As he went out of Ye Ling’s courtyard he went into the guest courtyard his room was in. At the entrance he noticed the young couple who were peacefully chatting among themselves on the porch with their room entrance behind them. Wu Long smiled at them as they stood up and bowed when they noticed him.
He essentially resolved their problem, but Sui Feng has two brothers and a father who could retaliate against them for his confinement, so he had them stay for a bit more until he cleaned this mess up. He was surprised at his own meddling, as it was quite unusual for him to do more than just resolve the crisis for such couples. But their relationship was pleasant to see, as the harmony and heartwarming feeling between them soothed the soul.
Meanwhile, just so they had something to do, he gave them dual cultivation techniques that were quite simple to him, but precious in this world. There were two that complimented each other, one for a man, one for a woman. He did not give this much thought, as he only did so to distract them from the anxiety, as he quickly learnt that mortals viewed time and danger differently.
He also gave the poor uncultured fellow a scroll with some bedroom techniques so that he would not disgrace himself in the bedroom as a starting dual cultivator.
Surprisingly, though, they showed quite the talent for dual cultivation. They were both at lower levels of the Body Transformation Realm when he met them, and could not breakthrough any higher judging from what he heard them say, but now they were nearing Qi Gathering Realm, moving at a much faster cultivation pace than him. Sometimes the so-called talent for cultivation was limited by the cultivation method or cultivation technique one practiced. And in their case, it seems that while they had almost no talent for normal cultivation, their talent for dual cultivation was very high.
Wu Long himself was similar to them. Even now his cultivation pace was low since his natural talent was bad, but he at least moved as he used dual cultivation, if he cultivated any other type of techniques his movement would be three or four times as slow. That was part of the reason he moved at a much higher pace in this life than in his past one, despite the environment, as in the quality of Spiritual Qi in the air and the resources available, being a lot worse. He was not a dual cultivator at first in his past, and only started dual cultivating much later in his life.
So their sudden talent did not shock him that much, but he was definitely surprised at this unexpected find.
Ye Ling was even considering taking them into the sect if they were willing, as they fit the sect quite well.
Despite its reputation, Yin Yang Unity Palace had quite a lot of couple cultivators who were in strictly monogamous relationships, not cultivating with anyone but their spouse who was also their partner.
At their current pace and talent they have shown, given that their potential does not dry up, they might become sect elders in the future, or perhaps even grand elders.
He motioned them to not mind him, and went past to his room. He still had some time before he usually taught Hua Ziyan.
He did not spar with Ye Ling, as she would not be able to train properly for a couple of days. Although he was jokingly asking if she wanted to cultivate in the morning, he would wait for about two days for her body to return to normal, as it could potentially be quite harmful for her.
So he was free for a couple of hours.
He then sat down at his own room’s porch to ponder about Sui Luxiao’s situation. He gave her some space but it did not mean he was leaving everything up to fate, as he wanted her, and was quite persistent.
He decided to give her a visit today to have a talk and maybe learn a bit more about her way of thinking. As he was pondering, he saw Hua Ziyan approaching him.
He lectured her on Spiritual Arts she was practicing as usual but he quickly noticed that she was distracted, and seemed to be conflicted about something. He did not mind and just continued as usual. 𝐞𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
He knew of her feelings of course, he was not some oblivious youth who did not notice something so blatantly seen in her eyes. But he did not make a move. It did not mean that he despised her or would reject her.
He had two main reasons, one of which being that him making a move would ruin her. Her development as a person and cultivator depended on her mental capacity to make this step herself, and he had to give her the chance to make it.
The second reason was that even if that was not the case, he would still not approach her first. He would not reject her if she wanted to cultivate but he was not motivated to pursue her himself. She was just a little girl in his mind, at least at first.
He now was a bit more amused and fascinated about her as her mental state was in the rapid process of growth, something immortals rarely see as they generally are already developed and even somewhat stale and hardened in their mental state. He was interested to see that she became more and more alluring with the passing days, a pace of mental development quite astonishing for someone who was already accustomed to meeting people whose personalities hardly changed with thousands of years of time.
Thus, given enough time he might be interested enough to make a move first if she was not able to do so. However, he first still had to wait for her to have a chance at making that decision on her own.
After the lesson, Wu Long went out of the Ye Family Manor in the direction of the Peacock Feather Trading Company. The manor, as well as the city were tranquil as it was still quite early in the morning.
Hua Ziyan, at this time, slightly bit her lip in vexation. Earlier, her determination from yesterday faltered as she saw his handsome face waiting for her to give the lesson. As someone who never pursued anyone and was accustomed only to rejecting others she never knew how scary it was to make a first move. She now had a little more appreciation for those people who approached her multiple times, as she was not able to muster the courage to even start in fear of being rejected. The fact that she rejected so many people before amplified her fears, as that possibility was more vivid for her.
Moreover, the fact that they were in one sect, and Wu Long seemed to have a relationship with Ye Ling, who was an elder of the sect, gave her a sense of security that allowed her mind to create an escape. “There will be more chances” or “I can try anytime, it’s not like he is going away” were phrases that her mind gripped with fear could use to delay acting.
