Tang Henghe was gone.
Leaving only a deeply frustrated and helpless Gu Qingfeng, alone atop Mobi Blue Peak, smiling bitterly to himself under the night sky.
He hadn't expected that after all these years, Tang Henghe would still hold such a deep grudge over the events of the past. Even after her reincarnation and the awakening of her previous life's memories, she still hadn't forgotten how he had wronged her back then.
But that wasn't what frustrated him the most.
What truly vexed him was that damn Original Sin Karma.
One Jun Xuanji.
One Yun Nishang.
One Feng Zhuyue.
And now, one more: Tang Henghe.
Jun Xuanji, to avoid her Karma with him, chose to lose her Ego. Yun Nishang buried her soul to be reborn. Feng Zhuyue sealed herself in slumber. And now Tang Henghe had done the same.
What were they so afraid of?
Was it really the so-called Sea of Bitterness?
Just how bitter was that sea?
To drive these women to such desperate, seemingly insane measures.
Furthermore.
If possible, Gu Qingfeng also wanted to know: his encounters and connections with these women—were they mere coincidence, the arrangement of Fate, or the inevitable pull of Karma?
Coincidence?
Chance?
One could be coincidence, but could two, three, four all be?
If it was Fate, what kind of Fate?
If it was Karma, what kind of Karma?
He didn't know.
And racking his brains yielded no answers.
Nowadays, Gu Qingfeng felt a headache coming on whenever he heard the word 'Karma'.
"To hell with Fate! To hell with Karma! Let it be whatever it's going to be!"
Gu Qingfeng cursed angrily and vanished in a flash.
He had originally intended to find his Chixiao brothers like Heishui and Heifo for a good chat. After all, they hadn't seen each other for so many years; they simply had to drink until they dropped. But just as he reached the entrance of the Chixiao branch headquarters, he spotted a solitary figure standing in the air above.
A peerless beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.
A sacred, pure, and solitary silhouette.
A lost, bewildered, and melancholic expression.
The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden blessed by myriad fortunes.
It was none other than Su Hua.
"Miss Su, don't tell me you've been waiting here for me."
"I have been waiting for you."
Su Hua gazed at Gu Qingfeng, as if she had a thousand things she wished to say.
Earlier, at the foot of Panlong Mountain, Gu Qingfeng had mysteriously vanished, leaving her both anxious and furious.
Anxious because she had finally found this fellow, only for him to disappear again.
Furious because she had searched all over Yanluo without finding a trace of Gu Qingfeng.
Knowing that Gu Qingfeng would definitely come to find Heifo, Heishui, and the other Chixiao members, she had waited here ever since.
"What are you waiting for me for?"
"Can I talk to you?"
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the sky; it was nearly dawn. Then he looked at Su Hua's expression, filled with unspoken words, and knew he couldn't avoid it. He could only nod in agreement.
And so.
The two found a secluded spot—it seemed to be an unnamed grove. Gu Qingfeng wasn't picky; he leaned against a large tree and sat down on the ground, pulled out a flask of wine, took a few swigs, and said, "Whatever you want to talk about, just say it."
Su Hua didn't speak. Instead, she stood opposite him, simply staring at Gu Qingfeng in a daze.
"I say, Miss Su, even if I'm devastatingly handsome, you don't need to stare at me like that, do you?"
"Nine years ago in the Great Northwest, I saw with my own eyes you being reduced to ashes by the Sacred Judgment. Why aren't you dead?"
Su Hua finally spoke, voicing a question that had always puzzled her.
"Why must I be dead?"
"That was the Sacred Judgment!"
"So what if it was the Sacred Judgment? Who says you have to die from it?"
"But…" Hearing Gu Qingfeng's reply, Su Hua momentarily didn't know how to respond.
It wasn't that anyone *said* you had to die from the Sacred Judgment; it was common knowledge since ancient times. She truly couldn't understand. Even Gods and Buddhas couldn't survive the Sacred Judgment; even Heaven and Earth, if judged, might be reborn. How on earth had Gu Qingfeng survived?
But she could also tell that Gu Qingfeng didn't seem willing to answer this question. Since that was the case, she didn't press further.
"Why did you lie to me?"
"Lie about what?"
"You knew perfectly well I was searching for you. We met so many times in the Great Northwest, yet you never once told me you were the Chixiao Monarch, Gu Tianlang."
"Miss, you have to be fair." Gu Qingfeng poured himself another drink. "Back in the Great Northwest, I told you more than once that I was Gu Tianlang. You didn't believe me. Can you blame me for that?"
"But… I thought you were lying to me."
"There you have it. You *thought* I was lying to you; it's not that I actually *was* lying to you."
"You…" Remembering the events in the Great Northwest, Su Hua felt her anger rising. "How can you be so shameless?"
"How am I shameless? I didn't lie to you."
"You knew I was searching for you through all kinds of hardships. Not only did you not tell me you were the Chixiao Monarch Gu Tianlang, you also flirted with me repeatedly. What's even more shameless is that you took liberties with me!"
"Miss, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. I did flirt with you, but wasn't that just teasing you for fun? But as for taking liberties… Miss, did that ever happen?"
"How could it not? In the mysterious ruins of the Daoless Age, you took liberties with me!"
"The mysterious ruins of the Daoless Age?"
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully and suddenly understood. "Oh, you mean that incident. But you can't blame me for that either, can you? At first, peeping at you was a complete coincidence. Besides, I had no idea it was you at the time, okay? I only found out later. As for taking liberties, that was because you were pestering me relentlessly, refusing to let me go. Left with no choice, I had to teach you a lesson."
"You're absolutely…" Su Hua pointed at Gu Qingfeng, glaring at him angrily, biting her lip lightly, clearly furious. "You've really let me down so much!"
"Let you down? Where does that come from?"
"Ever since I reincarnated into this world, I've been searching for you tirelessly. I've been to the place where you were born, and to the place you left. I've walked every path you walked, learned about every deed you've done. I've met every person you've met, played every melody you've composed, practiced every divine ability you created."
"Really? I find that hard to believe."
Ignoring Gu Qingfeng's skepticism, Su Hua continued, "In my heart, I always thought you were a peerless hero. A fearless, untrammeled, righteous hero who stood above the common world, a towering figure who dominated the heavens and earth."
Su Hua shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with disappointment. "It wasn't until I learned you were the Chixiao Monarch Gu Tianlang that I realized all of that was just my own imagination. You are not the towering, peerless hero I envisioned. You are a shameless, despicable scoundrel."
"Hahahahaha…" Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily, his laughter deafening, filled with self-mockery and profound complexity.