Ye Liuxing and Lin Cangyuan glanced at each other.

For the past few hours, Gui Yin had been sitting in the corner of their shared study without flipping a page of his book. His posture was not upright and elegant as it would be if he were in a public space. He had kicked his shoes off and sat like a shrimp with his hand supporting his head up. He stared blankly out into the space in front of him. Even when they had called him for lunch, he had only hummed dully without moving an inch.

Ye Liuxing nudged Lin Cangyuan, but Lin Cangyuan glared at him and shook his head.

Was this brat serious? Who was Gui Yin? Didn’t he know that interrupting that man’s thoughts was the same as a death sentence? He would rather be thrown into a pit of snakes than have to confront of dazed Gui Yin.

“Sect Master-shixiong, Ye-shidi.”

Gui Yin’s voice caused the two men to jump. They turned abruptly Gui Yin, who was still staring off into space.

“How do I coax a little girl after making her cry?”

Ye Liuxing’s eyes widened. “Make—make who cry? Who did you make cry?”

Gui Yin sighed. He shifted his posture. “Shan Yu wanted to celebrate my birthday, but I told her I didn’t want to. One thing led to another and then she ended up crying.”

Lin Cangyuan laughed incredulously. When Gui Yin met his gaze coldly, he quickly schooled his expression. “If it’s something like that, then isn’t it simple? Just celebrate your birthday with them.”

Gui Yin frowned. “But I don’t like celebrating my birthday.”

Ye Liuxing moved to sit beside Gui Yin. “Gui-shixiong, I’ve been meaning to ask you for so long. Why don’t you like celebrating your birthday?”

Gui Yin glanced at the other man.

It had been nearly a week since he had transmigrated over to this strange world. Although he still hadn’t received any signs from the heavens above or any type other type of strange ethereal presence, he had already tested out a lot of things. For example, his likes and dislikes, his odd habits with fiddling with certain things, and even his manner of speech. It seemed that Ninglan had been tailor made for Gui Yin. What that meant was still unknown, but it certainly made Gui Yin’s life a lot easier.

As for the man’s backstory, Gui Yin could only assume a few things based on his gut instinct.

“I never had a reason to,” Gui Yin said simply. “It’s just a day I was born. What’s the meaning of celebrating it? Besides, most people celebrate it with their parents or loved ones. My relationship with my parents had never been great and when I arrived at Yunjing Pavilion, my shizun also wasn’t the type to care about this type of thing. Years passed by and,” Gui Yin shrugged, “now I’m here.”

“So, all this time, you’ve actually wanted to?” Ye Liuxing asked.

Looking at the man’s teary eyes, Gui Yin could already guess the crazy depressing backstories he had already come up with. Gui Yin rolled up his book and lightly smacked the top of his head.

“No. I find it tedious.”

Lin Cangyuan’s smile had faded as he listened to Gui Yin. He could remember a time when Gui Yin didn’t hate the idea of celebrating his birthday as much as he did now. But that was a long, long time ago.

“You still want to coax your disciple, don’t you?” Lin Cangyuan asked.

Gui Yin thought about Shan Yu’s pitifully red eyes and nodded.

“Then, treat it as a silly party,” Lin Cangyuan suggested. “You don’t have to make it a grand event. If you don’t want us to partake in it, then we won’t partake in it. It can just be a small get together between you and your disciples.”

Gui Yin pursed his lips. It wasn’t a bad idea. “But what do I do if Shan Yu insists on inviting people from her grandfather’s sect?”

“Tell her that you want to celebrate it with just the three of them as a family. If you say that, I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic,” Lin Cangyuan said.

It was easy to tell what Shan Yu was thinking.

The sect she came from had a long and illustrious history. When it was her father’s generation, they had opulent banquets all the time to celebrate so and so’s birthday or so and so’s accomplishment. But the years following her father’s death, celebrations had become humbler. Despite this, compared to what Yunjing Pavilion did (which was usually nothing), it was dazzling enough. Even if it was just a simple family dinner, it at least signified others were grateful for that person’s existence.

The little girl most likely just wanted to show her appreciation. It was nothing about the excitement of a birthday celebration.

Hearing this, Gui Yin slowly nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Sect Master-shixiong.”

“What about me?” Ye Liuxing frowned.

Gui Yin smacked his head again. “What did you do?”

“I gave you moral support!”

“I didn’t need your rotten moral support,” Gui Yin scoffed. He slipped into his shoes and stood. After straightening out his robes, he bowed to Lin Cangyuan and left their communal study room.

