Yun Li instinctively caught the jade vial; it was warm to the touch, a faint clear medicinal fragrance still lingering on it. He looked at Yun Qing in disbelief — this pill was the very thing he had dreamed of! He had lingered outside the Stewards' Hall several times, only to leave dejected, and never thought that the one to finally reach out and pull him up would be this elder brother, also concubine-born, whom he had secretly resented and envied.
That man was already among the clouds, trusted by the Young Lord, his strength unfathomable — why would he bother with one such as himself, sunk in the mire and harboring ill will?
Just as Yun Li stood frozen, a lazy, teasing voice-transmission sounded in Yun Qing's sea of consciousness:
【Oh? Toward one who was disrespectful to This Lord, Elder Brother is generous indeed. Do you know this boy holds a deep grudge against you, an envy hard to quell?】
Of the myriad faces below the platform on the day of the Spirit-Testing Rite, he had thought little; but with his mighty, vast spiritual sense, a casual sweep was like a mirror reflecting ten thousand things, and he had seen clearly Yun Li's twisted envy and hope.
Yun Qing's expression did not change; he replied by transmission, his words carrying the clear, calm detachment of one who had passed through the ways of the world: "The temper of youth will stray now and then — a moment's heart-demon clouding the eyes, that is all. Who, when young, did not have a few parts of a striving, competitive, even jealous and extreme heart? Watching how he acts — gloomy and stubborn though he is, he has not lost his bottom line; he still holds a wish to shelter the weak. That clash just now was likely mostly to protect the concubine-born youth I called up a moment ago."
His words paused, and he pleaded: "It was my own oversight not to foresee that calling that youth up would make the trueborn target him. With the Young Lord's noble majesty, why trouble himself over a youth struggling to survive?"
Yun Qing had entered the Chaos Ancient Cave in seclusion from childhood, and since returning had spent the vast bulk of his mind on how to survive against all odds beneath this reincarnated-Immortal Emperor "younger brother." To his shame, his care for his own full brother Yun Shuo had truly been limited. And having just returned to the clan, his foundations shallow, Yun Shuo and the other concubine-born children had more than once been quietly sheltered by Yun Li, of Sun-Radiance Court.
His thanks at the Discipline Hall that day had been no empty courtesy.
At the other end of his sea of consciousness, Yun Huang said not a word — whether too lazy to bother, or silently permitting this seemingly "partial" request.
In the field, Yun Li gripped the jade vial tight and looked at the Yun Qing before him — bearing deep and refined, jade-like in his measure, those Double Pupils profound and calm, holding neither disdain nor pity.
An indescribable shame and sense of his own unworthiness welled up. His earlier dark thoughts seemed so base and laughable before the other's open, free breadth of heart. He gripped the vial with a trembling hand, lowered his head, and said, his voice hoarse and dry: "...My thanks, Eldest Young Master."
Yun Qing helped Yun Li up and turned his gaze to all the disciples in the court, his clear voice turning abruptly grave, an invisible pressure carrying it clearly into every ear: "The academy is a place of pure cultivation, not a place to vie in force and fierceness. Talent and heart-nature are the foundation of the Great Dao; the children of the Yun Clan, trueborn or baseborn, should hold advancing in cultivation and harmony among kin as what matters. Any who again bully their kin without cause and flout the rules — whatever their birth — will be severely punished!"
Every word weighed a thousand catties! Coupled with Yun Qing's unfathomable strength and, not far off, the Young Lord whom none dared ignore though his eyes were closed, the whole of Sun-Radiance Court fell silent as a graveyard, every disciple bowing as one, their voices gathering like a tide:
"We humbly heed the Eldest Young Master's teaching!"
The provoking trueborn disciple's face went white, cold sweat pouring, and he stole a glance at Yun Huang, who showed not the slightest sign of taking a stance. Daring hope for no leniency, he bowed deeply with the rest, not daring to raise his head.
And while everyone's attention was drawn to this clash, Yun Chi, who had kept his eyes fixed on Yun Qing, at last got what he wanted!
