Gu Qingfeng and Ouyang Ye were chatting idly when the teleportation array enveloping the mountain villa suddenly fluctuated.
"Huh? Could Xiao Jinr have arrived so quickly?"
Ouyang Ye was initially delighted, but then she reconsidered. If Xiao Jinr were coming, she would have knocked on the door directly. The villa's formation shouldn't be reacting like this. Could it be someone else?
At this thought, Ouyang Ye's nerves immediately tensed. Just as she was about to release her Divine Sense to investigate, a figure flickered into view.
Clad in snow-white robes.
Cold and elegant as ice.
It was none other than Han Dong.
"Sister Handong! So it's you! I thought... someone was causing trouble."
Han Dong remained as she always was, aloof and solitary like an icy mountain. She nodded and asked, "Yeye, while I was away, did anything happen?"
"Of course not," Ouyang Ye declared, patting her chest. "With me, Ouyang Ye, here, what could possibly go wrong?"
"It's good that nothing happened..." Han Dong then politely greeted Gu Qingfeng, who nodded in acknowledgment.
"Sister Handong, weren't you going to find the ancestors of Yao Yue Palace? How did it go? Did you find them?"
Han Dong shook her head.
This trip out had yielded nothing once again.
"Sister Han Dong, why are you looking for the elders of your Yao Yue Palace?"
Before Han Dong could answer, Ouyang Ye shot him a glare and said, "Lao Jiu, don't you know Sister Handong's current situation? If she could find a few of Yao Yue Palace's Grand Elders, that Second Elder and his gang wouldn't dare act recklessly, at least not openly trying to seize Sister Handong's position as heir apparent."
"Is that so?" Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "Then you might as well stop looking. I happened to run into Fenglie Weirdo a few days ago. He should be one of your Yao Yue Palace's Grand Elders, right? If nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to see him in a couple of days."
Hearing this, Han Dong's expression shifted noticeably. She quickly asked, "Young Master, are you serious... you've seen Ancestor Fenglie?"
"What kind of question is that? Why would I lie to you?"
Ouyang Ye seemed somewhat skeptical and challenged, "I say, Lao Jiu, you've been staying at the villa all this time, never taking a single step outside. When did you see Ancestor Fenglie? How come I didn't know anything about it?"
"Can't I have sneaked out while you were in seclusion?"
"Bullshit! After Sister Handong left, the villa was sealed tight by over twenty formations, big and small. How could you possibly have gotten out?"
"Little sister, I'm not bragging to you, but if I'm willing, ascending to the heavens or descending into the earth is just a moment's work, let alone these shoddy formations."
"Damn it! Here we go again!" Ouyang Ye snapped angrily. "I say, Lao Jiu, can't you stop bragging for once? It baffles me. We just asked you to impersonate that scoundrel Gu Qingfeng. You haven't learned anything else, but how come your talent for boasting gets stronger by the day? Ascending to the heavens? Try ascending for me right now, will you?"
Faced with Ouyang Ye's endless barrage of questions, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to explain. He simply waved his hand and said, "Alright, fine. Consider it unsaid, okay?"
"Hmph! I'll let you off this time! If you dare spout nonsense and boast blindly again in the future, I'll make you regret it!"
Ouyang Ye shot Gu Qingfeng a fierce glare before turning to comfort Han Dong. "Sister Handong, don't be upset. Lao Jiu probably just wanted to comfort you and cheer you up. Apart from his fondness for boasting, he's not a bad person at heart."
Han Dong offered a faint smile, not taking the matter to heart.
"Sister Handong, don't be too pessimistic about not finding Yao Yue Palace's ancestors. I have some even better news to tell you."
"What good news?"
"Hehe! Look!"
As Ouyang Ye raised her hand, dazzling multicolored light erupted from her palm, coalescing into the Cloud-Color Sword.
"Yeye, you... you've refined the Cloud-Color Sword?"
"Mhm! Mhm!"
"That's truly incredible!" Han Dong gazed at the Cloud-Color Sword in Ouyang Ye's hand, exclaiming in amazement. "This Cloud-Color Sword is profoundly mysterious and possesses its own spirit. Forget refining it; even comprehending its secrets would likely take years for someone with exceptional talent. Yet you've managed to refine it in just a few short days... That's truly remarkable."
"Of course! Just look at who your little sister is! Hmph! I am Ouyang Ye, the Princess of Great Nature!"
Being praised by Han Dong filled Ouyang Ye with immense joy, her heart blooming with happiness. However, seeing Gu Qingfeng over there shaking his head and sighing, her anger flared up again. She mocked, "I'm not like a certain someone who clearly has no real ability yet is so arrogant and conceited, acting all day like he's second only to the heavens, pretending to understand what he doesn't, thinking he's so great."
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng was also somewhat surprised that Ouyang Ye had refined the Cloud-Color Sword in just a few days. However, having been woken up by the little girl earlier had put him in a sour mood, and he had intended to tease her by deliberately ignoring her. He hadn't expected the girl not only to fail to take the joke but also to seemingly hold a grudge.
As they were speaking, the sound of bells chimed from within the garden.
Both Ouyang Ye and Han Dong knew that the bells only rang when someone knocked on the villa's gate.
"It's Xiao Jinr!"
"Has Xiao Jinr arrived already?"
"Mhm! A few hours ago, Senior Qian Shan sent me a message talisman saying they'd reached the Great Northwest. I didn't expect them to get here so quickly."
"Then let's go. We should hurry over."
Although Han Dong had never met Xiao Jinr before, she had often heard Ouyang Ye mention her and had always wanted to meet that adorable, well-behaved little girl.
As for Qian Shan.
She had once met Su Hua briefly and naturally knew that Qian Shan was someone by Su Hua's side.
Thus, the two of them left the garden to welcome Xiao Jinr, and of course, Gu Qingfeng followed.
On the way, Ouyang Ye reminded him, "Lao Jiu, there's one thing you must remember clearly. Xiao Jinr is very close to that fellow Gu Qingfeng and absolutely idolizes him. To what extent? To the extent that she believes whatever that fellow Gu Qingfeng says. That fellow once said that as long as he didn't want to die, not even the King of Heaven could kill him... so... the little girl believes it."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, smiling helplessly as he sighed, "Xiao Jinr is truly naive..."
Just thinking about this made Ouyang Ye furious. She said indignantly, "Exactly! What a naive girl Xiao Jinr is, yet she was completely fooled by that scoundrel Gu Qingfeng, believing everything he said without question. She even believed that nonsense about him being unable to die unless he wanted to. It's utterly despicable! Hmph! It's just that Gu Qingfeng died three years ago. Otherwise, I would have slapped him so hard he'd question his entire life!"
"Is that so?" Gu Qingfeng shrugged and chuckled. "Alright then, little sister. I believe you'll meet Gu Qingfeng one day."
Ouyang Ye continued, "Right now, Xiao Jinr firmly believes that the real Young Lord Chiyan didn't die three years ago. This time, Sister Su Hua had no choice but to have Sister Qian Shan bring Xiao Jinr here to meet you, this fake Young Lord Chiyan. The purpose is simple: let Xiao Jinr see the fake one to help ease her longing. Most importantly, you need to use your identity as Young Lord Chiyan to persuade Xiao Jinr to go back and focus on her cultivation... understand?"