Chapter 59: [Xiao Gu Repays a Kindness]

The Limit Internet Cafe had already closed down; the photo that should have been lit up at night was now dim and dark.

After the landlady rented the entire small building, the first and second floors served as the internet cafe, while the three small rooms on the third floor were used by the landlady and her brother as their living quarters.

At this moment, in the innermost room of the third-floor corridor, the landlady sat at the table, carefully scrolling through her phone's contacts, her eyes filled with anxiety and disappointment.

A takeout box meal sat before her—one meat dish and two vegetable dishes—but she had only taken two bites, and it had gone completely cold. A layer of white, greasy oil floated on top of the food.

The air conditioning was off in the room, yet the landlady felt a burning heat on her body due to her agitated emotions.

In the ashtray on the table, several cigarette butts had already been extinguished.

Although the landlady smoked, she wasn't heavily addicted and rarely smoked in her daily life; however, this time, worried and upset over her brother's situation, she had smoked so much these past two days that her throat had gone hoarse.

Throughout the day, she had made quite a few phone calls, relying on connections and asking around, trying to find someone who could speak with the owner of Luoyun Zhai.

But ultimately, although she was a business owner, she was merely a small internet cafe proprietor. How big could an internet cafe business get? Even if she knew a few peers or business acquaintances, they were nothing more than computer sellers, hardware and accessory suppliers, or restaurant owners in this neighborhood—all small-time businessmen.

After a whole day of leveraging connections, she still couldn't find a single person who could get in touch with Luoyun Zhai.

There were no good news, but she did hear some bad news: she heard that the owner of Luoyun Zhai seemed to know many important figures, with numerous wealthy and powerful people coming and going.

This made the landlady even more worried in her heart.

Just as she was staring blankly at her phone, she heard the door being gently knocked twice.

The landlady was startled, raised her head, and instinctively asked, "Who is it?"

"Landlady, it's Xiao Gu."

Hearing that familiar, sweet, high-pitched voice, the landlady finally breathed a sigh of relief, walked over to open the door, and saw Gu Qingyi standing outside, holding a plastic bag containing a food box.

"Xiao Gu! It really is you! After you left without saying a word a few days ago and didn't return, I thought... I thought you had found the person you were looking for, or that you had gone back to your hometown."

The landlady, somewhat surprised and excited, pulled Gu Qingyi into the room.

After looking the girl up and down, the landlady breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay; you look clean, so you must not have suffered hardships outside."

"Mm, I'm fine, Landlady," Gu Qingyi nodded, took the food box out of the plastic bag and placed it on the table, then turned to look at the landlady: "These are for you to eat."

The landlady was stunned, glanced at the food box, and then forced a smile on her face: "Xiao Gu... you are thoughtful. When you suddenly left a few days ago, I was actually a bit worried and wanted to look for you, but later I... got delayed by some matters and simply couldn't attend to it..."

Gu Qingyi nodded, pulled the landlady to sit down, then personally opened the food box and pushed the braised pork with chestnuts in front of her: "Landlady, eat this. I remember you said you liked this dish."

"Mm," the landlady grabbed Gu Qingyi's hand, then touched her forehead and smoothed her hair: "Have you found the person you were looking for?"

"Mm, I found her."

"Then..."

"I have finished handling everything here, so don't worry," Gu Qingyi pushed the food box again: "Eat a few bites quickly; it won't taste good if it gets cold."

All the way here, Gu Xiaoniang had used her Yuan Qi to keep the food box warm.

The landlady forced a smile, picked up her chopsticks to eat a chestnut, then put the chopsticks down and held Gu Qingyi's hand: "Then, are you going back to your hometown soon? Do you lack money?"

"..." Gu Qingyi stared at the landlady's face, and suddenly her two beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly: "Landlady, have you been crying? Did someone bully you?"

"No one bullied me; the shop just encountered some troubling matters recently."

"That's not right," Gu Qingyi shook her head seriously: "Your appearance is like someone who has been wronged."

"..." The landlady forced a smile: "I really am fine; it's just... some troubles in the shop. It's useless to tell you, so as a young girl, you shouldn't pry so much."

"That's not right; your three brothers are not in the shop, and the shop is closed and not doing business," Gu Qingyi frowned, looking at the landlady.

The landlady was stunned, and suddenly a thought occurred to her: That's not right! The shop doors downstairs are all locked; how did this Xiao Gu get up here?

"Tell me, who bullied you," Gu Qingyi had already stood up.

"I..."

Seeing that the landlady still looked doubtful, Gu Qingyi sighed softly, reached out, and pressed her hand on the landlady's shoulder: "Landlady, I'm sorry."

"Mm?"

The landlady was startled, then saw Xiao Gu gently blow a breath at her; then her vision blurred, and she lost consciousness.

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A few minutes later, Gu Qingyi whooshed down directly from the rooftop, her body landing lightly and gracefully in an alley behind the internet cafe building.

The girl's face wore a look of complex contemplation.

Mm... Luoyun Zhai? Luo Qing? Letter of Forgiveness?

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When the sky had completely darkened, although it was only around eight in the evening, in other commercial districts, the foot traffic at this time would not necessarily be sparse.

But the commercial street where Luoyun Zhai was located was different—it dealt in traditional folk businesses like incense and divination, and mainly relied on the nearby large temple to draw crowds.

