“Young Master, you don’t need to be polite with Yan Ji — you can give me your command without any hesitation.”
Although Yan Ji was still confused about their whereabouts, she still hurriedly responded to Gu Changge after hearing his words. She had already been feeling guilt and unease over not having any way to repay Gu Changge’s favor, so now that she heard Gu Changge’s words, she couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.
She didn’t think she was worthy of having someone with Gu Changge’s identity take care of her without getting anything in return.
“It’s nothing big, actually. Before that, let me help you reconstruct your body.”
Gu Changge said with a smile, and looked at Yan Ji’s somewhat transparent figure. After all, Yan Ji was a Great Sacred Realm master at her peak, so Gu Changge would feel more at ease if he could have someone as mighty as her around to take care of some matters that couldn’t be divulged.
He wasn’t worried about Yan Ji betraying him. When they were in the Lower Realm, he already got to experience her nature, and believed that she was a person who could be trusted.
‘Reconstruct my body…’
Yan Ji’s scarlet pupils trembled as she heard his words, and a dazed expression appeared on her face. She had always wondered when the day would come when she would be able to reconstruct her body. No matter how she thought about it, she believed that it would take her a long time to see that day.
Back when she woke up and found herself in the wildernesses of the Lower Realm, she decided to not even think about this matter anymore, and could only wait and wait and wait.
At the time when she took Ye Chen in as her disciple, the thought to have him help her find some Heavenly Treasures to reconstruct her body had indeed crossed her mind. Alas! Ye Chen was simply too weak, so she could only kill her ideas in the cradle. In the end, she decided to just repay Ye Chen’s grace for awakening her by teaching him until the day her remnant spirit dissipated.
But fate was strange, and she somehow ended up with Gu Changge.
The dream that was once unreachable to her was something that Gu Changge could help her achieve with a mere few words. This massive shift in fortune brought great unease to her heart for a while, but then she felt blessed. If Ye Chen hadn’t misunderstood her due to his unfounded suspicions, and ended the relationship between them, then she would still be in the Lower Realm, waiting for the day she would disappear.
With that said, she wondered if she was in a dream right now?
‘Why is Young Master Gu so good to me?’
Yan Ji’s ruby eyes shone brightly and stared at Gu Changge without blinking as this thought crossed through her mind. Helping her once could be explained as generosity, but how could his act of helping her again and again for nothing be explained?
What’s more? Gu Changge had an esteemed identity, and he was the Young Master of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family. She was sure that they had also already returned to the Upper Realm. After all, judging from the luxurious decorations in the palace, and the surging Spiritual Qi that seemed to be flooding her surroundings, plus the brilliant light from the treasures…No ordinary power could bring out something of this level.
Just her surroundings were enough to show the grandeur and horror of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family’s deep heritage.
She couldn’t help but be startled.
Yan Ji was not stupid, so she couldn’t help but have these thoughts. Just why was Young Master Gu going this far for her? Had he taken a fancy to her strength? Or was he interested in her background and past?
That couldn’t be! There was no shortage of talented and mighty people in the Ancient Immortal Gu Family. Although her origin was relatively special, it meant nothing in front of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
As for him fancying her? She didn’t quite believe that. Although Yan Ji was confident in her appearance, the one in front of her was the Young Master of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family who wouldn’t lack beautiful women willing to stand at his beck and call. Just one sentence from him would be enough to make innumerable favored daughters of Heaven send themselves to his bed.
This left Yan Ji confused.
Was he doing it purely out of the kindness of his heart? No matter how she thought about it, that couldn’t be the case. After all, a Young Master like Gu Changge would have to be an extremely ambitious and ruthless person who would only do something if it brought him some benefit.[1]
[1: this is her thinking in a general term as people from such massive families can’t be kind and gentle with outsiders. They eat, sleep, and speak benefits.]
“Young Master’s kindness to me is already as heavy as a mountain, so let’s forget about reconstructing my body. Yan Ji wouldn’t know how to repay your favor anymore…”
Although Yan Ji was extremely excited about rebuilding her body, she still shook her head and refused. She had her own morals, and wouldn’t accept his grace unless she had a way to repay Gu Changge.
Gu Changge wasn’t surprised by her response. There would be something wrong with Yan Ji if she readily accepted his offer.
His face still showed a slight smile, and he asked with an expression of intrigue, “Why? Shouldn’t reconstructing your body be a good thing? This should have been your plan and goal all along, right? Or do you not feel well achieving something so big if it doesn’t bring along a sense of accomplishment?”
He chuckled and teased her.
His words stunned Yan Ji, and she couldn’t help but feel somewhat indignant. What did he mean by saying that she didn’t feel well because there wasn’t any sense of accomplishment in achieving that?
Unfortunately, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything right now.
Had she followed Ye Chen, she would have never been able to have a chance to rebuild her body, but after she joined Young Master Gu’s side, only a few words from him were enough to help her reconstruct her existence.
Sure enough, some people were born different and couldn’t even be compared. What some pursued all their lives, others were born with that in the palm of their hands — everything was within their reach. This reality complicated her mood even more.
In fact, a part of her was worried about Young Master Gu despising her somewhat since she once stood at his opponent’s side, but, in reality, Gu Changge didn’t care about all of that, and she understood this well.
This had moved Yan Ji’s heart much.
“Don’t worry, I have my own reasons for helping you rebuild your body, so you can accept my help without thinking so much into it.”
Gu Changge said with his unabated smile.
‘Women, once their hearts were moved, couldn’t let go.’
This sentence was true, whether it was in his past life, or in this world.
Of course, the reason he subdued Yan Ji was because he took a fancy to her Fortune Value.
