Xu Chang’an was always the most serious person; since Li Zhibai had asked, he would naturally respond to her with the most comprehensive attitude he could muster.
Li Zhibai had only asked because she suddenly rembered that this student of hers was by no ans an ordinary person, and so she wanted to know his view.
Just like how she wanted to know what the Heavenly Dao looked like in Yun Qian’s eyes, since Chang’an cared so much about Gui Water, then... Li Zhibai also wanted to know what this worldly "nightmare" of won—nstrual blood—looked like in Chang’an’s heart.
Was it misfortune?
Was it evidence that highlighted the ignorance of the mundane world?
Or was it... a favor from heaven, because it offered a shortcut in Cultivation?
Li Zhibai had imagined many possible answers.
But after Xu Chang’an wrote out the Five Elents and the Four Directions, and then circled Gui as the tenth of the Heavenly Stems, Li Zhibai was still a little dazed.
"So... he’s explaining it to himself straight from the literal structure of the characters..."
For a mont, she didn’t know whether this student of hers was so dull as to be foolish, or so clever that it was excessive.
As a Mother, Li Zhibai hoped it was the latter, but deep down she instinctively felt it was the forr.
["Above and below, the four directions make ’Yu’; from ancient past to present now makes ’Zhou’. Within this there are Five Directions: the center is Wu-Ji Earth, the west is Geng-Xin tal, the east is Jia-Yi Wood, the south is Bing-Ding Fire, the north is Ren-Gui Water. The north belongs to Water, thus Gui is called Gui Water."]
However, as Xu Chang’an’s brush moved bit by bit in ticulous strokes, Li Zhibai watched that gradually steadying brushwork and fell into thought.
As Chang’an wrote, she actually sensed within it a hint of Qin Array intent... but arrays concerning the world’s orientations like this, even she only used the Five Directions logic when doing Alchemy. How did Chang’an know of it?
The application of the Five Directions of Heaven and Earth was not sothing that could be fully understood beneath the Taixu Realm. Could it be... sothing from those past-life mories of his?
And also—
The north is Ren-Gui Water... so Gui, is called Gui Water.
A trace of confusion flickered in Li Zhibai’s eyes.
This... sort of seed correct?
Ah...
As a woman herself, she had never once thought about her monthly matter from this angle.
When she was young, she would never have connected Gui Water to the Five Directions arrays; that was just too strange.
"Sir, about these things... Chang’an shouldn’t have misquoted the classics, right?" Xu Chang’an paused his brush for a mont.
"There are certainly no mistakes, but... how did you co to know this?" Li Zhibai’s eyes fixed tightly on Xu Chang’an.
"Back when I was still on the island... I saw similar things in the Library Pavilion of Miss’s family." Xu Chang’an smiled, spreading his hands. "Sir, back then, after I learned there were Cultivators in this world, I carefully read through all the more mystical texts on these matters."
"...That’s true." Li Zhibai’s doubts were quickly dispelled. Although these theories could only be used to mobilize Spiritual Qi into arrays at the Taixu Realm, so capable worldly Alchemists could also use the matters of the Five Directions to seek fortune and avoid calamity, so it was nothing surprising for certain families to have similar books in their collections.
However, looking at the helpless expression on Xu Chang’an’s face, Li Zhibai couldn’t help the curve of her lips, because she suddenly understood.
"Chang’an, you say you only went to read such books because you learned there were Cultivators... I’m afraid that’s not quite right, is it?"
"Hm? Then, Sir, what you an is..."
"Ms. Yun."
Li Zhibai looked at Xu Chang’an with a smiling gaze.
"Ms. Yun, in the past, never nstruated. Along this journey, from dical texts to the Escape Armor Technique, everything related to nstrual blood... you’ve flipped it all over, haven’t you?"
Xu Chang’an: "..."
He was at a loss for words.
So, in Sir’s eyes, he had already beco this easy to read. It was as if she had personally watched him poring over ancient texts day and night.
"Sir, could you... at least leave a shred of dignity." Xu Chang’an sighed softly.
Li Zhibai shook her head. "For Ms. Yun’s sake, there’s no such thing as losing face... It’s just, you didn’t find anything in the end?"
"In answer to Sir, I didn’t find anything at all." Xu Chang’an said helplessly. "I never understood the matter of nstrual blood; instead, I ended up morizing these useless things like Heavenly Stems and Five Directions... Speaking of which, the arrays in the Sword Hall are all arranged according to the logic of the Five Directions, right?"
"...So you recognized them?" Li Zhibai blinked at Xu Chang’an.
In the Sword Hall, she had laid down many Arrays and Barriers, but those things had never stopped Xu Chang’an; his body practically brushed past them and they would shatter, fall apart at a touch. But since most of those arrays were only there to suppress the Spiritual Power turbulence in the Sword Hall caused by Alchemy, and Xu Chang’an regularly helped tidy away the "weeds" and loose Spiritual Power stirred up by Spiritual Qi in the hall, the arrays were almost unnecessary.
Xu Chang’an nodded. "I recognize a bit. I even paid special attention to the directions and did my best to avoid the arrays in the Sword Hall."
"You deliberately avoided them?" The rate of Li Zhibai’s blinking quickened.
"I avoided them... ah." Xu Chang’an tilted his head, then suddenly realized sothing. "Sir, what you an is... I was actually wasting my effort?"
"As long as you understand." Li Zhibai’s expression grew rather strange.
So that was it.
She had always thought it odd that when Xu Chang’an was cleaning in the Sword Hall, his movents sotis followed very strange paths. He looked as if he were avoiding the arrays, but in reality, by the ti he passed by, the arrays would already be in tatters.
He avoided them, but did not completely avoid them.
Chang’an understood a bit of Qin and the Five Directions, but not much.
So what he thought was avoiding the arrays was actually him walking past and grinding them to dust.
How to put it...
It was sowhat... cute?
"Sir, what are you laughing at..."
"Nothing."
A soft smile lingered on Li Zhibai’s lips.
She suddenly discovered that compared to a Chang’an who seed to understand everything, she preferred this version of him who understood only half—this current state of Xu Chang’an was perfect. He understood a bit of everything, but was far from mastery, so while Li Zhibai could be proud of his breadth of knowledge, she would not feel the frustration of having nothing left to teach him.
He truly made one fond of him.
"If you’re interested in Qin and the Five Directions, I can teach you in the future." Li Zhibai’s tone was gentle.
Once she was certain that Chang’an’s potential would surpass Wen Li’s, the Sword Dao was no longer suitable for him. A minor path like that naturally could not compare to the Qin Technique of the four directions above and below, ancient and modern, and Li Zhibai just so happened to be well-versed in this. So from this discussion of nstrual blood, Li Zhibai developed the idea of teaching Xu Chang’an Array Formation.
Moreover, Muyu Peak cultivated the "heart" and could make use of the Inner Realm... yet almost no one had ever tried to combine Qin Arrays with the Inner Realm, because while powerful, it was extrely dangerous.
And yet, Chang’an could completely ignore the dangers of the Inner Realm, so he could fully achieve entering the Inner Realm, manipulating the Five Directions Fate Disc to Cultivate, or dragging his opponent into the Inner Realm to do battle...
In doing so, he would neither need to clash blades with others, nor, with the arrays and Inner Realm as cover, worry about revealing too many of his secrets in future conflicts.
It really was very suitable.
Defeating enemies through arrays, strategizing from beyond a thousand miles, that was even more fitting for her Chang’an.
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