—
Wu Long arrived at the headquarters of the trading company, and went through as usual, led by an attendant. Everyone in the company knew that he was an important person who had to be treated with respect and given access to the owner’s office immediately.
As he approached, he waived the request from the reception attendants who asked if the matter is urgent and they should notify Sui Luxiao, as she was currently meeting with clients. He was not in a hurry and quietly waited for her to become free.
As Sui Luxiao was notified of his presence after the meeting she told the attendants to wait for her call and halt other visitors. She sat down with a sigh and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths and calming herself down, she was preparing to meet with him.
After she opened her eyes again, there was a profound light in them, as she asked the attendant to invite him in.
As Wu Long entered her office she stood up, looking at him with a slightly nervous look on her face. The attendant bowed and closed the door behind him, and silence filled the room for some time. She waived her hand over the array activating the formations.
“…Did you come for my decision?”
She asked, finally breaking the silence.
“No, I just came to talk, and maybe help. I left last time to let you digest the information, not because I was not going to persuade you at all. Besides, I still need to check up on you to see if your condition is well”
He replied with a slight smile. The smile sent waves of heat through her body. She knew that her body was craving for his touch, as she was pleasuring herself thinking of the times he made her feel good quite regularly these past days she has not seen him.
But more than that, the touching care and concern for her, apparent in his words and in the look in his eyes, made her heart warm up. No matter how she denied it, she was missing talking with him, and seeing him. The small amount of time they knew each other already made him so important in her eyes, which greatly shocked her.
As she gestured to the sofas and armchairs around the low table, he nodded and they sat opposite each other, looking each other in the eye.
“Let’s deal with your immediate situation now, leave any discussion regarding my proposition for when your situation is all settled and there is nothing hindering your decision” he said, as she nodded with gratitude. She really was not able to talk about her decision regarding his pursuit of her as her life was in a mess right now.
“I thought about what you said, and… I know that my family cannot go on like this. I will have to divorce my husband first, but my children…”
She started, but when it got to her children, there was a complicated look on her face and her words stopped.
“Hmm, I do not have children so it may not be something I can understand, but you can at least tell me so that you have an outlet to talk to, it may be easier to figure everything out if you just talk about it”
He said after pondering for a moment.
She nodded and started talking to him about her feelings, first a bit reserved, but gradually as she talked she was revealing more and more of her inner thoughts, fears and concerns. She spilled out the pain of all these years in her words, and saw his genuine attention, as he was taking in her every word, looking at her with only the intent to listen, and no judgment or reproach.
She found it easier and easier to share her troubles and thoughts, as it was not easy for her to come to terms with what her children were as people. And somehow, in the process, she felt better and better, as if just talking made her mind clearer, and she started to see the situation more accurately for what it was.
Wu Long was also taking in her thoughts, and his own understanding of the world expanded greatly. He was surprised to find that his comprehension towards life was growing more in these months than it did for thousands of years prior, as he reached a kind of a pinnacle where his learning and comprehension only rose in terms of techniques and skills, while his comprehension of life and the universe became somewhat rigid and solidified. These experiences gave him a completely different vantage point, and a new perspective, and the vividness of experiencing them while dealing with living a mortal life with hunger, sleep and thirst which he was not accustomed to was enhancing the profound meaning behind them.
Sometime later, she finished talking and there was a look of comprehension on her face, as she seemed much more clear about what she wanted to do.
Wu Long simply smiled when he saw that look on her face and told her that he would be there if she needed help with something. He also told her that he would come periodically to check up on her. She noticed that there was some deeper meaning in his checking in that may not entirely be related to her, but she did not question him as she already knew that he cared about her, and would not do something to harm her.
And she was right, the reason she felt his ‘checking in’ was not related to her, was because what Wu Long intended to check was not her decision, but her safety. Now that she was ready to make changes in her life, someone who was part of those changes may not be so happy, and there were drastic measures they could take and the reaction was likely to be either immediate or slightly delayed. But even if delayed, it would be by not much, since the party in question was already in the state of alert in the last weeks.
He told her to have him nearby when she made her announcement to her husband, since he was worried. She was surprised, but nodded. Though she did not believe her husband had the guts to do anything, she still appreciated having him be nearby at least as an emotional support. This was a big decision after all.
While he was standing up his hand slid onto the seat back of the armchair he was sitting on before, and an imperceptible tiny flash of light shone on his palm, as a small rectangular piece of paper full of esoteric symbols and inscriptions, as well as geometric shapes was left where his palm was and then slowly faded, as if nothing was there. This was a precaution, and he really hoped it would be meaningless.
In order to prevent any accidents, Wu Long would just take care of any threats instantly himself, but this was an important process for Sui Luxiao, and he could not interfere until she was done, or rush her, quite similar to Hua Ziyan’s situation. He could only wait for the time being.
After two days, Ye Ling’s condition returned to normal as they trained in the morning again. And then, in the evening, Wu Long arrived at her courtyard, and she gulped a bit after seeing his gaze that started to make her body temperature go up slightly, and her throat dried up a bit.