Esteemed Young Master

Guo Mei hesitated for a while. Her thoughts rushed through various scenarios, some of which were unavoidable based on her age. There were illicit desires that she didn't want to think about, alongside more sensible and apprehensive thoughts. Letting Tian Shi gain access to her qi pathways meant that she was giving him the qi to her demise in that instant.

"I don't bite," Tian Shi said with a handsome smile that highlighted the black glint in his eyes, drawing her into their depths.

Tian Shi leaned forward, his pale fingers unfurling toward her. Guo Jian moved aside to make way. Guo Mei made her decision and extended her dainty wrist forward. She hissed as Tian Shi's cold fingers pressed into the visible qi veins on her wrists.

Subtly, Tian Shi maneuvered bits of his qi into her. With all the gentleness his control allowed, he slithered the qi up her pathways. Using the stream of qi, he attached his consciousness to it. The mystery within her meridians unraveled as his spiritual gaze fell upon them. Not a second later, he grasped the major cause of her problem. The main issue lay in her glabella, home to the most important aspect of mortal cultivation: the Thrice King Heavenly Gates.

He wouldn't have figured out the cause if he had relied solely on his present memories. However, by tapping into some of his past memories—an extensive library of occult knowledge and techniques—he pinpointed the issue. Guo Mei had a rare condition: Cursed Yin.

Tian Shi faltered. The information came from something he couldn't cross-reference, let alone confirm. His past memories were ethereal; most of the things he supposedly knew didn't currently exist within the bounds of his present memories, and he didn't want to risk prescribing a solution that he could not guarantee would work.

"The best bet is to stop pushing yourself forward at the moment. Focus more on mindfulness meditation without qi absorption for a month at most," Tian Shi said.

The method he proposed wasn't radical and would, at most, lessen the symptoms in the short term. If he wanted to help her further, he'd need to do his research within Dragonreach and consult more experts. The main reason was that he could gain quite a lot from someone with Cursed Yin. Cursed Yin was a precursor to something much more volatile yet beneficial—not only to him but to her as well. If he could confirm its existence and the method to supposedly cure it, it would be of immense aid to his most basic cause and goal for the time being: gaining strength.

"It's that simple?" Guo Mei asked, the flesh above her brows pinching into a deep frown.

"Most of our problems can actually be solved in such simple manners," Tian Shi replied. "We often forget that balance is what we should seek, not purely strength."

"Well said, Young Master Shi," Guo Jian chuckled. "Balance is definitely key. I've tried telling her that multiple times, but she thinks I'm lying. Tsk. Serves her right."

"Brother!" Guo Mei chirped. "I'm not like that."

"Only the accused rush to defend themselves," Tian Shi seized the perfect moment to throw a jest of his own.

Guo Mei's face reddened. For quite a while, her lips puckered, almost as if she had a comeback of her own, but at every moment, she swallowed her words until she stopped altogether.

"Brother Shi," Guo Jian said, dropping the honorifics, "Are you going to bother with the entrance ceremony for the God King Academy?"

"I see no reason to concern myself with such trivialities," Tian Shi dismissed it without further thought. "Why should I mingle with peasants? They aren't worthy."

Guo Jian readily agreed with Tian Shi's perspective, even though he thought differently. He didn't want bad blood to spread among them since he already had Tian Shi's tacit approval for his main purpose in coming here.

Over the next few minutes, they chatted merrily, bringing up a few other casual topics like old friends. As moments passed, so did the stranglehold of formality. Their tongues became loose, and they joked numerous times about irrelevant topics. It was a much-needed break from the tension that normally hung like a noose around their necks. For Tian Shi, it was mainly a way to decompress and relieve the boatloads of information crammed into his human skull.

Occasionally, Guo Mei jumped into the conversation, trying to offer her expertise, but often failed to live up to the grand and audacious ideas brewing in her mind.

"I think it's best if we end this here. It's about time for me to begin cultivating," Tian Shi said.

He realized that he needed more time alone to familiarize himself with all his memories as well as to understand the family dynamic better. He couldn't do that confined to his courtyard chatting with friends.

"I see no problem with that. We do have a few more things we need to finish on our side as well. I thank you very much for hosting us, Brother Shi. I didn't expect you'd choose to join God King Academy now," Guo Jian said.

Out of politeness, Tian Shi escorted the siblings to the exit of his courtyard, not paying mind to the various guards that shadowed them. With a smile, he gave a light wave and returned to his abode.

The smile lasted for a few seconds at most. It disappeared instantly once he entered the mansion. He had his work cut out for him. But the thing that weighed most on his mind was finding out what exactly led to his death, or at the very least, what prompted him to awaken past memories.