Volume One: A Thousand Years of Streams Chapter 50: Cipher

Sun Zikai bowed respectfully to Hu Xin-cheng. Hu Xin-cheng was a man of few words, so Gao Yang spoke up in his stead. Gao Yang said, "I lost to you last time, and my master found it hard to believe. He wishes to witness your movement technique in person. If you defeat me again, Junior Sister may cultivate here."

Sun Zikai asked, "And if I lose?"

"Then Junior Sister must return with me, remain confined, and continue her cultivation by my side."

Gao Yang drew a gleaming azure sword and said, "Today I shall spar with Junior Brother Sun in swordsmanship. Be careful, Junior Brother, for swordsmanship is my greatest specialty."

"Very well." Sun Zikai drew his long saber, the blade faintly shimmering with the profound intent of water.

The silent Hu Xin-cheng suddenly noticed the moisture trailing behind Sun Zikai's blade—no, it seemed like surging water, existing yet non-existent, real and illusory, remarkably arcane.

Gao Yang's swordsmanship embodied the culmination of Hu Xin-cheng's teachings, placing him at the pinnacle of his peers. As his spiritual energy surged into the edge of his blade, it produced a rising, intermittent dragon roar. In contrast, Sun Zikai's saber was as still as water, yet to any observer, it silently resonated with the sound of waves.

As the two men gathered their momentum, ready to strike, Hu Xin-cheng suddenly perceived the truth of the situation. He immediately called out to stop Gao Yang and ordered him to sheathe his sword. Gao Yang was baffled, yet he obediently put his weapon away.

Looking calmly at Sun Zikai, Hu Xin-cheng asked, "Who taught you your saber technique?"

"I learned it on my own, with no master," Sun Zikai replied.

"Truly?" Hu Xin-cheng's brows twitched slightly.

"I speak no falsehood."

Hu Xin-cheng furrowed his brow, fell into deep contemplation for a long while, and finally let out a sigh. "With little Jiang here under your care, I am at ease," he said. "Tell her not to fall behind in her cultivation; she is a fine talent for the sword."

"Gate Master Hu has misunderstood. I have no intention of taking away your disciple. Before joining the sect, I was actually her attendant, and of course, I still am. The sect confined me for two months simply hoping that Jiang Yujin could spare some time during the day to accompany me in practicing movement techniques to relieve my boredom. Because your discipline is so strict, I had to ask her to seek your permission for a few hours of leisure each day."

"My sentiment is the same. Naturally, she cannot stay here for long. Come in," Hu Xin-cheng called out toward the entrance.

Jiang Yujin walked in, greeted her master, and Hu Xin-cheng said, "I originally thought you came here to idle away your time, and I was displeased by your lack of resolve in cultivation. Now, I grant you two hours each day to engage in activities here. However, the five hours you spend on artifact refining must not be neglected; you may only leave during the noon break, and you must manage your own lunch. Today, you may stay a little longer."

Jiang Yujin bowed and said, "Understood, Master."

Hu Xin-cheng stepped out of the Tranquil Abode, and Gao Yang immediately followed. After walking several hundred paces, Gao Yang lowered his voice and asked, "Master, did I lose?"

"Yes, you lost."

"Could I not even exchange a single blow with him?"

"No."

Gao Yang hung his head in dejection, though a trace of reluctance remained in his heart. "I saw the energy on his saber. Can the dragon energy I have cultivated for years not withstand a single fight?"

"That was not mere energy; that was intent."

"Ah?" Gao Yang asked in shock, "Is that the Artifact Intent that only a master can attain?"

Hu Xin-cheng did not reply, his expression remaining unruffled.

After walking another few dozen paces, Gao Yang asked, "Master, at this hour, we should be heading to the drill grounds to practice footwork."

At thirty-five years of age, Hu Xin-cheng had never halted his own cultivation; he always practiced alongside his disciples.

To Gao Yang's surprise, Hu Xin-cheng said, "Xiao Gao, let's go to the Huai Pavilion for a cup of tea."

"Ah?" Gao Yang doubted his own ears. Having studied under him for so many years, regardless of wind or rain, he had never seen Hu Xin-cheng miss a single training session, let alone visit the Huai Pavilion.

Back in the courtyard, Jiang Yujin's stomach let out a rumble. Sun Zikai said, "Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat."

Jiang Yujin quickly stopped him, saying, "Master only allows me to eat one meal a day, which is lunch."

"Why? Are they abusing you?"

"No, this is the path of ascetic cultivation."

"Nonsense. The energy of heaven and earth gathers within provisions, and all vitality flows through food. If you don't eat, what kind of cultivation are you practicing? Wait here, I'll get you a meat pie."

"I won't eat it," Jiang Yujin insisted stubbornly. "The path I cultivate differs from yours. I need the ascetic method bestowed by my master to temper my state of mind. My senior brother, Gao Yang, has already transcended the five desires; his realm is beyond the reach of our peers."

Sun Zikai deeply respected these people's unique paths of cultivation and said no more. Instead, he released layers of energy and a net of vitality across the courtyard. Upon scanning, he surprisingly discovered something tucked away in the corner.

It was a small mouse. Sun Zikai did not let the creature go, for having suffered losses at the hands of Feng Yueyi on several occasions, he permitted no small beasts in his Tranquil Abode. Moreover, the mouse remained completely motionless, which was clearly unusual.

His first thought turned to Feng Yueyi, but a remark from Jiang Yujin dismissed the notion. Jiang Yujin said, "When I was coming over, that girl Yueyi wanted to tag along. If Gate Master Wu Lanmu hadn't begun her seclusion today, requiring her disciples to keep watch at the gates, she would have moved right in with me."

