Heishui, Hei Fo Old Master, and the rest of the three hundred-plus Chixiao People had been discussing Gu Qingfeng's identity all along.
Even Old Mei couldn't tell, so how could the others have any method?
"Tiger, didn't you say earlier you had a way to verify his identity?"
Heishui asked a question, and Hei Fo replied, "I never said that. I only said there was someone who could verify the truth."
"Who?"
"As for who, don't bother asking. Even if you ask, I won't say."
"At a time like this, what are you still keeping secrets for, kid!"
"I'm not keeping secrets. I swore an oath in front of that person not to reveal their identity."
Heishui Old Master was extremely exasperated and asked again, "Even if you can't tell us who, can't you at least say where that person is now?"
"I don't know where she is now either. But she'll definitely come, you can rest assured of that."
Hei Fo Old Master Dong Laohu glanced towards the Yanluo royal family side and said something ambiguous: "Even if she doesn't come to verify the truth of this Monarch, she won't stand by and let the Yanluo royal family be bullied like this by the Immortal Dynasty."
"Oh? The Yanluo royal family?"
Old Mei seemed to realize something and gave Hei Fo Old Master a meaningful look.
Hei Fo Old Master took one look and knew Old Mei had probably guessed that person's identity. He hurriedly said, "Old Mei, just knowing yourself is fine, but you mustn't say it out loud. Otherwise, my little life will be in danger."
"So it really is her?"
After Old Mei inquired, Hei Fo Old Master nodded.
"None of us could determine the truth of the Monarch, she... how could she..."
"Hehe, Old Mei, just because we can't doesn't mean she can't. After all... back in the day, she and the Monarch... hehe, you understand. And as far as I know, she still has something the Monarch refined with his Blood Essence back then."
"What? The Monarch's Blood Essence?"
Hearing this, Old Mei was greatly shocked, and after the shock came great joy. He said, "If she truly has something refined with the Monarch's Blood Essence in her hands, then verifying the Monarch's truth would be far too easy."
The conversation between Hei Fo and Old Mei left Heishui and the other Chixiao People completely baffled. They didn't know who the mysterious person mentioned by the two was. No matter how Heishui asked, Hei Fo just wouldn't say. Asking Old Mei, Old Mei also pretended not to know, which drove Heishui to distraction.
Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed Hei Fo, Old Mei, and the others suddenly turning serious. Puzzled, Heishui followed their gaze and was startled to find Gu Qingfeng, seated in the pavilion, smiling as he looked over here.
"If this guy really is the Monarch, why hasn't he bothered to greet us all this time?"
Hei Fo Old Master speculated, "Could it be he doesn't recognize us?"
"Those few Monarchs in the Southern Sea said they had fragmented memories due to reincarnation, saying they didn't recognize us. What can you do about that?"
"If it's genuine reincarnation, that reason makes sense. But he's not a reincarnated person."
"Is there a difference? Those Monarchs in the Southern Sea also have people who aren't reincarnated. They directly probe your memories. Forget recognizing you, they'd know your ancestors eighteen generations back clearly."
"What do you think this guy staring at us means?"
Hei Fo didn't know, Heishui didn't know, Old Mei didn't know either.
At that moment, Gu Qingfeng's voice suddenly came through: "Doesn't mean anything. Haven't seen you all in over three hundred years, just checking if you've made any progress. Is that not allowed?"
Good heavens!
Perhaps they hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to suddenly speak up like this, startling Hei Fo, Heishui, and the others.
"Alright, stop standing there dumbfounded. Come over and sit for a bit."
Go over and sit?
Heishui and Hei Fo exchanged glances. Since they didn't know if Gu Qingfeng was truly the Monarch, neither knew what to say. In the current situation, it wasn't appropriate to test him openly, and even testing wouldn't yield any definitive result.
"What's the matter? Don't recognize your lord anymore? Or don't dare to recognize him?"
Gu Qingfeng, holding a cup of wine, stood up and walked towards Heishui's group. Smiling, he said, "Even if your lord is a fake, I'm still borrowing Gu Tianlang's name. Inviting you all for a drink isn't too much, is it?"
Too much?
Logically speaking, it wasn't. At the very least, neither Hei Fo nor Heishui could find a reason to refuse.
Watching Gu Qingfeng approach, the three hundred-plus Chixiao People dared not remain seated. They all stood up, looking quite cautious.
"What are you all standing up for? Sit down, sit down."
Gu Qingfeng, however, wasn't polite at all. He casually found a chair and sat down. The three hundred-plus Chixiao People looked at each other, wide-eyed, none daring to sit. Because at this moment, they all could distinctly feel the agitation of the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant within their bodies.
When Gu Qingfeng had first appeared, this feeling hadn't been too obvious.
But now, with Gu Qingfeng seated here, the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant within them felt as if it had met kin, or seen its master, excited and eager to burst out from their bodies.
This feeling was particularly intense, making all the Chixiao People present feel tense.
Because they all knew that under the heavens, only the Chixiao Monarch could cause the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant to stir like this.
Yet, if they were to say the man before them was the Chixiao Monarch...
They truly didn't dare to be certain.
Heishui and Hei Fo, the two Earth Fiend Lords, also felt the agitation of their Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants. Their expressions grew extremely complex.
Although Old Mei didn't possess a Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant within him, his eyes were sharp. Naturally, he could also see the agitation of the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants within the Chixiao People.
Based on this alone,
no one dared to remain seated.
Even if Gu Qingfeng told them to sit, they didn't dare.
"Haven't seen you all for a few hundred years. Seems everyone's changed quite a bit."
Gu Qingfeng's dark, profound eyes swept over the three hundred-plus Chixiao People one by one, feeling quite sentimental inside. Then his gaze fell on Heishui Old Master. He asked, "But you, Er Gou, don't seem to have changed much. Still big and burly, with the face of a bandit."
Beside him, Fei Kui poured wine. Gu Qingfeng picked up his cup, sipping the fine wine, and continued, "Heard you not only found a Dao Companion, but also got married? And... Old Mei was the matchmaker? Seems your wife is quite good-looking? Why didn't you bring her over for me to see?"
"This..." Heishui Old Master seemed somewhat reserved, opening his mouth but hesitating to speak. Facing a Monarch of unknown authenticity, he really didn't know how to respond.
If he could be sure it was a fake, that would be one thing. But now, he couldn't even determine it was fake, so he didn't dare be too presumptuous.
"Old Mei, this happened, right?"
Facing Gu Qingfeng, not only did Heishui Old Master become reserved, but even Old Mei, such an unfathomable figure, felt uncomfortable all over. When his eyes met Gu Qingfeng's dark, profound gaze, it felt like falling into an abyss, a sensation of the heavens and earth spinning, shocking him to the core.
"You're a transcendent master, usually uninterested in worldly matters. What brings you along with them today?"
Without waiting for Old Mei's response, Gu Qingfeng continued, "And, them not daring to recognize me is one thing, but why don't you dare either? They say those involved are blinded, while onlookers see clearly. If they are the involved ones, then you should count as an onlooker, right? Is it that the others impersonating me are too skillful, tricking you all into being like startled birds, or is it that after over three hundred years, your lord really isn't the same as he was back then?"