"This old man only heard about the matter after the fact."
Some say the longer one cultivates, the more stubborn, pure, and out of touch with worldly affairs they become.
This saying holds true.
Those old-timers who have cultivated for thousands of years spend most of their time in seclusion, rarely venturing out or interacting with others. Over time, they grow increasingly weary of all things mundane.
However,
Wei Lao was different.
Although he was also an old-timer who had cultivated for a millennium, he rarely entered seclusion over those thousand years. He spent most of his time mingling in the secular world. Moreover, his personal interest in attaining the Dao and becoming an Immortal was not great. Instead, he was more fascinated by niche immortal arts like chess and music, and he was utterly obsessed with the vice of gambling. Thus, for the past millennium, he had always frequented pleasure quarters, making him an absolutely experienced old fox.
Under normal circumstances, if he were present in a gambling den, no one would ever win big, and certainly no one would lose everything down to their last thread.
Because whenever he encountered such a situation, he would intervene.
By intervene, it didn't mean stopping or persuading. Rather, he would join the gambling himself, using his superb skills to influence the wins and losses of both sides, ensuring the winner was happy and the loser didn't suffer too badly.
This was also why many young masters and even Immortal Court nobles enjoyed gambling at Linglong Mountain Villa.
Yet, it just so happened that yesterday, he was not at the gambling hall, which led to Yue Jinghong, a Nine-Star Immortal Official, losing assets worth hundreds of millions in Mystic-Grade resources.
"Whether you knew beforehand or after the fact, as long as Steward Wei knows now, that's what matters."
Peng Jia picked up his wine cup, brought it to his lips, and gently sniffed the aroma. The implication of his words was clear: he was questioning Wei Lao. As the chief steward of Linglong Mountain Villa, it was one thing not to know beforehand that Yue Jinghong had lost everything here. But since he knew after the fact, why hadn't he made that person return the resources he had won?
This left Wei Lao momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
What could he say?
Should he tell Peng Jia that he had tried to persuade him, but the other party not only refused to listen but was also quite arrogant?
That wasn't important, nor was it the reason for Wei Lao's dilemma.
What truly troubled him was Gu Qingfeng's identity.
That was the very man who had killed dozens of Immortal Court nobles in the Great Northwest back in the day. Once his identity was exposed, it would inevitably cause an uproar. Wei Lao neither wanted to provoke the Immortal Office nor have any connection with that Gu Qingfeng. Therefore, he chose silence.
"I heard that fellow surnamed Gu is still staying at the villa?"
Just as he was deep in thought, Peng Jia's deep voice came again. Wei Lao offered no response to this question either.
"Heh."
Peng Jia chuckled, set down his wine cup, and said, "It seems this fellow surnamed Gu has quite an unusual identity...
Even you, Steward Wei, are keeping your mouth shut. However..." His tone shifted, and his smile turned into an arrogant, cold sneer. "Today, I want to see just who this fellow surnamed Gu really is."
He paused, then added, "Steward Wei, today I'm giving Sister Hong face, and I'm giving you face too. I don't want to cause trouble here. So, I hope you will step forward and bring that fellow surnamed Gu out for me."
"This..." Wei Lao hesitated.
And at that moment, a voice rang out: "Young Lord Peng truly has quite the imposing manner."
Hmm?
Who was that?
Everyone looked over to see a short, rotund man, less than five feet tall, slowly descending from the second floor. The short, stout man wore a custom-made black robe, his hair slicked back neatly, sporting a thin mustache. He gave off a rather comical feeling, like a mismatched clown. Yet, upon seeing this person, no one dared to laugh at him as a clown, for they all recognized this short, stout man as a subordinate of the Black Buddha Lord, and none other than Fei Kui, the very successful Fei Boss who had been thriving in Yanluo Kingdom in recent years.
Seeing Fei Kui, Peng Jia showed a hint of surprise. "Oh? I didn't expect Boss Fei to be here enjoying himself as well."
"Of course. Everyone knows I, Fei Kui, have a taste for this. If I'm not here, where else would I be?"
Fei Kui walked forward and sat at an empty table. A serving girl came to pour him wine, and Fei Kui casually gave her backside a firm pinch, making the girl blush crimson.
"I heard Young Brother Yue lost quite a bit here yesterday. What's the matter? Coming to settle scores today?"
"Fei Kui! This is my business! What does it have to do with you!" Yue Jinghong glared furiously at Fei Kui and shouted, "Get out of the way if you know what's good for you, or I'll make you regret it!"
"Oh?" Fei Kui stroked his thin mustache, his eyes narrowing like a venomous snake's as he stared at Yue Jinghong. "I wonder how Young Master Jinghong plans to make this Fei regret it?"
Yue Jinghong was about to speak when Peng Jia stopped him.
Fei Kui was currently a prominent figure in Yanluo Kingdom.
That wasn't important.
What was important was that his backing was the Black Buddha Lord.
And the Black Buddha Lord's business was vast, spanning the entire Yanluo Kingdom. He controlled many precious and rare spirit veins. No one wanted to make an enemy of the Black Buddha Lord. Not the four great families or the seven great sects of Yanluo Kingdom, and not even the Yanluo Immortal Office wanted to antagonize the Black Buddha Lord. At the very least, they wouldn't offend a master who held the economic lifeline of Yanluo Kingdom over trivial matters.
However,
What puzzled Peng Jia was why Fei Kui would step forward at this moment. He asked, "Does Boss Fei have some business here?"
"That's a question this Fei should be asking Young Lord Peng." Fei Kui smiled. "I wonder if Young Lord Peng has some business?"
"Oh?" Fei Kui's question only confused Peng Jia further. "What does Boss Fei mean?"
"Nothing much. Young Lord Peng has come to the villa with such a grand display today, clamoring to find my Young Lord, hasn't he?"
"Your Young Lord?" Peng Jia seemed to realize something, though he couldn't be sure yet. "Are you saying that fellow surnamed Gu is your master?"
"Of course."
Upon hearing this,
the entire hall erupted in an uproar.
Earlier, everyone had speculated that the person daring to win Yue Jinghong clean must have an extraordinary identity and background. Yet, no one had imagined he would be Fei Kui's master.
Fei Kui was a man of the Black Buddha Lord. To be his master, could it be a descendant of the Black Buddha Lord?
But the key point was that the Black Buddha Lord had no descendants, not even disciples.
If not someone from the Black Buddha Lord, could it be a young master of the Chixiao Sect?
That couldn't be possible either.
Yue Jinghong couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with the famous talents of the Chixiao Sect's Yanluo branch.
Just who was this 'Young Lord' in Fei Kui's mouth?
No one knew.
Everyone was puzzled.
Peng Jia was the same. He thought and thought but couldn't figure out who Fei Kui's 'Young Lord' might be.
"Might I ask, Boss Fei, what is your master's name and who is he? Could this noble son meet him?"
"Who my Young Lord is, you have no need to know." Fei Kui said without any courtesy. "As for a meeting, forget it. Today, my Young Lord only wants to listen to music, not receive guests."