"Little Drunkard, oh Little Drunkard, you're truly something!"
Qianniao also stood up, craning her neck to stare intently at Gu Qingfeng. "This Grandaunt has wandered the Great Desolate for so many years, yet I've never seen someone as shameless as you! To actually describe being lazy and gluttonous in such a refined and elegant way... I'm impressed! This Grandaunt is utterly in awe of you!"
"Hahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily, unable to resist taking several large gulps of the fine wine. But with that drink, the last jar was empty. Feeling it was far from enough, he asked, "You only brought two jars?"
"What else?" Qianniao said with annoyance. "If I'd known you were this lazy and gluttonous, this Grandaunt wouldn't have brought you even these two jars! Honestly, wasting my good intentions like that. You! You're truly hopeless, just planning to idle away your life waiting for death."
"Alright, alright. When the weather's good another day, I'll go out for a stroll and find some heavenly treasures for you!"
"You? Going out to search for heavenly treasures? Save your breath, big brother. Not to discourage you, but someone like you probably wouldn't even know how you died once you stepped out the door of the Xiaoluo Secret Realm."
"That's not necessarily true!"
Perhaps realizing she'd spoken too harshly, Qianniao added apologetically, "Hey, you're not actually planning to go out, are you? I was just joking earlier, I didn't mean anything by it. You should just stay in the Secret Realm. After all, you have no cultivation, you don't practice, and you don't need Immortal Stones. Our Xiaoluo Secret Realm could support ten thousand of you with ease."
"Even if you're willing to support me, I can't just freeload, right? I may not have grand ambitions, but I still have some face to save. I'm already very grateful for the twenty-plus years I've spent idling here."
Qianniao listened, feeling more and more that something was off. At first, she thought her words had hurt Gu Qingfeng's pride, so he wanted to go out to earn Immortal Stones. But as she listened further, she realized Gu Qingfeng wasn't just planning to go out—he was planning to leave.
"You... want to leave?"
"What?" Gu Qingfeng teased. "Can't bear to see me go?"
"You... I..." Qianniao was momentarily speechless. She really was a bit reluctant. After all, Gu Qingfeng had been in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm for over twenty years. Qianniao considered him a good friend and had long grown accustomed to his presence. She had never imagined Gu Qingfeng might leave one day.
"If you leave our Xiaoluo Secret Realm, where will you go?"
"Where?"
The question truly stumped Gu Qingfeng. The world was vast, and he really didn't know where he should go. Shaking his head, he said, "Haven't thought about where yet. I'll see when the time comes, just go wherever my feet take me."
"You're not even an Immortal! If you leave the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, you're walking to your death! You can't go anywhere!"
"Little sister, even though I'm not an Immortal, my Physical Body is tough enough. You couldn't do anything to me either, right?"
Qianniao indeed couldn't do anything to Gu Qingfeng. It wasn't that she hadn't tried—she had tried many times, even exerting all her strength, yet failed to budge him an inch. This fact had always filled her with envy.
But it was only envy.
Because she knew the reason Gu Qingfeng's Physical Body was so strong wasn't due to some powerful destiny, but because of some unknown mutation. The cost, however, was that he could never cultivate in this lifetime. If it were Qianniao, she would rather have an ordinary Physical Body than be unable to cultivate for life.
"I admit I can't do anything to you, but I'm just a minor Golden Immortal! That doesn't mean a Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't handle you. What's more, in the Great Desolate, there's always someone better, skies beyond skies. Just among Great Luo Golden Immortals, there are eighty-one layers of heavens, each layer with ten realms, each realm with a hundred worlds, each world with a thousand passages, each passage with ten thousand mysteries, each mystery with a hundred million subtleties... The Great Desolate is filled with experts, and mighty beings are as numerous as the stars, countless beyond counting."
"Most importantly, the Great Desolate is fraught with dangers. One careless move, and you could be utterly annihilated. Don't think I'm trying to scare you—I'm telling the truth. Please, just stay in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm for now, okay?"
Reluctant to see Gu Qingfeng leave, Qianniao tried to persuade him. "Stay in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm. Cultivate if you can, rest and recuperate for a while if you can't. What if you become able to cultivate later? Even if you really can't cultivate, at least wait until you recover your memories, right? Since you don't know where to go anyway, wait until your memories return and you remember your origins. If you want to go home then, I can personally escort you."
Gu Qingfeng looked surprised. "You're being so good to me?"
"You have no family or friends, you don't even know who you are. If I'm not good to you, who will be?"
"That's true enough."
"So, just stay in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm and recuperate for now."
"But just recuperating all the time gets boring."
"Hey, Little Drunkard, you just said sunbathing every day was your dream! How can you change your mind so quickly? Can you be any less reliable?"
"Big sister, my dream is to live freely and without constraints. I never said sunbathing all day was my dream. After enough sunbathing, I need to go out and find some fun, don't I?"
"That's no problem at all! If you're feeling bored, this immortal maiden can take you out for a stroll."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng still looking hesitant, Qianniao put on a stern face, pretending to be angry. "Hey, Little Drunkard, this immortal maiden is begging you like this, and you still won't agree? That's not very friendly, is it? All these years, this immortal maiden has been keeping you company, bringing you fine wine every few days. Now you want to just up and leave? Isn't that too heartless?"
"Then what do you suggest I do?"
"Didn't I just say? Stay in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm and recuperate! Okay? I'll even call you brother, alright? Good brother! Stay and keep me company! If you leave, I'll be all alone, so lonely... I won't even have anyone to talk to about what's in my heart..." To make Gu Qingfeng stay, Qianniao brought out her ultimate weapon, taking his hand and acting coquettishly.
It was an act of coquettishness, but it was also her true feelings.
Ever since she was placed under confinement by Patriarch Danqing back then, she had begun confiding her innermost thoughts to the unconscious Gu Qingfeng. After Gu Qingfeng woke up, whenever the young girl returned from her outings, the first thing she would do was tell him about what she had encountered outside. There were many things in her heart she couldn't tell Patriarch Danqing, nor could she tell Qian Ling—she could only tell Gu Qingfeng. Over the years, she had developed a kind of emotional dependence on him.
"Good brother, please? Are you really so cruel as to leave Qianniao alone to grow old in solitude?"
"I say, little sister, that's about enough. Don't get all mushy on me."
"I don't care! You can't leave!"
"Fine! I won't leave then."
Gu Qingfeng sighed. "I don't have anywhere to go anyway."
"Hehe, Little Drunkard, it's so good to have you!"
Hearing Gu Qingfeng agree to stay, Qianniao cheered happily and planted a kiss on his cheek.