After Gu Qingyi asked this, he waited for a long time without receiving an answer. He pursed his lips, emerged from behind the corridor, and carrying his food box, ran uninvited to Wu Youqi’s side.
The little fellow was naturally bold and didn’t fear the demonic energy surrounding Wu Youqi at all. He actually sat right next to him and even took out a piece of pastry, asking, “Can I eat this?”
Wu Youqi: “…”
“I’m so hungry, so hungry,” Gu Qingyi shook the piece of flower cake. “Beautiful big brother, your house is so big!”
Wu Youqi knitted his brows and suddenly lashed out, grabbing Gu Qingyi’s wrist. “Who sent you in here?!”
Otherwise, how could he have gotten in, just by being an idiot?
How could a fool with incomplete souls and spirits, possessing neither cultivation nor spiritual power, break through the Immortal Venerable Qingyi’s barrier?
“Umm, who sent…” Gu Qingyi was startled and stuttered, “Xi-Xizhu big sister?”
Wu Youqi took a deep breath. Within the demonic energy surrounding him, flickering purple-blue electrical arcs flashed. His fingers tightened involuntarily:
“My patience is limited. Who! Sent! You! Here?!”
Gu Qingyi felt the pain and couldn’t help but struggle, only for his wrist to feel like it was about to snap. “Wuu… beautiful big brother, you, you’re hurting me!”
He had no idea why the “big brother” was angry and why he was bullying him like this.
As tears welled up in his eyes, Gu Qingyi wrinkled his nose and carefully held the flower cake up, offering it to Wu Youqi’s lips:
“Then, brother, you eat it. I, I won’t fight you for it anymore…”
“…” Wu Youqi’s chest heaved several times as he glared at him.
Gu Qingyi shrank his neck and hurriedly pushed the food box over as well. “All, all for you, brother.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach gave a loud gurgle.
Gu Qingyi’s face turned bright red instantly, and he covered his stomach, feeling that the hand being held high was both painful and sore.
Moreover, he waited for a long time, but didn’t see the “beautiful big brother” eat.
“So… brother, you don’t like sweet food?”
After finding this excuse for him, Gu Qingyi nodded, thinking it made perfect sense. The face that had just been feeling aggrieved like a little bun instantly cleared up.
He giggled, not caring about his painful hand, and turned his face to look at Wu Youqi as if he had discovered a shocking secret:
“That’s great, I don’t like sweet things either!”
After saying this, Gu Qingyi hugged his shrunken stomach with one hand and sighed softly, “But I’m so hungry. Beautiful big brother, when are you going to serve dinner?”
Wu Youqi really didn’t want to listen to him anymore. Retracting his demonic energy, he reached into Gu Qingyi’s body via his pulse gate.
While checking him, he closed his eyes and released his spiritual sense to carefully examine the barrier at the entrance of the forbidden area, only to find that the seal and formation were perfectly intact.
Moreover, there was nothing unusual inside Gu Qingyi’s body; it was still the miserable state of having incomplete souls and spirits.
But the lack of anything unusual was precisely the greatest anomaly of all.
Wu Youqi withdrew his spiritual sense and demonic energy, calmly releasing his hand, and began to carefully examine the little fool beside him—
He did indeed have a face very similar to his master’s, but his reactions were sluggish; even after his hand was released, it remained suspended in the air for a long time.
Wu Youqi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he happened to catch a glimpse of the peach blossom cake that had fallen onto his collar. In a flash of lightning, he suddenly thought of something:
“You said you don’t like sweet food?”
“Yeah.” The little fool nodded.
Only then did Gu Qingyi realize his hand was free. He withdrew it, clasped his hands together, and stupidly giggled at Wu Youqi.
“…Then what do you like?”
“Hmm…” Gu Qingyi rested his chin in his hand and thought about it. “Meat! I like to eat roasted meat! And sour and spicy food!”
After he finished speaking, before Wu Youqi could ask again, he suddenly clapped his hands. “So, brother, are you going to serve dinner?”
Wu Youqi looked at him with a strange expression on his face and then pushed the food box toward him. “No.”
