Mm, Elder Yu really was a good person.
Reflecting warmly on that thought, Gu Chengming decided that a script delivered by hand would convey more sincerity than one left at the door.
And so followed another few days of rest and recovery.
It had to be said — the fully automatic, hands-free cultivation effect of the Huiyuan Sword Art was frankly absurd.
After all, everyone in the sect knew that Gu Chengming's natural aptitude was unremarkable at best. A little below average, if one were being honest.
Ordinarily, his own cultivation sessions were like pushing a millstone uphill — grinding away with all his strength for half a day just to complete a few meridian cycles.
But now, with the Huiyuan Sword Art cycling tirelessly inside him on his behalf, the spiritual energy flowed in a continuous, remarkably refined stream. His cultivation speed hadn't merely improved by a few times — it had leapt by a wholly different order of magnitude.
Gu Chengming was even starting to worry that the Huiyuan Sword Art might end up turning him into a spoiled, good-for-nothing dependent.
Of course, not everyone — or rather, not every cultivation method — was pleased about this.
The Hundred Bones Resonance, for its part, was gripped by a sharp and rising sense of existential crisis.
[It reeled: what do you MEAN it just runs the cultivation cycles on its own?!]
The Hundred Bones Resonance had always considered itself dedicated to the grind. It had never imagined there was something out there that ground even harder.
Was this what a change in Gu Chengming's affinity rating looked like?
[Damn it, Gu Chengming — raise my affinity rating already!]
What good does nagging me do? Shouldn't your affinity be the one going up on its own?
Gu Chengming had no words.
After a few more days of recuperation, the injuries inside Gu Chengming's body had finally healed to about seventy or eighty percent. He still wasn't fit for high-intensity combat, but ordinary movement was no longer a problem.
Picking a fine, breezy afternoon, he tucked the freshly completed third installment of the story script under his arm and made his way to Yu Wenqiu's residence.
He tried the Scripture Library first, but came away empty-handed — the disciple on duty told him Elder Yu wasn't working the desk today. So he turned around and headed straight for the bamboo grove cottage behind the rear mountain.
Same place as last time.
Verdant bamboo framed every side, quiet and elegant.
Gu Chengming stood at the edge of the grove, just working out how to announce himself, when the formation that layered the bamboo thicket seemed to sense his arrival on its own. It parted to either side, revealing a winding path that curved into the interior.
He followed the path in without ceremony.
Through the bamboo, the familiar little courtyard came into view.
Yu Wenqiu was seated at the stone table in the center of the yard. Her expression was cool, her posture languid yet refined — one hand propping up her chin, the other turning the pages of an ancient tome with unhurried nonchalance.
The afternoon light filtered down through the gaps in the bamboo leaves and fell across her in dappled patches. She looked like someone who had walked out of a painting.
What Gu Chengming naturally had no way of knowing was that this particular tableau had been the product of a certain Elder frantically adjusting angles and striking poses in front of her water-mirror for a full quarter of an hour — from the very moment she sensed him trigger the formation.
Hearing footsteps, Yu Wenqiu did not look up right away.
She waited until Gu Chengming had walked all the way to her side before giving a small, delicate cough — as though she had only just noticed someone was there — and slowly turned her head.
"Xiao Gu? When did you get here?"
Her tone was perfectly flat. Her eyes were perfectly vacant. Her acting was a perfect ten out of ten.
"..."
Gu Chengming thought privately: weren't you the one who opened the formation and walked me in?
But his face remained a picture of respectful deference. He clasped his hands and smiled. "I've only just arrived. Seeing that Elder was communing with the cosmos, I didn't dare interrupt."
"Mm. Now that you're here, come sit."
Yu Wenqiu set down the scroll she hadn't actually absorbed a word of, let her gaze travel over him once, and asked with studied casualness:
"Your injuries — are they healed?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the last trace of doubt in Gu Chengming's mind dissolved.
So it really had been her who sent the medicine.
"All thanks to Elder Yu's elixirs," he said.
He didn't name the identity of that night's delivery — only let the implication speak for itself:
"Had those vials not arrived in time to stabilize my condition, I fear this disciple would have been bedridden for another week or two at least."
Hearing this, Yu Wenqiu felt quietly satisfied that Xiao Gu knew how to conduct himself — but her outward expression remained airy and unmoved. She responded with a single, noncommittal "Mm."
The pleasantries concluded, Gu Chengming wasted no further time. He reached into his robe, drew out the carefully wrapped script installment, and held it out with both hands.
"This is something this disciple put together during a few idle days of recovery — a supplement and extension of the storyline from last time. I present it to Elder for her perusal and critique."
Yu Wenqiu's eyes lit up instantly.
Truth be told, from the moment Gu Chengming had walked through the gate, her peripheral vision had not once left the manuscript tucked against his side.
Now that he'd finally produced it, she fought down the urge to lunge across the table and snatch it — gave two composed little coughs — and extended a measured, dignified hand to receive it.
"Since you've gone to the trouble, then this Elder will... have a look."
Her words said reluctant favor. Her hands said something entirely different: the manuscript vanished into her sleeve in the blink of an eye, as though she was afraid he might change his mind.
