"Reflect on Your Mistake inside the Residence."
After breakfast, Su Yang accompanied Fan Xi to the Tengyun Pavilion.
Fan Xi went back to the inn on Fifth Street to clean up and change his outfit. Then carried his letter to the main building.
The guard outside the gate obviously knew Fan Xi. Without saying a word, he accepted the letter and handed it to the old man in the gatehouse who was in charge of delivering messages.
The messenger peeked out from the crack between the half-open door and suddenly let out a sound of surprise. He got a glimpse of Su Yang and Fan Xi and silently turned away.
The guard immediately closed the gate and stood at his post motionlessly.
Inside the main hall, Gu Ruohai just finished some official paperwork, but he remained sitting behind his desk, lost in thought.
The Pavilion Lord’s personal guard accepted Fan Xi’s letter and handed it to his Lord, saying, “Pavilion Lord, Young Hero Fan is here today. Are you still not going to see him?”
Gu Ruohai came to his senses. “That’s right.”
After a pause, the guard brought up, “The messenger said that someone was accompanying the Young Hero Fan here today. Que Shou and Que Zhi were behind the young man. The postman guessed that person might be Su Yang from the Evil Sect.”
“Why is he here?” Gu Ruohai asked, revealing no emotion in his dark eyes. “Did he also bring forward a letter?”
“Not yet.” The guard replied. “Only Young Hero Fan’s today.”
“Is that so?” Gu Ruohai nodded. “You’re dismissed.”
After sitting alone for a while, the Pavilion Lord got up and went to the Flying Bird Residence.
When he arrived at the residence gate, he met the residence’s supervisor, who was going out of the door in a hurry. When the supervisor saw Gu Ruohai, he immediately stopped and saluted, “Lord!”
His tone was slightly anxious. “The Young Lord got up before dawn and began to practice. But he has been practicing for more than a time period without taking a break. This subordinate couldn’t urge him to rest. So I was about to go find you…”
Gu Ruohai frowned slightly and stepped into the courtyard.
Gu Feidi waved the long sword in his hand. His eyes were sharp, completely unrestrained with his internal energy as he fiercely danced with the Flying Kite Technique.
Because of the long period of intense exercise and internal energy consumption, the young man’s face was turning pale and his clothes were soaked with sweat. His long black hair was stuck to his face from the dampness, and each motion would fling off small droplets.
Even after seeing Gu Ruohai approaching, Gu Feidi indicated no intention to stop his training. With a turn of his wrist, he completed the Flying Kite Technique’s final form, Graceful Wings, and continued his sword dance anew.
Gu Ruohai took a deep breath. He raised his hand to break off a branch void of leaves from a tree and leapt onto the training ground.
He sidestepped two moves, and with his internal energy, smacked the back of Gu Feidi’s hand with the tip of the branch. He immediately drew a red mark on the skin and it swelled in the blink of an eye. Then, with another strike, he disarmed his son.
Gu Feidi finally stopped. He gasped, saying nothing as he turned to his father.
“Haven’t I taught you that one shouldn’t ever excessively exercise?” Gu Ruohai scolded with his deep voice. “Even if you can’t calm your heart down, you shouldn’t damage your body like this.”
Gu Feidi lowered his gaze and said in a tired voice, “Understood.”
Seeing his son’s poor complexion, Gu Ruohai asked, “Que Heng said the snacks were untouched, and you only had half of your dinner. What’s the matter?”
Gu Feidi was silent for a while and replied, “...I didn’t have that much appetite.”
Gu Ruohai stared at Gu Feidi, not knowing what to say. However, his eyes and aura were like lofty mountains that weighed heavily on Gu Feidi, which made his fingertips tremble.
Gu Feidi clenched his fingers into the palm of his hands and stood his ground, refusing to retreat.
After a long time, Gu Ruohai sighed.
Hearing this sigh, Gu Feidi swallowed and inquired in a low voice, “Father…you know about us.”
“I do.” Gu Ruohai answered.
The stone suspended in his heart dropped hard. Gu Feidi stood in a daze. It was his turn to be speechless.
Gu Ruohai questioned, “You have feelings for him, and he carries the same feelings toward you, correct?”
Gu Feidi bit his lower lip. “...I desire to be with him. He’s not what Jianghu's rumours make him out to be. In fact…I was the one who forced him.”
“Oh? Did you also force him to detoxify you?” Gu Ruohai said with a smile. “How about that time in the Wasteland? Were you the one who pressured him to take the blade for you?”
Gu Feidi suddenly looked at Gu Ruohai and tried to explain, “At that time, he only saw me as a fellow disciple, and cared for me as a friend…I couldn’t resist my fondness toward him in the Evil Sect and confessed my true feelings…”
Gu Ruohai signed, “Your eager explanation makes me think you fear that I will make things difficult for him?”
