First-Class Manor.
A woman who looked somewhat melancholy sat in the pavilion of the garden. She wore a light gauze dress the color of rosy clouds and sat quietly on a stone stool, her chin resting in her hands. Her deep, distant eyes seemed lost as they gazed at the setting sun.
With exquisite features, a graceful figure, and crimson-red hair, this was none other than Ouyang Ye.
Compared to before, she appeared much more mature, having lost some of her innocence and gained a touch of captivating beauty. Just sitting there, she gave off a very special feeling, especially under the twilight, where she seemed to brim with a vibrant vitality like the morning glow.
She disliked dusk.
She didn't know why.
Every day when the sun set and dusk fell, it stirred an indescribable, inexplicable feeling within her heart.
It was very uncomfortable.
She herself couldn't explain why she disliked it, why it made her uncomfortable—it was as if she had been born with this aversion.
"Yeye, what are you thinking about?"
Ouyang Feiyue noticed her little niece staring blankly at the dusk again and couldn't help but feel worried. She asked, "Do you have something on your mind?"
"On my mind?"
Ouyang Ye shook her head, blinking her large eyes as she replied, "No, not at all."
"No?"
Ouyang Feiyue walked into the pavilion, pouring herself some wine while sizing up Ouyang Ye across from her. Although the little girl's bloodline had never flared up again since her return, Ouyang Feiyue always felt that the girl had changed, become somewhat different from before. As for how exactly she was different, it was hard to put into words at the moment.
"Aunt has always wanted to ask you, what exactly happened a month ago when your bloodline flared up?"
Ouyang Feiyue still clearly remembered when the little girl's bloodline had erupted, her black hair turning red, and her whole person becoming frenzied, as if she had transformed into someone else. Then, Gu Qingfeng had inexplicably descended from the sky, and immediately after, the two of them vanished together.
Where had they gone?
What had they experienced?
Ouyang Feiyue did not know.
She only knew that half a month had passed by the time Ouyang Ye returned.
"What happened?"
Ouyang Ye furrowed her delicate willow-leaf brows, gazing at the setting sun as she pondered carefully. She shook her head and said, "I'm not sure. I have no impression at all. I only remember waking up in the Lingyin Garden of Yunxia Sect, with that guy drinking wine and sunbathing in the garden at the time..."
"He..."
Ouyang Feiyue asked worriedly, "Did he do anything to you?"
"I don't know. I can't remember. I have no impression. What could he have done to me?"
Noticing the strange look in Ouyang Feiyue's eyes, Ouyang Ye couldn't help but roll her eyes, saying with annoyance, "Aunt, why are you looking at me like that..."
"It's not that. Haven't you noticed the changes in yourself?"
"Have I?"
Ouyang Ye said, "I don't think so."
Just as she spoke, Ouyang Ye suddenly stood up, staring at the setting sun with great displeasure. "Damn it, Aunt, don't you find dusk really annoying!"
Dusk? Annoying?
Ouyang Feiyue was a bit confused. She glanced at the evening glow in the west and asked, "What's so annoying about dusk? Sunrise at dawn, sunset at dusk—isn't that perfectly normal?"
"It's very annoying. Every time the sun sets, everything becomes lifeless and dull. I don't like this feeling."
Ouyang Ye stared at the dusk, frowning unhappily. "And for some reason, every time dusk falls, I feel very flustered. My heart beats wildly, and I get very irritable!"
"This..." Ouyang Feiyue didn't understand and couldn't figure it out. Could it be a lingering effect of the bloodline? The things concerning the little girl were truly strange, but she herself couldn't explain them. Ouyang Feiyue knew there was one person who would definitely know, but she didn't dare to ask.
Although she hadn't been present at the events of the Bingxuan Celebration, she had heard about them. Moreover, these past few days, almost all the guests at the manor had been discussing that incident.
The might of a single palm, like the heavens pressing down, slaying Long Fei.
The might of a single shout, with lightning and thunder, shattering Leng Yanqiu.
The respectful bows from Wei Qing and the other two, Ancestor Bingxuan, and the reincarnated expert Si Qianhua.
Ouyang Feiyue had known before that Gu Qingfeng was no ordinary person, but after so many events, she realized that guy's existence was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
Just as she was lost in thought, a teasing voice reached her ears.
"Well, well, if it isn't the two lovely ladies. Long time no see."
Hmm?
Who was that?
The voice sounded so familiar.
Ouyang Feiyue stood up and looked around in the direction of the voice. To her shock, she saw that someone had entered without her noticing.
It was a young man dressed in clean white robes, his long hair casually draped behind him. His handsome face wore an utterly relaxed expression, his deep, dark eyes slightly narrowed, and a faint, indifferent smile played on his lips.
He looked very young.
Yet he lacked the vibrant vitality typical of youth.
Instead, he exuded only laziness, only a sense of twilight—lazy like the setting sun at this very moment. When he appeared, it was as if everything around was draped in a layer of lazy dusk, making one feel listless.
Who else could it be but Gu Qingfeng!
Seeing Gu Qingfeng appear, Ouyang Feiyue's expression changed drastically, as if she had seen a ghost. Her heart pounded with fear, and she stammered in astonishment, "How did you..."
Although Ouyang Feiyue had always wanted to find Gu Qingfeng to ask about Ouyang Ye's situation, wanting was one thing—she didn't have the courage. Now that Gu Qingfeng had suddenly appeared, she felt both shocked and terrified.
Unlike Ouyang Feiyue,
when Ouyang Ye saw Gu Qingfeng, her exquisite face also showed a look of shock. However, what followed wasn't fear, but rather a much more complex feeling—a sense of déjà vu, an inexplicable flutter of the heart, and an indescribable panic.
"Little lady, you've changed quite a bit in just a few days."
Gu Qingfeng walked over slowly, his narrowed eyes sweeping over Ouyang Ye. The more he looked, the more surprised he became.
The little girl's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, truly at a miraculous speed.
Of course, that wasn't the reason for his surprise. After all, the little girl was the bloodline reincarnation of Yun Nishang.
What truly surprised him was that the spiritual aura emanating from the little girl was brimming with vitality—the kind that felt endless and inexhaustible, as if possessing infinite life force, like the rising sun, filling everything around with vibrant vitality.
Endless Life?
Wasn't that a characteristic of the Great Natural Order?
Gu Qingfeng knew that Yun Nishang had buried her soul within Ouyang Ye's bloodline. It was expected that the little girl would be affected and undergo some changes. What surprised him, however, was why the little girl was emanating the Endless Life that belonged only to the Great Natural Order.
Could it be the Colorful Spirit?
The Colorful Spirit within the little girl was far from sufficient to evolve into the Endless Life of the Great Natural Order.
How truly strange.
Noticing the look in the little girl's eyes as she stared at him, Gu Qingfeng smiled, sat down, picked up a cup of wine in front of Ouyang Feiyue, took a sip, and said with a laugh, "What's the matter? Don't recognize me anymore? Come, sit down. Let me have a good look at you."