"Well, if it isn't Sister Su. What a coincidence."
Seeing Su Hua, Gu Qingfeng wasn't the least bit surprised. He looked around casually and found a pavilion at the foot of Shangqing Sect's mountain to sit down in.
"A coincidence? I've been looking for you."
Su Hua followed him into the pavilion and asked, "When did you get here?"
"A while ago."
Gu Qingfeng pulled out a jug of wine and took occasional sips, his gaze drifting over the endless stream of immortals coming and going at the foot of Shangqing Sect.
"Did you come to Shangqing Sect this time to see your master, Senior Zhenjue?"
"What of it? Is that not allowed?"
"That's not what I meant."
Su Hua hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak up. "Senior Zhenjue is not at Shangqing Sect right now."
"Not here?"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng finally withdrew his gaze and looked at Su Hua. "But I heard the old man has been living in seclusion in the back mountains of Shangqing Sect?"
"He was, but not long ago, Senior Zhenjue entered Shangqing Tower."
"Shangqing Tower?"
Gu Qingfeng had cultivated at Shangqing Sect before, so he naturally knew that Shangqing Tower was the sect's inheritance tower, also known as the Haotian Exquisite Pagoda. It was a treasure of heaven and earth, said to contain the terrifying power of Haotian within, while also holding the profound mysteries of the world's exquisite principles. Even comprehending a sliver of it would bring immense benefits.
However.
Shangqing Tower had always been under the sole control of the sect master, and only the sect master of Shangqing Sect was qualified to enter.
Considering this.
Gu Qingfeng felt a vague sense of unease. "Why would the old man enter Shangqing Tower out of the blue?"
Su Hua opened her mouth, then closed it, hesitating to speak.
"Is it because of Ye Tianlan?"
"It's not clear yet. I don't know if Senior Zhenjue is intentionally avoiding you, or if it's Female Sect Master Ye Tianlan..." Not to mention Su Hua didn't know.
After hearing the news, Gu Qingfeng also fell into deep thought. He couldn't figure it out either—whether his master entered Shangqing Tower because he didn't want to see him, or if Ye Tianlan had deliberately arranged it. Thinking it over, both seemed possible. If his master didn't want to see him, Gu Qingfeng could understand. If Ye Tianlan had done it on purpose, Gu Qingfeng also felt that woman was absolutely capable of such a thing.
After a moment of silence, Su Hua asked, "You... what do you plan to do?"
"Nothing. Since the old man is in Shangqing Tower, I'll just wait. Isn't it said that Ye Tianlan will emerge from seclusion on a Sunset Day? Counting the days, it's only a few days away."
Su Hua glanced at Gu Qingfeng with some surprise. Knowing him as she did, she had thought Gu Qingfeng would try to force his way into Shangqing Tower. She hadn't expected him to say he would wait for Ye Tianlan to emerge.
"That means you'll run into the Female Sect Master. The reason she's emerging this time is likely aimed at you. Didn't you say... you never wanted to see her again?"
"I don't want to see her, but can I avoid it?"
Gu Qingfeng understood clearly in his heart: if he wanted to see his master at Shangqing Sect, there was no way to bypass Female Sect Master Ye Tianlan. Even if he avoided her this time, he couldn't avoid her the next. Since he couldn't avoid her, he might as well not bother trying.
"There's something I want to ask you. Do you know about the visiting card incident?"
"I've heard."
"Do you know who sent it?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask?"
"Aren't you worried at all?"
"Worried about what?"
"After news of the visiting card spread, all the major sects and families have gathered at Shangqing Sect. Nominally, they're here to welcome the Female Sect Master's emergence, but in reality, they're here for you. Just yesterday, a large group of sect masters were at Shangqing Sect discussing how to demand justice from you."
"Demand justice from me?" Gu Qingfeng laughed. "What justice?"
"In the Ancient Era, aside from Shangqing Sect, you slaughtered almost every major sect. Now that they know you're back, they're bound to seek justice."
"What a bunch of pains in the ass," Gu Qingfeng cursed with a laugh. "That was donkey's years ago. Those little bastards still remember?"
Tilting his head back for a drink, Gu Qingfeng seemed to recall something amusing. "Are they all at Shangqing Sect now? Who's there?"
Hearing this, Su Hua's heart jolted. She stared at Gu Qingfeng warily. "You... what do you intend to do? Don't misunderstand—they only came to Shangqing Sect to discuss the matter. But Shangqing Sect hasn't agreed to anything. Moreover, the Immortal Dynasty has already issued a decree forbidding any conflict between the Immortal Court and you. Since neither the Immortal Dynasty nor Shangqing Sect will get involved, none of the major sects dare act recklessly."
"Sister, where's your mind going? You think I'm looking for a fight? What, do I look like someone who stirs up trouble? Relax, I'm an honest man. I never cause trouble, and I gave up killing long ago."
Coming from Gu Qingfeng's mouth, these words sounded utterly ridiculous and deeply ironic to Su Hua. It felt like a heinous demon, holding a severed head in one hand and munching on a heart with the other, smilingly telling everyone he was a kind-hearted soul. Ridiculous and ironic.
"Then why ask about them?"
"As you just said, back then, aside from Shangqing Sect, I slaughtered all the major sects. Even though it was completely beyond my control back then—if I didn't kill them, they would have killed me—the fact remains that I killed many people and committed many sins. That's an undeniable truth. Since they still hold grudges about the past, I might as well take this chance to settle those old scores."
"Settle? How do you plan to settle them?"
"Apologize, of course. What else?"
"Apologize? You?"
Su Hua was stunned. She never expected the words "apologize" to come from Gu Qingfeng's mouth. Knowing him as she did, she was well aware that this guy would always correct his mistakes but would never admit them. Apologize? This guy ran rampant across this world for over two hundred years. How many people had he killed? How many sins had he committed? When had he ever apologized to anyone?
Never!
Not even once!
Even back when Senior Zhenjue had first crippled his own cultivation and then committed suicide to atone for him, this guy had never admitted his own wrongdoing.
This guy would rather risk his life to sever the Immortal River and bring down spiritual rain to benefit the world as an expression of remorse than ever apologize to the world.
Gu Qingfeng sighed. "People change. I was young and hot-headed back then, didn't know any better. Now, after experiencing more, I naturally realize how heavy my sins were. Even though the people I killed back then all wanted to kill me, many innocent people were also caught up in it. If possible, I'd like to atone for the sins I committed back then, apologize to the world, and hope for everyone's forgiveness."
Gu Qingfeng spoke with sincerity, as if from the bottom of his heart, but Su Hua still had her doubts.
Precisely at that moment, from within the crowd, someone shouted, "That's the Chixiao King!" causing instant chaos.