Chapter 191.2


    <h4>Haircut</h4>


    "Just rx," Zi Yuan said while she ced the tablecloth on Li Yundong''s shoulders once again . "I told you before that I practically raised Hongling . Who do you think is the one who cut her hair all these years?"


    "You should be honored," Hongling chimed in from the couch . "Elder Sister Zi Yuan is very skilled . "


    Li Yundong visibly rxed . "Oh . Great . I thought you were just trying to experiment with my hair . "


    Zi Yuan chuckled . "With your hair looking like a chicken''s nest, I bet nothing I do could make it any worse . "


    Li Yundongughed out loud . "Fine . Fine . Do your thing, then . Just don''t ruin my hair . " Suddenly, he paused . "Or give me a bald patch . " He shuddered . "God . Please don''t give me a bald patch . "


    Zi Yuan stifled a smile . "I won''t," she said reassuringly, then got to work .


    The first ten minutes went by with Li Yundong constantly asking her whether his hair was still fine . But then he eventually grew so quiet that Zi Yuan was starting to wonder if he had fallen asleep .


    Zi Yuan leaned forward slightly to check his face .


    He was still awake, but staring off into space .


    "What''s on your mind?" Zi Yuan asked,bing her fingers through his sideburns .


    "Nothing…"


    Right . That totally sounded like nothing right there .


    "You''re thinking about her," Zi Yuan said . She hadn''t phrased that as a question . She had stated that as a fact .


    For the next few seconds, the only audible sound were the snipping of scissors .


    Then, Li Yundong sighed . "Yeah . I am . I miss her . "


    Zi Yuan didn''t miss the slight tremble in his voice .


    "Do you know why your hair had grown so long in just two months?" Zi Yuan asked, steering the conversation away from any emotionally-loaded topic . She might not be able to do anything to alleviate the lovesickness he was feeling, but she could at least attempt to distract him .


    "Hey… now that you mention it, you''re right," Li Yundong said . "I''ve gone for longer without a haircut, but my hair never got this long . Geez . Look at all this hair . It even got past my shoulders!"


    SNIP! SNIP! SNIP!


    "And do you know why?"


    There was a moment of silence .


    "No," he said . "Why?"


    "Oh,e on . " Zi Yuan sighed . "You''ve already read the Canon of the Yellow Thearch, haven''t you? The answer is all there . "


    Li Yundong went silent in thought again . A momentter, he pped his thigh . "It''s got something to do with my Qi and blood, right? They''ve be more vigorous over the course of my training . "


    Zi Yuan nodded . "Which helps boost cellr processes . "


    "Right . That''s why my beard and hair grew faster . "


    "I''ve said this before . The art of Cultivation involves more than just Qi-control training or learning how to cast spells . It also involvesprehension and research . It''s an ongoing process of acquiring knowledge, you see? You have to keep asking why . Only then can all the knowledge you''ve acquired be applied . "


    "Gee . You make Cultivation sound so… I don''t know, scientific?" Li Yundong chuckled . "Months ago, I would''ve scoffed at the idea that magic and Cultivation are in any way rted to science . But now I think I know what you mean . "


    "Here . Let me ask you a question . How do you thinkputers work?" Zi Yuan paused for a second . "A silicon chip ced on a motherboard along with otherponents, all functioning together to performplexputations . " Zi Yuan paused again to let her words sink in . "How do you think that''s possible?"


    Li Yundong grew silent .


    "These things work because they obey certainws and principles," Zi Yuan exined . "Cultivation, too, has its own principles . These principles have to be fully understood before the art of Cultivation itself can be mastered . " Another pause . "Computers work because the people who designed them understood their working principles . "


    "Right . I understand now . "


    Zi Yuan sighed . "You''ve already read the Canon of the Yellow Thearch, yet you''re still clueless when I asked you basic questions about Cultivation . "


    "I''m sorry," Li Yundong said . "I know I should''ve done better . "


    "You need to get into the habit of constantly asking questions . Learn more . Research more . Otherwise, the truth will elude you forever . "


    "Okay . " Li Yundong nodded, then paused for a few seconds like he was thinking about something . "I''ll head down to Xin Hua bookstore tomorrow . "


    Zi Yuan''s hands stilled . She lowered the scissors and stared at Li Yundong . "Why?"


