"Good evening, Chen'er." Feng Yu smiled back brightly.
Now that her mind was no longer worried about her condition, she couldn't help but feel happy when she saw Yi Chen.
"How's your health, is it alright now?" Yi Chen asked the next moment with concern in his eyes.
"Yes, I feel a lot better," She replied immediately. However, the very next moment, she was reminded of the lie she had told her father and, realising that Yi Chen was also referring to that, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
'Calm down, Feng Yu…he's going to be your husband soon, so it doesn't matter,' She kept repeating those words to her, but that didn't prevent her face from heating up.
Thankfully, Master Ru entered the hall soon, and her emotions settled.
"Looks like everyone is here," Master Ru said with a smile and ordered the food to be served.
While at it, he informed them about his talk with the ceremonial teacher.
"I've talked with your ceremonial teacher. She'll be teaching you two about all the basics of etiquette you need to keep in mind during both engagement and your marriage. Learn well under her, especially you Xiao Chen, understand?"
Master Ru looked at Yi Chen when he completed his words. Unlike Feng Yu, who had somewhat been accustomed to all the etiquette with time, Yi Chen was just an orphan and didn't have a strong background. So, it was clear that he needed to work much harder.
"Yes," Yi Chen nodded sincerely, "I'll keep that in mind, father-in-law."
"That's good," Master Ru nodded in a satisfied manner and addressed the two of them the next moment, "I also went to visit the astrologer, Elder Gu, this afternoon. It seems he has to go out of town because of an important request, so he'll only be able to come here a day before your engagement."
'This being a cultivation world…he shouldn't be one of the many crooks on earth, right?' Yi Chen thought to himself, and, unable to control his curiosity any longer, he asked.
"Is Elder Gu also a cultivator?" Yi Chen couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, he indeed is a cultivator. A very respectable one, in fact," Master Ru answered with a meaningful smile.
"Respectable one? That means his cultivation is at a very high stage, isn't it?" Yi Chen asked again after seeing Master Ru's expression.
"Well, not particularly. He's just at the [Meridian Refinement Stage], but unlike normal cultivators, the nature of his Qi has a trace of divinity inside it. That's what separates him from normal cultivators like us.
Those whose Qi possess this attribute are said to be blessed by the heavens and have the power to see through fate and time. We call them, divinators," Master Ru said with a trace of respect in his voice.
"Divinators…" Yi Chen muttered. He couldn't help but feel awe just by the name.
The next moment, Master Ru sighed in regret and continued, "However, this very blessing is also seen as a curse by many divinators. Practising divinity techniques is not only difficult but also takes a toll on their lifespan, and many in lower cultivation stages don't make it to a hundred years.
Meanwhile, those who do reach higher stages need to keep focusing on both cultivation and divination simultaneously, which places an immense burden on their minds.
As a result, the weak-willed go insane while the resilient ones survive and become formidable Divinators…however, in the whole light continent, these experts are so few that they could be counted on one hand"
"Then…if this path possesses such great risks, and so little success rate, then won't a person who has traces of divinity in their Qi think of pursuing the cultivation path and completely give up on becoming a divinator?" Yi Chen asked a question that came to his mind.
Master Ru nodded at his words, "Many do…and that's exactly why all divinators, no matter what stage they are at, are seen with great respect by all cultivators.
Despite knowing the negligible chances they have, they have still decided to dedicate themselves to this path. The path where insanity is the norm and success an exception."
'This…' Yi Chen, too, developed a positive view towards these divinators after hearing Master Ru's words. At the same time, a question rose in his mind, 'What if my Qi also possess this divinity? Will I also choose to follow this path?'
"Anyways," Master Ru smiled suddenly and said, "Let's start eating, otherwise the food will grow cold. Shall we?"
Yi Chen and Feng Yu nodded, and soon the plates before them were emptied. With their appetite satisfied, they soon left the dining hall.
"Did Elder Jing say anything specific when you dropped her?" Feng Yu asked as the two of them were strolling in the outside garden like always.
"Not particularly, she just told me to thank you all for being a good host," Yi Chen answered.
"How kind of her. She's already given us something incomparable to what we did for her, but she still wanted to thank us," Feng Yu muttered while walking shoulder to shoulder with Yi Chen.
"That's true…" Yi Chen muttered.
'On that note…what is Master Ru planning to do with those pills? I've not heard anything about them since he got it from Elder Jing that night,' Yi Chen thought curiously.
Meanwhile, Feng Yu was staring at the starry moon-lit night and said, "Why don't you go and sleep first, Chen'er? I slept almost the entire afternoon, so I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep anytime soon."
"What a coincidence!" Hearing her, Yi Chen exclaimed, "I too was so exhausted after dropping Elder Jing to the spot and was asleep the whole afternoon."
'Is he lying?' Feng Yu tried to read Yi Chen's expression, but seeing his enthusiastic response, she realised that he wasn't.
"Then…" Pointing towards a wooden bench not far from them, she asked, "How about we sit there and gaze at the stars for a while? It's been a while since I've leisurely admired them,"
"I'd love to," Yi Chen answered with a bright smile.