When Huode first encountered Gu Qingfeng on the deck, he too had felt a sense of familiarity, a deep recognition.
Whether it was his manner of speaking or his lazy demeanor.
That naturally revealed air of calm indifference, free-spirited and unrestrained, every word and action made Huode feel intensely familiar. Especially when he was reclining in a chair, legs crossed, drinking wine while chatting and laughing with ease—that image involuntarily conjured Gu Qingfeng's figure in Huode's mind.
It wasn't that he hadn't suspected.
He simply didn't dare to think in that direction.
After all.
He had wandered the Great Desolate for ten thousand years, searching relentlessly. Even Empress Saintess Su Hua had traveled across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, yet neither had found any trace of Gu Qingfeng.
How could something so coincidental happen, bumping into Gu Qingfeng on a single grand ship?
But sometimes, things are just that coincidental.
Fate loves to play tricks on people.
When you search frantically, you never find it.
When you aren't looking, it appears right before you.
Yes.
It appeared.
Huode was absolutely certain that the fellow before him was the Gu kid he had been desperately searching for.
Because only the Gu kid could be this mysterious and bizarre, this peculiar and sinister.
Only a free-spirited, law-defying character like the Gu kid would dare say such blasphemous words as 'the heavens' heavens, the ancestors' ancestors, he is the greatest under heaven and earth'.
Most importantly, in all the heavens and earth, only the Gu kid knew Huode's childhood nickname.
Thinking of this.
Huode could no longer restrain the excitement in his heart. His eyes reddened, and he burst into tears, weeping uncontrollably.
Gu Qingfeng had no father or mother; he too had no father or mother.
Gu Qingfeng had few friends; he too had few friends.
Gu Qingfeng regarded him as his closest kin, and in Huode's heart, he too regarded Gu Qingfeng as his closest kin.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have wandered the Great Desolate everywhere, solely to investigate news of Gu Qingfeng.
Over these years, in his quest to find news of Gu Qingfeng, he had offended countless demons and monsters, and experienced life-and-death situations more times than he could count.
Now.
He had finally found Gu Qingfeng.
Huode wept tears of joy, his old face streaked with tears of emotion.
Crying and cursing at the same time: "You little brat, where have you been all these years? Do you know this old man has been looking for you for a full ten thousand years?!
This old man has only lived about twelve thousand years in total, and searching for you took up most of my life!"
"Do you know that to find you, this old man climbed mountains of blades and descended into seas of fire, got beaten up, stabbed in the back, tortured to death several times? And you, you little bastard, have been lazing around on this grand ship, carefree and leisurely sipping wine!"
"You damned, thousand-times-stabbed brat! If you were alive, you could've at least said something, let out a fart even!"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a bitter smile. "I didn't know you were looking for me."
"I...
You..." With that one sentence from Gu Qingfeng, Huode truly didn't know how to retort.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. The Great Desolate was so vast, and he wasn't some big shot who could make the Great Desolate tremble with a stomp. It was normal for this kid not to know.
Then, Huode thought of something else and shouted: "Alright!
You didn't know this old man was looking for you, fine, I've got nothing to say. But Empress Saintess Su Hua was looking for you, you must have known that, right?
Don't tell me you didn't know. The fact that Empress Saintess was looking for you is known throughout the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. You couldn't possibly not know. If you had told Su Hua, wouldn't this old man have known you were still alive?!"
"This master just revived not long ago, haven't had time to go find Su Hua yet."
"When did you revive?"
"Not long, just a few decades."
"What what?
A few decades?
Damn it, you've been alive for decades, and you call that 'just revived not long ago'?
What have you been doing all these decades? How come there's been no news at all?"
"This master just revived, needed to rest and recuperate, didn't I? Can't you see this master is still very weak right now?"
Huode curled his lip, saying nothing. With his current abilities, he could indeed see that the present Gu Qingfeng was indeed very weak. Even the most basic human aura about him was extremely feeble.
"Alright, let's not waste time chatting in this godforsaken place. Let's find a place to drink and talk. Today, if we don't drink until life and death cycle, it won't count."
How could a reunion of old friends lack wine?
Moreover, the relationship between the two was more than just old friends.
Add to that, both Gu Qingfeng and Huode were people who loved wine as much as life itself.
Thus, after leaving this place, the two returned to the Xuantian Great Vessel and headed straight for Spring Full Pavilion.
They drank wine, listened to tunes, and chatted.
"I say, Huode, when did you come to the Great Desolate?"
"Almost ten thousand years ago, right? After you rebuilt this old man's fleshly body back then, I woke up and charged into the Great Desolate."
"This master rebuilt your fleshly body back then so you could enjoy a peaceful life in the mortal world. What were you doing, running off to the Great Desolate for no reason?"
"What do you think this old man came to the Great Desolate for? To find you, you little brat!" Huode said irritably. "When this old man woke up, I learned that you had ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flames on the Dao-less Mountain and turned to ashes. So, this old man charged into the Great Desolate, found Su Hua, to ask if she knew anything about you."
"You've seen Su Hua?"
"Yes."
"How is she now?"
"She's now the Empress Saintess revered by the Three Thousand Great Daos. What do you think?"
"I'm not asking about that. I'm asking how she's living now?"
"How would I know how she's living?"
"Didn't you old coot see her?"
"Only saw her once, just one meeting. She looked thinner than before, more serious, not smiling much, seemed rather melancholy."
"That's pretty normal."
"That's normal? The Su Hua Immortal Maiden of back then, though ethereal, had a gentle and virtuous nature, amiable and approachable."
"Nonsense! It's been a damn ten thousand years. Anyone would change. She's not that little girl from back then. Besides, didn't you just say she's now the Empress Saintess revered by the Three Thousand Great Daos? Could she still be laughing and joking like before?"
"Don't you make excuses for yourself. If it weren't for searching for you, Su Hua probably wouldn't have become like this. What I don't get is, the whole Myriad Heavens and Worlds knows Su Hua is looking for you. How can you be so indifferent? Couldn't you at least tell her you're still alive?"
"Even if I don't tell her, she should know by now that I'm alive." Gu Qingfeng said indifferently. "Besides, the matter between her and me isn't as simple as you think."
"What's not simple? Everyone knows Empress Saintess admires you. It's not some complicated thing."
"Admire my foot. What do you think she's looking for me for?"
"What else? She misses you, you brat. Could it be she's looking for you to kill you?"
"Don't say that. That's actually hard to say."