"True gold fears no fire—if you're the real deal, why wouldn't they believe you?"
"That's precisely the problem. I only found out after returning that so many people in this world have been impersonating me. Now, truth and falsehood are all mixed up. The fake is taken as true, and the real is dismissed as fake."
"So what if others don't believe you? Do you mean even those Chixiao veterans who followed you back in the day don't trust you either?"
"I've done everything I should and shouldn't have, yet still no one believes me."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, letting out a rather helpless sigh. "So many years have passed. They've been tricked and scared by all those imposters, each of them grown suspicious and wary. Even if deep down they believe, they don't dare jump to conclusions."
"This old man just can't figure it out. What's so great about you, kid, that so many people want to impersonate you?"
"Old Monster Tang, believe me, if I could, I'd want to know the answer to that question even more than you do."
"Tianlang."
Xuanze, deep in thought, asked, "Could it be that someone is deliberately impersonating your identity to lure you out?"
"I've considered that possibility myself. Maybe, I don't rule it out, but..." Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before saying, "I feel it's more likely another scenario."
"What scenario?"
"Perhaps someone deliberately doesn't want me to return—or more precisely, doesn't want others to find me."
"What do you mean by that?"
Old Monster Tang looked puzzled. "Are you saying their purpose in impersonating you is to create mystery and stir up anxiety, so that even if the real you shows up, no one will believe it?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged. "Exactly. That's my current predicament. If someone is truly pulling such tricks behind the scenes, I'd say they've already succeeded. Now, even if I shout at the top of my lungs to this world, no one would believe I'm Gu Tianlang."
"If that's really the case, then what's their goal? Why don't they want others to know of your existence?"
"I don't know."
Suddenly remembering there was another impersonator in the Yanluo Kingdom, Gu Qingfeng wanted to ask the two if they knew about him. Unfortunately, Xuanze had gone into seclusion back in the Ancient Era and only emerged a few days ago, knowing nothing of the outside world.
Old Monster Tang, however, seemed to know a thing or two. "That fellow impersonating you in Yanluo—this old man heard about him long ago and even went looking for him a few times."
"And then?"
"And then? There is no 'and then'! That bastard brat came and went without a trace. This old man made several trips but never managed to lay a hand on him. Once, I almost caught him, but in the end, the little bastard still got away."
"That impersonator could escape from your grasp, old man?"
"Escape? More than that!" Old Monster Tang said with some displeasure. "That bastard brat's skills are no small matter. I crossed hands with him. I'm certain he wasn't going all out at the time. If he had, this old man would definitely not have been his match."
Gu Qingfeng mused, "Sounds like that 'lord' is truly no simple character."
"That scoundrel is definitely not ordinarily simple. Do you know why this old man went to catch him?"
"What's the story?"
"Manqing also met the impersonator and even verified his authenticity. That bastard brat actually answered everything correctly."
"Tang Manqing?" Gu Qingfeng asked. "How did she verify it?"
"Manqing knew your existence was mysterious and elusive, so she specifically asked about some private matters between you and Hengxi."
"What private matters?"
"What private matters do you think?" Old Monster Tang glared fiercely at Gu Qingfeng. "Things like how you and Hengxi met, got to know each other, and became close."
"That kind of thing, the impersonator knew as well?"
Gu Qingfeng recalled his process of meeting and getting to know Tang Hengxi. How could others possibly know about that?
"Though this old man also found it hard to believe, Manqing wouldn't lie to me. If she said it happened, it happened. If she said she verified it, she verified it. It was precisely for this reason that I went to catch that impersonator, to see if it was true or false."
Old Monster Tang tilted his head back and gulped a mouthful of wine before continuing, "Even though that scoundrel looked exactly like you, and even his damn way of speaking was pretty much the same as yours, hehe, this old man could tell at a glance he was definitely a fake."
"How did you know?"
"How did I know? After all, you spent some time under my roof back then. I know you, kid, at least a little bit, right? What kind of person you are—would this old man not know?" Old Monster Tang said rather smugly. "That bastard brat impersonating you, the moment he saw me, didn't even think—just ran for it. Later, when I blocked his retreat, he started imitating your way of speaking. I'll be damned if it wasn't exactly like you. At the time, I almost believed it. And that bastard brat even fabricated a reason that I couldn't refute at all."
"What reason?"
"He also said he wasn't killed by the Immortal Dao Judgment back then, just severely injured, his Fortune taken, his Cultivation Level crippled, and that he'd been in seclusion cultivating anew. Also said something about searching for karma, the great Dao, or some such nonsense. It was all pretty bizarre, had me stunned for a moment."
"And you believed that?"
"Damn it! You, kid, are plenty bizarre yourself! Who the hell knows what game you're playing? Back in the day, you died and came back to life several times, had your Fortune taken, your Cultivation Level crippled—if not ten times, then eight or nine. How was I supposed to know what your situation was?"
"Then how did you figure out he was fake later?"
"Simple. Two words."
Old Monster Tang handed over his empty wine cup. Gu Qingfeng quickly poured him another. Stroking his sparse beard, Old Monster Tang put on a look of profound mystery and said, "Ferocity."
"That's one word."
"Get lost! When this old man says two words, it's two words."
"Alright, alright. What ferocity are you talking about?"
"Your appearance can be imitated. Your speech and mannerisms, even your messy Fortune, can probably be imitated too. But that ferocity you carry on you—others can't imitate that."
"Ferocity?"
This time it was Gu Qingfeng's turn to be confused. "What ferocity?"
"The ferocity on you is special. Hard to put into words."
Old Monster Tang took a look at Gu Qingfeng and quickly added, "Look, it's exactly the ferocity you have right now. See how you usually act all sloppy and careless? When you get serious, you're more proper than anyone. See how you sit here looking harmless? When you move, you're fiercer than damn near anyone. See how you seem weak and feeble? You've got more skill than damn near anyone."
Old Monster Tang raised his cup and drank again, then continued, "As the saying goes, it's easier to move mountains than to change one's nature. No matter how much you change, kid, your nature won't change. That innate, lawless, unrestrained, arrogant yet resolute ferocity you were born with is still there. It's just that before, your ferocity was more outwardly wild, now it's more restrained. There's no fundamental difference; it might even be fiercer than before."
At this point, Old Monster Tang couldn't help but sigh again. "Whoever gave you that name, Gu Tianlang, Gu Tianlang... that ferocity on you is just like a wolf's. From a mile away, you damn well carry a ferocity—a vicious ferocity."