Seeing Flower Butterfly Immortal and Mu Lingyao appear, Qian Ling and Qianniao went over to greet them at once.
After Flower Butterfly Immortal returned the greeting, she looked around and asked, "And that... Great Old Master? Where is he?"
"Great Old Master? You mean Little Drunkard? He's sleeping right now."
Thinking Flower Butterfly Immortal had come to cause trouble for Gu Qingfeng, Qianniao quickly asked, "Did you come because of what happened at Babaozhuang?"
Seeing Flower Butterfly Immortal nod, Qianniao apologized, "Flower Butterfly Immortal, Sister Lingyao, what happened at Babaozhuang was Little Drunkard's fault. Please, considering he's lost all his cultivation and isn't quite right in the head, forgive him this once. Don't hold it against him, okay?"
"I'd rather not hold it against him," Mu Lingyao said helplessly. "I'm afraid he's the one who'll hold it against me."
"Little Sister Qianniao, you've misunderstood," Flower Butterfly Immortal explained. "We did come because of what happened at Babaozhuang, but not for the reason you think. We're here to apologize."
"Apologize? To whom? To Little Drunkard? Why would you apologize to him?"
"At Babaozhuang, it was Yao'er who was immature and offended the Great Old Master."
"This... Flower Butterfly Immortal, are you sure you haven't got it backwards? Wasn't it Little Drunkard who offended you? Shouldn't he be apologizing to you? Why are you apologizing to him instead?"
"We didn't know back then that the Great Old Master was a senior expert."
Hearing this, Qianniao suddenly understood. "Oh! So you also think Little Drunkard is a senior expert! That explains it."
"Little Sister Qianniao, do you mean..." Mu Lingyao asked, "He isn't a senior expert?"
"He... should be, right?"
"'Should be'? And 'right'?" Now it was Mu Lingyao's turn to be confused. "Didn't he live in your Xiaoluo Secret Realm for decades? Don't you... even know if he's a senior expert or not?"
"Sister Lingyao, you don't understand. Little Drunkard really did live in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm for many years, but he's forgotten everything about his past, doesn't even know who he is. And while he was in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, we had no idea he was this powerful. It wasn't until we came to the Fengyue Small World this time that we first learned how formidable Little Drunkard really is."
Back at Babaozhuang, Flower Butterfly Immortal and Mu Lingyao had only heard from Qianniao that this Great Old Master was someone they had discovered decades ago in the Liúshā Small Secret Realm and who had then recuperated in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm for decades. But she never imagined Qianniao would now say they only learned of the Great Old Master's incredibly powerful Physical Body after arriving at the Fengyue Small World.
"He lived in your Xiaoluo Secret Realm for decades! How could you not have noticed anything at all?"
"When Little Drunkard was in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm, he spent his days drinking until he was full, sleeping until he was rested, and did nothing else. Although I, like Sister Lingyao, once tried testing him myself and couldn't budge him an inch, Little Drunkard never fought back. We always thought it was just because his body had mutated and become unusually tough. We never imagined his Physical Body could be so powerful that even Sister Lingyao's full-force attack couldn't move him a hair."
If she hadn't heard it with her own ears, Mu Lingyao truly wouldn't have believed it. She looked at Qian Ling and Qianniao and said, "I really have to hand it to your Xiaoluo Secret Realm. Your hearts are big enough, aren't they? Taking in a stranger who knows nothing about himself is one thing, but letting this stranger recuperate in your Xiaoluo Secret Realm for decades and still not knowing how powerful he is... It's fortunate he bore your Xiaoluo Secret Realm no ill will, otherwise... you..."
"Yao'er, watch your words." Flower Butterfly Immortal shot Mu Lingyao a meaningful glance, reminding her that the Great Old Master was sleeping right there in the garden.
Realizing this, Mu Lingyao felt a bit awkward and stuck out her tongue.
In truth, even if Mu Lingyao hadn't said it, Qian Ling also felt a pang of retrospective fear. Thinking about it carefully, she realized how careless she had been. Little Drunkard had lived in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm for over twenty years, and she had never discovered how incredibly powerful he was. It was truly fortunate he held no malice towards the Xiaoluo Secret Realm; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"By the way," Flower Butterfly Immortal suddenly remembered something and asked, "Little Sister Qianniao, what did you mean earlier when you said the Great Old Master 'isn't quite right in the head'?"
"Don't you think Little Drunkard's brain is a bit off?"
Flower Butterfly Immortal and Mu Lingyao both thought for a moment but didn't feel there was anything wrong with the mental state of that extravagant Great Old Master. Sure, his tone was a bit grandiose and his demeanor a bit too casual, but that didn't necessarily mean his mind was unsound, did it?
"Maybe you just haven't spent enough time with Little Drunkard. If you spend more time with him, you'll see his mind is a bit... problematic. He often says all sorts of nonsensical, even treasonous and un-Dao things. And he acts silly, like he's missing a screw, never considering the consequences of his actions..."
Say all sorts of nonsensical, even treasonous and un-Dao things? Acts silly? Missing a screw?
Was this really true?
Both Flower Butterfly Immortal and Mu Lingyao were somewhat skeptical.
Beside them, Qian Ling had been standing silently, not speaking. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but Qianniao simply wasn't giving her a chance.
She often felt helpless about Qianniao. This girl's heart was too pure. Whatever others asked, she would answer honestly. While one should harbor no intent to harm others, one must also guard against being harmed. To prevent Qianniao from saying anything more inappropriate, Qian Ling explained, "Flower Butterfly Immortal, Miss Lingyao, please don't listen to Qianniao's nonsense. She's just guessing wildly. As for whether the Great Old Master's mind is unsound or not, we... aren't really sure either."
"I'm not guessing wildly! Little Drunkard's mind really is a bit off! And..." Perhaps realizing she had said something she shouldn't have, Qianniao pursed her lips and didn't continue. Instead, she said, "Then I'll go wake Little Drunkard—oh, no... I'll go wake the Great Old Master."
"Wait."
Seeing Flower Butterfly Immortal stop her, Qianniao asked in confusion, "Flower Butterfly Immortal, what's wrong?"
"Since the Great Old Master is resting, then we... should wait a bit longer. There's no hurry..." Flower Butterfly Immortal already felt there was something mysteriously strange about Gu Qingfeng. Now, discovering that even the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm knew nothing about him left her feeling even more uncertain.
"Ah! Flower Butterfly Immortal, don't stand on ceremony. When I went to call Little Drunkard earlier, he told me to wake him if anything came up. Now that you're here, of course I should go wake him. Don't worry, Little Drunkard is very easygoing and approachable."