While Gu Qingfeng was resting, Qianling left for a while.
She specifically went out to gather information. Two or three days had passed since the incident on the floating island, yet the Jinwu Secret Realm had shown no movement whatsoever, which made her feel very uneasy.
Although the strength Gu Qingfeng had displayed far exceeded her imagination, in Qianling's mind, no matter how powerful Gu Qingfeng was, he likely still couldn't contend against the entire Jinwu Li Clan.
That wasn't the important part.
The important part was that she had no idea who Gu Qingfeng really was, nor did she know which of his words were true and which were false. She didn't even know if Gu Qingfeng was mentally sound or if there was something wrong with his mind. She truly didn't know.
It was exactly like this.
Back on the floating island, when she had questioned Gu Qingfeng and received a positive answer confirming that he was the mysterious senior who had guided her in comprehending the Tianxuan Myriad Swords Art, Qianling had thought Gu Qingfeng was merely a senior expert who had lost all his cultivation, perhaps he really had been some great lord in the past.
But as events unfolded later, witnessing with her own eyes how Gu Qingfeng had scared four Taibai Golden Immortals to death, looted the descendants of the Jinwu Li Clan clean, and then toyed with Sister Flower Butterfly and Mu Lingyao at Babaozhuang...
She didn't know if it was because she had experienced too much these past two days, or if it was because Gu Qingfeng had brought her too many shocks and unbelievable things since arriving in the Fengyue Small World.
As a result, Qianling spent her days lost in wild fancies, her thoughts tangled into a mess. The more she thought, the more unfamiliar Gu Qingfeng seemed—so unfamiliar that she felt the Little Drunkard who had recuperated in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm for over twenty years and the person currently in the Fengyue Small World were two completely different people.
She always felt that Gu Qingfeng was shrouded in countless mysteries and unknowns, exuding endless strangeness and peculiarity.
This left Qianling feeling very uncertain. She didn't want to, nor would she, place all her hopes on such a person.
Perhaps Gu Qingfeng's act of scaring four Taibai Golden Immortals to death on the floating island had truly frightened the Jinwu Li Clan. Qianling spent a long time investigating in the Fengyue Small World but found no signs of movement from the Jinwu Li Clan.
But she knew the Jinwu Li Clan would definitely not let the matter rest. She just didn't know when this storm would finally arrive.
This time she had come out, gathering news about the Jinwu Li Clan was only one purpose. She had another important matter to attend to: visiting the demon immortal Bai Susu and returning Bai Susu's token to her.
Unfortunately, the Fengyue Small World was simply too vast.
And she didn't know where Bai Susu lived either.
After much difficulty, she finally inquired about Bai Susu's residence, only to be told that Bai Susu was not at home.
With no other choice, she had to return to Jinyu Island.
Returning to the manor, she found only Qianniao playing with the fish in the pond. She asked, "Where are the others?"
"They're all inside cultivating," Qianniao replied.
Qianniao knew Qianling had gone out to gather news and asked, "Any movement from the Jinwu Li Clan?"
"None for now."
"That's about right. I said so—if the Jinwu Li Clan really intended to act, their people would have shown up long ago. They wouldn't have waited until now. The Little Drunkard must have scared them good on the floating island."
"I hope so."
"By the way, Sister Ling'er, did you see Bai Susu?"
"She wasn't at home."
"Bai Susu oversees a lot of business across more than half of the Fengyue Small World. With the grand event happening here now, she must be very busy. You definitely wouldn't be able to see her if you went now. You'll probably only have a chance to meet her after the event is over."
Qianling nodded. That's what she thought too. She looked around and asked again, "He... is he still sleeping?"
"Who are you talking about? The Little Drunkard? Yeah, he's still sleeping. After you left, I went to call him. He said he hadn't slept enough and wanted to sleep a bit more."
"You went to call him just now?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Qianniao." Qianling hesitated for a moment, then said, "From now on... you mustn't be disrespectful to him anymore, understand?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Although I don't know who he was in the past, I'm certain he was once a senior expert. Besides, he dealt with the Jinwu Li Clan to help us. He's also a benefactor to our Xiaoluo Secret Realm."
"Oh, alright. I'll try to be more polite to the Little Drunkard from now on."
"Not 'try'—you must! Also, don't call him 'Little Drunkard' anymore."
"Then what should I call him? He doesn't have a name. I can't just call him 'hey,' can I?"
"Since he's a senior, you should address him as 'senior.'"
"Call the Little Drunkard 'senior'? That's..." Qianniao shook her head. "I've known the Little Drunkard for over twenty years. We have such a good relationship; I've always considered him a good friend. Even if you tell me to call him 'senior,' I can't bring myself to say it. It feels too awkward. Besides, calling him 'senior' would make things too distant. I don't like that."
Qianling thought it over carefully and felt Qianniao's words made sense. Not only would Qianniao find it hard to say, even she herself would struggle. After all, they had called him 'Little Drunkard' for over twenty years. Suddenly switching to 'senior' would indeed feel unnatural.
"Sister Ling'er, I know what you mean. I know the Little Drunkard was a senior expert in the past, and I know he dealt with the Jinwu Li Clan for our sake. Honestly, I'm very grateful to the Little Drunkard deep down, but... how should I put it? You might not understand the Little Drunkard very well. He's a very casual person and doesn't care about these formalities at all. Not only does he not care, he actually dislikes them."
Qianniao tilted her head and said, "I once wanted to give the Little Drunkard a proper name, but he said a name is just a name—there's no 'proper' or 'improper' about it. As long as it rolls off my tongue easily, it's fine. The Little Drunkard also said himself that he hates all those messy formalities, all that 'senior' and 'junior' stuff. The Little Drunkard lived in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm for over twenty years. Have you ever seen him perform any formal salutes?"
Qianling thought carefully. She truly had never seen Gu Qingfeng perform any formalities, not even once. He had never even called Danqing Patriarch 'senior.' And since coming to the Fengyue Small World, it had been the same. Regardless of the other party's status, background, or cultivation level, he called all men 'brother' and all women without exception 'big sister.'
"Before, we didn't realize he was once a senior expert. Now that we're aware, calling him 'Little Drunkard' is too inappropriate and impolite."
"That's easy to fix. Since the Little Drunkard calls himself 'great lord,' why don't we just call him 'great lord'? That way, we express our respect for him, it sounds pleasing to his ears, and most importantly, it won't create distance."
"Great lord?" Qianling pondered and felt this address was indeed as Qianniao said—it could express their respect without sounding too distant.
Just as the two were chatting, suddenly, two figures appeared at the garden gate. Qianling and Qianniao looked over and were startled to find that these two were none other than Sister Flower Butterfly and the little demoness Mu Lingyao.