In the instant Yun Qing swept his sleeve to dissolve the palm-wind, his aura had again shown a faint, half-there stall! Though it was perfectly concealed in a flash, to Yun Chi — who bore the "Spirit-Devouring Body," abnormally sensitive to energy fluctuations — this was without doubt two clear signals!
'Just as I thought, just as I thought, just as I thought!' Wild joy surged in Yun Chi's heart like a tide; he could scarcely hold down the urge to act at once. His Spirit-Devouring Body could never have sensed it wrong!
However Yun Chi's thoughts churned and seethed, Yun Qing carried on the day's lecture in good order. His words were witty, his comparisons vivid and apt, and the tension born of the earlier incident was gradually replaced by an ardent thirst for knowledge. The young disciples' eyes grew brighter and brighter, and some began, plucking up courage, to raise their hands and ask questions.
"Eldest Young Master, if one meets an opponent whose spiritual attribute counters one's own, how should one resolve it in close combat?"
"Eldest Young Master, when using footwork to move at high speed, how does one keep the core spiritual power flowing smoothly without stagnation?"
Yun Qing answered each patiently, his words precise, striking straight at the crux. Now and then he brought in some unique metaphor from the ideas of his past life, drawing gasps of sudden understanding from the youths; light laughter wreathed Sun-Radiance Court, and at this moment, what trueborn-and-baseborn, what high-and-low, what faction against faction — all seemed for the while to dissolve in this harmonious air.
Yun Qing stood before them all, black-robed and ink-haired, tall and jade-like. His expression was focused and gentle, a halo like the warm sun of a spring day emanating from him as he patiently watered these young shoots of the clan.
That figure on the training ground, all bared edges and battle-intent piercing the empyrean; that obedient, cunning look before Yun Huang — now seemed to overlay yet another heart-winning side.
On the high platform, Yun Huang sat throughout with his eyes closed, like a statue of a god, as though all the strife and conflict below, all the stirrings of the human heart, were nothing but an inconsequential drama of dust.
Only now, as the lecture drew to a close, did he lift his lids a sliver, his pale-golden pupils sweeping over Yun Qing, then over the excitedly discussing children of every side below.
It seemed... this was indeed a touch more pleasing to the eye than being merely a sharp blade, or an interesting vessel.
When Yun Qing announced the class's end, many disciples were still loath to leave, but could only rise one after another, straighten their robes, and bow respectfully toward where he stood, their voices crisp and even: "Thank you for the Eldest Young Master's guidance!"
Yun Qing clasped his hands and returned the courtesy composedly to all sides.
Then he walked briskly to the foot of the high platform and bowed to report to Yun Huang, who had opened his eyes at some unknown moment: "Young Lord, the class is finished."
Yun Huang gave a bland "Mm," his black sleeve stirring as he rose and left straightaway.
Yun Qing followed close behind at his composed pace.
Yun Huang stepped out of the academy valley and, without looking back at the Yun Qing trailing his every step, sent a clear voice-transmission, like a cold stream, straight into the depths of Yun Qing's sea of consciousness:
"The play — well acted." His tone paused, carrying a rare trace of interest. "Would you have This Lord... lend a little cooperation?"
Yun Qing's steps stalled almost imperceptibly, then returned to normal. He lowered his eyes, a bewilderment and obedience surfacing on his handsome face: "Qing is dull and does not know the Young Lord's meaning. Was there something amiss in Qing's teaching just now?"
Yun Huang gave a snorting laugh, carrying a mockery that saw through all, and said no more.
Only after the two figures vanished beyond the academy gate did the irrepressible, excited chatter erupt within.
"Heavens! The Young Lord and the Eldest Young Master really came!"
"The Eldest Young Master taught so well — I really learned it!"
"Did the Young Lord just look at me..."
At the crowd's edge, Yun Li watched Yun Qing's upright, receding figure, and an admiration not yet even clear to himself quietly took root.
Crk— cr—
Upon the dim, unseeable track of fate, it seemed that someone's destiny, too, was quietly shifting toward an unknown yet surely different direction...