Knowing that Gu Qingfeng was coming, the Chixiao people of the Meishan Branch had already prepared a feast.
Of course.
While it was called a feast, it consisted mostly of various spirit fruits beneficial to cultivation. These things might be great supplements to others, but to Gu Qingfeng, they were just so-so. Compared to these so-called spirit fruits, he preferred hearty meat and strong drink.
Thankfully.
He wasn't that picky a person. Even if it was paired with tree roots and weeds, he'd still drink just the same.
However.
While Gu Qingfeng drank cup after cup, Yüheng and the hundred or so Chixiao people had no mood for drinking. Each was filled with thoughts, looking as if they had much to say but were holding back for some reason, unsure how to broach the topic.
And Gu Qingfeng naturally knew what they wanted to ask. Picking up a cup of wine, he glanced at the crowd and said, "Alright, no need to hold back. Ask whatever you want."
Yüheng, sitting beside him, asked first, "May I ask why you are impersonating the Monarch, young master?"
"Who told you I'm impersonating him?"
"Let's speak plainly before honest people. To be frank, we old fellows have long known that you are the Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng from the Great Northwest nine years ago."
"Oh?"
Gu Qingfeng smiled unhurriedly, glancing at Liu Yue. "Did that little girl Liu Yue tell you?"
"Yue'er did mention it, and I also had it verified."
"Verified? This can be verified?" Gu Qingfeng felt rather puzzled. "How was it verified?"
"Do you recognize them, young master?"
Yüheng pointed. Gu Qingfeng looked over and, upon seeing the four or five Chixiao people sitting at a table, was momentarily stunned, then laughed in utter exasperation. "I didn't notice earlier. What are you lot doing over here?"
Those four or five Chixiao people were none other than the banner masters of the three black banners under Old Master Blackwater in the Great Northwest—Old Master Hong and the others—with Scarface Kui among them. They stared at Gu Qingfeng, their eyes filled with a complex and utterly peculiar feeling.
Because they all clearly remembered what happened in the Great Northwest nine years ago.
Back then, a hundred noble scions and a thousand officials of the Immortal Dynasty had descended, intending to move against the Chitou faction in the Great Northwest. Coupled with the open betrayal of several Chixiao people like Jin He to the Immortal Dynasty, they were furious and prepared for a bloody confrontation with the Immortal Dynasty.
But no one expected Gu Qingfeng to appear out of nowhere. With unimaginably formidable and terrifying power, he wiped out the hundred noble scions with a flick of his finger, his domineering aura so intimidating that the thousand Immortal Dynasty officials dared not even breathe heavily.
Gu Qingfeng said he had fused with a remnant wisp of the Monarch's consciousness, so he represented the Monarch.
Old Master Hong didn't know whether to believe it. Although they all felt the agitation from the Bloodshade Dragon-Elephant within their bodies, they still couldn't bring themselves to fully believe it, having been deceived too many times. The only thing they could do was wait—wait for Old Master Blackwater to arrive and discuss a plan together.
But as they waited and waited, not only did Old Master Blackwater not come, they instead received news of Gu Qingfeng's death.
To verify the truth, they even sought out Fairy Su Hua.
And the result was indeed so.
Gu Qingfeng was dead.
Fairy Su Hua said he died while seizing the Heavenly Mandate…
To Old Master Hong and the others, this was no less than a bolt from the blue.
In their minds, if Gu Qingfeng had truly fused with a remnant wisp of the Monarch's consciousness, then in a sense, he was the Monarch's successor.
Having waited all these years, even if they couldn't wait for the Monarch's return, waiting for the Monarch's successor would have been something.
But now, even the Monarch's successor was dead.
Naturally, Old Master Hong and the others were filled with immense grief and deep self-reproach.
Thus, they spent a full nine years in grief and self-blame. Before they could even recover from the sorrow, news came from Yanluo that Gu Qingfeng was actually still alive.
At first, they didn't believe it, because the news of Gu Qingfeng's death had come from Fairy Su Hua, and they all trusted Fairy Su Hua's character.
It wasn't until today, upon seeing Gu Qingfeng at Meishan, that they realized Gu Qingfeng truly wasn't dead. Whether it was Old Master Hong or Scarface Kui, they could hardly believe it, standing there just staring at Gu Qingfeng.
"You… you're not dead?" Scarface Kui grinned, his tiger-like eyes wide.
"I say, Big Kui, who told you I was dead…" "Fairy Su Hua said it herself… said it with her own mouth!"
"What does that little know-nothing girl understand!"
Gu Qingfeng suddenly blurting out such a sentence caused all the Chixiao people present to look at each other in confusion, not knowing how to respond. After all, Su Hua was a prodigious woman of this world, a Nine Heavens Emissary, her previous life being the Mystic Maiden of the Nine Heavens, her attainments unparalleled, even immortals held her in awe upon meeting her.
A little know-nothing girl?
In this world, under this heaven, who dared call Su Hua a little know-nothing girl?
Especially Liu Yue, who was a devoted admirer of Fairy Su Hua. Hearing Gu Qingfeng disdainfully call Su Hua a little know-nothing girl truly infuriated her. In the past, she would have definitely stepped forward and fiercely scolded this guy a few times. However, after the incident at Yunchuan Garden Pavilion, Liu Yue knew this guy's strength was terrifying. Perhaps the events at Yunchuan Garden Pavilion had left a deep shadow on her. Now, even if she felt extremely displeased inside, she only dared to purse her lips. She didn't dare say anything to his face, especially since most of those sitting in the grand hall were senior Chixiao elders. Even her own father, Benlei, was considered a junior here, so she dared not speak up even more.
"Fairy Hua has shown great kindness to our Chitou faction, and she would definitely not deceive us. Could there be some misunderstanding?" Yüheng's words came, and the other Chixiao people nodded, clearly sharing the same thought.
"Misunderstanding isn't quite the word. Perhaps Su Hua that woman really thought I was dead."
Gu Qingfeng looked at the gazes of the Chixiao people in the hall directed at him—gazes filled with all kinds of doubt. He drank three cups of wine in a row, shook his head, feeling utterly helpless inside. Looking at them, he smiled bitterly. "Su Hua… Su Hua again. It would have been fine if we didn't mention this woman, but once she's brought up, I feel very displeased."
"I just don't get it. Whatever Su Hua that woman says, you all believe it, and by the looks of it, you believe it wholeheartedly without doubt. But when it comes to me, you bastards don't believe a word? What's the deal? Think that little girl is pretty? Or what? Do I look like a swindler to you?"
"This…" Many Chixiao people in the hall were made to blush by Gu Qingfeng's words. Yüheng quickly explained, "Young master, please don't misunderstand. We old fellows are not disbelieving you, it's just…" "Just what?"
Gu Qingfeng's tone shifted abruptly, the smile at the corner of his mouth vanishing, and the atmosphere in the grand hall suddenly turned heavy and silent.