After Gu Qingfeng awoke, he did not linger in the Fengyue Small World. After sharing a simple meal with Bai Susu, Hua Die Xianzi, Mu Lingyao, and the others, he returned with Qian Ling, Qianniao, and the rest.
Following the incident at the Tower of Stolen Gold, many knew that within Xiaoluo Secret Realm resided a Great Lord whose identity and background were mysterious and unknown, and whose cultivation strength was unfathomably deep. The people of Xiaoluo Secret Realm were, of course, no exception. Upon Gu Qingfeng's return, everyone in the secret realm treated him with utmost reverence, including the secret realm's Ancestral Founder.
Although Gu Qingfeng disliked putting on airs as a senior expert, faced with Xiaoluo Secret Realm's respectful attitude, he couldn't be bothered to correct them.
After returning to Xiaoluo Secret Realm, Gu Qingfeng resumed his usual routine: drinking wine and basking in the sun every day.
Of course.
That was how it appeared on the surface. In truth, he had been constantly exploring the state of his own physical body.
Unfortunately.
Half a year passed.
He could explore nothing.
He was completely in the dark about the current condition of his physical body. The only thing he knew was that his originally lifeless, decaying, and chaotic body was gradually reviving. Whether it was his dried-up bloodlines, his disordered meridians, his blocked acupoints, his rust-like internal organs, his undetectable soul, or his utterly depleted essence, energy, and spirit—all were improving day by day.
This sounded like a good thing.
Yet, Gu Qingfeng felt a faint sense of unease.
Because he didn't know what situation would arise once his physical body fully revived.
By now, Gu Qingfeng was basically certain that he had not rid himself of Original Sin. Not only had he not rid himself of it, he had instead perfectly and completely fused with it.
The problem was, he didn't know what kind of relationship existed between him and Original Sin.
Was it simply a pure fusion? Or had he become an Embodiment of Original Sin? Or was it something even worse than becoming an Embodiment of Original Sin?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out either.
After pondering it for the better part of a year, Gu Qingfeng grew tired of thinking about it.
Once his physical body revived, he would naturally find out.
On this day.
Gu Qingfeng was sitting on his old chair, eyes closed, resting his spirit and basking in the sun. Not far away, someone was walking towards him. It was none other than Qianniao.
"Well, well, if it isn't Sister Qianniao. Long time no see. Did the sun rise from the west today? What brings you out to see me?"
Gu Qingfeng took a sip of wine and teased with a smile.
Ever since returning from the Fengyue Small World, Qianniao seemed like a different person. The former her was lively, cute, willful, and spoiled. Now, she seemed to have grown up, becoming much more mature. Moreover, for nearly a year since their return, she had spent most of her time in seclusion, as if intentionally avoiding Gu Qingfeng.
She walked over, looked at Gu Qingfeng with a rather complicated gaze, then took out a piece of clothing from her storage ring and handed it to him, saying, "Here, this is for you."
"Why give me clothes out of the blue?"
"I made it myself."
"Oh ho, you know how to make clothes?"
Gu Qingfeng examined the robe. It wasn't some immortal armor, but something sewn stitch by stitch. Looking at it, he seemed to realize something and asked, "You've been in seclusion for most of this year. Could it be you were sewing this robe?"
Qianniao didn't answer that question. Instead, she said, "Try it on and see if it fits."
"Alright."
Gu Qingfeng didn't hesitate. He took off his robe and changed into the one Qianniao had personally sewn. Standing up, he looked it over. It was actually quite fitting. "I never knew you could make robes, and you're not bad at it either."
"It seems a bit too wide and loose. Take it off, I'll go and alter it."
"Alter what? No need. I like it loose and comfortable."
Gu Qingfeng sat back down and asked, "But, little sister, it's not New Year's or any holiday. Why give me clothes?"
"Hey!"
Little Qianniao said with feigned annoyance, "Does it have to be a holiday for me to give you clothes?"
"Of course not!"
"I originally wanted to give you a magic treasure, but the ones I forge aren't very good. So, I asked Aunt Xuehuan to teach me how to sew clothes. It took me a long time to make this. My fingers got pricked and bled several times. You have to take good care of this robe I'm giving you. Don't let it get damaged, you hear?"
"No problem. Since it's a gift from you, how could I bear to damage it? It's just..." Gu Qingfeng looked at her and asked, "The way you're talking sounds a bit off. It's like you're saying goodbye. What, are you leaving?"
"My home is here. Where could I go?"
"Then, am I the one leaving? So, this robe is a parting gift? Little sister, didn't I say I'm not leaving?"
Qianniao pouted. "I'm not a three-year-old child."
"What, you don't believe me?"
Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to explain, little Qianniao seemed unwilling to hear it and interrupted, "Little Drunkard, actually... I'm already very content that you were willing to stay and accompany me for this long."
Gu Qingfeng opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted again before he could utter a word.
"Don't speak yet. Let me finish, okay?"
"Alright, go ahead."
"From the very first day you arrived at our Xiaoluo Secret Realm, I knew you would leave one day. I just never imagined you'd stay in our secret realm for so long, to the point where I gradually forgot you came from the outside world, and gradually came to see you as a friend, as family."
"It was like a dream. I was immersed in my own dream. After coming to the Fengyue Small World a year ago, with each successive shock and disbelief you brought me, I felt more and more that you were no ordinary person. Your existence was beyond my imagination, and you were not from the same world as us. At that time, I also felt more and more that this dream I had been living in was becoming less and less real, more and more blurred."
"Until Ling'er-jie told me you were leaving. That dream that had accompanied me for decades finally ended. Although I was very reluctant, a dream is, after all, a dream. It will eventually end one day. Moreover, each of us has our own matters to attend to. I have mine, and you have yours. No matter how reluctant I am, I cannot selfishly beg you to stay."
"In the year since returning from the Fengyue Small World, I've thought about many things and finally come to understand. So, before you leave, I personally sewed this robe. I hope that whenever you wear it in the future, you'll think of me."
Gu Qingfeng sat in his chair, drinking wine and listening. When Qianniao fell silent, he asked, "Finished?"
"Finished."
Gu Qingfeng gave an "Oh" but said nothing more, continuing to drink his wine.