Gui Yin was awoken by the sound of people chattering outside his door. It had always been like this. His apartment walls were thin so he could always hear the screeching of the neighborhood children or the drunkards coming home just a little too late in the mornings. He was used to it by now and it had become common practice to just ignore them. He wasn’t hungry yet and he still wanted to laze around. If his stomach didn’t protest, then he would stay in bed.

But then the doors slid open.

Not creaked open. Not slammed open. Slid open.

Gui Yin immediately woke up. He sat up and looked at the two people who had just entered his apart—his room.

One was a familiar face, but the unfamiliar one was what drew Gui Yin in.

This person appeared to be a young man in his early twenties. He was dressed in pale yellow robes that had light seafoam green embroidery in the shape of auspicious clouds, the customary uniform of those in Yunjing Pavilion. His hair was pulled back into a youthful ponytail by a light seafoam green ribbon. His face was puppy-like. His large eyes were soft and drooped slightly at the ends. His lips were perpetually curved in an easygoing smile. At his side was a sword and on his fingers were several pairs of inconspicuous rings.

“Gui-shishu, you’re awake?”

A loud slap sounded in the room.

Gui Linghuo’s eyes widened. “Shizun, why are you suddenly slapping yourself!?”

It stung. His hand stung and his face stung.

He turned to Gui Linghuo and showed a calm smile. “No, no. I had an odd dream earlier, so I wanted to make sure I was actually awake.”

“A-An odd dream?” Gui Linghuo turned Gui Yin’s palm to face himself. It was completely red. For a cultivator to get this type of reaction, it meant that Gui Yin had also embedded a bit of spiritual energy into that slap.

“That’s right. No matter what I did, I couldn’t wake up. It was odd indeed,” Gui Yin calmly stood and readjusted his robes. He accepted the jacket Gui Linghuo handed to him before he turned to glance at the shocked young man. “Yenuo, could you and Linghuo please wait outside for a moment? I need to change my clothes.”

“Yes, of course,” Dèng Yènuò (邓夜诺) agreed quickly.

He and Gui Linghuo departed, leaving Gui Yin alone again.

Deng Yenuo and Gui Linghuo didn’t have to wait too long. After standing outside for a few minutes, Gui Yin emerged from his room.

The redness and swelling on his cheek and his palm had vanished. His skin was smooth and pristine as if nothing had happened. He dressed according to the vague memory that was to be embedded into his bones. His hair was pulled back in the same way Ye Liuxing and Lin Cangyuan’s were. For the day, he chose to wear soft ivory brocade robes that had faint seafoam green detailing, under a yellow coat. The layers people wore in cultivation novels were atrocious, but because he was a high-level cultivator, it wasn’t burdensome even in these warmer months.

“Gui-shishu, are you really okay?” Deng Yenuo asked cautiously.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I apologize for worrying the two of you,” Gui Yin chuckled. “Come now. Let’s not delay any longer.”

Deng Yenuo glanced at Gui Yin hesitantly but guided the master and disciple pair to the teleportation array nonetheless.

As they walked, Gui Linghuo continued sneaking glances at Gui Yin worriedly.

He knew that he had acted strangely, but what could he do? He managed to get a good night’s sleep only because he tricked himself into thinking this was all a dream. Yet when he woke up, he was still in this same place. The ache in his cheek was a painful reminder that this really, really was not a dream.

Thinking about this made Gui Yin’s head swell. If there really was no rhyme or reason for Gui Yin to have been pulled into this alternate universe, then perhaps it really had just been some freak accident. And if it was a freak accident, there was not necessarily a way back.

“Gui-shishu?”

Gui Yin’s head snapped up. He looked at the several pairs of worried eyes and smiled. “What’s wrong?”

“We need you to activate the teleportation array,” Deng Yenuo said hesitantly.

“Oh, right, right,” Gui Yin let out a short laugh. He stepped up to the platform and placed his hand over the orb. He looked at Deng Yenuo. “I only need to put my spiritual energy into it, correct?”

“Yes.”

Gui Yin closed his eyes and concentrated. Such things came as naturally to him as breathing. Spiritual energy spilled from the tips of his fingers. He felt the orb warm beneath his hand and when he opened his eyes, they were in a different place.

“I did it,” Gui Yin said in awe, his eyes staring at his hands.

Deng Yenuo bit back a smile. In his mind, Gui Yin was an unreachable immortal with a gentle disposition on the surface, and a sharp tongue when it counted. This Gui Qinle showed a bit of amazement because of his amnesia. The expression on his face was quite endearing.

“Well done, Gui-shishu,” Deng Yenuo complimented.

Gui Yin didn’t want to get a puffed-up chest because of such a small compliment, but he couldn’t help but feel just a little proud.

Growing up watching all those xianxia dramas and working as an editor for so many fantasy novels, it would be a lie if Gui Yin said he wasn’t fascinated by the idea of cultivation. Even though what Gui Yin did didn’t cause the earth to tremble and the skies to shake, it still allowed him to experience a bit of the magic.

After exiting the teleportation array, they were greeted by several servants. Deng Yenuo swiftly asked them to prepare lunch before guiding Gui Yin and Gui Linghuo to the dining room.

Gui Yin looked around curiously.

The place they landed in was akin to a small mansion. He glanced back at the teleportation device and finally reached over to Deng Yenuo.

The young man glanced back at Gui Yin, to see a pair of eyes filled with curiosity.