Realizing the intruder was not Feng Yueyi, Sun Zikai felt a sudden sense of foreboding. He could not deliberately show it, as he did not yet know whether the visitor was friend or foe.

Jiang Yujin said, "Let's go. We have enough time today, whatever secrets you wanted to..."

"I do have a secret, and I must tell you immediately. It concerns Wen Yiru."

"Ah? What happened to her? Wait, didn't you say..."

"This is far more important!"

Jiang Yujin was no fool; her spiritual sense had tested at the seventh tier, and Sun Zikai had always told her everything without reservation. Now acting with such deliberation, she instantly realized there might be outsiders nearby.

She immediately cooperated with a worried tone, "Is Yiru alright?"

"No," Sun Zikai said. "She found a master, a greedy one who snatched away all her bundled treasures. She is all alone there with no support and no friends. Remembering the deep bond between the two of you, I spoke with Cheng Xu of the Dust-Dusting Sect—who is the strongest disciple of our generation in that sect—and asked him to secretly smuggle Wen Yiru over."

"What?" Although Jiang Yujin knew Sun Zikai was talking nonsense, she was still startled. Defecting from a sect was a grave taboo. Even if he was intentionally saying it for an outsider to hear, once word spread, Wen Yiru would likely be imprisoned or even executed. Feigning calmness, she said, "This is a major matter; two disciples at our level cannot pull it off."

"Indeed," Sun Zikai took a deep breath. "The master of the Dust-Dusting Sect is an old fox; he deliberately exposed the identity of a spy from the Yanming Sect who had been hiding by his side for ten years, simply to humiliate us."

"Is that so?" Jiang Yujin assumed he was making it up and played along. "Who sent the spy?"

"They claim it was our own sect master. I haven't reported this yet—how disgraceful. All the inside information we've gathered over the past ten years was just them toying with us. In this matchup, our sect master still lost."

"They saw right through you, yet you still want to poach people right under their noses? You really ought to calm down." Jiang Yujin thought the script should end here.

To her surprise, Sun Zikai smiled mischievously and shifted topics. "It doesn't matter. Through Cheng Xu, I've managed to establish a connection."

"Who?"

"Who else could it be? My master's old flame, of course. Those two are still connected even if their bones are broken; my master goes to visit her every few days."

"Hush!" Jiang Yujin was terrified. "Stop spouting nonsense! Your master was furious over this very matter."

"Hmph, regardless, Senior Mu Qiuhe's attitude toward me became wonderful the moment she heard I was Fu Zhe's disciple. She is genuinely a nice person, and as his disciple, I honestly feel she is a much better match for my master."

Sun Zikai drew a long breath; he had obtained the answer he wanted. Afterward, he and Jiang Yujin practiced their footwork in the courtyard for two full hours.

Finally, the mouse departed. Sun Zikai said, "She's gone."

"Who?"

"Wu Lanmu."

"Isn't she in seclusion?"

"It was her. She feigned seclusion to secretly monitor us, likely under崔Qingrui's orders."

Sun Zikai had previously tested Feng Yueyi indirectly regarding her ability to transform her beastly form, discovering it was a special technique passed down through generations in Wu Lanmu's lineage. Only Feng Yueyi and Wu Lanmu could perform it in the Yanming Sect. However, this did not mean the mouse was necessarily Wu Lanmu. Sun Zikai deduced that the mouse had to be either Ma Dairan, Cui Qingrui, or Wu Lanmu, ruling out external forces. The reason was simple: though the Yanming Sect's rank and file remained calm, the upper echelons of core figures were all aware that a Ghost Nether entity had broken into the sect. Not even a bird could fly in from the outside now, and Cui Qingrui's perception blanketed the entire sect.

The concealment techniques of the three powerhouses were exceptionally profound, and they would not easily reveal flaws. Therefore, Sun Zikai had cleverly used his words—provoking Cui Qingrui with talk of a mole, and provoking Wu Lanmu with Mu Qiuhe. While these individuals' outward actions would remain unchanged, the emotions hidden in their hearts could not be concealed. The breath he had drawn was meant to sense the emotional fluctuations of that mouse, and sure enough, Wu Lanmu had given herself away.

As for Ma Dairan, if it were him, he would either have maintained absolute emotional composure throughout or revealed his feelings at the mention of the exposed mole, since he could use it as leverage against Cui Qingrui. Sun Zikai had also prepared a method to distinguish between Ma Dairan and Cui Qingrui.

"Why would Gate Master Wu monitor you? No, why would the sect master monitor you?" Jiang Yujin asked, puzzled.

After careful deliberation, Sun Zikai formed a theory. He recounted everything that had happened from the night he ventured outside the Yanming Sect up to the present, and then explained: "Although that old fox Ma Dairan is cunning, naturally he doesn't want the sect to be tainted by the Ghost Nether. So he informed Cui Qingrui that a supreme expert was hiding by my side, suspecting that expert was connected to the Ghost Nether. That's why the Ghost Nether people kept finding me again and again, and he likely mentioned other things as well. Occupying the position of sect master, Cui Qingrui had no choice but to believe it, which is why he sent Wu Lanmu to monitor me—ostensibly for that purpose, but actually to track down the hidden supreme expert."

Jiang Yujin nodded. The two discussed aligning their stories, allowing Jiang Yujin to puzzle out some genuine clues from the past so that she could foster a genuine suspicion that someone was indeed by Sun Zikai's side. Since Cui Qingrui seemingly possessed the ability to probe into people's minds, they had to use real memories to deceive him.

Just as they had discussed over a cup of tea, Sun Zikai exchanged a glance, and the mouse returned once more.