Looking at Tan Siru lying paralyzed on the ground, Ouyang Ye felt no worry in her heart, nor even a shred of sympathy.
If she had seen her Senior Martial Sister in such a state before, she would have been very worried and anxious. But not now. Having just witnessed with her own eyes how her Senior Martial Sister, driven by greed for money, had tried to put Gu Qingfeng to death, she had finally seen clearly what kind of person her Senior Martial Sister truly was. She had always known her Senior Martial Sister was selfish, but she never imagined she would go so far as to kill for her own benefit.
Remembering how her Senior Martial Sister had earlier presented Li Sen's demand for Gu Qingfeng to kneel and apologize...
Gu Qingfeng had refused.
Her Senior Martial Sister had then mocked him, telling him to put away his pitiful dignity, saying his dignity was worthless.
At this very moment, Ouyang Ye really wanted to ask her Senior Martial Sister:
Whose dignity was worthless?
Whose dignity was more pitiful?
Gazing at Gu Qingfeng here.
Gazing at this man in white robes here.
A complicated feeling inexplicably welled up in Ouyang Ye's heart. That serene, twilight-like aura about Gu Qingfeng felt familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Very familiar.
Yet also very strange.
But she simply couldn't figure out why it felt familiar, nor why it felt strange.
Watching Gu Qingfeng's retreating back,
Ouyang Ye couldn't help but ask a question in her heart.
Just who was this guy?
She didn't know.
And she couldn't even imagine.
...
The sun was setting in the west.
The Yunxia Sect, set against the sunset, appeared even more dazzling and colorful.
After leaving the Redleaf Valley, Gu Qingfeng strolled around, munching on Redleaf Monster Fruits.
He had played around with a few youngsters, originally hoping to recapture the feeling of his wild, youthful days, only to find that feeling utterly elusive. Moreover, he discovered that the brats these days were getting more and more vicious.
Back in his day, those little punks might have been arrogant and high-handed, but they were just being obnoxious. They wouldn't dare to actually kill someone; at most, they'd give them a beating, maybe break a head or draw some blood.
But the brats these days were something else. He hadn't even done anything, yet that Li Sen had already harbored killing intent.
. Yes.
That was indeed killing intent, definitely not just empty talk. Gu Qingfeng had cultivated for five hundred years, fought in more battles than he could count, and was extremely sensitive to killing intent. He could clearly sense that Li Sen genuinely wanted to kill him. If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have struck so heavily. And that Tan Siru too—Li Sen had just casually tempted her with money, and that girl had also developed killing intent.
"Back in my youth, I wasn't exactly a saint either. I've done my fair share of killing and looting. But that was a chaotic era. If I didn't kill, I'd be killed by others. There was no choice."
Gu Qingfeng wasn't a hypocrite, and naturally had no desire to erect a monument to his own virtue.
He just felt that the brats these days were far too bold, far too dismissive of human life. Over some trivial matter, they were ready to fight and kill. It was truly despicable. Luckily, it was him today. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have met their end right here.
"The brats these days really are not to be trifled with..." He shook his head and sighed.
Returning to the Lingyin Garden on the rear mountain, just as he was thinking about going for a nap, he suddenly saw an old man reclining leisurely on a wooden chair, sipping wine.
The old man wore gray robes, had grayish-white hair and beard, and was somewhat unkempt, looking a bit slovenly. Who else could it be but Huode? Seeing Gu Qingfeng, Elder Huode abruptly stood up, his expression displeased as he said, "Kid Gu, where have you been? You made this old man wait for you half the day."
"Waited for me half the day?"
Gu Qingfeng chuckled, walked over, and asked, "I was just about to ask you. I finally come back, and you disappear on me. What's the matter? Afraid I'd latch onto you, or afraid I'd drink you poor?"
"Hahaha...
This old man would love for you to latch on, I'm just afraid a kid like you would look down on it!"
"Don't say that. I really do look down on this dump of yours."
"Damn it, this old man was just speaking casually. You didn't have to be so blunt, kid! Besides, this old man's place here..." Elder Huode originally wanted to boast about how his garden had everything one could want, but after thinking it over carefully, he decided to drop it. Because he knew Gu Qingfeng was telling the truth. Back in the day, the Chixiao Sect this kid founded was unrivaled in scale, its resources unmatched by anyone, its grandeur even putting the Immortal Dynasty to shame, its scenery...
It was like a fairyland.
Even a place like that, with everything one could desire, had been destroyed by this kid in the blink of an eye...
What in this world could possibly catch his eye now?
The answer was certain: nothing.
"Alright, tell me.
Where have you been these past couple of days?"
"Heh heh, isn't it because I saw you were back, kid? This old man went out specifically to get some fine wine to welcome you back."
"Really?"
Gu Qingfeng looked the old man up and down with considerable suspicion, walked over, picked up the wine pot, poured himself a cup of the fine wine, and downed it in one gulp. After tasting it, he shook his head disdainfully. "This is the fine wine you brought back?
I say, Huode, you're supposed to be a connoisseur of good wine. How has your taste gotten so much worse after all these years apart?"
"This kind of inferior wine is fine for a casual sip, but how can it be called fine wine? What this old man brought back this time is no ordinary good wine. I guarantee you'll like it, kid."
"Really? What wine?"
"Just follow this old man."
"Oh? Playing mysterious now? This isn't another one of your traps for me, is it?" Gu Qingfeng teased. "I remember you setting quite a few traps for me back in the day."
"Kid Gu, what are you talking about? When did this old man ever set a trap for you?"
