd seen the battlefield recording pearl and realized he'd misunderstood Dao Dianzhu's interests.

Naturally, his search direction adjusted—from Kyoto's married women and burly men to that Nan Yu evil cultivator, the thief.

But it seemed there was still some time before the "half a day" deadline, so why did Dao Dianzhu drag him here so quickly?

"Do you know why I've brought you here?" Dao Qiong Cang asked, hands behind his back as he paced through the snow.

Brought... Xi answered solemnly: "I know; this is a place 'he' has been!"

"Oh? You've figured it out?"

"Reporting to Dao Dianzhu, I'm just a step away."

"Then how do you know someone has been here?"

"The view is excellent; it's a prime spot, and yet there are no traces left... Before you brought me here, I hadn't even considered this place... That clearly points to a problem!" Xi chose his words carefully, feeling like there was a tiger beside him, ready to pounce.

"Oh, so just because I brought you here, you think 'it is,' so you say 'it is'?" Dao Qiong Cang asked calmly.

Xi didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"As an intelligence officer, as the head of the Yi Bu, you're not at all rash, acting on sixth sense, and as a Gu Jian Xiu, you follow the Lian Ling Shi's intuition—impressive."

"The Yi Bu not finding the person doesn't mean the Yi Bu is incompetent; it's just that the enemy hid too well, the enemy is too strong, and no traces mean the best traces. That's quite thought-provoking; I've learned from it."

"Respecting elders, following in their footsteps, every word showing respect for my choice of this place... It seems after being in the Yi Bu for so long, you've really gotten the hang of the little rules on Sheng Shan—saying the right thing to the right person, adapting seamlessly, never slipping up."

Xi's scalp tingled.

Was it the weather?

Or the heavy yin energy here?

Why was Dao Dianzhu speaking so sarcastically?

If you want to criticize the Yi Bu, just say it; if you want to criticize me, just say it. Why beat around the bush!

"Are you tongue-tied?"

Dao Qiong Cang turned to face the young man, who seemed to be sweating profusely in the snowy night, and said indifferently: "Or is it too cold, and you're frozen stiff, only able to gooselike? Are you a goose?"

"Dao Dianzhu, I was wrong!" Xi said in panic; admitting fault first couldn't hurt, right?

"Wrong where?"

"I was wrong in..."

"If you know you're wrong, just correct it; no need to say it out loud. Some things, once said, just disgust people."

Xi's face turned from pale to flushed, feeling worse than if he'd swallowed a fly.

Was Dao Dianzhu in a bad mood tonight?

Who had provoked him!!!

"The atmosphere on Sheng Shan isn't great; young people shouldn't copy everything. Take the bad and discard the good—that's a terrible habit."

"I... This junior has learned his lesson."

"The matter I assigned you—did you handle it personally?" Dao Qiong Cang shifted the topic, his tone as calm as ever.

"Yes!"

Xi finally found something to get excited about and replied loudly: "This subordinate handled it personally, checked traces in a several-hundred-li radius, and narrowed down the area. I could find this place on my own soon, without you leading!"

"What if I said this place isn't his hiding spot; I just wandered here casually?"

"You're frozen again?"

"Reporting to Dao Dianzhu, it isn't! This subordinate just... has nothing to say!" Xi went all in; he realized he was just a venting target now.

"Speaking so loudly—are you disturbing the peace in Yu Jing Cheng like this, or expressing your dissatisfaction with me?"

"No! Oh, yes... Oh, no—then this subordinate will speak softer." Xi was extremely aggrieved and incoherent.

"You've been busy with this all night?" Dao Qiong Cang asked again.

"Yes." Xi breathed a sigh of relief; surely there was nothing more to say about that. I might be slow in finding someone, but I have the effort, if not the results.

Dao Qiong Cang sneered: "When you realize you're too busy, you're no longer a qualified Yi Bu head."

Xi was stunned.

Dao Qiong Cang continued:

"The Yi doesn't work like you, always bustling around; he's usually off sightseeing while building intelligence networks everywhere."

"As head, you don't need to handle everything yourself... If you can't learn to trust your subordinates or delegate tasks, what about your Gu Jian Dao? Do you plan to spend the rest of your life buried in Yi Bu work until you die?"

Xi opened his mouth to retort, but it felt utterly pointless.

"Think about why you were so busy when you were deputy of the two departments."

"Then put yourself in your current shoes as head and think why you're still the only one busy."

"Your methods are flawed; your mindset is still that of a subordinate. Your shizun can't teach you that, so I'll say it."

After scolding for a while, Dao Qiong Cang finally felt relieved, his tone returning to normal as he offered rare advice.

Xi suddenly came to his senses, as if enlightened, and bowed seriously: "This junior has learned his lesson."

"Don't just keep saying you've learned; don't stay stuck in thinking without acting. You young people are all like that... Think it through properly, then do what you should!"

"What I should do..."

"Lian Ling Shi strive for the dao, Gu Jian Xiu seize fame—Ba Zun An has already told you the answer, so for these Qi Jian Xian, will you fight for it or not?"

"I..."

Xi wanted to say that as the Yi Bu head and the overall intelligence lead for the Tian Zu operations, he had to handle tasks big and small, plus whatever extra you assign, so when would he have time to compete for rankings?

But on second thought, saying that would just invite more scolding, since Dao Dianzhu had already blocked that path.

Shen Gui Mo Ce, utterly terrifying!

"I'll adjust myself properly." Xi bowed seriously, answering without arguing.

Dao Qiong Cang nodded slightly and said no more on the matter.

He changed direction, scooped up a handful of snow from the ground, and let it slip through his fingers.

"You said there are no traces of him here?"

With that one sentence, Xi broke out in a cold sweat, realizing this place really was the Nan Yu evil cultivator's previous hideout—had Dao Dianzhu already found it?

What he'd said earlier about wandering casually was just a joke!

"I... need to look around." Xi chose to play it safe and not rush.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Ah? Waiting for what?"

"Look around—do you want me to keep you company here in the snowy mountains all night?"

I... Xi nearly cracked; for the first time, he found Dao Dianzhu's temper worse than his shizun's.

"I'll look, I'll look right now..."

He didn't dare delay, clasped his hands together, and a faint green sword light appeared in his eyes.

In an instant, the snowy forest under the night turned eerily gloomy.

Dao Qiong Cang still had his hands behind his back, but he narrowed his eyes slightly, observing the young man seriously.

Yes, this was the first time he'd watched Xi in action.

The reason for this night mountain test wasn't because he'd realized Xi was a genius worth nurturing.

Dao Qiong Cang just felt...

It was time to seriously study Gui Jian Shu.