It was two women.
One was a young woman in the bloom of youth, beautiful and dressed in blue silk robes. Her features were delicate and lovely, yet her expression was aloof, giving her a somewhat cold demeanor. However, within her clear, cool eyes, there seemed to be a trace of an indescribable, inexplicable sorrow.
She walked forward slowly, her right hand tightly holding the hand of a young girl.
The girl was petite and adorable, though she appeared somewhat frail and weak. Her pretty face was also slightly pale, making her look quite pitiable.
The two walked through the Biluo Bamboo Grove, occasionally looking around. When they spotted Old Monster Tang playing chess in the distance, their expressions immediately brightened with joy. They quickened their pace and called out, "Great-Grandfather."
They were none other than Yanluo Princess-Royal Tang Manqing and Yanluo Princess Tang Rou'er.
Both were descendants of the Yanluo Royal Family. As Old Monster Tang was rather fond of them, they would often visit the mausoleum whenever they had time, bringing him fine wine and delicacies.
This time was no exception.
They had originally planned to visit Old Monster Tang a few days earlier, but Tang Manqing had been unexpectedly busy and had to postpone. Now, having just finished her tasks, she brought Tang Rou'er to the mausoleum once more.
"Manqing, Rou'er, so it's you two little girls," Old Monster Tang said, his heart also lifting with joy upon seeing Tang Manqing. He even smiled with heartfelt satisfaction.
In the early days of the Yanluo Royal Family, every descendant was an outstanding talent among men. However, as generations passed, they declined, and in recent years, each generation had been worse than the last. Fortunately, the previous generation had produced Yanluo Empress Tang Henghe, but now, she too had vanished without a trace. The only thing that brought Old Monster Tang some comfort was that among the current generation of Yanluo Royal Family descendants, there was Tang Manqing.
Whether in terms of innate talent, aptitude, fortune, or comprehension, Tang Manqing was the most outstanding of her generation. Old Monster Tang would occasionally give her some pointers in secret. He didn't expect her to become a generation's empress like Tang Henghe and shoulder the responsibilities of the Yanluo Royal Family. He only hoped Tang Manqing could live a peaceful life and not, like Tang Henghe, abandon everything in search of Gu Tianlang.
However!
When Old Monster Tang saw Tang Rou'er accompanying Tang Manqing, the satisfaction in his eyes instantly turned to helplessness, pity, and heartache.
If Tang Manqing was the descendant of this Yanluo Royal Family generation that Old Monster Tang liked the most,
then Tang Rou'er was the one who pained his heart the most.
Tang Rou'er had been clever, sharp-witted, obedient, and sensible since childhood. Most importantly, whether in innate talent or comprehension, she was no worse than Tang Manqing—in fact, she far surpassed her and was not inferior to any of the current generation's prodigies and geniuses. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick. Tang Rou'er was born with a Pure Yin Extreme Body. Her constitution was too weak, and she had nearly died young. Over the years, Old Monster Tang had secretly gone to great lengths to prolong her life.
Yet, it was only prolonging her life.
Old Monster Tang understood clearly in his heart that while the Pure Yin Extreme Body was an exceptionally rare physique of great fortune, not everyone could bear such an extreme constitution. Those born with extreme bodies, nine times out of ten, could not survive. Even in historical records, there had never been a case of someone with a Pure Yin Extreme Body living to adulthood. Most died at birth, and even those who survived would pass away within a dozen or twenty years.
Regarding this,
Old Monster Tang had tried every method he could think of, and even some he shouldn't have, but it was still no use.
Now, he could only hope that Tang Rou'er lived one more day at a time.
Faced with the Pure Yin Extreme Body, this was all he could hope for.
"Great-Grandfather, Rou'er brought you a jar of good wine. Oh? Great-Grandfather, do you have a guest today?"
Tang Rou'er's spirits were low, and her face was pale, yet her pitiable, delicate face still wore a smile as bright as the morning sun. Beside her, Tang Manqing led her forward. She knew that aside from a few of her great-grandfather's old friends who occasionally came to drink, few people visited this place. Moreover, her great-grandfather's old friends were all accomplished masters. Why did today's guest look so young?
He truly was a young man in white robes.
He sat casually on a stone stool, leaning against a large tree, one leg crossed over the other, holding a wine cup in his hand. Since he was in profile, Tang Manqing couldn't see his face clearly. As she walked closer and clearly saw the white-robed man's features, her heart was instantly struck with shock. She froze in place, exclaiming in astonishment, "It's actually you!"
"Little niece."
Gu Qingfeng tilted his head slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "What a coincidence, meeting again."
"Kid Gu, you know Manqing?"
Discovering that Gu Qingfeng seemed to recognize Tang Manqing, Old Monster Tang immediately grew wary, his gaze fixed on Gu Qingfeng.
The outstanding talent of the previous Yanluo Royal Family generation, Tang Henghe, had been led astray by Gu Qingfeng. He absolutely did not want the exceptional Tang Manqing of this generation to be swept away by this kid as well.
"More than just know."
Gu Qingfeng replied with a light smile. "My little niece even saved my life once. If she hadn't kindly rescued me, who knows in which corner I'd be lying right now."
"Really? Is there such a thing?" Old Monster Tang seemed somewhat skeptical. "Why are you calling Manqing 'little niece'?"
"Isn't she Tang Yunhao's daughter?"
"That's right, Manqing is indeed Tang Yunhao's daughter."
"Since she's Tang Yunhao's daughter, am I not her uncle? Isn't she my little niece?"
"If you put it that way, it's not wrong."
Across from them,
Tang Manqing watched Gu Qingfeng and Old Monster Tang conversing, her heart filled with immense shock. Ever since Gu Qingfeng crippled the Immortal Court's noble scion at Linglong Villa, the people of Yanluo Immortal Manor had been searching for him. Moreover, many from the Crimson-Letter faction were also looking for him. Yet, this fellow seemed to have evaporated from the world; no one had found a trace of him.
Tang Manqing never could have imagined that this fellow would be in the Yanluo Royal Family's mausoleum, and even with her great-grandfather. What shocked her even more was that, by the looks of it, her great-grandfather knew him, and their relationship seemed quite good.
"Great-Grandfather, how do you know him?"
Tang Manqing frowned, staring at Gu Qingfeng with cautious vigilance.
Beside her, Tang Rou'er also asked curiously, "Great-Grandfather, is this young master your friend? Why does he call Sister Manqing 'little niece'?"
"Come, Rou'er, Manqing, both of you come over. Since we've met today, your great-grandfather will introduce you."
Old Monster Tang did not conceal Gu Qingfeng's identity. He said, "He is surnamed Gu, named Tianlang, with the Dao title Chixiao. Yes, he is precisely that Lord Chixiao you little girl is always talking about. However, that was only in the past. Now, this kid is no longer any Immortal-Demon Monarch. In terms of seniority, both of you should call him 'Uncle'."
Although Old Monster Tang still held a grudge over how Tang Henghe had vanished without a trace because of Gu Qingfeng all those years ago, he was a man who distinguished clearly between gratitude and grievance, treating each matter separately. After all, Gu Qingfeng had done the Yanluo Royal Family a great favor in the past and had good relations with Tang Yunhao and even the current Yanluo Emperor, Tang Yunqi. In Old Monster Tang's view, both emotionally and logically, the descendants of the Yanluo Royal Family should respectfully address this kid as 'Uncle'.