"But, Father... I already understand this."
"Oh? Do you know? When I asked you that question, it told me all I needed to know about your situation."
"...?"
Raising her brow, Wei Shi's gaze was soon answered by a distinctive cough.
"You understand who I am by looking at me as a deadbeat, but what truly lies beneath this visage is something only you know."
"But I know that because I witnessed you change into this identity."
"But should a passerby look at me, what would they think?"
Wei Shi stared blankly at Father and spoke plainly.
"Deadbeat. There really isn't much else to think about. Maybe the terms 'shabby' and 'humble' could also be addressed to you— ah, to this identity, I mean."
"Yes... That is true... However, those are only superficial appraisals... I hope. Say, should the server come to realise they were serving I, Defiance, they would surely faint at the great shock!"
Chuckling lightly, Father leaned back in his seat. Looking towards the storehouse, he proposed a new perspective on this matter.
"That server is another example. If you look solely at his facial expressions, he may seem polite and humble, but lying underneath is an analytic mind. While it may not be on the level of Immersion, it is quite similar to how Flesh Eye Immersion behaves."
"However, that is also where the difference between Flesh Eye and Divine Eye can be noted."
"As he looked at me, he saw this—as you describe it to be—deadbeat appearance. He analysed me as a 'low-effort' customer, and provided the lowest service as he addressed us."
Simple robes of dull colours, a stubble on his chin and his hair tied messily; Father's appearance belies his true Immortal status.
Rather, he fits particularly well in the lower class of society.
Naturally, the perspective surrounding such a figure is not so high.
Nobody expects a homeless person to have incredible wealth, let alone a shabby man with an insignificant appearance.
"However, should I have dressed richly, not only would the server's expression change, but also his demeanour and thoughts. Say, he may try to propose deals, appeal to me, and wring me for as much money as his lavish words are worth."
"He may be analytical, a praiseworthy trait, but that is all. He can only see the surface value of what he looks at."
"This is where Divine Eye Immersion differs, allowing one to peer into the unseen. To see 'front' and 'behind', 'above' and 'below', 'internal' and 'external'."
"There is something else, too."
"...?"
Wei Shi took in all this information.
Due to her slow progress with her cultivation, it was natural for her to seek aid.
However, this information was something already known to her. She was not unfamiliar with the idea of looking beyond superficiality.
Wei Shi had listened to Father's talk about the trees, ponds, mountains, himself, and that server.
She raised a brow at Father, unable to decide on a conclusion on her own, but received nothing but silence from him.
Sighing at the gentle but silent smile on his lips, Wei Shi retracted her inquisitive gaze from Father.
'To look at things beyond the superficial. I understand that already.'
'But what am I missing. Father merely repeated himself, underlying different subjects with the same meaning. Have I not already arrived at the true conclusion? Is the Divine Eye not to look beyond superficiality?'
'Is there a meaning behind his words that I can not recognise?'
"..."
"..."
"..."
Wei Shi's blank face was accompanied by silence; she rested her right temple in her right hand, having propped her arm on the table. Her left hand was playing with a light pink petal.
Father merely spared a glance as he leaned back into his seat, then turned to enjoy the view around them.
After a moment, where the winds quietly brought the scent of food and wine to their noses, the male server returned to their pavilion.
"Here is your food and wines, I hope it is to your delight."
"No worries, no worries. I am sure that this meal will be worth its weight in gold."
"I am glad to hear that."
With a polite bow, the male server left the two, daughter and father.
'Daughter and Father... Wei Shi and Father...? Wei Shi?'
Looking at the scene around, Wei Shi pondered as she gazed at the mountains, the pond beside them, the plum blossoms surrounding the pavilion, the pavilion itself, and then...
"It seems you have figured something out?"
"Yes... You are very subtle and vague with your teachings..."
"Is that not good?"
"..."
Having seemingly found the answer, Wei Shi looked dumbfounded at Father, who raised his brow in return.
"Well? Tell me what you have realised."
Realised, not learned.
"Your teachings about superficiality and the difference between Flesh Eye and Divine Eye... those were rather misleading."
"It is not the understanding of what superficial means, and what it means to look beyond the superficial, but the means we achieve such an understanding."
"When you talked to me about 'this' and 'that', when you told me why you masquerade as a mortal, when you invited me to join you, and named me Wei Shi, that is when I realised what you wished for me to understand..."
Father smiled in satisfaction, humming as he sipped on a cup of wine.
"You need to look more at the world around you. You must take from the world around you. You must become certain of what is and isn't. Only then can you attain the Divine Eye. When you attain surety as you look beyond the superficial, that is when you have achieved what is 'Divine'."
"To attain surety is not only to understand what is around you, but what 'this' and 'that' means. But only by understanding what a forest is, can you understand what is within it."
"Only by understanding what the world is can you understand what lies beneath the surface."
"Surety is granted to those who experience the superficial. The world. The trees. Everything. Only then can you understand what is beyond it."
Setting down his cup, he acknowledged Wei Shi's revelation with a prideful tone.
"Come now. Let us eat before the food goes cold."
...
...
...
"Cold..."
"Cold."
"So very Cold."
"..."
"..."
"...!"