Chapter Twenty: Youth Knows No Sorrow

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Since returning from Green Mountain Fortress, a month had passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Weiyu had grown accustomed to rising at dawn each day, joining Gu Qingyun at Yanxi Hall to cultivate, and returning home at the start of the evening hour.

Recently, Gu Qingyun had succeeded in guiding spiritual energy into her body. Over the past two days, Gu Weiyu also sensed the energy in her own meridians growing increasingly abundant—she could break through to the second level of Qi Refinement at any moment.

After leaving Yanxi Hall that day, Gu Weiyu took her usual path into the bamboo grove. She had come to love cultivating there, listening to the soughing of the wind through the bamboo. Influenced by her, Gu Qingyun, too, no longer dallied after returning to Lingshuang Pavilion, but stayed inside to practice cultivation.

Gu Weiyu sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, closed her eyes, and attuned herself to the surging “river” in her meridians. In her mind, the path to the second level of Qi Refinement unfolded. She guided her energy to break through the first bottleneck.

The “river” roared, surging against the dam again and again. On the third attempt, the seemingly unbreakable barrier finally yielded, opening a gap—after which it could no longer hold back the flood!

As time passed, her inner “river” was scoured wider and wider by spiritual energy, the current growing ever more powerful.

Gu Weiyu slowly opened her eyes, sensing the changes brought by breaking through to the second layer: her vision sharpened, every detail in the courtyard standing out with crystal clarity, her hearing more acute—she could vaguely make out sounds from the distant yards...

She closed her eyes again, the corners of her mouth curving with satisfaction. As she had expected, the range of her spiritual perception had more than doubled, now extending beyond the courtyard to over fifty meters.

To have broken through to the second layer so quickly—Gu Weiyu foresaw becoming the “center of attention” at Yanxi Hall again tomorrow, and couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. Cultivating too quickly brought its own troubles.

Gu Weihuan, Gu Qingyun, and Gu Qingsong: “Give us a dozen of such troubles, please!”

“Oh, right!” Gu Weiyu quickly took out the jade slip of spells gifted by her great-grandfather and pressed it to her forehead. Soon she found her target—the Breath Concealment Technique.

Breath Concealment Technique: perfectly conceals one’s spiritual aura and disguises strength. Limitation: the basic form can only fool those of the same or lower level; it fails automatically against anyone three levels higher.

The jade slip from her great-grandfather was truly practical—this was the perfect tool for disguise!

Gu Weiyu studied the method for performing the Breath Concealment Technique in detail, then devoted herself entirely to mastering it.

———

As spring faded into summer, Gu Weiyu stepped out of Yanxi Hall. She gazed at the blossoms that had withered and the tiny fruits forming on the trees, lost in thought. When she turned, she saw Gu Qingyun standing beside her, sighing heavily.

“Xiaoyun, what are you sighing for?” Gu Weiyu asked curiously.

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“Eleventh Sister, I only mentioned the upcoming family competition, and now he’s fretting over it!” Gu Weihuan covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.

Gu Weiyu couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t the family competition still months away?”

“You two are already at the second level of Qi Refinement, of course you’re not worried! Pity me, still struggling at the first level—I have no idea when I’ll ever break through to the second!” Gu Qingyun sighed again, looking so woeful that the word “trouble” might as well have been stamped on his face.

“All right, enough with the doom and gloom. Isn’t there a Lantern Festival next month? I’ve never seen the lanterns before!” Gu Weiyu changed the subject. She’d only recently displayed her second-level strength, which had greatly provoked Gu Weifang, who spent several days making sour remarks—she silently congratulated herself on her foresight!

At the mention of the Lantern Festival, Gu Qingyun instantly forgot his worries. “Right, there’ll be so many delicious things and so much fun!”

Gu Weiyu and Gu Weihuan exchanged a look of exasperation—just as they expected!

“I wonder, when the time comes, will we—hey, wait for me!” Gu Qingyun, lost in anticipation and already salivating at the thought, looked up to find Gu Weiyu and company had already walked off.

Liuguang shook his head and trailed after them at a leisurely pace, while the three of them laughed their way home.

“Ah Yu, come here.”

Gu Weiyu was just about to start cultivating in the bamboo grove when a pale green paper crane circled her. A lazy voice drifted from within.

Truly worthy of being her great-grandfather—his laziness was unmatched!

The longer she spent with her great-grandfather, the more Gu Weiyu discovered his indolent character.

She’d heard that the family headship should have passed to him, but he was too lazy, so it went to Great-uncle Third instead.

Supposedly, the reason her great-grandfather advanced in cultivation so rapidly and reached Foundation Establishment was also due to laziness: at that level, he could avoid bathing (with the Dust-Cleansing Spell), skip meals (with Fasting), and didn’t have to walk anywhere (with Sword Flight)—all of which elevated his laziness to new heights.

The stories about her great-grandfather she’d heard from Uncle Third and others were endless and ever-changing. In her heart, he’d long since lost the image of a lofty elder.

Still, she very much wished she could be as lazy as he was!

No matter how earnestly Gu Jun tried to guide and guard his elder brother’s favorite great-grandchild, he still couldn’t prevent her from being led astray!

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Gu Weiyu brought Crescent with her to the Southern Mountain Residence. The courtyard gate creaked open. “Sister Crescent, please come fetch me later!” she called.

Crescent watched her young mistress enter the courtyard, then turned and left.

Beneath the tall locust tree, whose blossoms had already fallen, a long couch was laid out. At that moment, Gu Qingzhou was sprawled languidly across it, bones loose as if he’d melted into the cushions. Nearby sat a meditation cushion and a small table.

Gu Weiyu, familiar with the place, seated herself on the cushion and helped herself to the fruit pastries on the little table.

Her great-grandfather had said he didn’t care for these treats; if she liked them, she could eat as many as she wished.

The pastries here were especially good, with a faint infusion of spiritual energy. It was a pity he wouldn’t let her take any away—otherwise, she’d have packed them all up!

“Hmm, it seems you haven’t been slacking in your cultivation lately.” Gu Qingzhou lifted his eyes lazily to look at Gu Weiyu, whose cheeks were stuffed full like a mountain squirrel’s. At this rate, she’d reach the third level of Qi Refinement within a month. As expected of his great-granddaughter!

“Great-grandfather, since I’m so diligent, shouldn’t I get a reward?” Gu Weiyu swallowed her pastry and grinned, her face bright with anticipation.

Gu Qingzhou glanced at her, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Here, take this to play with.”

Gu Weiyu watched, eyes shining, as a pale pink paper crane floated down from the air. She couldn’t believe that the paper crane she’d longed for had come to her so easily—and it was so pretty!

“Great-grandfather, you really are the best!” She caught the pink crane and flattered him with shameless enthusiasm. If she’d had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.

“All right. With this paper crane, you can ask me about anything that puzzles you in your cultivation from now on.” Gu Qingzhou watched as she played with her new treasure. In truth, he’d planned to give it to her whether she asked for a reward or not.

Gu Weiyu: “…”

Why did she feel as though she’d fallen into a trap? Had she come too often lately, eaten too much—and now Great-grandfather was tired of her?

If Gu Qingzhou knew her thoughts, he’d surely say: no, he was simply feeling a bit too lazy.