Because of their physical disabilities, as well as the strict sect rules and cruel elimination system, most of the Tiancan Sect's disciples have strange personalities, are cold and gloomy, and are taciturn. Even when their fellow disciples get together at this moment, they hardly communicate with each other. All of them have expressionless faces, and when they see Gu Pinglin approaching, dozens of gazes become sinister at the same time, with a hint of fear. It is true that they don't like to interact with outsiders.
Gu Pinglin didn't care and walked straight towards the leader.
The man sat cross-legged with a sword in his arms, his brows half-knitted, his thin lips curled downwards, his expression hard and cold as stone. If it weren't for the missing right ear, his face would actually be quite handsome. He was Zhou Yi, the third sword of the "Four Swordsmen of Tiancan". Most disciples of Tiancan Sect were unkempt. Today, he was wearing an old and somewhat faded green robe, and his hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin. A few strands of hair fell messily on his face, which must have been a fight.
As the direct disciple of Laobing Zhenren, Zhou Yi has a very high status in the sect and is highly trusted. No wonder Laobing Zhenren would entrust this matter to him.
Before Gu Pinglin reached him, the other disciples of the Tiancan Sect had already gathered here. Some were blind, some were lame, and some had missing noses, lips, and hands. Both men and women had horrible faces. Ordinary people would probably feel guilty when encountering such a scene.
Zhou Yi was a little surprised to see him: "You are Gu Pinglin."
Gu Pinglin smiled. It was obvious that he had an impression of me after meeting me several times before, but he didn't pay much attention to me, so he didn't know my name. Gu Pinglin bowed: "Brother Zhou."
Zhou Yi frowned. The two of them had not communicated during the Tianjian incident, so his impression of Gu Pinglin was still at the stage when Gu Pinglin was hunted by Wu Xiang and the demon cultivators. He was not satisfied that Yue Songting gave the task to such a disciple. After seeing the people from Nanzhu behind him, he nodded, and without saying anything more, he threw the letter stone to Gu Pinglin: "Where is the thing?"
The letter stone is a token of contact. After confirming it, Gu Pinglin replied: "This item is in Haijing. I will take Brother Zhou there."
To dare to deceive the Tiancan Sect is to seek death. Zhou Yi did not doubt his words at all, and did not even ask how the Lingxin Sect got the news. He stood up and said, "Let's go."
"Wait a minute, Brother Zhou," Gu Pinglin took two steps forward, "This matter is of great importance. You and I alone will attract too much attention. How about you lead the other brothers ahead? I will leave marks along the way. You and I will stay in the light and in the dark, and then we can meet up again. How do you think?"
"Who dares to attack the Tiancan Sect?" Zhou Yi sneered, sneering at his caution. However, the people of the Tiancan Sect were eccentric and impatient to deal with Gu Pinglin's group, so he did not object. "What are your plans?"
Gu Pinglin handed him the prepared note, clasped his fists and said goodbye, then turned back to Lingxin Sect.
The people of Tiancan Sect have strange tempers and don't even take the leaders of big sects seriously. People here will not go over and cause trouble. The guards of Penglai Island are busy setting up the palace and setting up the barrier. Jun Muzhi is giving instructions and arrangements on the side. Nanzhu and Ming Gongnu stand in the middle. Although Nanzhu is the young master of Penglai, Liuyu Gong Guo Feng is too powerful and not many people in the outside world know him.
On the other hand, Duan Qingming, as the eldest son of the Duan family, had a wider circle of friends. Even though he later left the family, many friends still remembered him. At this time, several children from aristocratic families came over to greet him.
Gu Pinglin stood by with his hands behind his back, watching him deal with everyone.
He raised his eyebrows, lowered his head, leaned sideways, curled his lips... His loud laughter was full of confidence, and his every move was full of calmness, making him easily the center of attention.
Such a person has a natural charm that attracts people to approach him.
The nonchalance in his eyes clearly showed that he was at ease and he was not paying attention to these people.
Gu Pinglin wanted to go over and greet Han Ying Shuangjian, but Feng Ying shook his head to stop him, saying, "It's inconvenient with so many people around. Let's talk again when there's a chance."
Yan Han didn't say anything, just nodded to Gu Pinglin, obviously expressing his friendliness, and then the two turned and walked away.
