"Yunhao?"
Hearing the name Yunhao, Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "Are you Tang Yunhao?"
"Exactly!"
Tang Yunhao responded with a rather solemn cupped-fist salute.
"No wonder you looked so familiar just now! So it's you, kid!"
Discovering it was Tang Yunhao, Gu Qingfeng seemed quite pleased.
Seeing an old friend from back in the day naturally put him in a good mood.
Thinking back to their time in Yanluo Kingdom, he and Tang Yunhao were absolutely genuine drinking and carousing buddies—drinking together, visiting brothels together, killing and plundering together. Recalling it now was truly nostalgic.
Then, looking at the beautiful woman beside Tang Yunhao, Gu Qingfeng smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you're Elder Sister Lingyan, right?"
In terms of seniority, Lingyan was indeed Gu Qingfeng's elder sister.
Because back when he first arrived in Yanluo Kingdom, he was just a young man in his early twenties, while Lingyan was already a Tai Chi Sect elder and even Tang Hengshu's martial aunt. Whether measured by cultivation years or seniority, Lingyan was much older than Gu Qingfeng. For Gu Qingfeng to call her 'elder sister' was actually elevating his own status a generation.
However, Tang Yunhao and Lingyan, unable to confirm Gu Qingfeng's identity, didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"What's the matter? Don't recognize me? Or don't dare to acknowledge me?"
Seeing the expressions on Tang Yunhao and Lingyan's faces, Gu Qingfeng immediately understood the situation. He shook his head and smiled helplessly. "Seems you don't dare to acknowledge me."
Tang Yunhao and Lingyan indeed didn't dare. Both had been on good terms with the Chixiao Monarch back in the day and knew him fairly well. Ever since Gu Qingfeng appeared, they had been staring intently, but no matter how they looked, they couldn't discern anything conclusive, let alone distinguish truth from falsehood. Tang Yunhao had considered asking about some private matters from the past but later thought better of it.
Down in the Southern Sea, Tang Yunhao had tried testing those who claimed to be the Monarch with events from the past. Those impostors could silently probe his memories; whatever he asked, they knew everything clearly. Under such circumstances, what was the point of asking?
Although unsure whether the person before them possessed such abilities, raising doubts in this setting was truly inappropriate.
Seeing Tang Yunhao and his wife remain silent, Old Man Tang immediately launched into a scolding, and it looked like he was about to go over and punch him. Gu Qingfeng said, "Alright, Old Man Tang, that's enough posturing. No need to actually start hitting."
"Tianlang, don't mind these kids. These little bastards are all blind! Tang Yunqi staying cooped up in the palace all day without much experience is one thing, but you, Tang Yunhao, you little brat, you've been wandering the world all these years! What the hell have you been doing? If you don't even have this much discernment, what kind of wandering is that? You must have been swimming in a river instead!"
Tang Yunhao felt like crying but had no tears. He raised his head, opened his mouth to say something, but as soon as he started, Old Man Tang waved his hand dismissively. "Get lost and cool off over there! Wait till I deal with you back home!"
Tang Yunhao, a True Immortal no less, was now being scolded by Old Man Tang like a little kid, standing off to the side looking utterly disgraced.
Meanwhile.
In the distance, Yuheng, Fengxu, and the other three hundred or so Chixiao people were also whispering among themselves. They too were unclear why Su Hua Fairy had lied about Gu Qingfeng's death nine years ago. Most importantly, they didn't know whether Gu Qingfeng had ever fused with a wisp of the Monarch's remnant consciousness.
This was extremely important to every Chixiao person.
If he truly had fused with it, then it meant the real Monarch was dead.
If he hadn't, then why did the Blood Fiend Dragon-Elephant revere him so?
Or was he truly the Monarch himself?
Unclear.
And they dared not make reckless judgments.
Black Buddha and Heishui were seeing Gu Qingfeng for the first time and had been probing him with their Divine Sense the whole time. They had hoped to find even a trace of the Chixiao Monarch in Gu Qingfeng, but no matter how they probed and investigated, they couldn't detect anything. That guy had no cultivation, no destiny, wasn't a reincarnated person, hadn't undergone body-snatching rebirth, and didn't even resemble him in appearance. This made it utterly impossible for them to believe Gu Qingfeng was the Chixiao Monarch.
Now they could only pin their hopes on Old Mei. Old Mei was proficient in unorthodox methods, and both his experience and discernment far surpassed theirs. If anyone could distinguish truth from falsehood, it would be Old Mei.
At this moment.
Old Mei had been frowning deeply, staring at Gu Qingfeng drinking wine in the pavilion. The longer he looked, the deeper his frown became, and the more puzzled he felt inside.
"Old Mei, how about it? See anything?"
Heishui and Black Buddha were both eagerly awaiting.
Old Mei did not respond.
After waiting a while longer, Lord Heishui asked again, "Old Mei, have you figured anything out yet? At least give us an answer!"
Old Mei shook his head and sighed with great vexation. "Forgive my poor eyesight, but I truly cannot tell if it's real or fake..."
"What!"
Heishui and Black Buddha exchanged a glance. Heishui said, "Didn't you say if it was fake, you'd definitely be able to tell?"
"This old man did say that, but the problem is... he doesn't seem fake."
"Not fake? Why do you say that? He's not even a reincarnated person. We all saw with our own eyes the Monarch being judged by the Immortal Dao back then. If the Monarch returned, he should be reincarnated, right?"
"What's seen with one's own eyes isn't necessarily true. The Monarch being judged by the Immortal Dao back then doesn't necessarily mean he was utterly annihilated. You know about the Monarch's affairs—how many times has he lived and died? Which time did he truly vanish into nothingness? The Immortal Dao's judgment may be powerful, but the Monarch's abilities reached the heavens and penetrated the earth. Whether you believe it or not, I don't know, but this old man doesn't believe the Monarch could be annihilated by the Immortal Dao's judgment."
After a pause, Old Mei continued, "Moreover, I've always suspected the Monarch only feigned death back then."
"Feigned death?"
Hearing this, Heishui, Black Buddha, and the other Chixiao people were all greatly shocked.
"Old Mei, why do you say the Monarch feigned death? And why would he do that?"
"Although the Monarch led us to overthrow the Immortal Dynasty back then, we also fell into a desperate situation. The Nine Heavens would never let us go. Presumably, the Monarch saw through this. For our sake, the Monarch had no choice but to die."
"If what you say is true, and the Monarch only feigned death back then without reincarnating, that still doesn't make sense! The Monarch possessed immense destiny, but this kid has no destiny to speak of, not even a shred of cultivation!"
"That's exactly what I can't figure out either!"
Heishui anxiously pressed, "Then can you tell whether he has fused with a wisp of the Monarch's remnant consciousness or not?"
"I can't tell."
"You can't even tell that?"
"Although I can't tell, I'm certain he definitely hasn't fused with the Monarch's remnant consciousness."
"Why?"
"No particular reason. Because the Monarch simply never died."
"How do you know the Monarch never died?"
"I say, Heishui, is your brain that dull? Didn't I just say the Monarch would definitely return? Since he will return, how could he have died? Since he never died, how could this person have fused with a wisp of his remnant consciousness!"
"Alright! I admit my brain isn't as sharp as yours. But since yours is sharp, give us a clear answer: is this person the Monarch or not?"
This question truly stumped Old Mei. He dared not say it was fake, nor dared he say it was real. It seemed both fake and real, truth and falsehood intertwined. He simply couldn't be sure.