Deep into the night.
Ouyang Ye, Han Dong, and the other two could no longer contain the shock and curiosity in their hearts. They barged into Zhe Qing Garden and found Gu Qingfeng still lying in the hammock, snoring soundly. Ouyang Ye immediately ran over, pushing and shouting, "Lao Jiu! Get up, you! Get up now!"
"Why is it you again..." Gu Qingfeng opened his bleary eyes, glanced at Ouyang Ye, then closed them again, saying helplessly, "I say, Big Sister Ouyang Ye, what do you want in the dead of night? Can't we just get along? Can't you let this lord get a good night's sleep?"
"You think I want to be like this?! It's all because of you!"
Ouyang Ye was a person with an extremely heavy curiosity. Now that such unbelievable things had happened to Gu Qingfeng, even if the sky were to collapse, she had to get to the bottom of it. Seeing that he continued to sleep, Ouyang Ye shook the hammock vigorously, shouting, "Are you getting up or not? If you don't, I'll keep shaking until you do!"
"Alright, alright, alright! I give up. This lord damn well gives up."
Gu Qingfeng jumped down from the hammock, yawned, sat on a chair, picked up a wine pot, and poured himself a cup. He drank it in one gulp, downing three cups in a row before finally raising his head. His lazy gaze swept over Qian Shan and Han Dong one by one. He twisted his neck and asked, "Speak. What's the matter?"
"I ask you! Was it you who crushed that Great Nature Seven-Color Crystal into sand this evening?"
"That's right."
Gu Qingfeng nodded in response and asked, "What about it?"
"It really was you!"
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's own confirmation, the last shred of doubt in the hearts of Ouyang Ye and the other two vanished into thin air. They just stared at Gu Qingfeng, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Who else did you think it was?"
Gu Qingfeng looked around but didn't see Aunt Xue's figure. He asked, "By the way, is that little ghost girl alright? Where is she? Has she woken up?"
Aunt Xue had woken up, but she was hiding inside the bracelet, too afraid to come out.
"Aunt Xue is temporarily fine, no need to worry," Ouyang Ye said. She had intended to ask about Aunt Xue, but right now she wanted to know Gu Qingfeng's identity even more. She asked, "I ask you, how did you do it? How did you crush the Seven-Color Crystal into sand?"
"What do you mean 'how'? Weren't you there watching? How else? I crushed it with my hand."
"That's not what I mean. I'm asking you, how is your strength so great?"
"Didn't I tell you before?"
"What have you ever told me? I don't know anything."
"I am Gu Qingfeng! I possess the Bedrock Physique and the Absolute Force. Crushing a Seven-Color Crystal is child's play, isn't it?"
"You!"
Ouyang Ye was immediately speechless, unsure how to respond. After a long silence, she suddenly roared, "Damn it! The real Gu Qingfeng is already dead! Dead and gone! You can't possibly be him! Impossible!"
"Sis, I've said it so many times. I am Gu Qingfeng. I did die back then at the Taixuan Stele, but I came back to life."
Ouyang Ye's face flushed red as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Someone who turned to ashes cannot come back to life! Impossible!"
"Others can't, doesn't mean this lord can't."
"On what grounds!"
"On what grounds?"
Gu Qingfeng scratched his head, suddenly remembering something, and laughed, "On the grounds that this lord is the successor of Gu Tianlang! That kid Gu Tianlang could die and come back to life nine times back in the day. As his successor, it's not strange for this lord to have this ability, right? If I remember correctly, weren't those your words?"
"Damn it! I said those words on purpose to fool others! And you are not Gu Qingfeng!"
"Sis, you might fool others, but this lord isn't fooling you. I really am Gu Qingfeng!"
Gu Qingfeng remained unhurried, taking occasional sips of wine as he explained, "A few months ago, after I came back to life, I wanted to come here to take care of some business. Coincidentally, I ran into you, so I thought I'd tease you a bit. I never expected you'd find someone to impersonate me, and even more, I didn't expect you'd later ask me to impersonate myself... Well, I was idle anyway, so I played along with you for a few days..." Gu Qingfeng didn't intend to hide it and spoke his mind. However, Ouyang Ye didn't believe him.
"Impossible! The first time I saw you, you didn't look like this at all. You only took on this appearance after eating my Disguise Pill!"
"A mere Disguise Art!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "If you don't believe me, feel it. This is this lord's original face!"
Ouyang Ye reached out and touched Gu Qingfeng's cheek, trying to feel out his true appearance. In her mind, since this guy had taken a Disguise Pill, his bones should be soft. With a little force, his facial features should change. But to her surprise, no matter how she touched, pulled, pinched, or pressed, this guy's facial features didn't change at all.
Refusing to give up, she continued to pull, but it was useless.
"I say, sis, if you're going to touch, just touch. Don't pinch, alright? This lord's face is the original, not disguised. No matter how much you pinch, it won't change."
"You!"
In the end, Ouyang Ye gave up. She just stared wide-eyed at Gu Qingfeng, breathing heavily, her brows deeply furrowed. She asked incredulously, "Could you really be that guy Gu Qingfeng?"
"Who else would I be..."
"No! Absolutely impossible! You must have used some bizarre method."
Beside her, Qian Shan also nodded. She had seen much and naturally understood that disguise wasn't some profound technique. Some masters of disguise could easily change their appearance through bone transformation without taking a Disguise Pill, making it almost impossible for others to detect.
"If you really are Gu Qingfeng, then tell me, why did you turn to ashes back then at the Taixuan Stele?"
"Didn't I say it once before?"
"When did you ever say that!"
"When I was talking to Xiao Jinr, you were there too, weren't you?"
"What? Those words?"
Ouyang Ye thought for a moment and said, "You don't mean to say that there really were Buddhas from the Western Heaven inside the Taixuan Stele who wanted to kill you? And you... drove them away? And to prevent the Western Heaven from seeking revenge, you even kidnapped the Great Sun Tathagata Buddha? Are you also going to say you've transcended life and death? That life and death are the same to you, that you can die or live as you please?"
"No mistake."
Gu Qingfeng nodded in affirmation. "That's exactly what happened."
"You! I... he..." Ouyang Ye opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her words came out fragmented and incoherent. Then, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again, and asked very seriously, "I... I ask you, do you think I look like an idiot?"
"What? You don't believe me?"
"Believe? Hahaha..." Ouyang Ye laughed like a madwoman. After laughing, she screamed at Gu Qingfeng, "I believe your big-headed ghost! Do you really think this young lady is an idiot?! Buddhas from the Western Heaven? The Great Sun Tathagata Buddha? Transcending life and death? Why don't you just ascend to heaven, damn it?! Xiao Jinr deeply believes Gu Qingfeng's words, that's why she believes your nonsense. This young lady is neither Xiao Jinr nor an idiot..."
PS: Third update today. Barring any surprises, five updates today, two more to go! !! ! Keep voting! !!