Seeing Elder Huode's expression of utter righteousness, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but laugh wryly, thinking to himself that this old man's skin had truly grown thicker over the years.
Back when he was a laborer at the Yunxia Sect, this old man had trapped him a few times, using him as a guinea pig to test experimental formations.
Later, after leaving the Yunxia Sect, when the two of them were exploring ancient cave dwellings together, this old man had tricked him a few more times.
Of course, Gu Qingfeng had later set a few traps for him in return.
They had tricked each other and also shared hardships. Gu Qingfeng knew this old man's character very well, and knew exactly what he was like. To say this old man had gone out specifically to get fine wine to welcome him back...
Gu Qingfeng was highly skeptical of such a thing.
If there really was good wine, this old man would have drunk it himself. Would he really save it for him?
Not knowing what game the old man was playing,
Gu Qingfeng didn't ask further. Following Elder Huode through twists and turns, they entered a cave dwelling. To his surprise, a huge table was set up in the cave's main hall, and on the table were all sorts of delicacies. Counting them, there were over eighty different dishes.
There was tender Crispy Rice-Fragrance Chicken, spicy Nine-Turn Thousand Bamboo Shoots, sweet and delicious Willow-Leaf Fish...
Staring at the table laden with sumptuous dishes, Gu Qingfeng was momentarily stunned. Because almost all of these delicacies were his favorite foods from his youth.
"Kid Gu, what do you think?
These are all your favorite delicacies from back in the day. This old man spent several days running all over half the Northwest Territory to get them."
As he spoke, Huode took out a jar of fine wine from his storage bag. With a *thump*, he opened one of the bottles. Instantly, a mist drifted out.
This mist seemed like flame, yet also like frost.
Accompanied by the aroma of wine, Gu Qingfeng's expression shifted, and he blurted out, "This is...
This is Millennium Ice-Fire Aged Brew!"
"Hahahaha!
Well done, Kid Gu! This old man knew that as soon as I opened the jar, you'd definitely guess it was Ice-Fire Brew!"
Elder Huode lifted the wine jar and poured two bowls, saying with great pride, "So, Kid Gu, was this old man right? This Millennium Ice-Fire Aged Brew, are you satisfied?"
Satisfied!
Extremely satisfied!
This Ice-Fire Brew was Gu Qingfeng's favorite wine back in the day, especially the millennium-aged vintage. Even now, just thinking about it made his mouth water. He picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one go. The wine entered his body, burning like raging fire, freezing like icy frost—truly *****—the feeling was utterly exhilarating.
"Incredible!"
Gu Qingfeng exclaimed loudly, then asked with considerable excitement, "Huode, where did you get this stuff?"
This kind of millennium-aged Ice-Fire Brew could absolutely be called a rare treasure in the world, as most of it was dug up from ancient cave dwellings. Forget having money; even if you wanted to rob someone, there'd be nowhere to rob it from. Back in the day, in order to find this kind of Millennium Ice-Fire Brew, Gu Qingfeng had dug up no small number of cave dwellings.
"Heh heh!
Don't you worry about where this old man got it. As long as you like drinking it, kid, all thirty-seven jars of millennium-aged Ice-Fire Brew that this old man has collected can be yours."
Huode waved his hand. *Whoosh!*
Thirty-seven jars of millennium-aged Ice-Fire Brew appeared neatly on the ground, truly startling Gu Qingfeng.
"How many cave dwellings did you have to dig up to find this many jars of millennium-aged Ice-Fire Brew...
I say, Huode, have you done nothing else all these years but dig up those old cave dwellings?"
"What kind of talk is that, kid...
What do you mean 'nothing but dig up cave dwellings'? Is this old man that kind of person?"
Huode poured another bowl of wine and said, "What are you standing there for? All this wine is yours, kid. Come on!
Let's eat and drink. Today, the two of us are going to have a proper drinking session."
Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to sit down, he suddenly felt something was off. He looked at the table full of delicacies and the thirty-plus jars of millennium-aged Ice-Fire Brew, and laughed. "Huode, be honest with me. Is this another one of your traps?"
"I say, Kid Gu, can we not bring up those old, moldy matters? You're the famous Lord Chixiao, after all. Even if this old man did set a trap for you, so what? You even dared to wipe out the Immortal Dynasty, for heaven's sake. Are you still afraid of this old man setting a trap for you?"
Gu Qingfeng thought it over carefully and it seemed to make sense. He grabbed the Crispy Rice-Fragrance Chicken and started gnawing on it, laughing and cursing, "I fell into too many of your traps back when I was young. Just seeing you gives me the creeps now, damn it."
"You kid..." The two of them ate and drank, taking big bites of meat and big gulps of wine. They ate heartily and drank even more heartily.
Coupled with reminiscing about the past, it was truly delightful.
However, as they reminisced, Gu Qingfeng found the stories more and more suspicious. This old man Huode didn't mention a single word about the times he had trapped him in the past. Instead, he talked mostly about the times he had helped him.
Things like: The first set of fist techniques you cultivated back then, kid, was taught to you by this old man.
The first flying sword you ever had, kid, was given to you by this old man.
If it weren't for this old man stepping in back then, you would have died at the Yunxia Sect.
Listening on, Gu Qingfeng began to get the gist of it. He didn't say anything, just kept eating, watching, and smiling.
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under Gu Qingfeng's gaze, Huode's old face began to show signs of guilt as he spoke. He pursed his lips and glared. "What are you looking at this old man and smiling for, kid? Your smile is giving me the creeps!"
"Heh heh..." Gu Qingfeng gave a faint smile, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, took a sip of wine, and said, "I say, Huode, you have something you want to ask of me, don't you?"
!