"They also have good intentions." Duan Qingming came back at some point.
Gu Pinglin looked at the two men's backs without saying a word.
In the past, when Yan and Feng's relationship was public, they were cursed. People of some status disdained to associate with them. Their relatives and old friends cut off contact with them. Now they even have to be cautious about saying hello. It's really not easy for them. If I hadn't known their fate in my previous life, I would have avoided them. It shows that I have practiced Taoism for many years in vain, but I am still not clear enough and too obsessed with the secular world.
Duan Qingming thought of something and chuckled, "What do you think those people would think if the two of us went to look for them?"
Knowing that he was joking, Gu Pinglin said calmly: "The innocent are innocent, so why should we be afraid of what others say?"
"Oh--" Duan Qingming nodded, "That's right."
The cold fingers brushed across his lips, the touch seemed familiar, Gu Pinglin's face sank, and he immediately moved aside: "What are you doing!"
Duan Qingming said with a smile: "The innocent are innocent, what are you afraid of?"
This action was extremely ambiguous. Gu Pinglin knew that he was teasing him, but how could he not care? This man was just a madman in normal human skin. As long as he was interested, he would dare to play anything. If he felt it was necessary, it would not be surprising if he did something shocking. No matter how insightful Gu Pinglin was, he asked himself that he could not reach this level.
Now that he thoroughly understood this person, Gu Pinglin knew that taking it seriously would only make him excited. He was just about to change the subject when there was movement in the distance. Another group of people were approaching the island in a mighty manner.
There should be two groups of people, the Xuanming Sect and the Duan family, with some independent cultivators following them. When going out, it is safer to follow the big sects and families.
When Duan Qingming left his family, his aunt Cheng had a lot of grievances against the Duan family. The Cheng and Duan families were at odds with each other. Cheng had some status in Xuanming Sect, so the relationship between Xuanming Sect and Duan family in this life was not as close as in the previous life. But now that the elders are planning to take Duan Qingming back, they will definitely want to contact Cheng and ask her to help persuade Duan Qingming to let go of his worries. Duan family and Xuanming Sect happened to be guests on the main island of Penglai, so it was not surprising that they traveled together this time. They came so quickly, which showed that they set off immediately after Gu Pinglin and others left.
Gu Pinglin curled his lower lip imperceptibly.
The Xuanming Sect was led by Yun He, the head of the Zhengyang Academy. Yun He was the most cheerful person. He rode a top-grade golden-tailed crane. Even the four accompanying disciples rode middle-grade red-crowned cranes. The Cheng family was relatively low-key. Their mount was a top-grade purple-tailed crane. Yan Feixiu and several other senior disciples rode low-grade fairy cranes. Many disciples with some status rode spirit deer. The rest of the disciples were busy taking out space spirit tools and placing them in the palace.
The cloud cranes were so ostentatious. As a first-rate family, the Duan family had a different formation. The mounts of the family head Duan Pin and the two elders were only top-grade purple-tailed cranes. Duan Qinghou and his sister and others did not have mounts, but the Duan family's palace was a rare Moon Palace with red doors and tall buildings, lingering music of musical instruments, and luxury in its simplicity. This was the heritage of the family.
The two sides were secretly competing with each other, which was quite interesting. Gu Pinglin turned to look at Duan Qingming. He had quarreled with his family openly last time, so this time he had a good reason not to go to see Duan Pin.
Gu Pinglin raised his eyebrows: "Be careful not to be tied up and taken back to the Duan family."
Duan Qingming said: "Oh, maybe they are angry with your Lingxin Sect again."
Gu Pinglin hummed softly and looked away.
"Miss Qu," Duan Qingming took a few steps slowly and greeted the girl with a cheerful face, "What a coincidence, we meet again."
Qu Lin had come to look for Gu Pinglin. Hearing this, he hurriedly returned the greeting and looked back at the Duan family. He asked in confusion, "Why is Sixth Young Master Duan still here?"
Duan Qingming was disappointed: "So Miss Qu doesn't want to see me so much."
Seeing that he misunderstood, Qu Lin waved her hands and said, "No, I mean, why don't you go..."
