Zhong Michu was wearing a mask. The hand was just vaguely covering Zhong Michu. Gu Fuyou thought that after returning from the underworld, she had nothing left, no worries, no life, no face, nothing to fear. Those people were too many obstacles for fame, profit, and love, and they were ultimately defeated by her. No one was her opponent.
Who knew, there was another Zhong Michu.
Gu Fuyou smiled bitterly and moaned. She was a jerk. He knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn't help teasing her. Unexpectedly, she screamed out. Gu Fuyou said, "You are the Dragon King after all."
How come she is not arrogant at all? When Zhong Mi was first betrothed, she would be angry if she was called "Nanzhu Jun" because it was a bondage. Now, calling her "Master" is also a bondage and degrades her status. How can she just say it so easily
Zhong Michu held her wrist and took her hand down: "If you want me to call you that, I am willing to call you that."
"Did you know..."
"Only slaves call like that?" The two fell behind Zuo Shaode by a long way and landed on Mr. Zhai's tortoise shell. The atmosphere was too weird. Mr. Zhai had a keen sense of six senses, and he and the ape-shaped spirit beast retreated to a corner of the tortoise shell, leaving the middle position to the two.
Zhong Michu said: "You made me a bond in the beginning. I was restricted for no reason and became someone else's vassal. I was unhappy, but I never hated you."
Gu Fuyou smiled and said, "That's because you have good morals."
"No, Ah Man, it's because this contract brings me far more joy than unhappiness."
Zhong Michu's fingers were cold, but when they touched Gu Fuyou's palm, Gu Fuyou felt it was hot.
"Ah Man, I didn't hate you a hundred years ago, and I won't hate you now."
Gu Fuyou withdrew his hand, turned his back, and his breathing became unstable.
Zhong Michu's voice was low, like a sigh: "Ah Man, no matter how many times I tell you, you don't believe me."
"I believe you. I, believe you..."
The group returned to Wantong City and arrived at the City Lord's Mansion. This City Lord's Mansion was magnificent and luxurious, comparable to Lihentian. Mr. Zhai sighed behind him: "It is worthy of Wantong City, where every inch of land is worth gold. Wow, it is so fertile."
Zuo Shaode welcomed Gu Fuyou into the reception hall. Zhong Michu and Mr. Zhai could only wait outside because of their status as "slaves".
There was a painting hanging in the middle of the hall. Gu Fuyou took a closer look. Other people hung paintings with elegant styles, such as rocks, snow, mountains, idle clouds and wild cranes, and majestic ones, such as coiled dragons, crouching tigers, swords and bows. Zuo Shaode, on the other hand, hung a map of the five continents and four seas.
Zuo Shaode saw her looking at the painting, smiled and asked, "Senior, do you like this painting too?"
Gu Fuyou smiled charmingly and said, "Who wouldn't love this painting?"
"This is a painting I drew to relieve my boredom. My son at home specially framed it to please me and hung it here for me. I'm sorry to make you laugh. If you like it, I'll give it to you."
Gu Fuyou smiled but did not answer. She was a little confused about Zuo Shaode's intention. Was he cautious and did not want to show his ambition for a higher position too obviously, so he changed the subject, or was he playing hard to get and letting her express her opinion first
Zuo Shaode said: "It can also be regarded as a small thank you for helping Wantong City to subdue the beast that harmed people."
Gu Fuyou said, "Speaking of that spirit beast, I think it suits my eyes and want to take it as a mount. Now I have tamed it. If Lord Zuo wants to thank you, why not release the spirit beast to me?"
The two of them stood and talked. Zuo Shaode's hand slowly fell on the armrest, smiling slightly, making it difficult to see through him. But Gu Fuyou felt that Zuo Shaode was sizing her up, sizing up her real intention of coming to Wantong City, whether it was really casual as she said, or if she had other intentions.
Gu Fuyou was not afraid of his stare, and quietly waited for his reply. After a while, Zuo Shaode apologized, "I can't give you an immediate answer. This beast killed many people before, I have to give an explanation to my subordinates first, please wait for a while."
"No problem."
"Senior, please stay at your house for a while. If you need anything, please let me know."
Zuo Shaode's attitude towards her was neither cold nor warm, as if he was just being polite to a senior expert. After a few words, he left on the pretext of having important matters to deal with.
The servant took Gu Fuyou and the other two to the guest house to settle down. On the way, Mr. Zhai asked secretly, "Why did you come out so soon?"
Gu Fuyou said, "He was not very warm to me. He left in a hurry just now. I'm afraid he went to deal with the matter of his spirit beast being killed." Thinking of his spirit beast being secretly killed by Zhong Michu, she felt happy, but also felt that it was not enough. At that time, Zuo Shaode secretly shot an arrow, and the wound left on Zhong Michu's body will never heal. Originally, the heart should have been the hardest part of Zhong Michu's body, but now it has become a weak spot.
