Li Guanqi naturally sensed the shift in the woman's emotions.
Yet he dared not reveal the slightest reaction. Quite apart from not feeling that way toward her, what mattered far more was that a small figure had long occupied his heart.
That girl would scold him every time they met, yet she always worried he wouldn't get enough to eat.
Of all seven emotions and six desires, love was the most elusive.
Li Guanqi said nothing, simply carrying Song Zhi'ang in a wide circle around the Great Xia Sword Sect.
However, he flew this loop exceptionally slowly, as if wanting her to see it clearly and remember it for longer.
Li Guanqi brought her to Yuhu Peak. Standing at the mountain's summit, the woman opened her arms against the sunlight, her eyes lightly closed.
Li Guanqi did not make a sound to disturb her.
After a long while, Li Guanqi set out a table and spirit tea, saying softly, "Sit, let's talk."
Once seated, Song Zhi'ang offered, "Let me brew the tea for you."
Without waiting for his answer, she sat properly before the tea table and brewed the tea with practiced grace. Compared to how Li Guanqi simply tossed tea leaves in and boiled them, her manner was infinitely more elegant.
Sipping the spirit tea, she narrowed her eyes, savoring the flavor. "This tea is truly wonderful..."
Li Guanqi chuckled. "If you like it, I'll pack some for you to take back later. A rough fellow like me can't tell good from bad anyway."
She smiled and nodded, then looked at him and said gently, "Is there something you wanted to ask?"
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Yes. I want to know what you think of Cang Lu as a person."
At those words, her expression suddenly grew somewhat unnatural.
"Cang Lu... has visited me many times."
Seeing her reaction, Li Guanqi couldn't help smiling. "Does he fancy you?"
Song Zhi'ang lowered her head. After a brief hesitation, she gave a slight nod.
"He has quite a deep understanding of music, and he... plays the zither remarkably well!"
"Back when we were in Nanze City, he came to see me often, but every time he just sat there quietly, listening to me play."
Li Guanqi had a sudden flash of realization. No wonder Cang Lu had sat up straight when Song Zhi'ang appeared in the tavern.
It seemed that long before Li Guanqi arrived, Cang Lu had already visited many times—and specifically for Song Zhi'ang.
*Looking at it this way... did Cang Lu's agreement to come to the Great Xia Sword Sect have something to do with her as well?*
Pouring more tea with his head lowered, Li Guanqi said softly, "What do you think of his character?"
Hearing this, a dim shadow crossed Song Zhi'ang's eyes. She assumed Li Guanqi was trying to play matchmaker between her and Cang Lu.
Yet to his surprise, she shook her head and spoke truthfully.
"I don't know... I always felt he carries a heavy burden of secrets."
"And when he came to see me, when we were together... how should I put it..."
"I couldn't see any love in his eyes. It felt more like... how to say..."
"Almost as if he were using me to hide something."
Li Guanqi's brow knitted at her words. What she described instantly reminded him of Li Sheng'an!
Yet he had inspected Cang Lu himself and found nothing out of the ordinary.
*Just what is going on here...?*
In the end, the two of them chatted a while longer atop the peak. Suddenly, Song Zhi'ang spoke up.
"Would you like to hear me play the zither?"
Li Guanqi nodded, not refusing her.
"Wait here a moment," he said softly. "I'll fetch your zither."
*Clang... zheng, zheng...*
The melodious, winding music drifted far and wide on the mountain breeze from the summit of Yuhu Peak.
Hundreds of zhang away, on another peak, Li Sheng'an and Zhong Lin were sparring with swords.
Hearing the zither, both stopped instinctively.
Turning toward Yuhu Peak, the two exchanged glances. Li Sheng'an murmured, "Tsk, this music... the sentiment it's expressing is far from simple."
Zhong Lin shrugged. "Isn't it completely normal for someone to like Old Li?"
Li Sheng'an sheathed his sword, standing upright with a chuckle. "Not normal at all. If the sound is coming from Yuhu Peak, it's definitely not normal."
"Still... the piece turns a bit hurried in the latter half, only to be let go gently at the very end."
"Sigh, seems Old Li isn't taking the hint. A girl like that... is rare to find."
Zhong Lin shrugged, wiped his sweat, and said, "Come on, Old Li is lecturing in the outer sect today. Let's go crash the class."
Li Sheng'an grinned. "Right you are! Free lessons, why not? Even the peak masters are going to crash it. We're just inner sect disciples—it's hardly embarrassing for us to join in."
The zither music lingered, alternating between slow and hurried, pouring out the woman's admiration and helplessness.
Li Guanqi could only pretend not to understand.
When the music faded, Song Zhi'ang stared down at the ancient zither for a long time.
A smile rose on her face as she stood. "All right, that's enough. Take me back."
Li Guanqi rose without a word. After taking her back, he went straight to the outer sect square.
Standing halfway up the mountain, the woman watched the young man standing on the high platform below, looking as radiant as light itself.
Suddenly, she spoke softly to the man beside her. "Father, I want to cultivate!"
Song Kangning looked at the firm determination in her eyes, his gaze wavering as he said gently, "Alright. Whatever you want to do, Father will support you."
"But have you thought it through? Cultivation... the entire path is strewn with thorns. You must kill, and you might be killed."
"To chase after his footsteps, is it truly worth it?"
Song Zhi'ang slowly turned to face her father and said with conviction, "Rather than spending the rest of my days full of regret, I would rather walk through the thorns so I can stand before him and tell him that I love him."
Song Kangning's eyes grew slightly red. He raised his head and said softly, "Good. Father supports you!"
Li Guanqi knew nothing of this. In his heart, he had already decided that after staying a bit longer, he would leave the sect to continue his tempering journey.
The Qingyun Continent was too small; he wanted to keep walking farther.
After finishing his lecture, Li Guanqi returned to his courtyard on Tianlei Peak and chatted with Li Nanting for a while.
He also gave some guidance to Yu Sui'an in her cultivation. This girl's Geng Metal power was the strongest he had ever seen—far stronger than Ye Feng's. The icy-blue spiritual glow he had seen when she flew last time turned out to come from a pair of dharma artifact boots.
Li Nanting sat on the threshold smoking a pipe, watching the sunset, and asked softly, "Getting ready to leave?"
Li Guanqi nodded. "The world is vast. I want to travel more and see it."
"A good thing. Cultivating inside the sect poses its own problems for you—it's too comfortable."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."
That night, back in his own courtyard, Li Guanqi reclined in a chair, turning a jade pendant over in his hand.
After a long silence, he slowly channeled primal energy into the Tianji jade pendant.
"Where are Ye Feng and Cao Yan right now?"
"Ye Feng's location requires three hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Cao Yan's location is unknown."
Reading those words, Li Guanqi slowly sat upright, his expression turning stern.
*Cao Yan's situation... must be quite perilous...*
"What price must I pay if I want to establish contact with Cao Yan?"
Before long, the jade pendant flickered faintly: "One thousand high-grade spirit stones."
Li Guanqi nearly hurled the jade pendant to the ground, cursing under his breath, "Why don't you just rob someone!"
He then tossed in three hundred spirit stones and grumbled, "Old Ye is cheaper, after all."
The jade pendant shimmered slightly, and a line of crimson script surfaced before his eyes.
"After departing, Ye Feng went through numerous twists and turns and entered an ancient legacy ruin. No news has emerged since."
"The ruin is located in the Taiqing Domain, on the Liyang Continent."
Li Guanqi's brow furrowed, and he muttered under his breath, "Another domain? The Taiqing Domain..."
Chapter 396