At this moment, everyone present realized one fact: the person to whom Wan Wei, Wei Qing, and Liu Piaopiao were performing the Sage's Salute was not Jingtao Gongzi, but someone else entirely.
Four other people were sitting at this table. The two women were unknown to everyone, but that wasn't important. Since Wan Wei and the other two were paying respects to a 'Young Lord', the two women could naturally be excluded. The young man who had just called Jingtao 'big brother' could also be excluded. That left only one man at the table.
He was also a man who appeared quite young.
He wore a clean, neat white robe, with long black hair casually draped over his shoulders.
He was leaning back in his chair at an angle, one leg crossed over the other, sitting casually. His head was tilted slightly to the side. In one hand, he held an exquisite wine pot; in the other, a simple, ancient bronze-colored wine cup. He was pouring himself a drink. On his rather handsome face, his brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Wei Qing and the other two before him. His expression was complex, seeming somewhat helpless.
Indeed.
He had been quite content here, drinking his wine and watching the commotion. Then, out of nowhere, Wei Qing and the other two suddenly came over to pay their respects, performing a salute that left him feeling rather helpless.
At the same time, he could guess—and could see from the look in Wei Qing's and the others' eyes—that they must have learned something. Otherwise, they wouldn't be acting like this, nor would their attitude be like this.
Regarding this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to care, nor did he mind. Indifferently, he said, "In the future, a simple nod will suffice."
Having said that, he picked up the exquisite wine pot and poured himself another cup. He asked, "Will you sit by yourselves? Or will you sit together?"
"Young Lord."
Liu Piaopiao seemed not to dare look directly at him, lowering her head as she replied, "We... we'll sit by ourselves."
"Since you're already here, won't you have a couple of drinks together?"
"This humble woman does not dare."
On Liu Piaopiao's beautiful face, her expression seemed somewhat flustered as she shook her head.
This scene fell into the eyes of the crowd. Every single person present, without exception, froze like statues, eyes wide, mouths agape, expressions shocked, looking utterly bewildered as if witnessing something unbelievable, baffling, and incomprehensible.
They had originally thought Wei Qing and the other two were saluting Jingtao Gongzi. Who could have imagined it was someone else entirely?
Wei Qing and the other two performing the Sage's Salute to Jingtao was already something everyone found incomprehensible.
But performing the Sage's Salute to that man in white robes left people utterly bewildered.
Who was that man? No one knew.
At first glance, he seemed utterly ordinary, at most a bit handsome, a bit clean.
At second glance, he seemed different. A handsome face, clean white robes, yet this seemingly frail scholar-like Young Lord had no proper sitting posture at all—leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, looking lazy as he drank by himself.
At third glance, he seemed rather peculiar.
If you said he was like those frivolous, wine-loving, trouble-seeking young masters, it didn't feel right either. Because on him, you couldn't see any of the arrogance typical of such young masters, nor the haughtiness of noble young lords like Jingtao or Luowen Zhenghao. He didn't even have the youthful vigor a young man should possess.
He truly didn't.
Not only did he lack vigor, he even gave off a sense of dusk, lazy like the twilight after sunset, seeming utterly listless.
Who was this person!
And what was his status?
Why did Wei Qing and the other two perform the Sage's Salute to him?
No one knew. Everyone was puzzled, especially Bai Yunfei and Jingtao, who were sitting at the same table as Gu Qingfeng.
Bai Yunfei's face was ashen, filled with shock and horror.
Jingtao's face was as ugly as could be, his eyes fixed dead on Gu Qingfeng.
Mu Xiaoyou stood to the side, her little head tilted back, mouth hanging open, staring blankly.
Even Shui Yunruo, whose heart was usually as still as water and who transcended the mundane, had at some point stood up. On her clear, beautiful face, her expression was filled with astonishment. Her beautiful eyes held countless, indescribable curiosities as she stared at Gu Qingfeng in utter disbelief.
From the first time she had seen Gu Qingfeng, she had felt this person was extraordinary, his entire being exuding an indescribable, mysterious aura.
And what made it even more incomprehensible to Shui Yunruo was that she could tell—whether it was Wan Wei, Wei Qing, or Liu Piaopiao—their attitude towards this man wasn't just respect. More than that, it was fear.
How could this be?
Just who was he!
Just as everyone was stunned, someone in the hall suddenly shouted.
"Chiyan Young Master!
He's that Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng from Yunxia Sect!"
This shout was abrupt and filled with explosive force, like a long-suppressed shock suddenly bursting forth.
The voice was loud, filled with endless shock.
It struck everyone like a thunderbolt, startling them into utter panic.
No one knew who had shouted. At this moment, no one cared about that either. Almost everyone present had the name 'Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng' echoing in their minds.
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.
Who was Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng?
In this day and age, there was no one present who didn't know.
He had made his name in the battle at Chixu Mountain Villa.
That had let everyone know the name Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng. At the same time, this name had stirred up a mysterious, bizarre whirlwind.
Because his cultivation wasn't high, yet his spiritual power was bizarrely powerful, vast and mixed with thunder and lightning. It was said his physical body was also incredibly formidable.
However, what stirred up the mysterious whirlwind wasn't Gu Qingfeng's bizarrely powerful strength, but rather a series of events.
On the day Yunxia Sect established its heir, Gu Qingfeng had annihilated members of the Alliance. The mysterious envoy Wei Qing had chosen to remain silent.
At Chixu Mountain Villa, the famous songstress Liu Piaopiao, renowned throughout the Four Great Regions, had actively thrown herself into his arms. The master of Chixu Mountain Villa, Old Sen, had knelt before him without a word. He had killed and wiped out the Murong Family of the Nine-Hua Alliance at the villa. Afterwards, the Nine-Hua Alliance had remained silent.
He had killed so many elders of the Ice Profound Sect at Chixu Mountain Villa. Not only had the Ice Profound Sect not sought trouble, but the Ice Profound Ancestor had even commanded Leng Yanqiu to become his dual-cultivation partner.
These bizarre events had draped this Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng in a layer of mystery.
No one knew who he was, what his status was, what his background was. No one knew where he came from or what he intended to do.
Everything about him was unknown.
After news of the Ice Profound Sect's affairs had spread, everyone thought he wouldn't dare attend the Ice Profound Sect's celebration. After all, Leng Yanqiu had many admirers. The Nine-Hua Alliance had sent so many people. Luowen Zhenghao had brought six vice hall masters and over a hundred hall leaders—and these were just the ones present. Besides them, there was also the mysterious Hall Master of Qianzheng Hall, Si Qianhua, and the famous, heaven-favored prodigy of the Nine-Hua Alliance, Longfei Gongzi. So many people had come for Leng Yanqiu. As the person about to become Leng Yanqiu's dual-cultivation partner, if Gu Qingfeng dared to come, he would certainly meet a bad end.
No one had expected him to be present.
Even less had anyone expected that not only did he dare to come, but he had also been sitting there all along, drinking his wine and watching the commotion.