Upon hearing that Miss Xiang'er was here, I, Lü Tianze, have come specially to invite her. I hope Miss Xiang'er will honor me by joining us for a few drinks."
Lü Tianze swaggered in uninvited with a group of Immortal Court nobles, barging into Azure Gem Garden without any prior notice.
Just as Lü Tianze entered, another group of people also forced their way in.
"Lü Tianze, I told you that today, I, Zhou Ting, would definitely host a banquet for Miss Xiang'er."
Zhou Ting also strode in arrogantly with a group of prodigies from the Crimson-Letter Manor's Juexin Branch. The two had always been at odds, competing for the limelight in everything. Earlier at the entrance of Yunchuan Garden Pavilion, although Zhou Ting's Minor Mandate had stolen the show, Lü Tianze's performance wasn't lacking either—they were evenly matched.
Given this, naturally, they had to compete over Lin Xiang'er to see who could win her favor.
However, upon entering, they discovered not only Lin Xiang'er in Azure Gem Garden, but also Tang Manqing, Liu Yue, and even Mei Miao. This surprised and delighted them. Tang Manqing and Liu Yue, though not musicians, were famously known as the Twin Flowers of Yanluo. If they could host a drinking banquet with all three beauties, it would surely make every other man die of envy.
Before they could fully relish this thought, they noticed a man in white robes sitting in the pavilion, and their expressions instantly soured.
Looking at the man in white, he seemed unfamiliar; neither had seen him before.
Upon closer inspection, he seemed to have no cultivation base and no fortune whatsoever.
Both Zhou Ting and Lü Tianze, though arrogant and conceited, were not blindly overconfident. They clearly understood that someone who could invite Tang Manqing, Liu Yue, Lin Xiang'er, and Mei Miao to drink together was definitely no ordinary person.
Just who was he?
Neither of them could tell.
As they sized him up and pondered, inside the pavilion, Mei Miao and the other three women grew increasingly anxious at their appearance.
Tang Manqing and the other two were worried because Gu Qingfeng was currently parading under the name of Monarch Chixiao, swindling and deceiving. They had been constantly fearing that the Immortal Court would use this as a pretext to target the Yanluo royal family and Lord Black Buddha.
As for Mei Miao, her worry stemmed from recognizing that Gu Qingfeng was not to be trifled with, and she had no desire to provoke him. However, if the Yanluo Immortal Mansion or Zhou Taihe's people discovered this fellow was here, the situation would inevitably turn very ugly. A bloody conflict might even erupt. What was she to do then?
Ignoring it was out of the question, as she was the chief manager of Yunchuan Garden Pavilion. But if she intervened, she genuinely didn't want to bring trouble upon herself. Who knew what the origins of this impersonator were, or how terrifying his strength truly was? Mei Miao truly had no solid grasp of the situation.
Zhou Ting stared at Gu Qingfeng disdainfully. "Who are you?"
"It seems a distinguished guest has arrived at Yunchuan Garden Pavilion today."
Lü Tianze's eyes were also fixed on Gu Qingfeng. "Sister Miao, could you introduce him?"
Introduce him?
How dare Mei Miao introduce Gu Qingfeng's identity? She smiled and said, "This young master is a friend of mine."
"Oh? A friend?"
Both Zhou Ting and Lü Tianze seemed to notice Fei Kui, who had been standing beside Gu Qingfeng all along, and a certain individual came to mind.
Lü Tianze took a step forward, approaching the pavilion, and glared at Gu Qingfeng. "Was it you who provoked the dignity of our Immortal Court at Linglong Mountain Villa earlier?"
"I've heard that recently, a man impersonating Gu Tianlang has appeared in our Yanluo Kingdom. That man has neither cultivation nor fortune, yet his strength is bizarrely powerful."
Zhou Ting seemed to have also guessed Gu Qingfeng's identity. "If my guess is correct, the one impersonating Gu Tianlang is you, isn't it?"
Seeing that both Zhou Ting and Lü Tianze had guessed Gu Qingfeng's identity, though not yet with certainty, Tang Manqing and the other two grew extremely anxious inside. They looked at Mei Miao, who was just about to speak up to explain and cover things up. However, Gu Qingfeng, sitting casually in his chair, nodded and said, "That's right, it's me."
Whoosh!
Gu Qingfeng's nod was no small matter. It immediately shocked Zhou Ting, Lü Tianze, and the prodigies from both the Yanluo Immortal Mansion and the Juexin Branch.
Just as Mei Miao had thought moments earlier, although Zhou Ting and the other had somewhat guessed that Gu Qingfeng was the person impersonating the monarch that day, it was merely speculation. They didn't dare confirm it, because they believed that even if the fellow impersonating Monarch Chixiao had the greatest audacity, he wouldn't dare sit so openly and calmly under their very noses, listening to music and drinking.
However.
To their surprise, this man in white robes truly was the one impersonating Monarch Chixiao.
This news spread like wildfire. One told ten, ten told a hundred, a hundred told a thousand. In no time at all, it had spread throughout the entire Yunchuan Garden Pavilion.
In recent days, the news of another Monarch Chixiao appearing within the Yanluo Kingdom had been spreading like wildfire, known to all.
Almost everyone knew that not long ago at Linglong Mountain Villa, a man claiming to be Monarch Chixiao had not only crippled the cultivation of Immortal Court noble Peng Jia but also publicly toyed with the Great Sun Dharma Form. It was said that a single shout from him had shattered the mental defenses of hundreds, and even the great manager Wei of Linglong Mountain Villa couldn't stand steadily before him.
It was also rumored that later, at the Shanhe Branch, he annihilated dozens of Earth Immortals and dozens of prodigies in the blink of an eye, among whom were Ancient Earth Immortals and outstanding prodigies alike. More than ten Crimson-Letter members were still missing, their fates unknown.
Even more bewildering was the rumor that this self-proclaimed Monarch Chixiao possessed neither cultivation nor fortune, and his physical body was frail and weak. Particularly baffling was how he extracted the Blood Fiend Dragon-Elephant from Tan Tong and over ten other Crimson-Letter members. Many were utterly perplexed. Some said it might be the true monarch returned, for otherwise, Tan Tong and the others' Blood Fiend Dragon-Elephant would not revere him, nor could it be extracted.
Others said Lord Black Buddha might have found a master to impersonate Monarch Chixiao, aiming to pass off the false as genuine, to intimidate Zhou Taihe and the Immortal Court. The fact that Fei Kui, who managed Lord Black Buddha's business, had been attending to him all along seemed to support this.
Still others said it might be the prank of some young master from a reclusive clan or the disciple of a great power, done for amusement. Such things weren't rare; among the many incidents of monarch impersonation, quite a few fell into this category.
Was it the true monarch's return?
Or a deliberate impostor arranged by Lord Black Buddha? Or the mischievous prank of some young master of great fortune?
No one could say for sure.
These past days, the Yanluo Immortal Mansion and the Crimson-Letter Manor had been searching for this newly emerged Monarch Chixiao, but the fellow seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace.
Now, hearing that this newly emerged Monarch Chixiao was also at Yunchuan Garden Pavilion listening to music, many were shocked and found it hard to believe, thinking the imposter's courage was truly immense.