Ye Liuxing slid down beside Lin Cangyuan. He nudged him. “What are you thinking about now?”

Lin Cangyuan glanced at the younger man. He sighed. “In some ways, I think I’m glad that Qinle lost his memory.”

“You’re glad? How blackhearted are you?” Ye Liuxing gawked at him.

Lin Cangyuan clicked his tongue. “It’s not because I’m glad he’s having a harder time. I’m just glad because…he seems like his younger self again.”

Ye Liuxing let out a long sigh, his body falling back against Lin Cangyuan. “Well, you are right. After everything that happened, Gui-shixiong seemed to have been living in a dream, muffled by water.”

Lin Cangyuan hummed. He smiled to himself and sighed. “It’s good that he’s getting closer to his disciples now. Perhaps, by the time he remembers everything, the knot in his heart will have faded.”

“But what if he remembers before then?” Ye Liuxing murmured. He turned to Lin Cangyuan. “You don’t think he would return to what he was like before, right?”

Lin Cangyuan fell silent. After a long time, he shook his head. “Whatever happens isn’t up to us. It’s up to the will of Heavens and Qinle’s own resolution.”

Ye Liuxing slammed his fist down on the table. “If only Gui-shixiong hadn’t been cheated by that bastard! Then he wouldn’t have—”

“Let’s not talk about something we don’t know all the details to,” Lin Cangyuan said, though his gaze darkened when it came to that person. He lightly shook his head. “Nothing good will come out of mentioning. And especially don’t mention this type of thing in front of Qinle.”

Ye Liuxing smiled wryly. “I might seem stupid sometimes, but I’m not that dumb.”

Lin Cangyuan hummed.

“…What do you mean ‘hm’?!” Ye Liuxing shot up. He huffed. “Lin-shixiong, you’re really too much. You should say something like ‘Ye-shidi, you’re not stupid. What are you talking about?’ You’re not supposed to actually agree with me!”

Lin Cangyuan glanced at Ye Liuxing. “Jiu-shimei doesn’t even play petty games like you.”

“You’re so biased,” Ye Liuxing cried without tears. He threw himself onto Lin Cangyuan and rubbed their cheeks together. “Lin-shixiong, love me like you love Gui-shixiong and Jiu-shijie please.”

“If you stopped acting so disgusting, then maybe I—”

“Shizun.”

Ye Liuxing froze. He looked up at the younger man, who was standing at the door with a shallow smile. In the man’s hands was a tray with a plate of pastries and a teapot with freshly brewed tea. There was only one cup. The message couldn’t have been more obvious.

Ye Liuxing cleared his throat. “I, um. I seem to remember that I haven’t walked by koi fish. Haha. Well, I will see you later, Sect Master-shixiong. Yenuo, it was nice seeing you today.”

“Walk slowly, Ye-shishu,” Deng Yenuo watched Ye Liuxing run off with a small smile. He turned back to Lin Cangyuan and walked over. He set the teapot and teacup to one side before taking the pastries off the tray. “Shizun, it’s your afternoon tea.”

“What have you done to your Ye-shishu?”

“Me?” Deng Yenuo’s eyes widened, as if scandalized by even the implication. “I haven’t done anything to Ye-shishu. Did he say something?”

“He hasn’t. But whenever he sees you, he always runs the other direction,” Lin Cangyuan said. “Have you said something to him?”

“I haven’t,” Deng Yenuo said innocently.

Lin Cangyuan silently observed his disciple for a moment before turning back to the memoirs he had yet to read. “Thank you.”

“I made these personally this time. I know how much Shizun likes the sweets I make,” Deng Yenuo said.

Lin Cangyuan glanced at his disciple. He lightly pushed aside the plate. “Right, Sect Leader Nian of the Nian Clan sent me a letter recently.”

Deng Yenuo’s gaze darkened. “What did Sect Leader Nian contact Shizun for?”

“Naturally, it’s for you.”

“For me?”

“As the future sect master of Yunjing Pavilion, your marriage prospects could wrap several streets. Sect Leader Nian sent me a letter asking if you were interested in marrying his youngest son,” Lin Cangyuan said.

“I’m not interested in people younger than me,” Deng Yenuo said.

“He’s not that much younger. Only a few years,” Lin Cangyuan said.

“Would marrying his youngest son benefit our Yunjing Pavilion at all?” Deng Yenuo asked, his gaze turning dull and his tone turning colder.

