After that, he could no longer find a topic of conversation, as Ye Baiyi had the ability of steering people away from irritating him. On the road from Dongting to Shuzhong, Ye Baiyi was like a mannequin that could walk--it was only when he ate, where that great force of nature which could sweep away an armada as effortlessly as rolling up a mat made people realise that he was a living being.

Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing were bored to tears. With nothing to do, they could only bicker and make digs at each other, endlessly raucous. At first, Ye Baiyi still listened to them expressionlessly and calmly--until later on, when he felt that the both of them were being ridiculous, upon which he snarked, “If the two of you are capable enough, scram and go tussle in bed. Stop jabbering, you’re like two huge crickets. Is it that you can’t get it up, or that you’re maidens disguised as men? What are you pretending to be restrained for? Taking your mushy touchy-feely as entertainment, both of you, shut up!”

Zhang Chengling was currently walking on his hands according to how Zhou Zishu had taught him. Reversing his flow of qi was supremely tough in the first place, and upon hearing this, he first froze, before something vaguely clicked in the half-grown child’s mind. His face turned red, his qi hit a snag, and he tumbled over instantly, clutching his neck as he cried “Aiyo, aiyo”, blushing.

If Ye Baiyi had not claimed that he could locate the “Puppet Manor”, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing were almost planning to team up and teach this old fart a lesson. The two of them exchanged looks with unspoken coordination, but for some unknown reason, when Wen Kexing glanced at that person’s handsome expression of barely-suppressed ire, his gaze unconsciously drifted downwards, as if he could see past his robes to look at the flesh and bones within. He imagined it for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing once, and suddenly felt like there was indeed some reason to Ye Baiyi’s words.

With their last mode of entertainment gone, the two of them spontaenously teamed up to torture Zhang Chengling.

If  Zhou Zishu told him to “gather your true qi, and let it surge into your qihai[14], guide it through your meridians, to turn it onto its head as it circulates as it pleases, freely”, Wen Kexing would secretly inform him that “your internal qi is unstable, and your martial power is too weak, which is why your internal qi scatters easily and does not gather as readily”, that he should “steadily progress in proper sequence, feel the true qi in you, and let nature take its course.”