"Didn't that fellow tell you what kind of person he was before?"
"No."
Horse King scratched his head and said, "But, I reckon the Great Old Master must have been someone who's weathered storms and seen the wider world before."
"Him?
Weathered storms and seen the wider world?
Pah!"
Xiao Ya said disdainfully, "Weren't you there at the time? Didn't you hear all the tall tales he was spinning?
What sweeping across the Great Desolate, shaking heaven and earth, unmatched by anyone, making the Three Thousand Great Daos tremble with a single stomp?
He even had the nerve to say that back in the day, if he wanted to kill You Di, he could have done it with a snap of his fingers. How utterly ridiculous! Do you really think someone who's weathered storms and seen the wider world, a true Great Old Master, would be as frivolous and impetuous as him?
Would someone like that spin such tall tales that not even a ghost would believe?"
Recalling the boasts Gu Qingfeng had made, Horse King also felt rather awkward. He steeled himself to defend Gu Qingfeng, saying, "Maybe... maybe the Great Old Master was drunk at the time."
"Drunk my foot."
Just as she was about to say something more, Xiao Ya remembered the Five Evils Wine.
Although she verbally refused to believe Gu Qingfeng was ever any Great Old Master, she clearly knew in her heart that Gu Qingfeng had merely sniffed the wine's aroma before naming it as Five Evils Wine. That alone was enough to prove that Gu Qingfeng had definitely weathered storms in the past and was absolutely someone who had seen the wider world.
She just couldn't understand how a once awe-inspiring Great Old Master could become as frivolous and impetuous as a spoiled young master, spinning such fantastical tales.
Perhaps he couldn't accept the fact of losing his cultivation, his mind had become a bit troubled, and his temperament had drastically changed.
Thinking about it carefully, that wasn't an impossibility.
Many great experts, after their cultivation went awry, would develop some mental issues, more or less. Even if their minds remained sound, most would never recover from the setback; those who could stand up again were few and far between.
"This...
Immortal Xiao Ya, what do you think Chairman Bai and the Great Old Master are talking about?"
"How should I know."
Xiao Ya said, "But don't get your hopes up."
Xiao Ya's first sentence left Horse King completely bewildered. He asked, "Don't get my hopes up?"
"That fellow not only called himself 'Great Old Master' in front of our Young Lady, but also referred to himself as 'Ye' (Lord). What's even more detestable is that he flirted with our Young Lady. Hmph!
I think he's truly tired of living. Do you really think our Young Lady kept him behind alone just to have a private chat with him? How naive."
Hearing Xiao Ya say this, Horse King's heart immediately sank. Ever since leaving the lakeside pavilion, he had been worrying about this very matter.
After all, the Great Old Master had been far too disrespectful to Bai Susu. Referring to himself as 'Ye' was one thing, but he actually dared to flirt with her.
How could a figure as great as Bai Susu let him off?
The fact that she kept the Great Old Master behind alone was probably...
Thinking this far, Horse King didn't dare to continue.
He could only silently pray, pray that Bai Susu was magnanimous, would show mercy, and just teach the Tuhao Grand Lord a lesson. Please, don't kill him outright.
Ah!
Horse King sighed heavily and was about to squat down to continue drinking his sorrows away when he suddenly heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw a person walking out of the supervisory committee.
It was a young man.
His appearance was utterly ordinary, the kind you'd lose in a crowd.
He wore a plain white cloth robe, his long hair casually draped behind him. Though he couldn't be called handsome or dashing, he gave off a feeling of serene detachment.
Wait!
Isn't that the Tuhao Grand Lord?
When they saw Gu Qingfeng, whether it was Horse King, Chief Administrator Li, or Xiao Ya, all three stared wide-eyed, as if they couldn't quite believe it.
"Great Old Master, you...
You're out?"
Horse King ran over, looking Gu Qingfeng up and down, and asked, "Are you alright?
Why don't you have any injuries on you?"
"What kind of question is that? Why should I have injuries on me?"
"Chairman...
Chairman Bai, didn't...
didn't she teach you a lesson?"
"Why would she teach me a lesson for no reason?"
"You...
You were so disrespectful to her, even flirted with her. Didn't Chairman Bai do anything to you?"
"Just a little demoness. What could she possibly do to me?"
This...
Horse King was dumbfounded. He asked, "Then what did you do inside for so long?
She couldn't have really just chatted with you, could she?"
"A lone man and a lone woman. What do you think we could have been doing?"
Gu Qingfeng patted Horse King's shoulder and said, "Come on, let's find a place to listen to some tunes, drink some flower wine, and have some fun."
Just moments ago, Horse King had been wondering if the Tuhao Grand Lord would be carried out, or directly dismembered and reduced to ashes by Bai Susu. In Horse King's mind, no matter how benevolent Bai Susu was, she couldn't possibly let Gu Qingfeng off easily. Even if she didn't pursue the crime of disrespect, she'd surely punish him for his offense.
But he never expected that Gu Qingfeng would walk out completely unscathed.
And not a single injury on his entire body.
Not only were there no injuries, but when he walked out, his spirit and energy seemed much better than before.
What in the world was going on?
Horse King racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
If he couldn't figure it out, Xiao Ya was even more baffled. So, upon seeing Gu Qingfeng walk out alive and kicking, she immediately rushed into the lakeside pavilion, wanting to ask what exactly had happened. But when she reached the pavilion, she found it empty. Moreover, the table was in disarray, with all sorts of delicacies scattered on the floor, as if a fight had taken place there.
Did Young Lady really teach that fellow a lesson?
That can't be right.
If Young Lady had taken action, that fellow wouldn't have had any ability to resist.
And besides, that fellow didn't have any injuries on him.
How could this be?
Where is Young Lady?
Did she return to her chamber?
Xiao Ya hurried to the chamber and called out, "Young Lady, Young Lady, are you there?"
No one answered.
Xiao Ya called out twice more, but still no response. Just as she was about to push the door open, Bai Susu's voice came from inside: "Xiao...
Xiao Ya, wait outside for a moment."
Bai Susu's voice sounded somewhat hoarse, giving a feeling of weakness, as if she were exhausted. Xiao Ya asked, "Young Lady, why does your voice...
sound like that?"
"What's wrong with my voice?"
Bai Susu opened the door. As if realizing her voice was a bit hoarse, she cleared her throat and said, "Perhaps I drank too much Five Evils Wine."
Noticing Xiao Ya staring at her as if she were a monster, she asked, "What's with that look?"
"It's not that, Young Lady, your face..." Bai Susu instinctively touched her face and asked, "What's wrong with my face?"
"Why is your face flushed?"
"Is it?"
Bai Susu patted her own cheeks and explained, "It's been a long time since I drank Five Evils Wine...
Maybe I drank too much and didn't refine the Five Evils spirits quickly enough."
"But...
Young Lady, why did you change your clothes?"
"Ah?"
Bai Susu looked at the clothes she had changed into and said, "I accidentally spilled wine on them while drinking earlier, so I changed."
"This..." Xiao Ya tilted her head, frowned, and looked at Bai Susu with a strange expression. The more she looked, the more she felt something was off about Bai Susu. She asked, "Young Lady, are you...
alright?
Why do I feel like something's not quite right with you?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me."
Bai Susu glanced at her dismissively, said nothing more, and left the chamber.