In the garden.
Gu Qingfeng sat casually on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, drinking wine. Xiao Jinr sat on his lap, nestled in his arms, asking about the past three years.
"Big Brother, back then at the Tai Xuan Monument, why did you disappear without even saying goodbye to Jin'er?"
"The situation was quite dangerous at the time. Someone wanted to kill me. Big Brother had no choice."
"Ah! Very dangerous? What happened? Who could be so hateful as to want to kill Big Brother?"
"A bunch of monks."
"Monks? But I heard Sister Su Hua and the others say there were no monks at the Tai Xuan Monument."
"They were Buddhas, Buddhas from the Western Heaven. They were all hidden inside the Tai Xuan Monument. Your Sister Su Hua's skills aren't up to par, so naturally she couldn't see them."
"Ah! Why would the Western Heaven Buddhas want to kill Big Brother? Aren't Buddhas supposed to save all living beings? Why would they want to kill Big Brother?"
"They think your Big Brother is a bad person, that one day I might do some bad things. So they wanted to kill your Big Brother to eliminate a future worry."
"Ah! How could they do that! Big Brother is definitely not a bad person. How could they just try to kill Big Brother without even distinguishing right from wrong!"
"Exactly! So, Jin'er, you must remember, in this world, there are no absolute good people or bad people, no absolute good or evil. This is true for humans, for Buddhas, for demons and ghosts, and even for all the gods."
Xiao Jinr nodded very seriously, then asked again, "Big Brother, you didn't end up killing those Western Heaven Buddhas, did you?"
"Of course not. Big Brother might have been a bit bloodthirsty in the past, but I'm much better now. I rarely kill people anymore."
"Mhmm, Big Brother is the best. But... Big Brother, what if those Western Heaven Buddhas come to kill you again in the future?"
"They probably won't, at least not for now." Gu Qingfeng laughed. "I kidnapped their Buddha Lord. He's in your Big Brother's hands right now. I doubt they'd dare come again."
"Ah! Big Brother kidnapped the Western Heaven Buddha Lord? Who? Is it the Great Sun Tathagata recorded in the books?"
"That's right! It's him!"
"Big Brother!" Xiao Jinr was extremely surprised. "You really kidnapped the Great Sun Tathagata Buddha Lord?"
"When I have time another day, Big Brother will let you meet him."
"Okay, okay!" Xiao Jinr tilted her head and asked again, "Big Brother, then where did you go after you disappeared? Why did Sister Su Hua and the others all say you died?"
"For your Sister Su Hua, I did indeed die at the time. But for Big Brother here, it was just like taking a nap."
"Why is that?"
"Your Big Brother's abilities reach to the heavens. I've long since transcended life and death."
"Big Brother, what does 'transcending life and death' mean?"
"It means I can live if I want to live, die if I want to die. Life and death make no difference to Big Brother. As long as Big Brother is willing, even if I die eight or nine hundred times a day, I can still do whatever I need to do tomorrow."
"Big Brother is really amazing!"
Not far away.
Ouyang Ye, Han Dong, and Qian Shan listened to the conversation between Gu Qingfeng and Xiao Jinr. Their expressions grew stranger and stranger.
Especially Ouyang Ye. Her eyes were practically popping out of her head, and her pretty face flushed red with anger.
If she weren't worried about giving something away in front of Xiao Jinr, she really wanted to rush over and give a good lesson to that guy blowing his own horn with such earth-shattering boasts!
Because they hadn't prepared beforehand, when Xiao Jinr asked Gu Qingfeng about the past, Ouyang Ye had sent a voice transmission telling him to just make up a decent-sounding lie to fool her, since Xiao Jinr always believed whatever Gu Qingfeng said anyway.
But what Ouyang Ye never expected was that this guy would tell such an outrageous lie, and it kept getting more and more unbelievable.
What nonsense about Western Heaven Buddhas wanting to kill him?
And what about him kidnapping the legendary Western Heaven Buddha Lord, the Great Sun Tathagata?
Even more ridiculous, this guy claimed to have transcended life and death, to live if he wants, die if he wants? Life and death were as simple as sleeping to him?
Heavens! This boasting had no limits.
It couldn't even be described as ridiculous anymore. It was eye-watering, and she felt her ears were being violated!
It wasn't that she'd never seen someone boast before, but she'd never seen someone who could boast so exaggeratedly without blushing or panting, without changing expression, with that serious look as if he were telling the absolute truth.
What made Ouyang Ye even more helpless and exasperated was that even such exaggerated, unbelievable words seemed to be deeply believed by Xiao Jinr.
Thinking of this, Ouyang Ye felt a surge of hatred for the Gu Qingfeng who had died three years ago. She was also baffled. What kind of bewitching potion had Gu Qingfeng given Xiao Jinr back then to make her so infatuated that she'd even believe such nonsense?
She felt this way.
Even Han Dong, a woman of such aloof and cold temperament, seemed somewhat unable to bear Gu Qingfeng's boasting. Her cold, beautiful face alternated between pale and flushed. She turned away, shaking her head, truly unable to bear listening any longer.
And Qian Shan beside her was no exception. She frowned deeply, her serious face shifting between cloudy and clear expressions. Listening on, she too couldn't take it anymore and couldn't help saying, "Ye Ye, the person you found... if you just look at his appearance, he looks exactly like Gu Qingfeng. It's just... what he's saying... is it a bit too exaggerated...? Is there something wrong with his mind or his spirit?"
Ouyang Ye felt like crying but had no tears. When they first came in, Qian Shan had said this impersonator of Young Lord Chiyan was convincing enough to pass for the real one. Ouyang Ye had been quite proud, even bragging about how she had **trained this guy to imitate Gu Qingfeng. She never expected things would turn out like this.
"This... Sister Qian Shan, there's nothing wrong with his mind, and his spirit isn't unhinged... It's just that this person... usually likes to boast a bit. Everything else is normal."
"Boast?" Qian Shan shook her head, took a deep breath, and sighed. "The boast he's making is truly not small."
Ouyang Ye was extremely embarrassed, glaring fiercely at Gu Qingfeng. But to her surprise, not only did this guy show no sign of stopping, his boasts became even more outrageous. Ouyang Ye gritted her teeth in anger, finally unable to hold back, and said furiously, "Damn it! I sent him voice transmissions, and he ignores me. This young lady is going to go teach him a lesson right now!"
"Forget it! If you go over like that, you'll make Xiao Jinr suspicious." Qian Shan stopped her. Looking at Xiao Jinr nestled in Gu Qingfeng's arms, listening seriously to his boasts, she sighed helplessly. "Since Xiao Jinr deeply believes whatever he says anyway, just let him be."
"But..." Ouyang Ye still wanted to say something, but the words reached her lips. After thinking about it, she realized this was the only way.
"Miss Han Dong, regarding your matter, this girl Ye Ye mentioned a bit in her message talisman. When the Immortal Lady came, she also specifically instructed me that if possible, I should help you a little."