Turning the Tables

Su Li followed the group of elders out, looking thoroughly dejected. Her red dress fluttered in the sunlight, and her steps were much slower than when she had arrived, dragging her feet as she shuffled outward.

Just as Du Qi was about to stand, the Supreme Elder's voice pinned him to his chair. “You stay.”

Du Qi's hands froze on the armrests. He had risen halfway, but now he sank back down. Su Li turned around, looking anxious. “Grandpa Wei!”

“Get out!” If she were still the Su Li of old, she might have snatched Du Qi straight from the Supreme Elder's hands and walked away. But the current Su Li seemed to have finally released all her suppressed emotions.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have lingered at the market like a young girl, thrown tantrums like a child, or insisted on climbing up the mountain with Du Qi when she could easily have flown. Thus, she only left the room with a wronged, sullen expression.

Wei Ran took all of this in. How long had it been since he last saw little Su Li express such vibrant, raw emotion?

Looking at her retreating back, Wei Ran's eyes grew exceptionally cloudy, as if veiled by a thick mist. He sat in the seat of honor, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest. The room gradually fell silent, until only the sound of breathing and tapping remained.

Wei Ran squinted, his cloudy eyes seeming to look through the crack of the door—gazing into the distance, gazing into the past. When was the last time he had heard her call him “Grandpa Wei”?

He searched vaguely through his memories—was it a few years ago, or several decades? Even Wei Ran could no longer tell. He only knew that the title “Supreme Elder” had been used more and more, while the words “Grandpa Wei” had vanished faster and faster. It had been so long that he thought he would never hear them again.

He cast another glance at Du Qi. The young man's face was sharp and clear in the sunlight, carrying the vibrant vigor of youth.

Looking at that face, Wei Ran became somewhat lost in thought. He remembered that a long time ago, Su Li's father, Su Hao, had sat here in much the same way. Young, steady, and a man of few words. He had never expected Su Hao to pass away before him. Still less had he expected that he would live long enough to have to find someone who could stay behind for Su Hao's daughter.

He withdrew his gaze and let out a soft sigh. He slowly stood up, his knees making a series of faint cracking sounds; these old joints of his had not been straightened in a very long time.

He forced his hunched back to straighten as much as possible, trying his best to maintain an elder's dignity before the youth. He walked toward the door step by step—or rather, shuffled toward it. As he stood at the doorway, the sunlight spilling in from outside fell upon his shoulders, casting a faint glow over his faded, washed-out robe.

The sunlight was wonderful. It felt warm against his skin, dispersing the chill that had clung to his body for far too long.

He rested his hand on the doorframe and glanced outside. In the distance were the hazy, gray-green silhouettes of the mountains. Spirit beasts leaped among the treetops, and an occasional long howl echoed from the mountainside. The sky was exceptionally clear, a vibrant blue that looked like splashed watercolors.

What a pity, this place is not home after all.

Wei Ran closed the door and turned around. Just as he took a step, his left leg suddenly gave out. His entire body pitched forward, nearly collapsing. Du Qi sprang from his chair in alarm, but someone was even faster. A dark green silhouette flashed out from Wei Ran's neck, steadily catching him by the arm.

“Whew... whew... I almost made a fool of myself in front of a junior.” Wei Ran panted, laughing self-deprecatingly.

He turned his head to look at the one supporting him—a woman with long, dark green hair, a human torso, and a serpent's tail. Two small bumps bulged slightly on her head, looking like horns that had not yet fully grown.

Expressionless, she carried him on her back without a word, carefully placed him back in his seat, and stood silently behind him. She stared at the back of Wei Ran's graying head, her face devoid of emotion, though her dark green vertical pupils were veiled by a thin mist.

Wei Ran raised his hand and patted the back of her hand, as if saying, “There, there, it's fine.” He turned his head, smiled at Du Qi, and then said, “Alright, Hua Xi, don't be angry. Don't I still have you?”

Hua Xi did not answer. She merely stood there, pursing her lips in silence. After a moment, she transformed into a streak of dark green light, wrapping around Wei Ran's neck and shrinking into a warm, smooth collar that pressed close against his skin.

Wei Ran reached out to stroke the collar and sighed softly. I'll have to coax her for a long time again, he thought. Perhaps by giving up alcohol for a month, or something like that. Oh well, he would coax her slowly. In any case, he didn't have much time left to do so...

He raised his head and looked at Du Qi. “Young man, if you don't mind, why don't you follow little Li's lead and call this old man Grandpa Wei?”

Du Qi opened his mouth, wanting to explain. “Elder Wei, Su Li and I are really not...” Wei Ran raised a hand, cutting him off. “You don't need to explain your relationship to me. I know—perhaps you two aren't in that kind of relationship.”

His eyes suddenly grew clear as his final words fell. He stared at Du Qi, his tone so earnest that he seemed to be begging for an answer.

“I... I am about to die. I have no more time to wait.” He reached out, retrieved a yellowed piece of paper from his storage bag, and before Du Qi could get a clear look at what was written on it, he clenched his fist and tore it to shreds. The paper fragments drifted down from between his fingers.

A faint, subtle power of laws locked down the surrounding space.

Meanwhile, out in the corridor, Su Li was cornered by a group of elders, her retreat completely cut off.

“Hey! I didn't!—We have nothing going on—He isn't—It's not that kind of relationship!” Her voice went from halting to frantic, and finally carried a hint of irritation.

“How high is his cultivation?” “What is his family background?” “How did you two meet?” A barrage of questions pelted her like marbles. She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

She stammered, “He... he...” She had never known the depth of Du Qi's cultivation, nor had she ever asked about his family.

One of the elders patted her shoulder with utmost gravity. “Little Li, when you have children in the future, they must take the surname Su! You are the sole remaining descendant of our lineage; we cannot let the family line end!” The surrounding elders nodded in agreement, and some were already beginning to calculate what spirit beasts they should feed the next generation.

Su Li's face flushed bright red. “What are you all even talking about!—” She wanted to argue further, but the crowd simply refused to listen.

The door behind her was pushed open from the inside. Du Qi stood at the threshold, sunlight pouring from behind him. Half of his face was cast in shadow, while the other half was illuminated.

He looked at the scene of Su Li surrounded by the elders, falling silent for a moment.

“Damn, I've been played.”