Where is Our Agreement to be Each Other’s Arch-Rivals?

“Since everyone’s here, let’s head up the mountain. Old Qi, Wang Ke is leaving now.”

The middle-aged man gestured farewell to Old Qi, turned around and left, leading the team with him.

The young martial artists followed him up the limestone slab road. All along the way, they could barely hide their excitement.

Gu Feidi’s steps paused a while, then he finally glanced back at the closed door.

Pu Lingyun was baffled: “Shixiong, shall we go?”

Gu Feidi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. After hesitating for a moment, he turned and prepared to leave.

“Young man…” 

At the entrance of the farmhouse, Old Qi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke.

Although the middle-aged man had already walked some distance away, he stopped when he heard those words, turned back to face the old man and asked respectfully: “Old Qi, do you have any further instructions?” 

The old man didn’t reply, only closed his eyes and spoke slowly: “…Young man. Sometimes, a decision may give you a short term advantage… But in the days to come, whenever you think of this moment, it will become a thorn in your heart and can never be removed. If the mind of a martial artist is influenced, it will be a hindrance to the cultivation of the mind.”

Gu Feidi suddenly raised his head and stared at the old man.

But the old man didn’t say anymore.

The middle-aged man was in no hurry to leave this time. He stood expressionlessly on the stone steps, looking down condescendingly at the twenty or so martial artists before him, waiting for the youth who was advised by Old Qi to take the initiative and stand up.

Old Qi had been in Lesser Jade House for an unknown number of years, but he always gave the impression that he ignored common affairs. If he made the effort to speak personally, the youth he approached should be someone with such excellent qualifications that this elderly could not bear to watch go astray and therefore, had made it a point to persuade him.

Gu Feidi lowered his gaze, his jaw tightened and loosened. For a moment, he closed his eyes abruptly and when he opened them again, there was a determination in them.

He turned to face the old man in front of the farmhouse, cupped his fist to respectfully salute and said, “Thank you, Elder, for your advice!”

Immediately, he turned to the middle-aged man standing at the mountain path and cast his eyes downward, “Sir, there was actually another young man practicing diligently in the farmhouse. I saw him practicing martial arts in the courtyard yesterday before I went to bed. It was not until I woke up early in the morning that I saw him return to the house to rest. Presumably, he couldn’t get up before dawn because it had something to do with how hardworking he was last night.” 

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows slightly and asked with a smile: “Oh? Which young man is it?”

Gu Feidi replied, “It’s Demon——Yin Tan Divine Sect, Young Hero Su.”

Once he said this, the young martial artists on the mountain road immediately became chaotic.

Pu Lingyun said anxiously: “Xiao shixiong! What are you saying!”

Xu Yunzhan also frowned and asked: “Feidi, is this true?”

Before everyone’s suspicious eyes, Feidi nodded calmly on the spot.

“He practiced martial arts in the courtyard last night from midnight until the sky turned bright,” he said. His cheeks flushed slightly, his eyelashes lowered and he continued with difficulty, “Feidi is ashamed. Before, I had considered concealing the truth…”

“It’s hard to avoid making mistakes when you have a youthful temperament.” The middle-aged man smiled, “Realising your mistake and being able to reform oneself, that is the most important thing.” 

Gu Feidi raised his head and looked directly at the middle-aged man: “Feidi understands.”

The middle-aged man smiled again: “But since you have made a mistake, although you have admitted it, punishment is unavoidable. Do you have any objections?”

Before Gu Feidi could reply, Pu Lingyun cut in anxiously: “Sir, Feidi did not mean to hide it. If anyone is wrong, it is you, sir. You said only those who were in the courtyard at dawn had passed the assessment.”

Xu Yunzhan was standing on the side and wanted to go cover Pu Lingyun’s mouth, but the middle-aged man was there, so he didn’t dare to; only tugging hard on Pu Lingyun’s sleeves.

Pu Lingyun didn’t take notice and went on: “Even if that Demon… Young Hero Su practiced diligently last night, he couldn’t wake at dawn! Lingyun believes that sir should not punish Feidi, but should just have someone invite Young Hero Su out.”

The middle-aged man threw Pu Lingyun a serious look.

Although Pu Lingyun’s anxiety showed in her eyes, she didn’t avoid him but courageously met his gaze.

The middle-aged man suddenly laughed, “You are brave. You don’t hesitate to confront me and stand up to defend your companions—the temperament of the sons and daughters of the Jianghu.”

This did not sound like a reproach and Pu Lingyun was overjoyed.

But she heard the middle-aged man continue: “However, it is impossible for him to go unpunished.”

Pu Lingyun: “But sir—”

“Gu Feidi, I punish you to personally bring Su Yang out of the house.” 

The middle-aged man ignored Pu Lingyun and instructed Gu Feidi directly.

Gu Feidi was taken aback for a moment, then he cupped his fists in salute and replied, “Yes.”

He turned around without hesitation and walked to the farmhouse.

Fan Xi called out, “Aai, that…” He turned to ask the middle-aged man, “Can I go together? Su Yang and I are friends, so…” 

The middle-aged man’s expression did not change: “This punishment is for Gu Feidi. Outsiders are not allowed to interfere.”

Fan Xi’s mouth flattened into a line, he drew back his neck and stopped talking.

Gu Feidi walked into the farmyard under the watchful gaze of the other young martial artists around. He came to the room where Su Yang was staying, raised his hand and knocked gently on the door.

