Chapter 1 The Wind-Receiving Banquet

The "banquet" to welcome and cleanse the dust was held within the Qianlong Temple manor.

Calling it a "banquet" was a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, Fatty Luo cooked some simple home-style dishes. There wasn't any grand scene, just as he said... it was his personal "wind-receiving and dust-cleansing banquet."

There were no outsiders.

After the banquet.

"Fatty... there's something I want you to take a look at."

Gu Nanfeng took out a tiny component from his pocket, holding it slowly with two fingers to display it.

This was a very small component. Looking at its outline, someone who wasn't engrossed in mechanical research year-round... simply couldn't tell where it was used.

"A part from a Groundworm."

Fatty Luo recognized it at a glance, then frowned. "Young Master... you encountered a Groundworm?"

"I encountered it on the way here. This Groundworm tried to attack me, and then I crushed it," Gu Nanfeng said calmly. "Although I moved secretly, I still couldn't hide it from them. On the way back, there was 'Wind Eye' above and 'Groundworm' below... it seems there are many people in Changye who are paying attention to my movements."

"No... that's not right..."

After hearing this, Luo Yu fell into deep thought. After a moment, he shook his head. "If it was done by those New Faction guys... why would they use a 'Groundworm' to attack you? They should want the Groundworms to be hidden as deep as possible."

Groundworms could burrow hundreds of meters into the ground.

And searching underground was something that Lanqie wasn't good at.

Gu Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Fatty Luo said solemnly, "Young Master, in my opinion, this doesn't seem like an attack... it's more like a reminder. Perhaps they want to remind you that someone in Changye has been watching you, and even earlier than you think, much earlier."

Using a Groundworm to show its head was meaningless.

"No one can stop you from coming back," Fatty Luo said slowly. "So... before making a formal move, the New Faction won't reveal their cards, not a single one."

Gu Nanfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Fatty, the reason I came back this time... is because of the Law."

In front of Gu Shen and Lu Nanjin, Gu Nanfeng didn't hide anything, getting straight to the point.

"You also know about the Apostle. Most of the major cities have officially opposed the Law... I think Changye also needs to express its position. On the matter of the Law, Changye needs to talk to the major cities."

Fatty Luo was stunned.

He awkwardly picked up a chopstick of food and said, "Let's eat... let's eat..."

"Am I being too direct?"

Gu Nanfeng stared into Luo Yu's eyes and said, "But the matter of the Law is a burning issue that can't be delayed for even a moment. The old man didn't meet me immediately after I came back, but sent you here instead... what does this mean?"

"It's not that the old man didn't want to come, it's just that he really has something to do and can't get away..."

Fatty Luo said with a helpless smile, "And Young Master, you also know that after leaving Changye for eight years, you want to take charge of the Law as soon as you come back... although you are the future head of the family appointed by the Tombkeeper, there's no such logic..."

Gu Nanfeng continued to stare at Luo Yu's dodging eyes and said in a deep voice, "Didn't you just say... the old man has been looking forward to my return?"

"Yes... but..."

Fatty Luo sighed, "What he wants is for you to come back safely, not to stir up trouble. The fighting was fierce eight years ago. Now everyone has taken a step back, and we can be considered to be living in peace. Peace... is not easy."

What he was saying... was very clear.

Gu Nanfeng understood.

Gu Shen and Lu Nanjin exchanged glances and also understood.

Relying on the influence of the Qing Tomb and the legacy of Gu Changzhi, the Old Faction still possessed a vast amount of power, but they now seemed to be in decline and didn't want to fight for more.

Gu Nanfeng was indeed the nominal future head of the Gu family.

But this title, compared to real power, was more like a "vacant crown" placed on a castle in the air.

The people of the Old Faction supported this crown, which was equivalent to guarding the morality they believed in... The Tombkeeper in the Qing Tomb was Gu Changzhi's messenger, so naturally, he had to follow his appointed will. Therefore, when the struggle was at its most intense, they sent Gu Nanfeng to the Northern Continent without hesitation in order to protect their morality.

But now... the struggle was over.

Not only did the New Faction not want to see Gu Changzhi return to Changye.

Those who once supported the crown also didn't want to see the return of this "future head of the family."

This was a very disheartening... fact.

"No wonder."

There was no reaction on Gu Nanfeng's face, it was still calm. "No wonder, it's only you."

Groundworm, Wind Eye.