Gu Feidi clenched his teeth. “Whatever’s the case, he saved my life…three times.”
“This Father understands your logic.” Gu Ruohai stated. “But do you really understand your feelings toward him? Is it simply love, gratefulness toward a saviour, or determination to repay a debt?”
“Father, I love him.” Gu Feidi’s eyes were red, and he declared in a trembling tone. “I’m always well aware of what I want.”
Then he stepped back, knelt down slowly, and pressed his forehead to the ground. “This child is unfilial, unwilling to marry women and just wants to grow old with another man.”
Gu Ruohai did not immediately ask Gu Feidi to get up.
He studied his son’s stubborn figure kneeling on the ground, but his eyes seemed to be peering through him at something else, maybe a painful memory, but something more distant.
Even after a long, choking silence, Gu Ruohai wasn’t done with his questionnaire yet. “Are you sure he cares about you the same way?”
Gu Feidi lifted his head to lock eyes with his father. “I believe him!”
After a moment’s silence, Gu Ruohai announced, “If that’s the case, continue to reflect on your errors here.”
Giving no time period or conditions to end the punishment, he turned and exited out of the entrance.
Gu Feidi stayed kneeling and motionlessly watched his father’s departing back.
After a while, he lowered his head slightly and wiped his face. He summoned Que Heng, who managed the residence.
“Father ordered me to reflect on myself, but he didn’t restrict visitors, correct?” Gu Feidi asked.
“That’s correct.” Que Heng replied. “Does the Young Lord want to invite a friend?”
Gu Feidi nodded. “Please send an invitation to the Village of Mount Qianfeng and request the presence of Xu Yunzhan.”
Que Heng nodded and went to do as he was told.
The Village of Mount Qianfeng was located just outside of the city, built against the Lan Mountain. Thus, Xu Yunzhan arrived at the Tengyun Pavilion in the early afternoon.
“I haven’t heard from you since our separation in the Wasteland and was worried that you would be bullied in the Evil Sect. I didn’t expect your return and even your invitation.”
Xu Yunzhan sat down opposite of Gu Feidi and picked up the teapot to pour tea like usual. “What serious matter did you guys get into? Is the rumour true that Su Yang came to the Central Plains?”
Gu Feidi rubbed the edge of the teacup and nodded. “Yes, we travelled from the Evil Sect to Lanyang City.”
Xu Yunzhan: “...”
Xu Yunzhan put down the cup he was about to sip from and cautioned in surprise, “What did you bring him to the Central Plains for?”
Gu Feidi didn’t answer immediately. There was something else he needed to get off of his chest.
“During our last meeting in the wilderness, we were surrounded by too many people and it was not the best time and place for me to explain everything.” He resumed. “I was glad you believed me and didn’t force me from the Evil Sect. My Kindred Spirit Brother蔚起兄 is Xu Yunzhan’s nickname. I can’t find anything but I assumed it’s related to kids growing up together, like soul brothers. I really want to use ‘mushroom brother’ xD, I want to thank you…”
The sudden gratitude slightly embarrassed Xu Yunzhan.
He laughed, trying to play it cool. “I thought you had a plan for that scuffle, which I assumed required you to infiltrate the Evil Sect. Later, Fan Xi disclosed the details that you may have been injured…could you tell me about it now?”
Gu Feidi nodded. He retold with a lower voice and summarised the time between getting hit with the Poisonous Gu and their journey to get him detoxified. He also mentioned the Sect Leader’s keepsake and him allowing them to find the Elegant Jade’s Miracle Doctor.
Once Gu Feidi was done, he ended with, “That’s why I need to take him to the Snowy Mountain in the southwest to completely get rid of the Poisonous Gu. This is the only way to eliminate the hidden danger.”
“So it is like that…” Xu Yunzhan frowned slightly and pondered. “He saved you with his life and now you want to repay him. It’s best if you are the one who accompanies him to the mountain.”
Gu Feidi lamented with a bitter smile, “But my father forbids it.”
Xu Yunzhan was surprised. “Why? With Alliance Leader Gu’s principle, as long as you explain to him clearly, he wouldn’t stop you.”
Gu Feidi focused on the cup in his hand and didn’t reply, as if lost in deep thought.
With a sudden faint sound of porcelain cracking, he returned to reality and quickly placed the cracked cup into the tea tray.
Xu Yunzhan furrowed his brow. “What’s wrong?”
Gu Feidi met his friend’s eyes, hesitated for a while before murmuring, “My Kindred Spirit Brother, I…I have something that I want to tell you.”
Xu Yunzhan wondered. “When did you start restricting yourself with me? We have been friends since we were kids. There shouldn’t be anything that we can’t talk about.”