In fact, Su Yang had already arisen and overheard the conversation between Gu Feidi and the middle-aged man just now. Although he hadn’t expected to be seen by Gu Feidi and the old man when he had gone out to practice last night due to his insomnia, he had passed this test in the script, so he was already packing his things and preparing to leave.

However, he was met with some unexpected inconveniences.

Seeing the clothes before him that couldn’t figure out, Su Yang couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

He had some regrets going out to dance last night and he fully regrets returning into the house and carelessly discarding all his clothes before going to bed and wrapping himself in the blanket.

The garments of the Devil Sect were extremely complicated. In order to present an elegant figure, there were lacing tapes everywhere, with three layers inside and out. At the beginning, the costumes made by the crew seemed to be richly adorned with multi-coloured embellishments, but in fact, the robes and belts were directly fastened using hooks. When he had put on the garments a few days ago, the flower aide was at his side to serve him. Except for the easy undergarments, the flower aide was the one who had dressed him in the complicated outer robes.

Right when those at his side were no longer there, Su Yang realised that this illustrious Jianghu Devil Sect’s Young Saint had become a handicapped child!

There was another knock on the door followed by Gu Feidi’s voice.

“Young Hero Su, Gu Feidi here, I’m to invite you…” 

“I know. I heard what you said just now.” Su Yang finally replied helplessly, “But I’ve encountered some trouble, please wait a bit.”

After speaking, he thought for a while and added: “Ah, if you could let Fan Xi come and assist me, it would be even better.”

Su Yang knew that the people in Lesser Jade House must also have ears and eyes and the middle-aged man would have definitely heard his words.

Sure enough, in the next moment, the middle-aged man said: “Gu Feidi, go and see what assistance Su Yang needs. If you help him resolve it, then consider your punishment as done.”

Su Yang: …

No— this uncle*. Why don’t you do things normally?

(*TN: it’s not uncommon for Chinese to refer to others in familial terms. It can be as a form of respect, as a jest, criticism or as a rebuke. For example, if you’re labelled a didi (younger brother), depending on the tone and context, it may imply that you’re naive or immature)

If Gu Feidi saw him like this, was it a punishment for Gu Feidi or a punishment for him?!

Gu Feidi knocked on the door again asking, “May I come in?”

Su Yang threw his clothes on the bed and pressed his fingers to his temples.

After hesitating for a while, he could only accede: “…All right, you can enter.”

As soon as Gu Feidi opened the door, he saw Su Yang standing before the bed, his hair mussed and wearing only a shirt.

The Devil Sect’s undershirt was a half-sleeve style top which exposed both his smooth forearms. Below were white silk trousers which were slightly transparent and faintly revealed the colour of his skin.

This look seemed conservative enough for Su Yang, but in the eyes of Gu Feidi, it was similar to him not wearing anything.

Gu Feidi’s face went blank for a moment, then his cheeks flushed and he stammered, “You, you… you…!”

There were no ‘you’s for a long time.

Su Yang was also a little embarrassed by his reaction. He summoned his internal strength, transmitting his voice to ask Gu Feidi for help: “These garments are too complicated. Previously, my flower aide would assist me to dress. I don’t know how to do it myself. “

Gu Feidi: !!!

The middle-aged man was standing crossed armed outside the door with a serious face when saliva suddenly got caught in his throat and he started to cough violently.

Outside the farmhouse, the old man had his eyes closed but his beard started quivering strangely, as if he was fighting to suppress a laugh.

Su Yang picked up a gauze coat from the pile of clothes on the bed, draped it on himself and said through the voice transmission, “You just need to tell me how to wear them; no need to help me put them on personally.”

He also knew that asking Gu Feidi to help him dress was tantamount to humiliating him. He didn’t have a death wish and there was no such thing in the script, so he had to try and avoid unnecessary contact between the two of them.

Hearing what Su Yang said, Gu Feidi breathed a sigh of relief, using his voice transmission to instruct him on how to find the hidden laces in his clothes and how to put on the more complicated, formal pieces properly.

After being kept busy for a long time, Su Yang finally fastened all the pieces of fabric at the proper places, removed all the unnecessary, decorative ribbon lanyards and breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t help but complain to Gu Feidi: “It’s really troublesome, I think it’s better to wear simple cotton clothes!” 

After speaking, he swept back his long hair and succeeded in taming the wayward strands but it also caused his hairband to come loose in the process.

Su Yang: …

Gu Feidi: …

Su Yang stared at the hairband that had fallen on the ground and hesitated for a moment, “It doesn’t matter, let’s just leave it. We have delayed for too long, it’s time to go.”

He really couldn’t deal with his long hair, so he gave up.

Su Yang turned around and picked up his baggage from the bed. Turning back, he saw that Gu Feidi had stepped forward to retrieve the fiery red headband on the ground.

Gu Feidi handed the headband to Su Yang without saying a word, his eyelashes drooped and there was no expression on his face.

Su Yang looked at the youth’s quiet and obedient appearance and suddenly felt that he was actually quite cute.

That’s right, no matter how strong Gu Feidi was, he’s only a sixteen-year-old youngster. In the modern era, that was the age of a high schooler and that was the time they were most energetic and immature.

Su Yang was subconsciously beginning to have the mental outlook of an elder. He stretched out his hand to take the headband from Gu Feidi and smiled, “Thank you.”