With the script safely stowed, Yu Wenqiu's mood improved in a visibly perceptible way.
She gestured at the stone stool across from her, indicating he should sit, then asked in a tone of apparent offhandedness:
"By the way — I hear you were badly injured this time? What exactly happened?"
Gu Chengming had his answer prepared. He replied without so much as a flicker of hesitation:
"Nothing serious — I pushed too hard during cultivation and made a reckless mistake. There was a bit of qi backlash."
"A cultivation mishap?"
Yu Wenqiu's brow furrowed slightly. She studied him with an odd look.
She looked him up and down. Xiao Gu usually struck her as a steady, sensible person. How had he made such an elementary blunder?
And besides — his injuries, though healing well, had clearly involved damaged meridians. That didn't look like a simple case of qi backlash. It looked more like he'd been...
In an instant, Yu Wenqiu's imagination had constructed an entire drama: "Outer Disciple Brutally Bullied, Too Proud to Report It."
Especially when she recalled all those story segments about weak disciples being tormented by villainous seniors — her gaze softened with something very close to pity.
"Xiao Gu..."
Yu Wenqiu let out a sigh, her tone earnest and grave.
"If you've run into any difficulties within the sect... or if someone has been giving you trouble... you can tell this Elder directly."
"This Elder may not meddle in affairs as a general rule, but within my own patch of ground, I still carry some weight. If anyone dares to bully the weak — hmph."
Gu Chengming, listening to this, realized what she had misunderstood — and very nearly laughed.
He could only deftly sidestep the subject with a light wave of his hand.
"Elder overestimates the drama of it. I get along well enough with people in the sect — who would bother picking on me? It really was just a cultivation mishap. I'll be more careful next time."
Seeing that he clearly didn't want to pursue the matter, Yu Wenqiu had no grounds to press further, and let it go.
The two of them chatted idly for a while — ranging from the story's plot to miscellaneous sect gossip — and the atmosphere was, all in all, quite pleasant.
When the sky had begun to deepen toward evening, Yu Wenqiu seemed to recall something and said suddenly:
"Oh, right — the disciple evaluation is in a few days. Have you been preparing?"
Gu Chengming straightened. "This disciple is already in the midst of preparation."
"Mm."
Yu Wenqiu nodded, then added by way of counsel:
"The rules have been revised for this evaluation — it isn't just a measure of cultivation level anymore. Practical combat and adaptability now carry significant weight as well. You may... ahem, you may have certain difficulties that have affected your cultivation, but when it comes to your sword art foundations, this Elder still has confidence in you."
Gu Chengming had just opened his mouth to reply — to say that he would certainly do his utmost —
When that familiar semi-transparent box blinked into existence without any warning at all.
[Piercing Insight activated.]
Three options appeared clearly before his eyes:
[Option 1: "Thank you for the reminder, Elder. This disciple will give everything and will not disappoint your expectations."]
[Option 2: "If I perform well, might Elder grant me one wish...?"]
[Option 3: "Actually, this disciple has always had one question — that Master in the story... does Elder think she resembles... you?"]
Excuse me — are you really that eager to push me down a path that can't pass censorship?
He chose Option 1 without a moment's hesitation.
"Thank you for the reminder, Elder. This disciple will give everything and will not disappoint your expectations."
Gu Chengming rose to his feet, bowed with proper courtesy, his tone sincere. He added: "The hour is late — this disciple will not disturb Elder's cultivation any further. I shall take my leave."
Yu Wenqiu nodded — but a flicker of something, barely perceptible, passed through her eyes. Something like disappointment.
Why was Xiao Gu in such a rush to leave?
Was it because she'd been holding herself too aloof just now? Had it made him feel like there was a wall between them?
Yu Wenqiu felt a private twinge of frustration. If she'd known this would happen, she wouldn't have put on that cold, distant act in the first place.
"Very well. If you're confident, then off you go."
She gave a wave of her hand, smoothing over that small, inconvenient feeling.
"This disciple takes his leave."
Gu Chengming turned and walked away without looking back.
Only once he was clear of the bamboo grove did he let out a long breath and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Lucky he'd made a quick exit.
Otherwise, if his instinct for striking up with attractive strangers had kicked in and he'd ended up accidentally romancing an Elder — what then?
In the days that followed, Gu Chengming committed fully to his policy of not leaving the courtyard.
Aside from the bare necessities of eating and sleeping, he barely set foot outside his gate. Even the several times Jiang Lu came to find him were turned away under the excuse of "entering seclusion to contemplate the sword."
Of course, it wasn't entirely an excuse.
As his body gradually recovered, and with the Huiyuan Sword Art training on his behalf in the background, his cultivation hadn't broken through to the sixth layer of the First Realm — but his sword intent had been refined to an ever-purer state.
It was a peculiar feeling.
Before, practicing the sword had meant practicing forms.
Now, practicing the sword meant practicing intent.
[The Huiyuan Sword Art thinks you're at your very best right now — quiet and still, not out there captivating every passerby, belonging to it and it alone.]
[If things could go on like this forever, until the seas run dry and the stones turn to dust... that really wouldn't be so bad.]
Peaceful days have a way of slipping by quickly.
And so the day of the disciple evaluation arrived at last.
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