Gu Qingyi looked at the food box, blinked, and didn’t understand.
“If you’re hungry, eat.” Wu Youqi said.
“Oh!” Gu Qingyi was happy again, hugging the food box and saying “Thank you, brother” before taking out a piece of osmanthus cake to eat.
He held it with both hands while eating, his cheeks bulging like a little squirrel.
Wu Youqi shook his head, the gloom between his brows deepening—
The head of the Gu clan had said that Gu Qingyi was from Jinling, and Xueyan Town was in the heart of the Jiangnan region, surrounded by water towns, with the Taihu Lake to the south.
How could a Jiangnan person dislike sweet food?
Moreover, he said he liked sour and spicy flavors, and liked roasted meat; none of these sounded like a Jiangnan person, but rather like the dietary habits of the Shu region in the southwest.
However, taste was not solid evidence; some people from Sichuan or Chongqing, born in lands of spice, couldn’t handle a bit of chili either.
Just as he was thinking, a weight suddenly landed on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw the little fool, who forgot pain quickly, leaning his head against his shoulder again:
“Brother, this place is so beautiful. Is this your back garden?”
Wu Youqi glanced at him. The little fellow’s eyes were bright, and as he looked up at him, a few crumbs of pastry still hung from the corners of his lips.
This face combined with such childish behavior was quite an impact on Wu Youqi. In his daze, he failed to push the person away immediately.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already heard himself sighing softly as he gave the answer: “This is Phoenix Island.”
“Phoenix Island?” Gu Qingyi swallowed the last piece of flower cake and gave a massive yawn. “Hmm, so, do phoenixes live here?”
The phoenix was a divine bird, which in legend would roost only on the paulownia tree.
Wu Youqi didn’t answer immediately, only recalling the first time his master brought him to Phoenix Island, and how he too had been entranced by the island’s beauty.
He had even asked the same question when his master told him the island was named Phoenix, but his master shook his head, “Phoenixes have long been extinct in the human world.”
He made an “ah” sound, feeling a sense of pity, when suddenly, footsteps approached from ahead. Before he could look up, he heard a teasing voice.
“Finally willing to come and visit me?”
Wu Youqi, at fifteen years old, was stunned. He had never heard of anyone in the world daring to speak to his master in such a tone.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a beautiful man with red clothes and black hair leaning against a tree, looking at them with a smile.
He blinked and turned his head to look at his master.
Yet, the expression on his master’s face didn’t change at all. He even calmly tilted his chin in the man’s direction and introduced him:
“Your junior uncle.”
He opened his mouth obediently, preparing to greet him, but the man in red took a giant step back, letting out an exaggerated, strange cry: “Uncle? What uncle? You’ve called me old!”
He leaped down, his movements lithe and agile he was certainly a master above the Nascent Soul stage, but his figure was flexible, seemingly not of the sword-cultivation path.
“I am Yi Xin.” The man in red introduced himself brightly. After looking him up and down, he nodded and turned to Qingyi, “You have a good eye.”
Wu Youqi was a bit confused; his gesture of bowing was left hanging, unsure whether he should still call him “Uncle.”
Yi Xin, however, had already squeezed over, using both arms to wrap around them, master and disciple. “Let’s go, let’s go! I’ve already prepared fine wine!”
Wu Youqi turned to glance at his master several times, but didn’t see a hint of impatience on his face, only taking a step back and brushing off Yi Xin’s hand.
Being slapped on the back of the hand, Yi Xin didn’t get angry, simply draping most of his arm over Wu Youqi’s neck. “Isn’t it hard to be an apprentice to such a big piece of ice?”
Wu Youqi stiffened and hurriedly waved his hands. “No!”
Yi Xin was amused and burst into hearty laughter.
And his master shot them a lukewarm look, suddenly using a clever burst of energy to shake Yi Xin away, pulling him toward himself.
Yi Xin looked at them, his eyes shifting. “Tsk, interesting, interesting.”
His answer was a flicker of spiritual energy struck at him by his master.