"Maybe he is playing hard to get." Mr. Zhai said with a smile, "The most noble branch of the Qingluan Clan, who wants to restore his position but has no one to help him; Qingluan with a subtle identity, profound cultivation, and traveled in Nanzhou. If he really has ulterior motives, he will know that he can get what he wants from you."
Mr. Zhai held the folding fan on his palm and asked, "How was your test?"
Gu Fuyou smiled and said, "It's ambiguous."
As for the two things, Zuo Shaode called Zuo Yue by his name and the "Map of the Five Continents and Four Seas" hung in the lobby, perhaps Zuo Shaode was unwilling to be inferior to Zuo Yue and intended to take the position of patriarch and even wanted to conquer the world; or perhaps it was because he always called his nephew like this, and the uncle and nephew were close without distinguishing between the superior and the inferior. The "Map of the Five Continents and Four Seas" was just framed by his children and grandchildren to please him, and he hung it in the lobby out of gratitude for their filial piety.
It is not entirely certain whether Zuo Shaode really has the ambition to seize the position of the leader of Xu Ling Sect.
Mr. Zhai asked, "What did he say about how to deal with the spirit beast?"
Gu Fuyou said: "He will give me an answer in a few days. His words are vague and he is very wary of me."
Mr. Zhai smiled and said, "You said he is a cautious person, so it is normal for him to be on guard. Don't worry, just wait and see how he responds to you in the future."
The group went to the guest garden and passed by a place similar to the Temple of Heaven. They heard shouting from above. Even though there was a defensive formation, they could see flashes of light inside. Gu Fuyou stopped and looked up at the foot of the stone steps, and asked the servant, "What is that place up there?"
The servant replied respectfully, "Sir, this is the fighting arena, where the monks in the mansion compete with each other. Would you like to go up and take a look?"
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. She wanted to see how much power Zuo Shaode had, but when she thought about how she was a blue phoenix, she disdained to go among the crowd and watch the human cultivators fight, so she stood there without saying anything.
A woman in a goose yellow dress walked down the stairs slowly. She had a frown on her face. When she saw everyone, she looked indifferent, bowed, and left.
Gu Fuyou was a little puzzled, and after thinking for a moment, he realized that it was the servant's subtle attitude towards the woman. The woman in the yellow dress looked like a person of status, but the servant showed no respect at all.
Gu Fuyou asked: "Who is that person?"
The servant replied, "That is Xiao, the concubine of the second young master in the mansion."
Xiao family? There are not many families with the surname Xiao in Nanzhou. Gu Fuyou looked at the woman who was walking away again, and felt familiar with her. The servant brought the three people into the guest garden, settled them properly, and was then dismissed by Gu Fuyou.
Gu Fuyou leaned against the door, thinking, but couldn't remember. Zhong Michu asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Fuyou said, "I think that woman looks familiar, I seem to have seen her somewhere."
Zhong Michu said: "You probably haven't seen her, but you have seen her father and aunt."
"Hmm?" From what Zhong Michu said, it seemed that he knew the girl and her relatives. He knew that she had seen them too, so they must have met together, or they both knew each other.
Then this person must have been known to Zhong Michu seven hundred years ago. Zhong Michu remembered it so clearly. It couldn't be because he had a good memory. They must have had contact for seven hundred years. Gu Fuyou couldn't help but feel curious about who this person was.
Zhong Michu did not keep anyone in suspense. She said bluntly, "The Xiao siblings are Xiao Zhongting and Xiao Yuan."
Gu Fuyou recalled the two names, which were quite familiar, but she couldn't put the faces together, after all, too much time had passed. Zhong Michu reminded her, "Back then, they were the brother and sister who were bullied by Zuo Tianlang outside Xianluo."
After hearing this, Gu Fuyou had an impression, as if the window paper had been pierced, and he suddenly understood: "Oh, it's him."
When the Xiao brothers and sisters entered Xianluo for training, they were unlucky and met Zuo Tianlang. When the Ksitigarbha exploded, Zuo Tianlang grabbed Xiao Yuan as a shield, causing Xiao Yuan's golden elixir to shatter. Xiao Zhongting sought justice for his sister, but was beaten naked by Zuo Tianlang's subordinates.
Later, when they escaped from Xuanmiao Sect, Zhong Michu was injured and lacked a medicinal ingredient. They went to Xiao City to look for it. Thanks to Xiao Zhongting's rescue, they were not discovered by the Zuo family cultivators.
The girl in the goose yellow dress looks like her aunt.
