"You impersonate Young Lord Chiyan, using his identity to swindle a bit here, cheat a bit there—small-time stuff, I can completely understand and wouldn't even mind. But you? You actually come to scam Wuse Mountain?"
"What kind of place is Wuse Mountain? It might not be a major sect or a giant power, but it's still a place of great renown in our Great Northwest! The Nine Solitary Elders, the Wuse Eighteen Swordsmen, and even the Twenty-Four Junior Knights of the present and past—how many experts are here! Are you out of your mind, coming here to scam them? Don't you know that two people who once showed kindness to the Monarch live on Wuse Mountain?"
Ouyang Ye's anger flared up uncontrollably as she recalled the discussions she'd just overheard. She lowered her voice to a furious growl: "If you're going to scam, at least change your methods, try something new! How can you just copy the exact same routine that dead swindler Gu Tiansheng used fifty years ago?"
"He visited Old Master Kumu at the Wuse Flower Festival, and you come too? He said he was repaying a debt of gratitude, and you say the same? What I never expected was that he talked about using a forbidden technique, and you, this guy, actually also..." "I'm telling you, Old Nine, even if you're going to copy Gu Tiansheng's routine, at least change the location! Gu Tiansheng used this method to scam Wuse Mountain—do you really think you can use the same method to scam Wuse Mountain too? Are you stupid, or do you think the people of Wuse Mountain are all fools?"
Ouyang Ye never imagined that Gu Qingfeng would use Young Lord Chiyan's identity to come scam Wuse Mountain, and even less that he'd be foolish enough to use Gu Tiansheng's exact methods to do it.
Ouyang Ye hadn't expected it, and Gu Qingfeng hadn't either.
He was also quite puzzled. How did that so-called Gu Tiansheng from back then use such a method to scam? Repaying a debt of gratitude, using a forbidden technique... Wasn't this just too much of a coincidence?
The fact that the old master had shown him kindness was something many knew. But using a forbidden technique to help the old master recast his Nascent Soul—that wasn't common knowledge. How did that Gu Tiansheng find out about it?
Moreover, in Gu Qingfeng's memory, the old master had always been a very cautious person, not one to trust others lightly. Yet that Gu Tiansheng, using this method, had actually managed to swindle several of Wuse Mountain's Mountain-Guarding Spirit Treasures. He must have gained the old master's trust.
He'd heard that Gu Tiansheng was actually a woman?
Gu Qingfeng thought it over but couldn't figure out who would do such a despicable thing. What was the purpose? Just to scam some spirit treasures? No! Impossible! But if not for spirit treasures, then what the hell was the reason?
"You usually seem quite sharp—how could you do something so brainless? Old Nine! If you don't have the brains for it, don't try to learn from others how to scam, okay? It'll get you killed!"
Ouyang Ye's throat was dry from talking. She picked up a cup of wine from Gu Qingfeng's table and gulped it down. "Listen to me, just come with me."
"I told you I still have things to do. If you want to leave, you go first."
"You!" Ouyang Ye was fuming inside. If she could, she really wanted to take action and forcibly tie this guy up and drag him back. Unfortunately, back at Little Fold Manor, she'd used all her strength and hadn't been able to budge him an inch. Ouyang Ye knew she was no match for him; even using force would be useless. She took a deep breath, suppressing the fire in her heart. "What exactly do you need to do?"
"I need to find a way to gain the old master's trust."
"Why on earth do you need to gain the old master's trust?" Ouyang Ye had barely finished speaking when she seemed to realize something. "Brother, at a time like this, you're not still thinking about scamming Wuse Mountain, are you? Dear brother! My dear big brother! They already know you're a fraud! The reason they're not doing anything to you now is because they don't want to ruin the Wuse Flower Festival! Brother!"
Ouyang Ye continued persuading him: "Old Nine, I'm not afraid you'll be exposed; I'm worried about you. Old Master Kumu is kind-hearted and might not hold you accountable, but the Wuse Eighteen Swordsmen and the Twenty-Four Junior Knights are not to be trifled with. While they're too busy to deal with you now, you should come with me."
No matter how Ouyang Ye tried to persuade him, Gu Qingfeng had just two words: not leaving.
Neither soft words nor hard threats worked. Ouyang Ye was on the verge of breaking point.
"Big Brother!"
At that moment, Xiao Jinr came running over. Seeing Gu Qingfeng, the little girl excitedly threw herself into his arms, laughing. "Big Brother, you really are here! Jin'er thought they were just joking earlier."
Gu Qingfeng picked Xiao Jinr up. "Jin'er came to attend the flower festival too?"
"Mhmm, I came with Grandpa."
Master Wenzhu had come with Xiao Jinr. Gu Qingfeng smiled. "Master Wenzhu, it's been a while."
"Uh..." Master Wenzhu stared at Gu Qingfeng with a complicated expression, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Indeed. Before coming, he'd already learned from Ouyang Ye that this Gu Qingfeng before him was fake—that someone had been found to impersonate Gu Qingfeng to help Handong and also to help Xiao Jinr. Now, looking at this impostor Gu Qingfeng before him, Master Wenzhu was quite shocked. He felt this fake looked far too much like the real Young Lord Chiyan—so much that he seemed like the real deal.
"It has been a while, it has..." Master Wenzhu replied while shooting Ouyang Ye a glance, as if to say: Girl, the person you found to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan is really convincing.
But Ouyang Ye had no time to feel proud now. All she wanted was to tie Gu Qingfeng up and take him back. Since force was impossible and persuasion wasn't working, she quickly took out a message talisman to inform Handong and Qian Shan—who were still outside searching for Old Nine—about the situation, hoping the two of them would come quickly to tie Old Nine up and take him back.
"Big Brother, why didn't you prove it to them just now?"
"Prove what?"
"Prove that Big Brother isn't a fraud. On the way here, Jin'er heard lots of people saying Big Brother is a fraud. Jin'er knows they must have misunderstood Big Brother."
"Jin'er trusts me that much?"
"If Big Brother says you're the Monarch's successor, then you must be the Monarch's successor. If Big Brother says you can help Senior Kumu recast his Nascent Soul, Jin'er definitely believes Big Brother can do it."
"Then what if I told you I'm not Gu Tianlang's successor, but Gu Tianlang himself? Would Jin'er believe that?"
Xiao Jinr didn't hesitate at all, responding directly: "I'd believe it."
"You'd believe that too?"
"Of course. Whatever Big Brother says, Jin'er believes. If Big Brother lies to Jin'er, I believe it must be for Jin'er's own good..." Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and gently tapped Xiao Jinr's delicate nose. "What an adorable little girl."
Beside them, Ouyang Ye watched this scene, glanced at Xiao Jinr with a look as if she were viewing a mentally challenged child, then looked at Gu Qingfeng again, thinking to herself: You damn impostor, claiming to be Young Lord Chiyan is one thing, but now you're bragging so shamelessly you've even started claiming to be the Chixiao Monarch himself. If you're the Chixiao Monarch Gu Tianlang, then I'm the World-Honored Empress Jun Xuanji.