    Li Yundong gave her a puzzled look . "Um… To buy more books? You said to do more research, right?"


    Zi Yuan chuckled . "Or you can just try the library in your university . "


    "The Tiannan University library?" Li Yundong said in a skeptical tone . "Is that a joke?"


    Zi Yuan smiled and raised the scissors again . "Tiannan University might be a"—Zi Yuan''s eyes darted to Li Yundong''s face—"third-rate university, as you so often put it, but its library is ratherplete . You can find a lot of books there . "


    Li Yundong stared at her nkly, then nodded . "That''s actually not a bad idea . It could even save me some money . " Suddenly, Li Yundong sat up straighter, like he''d just thought of something . "The new semester will begin in two days… Have you… Have you heard from Zhou Qin yet?"


    Zi Yuan''s hands stilled again . "No . I haven''t . "


    Truth be told, Zi Yuan was starting to feel a bit concerned about this as well . Zhou Qin had gonepletely radio silent ever since they parted ways the night He Shao died . She was aware that Zhou Qin had been called into interrogation some time ago, but she hadn''t made any further inquiries into the matter; Zi Yuan had spent most of her waking hours watching over Li Yundong, as per Senior Wushuang''s instructions .


    "Nobody tried to detain me when we entered the country," Li Yundong said . "That made no sense to me . I was there at the scene of He Shao''s death . The police would''ve at least tried to bring me in for an interrogation . " Li Yundong sighed . "That night, you asked Zhou Qin to handle the police . I think she did it . But now, I''m worried that she herself has gotten into trouble because of that incident . "


    Zi Yuan lowered the scissors in her hand and studied Li Yundong''s face . This man was about to face his own demise in the form of the divine punishment, yet here he was, worrying about someone else .


    You''re just like him…


    "I''m sorry, who?"


    Zi Yuan froze . Had she said that out loud?


    She meant Master . Li Yundong was just like Master in this regard: always so selfless and putting other people''s needs before his own .


    Zi Yuan ignored Li Yundong''s question and raised the scissors again .


    Li Yundong seemed to have sensed her difort and didn’t press her for an answer .


    "You know, I don''t understand why you asked me to return to the university," he said . "Now that I''ve reached the Shentong phase, I thought you''re gonna confine me at home and teach me a bunch of spells . "


    SNIP! SNIP! SNIP!


    "There are two types of Cultivators," Zi Yuan said . "There are the reclusive type, those who sequester themselves in the mountains and focus solely on their Cultivation training . And then there are also those who live and train among mortals . "


    "Oh . Well, the recluses are preferable, I suppose?"


    SNIP! SNIP! SNIP!


    Zi Yuan shook her head . "Each has its own advantages and disadvantages . The recluses are powerful because they are so focused on their training . They aren''t distracted by worldly affairs . However, all that time spent in istion will also make them ignorant of the ways of the outside world . It makes them inexperienced . " Zi Yuan gave him a pointed look . "I''m sure I don''t have to exin to you why ignorance is a disadvantage . "


    "Right . "


    "There is one other thing that the recluses tend to miss out on . " SNIP! SNIP! SNIP! "The opportunity to forge and strengthen their will . "


    "Hmm…"


    "The mortal world is filled with challenges and tribtions . A Cultivator who is forced to face and deal with these challenges will eventually develop the grit and inner strength that are crucial to their sess . It helps build character . " Zi Yuan paused . "I told you this before . There are times when the oue of a battle depends not on thebatants'' skill level, but on their inner toughness . "


    "Inner strength, huh?"


