"I Want to Seize Today, and Cherish the Present."

Su Yang hadn't stepped out of the inn since he returned from the Tengyun Pavilion’s main building.

He sat crossed legged, lost in meditation. He went through the Six Night Flower Burial and the Blooming of the Nine Glacials twice, he also went through all of his sword forms twice using his two fingers in place of a sword. With nothing to do for the rest of the morning, he tried to nap after lunch but couldn’t fall asleep. He felt like he was suffocating.

As someone who lived as a homebody before he entered the entertainment industry, he could dance on his livestream at home daily. At that time, he would order takeout for all of his meals and fresh fruit with his grocery delivery. When he was feeling particularly lazy, he would ask the delivery guy to help him take out the trash. Staying indoors for a week was no issue for him.

Why would he feel so suffocated just from spending inside for half a day just by a change of location? 

He blamed the lack of phone and internet.

—If you can’t see the person you wanted to see, and can’t send messages as well. Of course it’s unbearable! 

Su Yang found himself a pile of fine writing paper, cut it into squares, and folded paper cranes to kill time.

As he created his army of paper cranes, he thought, if only his creations could fly, then he would use them to send messages to Gu Feidi.

He wondered how Gu Feidi’s side was doing.

It shouldn’t take that long just to deliver a letter.

Maybe…he wanted to catch up and to chat with the Alliance Leader Gu? After all, they haven’t seen each other for quite a long time. Surely they missed each other, right?

Or maybe they needed to discuss the E’Luo Gui Faction scheme.

Therefore, the two to three days delay was very reasonable...

He added another paper crane to the pile, and boredom finally overcame him as he lay on the couch. Staring at the exquisitely carved ceiling of the inn, all of his thoughts revolved around Gu Feidi.

Suddenly, two voices sounded outside the door as they overlapped, “Pavilion Lord!”

Followed by the inn’s door being slowly pushed open.

A startled Su Yang sat up straight and watched the middle-aged man who entered the room.

The man didn’t show his age. His appearance was still as sharp and handsome, with only a small amount of silver hair at his temples and light wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. 

His facial features, from eyebrows to eyes, were almost identical to Gu Feidi. Even without the two guards’ greetings, Su Yang could recognise who this man was with one glance.

Mei Shisan entered the room behind Gu Ruohai and gave Su Yang an anxious look. He left the room and closed the door after Su Yang gave him an eye signal.

Su Yang cupped his hands and saluted to Gu Ruohai, “Alliance Leader.”

Gu Ruohai’s eyes were fixed on Su Yang’s face for a very long time.

The atmosphere became awkward at the increasing silence, and Su Yang didn’t know what to say. He could only stay quiet like Gu Ruohai.

“Your eyebrows and eyes look just like your mother.”

This was the first sentence Gu Ruohai said, and Su Yang…didn’t know how to respond to that.

Fortunately, the Alliance Leader didn’t wait for him to accept the baton. The older man smiled, as if to himself, and said, “But your face is very much like Zhu…like your father.”

Su Yang was taken aback.

Didn’t the rumours state that the Evil Sect’s Young Master was adopted from a village by the Sect Leader? How could…the Young Master have the same appearance as the Sect Leader?

Oh, maybe the Pavilion Lord knew who the Young Master’s father was?

“Jianghu rumours are really ridiculous.” A smile hung on Gu Ruohai’s face, but his eyes were filled with pain. “Rumour said you weren’t his son, but from what I see—how could you not be his son?”

The atmosphere was beyond strange that Su Yang resisted the impulse to retreat. He tried to change the subject, “What does the senior need with me?”

Gu Ruohai replied, “I haven’t met you face to face. So I took the liberty to see you while you’re in the city.”

Su Yang quietly replied with an “Oh” thinking that in ancient times, even if the senior wanted to meet the junior, they wouldn't have taken the initiative to come themselves. He murmured, “Actually, I should be the one requesting an audience with you at the main Pavilion.”