In commercial streets dealing in such businesses, by nightfall, the streets are desolate and quiet, with very few people to be seen.

Only a vegetarian restaurant near the main road at the street's entrance was still open.

And those shops inside the street selling consecrated protective charms, fortune-telling, and face-reading had long since closed their doors.

The tea house opposite Luoyun Zhai had naturally also closed for the day, and right on the rooftop terrace of the tea house, a small figure squatted on the edge of the terrace, her eyes fixed on Luoyun Zhai and the three-courtyard compound behind it downstairs.

A flash of coldness passed through Gu Qingyi's charming large eyes, and then she gently inhaled.

Turning around, the girl sat cross-legged on the terrace floor, then with a light tap of her finger, three small objects appeared in the air before her.

If a Northerner were here, they would instantly recognize these as three Galaha: a kind of dice-like toy made from the leg joints of sheep.

As Gu Qingyi pointed her finger, the three Galaha slowly emitted a faint Jin Guang.

Gu Qingyi immediately formed finger seals with both hands and slowly spoke:

"Ancestor above, disciple Gu Qingyi, the legitimate daughter of the seventeenth generation of the Gu Clan, makes a prayer, begging the Ancestor to bestow words!"

A few seconds later, the Galaha showed no reaction.

"..."

Gu Qingyi narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, formed finger seals again with her fingertips, spoke with greater seriousness, and raised her voice slightly:

"Ancestor above! Disciple Gu Qingyi, the legitimate daughter of the seventeenth generation of the Gu Clan, makes a prayer! Begging the Ancestor to bestow words!"

She waited a few seconds, but there was still no response.

A flicker of annoyance flashed in Gu Qingyi's eyes; she bit her lip hard, finally sighed helplessly, lowered her head, and her tone grew weak and listless.

"Ancestor above, disciple Gu, the seventeenth-generation direct daughter of the Gu Sect, Gu... pray for a blessing from the Ancestor..."

This time, the words she spoke merely replaced the name "Gu Qingyi" with her given name at home, yet she spoke it very indistinctly, the last two characters rushing past so fast they seemed to scald her mouth, making them impossible to hear clearly.

Yet precisely because of this, as her voice fell, a few seconds later, those three galaha suddenly began to spin right there on the spot!

Was there a response?

Gu Qingyi couldn't help but roll her Bai Yan, then quickly composed her expression, and solemnly addressed the galaha spinning noisily with a rapid, loud voice:

"Reporting to the Ancestor! Disciple has traveled the outside world, penniless, sleeping under the open sky and eating in the wind; fortunately, a kind person gave me clothes and food, and a place of shelter, sparing me the hardship of sleeping under the open sky and eating in the wind.

It is said that a meal's grace must be repaid, and a drop of water's grace must be returned.

Our Gu Sect's cultivation has its own laws: 【Grace must be repaid, enmity must be avenged】. As a direct daughter of the Gu family, I must uphold the Gu Sect's laws! I have received kindness for many days; now that my benefactor faces disaster, I, the disciple, ought to break the calamity for him.

Now someone is bullying my benefactor; I have the intention to act. Please, Ancestor, grant permission!"

As she finished speaking, the three galaha suddenly stopped spinning and fell quietly to the ground, yet the Jin Guang upon them flashed with a certain rhythm, blinking on and off.

Gu Qingyi used a high-pitched, squeaky voice to ask softly: "May I ask the Ancestor, regarding the fellow who bullied my benefactor, may I simply destroy him? Is this action permissible?"

"…………" The three galaha lay quietly on the ground, blinking Jin Guang silently.

Gu Qingyi raised an eyebrow and cautiously changed her wording: "Then... may I leave him his whole body and merely bury him? Is this action permissible?"

The three galaha continued to lie there, completely motionless.

Gu Qingyi's small face puffed out—so killing is not allowed.

Her eyes rolled, and the girl continued speaking:

"Disciple will spare his life, only severing his four limbs. Is this action permissible?"

"Disciple will only break his two legs. Is this action permissible?"

"... What about one leg?"

"Then... what if I cut off a few of his fingers?"

"What if I pull out his tongue?"

She asked many more sentences in a row, yet the galaha remained completely motionless.

Helpless, Gu Qingyi cupped her chin with both hands and pleaded hopefully: "Then... at most, I will beat him severely, make him lose some wealth, and suffer some physical pain. Is this action permissible?"

Finally, as this sentence ended, the three galaha before her suddenly turned into golden powder without a sound, then vanished rapidly.

In Gu Qingyi's ears, it seemed she heard a faint, ethereal voice carried by the wind.

"... Good!"

Hearing these words, a hint of joy appeared on Gu Qingyi's face; her eyes finally showed great satisfaction, and with a leap, her body jumped up from the ground.

The Ancestor has granted permission; then my actions comply with the Gu Sect's laws!

Gu Qingyi's spirits lifted, and then she took a step into the void! Her figure, like a flying swallow, soared over the half-sky of the street and directly swept into the rear courtyard of the opposite Luoyun Zhai!

The courtyard had three sections; Gu Qingyi leaped lightly and easily, landing gracefully in the third section's courtyard.

In the courtyard, a few steps to the left, there stood a osmanthus tree as thick as a thigh.

After glancing at it twice, Gu Qingyi walked over slowly and hugged the tree trunk with one hand...

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