Yi Xin dodged it easily, turning to pull a face at him. “Your master is just stingy. Come, little junior nephew, I’ll take you to eat something delicious!”
He hadn’t been allowed to call him “uncle” just now, yet this little junior nephew was called affectionately.
Wu Youqi had never seen an elder with such a temperament and was temporarily at a loss, unsure how to react.
And seeing Yi Xin acting like this, his master… didn’t seem angry either?
Wu Youqi was curious, but couldn’t ask, so he could only follow along, arriving at the waterfront pavilion beneath the divine paulownia tree in the center of Phoenix Island.
From afar, he spotted a figure.
When he walked closer and saw clearly, the Duqing sword was drawn from its scabbard, and he instantly blocked in front of Yi Xin and his master.
That was not a human, but a wolf demon with immense demonic energy, at least at the seventh tier or above.
The demon race did not have a concept of levels, distinguishing themselves purely by their inner cores into nine tiers; above the sixth tier, they were “Great Demons” whose strength could not be underestimated.
The wolf demon had clearly fluffy beast ears on his head, his large black tail wasn’t hidden behind him, a beast-tooth necklace hung around his neck, and his eyes were unmistakably beastly pupils.
Seeing him draw his sword, Yi Xin clearly let out a laugh.
Wu Youqi’s earlobes turned slightly hot, thinking his “uncle” was laughing at him for overestimating his own strength.
But no matter how dangerous the situation was, a disciple could not abandon his master or his elders to save his own life.
So, he straightened his back and glared forward. Before he could make a magnanimous speech, Yi Xin behind him burst into laughter.
And his master, who had been behind them, also walked out, nodding naturally at the wolf demon, “Su Zhui, long time no see.”
Wu Youqi was stunned. The next moment, Yi Xin emerged from behind him, leaped into the wolf demon’s arms, and kissed his face openly.
“This is your aunt.” Yi Xin said.
Wu Youqi opened his mouth and turned his head to look at his master again.
His master gave him a reassuring look, gesturing for him to put away his sword. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Later, Wu Youqi learned:
Yi Xin was also from Wushang Shou and counted as his master’s junior brother. Years ago, he was a peerless qin cultivator who traversed the cultivation world.
His qin music could help people raise their cultivation realm, kill people, and create ten-sided illusions. He was immensely powerful, his cultivation realm at the Refining Void stage.
He was injured and fell off a cliff during a mission. By some stroke of luck, he was saved by the wolf demon Su Zhui. After spending time together, the two became lovers.
In fact, Yi Xin had long been tired of the killing life in Wushang Shou, faking his death in that great fire and living in seclusion on Phoenix Island with Su Zhui ever since.
It was evident that he and his master had a very good relationship.
Sitting with Yi Xin, his master spoke more than usual, and they would boil tea, discuss the qin, and appreciate paintings. It didn’t look like him at all.
Had it not been for the wolf demon at his side, who would occasionally feed Yi Xin fruit from the island, Wu Youqi would have been tempted to misunderstand…
However, his master didn’t say specifically what they were doing here when he brought him to Phoenix Island, only telling him to act just as he did on the mountain.
Usually, at Qingshao Peak, Wu Youqi had homework every morning: practicing martial arts, swordplay, copying scriptures, and reading books, sometimes helping out in the inner and outer gates.
But there was nothing for him to do on Phoenix Island. After finishing his cultivation, if he had free time, Wu Youqi would wander around the island, occasionally climbing trees to pick fruit or picking up shells on the beach.
After staying like this for more than half a month, one day, after Wu Youqi finished practicing the basic sword forms of Qingshao Mountain and was adjusting his breathing, he suddenly felt that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
He wasn’t even sixteen, but he already qualified to form a Golden Core.
Wu Youqi stood up, jumped on the spot, shook off the grass clippings from his pant legs, and ran toward the waterfront pavilion by the lake.
Such good news, he naturally wanted to share with his master at the first opportunity.
But when he rushed to the qin platform, he found that his master and his junior uncle were not there. He followed the corridor to look for them, but accidentally bumped into them in the tea room—
Yi Xin and the wolf demon were tangled together, their clothes in disarray.