He didn't know how many people in Changye were staring at him... and the only one who came to welcome him when he really came back was Fatty Luo.

Fatty Luo was a little embarrassed.

He said with difficulty, "The old man has already persuaded that side on the matter of the Law... they neither oppose nor support it. I'm here today to inform you... when you see the old man tomorrow, don't mention it again."

This was the reason Changye declared neutrality... Gu Shen listened silently from the side, lost in thought. That mysterious "old man," Gu Nanfeng's uncle, should be the one who now held the power of the Old Faction.

It wouldn't be easy to make the New Faction, which was aggressively promoting the situation, give up speaking out on the matter of the Law.

"Young Master, you must be patient..."

Fatty Luo gritted his teeth and said, "After leaving for eight years, whatever you want to do this time, there must be a process..."

Gu Nanfeng twirled his wine glass and slowly took a sip.

He just narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't say anything.

Luo Yu also stopped talking, but observed his expression, cautious, waiting for a response.

At this tense moment.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Report..."

Before the voice could land.

Fatty Luo stood up, came to the door, and said in a low, angry voice, "Get out! Get out from wherever you came..."

His voice also stopped abruptly—

It was his subordinate, escorting the Tomb Ghoul, who was late.

Xing Yun, who had been blowing in the cold wind all the way, was carsick, and was finally carried here, looked up at the angry, tall figure in front of him, his face full of grievance and indignation, but in the end, he silently reached out and wiped the saliva from his face.

"Unlucky..."

Fatty Luo whispered, "Take him away, take him away, arrange a place to live nearby... don't let him live here, it'll ruin the feng shui."

Tomb Ghoul: "???"

"Let him in—"

After taking a sip of wine, Gu Nanfeng said softly, "He is my guest."

"For the next few days, arrange for him to live with me. We'll eat, drink, live, and travel together. Wherever I go, he goes."

……

……

The wind-receiving and dust-cleansing banquet ended somewhat unpleasantly.

Back at Spring Rain Temple.

Gu Shen immediately immersed himself in the spiritual link.

"Swish, swish, swish."

In the carriage of the Zero-Zero-One train traveling in the darkness, Gu Shen's figure slowly condensed.

Opposite him.

Was Chu Ling, sitting cross-legged on a chair, reading a book properly.

"Although I knew it long ago... the trip to Changye wouldn't be so smooth."

Gu Shen moved his muscles and slowly exhaled a breath of depression. "But the issue of the Law is more troublesome than I imagined. Even with Gu Nanfeng as a connection, Changye still doesn't want to talk to the major cities."

Chu Ling, sitting opposite him, said something that surprised Gu Shen.

"New and old, they are actually both old."

"Surrounding the Qing Tomb, and the life and death of Mr. Gu Changzhi... what they are doing is actually for themselves. Whether it is conservative and stubborn, or radical change... the final benefits all fall on the 'Gu family' represented by themselves."

Chu Ling slowly said, "The real new is actually Gu Nanfeng."

"As long as they speak out on the matter of the Awakening Law... then Changye will set up enemies for itself. Zhao Xilai is the best example. After he opposed the Law, the connections he had established with other continents were all severed overnight. It's just because he died, so many influences haven't been brought into play yet, and they disappeared indirectly." Gu Shen sighed softly, "So Changye has always been neutral because it can completely accept both the passage and the failure of the Law."

"That's right."

Chu Ling smiled slightly, "Eight years ago, the New Faction wanted Gu Changzhi to die, and the Old Faction wanted Gu Changzhi to live... On the surface, it was because one opposed theocracy and the other supported theocracy. But in reality, that's not the case... Because eight years later, Changye has undergone new changes."

Gu Shen thought deeply and said, "Eight years later, Changye is at peace. Those people in the New Faction no longer try to oppose the existence of the Qing Tomb, and those people in the Old Faction are not so concerned about the life and death of Mr. Gu Changzhi in the Qing Tomb..."

The more he thought about it, the more ironic it felt.

"Time will dilute everything."

"Time will also make people recognize everything."

"The New Faction has discovered that Gu Changzhi being alive doesn't seem to be a bad thing."

"The other continents don't dare to act rashly. The existence of this deterrent force makes Changye's position stable... So their existence also becomes stable. As long as Gu Changzhi doesn't come out of the Qing Tomb, they won't encounter any blows. This situation is not unacceptable."

