Chapter 85: The Debt of Grandpa Gu

"Shangguan Danfeng" warmly pulled Gu Qing to his seat.

Lu Xiaofeng felt a sour pang in his chest; after Gu Qing defeated Huo Tianqing, "Shangguan Danfeng" suddenly stopped paying attention to him, and now she was affectionately pulling Gu Qing along—this sharp contrast left Lu Xiaofeng deeply disheartened.

"Let’s go."

Lu Xiaofeng pulled Hua Manlou along, and together with Ximen Chuixue, they left the banquet at Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion and stepped onto the street outside, where Hua Manlou suddenly smiled.

"What are you laughing at?"

Lu Xiaofeng asked.

"Of course I’m laughing at you."

Hua Manlou smiled faintly.

"What’s so funny about me?"

"Your jealous expression is hilarious."

Hua Manlou, though blind, understood Lu Xiaofeng’s state of mind and comforted him: "A girl’s heart is always changing; no one can predict it." As he spoke, Hua Manlou himself sounded somewhat desolate.

Lu Xiaofeng looked at Hua Manlou’s condition and thought of Shangguan Feiyan—how she had lured Hua Manlou into her scheme, then ignored him, even rolling in bed with Gu Qing—and suddenly, Lu Xiaofeng felt exactly what Hua Manlou felt.

"Alas, Shangguan Danfeng!"

"Alas, Shangguan Feiyan!"

Lu Xiaofeng sighed twice, turned his head, and saw Ximen Chuixue’s calm gaze fixed on him and Hua Manlou.

Ximen Chuixue never joked, but his calm eyes made Lu Xiaofeng feel as if he were looking into a mirror—reflecting his own absurdity.

He had gone through great trouble to drag Ximen Chuixue out to meddle in the Jin Peng Dynasty’s affairs, yet over the matter of Yan Tieshan, not only had "Danfeng Princess" taken a special interest in Gu Qing, but Lu Xiaofeng himself had been completely excluded.

It was indeed a ridiculous defeat.

Baxian Hall.

Du Gu Yihao listened to Su Shaoying’s account of everything at Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion and furrowed his brow.

He had lived many decades; for someone to suddenly smear him with filth, Du Gu Yihao naturally could not tolerate it—but hearing Su Shaoying’s talk of "Yuanhe" and "Gu Sha," he sensed Gu Qing’s words carried hidden meaning.

"Could it be that something has gone wrong within the Jin Peng Dynasty?"

Du Gu Yihao thought to himself, and deduced that Gu Qing’s distant voice transmission was meant to plainly reveal the misunderstanding, so Du Gu Yihao could prepare himself.

This misunderstanding should be cleared by noon tomorrow…

Thinking of this, Du Gu Yihao’s mind cleared—he realized that after Gu Qing’s distant voice transmission, he had already fallen into a perilous situation.

Because tomorrow, when he and Gu Qing met and spoke, the misunderstanding would be resolved; thus, if anyone in the Jin Peng Dynasty truly harbored treacherous intent, they could only act quickly.

Faint footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Du Gu Yihao looked up and saw Ye Xiuzhu entering carefully, holding tea, and bowed to him: "Master, please have tea."

Ye Xiuzhu was one of the Four Beauties of Emei Sect, usually shy and quiet; Du Gu Yihao had always taken special care of this disciple. Now, as she brought tea, Du Gu Yihao had no suspicion and took the cup—only to taste an odd bitterness in the tea.

"Crack!"

Du Gu Yihao’s lower abdomen took a palm strike—he was stunned and enraged, staring at this, the most shy and timid disciple of Emei Sect, whose face flushed, eyes trembling, hands and feet shaking as she stood beside him.

The surprise strike clearly weighed heavily on Ye Xiuzhu’s heart.

"Xiuzhu, you’ve done well."

A figure suddenly entered through the hall door.

Huo Tianqing!

Only now did Du Gu Yihao realize this most timid Emei disciple had long been colluding with Huo Tianqing; after entering, Huo Tianqing praised Ye Xiuzhu once, then immediately launched a palm strike at Du Gu Yihao.

The two immediately clashed in battle, while Ye Xiuzhu stepped outside to watch over Emei’s senior brothers and sisters, preventing them from hearing the commotion and coming to investigate.

After about an incense stick’s time, Huo Tianqing emerged from the hall—his robes torn, arms swollen, blood oozing from his lips—but Huo Tianqing was elated.

He had finally proven himself—he had killed Du Gu Yihao!

Yet Huo Tianqing was also furious: he had underestimated his own strength, creating such a messy situation—he should have handled this himself without relying on Gu Qing or Ximen Chuixue!

Ye Xiuzhu looked into the hall and saw Du Gu Yihao hanging from the beam—her tears immediately fell.

"You killed my master—what will I do now?"

Ye Xiuzhu wept.

"Someone will teach you what to do."

Huo Tianqing whispered.

As they murmured to each other, neither noticed that Du Gu Yihao, who should have been hanged, now opened his eyes and watched them both.

Du Gu Yihao’s strength surpassed Huo Tianqing’s, but he had accidentally been poisoned; the more he fought, the deeper the poison sank. If he killed Huo Tianqing, the poison would reach his lungs and organs—so he feigned weakness, used a mysterious feigned-death technique, and successfully deceived Huo Tianqing.

…Tonight was truly perilous.

Du Gu Yihao thought to himself, and began to worry about Gu Qing—he had barely escaped danger in Baxian Hall, yet Gu Qing was in Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion, the enemy’s very nest—how dire must things be there?

Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion.

Shangguan Feiyan had used every trick, making Gu Qing’s situation truly perilous.

Until nearly dawn, Shangguan Feiyan dragged herself back to disguise herself as Shangguan Danfeng, then returned to Gu Qing’s bedside.

"Great Master Gu, Great Master Gu…"

"Shangguan Danfeng" beamed with joy.

Gu Qing slightly opened his eyes on the bed, observing "Shangguan Danfeng’s" demeanor—he admired Shangguan Feiyan’s professional dedication; her performance was flawless in every aspect.

"Danfeng Princess?"

Gu Qing rose from the bed, regretting that "Danfeng Princess" had not participated.

"Shangguan Danfeng," seeing the mess on the bed, showed a hint of distaste.

"Great Master Gu, yesterday you rebuked Du Gu Yihao so fiercely that he was so ashamed he hanged himself!"

"Shangguan Danfeng" spoke cheerfully, sharing this good news with Gu Qing.

Du Gu Yihao was dead?

And by suicide?

Gu Qing thought the death felt too casual—but then he remembered this was Gu Long, and it made sense; many characters here exited the story just as casually.

Du Gu Yihao’s death was likely the Muhouheishou ’s attempt to patch the script—but now that Yan Tieshan and Du Gu Yihao were both dead, the script could not proceed.

Because the third target was none other than the true Muhouheishou : the Green Robe Tower’s master, Huo Xiu.

Huo Xiu would never arrange for Gu Qing to target the Green Robe Tower—he would only arrange for others to deal with Gu Qing.

"The Jin Peng Dynasty will forever remember your kindness!"

"Shangguan Danfeng," in her excitement, nearly knelt before Gu Qing.

"How will you remember it?"

Gu Qing looked at "Shangguan Danfeng" and said: "Why not write an essay about this kindness and include it in the Jin Peng Dynasty’s family genealogy, telling future generations: [Grandpa Gu terrified and killed Du Gu Yihao from afar]?"

Gu Qing spoke this with complete seriousness.

(End of Chapter)