Suddenly seeing such a scene, Wu Youqi was somewhat startled and froze in place, unable to move until he was struck in the middle of the brow by a chess piece.
“Collect your thoughts, little junior nephew,” Yi Xin’s voice was hoarse, his tone teasing, “If your master finds out, he’ll scold me again for corrupting you”
Upon hearing the word “master,” Wu Youqi was scared out of his wits. He hurriedly lowered his head, closed his eyes, and after apologizing, flew toward the seaside like his life depended on it, unable to catch his breath for several moments.
Perhaps due to the severe fright and his wandering mind, he had strange dreams that night—sticky, saturated with carnal desire, but the protagonists in them had changed to him and his master.
This was too presumptuous.
Since he could remember, Wu Youqi had never been a heavy sleeper, but he woke up late the next day, and his complexion wasn’t good after pulling off his quilt.
As for the stained undergarments, he had crushed them into powder.
He slapped himself twice loudly on both sides of his face, yet he still couldn’t suppress that wild, crazy impulse in his heart.
Since physical punishment didn’t work, Wu Youqi had no choice but to devote himself to cultivation, no longer strolling around Phoenix Island, only concerned with absorbing more spiritual energy and expanding his spiritual platform to facilitate the forming of his Golden Core.
Afterward, on the eve of their intended departure from Phoenix Island, Yi Xin invited them to eat roasted meat and drink burning liquor together.
That night, Yi Xin talked about many things from his master’s past. Even though it was he who had planned the gathering, he was the first to fall drunk into the wolf demon’s arms.
His master only sipped the wine in small mouthfuls, looking with soft eyes at the bright moon rising over the sea and the brilliant stars staining the entire ocean.
Wu Youqi had never seen such a look in his master’s eyes. Emboldened by the alcohol, he leaned in daringly, “Master, do you… like this place very much?”
Qingyi turned to look at him, set down his wine cup, and spoke very lightly, “I only envy Yi Xin.”
His master was always a man of few words, but in this short sentence, Wu Youqi miraculously read many things.
Life on Phoenix Island was quiet and comfortable, yet the world was filled with darkness, and the various races of the Three Realms fought endlessly.
The burden on his master was too heavy.
Listening to this casually uttered admission of envy, Wu Youqi suddenly made a firm decision: he would become stronger and provide his master with a pure land where he could stop and rest.
It was just a pity…
Wu Youqi laughed self-deprecatingly and withdrew his thoughts, “Phoenixes have long been extinct in the world…”
He hadn’t finished his words before Gu Qingyi slammed his head into his arms.
This little fool had actually fallen asleep again?
Wu Youqi’s face turned grim. Finally, in the fading light of the illusion, he did not push Gu Qingyi away, but instead pulled out a blood mirror and cast a spell of demonic energy onto it.
After a long while, a dark shadow appeared in the mirror. “My Lord.”
“Hmm,” Wu Youqi nodded. “How did the matter go?”
The dark shadow swayed twice, its voice somewhat hesitant, “…The soul master is exceptionally cautious; we… we let him escape again.”
Wu Youqi’s face darkened further. He snorted, telling them to hurry up, then put away the blood mirror and got up to carry Gu Qingyi out of the forbidden area.
Outside the forbidden area, Xi Zhu had been kneeling all the while. Seeing them come out, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Before Wu Youqi could lash out, she hurriedly knelt to plead guilty, “It is because this slave was not careful in her duties; I am willing to accept punishment.”
Wu Youqi didn’t say anything, only tossing the person to her. “Don’t let it happen again.”
Xi Zhu was stunned; she hadn’t expected the matter to be resolved so simply. After taking hold of Gu Qingyi, she hurried to kowtow in gratitude.
As a result, Wu Youqi, who had walked out two steps, suddenly turned back, his expression serious. “Don’t put him in clothes like this in the future.”
“…Ah?” Xi Zhu looked blankly at the new set of white clothes Gu Qingyi was wearing.
“So white, who is it you’re planning to wear mourning clothes for?”