Chapter 51: Young Chen and Young Gu Finally Meet

Chen Yan left the commercial street, hailed a ride-hailing car, and headed home.

While in the car, he scrolled through his phone and discovered that on Douyin's local channel, someone had already uploaded a video of the scene at Luoyun Zhai, and traffic was rapidly accumulating!

In this local trade, Luoyun Zhai had instantly become a top influencer.

However, this wave of traffic was likely unwanted by anyone.

·

Chen Yan took the car back to the villa district at the foot of General Mountain, entered the compound, and walked to the front gate of his own villa.

He reached out to press the password on the courtyard gate; after pressing only three digits, a series of beeps sounded, and the gate was actually pulled open from the inside.

Inside the gate stood a thin, short little old man.

Chen Yan froze for a second and blurted out, "Who are you?"

The little old man looked at Chen Yan: "I am the butler of this house. You are..."

Butler?

Chen Yan was momentarily dazed and instinctively stepped back a pace, looking left and right.

Correct, he hadn't gone to the wrong door!

His heart instantly swelled with boldness; he pushed the door open forcefully and walked in: "What butler? Where did this butler come from?

This is my house! My house has a butler, and I don't know about it?!"

The little old man immediately showed a respectful smile on his face, quickly bowed with clasped hands: "So the young master has returned! Young master, please enter quickly, please come in!"

Saying this, he stepped back and moved to the side.

Chen Yan wore an expression of astonishment.

What? What young master? What nonsense?!

"What do you mean I should enter!

Wait, no, of course I should enter; this is my house!

Don't run, old geezer! Don't run! Explain yourself clearly to me, where did you come from!! How did you break into someone else's house in broad daylight? How did you get into my gate?!"

Chen Yan rushed forward, grabbed the little old man's arm, and wouldn't let go.

At that moment, the front hall door of the large villa in the courtyard opened. Chen Yan saw a figure standing at the doorway, looking at him from afar, and then he heard a crisp, sweet little voice enter his ears:

"Chen Yan, don't make things difficult for him; I appointed him to the position of butler."

Hmm?

Who is this person?

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

Robbing someone's house in broad daylight? An accomplice?

Whoosh!

Chen Yan felt a flash before his eyes; that figure actually flickered, leaped more than ten meters, and landed directly in front of him!

Damn!! A master?!

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes! He reacted extremely quickly, immediately letting go and stepping back!

An enemy family member coming to the door? Does Luoyun Zhai have masters?

Or someone from Port City?!

His first thought was... run!

Run first, deal with it later!

Although he had learned some spells, after all, how many days had passed? If someone came to seek revenge, he wasn't Superman!

A command spell, the Escape Technique, was already cast; Chen Yan crouched and stepped back, his figure retreating rapidly...

Then, in one motion, someone grabbed his neck!

Next, Chen Yan's feet left the ground, and he was directly lifted up to the front by the person in front of him.

"Don't run around recklessly; I have something to say to you!" The girl Gu narrowed her eyes: "It wasn't easy for me to find you; don't force me to use force and make you suffer."

Chen Yan gulped down some saliva.

His first thought was... Huh? This villainess looks so good?

·

The little old man was kicked by the girl Gu back into the pool—Chen Yan then discovered that the swimming pool in his own courtyard had been filled with water.

"Stay inside; unless I give orders, you are not allowed to come out," the girl Gu coldly instructed.

The little old man fell into the water and suddenly transformed into a water turtle the size of a millstone, quickly sinking to the bottom and lying motionless in the corner of the swimming pool.

Chen Yan stared with wide eyes!

Is this... a demon cultivator?

·

The girl Gu carried Chen Yan to the middle of the courtyard and then set him down on the ground.

Chen Yan felt his neck finally relax, gasped for air in large breaths, but his mind was racing with thoughts, looking around left and right, searching for an opportunity.

The girl Gu glanced at him and said coldly, "Don't think nonsense; stay put and be honest."

She reached out... and the two bamboo chairs placed far away flew over, landing in front of the two of them.

Chen Yan's heart grew even more wary—this move, is it the Control Technique?

He hasn't learned it yet!

"Sit down," the girl Gu said with a stern face.

Chen Yan looked at the girl before him, yet a sense of absurdity arose in his heart.

This girl, how to put it.

Though she tried hard to keep a stern face, as if aiming to project a formidable aura.

But her natural voice was sweet and crisp, with a faint nasal lilt.

It was a perfectly innate little squeaky voice!

No matter how hard she scowled or spoke coldly, that naturally sweet, high-pitched voice made it impossible to feel the least bit intimidated—only that she was being cutesy, like she was pouting.

Still, her earlier step covering ten meters at a time, her single hand breaking through his Dun Zi Jue, and now summoning two chairs with a wave—these feats were effortless, clearly far beyond his own abilities.

Most importantly, that old turtle lying sprawled in the swimming pool!!

That was a genuine demonic cultivator!!

Chen Yan's heart froze!

Following the principle that a hero doesn't suffer present humiliation, he sat down obediently on the chair.

Gu Girl watched Chen Yan sit, but she herself felt a touch of nervousness—not from fear, but because the matter she needed to speak of left her unsure where to begin.

Mainly… it was hard to bring up!

