Truth be told, Heishui, Hei Fo, and the other Chixiao people were not idle sorts who couldn't sit still, nor were they the type to abandon a good life just to fight and kill, seeking to accomplish some earth-shattering great undertaking, and they certainly weren't unwilling to accept their lot.
The reason they repeatedly hoped for Gu Qingfeng's return and resurgence was because they missed far too much the frenzied years when they followed Monarch Chixiao in carving out their dominion.
Ever since Monarch Chixiao faced the Immortal Dao Judgment three hundred years ago, although each of them had established their own reputations, with many starting families, establishing careers, and having children and grandchildren fill their halls, deep down they always felt an emptiness, a sense of confusion and uncertainty, a confusion so profound it even made them lose interest in cultivation.
They had been waiting all along, waiting for their Monarch to return, to rebuild the Chixiao Sect, and lead them in recreating the glory of those bygone years.
Whether it was Hei Fo or Heishui, they all felt that as long as they could continue to follow Monarch Chixiao, they would do anything willingly, even if it meant tilling fields and digging spirit stones with their Monarch every day.
Though it was childish.
But they all wanted to be childish one more time.
It's just a pity.
They knew this was already impossible.
Gu Qingfeng's words were very clear: he no longer wished to stir up trouble, and he hoped his Chixiao brothers from back then would also stop stirring up trouble.
Since they had already experienced glory, that was enough. What was past should be left in the past.
This inevitably left Hei Fo, Heishui, and the other Chixiao people feeling somewhat lost in their hearts.
That's what they thought.
And Gu Qingfeng was no different.
If it were possible, he too would like to be like in the old days, eating large chunks of meat and drinking from big bowls of wine with his brothers.
However, he could only think about it.
The Chixiao brothers of today had all started families and established careers, with children and grandchildren filling their halls. They could no longer gather together day after day like in the Ancient Era, laughing and cursing, drinking the blood of the world.
Most importantly, Gu Qingfeng was acutely aware that his very existence was not tolerated by the Great Dao, nor even by Heaven and Earth, and he could face utter annihilation at any moment.
Back when he led those brothers to carve out their dominion, many brothers died, and even now he felt deeply uneasy about it. In the Present Era, he no longer wished to implicate anyone, especially these Chixiao brothers who had gone through life and death with him back then.
Seeing the sullen, worried expressions on the faces of Heishui, Hei Fo, and the other Chixiao people, Gu Qingfeng said, "Alright, I'm back now, aren't I? I won't be leaving for a while. In the future, when everyone has free time, we should gather more often, drink some wine, and find some fun."
Heishui grumbled, "It's only 'for a while.' In the end, you'll still leave."
"I say, Er Gou, I never noticed you had this flaw before. How come you've become so sentimental, like a woman?"
Hei Fo teased, "Probably tamed by his wife."
"Get lost!"
The mutual ribbing between Heishui and Hei Fo immediately lightened the somewhat heavy atmosphere in the area. Seizing the opportunity, Gu Qingfeng said, "Alright, Er Gou, I'll give you a task. You're responsible for contacting our brothers from back in the day. Let's pick a time, choose a place, have a gathering, and meet up."
"That sounds wonderful!"
Heishui was someone who loved a lively atmosphere, and he had long wanted to meet up with the brothers from back then. However, he soon realized a serious problem. "Our brothers from the old Chixiao Sect—some are in seclusion, some are in closed-door cultivation. We can contact some brothers, but there are others who, since you left, Elder, have had no news for three hundred years. No one even knows if they're dead or alive."
"First, contact the brothers we can reach. As for those with no news, reach out if possible; if not, forget it."
Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment and asked, "Does anyone know the whereabouts of Old Master and Da Fuzi?"
The Chixiao people all shook their heads. Hei Fo Dong Laohu said, "After you faced the Immortal Dao Judgment, demons and monsters threw the world into chaos. Old Master issued the Chishang Seal Order, calling on the brothers to quell the disaster, and then he left. Over all these years, we've all been looking for him, but we still haven't found him, and no one knows where Old Master went after he left back then."
"If Old Master wants to go into seclusion, don't say you can't find him—I'm afraid even I couldn't find him."
Old Master was absolutely a profound and inscrutable expert, at least in Gu Qingfeng's mind. In his memory, there was nothing in Heaven or Earth that Old Master didn't know. If it weren't for Old Master's guidance back then, there would have been no later Monarch Chixiao.
Besides Old Master, there was another expert in the Chixiao Sect: Da Fuzi.
If Old Master was a profound and inscrutable expert, then Da Fuzi was a mysterious and unfathomable one.
Old Master knew everything under Heaven and Earth.
And Da Fuzi mastered everything under Heaven and Earth.
It was no exaggeration to say there was no divine ability in this world that Da Fuzi wasn't proficient in—whether it was the Immortal Dao or the Demonic Dao, the Three Thousand Great Daos or unorthodox paths, he was skilled in them all.
Back when Gu Qingfeng faked his death under the Immortal Dao Judgment to deceive Heaven and cross the sea, it was Old Master's idea. However, the divine ability to deceive Heaven, cross the sea, have a soul disperse without scattering, and die yet return to life was something he learned from Da Fuzi.
"Old Master has no news. What about Da Fuzi?"
"Same as Old Master. No one knows the whereabouts of Elder Da Fuzi either."
At that moment, Elder Mei suddenly spoke up. "This... Monarch, regarding Da Fuzi's whereabouts, I do know a little."
"Oh?"
"Da Fuzi has been living in seclusion at the Shangqing Sect all these years."
Hearing this, Heishui immediately asked, "Elder Mei, such a big matter—why have I never heard you mention it?"
"I also only found out by chance that Da Fuzi was in seclusion at the Shangqing Sect. The Elder instructed me not to leak news of his whereabouts."
"So that means, Elder Mei, you've met Da Fuzi?"
"Yes, at the Shangqing Sect."
"What's Da Fuzi doing, secluding himself at the Shangqing Sect for no good reason?"
"He said... he was waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?"
This puzzled Gu Qingfeng even more.
"Wait, this doesn't sound right to me."
Heishui said, "Da Fuzi probably has no idea the Monarch has returned, right?"
"Da Fuzi knows."
"Da Fuzi knows?"
Heishui was greatly surprised, then remembered something and asked, "Elder Mei, back at Panlong Mountain, you mysteriously said someone told you the Monarch would definitely return. That person... wouldn't happen to be Da Fuzi, would it?"
"That's right. It was Da Fuzi who told me."
"Good heavens! We always knew Da Fuzi was an expert, especially a master among masters in divination and fortune-telling arts, but the Elder is too brilliant! He could even calculate the Monarch's return? And said he was waiting for the Monarch at the Shangqing Sect? Could he really have calculated all that?"
Not only was Heishui quite astonished, but even Gu Qingfeng's heart was filled with surprise and doubt.
He knew better than anyone that Da Fuzi was a master of divination and calculation. If he calculated Gu Qingfeng's return, it wouldn't be particularly surprising. But why would he be waiting for him at the Shangqing Sect?