Gu Qingfeng drank the Luo Xuan Old Soup while listening to the shopkeeper's conversation with the several elders from the Shangqing Sect.
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng had never intentionally concealed his identity, nor did he care whether it was exposed or not.
To him, whether his identity was exposed or not made little difference.
If not exposed, there would be less trouble and more convenience.
If exposed, it would merely mean more trouble and less convenience, nothing more.
He was already burdened with a host of troubles, so he naturally didn't care about the trouble that might arise from his identity being exposed.
Moreover, compared to Karmic Sin, Original Sin, and the Three Thousand Great Daos, this bit of trouble was truly insignificant.
After White Xuan Elder and the others from the Shangqing Sect finished their Luo Xuan Old Soup, they did not linger for long, as there were many matters to attend to within the sect.
After the Luo Xuan shopkeeper saw off White Xuan Elder, Gu Qingfeng asked, "Shopkeeper, may I ask if Old Master Luo Xuan is still around?"
Old Master Luo Xuan had treated him well back in the day. Now that he was here, Gu Qingfeng thought he should at least pay the old master a visit.
"Old Master Luo Xuan?"
The shopkeeper smiled. "Young man, you clearly aren't a local, are you? In our Luo Xuan Old Soup establishment, any elder of a certain age is called 'Old Master Luo Xuan.' Which old master are you looking for?"
"That's true."
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully but couldn't recall the full name of the Old Master Luo Xuan who had taken care of him back then. He said, "I don't know the old master's formal name either. He wasn't the shopkeeper here, but he used to hang around your place often, for no particular reason."
"Back then? How long ago was that?"
The Luo Xuan Old Soup shopkeeper sized up Gu Qingfeng. Seeing that Gu Qingfeng had no cultivation and no fortune, he found it quite peculiar. After all, in this era of the Modern Age where all things were reviving and fortunes were flying everywhere, lacking fortune wasn't strange, but having no cultivation at all was truly rare.
"About over four hundred years ago? The old master had a nickname—Old Soup Head. Everyone in Elixir-Eater Town knew him."
Upon hearing "Old Soup Head," the shopkeeper immediately knew who Gu Qingfeng was looking for. He said, "That's the Ancestral Patriarch of our Luo Xuan family. What do you want with him?"
"What for? Well..." Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, momentarily unsure how to answer. He explained, "It's nothing major. I just wanted to see the old master."
"I see."
The shopkeeper glanced at the sky. "At this time, our Ancestral Patriarch is usually at the opera garden by Dragon Pond listening to tunes. If you want to wait, you can wait here. He'll return once the sun sets. If you don't want to wait, you can go to the opera garden by Dragon Pond to find him."
"The old master really hasn't changed a bit."
Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Gu Qingfeng remembered that the old master would go to the garden by Dragon Pond every afternoon to listen to tunes, rain or shine. It had been like that before, and it seemed even after all these years, he still hadn't changed.
"Young man, you don't look very old, but from the way you speak, it sounds like you've known our Ancestral Patriarch for a long time."
The shopkeeper was well aware that his family's Ancestral Patriarch had friends from all walks of life. So, hearing that Gu Qingfeng was looking for the Ancestral Patriarch didn't surprise him. However, Gu Qingfeng's tone struck him as odd. To him, Gu Qingfeng seemed like an ordinary person with no cultivation and no fortune, at most in his twenties. Yet, he spoke as if he had known the Ancestral Patriarch for a long time and even mentioned "over four hundred years ago"?
In response to the shopkeeper's puzzlement, Gu Qingfeng merely smiled. He instructed Fei Kui to settle the bill and prepared to head to the garden by Dragon Pond.
He knew of that garden—it was quite famous in the Weiyang Great Domain. However, during his nine years of cultivation at the Shangqing Sect, he had never been there, not even once. First, he had no time; second, he had no mood; third, he had no spare money. During those nine years at the Shangqing Sect, he was either cultivating or being bullied by those bastards from the Shangqing Sect. How could Gu Qingfeng have had the mood to visit any opera garden?
Just then, someone outside shouted, "Luo Laoba! Your family's Ancestral Patriarch is arguing with someone over by Dragon Pond. You'd better go take a look!"
The shopkeeper named Luo Laoba was baffled. "Our Ancestral Patriarch? Arguing? With whom?"
"I heard it's a few juniors from the Liuguang Family."
"The Liuguang Family?"
Luo Laoba was even more confused. He continued, "The Ancestral Patriarch is of such advanced age. What's he arguing with a bunch of juniors for? And juniors from the Liuguang Family at that? What's it all about?"
Luo Laoba wasn't worried about the old master's safety. He continued leisurely clearing the old soup bowls from the table.
What a joke.
The Ancestral Patriarch had been selling Luo Xuan Old Soup in Elixir-Eater Town for almost ten thousand years. More than half the people in the Weiyang Great Domain had grown up drinking Luo Xuan Old Soup. If the old master raised his voice, the entire Weiyang Great Domain would tremble. Under such circumstances, who would dare lay a finger on the Ancestral Patriarch of Luo Xuan Old Soup in the Weiyang Great Domain?
Unless they had a death wish.
"I heard those juniors from the Liuguang Family were insulting the Monarch. Your family's Ancestral Patriarch probably couldn't stand it and lectured them a bit, and then they started arguing."
"I knew it had to be about the Monarch as soon as I heard."
Luo Laoba looked rather resigned. He took off the apron tied around his waist and sighed. "Only matters concerning the Monarch would make our Ancestral Patriarch argue with others. Alright, let's go take a look. This old master really gives us no peace. How many years has it been? Almost five hundred, right? How come the old master is still like this? What a headache!"
Luo Laoba indeed had a headache.
Because this wasn't the first time the old master had argued with someone over matters concerning the Monarch.
As for how many times, Luo Laoba couldn't remember. In his recollection, over the years, whenever the old master heard someone speaking ill of the Monarch, he would go over and argue with them. A few times, the arguments got heated, and he almost lost his temper and started a fight.
Regarding this, Luo Laoba had nothing but a headache.
Although he had cultivated for nearly a thousand years and was a descendant of the Luo Xuan family, he had never met the Chixiao Monarch in person. Back when the Monarch was cultivating at the Shangqing Sect, Luo Laoba was in seclusion, nurturing his Nascent Soul—a seclusion that lasted several decades.
However, he knew the details of the Chixiao Monarch's nine-year ordeal at the Shangqing Sect like the back of his hand.
Not just him—almost every descendant of the Luo Xuan family knew it clearly.
Because the Ancestral Patriarch often used the Monarch's story to lecture them, saying they didn't know how good they had it, and recounting how difficult the Monarch's situation had been at the Shangqing Sect—bullied for nine years, with injuries large and small that never ceased. Even so, the Monarch endured humiliation and advanced against the odds. Nine years later, at the World Martial Gathering, he soared to prominence, beating half to death all those who had bullied him—from inner and outer sect disciples to numerous elders—sparing none.