After hesitating for a few seconds, Gu Girl cleared her throat: "You're Chen Yan, twenty-two years old, from the Chen family, correct?"

"... Yes." Chen Yan blinked his eyes.

"I've been to the place where the Old Master resides in this realm—you lived with him, right?" As she spoke, Gu Girl reached into her bosom, fished inside the inner pocket of her blouse, and pulled out something.

Tightly rolled, she slowly unrolled it.

It was a photograph—black and white.

In the photo, the Old Grandma looked spirited, smiling with unshakable confidence!

Chen Yan's expression changed—he was furious!

He leapt up from the chair with a thud, enraged: "You stole my grandmother's portrait?!"

"You, uh, don't get upset," Gu Girl shook her head. "It's not a portrait of the deceased—the Venerable isn't dead. Why are you angry?"

Huh?

Come to think of it… she had a point.

The Old Grandma had just gone down to take up her post underground.

So technically, this photo really was a portrait of the deceased.

Chen Yan's anger suddenly stalled; he sat back down, stunned.

Gu Girl waved her hand: "Photo matches, person matches—that's settled."

She rolled up the portrait again and extended it toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan took it unconsciously, then blinked: "You… who exactly are you?"

Huh!

Gu Girl seemed to exhale in relief—finally, she could get to the real topic; she'd been at a loss how to begin.

"I'm Gu. From the Gu family. Remember this—my name is… Gu Qingyi."

Gu Qingyi?

That name sounds nice—like a main female lead from a novel…

But it's not the kind of name a sane person in real life would pick!

Hmm? Wait—no!

Chen Yan's mind stirred; he fixed his gaze on the girl before him.

She was… lying.

Since sitting down, Chen Yan had been using his Heavenly Eye Qi-Viewing Technique to observe her.

The Heavenly Eye perceives qi and discerns people. Under his gaze, when she spoke her name—uttering the three characters "Gu Qingyi"—her primordial qi subtly fluctuated, her fate-stream showing a slight flaw.

Was the name fake?

"What I'm about to tell you is a matter of utmost importance—for both you and me. So…" Gu Girl continued, still keeping a stern face: "You might find it absurd, but…"

"Wait a minute," Chen Yan cut in directly.

"What?" Gu Girl frowned at him, annoyed at being interrupted.

"You say what you're going to tell me is important, so you clearly want me to believe you, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Then you shouldn't lie," Chen Yan shook his head. "You know I've studied cultivation arts—I can observe qi and read people. When you said your name just now, you didn't tell the truth."

"…", the girl's face flushed slightly—but clearly not from shyness.

Rather…

"Don't you dare ask!" she snapped, eyes blazing. "My birth name was given by my family—I hate it! When I grew up, I chose my own name: Gu Qingyi!"

I've used Gu Qingyi everywhere I go. My birth name is none of your business.

I am Gu Qingyi. Gu Qingyi is me!"

Hmm… why's she getting so worked up?

Watching Gu Girl's expression, Chen Yan couldn't help but smile.

Even when angry, that little squeaky voice had zero intimidation—only added a touch of cuteness.

"But if your first introduction is a lie, how can I trust what comes next?"

"I don't need you to believe me sincerely!"

"Huh?"

Gu Girl narrowed her eyes: "If you don't believe me, I'll beat you until you do."

Chen Yan: "..."

He sensed a hint of lethal intent in her gaze—she wasn't lying about that.

Sit up straight, Chen Yan said politely, "I was impolite just now—please continue."

Gu Qingyi sniffed, then went on: "Since you follow the Venerable Lord and are named Chen Yan, you must be the Chen family member I'm looking for. I…"

"Wait a second," Chen Yan raised his hand again. "The Venerable you mentioned—that's my Old Grandma, right? Why do you call her the Venerable Lord?"

"Because the elder holds the rank of Venerable," Gu Qingyi paused, then explained: "In the Domain Realm, the highest rank is the Heavenly Venerable; below that is the Earthly Venerable; below that is the Lesser Venerable."

Aside from the Heavenly and Earthly Venerables, who rarely show themselves, the thirty-six Lesser Venerables are already the pinnacle of existence.

The elder holds a position among those thirty-six Lesser Venerables, so naturally she must be addressed as the Venerable Lord."

Chen Yan frowned.

He knew his Old Grandma was powerful—after all, she made both the Black and White Elders kneel and kowtow.

But what were these Lesser Venerables, this Venerable Lord, this Domain Realm…?

"The Venerable Lord came from the Domain Realm and raised you…" Gu Qingyi continued.

"Wait again," Chen Yan interrupted once more. "What exactly is this Domain Realm? Is it the Immortal Realm? Or the Heavenly Realm?"

"…," Gu Qingyi's eye twitched; she took a deep breath. "The Domain Realm is just the Domain Realm—it's another place, not part of this world. To you, it's another world."

After a pause, Gu Qingyi added patiently: "I'm not from your world—I'm also from the Domain Realm."

·

【Today's two chapters don't advance the plot much—they mainly use this meeting to establish some setting and background. But this can't be skipped; at least the next million words will be built on this world's foundation. I'll finish this section quickly and try to make it engaging so you won't find it boring.】

【As usual, I'm not begging for monthly votes—just a few recommendation votes would be great.】

·