Chapter 63: Divine Path Sect Survival Rules Part 1: [Do Not Make Eye Contact]

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Su has already paced around the doorway three times."

"If an outsider were to see this, who knows what decree you might have issued again; are you planning to bestow a length of white silk upon me?"

*Cough, cough! *

Feeling somewhat awkward from Ran Guifei's sarcastic tone, Li Long coughed a few times and continued to rest his head on her soft thighs.

"Cough, cough, I have my own countermeasures, my beloved concubine need not worry."

"This is merely for outsiders to see; besides, haven't I been here accompanying you these past few days?"

Covering her mouth with a fan as she smiled, Ran Guifei's eyes were as alluring as silk, her skin smooth, showing no signs that she had been confined to the Cold Palace for many days.

This was normal, after all, among the concubines of the Inner Palace, who else could monopolize the Emperor for so long?

If one could be like this every night, then what would it matter even if one lived directly in the Cold Palace?

"Outsiders don't know that Your Majesty is staying here; if Empress sister finds out, won't she be angry?"

"If she knows we have been together all day, won't she punish me?"

"How terrifying! Empress sister is not like me; I only know how to cherish you, Brother Emperor~"

Artfully feeding a peeled fruit to Li Long's lips, Ran Guifei smiled faintly.

"Although this Cold Palace is quiet, it is ultimately not as comfortable as my own palace; Your Majesty must not let me wait too long."

"Mm, that is only natural; I have my own arrangements, my beloved concubine need not overthink it."

Since she had already obtained Li Long's assurance, Ran Guifei did not throw another tantrum, but instead used her soft hands to massage the Emperor's brow.

"I do not quite understand Your Majesty's arrangements for Ling'er and Yiyi."

"There are so many great sects in the world, why choose that strange Divine Path Sect? Has our Beigan Dynasty not had any contact with them all this time?"

Slowly closing his eyes, Li Long masked his thoughts and said calmly:

"There was none before, but there will be in the future."

"If everything truly develops as I anticipate, perhaps we might even be able to establish some special kinship, hehe."

Ran Guifei:?

Seeing the strange smile at the corner of Li Long's mouth, a flash of inspiration struck Ran Guifei, and she spoke subconsciously:

"I do not agree to this marriage!"

"My Ling'er is still so young, so well-behaved, so cute! How could you have the heart to arrange a marriage for her!?"

"Didn't Your Majesty promise me that Ling'er's marriage would be left for her to decide herself?"

"Your Majesty!!!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Ran Guifei fired off several sentences like a machine gun.

"My beloved concubine, where has your mind wandered? When have I ever broken my word?"

Closing his eyes with the composure of a veteran, Li Long enjoyed his beloved concubine's panic and laughed:

"And when did I ever say I was going to arrange a marriage for the twelfth princess?"

Furrowing her brows, Ran Guifei's hand gradually tightened.

*Hiss! *

Forced to open his eyes, Li Long removed Ran Guifei's fingers.

"Cough."

"I meant that there might be some other kind of kinship, for example... adoptive kinship."

?

Ran Guifei: "Ah?"

……

……

Few people knew of Li Long's arrangements; to outsiders, this apprenticeship was more like a punishment.

Ran Guifei had fallen out of favor in the palace, and the siblings Li Lingling and Li Yiyi were banished from Wentian City, sent to a remote sect in the backwaters to avoid disaster.

Especially for the two parties involved, this feeling was even more intense.

The drastic change in treatment left both of them with somewhat unbalanced mentalities.

Although it did not show on the surface, Li Lingling was exceptionally quiet the entire journey, striving to maintain the dignity of an elder sister.

As for Li Yiyi, he could not control himself and wore his emotions on his face.

He kept a gloomy face the whole way, and even when Li Lingling asked him questions, he mostly remained silent.

Finally, this emotion erupted at the gates of Chongzhou City, and was completely vented after meeting Ren Yidao.

And then...

He was beaten by his sister.

After a round of "loving" lashes, all resentment and anger were hammered away.

It was a case of a child being itchy for a beating and needing to be properly disciplined.

Li Lingling used this to vent some of her pressure, and Li Yiyi's emotions were also beaten out of him; both were able to resume the demeanor of a prince and princess.

This was to cope with life in the Divine Path Sect.

But soon, they fell into a predicament, or rather, confusion would be more accurate.

In Wentian City, they had seen countless Imperial Court officials over the years and were accustomed to being flattered and fawned upon wherever they went.

After losing power this time, the siblings finally witnessed what it meant for the world to be fickle and for people to turn cold once one is no longer in a position of influence.

Everyone in Wentian City was terrified, unwilling to invite trouble upon themselves.

Many people actually closed their doors to them and simply cut off contact.

Li Yiyi's emotions were so unstable also because the eldest daughter of the Shi family, with whom he had the best relationship, was unwilling to see him anymore.

When they left Wentian, not a single person came to see them off.

Li Lingling thought she would receive the same treatment at the Divine Path Sect.

But the reality was, well, really quite different from what she had imagined.

They were indeed being isolated.

However, it was not the kind of ignoring and avoidance that follows malicious words.

"What... is going on?"

From the corners, from every mountain peak, they could feel curious gazes.

Many people were peeking at them, carefully sizing them up, but had absolutely no intention of coming forward to communicate.

And more importantly, there was no malice at all in those gazes; there was even a faint sense of... fear?

Fear?

What were they afraid of?

Confused, Li Lingling met one of the gazes, wanting to figure out what the other person was thinking, but the person simply closed their eyes and then vanished on the spot.

Hmm?

She met eyes with another, and the person averted their gaze once more.

Another one, and they averted it again.

???

What is going on!

Is there something wrong with this sect?

Not noticing the confusion of her cousin behind her, Shi Xue, who was walking in front to lead the way, reminded her:

"By the way, if you notice someone looking at you, absolutely do not meet their eyes."

Cousin, you said that too late.

"The disciples of the Divine Path Sect are a bit shy and xenophobic, but they are actually quite good to their fellow disciples; according to Ren Yidao, it's something like 'social anxiety'?"

Thinking about it, Li Lingling suddenly felt that perhaps her future life in the Divine Path Sect might not be as bad as she had imagined?

Li Lingling was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Just as they had finished paying respects to the ancestors with Elder Shen and were about to choose a main peak for their cultivation life, an accident occurred.

Bang!

A fiery red figure burst in and began attacking everyone directly:

"Hey! Are you all isolating me!"

"Why didn't you call me for such an important thing as taking a master!?"

"I almost overslept!"

Who is this?

Before Li Lingling could figure out the situation, whether by luck or misfortune, their eyes met.

This one glance felt like an eternity.

Li Lingling: Why do I feel a bit uneasy?

While she was wondering, the red-haired woman smiled eerily, pointed at her, and shouted:

"I want this one!"

"No one is allowed to fight me for her!"

Divine Path Sect Survival Rule Number One: 【Do not meet eyes!】

Especially, do not meet eyes with Jing Yueqin.

My sleep has been quite poor these past two days; if this continues, I'll become a walking corpse. I need to get a good sleep this afternoon before waking up to continue writing.

I sit in front of the computer typing all day, I hope everyone can give me some encouragement—keep following and reading! Love you all!