Instead of responding, Gu Ruohai shook his head.

After a while, he asked, “You planned to go to the Snowy Mountain in the southwest to get rid of the Poisonous Gu in your body?”

Su Yang replied, “That’s right.”

Gu Ruohai stated, “Luo Yu, because of what happened in his early years, this person has…many issues with your father. If you go find him, I’m afraid you’ll face some difficulties.”

Then, he took out a jade pendant from his sleeve and handed it to Su Yang. “This is the birthday gift Luo Yu gave me. Take it. You might use it to gain favour.”

Su Yang was stunned. “Er, this senior…”

He didn’t dare to reach for the pendant. “I already have a keepsake. My Sect Leader said the miracle doctor…and my mother have a past, and gave me a legacy of my mother.”

Gu Ruohai studied him blankly and said with a quick smile, “It won’t hurt to have one more, if not, pass this to Luo Yu with my regards.”

With that, he placed the jade pendant on the table.

“It’s late autumn right now. Once winter starts, the journey to the Snowy Mountain becomes difficult.” He added. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll send my personal guard to escort you to the southwest.”

“Huh?” Su Yang was surprised and asked, “Then, what about Gu Feidi?”

Gu Ruohai informed, “He wants to stay here and prepare for the upcoming marriage engagement. It’s not convenient for him to travel.”

Hearing this, Su Yang was shocked.

However, it was strange that he didn’t have a piercing feeling. He was just at a loss and even had a sense of absurdity and a desire to burst out laughing. 

He lowered his feeling of absurdity by smiling. “Senior is lying, right?”

Gu Ruohai slightly raised his eyebrows in amazement. 

“He wouldn’t do that.” Su Yang included firmly. “Unless Alliance Leader Gu is forcing him.”

Without waiting for Gu Ruohai to answer, he immediately added, “And even if you force him, he would not yield this easily.”

—No matter how much the plot collapses, Gu Feidi is still the protagonist. He would never give up on what he wanted without a fight, nor would he feign civility with the senior and pretend to agree on marriage for the sake of the so-called ‘overall situation’. Maybe even now, he is secretly planning to escape from his house arrest, and then elope with me to the Snowy Mountain together!

The senior’s expression suddenly turned very serious.

“Do you believe in him that much?” He questioned.

Su Yang determined, “Yes, I believe in him.”

Gu Ruohai asked again, “Why do you firmly believe that he’ll not be engaged? Since you two are fellow disciples, as his friend, if he wants to get married, shouldn’t you be congratulating him?”

Su Yang's eyes widened. 

That’s true!

If he and Gu Feidi were only close friends, why would the Alliance Leader bring up an engagement with him as a bluff? 

Wait…bluff?

Then his performance and answer just now, didn’t it mean...

—The cat was out of the bag?!

Su Yang could only feel that his brain shut down.

He stood rigidly in place, not knowing what to say and what expression he should show.

Luckily, Gu Ruohai was not in a hurry to speak.

It took him a long time to chuckle and bring up a new topic, “Years ago, I also earnestly believed in someone like you.”

Su Yang uttered, “...I see.”

Gu Ruohai provided nothing else.

Su Yang became nervous immediately. He resisted the urge to bite his nails. He held the hem of his robe forcefully, trying to occupy his hands by folding the cloth layer by layer. Then he loosened it to repeat the action.

Inside, he was a mess. Thinking about what he should say.

After a long delay, he hesitantly mumbled, “Er, then the senior…knows about me and him…”

“I do.” Gu Ruohai confessed. “But I don’t believe you two should maintain such a relationship.”

It was as if a tight silk thread suddenly snapped, and a high hanging weight suddenly fell, smashing Su Yang’s heart.

The dust settled, yet it was hard to bear.