“Yenuo, I have a question,” Gui Yin whispered.

Deng Yenuo smiled. “Please ask, Gui-shishu.”

“Are we very rich?” Gui Yin asked.

The question came out only after careful reflection.

First, Lord Immortal Ninglan’s room was large. Even if you were a major sect, that type of extravagance was excessive, wasn’t it? And then the teleportation array. Gui Yin hadn’t put much thought into it at first, but after they arrived, he realized that it wasn’t the city’s teleportation array. It was a teleportation array that was located in their own sect.

Things like teleportation arrays took a lot of spiritual stones to power, so to have a private one was rare. Not to mention, this teleportation array wasn’t linked to a public one either, but instead landed them in a place that seemed to also be owned by Yunjing Pavilion.

Deng Yenuo pursed his lips to prevent his smile from growing. This kind of Ninglan truly was a sight to see.

“That’s right. Yunjing Pavilion is one of richest sects on this continent,” Deng Yenuo said. “This place is an inn owned by Yunjing Pavilion. It also serves as Yunjing Pavilion’s base of operations in Jiumeng City (九梦城).”

 Yunjing Pavilion was not only well known for their musical cultivation methods and their way of cultivating spiritual plants but they were also known for their intelligent business ventures. It started from Lin Cangyuan’s master’s master. After the great war between ghost cultivators and spiritual cultivators, the world was in shambles. At this time, the sect master of Yunjing Pavilion stepped in and offered to help many people not only rebuild their sect but also their business. Through this, Yunjing Pavilion was also able to make a profit with the money that others paid back mainly out of gratitude.

With this excess amount of money, Yunjing Pavilion began opening inns, restaurants, pawn shops, stationery stores, and antique shops. These stores also became a base of operations for Yunjing Pavilion, spreading their connection further than any other sect at the time.

Even to this day, Yunjing Pavilion’s territory oversaw three provinces. Whenever anyone had any complications with demons, spirits, monsters, or ghouls, they would only have to find a store that was run by Yunjing Pavilion and report it to them. Depending on how urgent it was, cultivators would arrive within a few days to a week to take care of the issue.

This type of quick response time that the common people couldn’t fathom from other sects, allowed Yunjing Pavilion to earn the reputation they had today. But it was also this great reputation that earned hatred from other envious sects.

Gui Jin slowly nodded in understanding as his mind digested all this information. He let out a soft sigh. “We must be very rich if we can have so many private teleportation arrays.”

Deng Yenuo had to avert his gaze again to hide his amusement.

Gui Linghuo looked at Gui Yin worriedly. “Of course, we’d have them. Shizun, you were the one who invented them.”

Gui Yin froze. He looked at Gui Linghuo and then at Deng Yenuo. “I invented them?”

Gui Linghuo nodded. “You took the distance shortening array and transformed it into the teleportation array with the help of that machine and spiritual stones.”

“Gui-shishu was also kind enough to make this invention free to use,” Deng Yenuo said. “Of course, that is only with the prerequisite that they can power it.”

Gui Yin took a sip of his tea. He set the cup down and then turned to the two beside him again. “Did I?”

“If I recall the story correctly, Gui-shishu was only trying to play a small prank on Ye-shishu, but it ended up working better than you had thought,” Deng Yenuo explained.

That made sense. And it was really in line with his personality.

“Well,” Gui Yin said, “I suppose the best inventions are made from happy little accidents.”

The food arrived rather quickly and once they finished eating, they prepared to head to Feiyin City (非引城), where Fengyao Sect was located.

“Is there a reason who can’t just teleport there?” Gui Yin asked curiously as Deng Yenuo strapped the demonic beast to the carriage.

“It’s because Feiyin City doesn’t have a teleportation system, nor do any of the surrounding areas in Fengyao Sect’s territory,” Deng Yenuo explained. “Jiumeng City has the last teleportation port in this area.”

Deng Yenuo threw a smile over his shoulder at Gui Yin. “Gui-shishu’s invention put our sect in first place as the richest sect in this continent.”

Other than major cities, teleportation ports were few and far in between. As for private teleportation arrays, naturally, it was only Yunjing Pavilion that could afford to keep them running twenty-four seven.

But traveling wasn’t too bad thanks to the fact that you could simply rent a carriage with a demonic beast. With spiritual stones to stabilize the carriage and with the demonic beast’s strength and intelligence, you could usually reach your destination from half an hour to just a day or two.

As they were not in a rush, Deng Yenuo chose the humblest demonic beasts. The carriage, however, was still the most expensive option they could have chosen. Since they were using a demonic beast-drawn carriage, Deng Yenuo only had to give it instructions and could sit comfortably inside the carriage as well.

Gui Yin glanced at Gui Linghuo. “Huo’er, are you tired?”

Gui Linghuo shook his head. “I’m not tired. But Shizun should rest more. After all, you only just recovered.”

Gui Yin looked at Gui Linghuo doubtfully. How could a child not be tired around noon? Not to mention the fact that they had been moving around and traveling for several hours already.

Deng Yenuo glanced between the two and felt a bit envious. He wished his own master would treat him so gently.

Sensing Deng Yenuo’s stare, Gui Yin glanced over. “Are you tired, Yenuo?”

“Not at all. I am not a child, nor am I injured,” Deng Yenuo replied with a smile. This smile, however, made Gui Yin feel as if this young man was a bit poisonous. He let out a soft sigh. “I was just a bit envious.”