Gu Qingfeng was a worldly man, a man of leisure.
Perhaps it was because he had spent his previous life constantly fighting and killing, living each day with his head on the line, but after awakening this time, he didn't want to do anything. He only wished to live a leisurely life in this mundane world, drinking his little tipple every day, basking in the sun, occasionally teasing a young lady or two. His days were comfortable, truly comfortable. He felt this was how a person should live. Only by living this way could one truly savor the flavor of life.
What seeking immortality and inquiring about the Dao?
What laws and order?
What karma and reincarnation?
All nonsense.
He couldn't be bothered.
After parting ways with Qing Xi, Gu Qingfeng found a place to sleep soundly. When he woke up, the sun had already set. With nothing better to do, Gu Qingfeng, Li Dapang, and Old Man Liu found a secluded pavilion in the garden. They drank wine and chatted idly.
"By the way, Old Gu, did you hear about what happened last night?"
Li Dapang was a glutton. His storage bag didn't hold many Spirit Treasure resources, but it was overflowing with all kinds of wild game. Gnawing on the leg of some unknown beast, he said, "I heard last night some guy gambled at chess with Senior Jinzhong and won him clean out of house and home! Later, Young Lady Qingxi stepped in, but she lost too. And what she lost was Senior Jinzhong's Mystic Grade Apex Lifebound Flying Sword! In the end, Young Lady Qingxi repaid the debt on Senior Jinzhong's behalf. I heard she owes that guy a ton of resources now..."
"This matter has been spreading like wildfire all day. I've heard about it too," Old Man Liu chimed in. He was the honest, diligent type of cultivator. His natural talent wasn't high, his comprehension wasn't great either. After cultivating for several hundred years, he was still only at the Golden Core stage. "It seems the person who beat Young Lady Qingxi also has the surname Gu."
"Right! I remember hearing that too, he also had the surname Gu!" Li Dapang laughed. "Old Gu, you were gone all night yesterday. When we asked, you said you were playing chess with someone. Don't tell me the guy who beat Young Lady Qingxi was you?"
"That's right. That's exactly what happened."
Both Li Dapang and Old Man Liu were stunned for a moment. Then Li Dapang chuckled, pointing at Gu Qingfeng. "Old Gu, you're pulling our leg again, aren't you?"
"What's the matter?" Gu Qingfeng leaned against a pavilion pillar, reclining in his chair, drinking wine with an amused smile. "Don't believe me?"
"You?" Li Dapang looked Gu Qingfeng up and down, then shook his head and went back to gnawing his wild game. "No way. We've heard about Young Lady Qingxi's chess skills. They're incredibly high. I heard her talent for chess is even greater than her talent for the Musical Arts. They say when she was seven or eight, she could already beat Elder Cangsheng, one of the Nine Solitaries of Wuse Mountain. By twelve, even some reincarnated mighty ones were no match for her."
"That's right. Although it's just a rumor, it's probably true," Old Man Liu said. "After all, Young Lady Qingxi is a Heaven-Proud Daughter, a talent rarely seen in a thousand years in our Great Northwest."
"Heaven-Proud Daughter? Rarely seen in a thousand years?" Gu Qingfeng shook his head and sighed. "That girl Qingxi, her talent is decent, but just decent. At best, she can be considered a genius. As for being a Heaven-Proud Daughter... she's still far from it."
"Come off it, Old Gu! We're all in the same boat here. Don't try to act like some mighty one in front of us. People who know you just share the same name as Young Lord Chiyan. Those who don't might think you really are Young Lord Chiyan! Your tone is pretty big, though!"
"Hahahaha!" Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily.
"Young Brother Qingfeng's tone is indeed a bit grand," Old Man Liu stroked the beard on his chin. "However, this old man would like to hear what, in your eyes, constitutes a true Heaven-Proud Daughter."
"Old Man Liu, you've asked the right person. I've seen true Heaven-Proud Sons before." Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment. "True Heaven-Proud Sons are born with heavenly omens. Some even have celestial phenomena appear at their birth. They are unique existences from the moment they enter the world. Things like Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Primordial Spirit... they don't need any of that. They can become Immortals on the spot."
"Old Gu, you really can spin a tall tale! Become an Immortal on the spot? There's no such person!" Clearly, neither Li Dapang nor Old Man Liu believed Gu Qingfeng was anything but spouting nonsense.
"I'm not messing with you. It's the truth, something I've seen with my own eyes. Let me tell you, Heaven-Proud Sons who become Immortals on the spot might not be common, but they're definitely not rare either. Even if they can't become Immortals immediately, they advance one realm with each step. After nine steps, they ascend directly. At the very least, they advance one realm per day. After nine days, they reach the Ninth Heaven."
"Pfft! I've heard stories like that too, but they're just to fool three-year-olds. You actually believe that?"
Just as the three were chatting, two figures suddenly flashed by.
Two women.
One was of peerless, transcendent beauty, while the other also appeared lovely and charming.
It was Qing Xi and her junior sister, Qinglian.
Seeing these two, Li Dapang and Old Man Liu were dumbfounded. Recovering, Li Dapang quickly wiped his mouth and cupped his hands. "Goddess! Oh, no! Young Lady Qingxi? You... why have you come here?"
"I came to find Young Lord Gu." Qing Xi looked at Gu Qingfeng in the pavilion, her willow-like brows slightly furrowed. Ever since leaving yesterday, she had been lost in deep thought, pondering the chess game from the previous night. She had thought about it for a full day but still couldn't figure out how she had lost. So, after finishing her business at Wuse Mountain, she could no longer restrain herself and came to find Gu Qingfeng to get a clear answer.
However, her words sounded strange to Li Dapang and Old Man Liu. Young Lord Gu? Could it be Old Gu? Since when did this guy become a 'Young Lord'? And why was Young Lady Qingxi looking for Old Gu?
"What's up, big sister? Looking for me for something?" Gu Qingfeng tilted his head, looking at her with a beaming smile. "Did you gather the Spirit Treasure resources to repay your debt?"
"I... not yet. But the Five-Colors Flower Association will definitely find a way to repay you."
"If it's not to repay the debt, then what? Do you want a rematch?"
"I... I'm not here to gamble at chess."
The conversation between the two left Li Dapang and Old Man Liu utterly bewildered. What debt? What rematch? Gambling at chess? Wait!
Li Dapang seemed to realize something. He stared at Gu Qingfeng and blurted out, "Old Gu! The guy who won a Mystic Grade Apex Flying Sword from Young Lady Qingxi last night... could it... could it really be you?"
"I already told you earlier."
"Good heavens!" With a thud, Li Dapang slumped into his chair. He could never have imagined that someone with the same cultivation level as him possessed such formidable chess skills that he could actually beat Young Lady Qingxi.
"Not to repay the debt, and not to gamble at chess. Then why are you here?"