Chapter Sixty-Nine: Brother Yuanfang

"In addition, we will wait by the pillar of black light for a few days. We still know far too little about the current situation; we have no idea whether that pillar is harmful to us. Acting rashly will only lead to disaster."

"If what Lin He said is true, then at the very least, we are safe for seven days. We should observe for a few days, gather more information, and if, after that, we determine this pillar of black light is harmless and may be freely entered and exited, then we’ll proceed. For now, caution is paramount. The anomaly here will surely draw many people. Our first priority is to ensure our own survival. Lin He said those above Qi Refinement cannot enter the secret realm, but he never said they couldn’t enter this pillar of black light."

"Given our cultivation, acting recklessly could bring fatal danger upon us. After all, for some, eliminating a few Qi Refinement cultivators simply means removing a few rivals."

After analyzing the situation, Yu Daoyi spoke slowly. Everyone looked at him, surprised by his calm and composed manner, as if he had become a different person.

"What are you all staring at? Qiuling, how many Blood Crimson Fruits do we have?" Yu Daoyi asked, annoyed by their skeptical looks.

"Seven," Song Qiuling replied, undoing her bundle and placing it on the ground.

"Perfect, one for each of us," Yu Daoyi nodded slightly.

"One each? Isn’t there one extra then?" Song Cheng squatted down, eager as ever.

Song Cheng impatiently opened the bundle, and a rush of spiritual energy wafted over them.

"That one’s for Lin He," Yu Daoyi said flatly.

"What??" Song Cheng exclaimed, as if betrayed by his dearest friend, his eyes brimming with aggrieved tears.

"This Blood Crimson Fruit has its own special use. No treasure, however precious, is worth more than life itself."

"Lin He knew about the existence of the Blood Crimson Fruit from the start. He wouldn’t be unaware of its effects. He didn’t mention it, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. This is our gesture of goodwill—our sincerity offered to him."

"We must prepare for the worst. No matter what, Lin He is better than those strangers whose intentions are entirely unknown. At the very least, until things become clear or we are absolutely sure, I can be certain he won’t turn on us," Yu Daoyi said with great confidence.

"You trust him that much?" Song Qiuling asked, frowning.

"It’s not trust. Lin He is a clever man, and clever men act in clever ways."

"Moreover, the value of a thing does not lie in itself, but in what it can bring you. Right now, a single Blood Crimson Fruit can change our predicament, but whichever of us gets the second fruit, it will not change our situation."

"I don’t care whether he wants it or not, or whether he values it. What matters is that he understands my intention. I know him; he trusts no one easily, and neither do I. So neither of us will tear off the final mask until we have to. There’s no need for that."

"We’re just putting on appearances, cooperating for now. Since it’s cooperation, until our goals are met and until we’re forced to turn on each other, Lin He will be our best teammate."

"He said the legacy here is his for the taking—and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Everything we do now is simply to keep ourselves safe," Yu Daoyi repeated, clarifying things for the others—and himself.

"Do we really have to give up a Blood Crimson Fruit?" Song Cheng still looked reluctant.

"It’s the one thing we have that he’s most likely to need," Yu Daoyi replied, lowering his gaze to study a fruit.

"To be honest, when Lin He said you and he were alike, I never believed it," Song Qiuling said softly, watching the youth before her, who seemed suddenly so different.

"Alike how?" He looked up, his eyes clear and bright.

"Alike," Song Qiuling replied, her look meaningful. "Like a clever man."

"Be more confident and drop the ‘like’. I won’t get arrogant," Yu Daoyi laughed, relaxed and natural.

"You’re too tense, always bracing for the worst. This is just the beginning—who knows what lies ahead?" Duan Yuxuan commented, slightly dismissive of Yu Daoyi’s wariness.

"Yes, this is my final contingency. Maybe I’m just overthinking. Ideally, I’ll wake tomorrow to my unreliable father giving me a smack to the head. But this began because of me, and at the very least, I owe responsibility to Qiuling and the others," Yu Daoyi said quietly. Song Qiuling could sense a trace of guilt in his words, so different from his usual demeanor.

"With all these anomalies, our families will probably send people to look for us. It will get even darker soon; let’s set out early tomorrow. We might reunite with our own," he continued.

"This Blood Crimson Fruit is mine, then. Perhaps it will help me break through to the next stage." Yu Daoyi tossed the crimson fruit lightly in his hand, then walked away, watching as the others divided the remaining fruits among themselves.

As time passed, Yu Daoyi watched each of them find a spot, sit cross-legged, and start refining their own Blood Crimson Fruit.

"Yuanfang—no, Eleventh Brother—shall we talk about our situation?" he said quietly.

Yu Daoyi’s shadow deepened, and from it came a voice: "Your father instructed me not to interfere in your affairs unless it’s a matter of life and death."

"...Don’t be so rigid. I know that old man too well—there’s no way that’s all he told you. I don’t believe you don’t have a way to contact him." Yu Daoyi rolled his eyes, then continued, "What did you mean earlier when you said your cultivation is severely suppressed?"

"This pillar of black light seems to be a formation. If your cultivation hasn’t reached a certain level, it forcibly suppresses you," the Eleventh replied after a pause, a hint of doubt in his tone.

"So that means that Bai Li Mo’s cultivation is far above yours?" Yu Daoyi asked gravely.

"It seems so, otherwise the formation shouldn’t affect me. But how a legacy of someone like that ended up in little Qingshan Town is a mystery itself," Eleventh replied.

"So, Eleventh Brother, what’s your cultivation level?" Yu Daoyi asked out of curiosity. From Eleventh’s words, his cultivation must be quite high, or he wouldn’t be so perplexed by the suppression.

"Your father instructed me not to speak of myself. If not for your unusual perceptiveness, I’d have remained hidden. I am curious, how did you notice me?"

"To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself. You’re not an outsider, so I won’t hide it. My spiritual sense—my divine sense—is a bit strange. Oh, to be clear, it’s my sense, not my mind, that’s peculiar. Also, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with my cultivation."

"Several years ago, I started feeling as if someone was always watching me from behind. At first, I thought it was just my imagination. But after I began refining pills and focused on my spiritual sense, the feeling grew stronger, and I realized it wasn’t just an illusion."

"If it had only been for a short time, I’d never have noticed. I can sense your cultivation is very strong, Eleventh Brother—far beyond what a mere Qi Refinement novice like myself could detect. But I’m not stupid. I probed my father discreetly for information—though he may have deliberately let something slip—and, combined with my own deductions, it wasn’t hard to figure out if he’d assigned someone to watch over us."

"And you’ve been following me for years. Once or twice could be dismissed as a mistake, but three or four times was enough to confirm something was off." Yu Daoyi frowned as he recalled, still unsure why his spiritual sense was so odd.

"So that’s why you acted so boldly before?" Eleventh’s voice came from the shadow.

"Honestly, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. You’d never revealed yourself, after all. But the matter with Uncle Lin started because of me. I could ignore the Duan pair, but the Song siblings got involved because of my decisions. If anything happened to them because of my mistake or rashness, I’d never forgive myself. So at that moment, I had to step forward, even if you didn’t exist—I still should have," he finished quietly.