Here.
Gu Qingfeng stood in the pavilion, his hands gently stroking the guqin, still playing a tune. However, no one could understand the piece he was playing; at least, no one knew what tune it was. Gu Qingfeng did not expect them to understand either, because this piece was played solely for Old Man Ku Mu. As long as the old man could understand, that was enough.
Not far away, Han Dong gazed at Gu Qingfeng, her expression exceptionally complex. First, the Black Wind Twin Fiends, now Granny Qinghua, and recalling the incident at Little Fold Villa where the Black Wind Eight Freaks presented a grand gift, and Gu Qingfeng's claim of having met Ancestor Fenglie—Han Dong seemed to realize something and asked, "You... did you really kill our Yaoyue Palace's Ancestor Fenglie?"
Gu Qingfeng looked up, glanced at her, and shook his head, indicating he had not.
"Hah, still daring to quibble," Wei Chaoqun said with an air of calm composure. "As far as I know, not only were Granny Qinghua and the Black Wind Twin Fiends present at the time, but Daozun Xuanxin of Wuse Mountain was also there, right?"
The crowd looked over. Daozun Xuanxin's expression stiffened, as if hesitating about something.
"Daozun Xuanxin, did this person really kill our Yaoyue Palace's Ancestor Fenglie?"
This time, quite a few from Yaoyue Palace had come, including Elders Ziyu and Zihao. After Ziyu asked, Elder Zihao added, "We hope Daozun Xuanxin will truthfully inform us."
Daozun Xuanxin glanced at Gu Qingfeng, who was still playing the tune, pondered for a moment, and ultimately decided to speak. "That's correct. That day, I indeed witnessed with my own eyes this person kill the old fiend Fenglie. Moreover, just as Granny Qinghua said, the method was extremely cruel..." As his words fell, Han Dong seemed to suffer a great blow, her originally cold and aloof face instantly paling.
She could choose not to believe the words of the Black Wind Twin Fiends.
She could choose not to believe Granny Qinghua's words.
But she had no choice but to believe the words of Wuse Mountain's Daozun Xuanxin. The last glimmer of hope deep in her heart vanished with Daozun Xuanxin's confirmation.
She stared incredulously at Gu Qingfeng here, murmuring, "Why... why did you kill Ancestor Fenglie!"
If it were anyone else, Han Dong would not hesitate to take action to avenge Ancestor Fenglie. But facing Gu Qingfeng, she hesitated. Even though she still did not know who this Lao Jiu really was, one thing was very clear in her heart: this person had impersonated Young Lord Chiyan to help her.
Faced with someone who had shown her kindness yet had cruelly killed her ancestor, Han Dong was momentarily at a complete loss about what to do.
"Hmph! Han Dong! You truly live up to being the heir apparent of our Yaoyue Palace!" Elder Ziyu gnashed her teeth and sneered coldly. "First, you colluded with this person to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan—we'll let that pass. At Little Fold Villa, not only did you injure Bilian, but now you've even had our Yaoyue Palace's ancestor killed! Truly remarkable! Remarkable!"
"Han Dong, is this really true?" Elder Zihao had always supported Han Dong, but if Han Dong had colluded with an outsider to kill Ancestor Fenglie, he could never tolerate it.
Faced with the accusations from the Yaoyue Palace elders, Han Dong's face turned deathly pale, utterly unable to respond.
The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion. Only Daozun Xuanxin knew that the reason these people were bringing this up was likely to seize the Mystic Tortoise in Young Lord Chiyan's possession. When he informed Liu Qingyan and the others of this, Little Qinglian worriedly said, "But... are we just going to let these people snatch Young Lord Chiyan's Mystic Tortoise? Grandmaster has always taught us to uphold justice and chivalry..."
"Qinglian, upholding justice is not wrong. Under ordinary circumstances, we naturally wouldn't stand idly by. However... this person did kill Senior Fenglie. Why should we help such a person?" Daozun Xuanxin said. "Moreover, whether he is or isn't Young Lord Chiyan is still unknown. Even if he is Young Lord Chiyan, he may not necessarily be the true successor of the Monarch."
"Master Uncle... if he's not Young Lord Chiyan nor the Monarch's successor, then why could he infuse 'Wind Over Daqing Mountain' with the artistic conception of Chixiao's thunder, and why could playing a single 'Journey of Youth' make us dream back to the Ancient Era?"
"This..." Daozun Xuanxin shook his head. He truly did not know how to respond to this question.
"Grandmaster said that others might be able to play 'Wind Over Daqing Mountain' with artistic conception, but someone who can play 'Journey of Youth' with artistic conception, even if not the Monarch himself, must be someone connected to the Monarch."
"Perhaps he really used some sophisticated mental technique just now to manifest the artistic conception."
"But I... I asked Senior Sister earlier. She said Young Lord Chiyan did not use any mental technique to manifest the artistic conception..."
Daozun Xuanxin and Liu Qingyan exchanged a glance. Although they both understood music theory, their understanding was only superficial, far from Qing Xi's innate talent and profound musical depth. They also wanted to ask what was going on, but when they looked over, they found Qing Xi frowning as she gazed at Young Lord Chiyan, who was still playing the tune.
"Xi'er, what are you looking at?"
"Master..." Qing Xi murmured, "The tune he's playing seems related to our Wuse Mountain..."
"What tune?"
"The one he's playing right now."
"Is what he's playing even a tune?"
Neither Daozun Xuanxin nor Liu Qingyan could understand what Gu Qingfeng was playing. It didn't sound like any tune; the melody was chaotic and messy, seemingly impossible to form a coherent piece, like a beginner randomly plucking strings.
"I don't know if it's a tune... but I can faintly discern that not only is it related to our Wuse Mountain, it also seems related to Grandmaster Ku Mu... It's as if he's reminiscing, reminiscing about our Wuse Mountain, reminiscing about Grandmaster Ku Mu..."
Reminiscing about Wuse Mountain? Reminiscing about Grandmaster?
Daozun Xuanxin didn't understand. Liu Qingyan didn't understand either.
"Look, what's wrong with Grandmaster..." Little Qinglian's voice came. Qing Xi and the others looked over. At this moment, Daozun Ku Mu, whether from excitement, shock, or disbelief, stood there frozen, his body trembling uncontrollably, his face flushed red, pointing a finger at Gu Qingfeng. He looked as if he had seen something utterly inconceivable.
"You... how... you... I... you..." Old Man Ku Mu was incoherent, his eyes wide as he stared at Gu Qingfeng, stammering out, "You... impossible... how is it possible... who... who exactly... are you."
Gu Qingfeng did not stop playing, only responding lightly, "Who I am is not important. What matters is that you, old sir, once saved Gu Tianlang's life. For such a long time, he never came to see you. He has always felt guilty. So... I've come on his behalf to visit you... I'm a bit late. I hope you don't mind..."
"No! That's not it! You... you're not! You are him! You... didn't die... you really didn't die..."
"Didn't die, ah... Hahahahaha!"
"Wuwuwu! You really didn't die! Ah!!"
Old Man Ku Mu went mad, laughing heartily, and also weeping bitterly.