"You said that girl is Xiao Zhongting's daughter?" Gu Fuyou frowned and said, "I remember that he was once a man of integrity who dared to challenge the Zuo family. Why is he marrying his daughter into this den of tigers and wolves now?"
If she were a wife, and if they were in love, it would be fine, but she was a concubine. Nowadays, most of the Taoist couples in the cultivation world are a lifelong couple, but there are also powerful people who have three wives and four concubines, especially the Zuo family. To put it nicely, they are concubines, and to put it bluntly, they are playthings, or tools for bearing children.
Zhong Michu sighed, "I just can't help it. When the entire South Continent fell into the hands of the Zuo family, the Zuo family was at its peak, and they wanted to find one or two aristocratic cities that were restless and had disloyal intentions to make an example of them. Because of Xiao Zhongting's confrontation and insults against the Zuo family outside Xianluo, Xiaocheng was bound to be in turmoil."
"Xiaocheng cannot defeat the Zuo family. Either the family will be destroyed or they will have to give in."
Gu Fuyou could almost imagine that Xiaoyao City and Xuanmiao Gate were both destroyed. Xiaocheng was like an ant to the Zuo family. Whether it lived or died was a matter of a thought. "So the Xiao family chose to compromise?"
Zhong Michu said: "The Xiao family agreed to all the requests made by the Zuo family."
Gu Fuyou felt a sense of sympathy and asked, "What are the conditions?"
Zhong Michu glanced at her and said slowly, "Xiao Zhongting was humiliated by Zuo Tianlang. Xiao Yuan entered the Zuo family as a concubine."
Gu Fuyou held onto the door frame and crushed the golden nanmu wood. Zhong Michu said, "Ah Man..."
"Go on, why did Xiao Zhongting's daughter also become a concubine in the Zuo family?"
"Xiao Zhongting was willing to be humiliated, but he was unwilling to send Xiao Yuan to the Zuo family. Xiao Yuan was willing to sacrifice herself for the family, but Xiao Zhongting refused, and even fought a life-and-death battle with the Zuo family."
Use women to exchange for peace, unless there is not a single man left in my Xiao family! These are Xiao Zhongting's original words. He is unwilling to live in disgrace and trample on his sister's flesh and blood.
"Xiao Yuan finally committed suicide."
Gu Fuyou was startled, and suddenly she thought of Gu Shuangqing and Gu Huaiyou. Her eyes turned red and her face turned cold. She smiled and said, "If I were a brother, and if I could give my sister away to keep my family safe, I would do so. Anyone who doesn't do so is a fool."
"Ah Man, they are not fools. If it were you, you wouldn't do this either."
Gu Fuyou did not answer her question. After a long silence, he asked softly, "What happened next?"
"The Zuo family refused to let it go and wanted to use Xiao Zhongting's daughter as compensation. His daughter was afraid that her father would still not allow it, so she took advantage of her father's unpreparedness and went to the Zuo family on her own."
Gu Fuyou was slightly surprised and thought to himself, "What a tenacious girl." He then asked Zhong Michu, "How do you know so much?"
Zhong Michu said softly: "I know a lot more things, do you want to hear them?"
Zhong Michu was still wearing a mask, so only her eyes could be seen. The light was dim, making her eyes look deep. Gu Fuyou said, "Let's wait..."
Then he called out, "Mr. Zhai, Mr. Zhai!"
She couldn't be alone with Zhong Michu, it was too dangerous.
The author has something to say: Because I rarely write from the perspective of the senior sister, you may think that Senior Sister Zhong is both coquettish and seductive.
I want to defend my sister.
Senior Sister Zhong was very serious about every word she said to Gu Fuyou.
Senior Sister Zhong said, "Life is unpredictable, but I am destined." This is a promise. Senior Sister will not break her promise, but Gu Fuyou doesn't believe it. Senior Sister said that she never disliked you, didn't hate you, and would never dislike you in the future. Senior Sister can only do it silently for her to see. Gu Fuyou's attitude towards Senior Sister is ambiguous, so Senior Sister can only test her little by little.
Say that you have a daughter, look at Gu Fuyou's expression, talk about the significance of touching the dragon horn, and look at Gu Fuyou's reaction. I am willing to give you the inner elixir (give you my life), and in order to let Gu Fuyou refine the sword, I secretly hunted other spirit beasts for the inner elixir.
The senior sister is the Dragon King. She was unwilling to be restrained and bound by others. Now she is treated as a slave. She is willing to call her master on her own initiative. She wants to tell Gu Fuyou that she doesn't mind this matter and wants to relieve her guilt.
She didn't want to let Gu Fuyou plunge into hatred without any worries. She wanted to give her warmth and a sense of security, to make her happy and as lively as before.
It's not flirting, it's a subtle confession, it's protection. (The flirts are still the gods in the comment section.)