Zanxing (Retranslated)

Zanxing stared at him and said, “Martial Uncle, you’re so competitive.”

This young man was like an unyielding wolf cub. If anyone provoked him, he would bite back.

“So what?” He raised an eyebrow. “Should I just stand here and wait to be ambushed like you? I’m starting to doubt Xuan Lingzi’s judgment.”

“Martial Uncle, it’s getting late,” Meng Ying glanced into the distance. “Let’s find a place to stay first.”

“Right, right,” Men Dong stretched his waist. “I’m hungry too. Let’s go find an inn first.”

The King of Li’er Country had warmly invited them to stay in the palace, but there were too many rules in the palace. Gu Baiying and Meng Ying both disliked being restrained, so they decided to find an inn to stay in the city. As a tourist city, Li’er Country had no shortage of inns. During the once-a-decade secret realm opening, the inns near the beach were even more crowded.

Cultivators were all carefully selected seedlings from their sects, so they naturally had no shortage of spirit stones. In Li’er Country, the most expensive inn is the Xian Xun Hai inn.

The beach near the Xian Xun Hai inn was made up of fine white sand that looked clean and soft. Red mangroves grew by the sea, and in the distance the sea was as blue as glass. The inns were all wooden buildings. At night, you could sit in the building and open the window to see the sea view. If the moon was shining brightly, the beach would be as bright as silver snow, and the sound of the tide could be heard in the distance under the swaying shadows of the trees. The moist sea breeze blew on your face, as if you had strayed into a fairy island.

It is indeed like a xian xun hai

¹.

Tian Fangfang was staying by the sea for the first time and was touching everything. The curtains here were snow-white gauze curtains. When the sea breeze blew from outside the window, the curtains fluttered like flowing clouds and mist. Zanxing sighed in her heart that such a good place would be a pity not to spend a honeymoon in.

She and Meng Ying stayed in one room, Gu Baiying and Men Dong stayed in another, and Mu Cengxiao and Tian Fangfang naturally stayed in another room. Although Taiyan Sect was not considered poor, one night here cost hundreds of spirit stones, so it was better to save a little if possible.

Yang Zanxing sat in the room for a while, feeling hungry. She had thought about asking Meng Ying if she wanted to go out for something to eat, but she noticed that Meng Ying had already started meditating silently. Not wanting to disturb her, Yang Zanxing went downstairs alone to see what food options were available at the inn.

The inn was quite large, surrounded by small buildings, with a courtyard in the middle where a phoenix tree grew beautifully. Yang Zanxing descended the stairs, intending to pass through the courtyard to the front hall. As she walked past, she noticed a bronze mirror hanging on the tree in the courtyard, perhaps placed there for people to tidy up their attire.

Approaching the mirror, Yang Zanxing looked at her reflection. The girl in the mirror was tall and graceful, with delicate features, but a stark, dark scar marred her right cheek, giving her otherwise lovely face a touch of ferocity.

She sighed. She had applied various ointments and creams for months, but the scar hadn’t faded at all. Yang Zanxing doubted whether Li Danshu’s claim that it would fully heal within two years was just a consolation. Her hand reached up to touch her cheek. The scar was really too conspicuous.

“This is a rare sight,” a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind her. “I thought you didn’t care about it.”

Yang Zanxing turned around to see Gu Baiying standing at the base of the stairs, arms crossed, calmly looking at her.

“Seventh Martial Uncle?” Yang Zanxing glanced behind him but didn’t see anyone else, then said, “Everyone desires beauty, and I don’t want to be called an ugly monster every day.”

“Feeling provoked by those bastards in the gambling house?”

Yang Zanxing: “…”

She forced a fake smile, “After all, I’m just a girl, not as charming and radiant as Martial Uncle.”

Gu Baiying always accepted compliments from others without modesty, and upon hearing this, he showed no sign of humility, only saying, “Of course.”

Yang Zanxing was speechless, so she changed the subject, “Martial Uncle, this tree looks a lot like the flower tree in the Elysium Hall.”

“So?”

Yang Zanxing continued, “I really like it. Could you teach me illusion techniques?”

Ever since she saw the tree in the Elysium Hall that bloomed even in winter, Yang Zanxing had developed a strong interest in illusion techniques. However, there was no discipline of illusion techniques in the Taiyan Sect, and even in the library, there were few books on the subject. Yang Zanxing looked at Gu Baiying and said, “I asked Master before. He said that among the Taiyan Sect, your illusion techniques are the best. Martial Uncle, could you teach me?”

Gu Baiying might have a bad temper, but bearing the title of a Martial Uncle while away from home, he didn’t outright refuse. Instead, he admonished her, saying, “Illusion techniques are just deceptive methods and have no attacking power. What’s most important for you now is to improve your cultivation. Don’t aim too high and end up with low skills.”

“How could they have no attacking power?” Yang Zanxing asked, “The first time we met, the snow that flew out of your artifact was an illusion technique, but it still hurt me.”

“That was a cultivation technique, not an illusion technique,” Gu Baiying patiently explained, “In the cultivation world, cultivators disdain using illusion techniques without attacking power because illusion techniques can only deceive ordinary people without cultivation.” He glanced at Yang Zanxing, perhaps expressing disdain for her inability to discern even illusion techniques as a disciple of the Taiyan Sect. After a pause, he continued, “Illusion techniques are often used by demonic beings to harm people. The Two-Headed Asura you encountered in the Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram, in a way, the two faces you saw were also the result of illusion techniques.”

