Chapter 227 - 226: Absolutely Unusual

Chapter 227: Chapter 226: Absolutely Unusual

Gu Qingyin’s talent for arrays wasn’t exactly top-tier. Coupled with her minimal prior exposure to these specific types, she decided to play it safe and start with the basics.

Huo Xingchen naturally started with the basics alongside her, but he had another problem: his classical Chinese was poor. Many of the ancient tomes were written in Small Seal Script, which he couldn’t read at all. It was too late to learn it on the spot.

He sighed and walked over to Huo Yunjing. "Which floor has the books on talismans? Can I go take a look?" he asked. The Huo Family’s Book Collection Pavilion normally required an application for entry. Since this was a rare opportunity to study, he couldn’t let it go to waste.

Huo Yunjing was holding an ancient tome as thick as a dictionary, pulled from the lowest level. "The fourth floor," he said. "Go on, and be careful."

Huo Xingchen agreed, pumping his fist encouragingly. "Good luck, Uncle!"

A small smile touched Huo Yunjing’s lips before his attention returned to his book.

Huo Xingchen pattered down the stairs, and soon his footsteps faded into silence.

By then, Gu Qingyin was completely absorbed in her book and hadn’t noticed Huo Xingchen leave at all.

When she finally looked up, not only had she finished an entire book, but the light in the room had grown dim.

"Let’s come back tomorrow," Huo Yunjing said. "You need time to digest it all." After an afternoon of observation, he felt self-study was far too slow. "Tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet an array master."

Gu Qingyin’s eyes lit up, and the ache in them seemed to vanish instantly. "I’m sorry to trouble you."

Huo Yunjing shook his head. "Let’s go. Xingchen is downstairs."

Gu Qingyin asked no further questions and followed him out.

"What are the other two’s names?" Huo Yunjing asked, making small talk.

"Xingye and Xinghai. They’re both boys, and very bright." It was one thing when they weren’t mentioned, but now that they were, Gu Qingyin couldn’t stop thinking about them.

"Were they a handful when they were young?"

Gu Qingyin paused for a moment before sighing. "Not at all. They’re both very well-behaved."

Huo Yunjing seemed to sense something, and he asked no more questions. The two descended to the fourth floor in silence.

"...This is the Lock God Talisman. It’s my mom’s own creation, so of course your family doesn’t have it recorded. My mom is amazing!"

Gu Qingyin paused, her heart warming even as she felt a little embarrassed. "He’s just a child, please don’t take it to heart."

Huo Yunjing shook his head and asked, "The Lock God Talisman? Is it used to restrain enemies?"

Gu Qingyin nodded. "It’s just a minor support tool."

’Later, I’m going to have a serious talk with this boy,’ she thought. ’I’ll have to teach him about hiding his strength, about quietly reaping benefits, that the tallest tree catches the most wind, and that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. We’re away from home and asking for help, you have to keep a low profile! Doesn’t he understand?!’

"Some kid you are, full of big talk." A cool, vaguely familiar voice sounded. "My older cousin is the most powerful Heavenly Master. He’s the Family Head of the Huo Family, the leader of the number one Heavenly Master Family in all of Huaxia!"

Huo Xingchen scoffed. "You don’t understand anything." He wasn’t a real child and disdained to get into a verbal squabble. All that mattered was that he knew his mom was the most powerful.

After that brief exchange, Gu Qingyin and Huo Yunjing rounded a corner and saw Huo Xingchen standing by a window with... Huo Zhao Hua?

Gu Qingyin had a flash of understanding. ’No wonder that voice sounded familiar.’ It made sense. ’If this is a parallel dimension, then everyone from her world—familiar and unfamiliar, loved and loathed—could exist here too.’

’The Lin Xiaoyun of her world only managed to enter the Huo Family thanks to her help. What about this world’s Lin Xiaoyun? Did she meet someone, fall in love, and marry normally, or did she use another person to get close to the Huo Family?’