"Why don't you go and greet the elders?" Duan Qingming interrupted her with a smile, "Miss Qu is kind and considerate. Even if she doesn't like me, she wouldn't say anything rude to my face."
Qu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and blushed as she said, "I'm not that good."
Duan Qingming approached her naturally: "I'm not praising you, I'm just saying how could a good person like me be disliked by Miss Qu?"
Qu Lin was stunned at first, bit her lips again and again, but finally laughed out loud.
Gu Pinglin beside him couldn't help but snort.
Duan Qingming was an excellent speaker and he understood people's hearts very well. He could guide the topic and knew when to stop, which made it easy for him to let people down and coax them. Moreover, it was a simple girl like Qu Lin. After just a few words, Qu Lin was amused and couldn't stop laughing. She was no longer so unfamiliar and reserved.
Thinking of the female cultivators around him in his previous life, Gu Pinglin didn't take it seriously. He was just curious about what he meant to Qu Lin.
Lady Ming had been paying attention to the situation and came over when she saw this. Compared to Qu Lin, her status was more noble and her demeanor was different. She looked at Duan Qingming and smiled: "This girl is..."
"My name is Qu Lin, and Yan Wuniang from Xuanming Sect is my cousin."
Jun Muzhi happened to follow and narrowed his eyes when he heard this. It was obvious that Lady Ming had been to the main island recently, and the old man Shunshigong was still vague in his attitude and wanted to get benefits from both sides.
Ming Gongnu smiled and said, "So you are Yan Daxiu's niece. Grandfather and your sect's head, Zhan, also know each other. You can visit more often when you have time. I just happen to have no sisters to talk to. You won't think I'm being presumptuous, right?"
Qu Lin thought she was sincere and said shyly, "If you don't mind, then it will be fine."
Seeing that she was pushed out by Duan Qingming for no reason and was completely unaware of the faction of Lady Ming, Gu Pinglin could not help but frown. When he was about to speak, Duan Qingming said, "I was just about to go over to pay my respects to my aunt. Miss Qu, how about you lead me to your sect's palace?"
Qu Lin was gentle and honest, and not very good at dealing with such situations. Hearing this, he nodded and agreed, and took him to the Xuanming Sect.
Watching the two people leave, Lady Ming did not express anything special. She smiled and chatted with Gu Pinglin for a few words, then turned around and went back to the Penglai Palace.
Jun Muzhi did not leave. He smiled at Gu Pinglin and said, "This Miss Qu is really pure and lovely."
Gu Pinglin looked at him with interest: "Miss Qu is really pure, what about Brother Jun?"
They were both smart people, testing each other. Jun Muzhi tapped the fishbone fan in his hand: "A gentleman loves a beautiful lady. Even if she is not pure, she is always genuine."
Gu Pinglin smiled.
Jun Muzhi was obviously concerned about the matter of the eye-eating gulls. He was tricked by Duan Qingming for no reason. He was unwilling to accept it, but from what he said, it seemed that he really had a good impression of Qu Lin. For Qu Lin, Jun Muzhi might also be a good choice. In this way, he would not have to intervene and could take the opportunity to test Duan Qingming's attitude towards Qu Lin.
Everyone from the Lingxin Sect and Yao Feng were invited to live in the Penglai Palace, except Qi Wan'er and a few Qi clan cultivators who went to the Duan clan's Moon Palace. Everyone knew that Qi Zhen had been defeated in the East China Sea War, and it would have been fine if it happened on Penglai Island, but now with so many outsiders watching, he couldn't afford to lose face no matter what.
Gu Pinglin meditated until dark, when Duan Qingming came back and took off his outer robe as soon as he entered the room.
"No need to change clothes in a hurry," Gu Pinglin stood up, "It's a nice night, why don't you go out for a walk and take a look at the situation?"
Duan Qingming stopped what he was doing when he heard that: "You're leaving right after I came back. You didn't even give me time to rest."
Gu Pinglin asked, "You've been lying on the boat for so long, haven't you rested enough?"
"It's rare that you are so interested. How dare Duan Liu not accompany you?" Duan Qingming put on his outer robe and said with a smile, "Let's go."
The two men walked out of the palace gate. Gu Pinglin greeted a guard, nodded to another guard, and then walked towards the entrance to the sea realm side by side with Duan Qingming.