“This isn’t about benefitting anyone. I was just asking to see if you were interested,” Lin Cangyuan said. He sighed. “Yenuo, you’re at that age where you should start thinking about marriage. When I was your age, I was foolish and only focused on making a name for myself. Now look at me—I’m past the prime marriageable age. No one wants an old coot like me anymore.”

“That isn’t true,” Deng Yenuo held out a pastry to Lin Cangyuan. “There are many people who continue to fawn over Shizun. Besides, Shizun doesn’t look a day over twenty and you’re as spritely as I am.”

Lin Cangyuan glanced at the pastry in front of him and tentatively took it from Deng Yenuo’s fingers. “How could that be true? I’m an old man. I nag all the time. All the disciples in the sect and even my own martial siblings find me annoying. Don’t I annoy you?”

“I quite like when you nag me,” Deng Yenuo said, a small smile slowly taking over his cold features again.

Lin Cangyuan choked. He reached for the teacup, his hand colliding with Deng Yenuo’s. He choked even harder until Deng Yenuo rounded the table to brush his hand up and down his back.

“Shizun should be more careful,” Deng Yenuo said with furrowed brows.

Lin Cangyuan took slow sips of the tea until the itching in his throat subsided. He waved Deng Yenuo away and gave him a quiet thanks.

“Anyway, where was I?”

“I said I liked it when you nag me.”

Lin Cangyuan nearly choked again. This time, he managed to recover without making a fuss. He glanced at Deng Yenuo and cleared his throat. “So, is it safe to assume that you are going to turn down all of the marriage proposals?”

“Yes, Shizun.”

Lin Cangyuan sighed. His fingers nudged around the few envelopes. “That’s a shame. There are some really good prospects in there.”

Deng Yenuo’s hands slowly clenched into fists. “For example?”

“Well, there’s Young Master Bai of Guiqian School (鬼前门),” Lin Cangyuan said. “He’s part of your generation and…”

Lin Cangyuan’s voice trailed off upon seeing Deng Yenuo’s dark expression.

“Forget it,” Lin Cangyuan shoved aside the marriage proposals. “Since you don’t want marriage, how about you take on some missions? It’s about time you make a name for yourself.”

“I already have a name for myself,” Deng Yenuo said.

“Being the gentleman of your generation is not something to brag about. I mean concrete merits.”

“Would Shizun like it if I had concrete merits?”

“This isn’t about what I like or dislike. This is about you and your future as the future Sect Master of Yunjing Pavilion,” Lin Cangyuan said. He reached into his pile of documents and pulled out a particularly long one. “This was a request for help from our branch in the lower realms. The barrier between the ghost realm has been shaking recently. You should go and check it out.”

Deng Yenuo stared at the letter for a long time. He neither refused to go nor did he grab the document. After the bout of silence, Lin Cangyuan finally looked at him.

“Do you really want me to go?”

“I don’t know who else I could entrust with this task other than you,” Lin Cangyuan said.

Deng Yenuo forced himself to relax his jaw and unclench his fists. He took a deep breath and took the document from the table. “I understand. Then, I will do as you ask.”

Lin Cangyuan watched Deng Yenuo in silence until he made it to the door. “Yenuo.”

Deng Yenuo paused. He looked back over his shoulder.

“Remember what I said before.”

Deng Yenuo scoffed. A bitter smile took over his face. He bowed his head and left the room without another word.

Lin Cangyuan remained upright until he was sure Deng Yenuo was gone. He let out a loud groan and put his forehead to his desk.

Just as he was about to stand, he heard the sound of footsteps again. He quickly straightened and grabbed a random document from the table.

The door opened, once again revealing Deng Yenuo.

“Cangyuan.”

Lin Cangyuan stiffened. He looked over his document at Deng Yenuo and frowned. “What did you just call me? You dare show your shizun such disrespect?”

Deng Yenuo remained unfazed. “What I said before still remains true. It’s fine if you never accept my feelings, but I also hope that you won’t force another on me.”

Lin Cangyuan’s grip on the document tightened.

Deng Yenuo’s gaze drifted down. “Also—”

“Also what? What else do you have to say, you ungrateful brat?!”

“…Also, you’re holding the document the wrong way,” Deng Yenuo said. He bowed once more and left the study again.

Liu Cangyun froze. He slowly looked down at the blank sheet of paper that stared up at him. He irritably slammed the sheet of paper down and hit the desk a few more times.

How embarrassing! He was going to die from embarrassment!

Deng Yenuo glanced back at the closed door with a hint of a smile before returning to his own residence to pack up for the trip ahead. He would have to be gone for a long time. He hoped no major changes would happen in the sect while he was away.