He muttered, “Senior…”

“Although there are stories about two men falling in love, the bitter truths hiding behind those seemingly beautiful stories are not written in words.” Gu Ruohai emphasized. “This is a tough and rugged road. You two are young, and your vision can only reach what you can see. You can’t imagine what you may face in the future.”

After a pause, he continued, “That’s why I won’t allow him to journey the Snowy Mountain with you. Both of you need to be separated so you’ll have a clear mind to decide.”

The senior’s tone was very calm. He wasn’t blaming or forcing the young man. There was no hint of loathing or disgust. Instead, it was like a kind old man’s earnest teaching.

He didn’t even order anything. None of the words he spoke carried the means to separate them.

But Su Yang couldn’t stop the sense of cold arising in his heart.

“Senior,” He whispered. “I’m not afraid of suffering or being judged by the world.”

The chill began to gather in his limbs’ meridians. First, it was trembling, then his breathing started to become short and fast.

“The upcoming future…whether it be destiny or misfortune, no one could perfectly predict what would happen first. So…I want to seize today and cherish the present. If one day, I leave because of the Jianghu’s viciousness…At least I won’t regret not being truthful with my feelings.”

Dark spots crept at the edge of his vision, but he forced himself to stand upright.

“...I think Gu Feidi must have thought the same.”

Gu Ruohai watched Su Yang and finally frowned. “You…”

Su Yang suddenly lost his strength as he instinctively reached out to support himself on the table's corner, but because of his failed vision, he missed the table.

He fell to the ground and into a pair of powerful arms.

“Senior,” Su Yang asked with trembling lips. “If you’ve loved before, you must understand our feelings, right?”

The senior didn’t answer.

He clenched the young man’s wrist and sent his internal power forward.

Su Yang’s body suddenly shivered. 

“Your body…” Gu Ruohai said in a deep voice. “I sense an extreme chill being in your body. Why continue practising cold natural mental skills? Do you want to die?”

The gears in Su Yang’s head weren’t turning, but a fleeting thought came to his mind as a smile rose from the corner of his lips, answering weakly, “If I didn’t practice the Half-Withered Crimson, how could I save his life?”

A string of indescribable emotions suddenly burst out from Gu Ruohai’s eyes.

Su Yang’s eyes closed slightly, as he exhausted his last strength to plead, “I beg this senior…Please let us complete this journey.”

He fell unconscious as soon as he finished.

Gu Ruohai immediately checked Su Yang’s pulse and internal energy. He was relieved to see that the young man wasn’t in danger for the time being.

He picked up Su Yang and laid him gently on the bed, gripping the thin wrist and inserting some of his heated internal energy to suppress the chill inside. He called out to Que Shou and Que Zhi outside once he was done, telling them to watch over the boy.

After leaving the inn and returning to the Tengyun Pavilion, Gu Ruohai sat down at his desk for a moment and summoned Feng Lin to inquire about the situation at the Flying Bird Residence.

Feng Lin informed, “This afternoon, the Young Lord invited Young Hero Xu of the Village of Mount Qianfeng for an afternoon tea and to chat. Not long after Young Hero Xu left, the Young Lord…went to the residence’s east wing cabin and knelt down in front of the lady’s portrait.”

After hearing this, Gu Ruohai frowned slightly. After a while, he sighed, “...Good for him to be considerate.”

After a long silence, he sighed again. “I’ll allow him to go. If he’s still kneeling there after nightfall, pass my order and make him go back to his room to rest. Let him know to come to see me at the training ground tomorrow at sunrise.” 

Feng Lin accepted the order with a nod.

Gu Ruohai sighed and added, “When Fan Xi returns tomorrow. You can bring him in.”

Feng Lin was startled and immediately replied, “Yes, my Lord.”

As he was about to withdraw, he was stopped again.

Gu Ruohai’s expression was frustrated, with a hint of helplessness.

“Prepare my travelling bags. I’ll be heading to Qing Wu County for the Double Ninth Festival…”