"And even more ironic is that... for the Old Faction, over these eight years, the ideas that originally supported Gu Changzhi have also changed bit by bit."

"People only crave divine salvation when they are desperate."

"Presumably, many people in the Old Faction have discovered over the years that they can live very well without that god in the Qing Tomb coming out alive... On the contrary, if that god came out, they might not be so well off."

"At that time... would they still want God to appear?"

Chu Ling gave her own answer to this question: "I think... they wouldn't."

Gu Shen had a headache and rubbed his brow.

This trip to Changye.

Promoting the Law, as well as the negotiations between the major cities and Changye... was not just Gu Nanfeng's mission. The burden on the shoulders of this future head of the Gu family was indeed not light, and currently, it seemed like he was fighting alone.

There were many people in Changye who were willing to call him Young Master.

But there were few who truly treated him as the Young Master.

Fatty Luo's reception today should have been the meaning of that Old Faction old man. In addition to receiving the wind and washing away the dust, he was reminding Gu Nanfeng of his attitude towards returning... The "family banquet" tomorrow was probably the main event.

"You don't actually need to worry too much about Gu Nanfeng's side."

Chu Ling smiled and said, "I've found some interesting information that you can take a look at."

In the middle of the carriage, one pop-up window after another appeared.

Files were packaged and flying in this spiritual space.

"Because he went to Light City... I started investigating... starting from the identity code that was changed..."

Gu Shen looked solemn and slowly browsed through them.

Eight years ago, this young master of the Gu family was sent out of the Eastern Continent to the fortress. To prevent him from being traced, the Tombkeeper used the highest authority of the God Seat to rewrite all his identity codes.

"Starting from the fortress of Piyue City, he first joined the Fourth Army and started as a scout, starting on the path of promotion step by step. This file is not encrypted because there are no secrets here. It is completely the history of a small person's struggle... It is worth mentioning that the dome cloak on Gu Nanfeng's body was a gift from the famous Northern Continent general 'Rustbone', the Mist Hidden Cloak."

The file used clean and concise words to record how a little-known figure with the identity code Cn021 spent eight years, step by step, climbing to a high position in the Fourth Army...

Eight years was very long.

Eight years was also very short.

For a person who left his hometown, eight years was too long. The more than two thousand days and nights spent wandering outside were full of loneliness and displacement.

For a struggler, eight years was too short. One step at a time, he couldn't go too far.

But for Gu Nanfeng, in eight years... he eventually became Rustbone's adjutant.

And the record of file Cn021 also ended here.

Perhaps it was because his identity as the Young Master of Changye... was known by General Rustbone, so this file stopped being recorded and updated.

The last part of the file was a special note from General Rustbone: Due to Cn021's outstanding contributions, the Northern Continent has decided not to record his file in the deep sea and will seal it up here.

No one knew who Cn021 was.

Except for the source code Chu Ling.

"In addition, there is one more thing that is quite meaningful and worth exploring..."

Chu Ling said meaningfully, "The Northern Continent General Rustbone also studied in Light City and has close ties with the Light God Seat. Perhaps this is why Gu Nanfeng was able to borrow relics from Light City? There is no other information in the Cn021 file, and I cannot find out more news. But I think that the Apostle's relic, a sacred object, is not enough to borrow just based on the name of the future head of the Gu family..."

"You mean, Gu Nanfeng has additional connections with the Western Continent?" Gu Shen narrowed his eyes, "Then there is also a backing behind his return to Changye."

"Most likely." Chu Ling paused and said, "But it's just a probability."

"In any case... I don't need to worry about him anymore."

"If Gu Nanfeng chooses to stay in the Northern Continent and become a new generation of famous generals, it's only a matter of time." Gu Shen finished reading the file and breathed a sigh of relief. "But he chose to return to Changye... Presumably, before returning to his hometown, he already knew about the difficulties here."

Gu Shen's mood gradually calmed down.

Actually, he also knew.

What he could do in the negotiations on the Law was... to give a push when he was needed.

Before the situation became clear, it would be better to wait and see.

"Compared to Gu Nanfeng, what needs more worry... is myself." Gu Shen smiled and said, "After coming to Changye, I vaguely had a bad feeling, especially the sentence that Fatty Luo said to me."

He often heard people from the Third Institute hear Gu Shen's name.

"Zhou Jiren has many enemies in the Tribunal." Chu Ling said softly, "You need to be careful."