Gu Qingfeng's evasive words made Horse King, who was already terrified, even more uneasy. Especially Gu Qingfeng's phrases 'walls have ears' and 'the sky might fall' left Horse King feeling increasingly uncertain.
What did 'walls have ears' mean?
If they hadn't cheated, why fear others overhearing?
And what did 'the sky might fall' mean?
If they hadn't cheated, how could the sky fall?
The more Horse King thought about it, the more despair he felt, scared out of his wits.
Meanwhile, Steward Li kept his head lowered, deeply frowning, lost in thought.
Only Gu Qingfeng seemed utterly unconcerned, casually eating spirit fruits and sipping wine as he followed Xiao Ya through a winding path into a manor.
It was called a manor, but inside it more resembled a waterside pavilion in the middle of a lake. Gu Qingfeng walked along an exquisite wooden bridge, admiring the scenery of this lake pavilion. He had to admit, the place was quite charming.
"Where is your chairwoman?"
"There, in the pavilion ahead."
Gu Qingfeng looked over and saw a pavilion in the center of the lake. Inside, an elderly woman leaning on a cane stood quietly, while an elegant, stunningly beautiful woman was scattering fish food into the water, feeding the schools of fish swimming back and forth.
"Which one is your chairwoman? The one feeding the fish or the one with the cane?"
"Guess."
"Should be the one feeding the fish, right? She looks quite pretty."
"Don't say I didn't warn you. When you meet our chairwoman later, you'd better behave and watch your tongue."
"Or else?"
"Or else you'll regret it."
"Is that so..."
Horse King followed behind, not daring to breathe too loudly. Especially when he caught sight of Bai Susu in the pavilion, he felt as if he were seeing the god of death himself, almost suffocating. He took several deep breaths, comforting himself internally.
Don't be afraid!
Absolutely don't be afraid!
No matter what Bai Susu interrogates me about, just deny everything!
Right!
Deny it all!
Wait!
Why deny anything?
I'm not in cahoots with Great Old Master, and we didn't cheat! What is there to fear?
Not afraid!
Just tell the truth. With Bai Susu's discernment, she probably won't wrong an innocent person, right?
Exactly!
As long as I explain everything honestly, I should be fine!
Horse King repeated these reassurances to himself over and over. Perhaps he had been so frightened by Gu Qingfeng's earlier evasiveness that he lost his senses. After calming down, he felt he had nothing to hide and wasn't so terrified anymore.
In the pavilion, after finishing feeding the fish, Bai Susu turned around and looked at Gu Qingfeng. Her enchanting, captivating eyes swept over him, her gaze shifting repeatedly.
The first glance: curiosity.
The second glance: puzzlement.
The third glance: surprise.
The fourth glance: confusion.
The fifth glance: disbelief.
The sixth glance: incredulity.
The seventh glance: utter astonishment.
"Young Lady, they're here."
As they stepped onto the pavilion and Xiao Ya's voice fell, Steward Li was the first to cup his fists and bow in salute. "Steward Li Sheng of the Fourth Gambling House pays his respects to Chairwoman Bai."
Then, Horse King dared not delay either. Trembling, he cupped his fists and bowed. "This humble one... this humble one, Ma Hou of the Jinnwu Secret Realm, pays his respects to... to Chairwoman Bai."
"This one is a nobody," Gu Qingfeng also cupped his fists in salute. "My Dao title is Tuhao, known in the jianghu as Great Old Master Tuhao."
Hearing Gu Qingfeng introduce himself like this, the muscles at the corner of Steward Li's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Horse King lowered his head even further, feeling as if the world were spinning.
Bai Susu was a powerful authority who controlled over half of the Fengyue Small World. Her status was immense, her position lofty. Not even the major and minor Profound Heaven Secret Realms of the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain dared show her disrespect. No one had ever dared call themselves 'Great Old Master' in front of Bai Susu.
Xiao Ya was about to scold Gu Qingfeng for his lack of decorum, but before she could speak, Bai Susu spoke first. "What an interesting Dao title, an interesting nickname, and an even more interesting person."
Bai Susu gestured for him to sit. Gu Qingfeng didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly. "There are many interesting things between heaven and earth. I wonder what interesting matter Chairwoman has summoned me for?"
"Earlier, through the Mysterious Light Mirror, I saw Great Old Master boldly drink over four hundred pots of Bitao Fine Wine. I was quite impressed, hence I wished to make your acquaintance."
"So that's what it is. I thought you'd caught me cheating."
As soon as Gu Qingfeng said this, Steward Li and Horse King were so startled they nearly lost their footing and collapsed.
They could both tell Gu Qingfeng wasn't an ordinary mortal. He might have truly been someone who had seen great scenes in the past. But even if he had, he had lost all his cultivation now! Calling himself 'Great Old Master' in front of a major figure like Bai Susu was one thing, but now he was even referring to himself as 'Master'? Wasn't this too ignorant of his own limits, too reckless with his life?
What terrified Steward Li and Horse King even more was what Gu Qingfeng had said.
What did he mean by 'thought you'd caught me cheating'?
Could it be that this guy really had cheated?
Heavens!
Even if you did cheat, you can't just blurt it out so blatantly! Isn't this a case of 'protesting too much'?
Not only were Steward Li and Horse King horrified, but even Xiao Ya, the elderly woman beside her, and even Bai Susu herself hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to suddenly come out with such a statement.
"Oh?" Bai Susu smiled faintly as she looked at Gu Qingfeng, asking without changing her expression, "I wonder, did Great Old Master cheat?"
"Whether I, your Master, cheated or not depends on whether you caught me."
"Is that so? What if I didn't catch you?"
"Then that means I, your Great Old Master, didn't cheat."
"And if I did catch you?"
"Caught? Even if you caught me, I, your Great Old Master, wouldn't admit it."
"Heh!" Bai Susu let out a light laugh, her enchanting eyes fixed on Gu Qingfeng as if trying to see through him completely. "You really are an interesting person."
"That's what everyone says."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the table full of delicious delicacies and frowned slightly. "With such a feast, how come there's no wine?"
"That was an oversight on my part. Xiao Ya, where is the wine I asked you to prepare?"
Xiao Ya shot a fierce glare at Gu Qingfeng. She truly couldn't understand why Bai Susu would tolerate this guy being so insolent in her presence—insolent enough to call himself 'Master'. But what baffled her even more was that Bai Susu not only didn't pursue the matter, but actually addressed him as 'Great Old Master'.
Xiao Ya didn't get it. But as a maidservant, if Bai Susu didn't mind, she naturally couldn't say much either.
With a flip of her palm, an exquisite white jade bottle appeared in her hand. She picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Gu Qingfeng.
"Please."
Bai Susu raised her cup in a toast. Gu Qingfeng also picked up his wine cup, sniffed the aroma, frowned slightly, and smiled. "Is this Five Evils Wine?"
A flicker of surprise passed through Bai Susu's eyes. "Great Old Master truly has excellent discernment."
Xiao Ya was even more shocked. "You haven't even taken a sip! You just smelled it with your nose and you know it's Five Evils Wine?"