“Does that mean illusion techniques only work on ordinary people?” Yang Zanxing asked humbly, seeking clarification.

“In most cases, yes.”

“And in the minority of cases?”

“There are legends of great demons in the demon realm that have lived for thousands of years, capable of transforming into entire cities, complete with flowers, birds, insects, beasts, sun, moon, weather, and buildings, indistinguishable from the real thing,” Gu Baiying said. “If you encounter such a great demon, even highly skilled cultivators might find it difficult to discern.”

“That’s impressive.”

Gu Baiying frowned. “It’s just hearsay, nothing certain. Demons are naturally adept at deceiving hearts. For ordinary people to practice illusion techniques is meaningless, so you’d better not indulge in fanciful thoughts and focus on practicing diligently.”

Yang Zanxing felt that at this moment, Gu Baiying exuded the aura of a stern headmaster.

She took a step forward, looking up at Gu Baiying with a smile. “But according to Martial Uncle’s words, if practicing illusion techniques is meaningless and has no advantage for us cultivators, then why does Martial Uncle still learn it? It can’t just be to see a tree bloom in winter, right?”

The young man was momentarily stunned, his clear eyes darkening like the night. Before he could speak, a voice came from behind him, “You don’t understand. Although it’s not very useful, girls like it!”

Yang Zanxing turned around to see Men Dong running up from downstairs. In the blink of an eye, he ran up to Gu Baiying, looked at Yang Zanxing, and said, “Practicing just for the sake of practicing is so boring!”

This child had a face like a delicate little fairy, but every time he spoke, he sounded surprisingly mature, neither childish nor adult-like.

“But your little Senior Uncle doesn’t seem like someone who knows how to charm girls,” Yang Zanxing teased as she pinched his cheek.

Men Dong pushed her hand away. “What does ‘charm girls’ mean?”

“It means to win a girl’s favor,” Yang Zanxing explained with a smile.

“Senior Uncle needs to charm girls?” Men Dong replied without hesitation, “It’s always been others trying to charm him.”

Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow slightly, interrupting the child’s words. “What are you doing here?”

“Senior Brother Tian and Senior Brother Mu came to knock on my door, asking if I wanted to go out and find something to eat with them,” Men Dong gestured behind him. “They’re here.”

As Tian Fangfang and Mu Cengxiao descended the stairs, they saw Gu Baiying and Yang Zanxing standing in the courtyard. Tian Fangfang walked over to Yang Zanxing’s side, leaning on her shoulder, and said, “Junior Sister, you’re here too. Junior Brother and I are going to the beach. I heard the seafood near Li’er Country is so fresh it could swallow your tongue. We’re going to check it out. Would you like to come?”

“Sure!” Yang Zanxing smiled. “I also want to try the seafood you mentioned.” Traveling without tasting all the local snacks was like coming for nothing.

“Martial Uncle, would you like to come too?” Tian Fangfang warmly invited. “There’s no sea on the other side of Gufeng Mountain, so it’s rare to see these things.”

Gu Baiying, as Zanxing had guessed, despised these junk foods and said, “No way. Why buy these mundane worldly foods that lack spiritual energy? They are not good for cultivation. I advise you to eat less too.”

Tian Fangfang didn’t take Gu Baiying’s words to heart at all and said, “Okay, we promise to only have a taste.”

Gu Baiying turned to go back upstairs, saw Men Dong sneak towards Tian Fangfang’s side, unceremoniously grabbed Men Dong’s back collar, and dragged him back, saying, “You’re not allowed to go either.”

Men Dong came up with a quick idea and shouted, “Martial Uncle!”

Gu Baiying raised his eyelids and said, “What is it?”

Men Dong pulled his sleeve and whispered, “Martial Uncle, think twice! The Qinchong seeds are still on Yang Zanxing, and she still has evil thoughts about Mu Cengxiao. It’s dark and stormy outside, we can’t let them go out together, what if they have dual cultivation?”

“What are you worrying about?” Gu Baiying laughed angrily: “Tian Fangfang is still there, how can they have dual cultivation?”

“Tian Fangfang doesn’t know anything. He might just be brushed off in a few words. It’s best to keep the Qinchong seeds safe and sound under our eyelids. Martial Uncle, you came to Li’er Country for the Qinchong, so we can’t afford to fail. The devil is in the details, you know!” Men Dong struggled to turn his head to glance at the backs of the three people, urgently saying, “Martial Uncle, look quickly! They’re all walking together, so intimate. It’s very dangerous!”

Gu Baiying, originally quite impatient with Men Dong’s ramblings, found himself stopping and turning back at Men Dong’s increasingly heartfelt words.

In the distance, Yang Zanxing walked in the middle, with Mu Cengxiao and Tian Fangfang on either side of her, seemingly equidistant.

Men Dong continued to chatter, “Look, their shoulders are touching! Their hands are about to touch too. Goodness, are they going to be together tonight?”

“Shut up,” Gu Baiying covered his mouth, frowning as he stared ahead at the three people. After a moment, he strode forward, walking all the way to the middle of Yang Zanxing and Mu Cengxiao, squeezing between them.

Yang Zanxing: “?”

Footnotes

1. 
   
   

   “Xianxunhai” (仙寻海) can be literally translated to “Seeking Immortals/Celestials/Fairies by the sea”