Would you kill a chicken after getting its egg, or keep it around to have it lay even more for you?
The answer to that question was obvious.
What’s more? Yan Ji was a mighty master. Right now, the strongest person Gu Changge could command was Old Ming; the Gu Family would never send retainers who were too powerful to serve the younger generation, or they wouldn’t be able to grow…
Gu Changge required strong retainers.
“Then, what are Young Master Gu’s reasons?”
His words gave birth to curiosity in her heart, so Yan Ji couldn’t help but want to know.
“What’s there to ask about such a simple matter? It’s because I desire your body…”
Gu Changge stared into her beautiful eyes and said with a chuckle. His words stunned Yan Ji, and her head buzzed.
“Young Master Gu, you are so annoying. Please don’t say that again…”
Yan Ji glared at him with some anger. She had never expected such an answer from Gu Changge. To begin with, what kind of answer was that? He desired her body, so he wanted to help her reconstruct it?
Yan Ji felt her heart thump faster and faster. If some random fool had said this to her, she would have slapped that person with her frosty palm without hesitation. But when Gu Changge said that to her, her head buzzed and her face burned.
He must be joking!
How could Young Master Gu desire her? That couldn’t be possible!
……
[Outer Region of the Upper Realm, Xiling State.]
Gu Xian’er hid and watched the proceedings in secret. The little bird on her shoulder had already grown in size, and chased after the old God King Realm figure dressed in black, while carrying Gu Xian’er and her servant on its back. The words of the old man were enough for her to guess that he was a servant sent by her good brother.
He had a God King as his servant!
It showed just how well her good brother was living over the past decade, and just how monstrous his authority had gotten. Gu Xian’er couldn’t help but clench her hands, and resent Gu Changge even more, as these thoughts crossed through her mind.
She worked hard and arduously cultivated in the Peach Village, but even after receiving guidance from several mysterious and mighty masters, she was only in the Saint Realm right now. He, on the other hand, could easily obtain resources and power while sitting in the comfort of his home, and she reckoned that his cultivation was even more unfathomable than she had imagined.
‘No, I will not give up! Sister Tao even said that she had never seen someone with a foundation stronger than mine. I can’t be weaker than Gu Changge! I will take back everything he stole from me in the future!’
Gu Xian’er clenched her hands, and followed the old man in black in front of her. She had a lot of treasures on her that could hide her presence, so she wasn’t worried about the old man discovering her.
What she wanted to know was why Gu Changge sent the old man to find her lineage? Did he want to slaughter them all? Gu Xian’er bit her lips as she thought about this, and gnashed her teeth as a hateful expression appeared on her flawless, delicate visage.
‘My dear brother, I never thought you wouldn’t let me go even after so many years…’
But soon, she suppressed the rage and hatred in her heart.
‘With me here, no one can touch my family!’
Gu Xian’er proclaimed in her heart.
……
[In the sky ahead of Gu Xian’er.]
Old Ming didn’t know someone was secretly following him. He had only come to this place on the order of his Young Master, and his only job was to find the people of the Gu Family to bring them back to the Inner Region of the Upper Realm.
As for what the Young Master didn’t order? He couldn’t care about those.
Before long, Old Ming found the majestic ancient city where the Gu Family’s lineage resided. The city was extremely lively and awe-inspiring, with various Families, Sects, and innumerable cultivators in the millions residing and moving about.
Suddenly, he showed a gentle smile, and got rid of his arrogant aura. Although he was sent by his Young Master, he reckoned that it would be better for him to not show any arrogance here. After all, the Gu Family lineage that now resided here was once one of the most powerful lineages of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
[Boom!]
Soon, his God King aura descended upon the ancient city below him. At the same time, Old Ming’s clear voice resounded throughout the city.
“At the command of the Young Master, I have come looking for those with the surname of Gu!”
He believed that his words would be enough to convey his message to the ones whom it concerned.
[Boom!]
Right after Old Ming revealed his mighty aura, the entire ancient city went into chaos, and all the cultivators inside it were shocked.
How come a mighty God King came to their place?
And why was he looking for the people with the surname of Gu?
The cultivators knew that their ancient city was indeed controlled by those with the Gu surname, and that they were the absolute overlords of this place. Now, they wondered just who the God King in black might be, and why he appeared here out of nowhere?
Also, who was this Young Master he was talking about?
Everyone in the city was shocked, and they felt that something big was about to transpire.
At this moment, several strong and dignified old men looked towards the city’s periphery from inside their magnificent complex of buildings.
‘I never thought Gu Changge would come for us after so many years of peace and tranquility! But how come he only sent one God King to deal with us? Is he looking down on us, old bones?’
They showed an expression of rage and gloom. After all, as long as they heard the words ‘Young Master’ and ‘Gu surname’, they could easily tell just who the other party was talking about.
For that reason, they subconsciously thought that Gu Changge had sent someone to murder them.
‘Has the situation in the Family degraded to such a point already? Are the other Elders no longer around, or does Gu Changge no longer give a damn about their existence?’
‘I never thought that after protecting us and stalling Gu Changge for so many years, the other Elders finally can’t do anything against him! It seems that today’s the day we…’
Their expressions turned ugly as they made different guesses.
At the same time, the voice of the old man outside the city sounded once more, “The Young Master has sent this old slave to pick all those with the Gu surname to bring them back to the Family!”
They were left in a daze the moment they heard his words. How come reality turned different from their imagination?
He was here to bring them back to the Family?
What was going on?
They had been in exile for so many years, and now someone was here to take them back to the Gu Family…they had to accept that this was something they had never expected, so they couldn’t help but be shocked…