    "Yes . The ability to stay calm andposed under duress . The ability to handle criticisms . Persistence . Discipline . None of these traits are innate . They are forged from the challenges and tribtions one faces in life . "


    "Mm . That''s why you asked me to go back to school . You want me to still be a part of the real world even though I have chosen the path of Cultivation . "


    Zi Yuan nodded . "The best oue can be attained by striking a bnce between being a recluse and a Cultivator who is world savvy . That way, you get to experience the advantages of both but avoid being bogged down by their disadvantages . "


    "That''s very wise," Li Yundong remarked .


    "Bnce is the key," Zi Yuan said . "Although the point of Cultivation is to achieve transcendence, its process doesn''t have to involveplete istion from the real world or worldly affairs . Think of it this way . When you be a Cultivator, you aren''t supposed to fly off the face of the Earth and move to another . You''re just hovering in the sky, looking down at the world from a higher ce . You''re notpletely detached from the world . "


    Li Yundong nodded . "Bnce . "


    "That''s right . And an educational institution is the perfect ce to find that bnce . "


    "How so?"


    "Imagine if you''re out in society… Well, say the corporate world, for instance . You''ll be so swarmed with work that it bes a distraction . You''ll also have to deal with people with schemes and agendas . " Zi Yuan chuckled . "You''ll never be able to fully focus on your training . There are just too many distractions . "


    "Ah . Now I see . . . " Li Yundong chuckled . "But a university is rtively quiet, and there won''t be as many distractions . And I''ll have freedom of movement, plus a lot of resources that I can utilize, like the library . . . "


    Zi Yuan smiled . "Exactly . "


    Nothing else was said for the rest of the haircut .


    "There . All done," Zi Yuan said as she removed the makeshift barber cape from Li Yundong''s shoulders .


    Li Yundong turned around on the stool to face Hongling and Zi Yuan . "Well? How do I look?"


    Zi Yuan studied her handiwork . Gone were the messy locks, and in their ce was a full head of neatly-trimmed hair . She hadn''t shortened his hair too much, merely trimmed off the messy bits .


    She did a fantastic job, if she dared say so herself .


    Right now, he looked handsome .


    However, Li Yundong clearly had very little faith in her hairstyling skills—even though he hadn''t even looked at her work—judging from the wary expression on his face .


    "Why don''t you go look at yourself in the mirror then?" Zi Yuan said .


    Li Yundong rose from the stool and walked into his bedroom, presumably to do what she had suggested .


    Minutester, Zi Yuan heard a loud cheer, which was immediately followed by the sound of footsteps .


    The bedroom door swung open, and Li Yundong came barging out .


    "She was here!" Li Yundong stopped in front of Zi Yuan . Spread across his face was a megawatt smile . "She''s been here recently! She came back!" He waved a small piece of paper in front of Zi Yuan''s face .


    Zi Yuan shared a nce with Hongling, who had a puzzled look on her face .


    Zi Yuan took the paper from his hand, and then nced down at it . Only three words were written: I miss you .


    "Who was here?" Hongling stood up from the couch .


    "My little princess Su Chan, of course!" Li Yundong said, taking the note from Zi Yuan''s hands .


    "You came to that conclusion just because of a note?" Hongling said snidely, then snorted . "Anyone could''ve left that note . "


    Li Yundong smiled warmly . "I know it was her . I just know it . "


    "I don''t get it," Zi Yuan said . "It''s just three words . You''re over the moon because of three simple words?"


    Zi Yuan doubted that Li Yundong had even heard her . For a while, he paced around the living room with a silly grin on his face . Then, he opened the sliding door and stepped out into the balcony .


    The Jindan''sing ordains thine fate . The sound of the first thunder shaltplete thine soul .


    Zi Yuan looked towards the balcony . Li Yundong was still staring at that piece of paper .


    That man was without a doubt the most talented Cultivator she had ever seen, a talent that would only appear once every few centuries .


    But what did Master''s prophecy mean?


    In what way would the Jindan''s appearance decide her fate? Through its rightful heir? Or was it through some other way?


    How could a man so hopelessly and deeply in love with another womanplete her soul?