Chapter 239 - 238: Late Night Emo

Chapter 239: Chapter 238: Late Night Emo

That afternoon, everyone gathered again in the large study. A wide desk sat in the center of the room, with the Space-Time Array Map laid out on it. Several people crowded around the desk to look at it, and since Dongfang Lingjun had contributed the most, he acted as the guide.

"Barring any surprises, this is the final version of the Array Map. It will cover an area less than thirty meters in diameter and will require at least four people working together to construct." Dongfang Lingjun looked at Gu Qingyin. "Huo Yunjing is the core of the Array, and you will need to anchor one of its focal points."

Gu Qingyin’s eyes widened. "I can’t understand any of this."

Dongfang Lingjun chuckled. "Don’t worry. We’ll give you some crash course training over the next few days. You don’t need to understand everything, just the part you’re responsible for. You can leave the rest to me and Master Gu."

Gu Ziqian nodded in agreement. "This matter can’t be widely publicized. The fewer people who know, the better. It’s not a good idea to bring in another Heavenly Master from the outside, so we can only rely on you."

Gu Qingyin took a deep breath. "I can do it."

Huo Xingchen stood on his tiptoes, leaning against the edge of the desk. He made a small fist and cheered in his childish voice, "Go, Mommy!"

Gu Qingyin ruffled his little head.

Dongfang Lingjun smiled as well, then continued, "I’ll start by explaining the general principles. You don’t need to understand it all; just absorb what you can."

Gu Qingyin grew serious. "Okay!"

She listened with rapt attention for over half an hour. By the time he finished, her brain felt like a muddled paste, as if someone had just crammed a bunch of things inside, leaving a tangled mess she couldn’t begin to sort out.

Seeing Dongfang Lingjun was about to continue, Gu Qingyin quickly raised a hand to stop him. "Let me digest this first, I’m begging you."

Dongfang Lingjun chuckled in amusement. "Alright, let’s take a short break then."

Gu Qingyin stared at the Array Map, recalling his words from the very beginning.

Dongfang Lingjun had spoken too quickly, force-feeding her the information like a duck. He hadn’t given her any time to think. She could keep up with the simpler parts at the beginning, but once it got slightly more profound, she started to get lost. Before she could even process the meaning of one sentence, he was already on to the next.

Gu Qingyin had no choice but to first memorize everything by rote and study it later.

She had always been a person of immense focus. It was true she wasn’t interested, but if she had to learn something, she could buckle down and do it. She became immersed for nearly two hours.

Gu Qingyin, who had been frowning in deep thought, let out a heavy breath. When she looked up again, she was the only one left at the desk. Glancing around, she saw that everyone else was gone. Only Dongfang Lingjun was sitting at a nearby tea table, brewing tea while he waited for her.

"Finished digesting?" Dongfang Lingjun put down his teacup and stood up. "Shall we continue, then?"

Gu Qingyin: "...Alright."

The lesson on the Space-Time Array continued late into the night. When Gu Qingyin finally emerged from the study, she felt as if she had ascended, filled with a strange sense of confidence.

’I’m going to become a master...’

Dongfang Lingjun overheard and chuckled. "Another two days of studying, and you’ll be close. You have a great talent for arrays. It’s a shame you didn’t specialize in them." He had originally intended to just teach her the basics, but he hadn’t expected Gu Qingyin to insist on diving deep into the theory. The fact that she was making it look so effortless was a pleasant surprise.

Gu Qingyin shook her head. "I’m not cut out for it."

Dongfang Lingjun didn’t press the issue. He waved a hand dismissively. "Go get some rest. Tomorrow, you’ll officially start learning the part you’re responsible for."

"Okay." Gu Qingyin staggered away, looking utterly exhausted, as if a demon had drained her of all her vital energy.

Before returning to her room, she first went to Huo Xingchen’s guest room. She pushed the door open quietly, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes when she saw Huo Yunjing sitting by the bed. "Did you put him to sleep?"

Huo Yunjing shook his head. "I just came to see him."

Gu Qingyin blinked. She didn’t quite understand, but she didn’t feel like asking right now. She walked over to look at Huo Xingchen, felt his head to make sure it was dry, then bent down to kiss his little cheek before preparing to leave.

"Aren’t you leaving?"

Huo Yunjing seemed to be lost in thought. Hearing her, he stood up. "Let’s go."

Gu Qingyin gave him a strange look, and the two of them left Huo Xingchen’s room together.

"Get some rest. See you tomorrow." Gu Qingyin waved and turned to enter the adjacent room.

Huo Yunjing suddenly spoke. "Am I like him?"

Gu Qingyin stopped in her tracks. It took her a couple of seconds to realize he was asking about her husband. She gave an objective assessment, "The way you two treat outsiders is very similar—cold, arrogant, with an air of looking down on everyone. As for how you treat those close to you..."

She smiled. "That’s harder to compare, but I guess you’re probably similar overall."

Huo Yunjing nodded. "Thank you. Sorry to bother you." He turned and walked toward his guest room, which was at the other end of the hall, some distance away.

Gu Qingyin watched him for a moment and, for some reason, found his retreating back a little lonely. Shrugging, she yawned and went back to her room as well.

’Adults, right? We all get a little emo late at night,’ she thought. ’I get it.’

She had overworked her brain today and desperately needed rest. After washing up, she went straight to sleep.

After breakfast the next morning, the torturous Array lessons began again.

With a miserable expression, Gu Qingyin followed Dongfang Lingjun into the study and remained cooped up in there for the entire day.

After two more days of this, she finally understood the focal point she was supposed to anchor. Gu Qingyin looked completely haggard.

"It’s finally over..." Gu Qingyin flopped onto the sofa, completely drained of energy.

Nearby, Dongfang Lingjun was gushing to Gu Ziqian, "Qing Yin’s talent for arrays is truly something I’ve never seen in my life, even better than Dayan’s! She completely grasped such a difficult array in just two days!"

Gu Ziqian simply smiled without saying a word.

Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but retort, "Two days of studying nearly killed me. If I had to study it all the time, it would definitely shorten my life." She paused, then asked in confusion, "Who is Dayan?"

Dongfang Lingjun looked displeased. "Zhang Qiuyan, of course. Who else?"

Gu Qingyin’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’She’s an elegant, beautiful woman, and you call her Dayan? Could you be any more random?’ She glanced around. "Where is Zhang Qiuyan? Does she not have a problem with you calling her that?"

Dongfang Lingjun gave a haughty huff. "I’m her master. How would she dare have a problem with me? Besides, what’s wrong with Dayan? It has a nice meaning, too."

Gu Qingyin was completely speechless. She decided to just stand up and change the subject. "Let’s set off tomorrow. I’m afraid if we wait a couple of days, I’ll forget everything and have to learn it all over again."

Dongfang Lingjun froze for a second, then his face flushed red with anger. He pointed at Gu Qingyin, sputtering "You..." for a long moment before finally squeezing out, "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you!"

Gu Qingyin blinked with wide-eyed innocence. "Of course not. It’s a bad habit I’ve had since I was a child. My brain automatically deletes things it doesn’t like and only remembers what it enjoys. That’s why I learn things quickly and forget them just as fast, especially around exams."

Dongfang Lingjun was too angry to speak. He simply ignored her, turned his head, and walked off.

Gu Ziqian shook his head. "Senior Dongfang is an old man. Why do you have to provoke him? It wouldn’t hurt to just humor him a little, especially since you won’t be staying long anyway."

Gu Qingyin sighed. "I’m afraid he’ll actually get set on teaching me arrays. I really don’t want to learn."

Dongfang Lingjun, eavesdropping from around the corner: ...was now even angrier!