He wasn’t sure, but he had to try.
He had also understood that Elder Ye didn’t know about Ye Che’s situation, nor did Ye Che himself.
Knowing this gave him much confidence.
Finally, on the evening of the fourth day of travel, a familiar silhouette appeared on the horizon: a small, humble village nestled in a valley, smoke curling from its chimneys like lazy spirits.
This spirit puppet was a lot faster than it looked.
The puppet slowed its pace, stopping silently just outside the village boundaries.
Gu Changsheng slid off its back, his legs unsteady from days of travel. He took a deep breath; the air was thick with the scent of woodsmoke and damp earth.
He gave the puppet a simple command to remain hidden in the nearby woods, then turned and walked towards the village, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs.
He was worried that if a powerful expert flew through the village and spotted Dong Mulan, just thinking about that gave him chills.
He walked down the main path, his footsteps echoing. He didn’t go to his own house; instead, he first headed for hers.
After a while of walking, he arrived at the Dong residence, reaching for the door as he knocked.
*Knock**Knock*
"Coming!"
From inside came Dong Mulan’s ever-cheerful voice, still oblivious to the surprise she was going to get.
And as she opened the door, what greeted her was Gu Changsheng’s still– ’happy-go-lucky’ face.
"!!!"
Before he could even utter a single word, Dong Mulan snuggled up to him, hanging onto him like a koala.
"There, there. I missed you too."
Knowing she was just being clingy, Gu Changsheng patted her head gently, moving inside.
"Who’s at the door, Mulan?"
Dong Yang came out of his room leisurely, carrying with him a quire of paper. Just as he looked towards the door, he was stunned speechless.
He saw Dong Mulan snuggled in Gu Changsheng’s arms, while Gu Changsheng looked a bit embarrassed about the ordeal.
"It’s good that you are back! Lan’er, make some more tea. Changsheng is back!!"
Having learned his lesson, Dong Yang decided to keep his mouth shut this time around. He simply told his wife about Gu Changsheng’s arrival.
...
"Were there buildings as huge as a small mountain??"
"Hmmm!"
"Did you see any extraordinary creatures there??"
"Hmmm!"
"Oh... and you did not recognise an ugly old guy as your master, did you??"
"Hmmm?!?"
Hearing the last part almost made Gu Changsheng choke on the dumplings halfway down his throat. He coughed slightly while the older couple laughed heartily at their daughter’s antics.
"How did you gues— *Cough**Cough* From where did you get to know that? That’s rubbish!!"
"Oh, is it? But the book I read about immortal masters even had pictures?"
Dong Mulan continued to press on. Dong Yang and Su Lan, seeing that everyone had eaten, slipped away accordingly. Having already asked their own sets of questions, they decided to let the young ones have some alone time.
...
Night.
Now, Gu Changsheng had returned to his own house, lying on the bed leisurely.
Even he hadn’t expected the reunion to come so soon. It seemed this was Mulan’s fate at play.
After all this time, he had come to somewhat understand the rationale behind ’fate’, even though just a little.
He had also asked Dong Yang and Su Lan for Mulan’s hand in marriage, as it was now or never. He wasn’t the type of guy to delay things.
Now that he knew taking her with him was less risky than leaving her here, he was determined to do so.
...
Meanwhile...
Cloud Piercing Sect.
As the adventurers returned, both Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong parted ways with Ye Che hurriedly, only saying a superficial goodbye.
They were not sure about Gu Changsheng’s matter, but they themselves had already sworn that they would ’keep at least five hands’ distance from him, even ignoring him outright.
After all, the things he had done there...
Just thinking about it made their stomachs churn in disgust.
"So tell me, what exactly happened inside the secret realm?"
However, all their plans came to fail as Elder Ye summoned them, asking about what had happened.
"Replying to Elder, it was a typical secret realm not involving anyone’s inheritance. Ning Rongrong, Gu Changsheng, Senior Brother Ye and I teamed up and explored together."
Su Mingyue came forward and answered respectfully, bowing her head slightly as she continued.
"We accidentally chanced upon a crypt, where undead and hog-like monsters lurked. At one point, Senior Brother Ye separated from us, whom we found injured in the last room of the crypt."
However, they would never mention anything about Ye Che’s ’glorious sacrifice’, too embarrassed and a bit fearful of beating him too.
Ning Rongrong stayed quiet, letting her fellow sister lead the conversation. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved that she wasn’t involved.
"Hmm. Alright, you may go."
Though Elder Ye understood they were lying, he didn’t press further. From the lasses’ expressions, he determined whatever had happened wasn’t harmful but rather an embarrassing ordeal.
Both women nodded, feeling a bit relieved.
The two bowed again and left.
Elder Ye remained silent for a long while after they departed. He looked towards the closed door, a flicker of something complex in his eyes.
He was no fool.
He had felt the flicker of fear, the deep-seated disgust, and the shared secret that hung between the two girls like a foul stench.
Whatever happened in that crypt, it was something so, so mortifying that these disciples would rather face his wrath than speak of it.
He had scanned Ye Che with his divine sense. There were no new physical injuries, but a lingering trace of agitated blood.
Did this r*scal sleep with one of the girls, or maybe even both?
That may be it. That’s why those girls were so disgusted with this little r*scal of his.
Elder Ye sighed, a long, relieved sound that seemed to drain the very air from the room.
He had spent years trying to curb Ye Che’s unusual gluttony and his... And he had failed in ways he had never imagined.
Even though he was angry that his kid may have forced them, he, as his father, would secure their marriage.
He would get the truth out of the boy eventually.