Gu Qingyin pressed her lips together. ’It doesn’t necessarily have to be Lin Xiaoyun, though,’ she mused. ’The threads of fate have already diverged; the two worlds are on vastly different paths now.’

Just then, Huo Xingchen and Huo Zhao Hua noticed them. The younger one pattered over to their side, while the older one bowed respectfully. "Family Head."

Huo Yunjing nodded coolly, then very naturally took Huo Xingchen’s hand. "Time to go."

Huo Xingchen nodded. ’Truthfully, I’d rather be holding Mom’s hand,’ he thought. ’This is a rare experience. Big Brother and Second Brother will definitely be so, so envious of me when they find out!’

’But since Huo Yunjing was already holding his hand, he couldn’t hold his mom’s, too. It would make them look too much like a family of three, and he’d feel like he was letting his dad down.’

Huo Zhao Hua watched them go, a hint of yearning in his eyes. ’When will I ever reach my cousin’s level?’ Huo Zhao Hua’s gaze hardened with resolve. ’I have to give it one hundred and twenty percent effort!’

That day, just as on previous days, Huo Zhao Hua was the last person to leave the Book Collection Pavilion.

The two young men guarding the Book Collection Pavilion sighed, a mixture of shame and admiration on their faces. Huo Zhao Hua’s talent was already considered excellent among the younger generation, yet he was still this diligent in private. How were they, who slacked off whenever they got the chance, supposed to feel?

"We have to start working harder."

"Starting tomorrow!"

"Deal!"

The rest of the night passed without incident. Gu Qingyin was up at dawn; with so much weighing on her mind, she couldn’t sleep soundly anyway. She figured she might as well get up and cultivate.

After freshening up, she pushed open her door only to run into Huo Yunjing, who was also on his way out for morning practice.

Their gazes met calmly, and they exchanged greetings.

Huo Xingchen had been staying in Huo Yunjing’s courtyard, and as his mother, she naturally wouldn’t be housed elsewhere. Thankfully, the courtyard was large with plenty of empty rooms, so the arrangement wasn’t awkward.

Gu Qingyin had planned on finding a quiet, out-of-the-way spot to cultivate, lest she disturb Huo Yunjing.

She had just turned to leave when she heard Huo Yunjing suggest, "Would you be interested in a spar?"

Intrigued, Gu Qingyin turned back around. "Spar over what?"

"The theory of Space-Time Arrays," said Huo Yunjing. "By discussing it, we might spark some unexpected new ideas."

Gu Qingyin thought he had a point. It wasn’t the kind of "spar" she’d had in mind, but right now, the array was what mattered most.

Filled with anticipation, she began discussing the topic with Huo Yunjing. She soon found, however, that the gap in their foundational knowledge was so vast that the discussion turned into a private tutoring session. Gu Qingyin benefited immensely from the morning’s exchange.

The two of them didn’t stop their discussion until Huo Xingchen emerged from his bedroom looking bright and refreshed.

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Qingyin said sincerely, "Thank you. I’m sorry for taking up your time."

Huo Yunjing shook his head. "You’re even quicker than I thought. Teaching you is incredibly rewarding."

Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but laugh. "Well, of course! My master always said I was a once-in-a-generation Xuan Technique prodigy!"

Huo Yunjing nodded in agreement, a smile touching his lips as well.

From a distance, Huo Xingchen couldn’t hear their words, but he could see them both start to laugh as they talked. The atmosphere was entirely too harmonious. Alarm bells blared in his mind, and he scrambled over to them.

’He hadn’t mentioned it before, but he had another mission on this side: help his dad fend off all the suitors buzzing around his mom. And the one who needed the most watching was this world’s Huo Yunjing!’

’At first, Huo Xingchen hadn’t thought it would be necessary, but now he realized how naive he’d been.’

’For all the days he’d been here, Huo Yunjing had remained detached, his face virtually expressionless.’

’But his mom had only arrived yesterday, and today Huo Yunjing was already smiling at her!’

’This was definitely not normal!!’