“I kept this from you for a long time.” Gu Feidi whispered. “I was selfish and ashamed of myself…”
Hearing him speak solemnly, Xu Yunzhan’s face turned serious. But he didn’t interrupt. Instead, silently waiting and encouraging Gu Feidi to continue.
Gu Feidi confessed, “Su Yang and I have experienced life and death in the wilderness together…When we were in the Evil Sect, we expressed our feelings and found each other congenial…”
Xu Yunzhan put down his cup on the table with a semi-loud ‘clang’.
With a disbelieving expression, he stammered, “You…you and Su Yang…”
“That’s right.” Gu Feidi lowered his head. “I’m happy and in love with him.”
Xu Yunzhan asked, “Does he feel the same toward you?”
Gu Feidi nodded. “He…promised to accompany me for parts of our lives.”
Xu Yunzhan instantly went quiet.
Gu Feidi paused and sighed, “I’m sorry, I know you also…”
“Feidi,” Xu Yunzhan interrupted with a solemn tone. “Do you remember what you said to me the day you came out of Hidden Pearl Pavilion?”
Gu Feidi recalled what he said and confirmed, “...I do.”
After another silence, he added slowly, “In fact…I didn’t say those words just for you, but also to myself…”
Hearing this, Xu Yunzhan was startled. “You already had feelings toward him since that time…?”
Gu Feidi grinned bitterly and nodded.
“I have been thinking of him since I entered seclusion at Hidden Pearl Pavilion. But…I knew I shouldn’t. I even tried to persuade myself to let it go countless times. You told me how you felt on that day, yet I couldn’t do the same. I could only advise you and myself…we must not desire the unrealistic. However, as I continued to spend more time with him…I knew immediately that no matter what I did…I couldn’t let him go.”
With that, Gu Feidi turned to Xu Yunzhan and somberly echoed, “My Kindred Spirit Brother, I’m very sorry.”
Xu Yunzhan suddenly smiled. “There’s nothing for you to apologise about to me.”
He whispered, “I was the one who didn’t cherish my feelings. I didn’t have your courage and your persistence in my own feelings. Besides, I actually…The longer I interacted with my wife, the more I found that the feelings I had toward Su Yang…It was hard to say if it was affection or admiration.”
“My Kindred Brother…” Gu Feidi called out.
“In fact, I feel relieved to know that you are together with him.” Xu Yunzhan smiled. “After I married Lady Ying, I occasionally thought of Su Yang and blamed myself for having another person besides my wife in my heart. I wasn’t wholeheartedly placing all my love on her. Now that I know you are with him, I can finally relinquish my feelings toward him and start treating him as my fellow disciple, or even my brother’s lover.”
“Thank you, your words mean a lot to me.” Gu Feidi smiled sincerely.
Xu Yunzhan shook his head, smiling. “Now, less about me and more about you. Have you ever thought of the difficulties you’ll be facing in the future? If Alliance Leader Gu knows about this…”
Gu Feidi faced the ground. “My father already knows. That’s why…he ordered me into seclusion to reflect on my mistake.”
Xu Yunzhan gasped, “You already told your father?”
Without waiting for an answer, he threw another question. “That was your only punishment?!”
Gu Feidi answered with a wry smile, “I don’t know how he knew. I repeated the scene in my head but found no flaw…The moderate attitude he had toward this was also outside of my expectation…I thought that even if he wouldn't whip me for punishment, he would at least make me kneel and beg for my mother’s forgiveness in front of her memorial tablet.”
Xu Yunzhan sighed, “Maybe no punishment means he is going to confront Su Yang.”
Gu Feidi nodded in agreement. “That’s the reason I asked you to come.”
With that, he got up and straightened out his clothes, then cupped his fist toward Xu Yunzhan.
“This one earnestly requests my brother to look after Su Yang for me.” He locked eyes with Xu Yunzhan.
Xu Yunzhan also got up quickly and said helplessly, “Why do you have to be like this? You and I have been friends since I can remember. Su Yang and I are fellow disciples as well. Even if your letter only had a single sentence, I’d still look after him for you.”
“I didn’t expect my father to learn this so soon. Next, I need to increase my effort to beg my father to let me out and accompany Su Yang to the Snowy Mountain.” Gu Feidi cheered himself up. “My father didn’t scold me today. If my decision really bothered him, he might remove Su Yang from the City. I don’t want to cause him any grievances, and could only request you to take him to your Village temporarily.”
Xu Yunzhan questioned, “Do you trust me that much?”
Gu Feidi smiled. “For you, I would even entrust you with my life.”
As they entered a staring contest, Xu Yunzhan broke the silence with a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him for you.”
Zhanzhan,,, I wish u a happy life with ur wife✊
Thnx for the chapter ❤️take love from this meimei