As Xuanze had surmised, Gu Qingfeng’s arrival this time was not merely to resolve an urgent crisis, but to thoroughly settle both the internal strife and external threats facing the Kingdom of Yanluo.
He had always been a man who either did not act at all, or acted with utter finality.
As for whether he offended the Immortal Court or not, he simply didn’t care.
To him, it was just a matter of convenience, as easy as eating a meal or drinking wine.
The reason was also straightforward.
He considered Tang Yunhao a friend, and Tang Laoguai a friend as well.
When friends were in trouble, he naturally wouldn’t stand idly by.
Most importantly, it was also for the sake of Yanluo’s Empress Tang Hengxi.
After all, Gu Qingfeng had felt he’d wronged her in the past. And later, he learned that after he left, Tang Hengxi had abandoned Yanluo to search for him, which left an even more bitter taste in his heart. Now that Yanluo was in peril, how could he ignore it?
Call it righteousness, guilt, or repaying a debt—Gu Qingfeng accepted it all.
Speaking of which, he had been waiting for Tang Hengxi at the temple fair all along.
Last time, discovering the cave abode personally opened by Tang Hengxi atop Mobi Blue Peak in Yunchuan Grand Canyon, Gu Qingfeng knew she was still alive. Not only alive, but she returned periodically. In his mind, since Tang Hengxi was alive and Yanluo was now in crisis, she couldn’t possibly remain indifferent.
But wait as he might, he never caught sight of Tang Hengxi’s figure.
It wasn’t until he was about to leave that he suddenly spotted a mysterious, fleeting shadow—a phantom that flashed and vanished instantly. Unsure if it was Tang Hengxi and not daring to hesitate, he immediately gave chase.
By the time Gu Qingfeng chased all the way to Yunchuan Grand Canyon and then to Mobi Blue Peak, he was almost certain that phantom had to be Tang Hengxi.
Standing at the foot of Mobi Blue Peak, for some reason, Gu Qingfeng felt hesitant again.
He was sure he very much wanted to see Tang Hengxi again, yet as the moment of meeting her approached, a strange reluctance welled up within him. He himself didn’t know why.
Shaking his head, he didn’t dwell on it.
In the end, he still ascended Mobi Blue Peak.
By now, night had deepened.
The moonlight was bright, the starry sky resplendent. Against such a night backdrop, the Mobi flowers on the peak appeared even more beautiful—a beauty that was serene and tranquil.
At the summit of Mobi Blue Peak stood a woman.
She seemed ethereal, flickering in and out of sight like a wisp of mist, gently swaying in the night breeze.
“I finally waited for you.”
The woman’s voice carried over, seeming filled with endless helplessness and endless uncertainty.
Gu Qingfeng frowned, asking in confusion, “Hengxi?”
He truly wasn’t sure if this woman was Tang Hengxi. She was illusory and real by turns, flickering, vague, and ephemeral. He could neither see her clearly nor perceive her depths; he couldn’t even make out her features. The only thing discernible was that this should be an External Incarnation.
“You’ve already forgotten me, haven’t you?”
The woman’s voice was calm, carrying neither accusation nor blame.
“No, I just…” “Just what?”
This question truly stumped Gu Qingfeng. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.
“From now on… don’t call me Hengxi anymore…” “Why?”
“No reason. Because I am no longer Tang Hengxi. At least, not now.”
“What do you mean, ‘no longer Tang Hengxi’? If you’re not Tang Hengxi, then who are you?”
“Who I am now… does it matter to you?”
“It does.”
Seeing Tang Hengxi not respond, Gu Qingfeng pressed on, “Where is your True Body? Why are you using this External Incarnation?”
“My True Body is in slumber.”
“Slumber? Why?”
“Because of you.”
“Because of me?”
Gu Qingfeng grew more confused the more he listened, feeling somewhat anxious. Just as he tried to step closer, Tang Hengxi’s voice came again: “Please don’t come any closer, alright? I’m… afraid.”
“Afraid?” Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. “What about me could possibly make you afraid?”
“You know…” Tang Hengxi gazed at the moonlit night sky, murmuring, “Some things were predestined long ago in the unseen workings of fate. I once thought you were my everything. I cried for you, laughed for you, grieved for you, and felt sorrow for you. I even abandoned everything, chasing after you recklessly. During that time, my heart held only you, and nothing else.
“Until one day, when I awoke, I realized… all of that was merely a dream. A dream I don’t know if was arranged by fate, a mere coincidence, or brought about by Karma.”
Karma.
Karma again.
Hearing the word ‘Karma’, Gu Qingfeng finally understood why, standing at the foot of Mobi Blue Peak earlier, he had wanted to see Tang Hengxi yet felt that inexplicable hesitation.
Since awakening in this world, starting from Yunxia Sect in the Great Northwest, then Bingxuan Sect, followed by Yaoyue Palace, and later Canyang Mountain… he increasingly felt he had inexplicably set foot on a path of Karma. And this path of Karma didn’t begin in the Current Era; it started from the Ancient Era, from the very day he was born, he had already stepped onto this road of Karma.
And everyone on this path, without exception, almost all came because of Karma and left because of Karma.
Gu Qingfeng had long been worried: was encountering Tang Hengxi in Yanluo also because of so-called Karma?
Now it seemed, it was.
From Tang Hengxi’s fragmented words, it wasn’t hard to discern.
She said she was no longer the Tang Hengxi of the past. She said the Tang Hengxi of back then was just a dream. She said that dream had already ended—a dream belonging to Karma.
“Can you answer me one question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you… know about all this before?”
“Are you talking about Karma?”
“What else could it be?”
“If it’s about Karma, then no, I didn’t know before.”
“Not knowing before is good…” Tang Hengxi murmured, “At least… the dream that belonged to us was still an innocent one. Even if this dream might lead to terrible consequences, I still don’t regret it.”
Hearing that this dream could lead to terrible consequences, Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but laugh—a laugh of extreme helplessness and frustration. “I just don’t get it. Why is it that once Karma gets involved with me, every single one of you says something terrible will happen? What’s so terrible about it?”
If it were just one person like this, Gu Qingfeng wouldn’t be so vexed. But the problem was, it wasn’t just one.
After Yun Nichang discovered her Karma with him, she was so afraid she directly performed a Soul Burial Rebirth.
Feng Zhuyue, upon learning of it, directly sealed herself in slumber.
As for Jun Xuanji… she lost herself.
Now Tang Hengxi, after finding out, also sealed her True Body, only using an External Incarnation now—and an incarnation sealed tightly from head to toe at that. She wouldn’t even let him get a little closer, fearing to have the slightest connection with him.
This feeling made Gu Qingfeng feel like he was some kind of plague god, which irked him greatly.
“You shouldn’t ask me that question. You should ask yourself.”
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his face wearily. “Is it… because my existence is connected to the Era Without Dao?”
“Your existence… is far from being merely connected to the Era Without Dao.”