"This..." Zheng Minghui was speechless for a moment, so he could only quietly go to look at Ning Wan again.
"Didn't I already say that I wouldn't pursue this matter any further?" Ning Wan frowned and said calmly.
He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the outer disciples like lightning, and said in a deep voice, "I'll say it one more time, this matter ends here, and no one is allowed to mention it again."
“Ning Wan…Senior Brother.” Gu Tang’s eyes met Ning Wan’s, and he smiled with a hint of amusement. “This matter originally had nothing to do with you, and you don’t need to ‘investigate’ anything about it.”
His gaze shifted to Zheng Minghui, and he flicked his sleeve: "I picked the herbs that belonged to me to brew medicine for my son. Now not only have the herbs been stolen, but the medicine I brewed has also been thrown away... Shouldn't I be the one held accountable for this?"
Zheng Minghui was certainly not afraid of Gu Tang.
But Elder Zhu is here.
The elder in charge of managing all the herbs in Danxin Pavilion was the kindest and most benevolent person.
"Elder Zhu, may I ask if what I said makes sense?" Gu Tang asked the elder directly.
"Hmm." Elder Zhu nodded.
He also felt somewhat guilty towards Gu Tang.
He naturally knew the rules of the sect that Gu Tang mentioned.
When Zheng Minghui came to complain, he made the problem sound extremely serious, completely ignoring this rule.
"Since the elder agrees with my statement, then please, Senior Brother Zheng, compensate me for the herbs," Gu Tang said calmly.
Zheng Minghui secretly went to see Ning Wan again.
Ning Wan didn't speak again.
He still stood there, composed and indifferent, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
Zheng Minghui had no choice but to grit his teeth and say in a low voice, "I'll pay! It's just a few herbs!"
"Senior Brother Zheng," Gu Tang kindly reminded him, "You probably have a bad memory. Just now, you rushed up Danxin Peak as if the sky had fallen over these few herbs. For such a small matter, you didn't hesitate to disturb the inner sect's top disciple and elders."
After Gu Tang finished speaking, he didn't wait for Zheng Minghui to react.
He bowed to Elder Zhu, took Gu Nuo's small hand, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, turned and returned to his wooden house.
The moment the door closed, Gu Nuo couldn't help but cheer and rushed towards her father.
He knew that this time, not only did his father not suffer a loss, but he also made that bad uncle who always bullied him and his father suffer.
"Daddy." Gu Nuo buried her little head in Gu Tang's lower abdomen, calling his name repeatedly, "Daddy, Daddy..."
“Good girl…” Gu Tang raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly placed it behind Gu Nuo’s head.
He still felt a little awkward.
He had cultivated for ten thousand years and had a Daoist partner, but it was just a matter of mutual benefit for the sake of cultivation.
He had never been treated with such genuine affection before, even though Gu Nuo was very young and it was purely out of filial piety towards him.
"Nuo'er." Gu Tang let his son whine for a while, then pulled him to sit down on the edge of the bed and asked, "Father wants to ask you, why did this happen today?"
“Hmm…” Gu Nuo looked at his serious expression and tilted her head to think seriously, “Uncle Zheng is a bad person.”
“That’s right, Zheng Minghui is not a good person. But not everyone can bully bad people,” Gu Tang said. “He dares to be so arrogant towards us because we are not strong enough.”
"Yes!" Gu Nuo nodded emphatically.
He was only six years old.
But the coldness and warmth of human relationships over the years have made him more sensible than children his age.
"I want to become stronger!" Gu Nuo said earnestly.
"Okay!" Gu Tang nodded with a satisfied smile.
He had just tried it, and he really didn't know what was wrong with his body. If he continued to cultivate using conventional methods, it would be difficult to advance any further.
However, Gu Nuo has good potential.
With his personal guidance, he will surely shine brightly very soon!
"When I become stronger, I will protect Daddy and never let anyone bully Daddy again." Gu Nuo said, then threw herself into Gu Tang's arms and rubbed her head against him.
"Good boy." Gu Tang patted his son's head.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and thought about it seriously.
Gu Nuo has good potential, but he was always hungry and cold as a child, and he looks too thin and weak.
He wanted to first strengthen his son's foundation and cultivate his vitality.
Only by practicing in this way can you achieve twice the result with half the effort.
The best and simplest way is to use herbs.
The herbs available to outer disciples are simply too low quality.
He had already looked around and found that the medicinal herb fields here were mostly first- and second-grade herbs. In the past, he wouldn't have bothered to bend down to pick them.
The inner sect of Danxin Pavilion must have better herbs, but is there any way to get them to give them to us?
Gu Tang stood up and paced back and forth in the room a few times.
Got it!
Gu Tang instructed Gu Nuo: "Nuo'er, Father is going to Danxin Peak. You stay home..."
"I want to go with Father!" Gu Nuo reached out and tightly grasped Gu Tang's hand before he could finish speaking.
Sensing the tension and fear emanating from Gu Nuo's small hands, Gu Tang nodded: "Okay, let's go together."
Danxin Peak is the location of the inner sect of Danxin Pavilion. The mountain is rich in spiritual energy, making it very suitable for cultivation. All disciples who can enter the inner sect live on Danxin Peak.
They do not forbid outer disciples from coming, but Gu Tang has not come here since she was expelled from the inner sect after giving birth to Gu Nuo.
When he reached the foot of Danxin Peak, two outer sect disciples on guard stopped him without any politeness: "Gu Tang, the sect has distinguished guests today, what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Elder Zhu. Please inform him, senior brothers," Gu Tang said politely.
The disciple who stopped Gu Tang glanced at Gu Nuo. Although not everyone in Danxin Pavilion knew about him, these outer disciples who were responsible for guarding Danxin Peak year-round had heard of him to varying degrees.
Gu Nuo is the son of a former senior disciple of the inner sect, born from an affair.
And he was the father of hers!
This incident was a stain on Danxin Peak, and the sect leader personally issued a gag order, forbidding anyone from spreading it.
Just as the disciple who had stopped Gu Tang was about to speak, another disciple suddenly tugged at his sleeve: "You go up."
The disciple smiled with a particularly malicious grin: "Elder Zhu is currently receiving distinguished guests with the sect leader, so you may have to wait a while."
"Thank you." Gu Tang cupped his hands in thanks and led Gu Nuo slowly up the steps.
As they turned a corner, they could faintly hear the conversation between the two guards behind them: "Why were you so kind as to let him up?"
"I heard that over the years, the sect leader flies into a rage whenever he hears anyone mention him or his little bastard. If he were to go, the sect leader might just kick him out in a fit of anger. It would save him the trouble of having to think about that monster every time..."
The rest of the words gradually faded away in the wind.
Gu Tang could feel that Gu Nuo was holding his hand tightly; the child must be angry again.
"Nuo'er." This time, Gu Tang didn't pat his head to comfort him, but said calmly, "Have you forgotten what your father just said?"
"Mm." Gu Nuo nodded emphatically without looking up.
He gripped Gu Tang's hand tighter and whispered, but with utmost seriousness, "You must become stronger! Become very, very strong!"
“Starting tonight, your father will teach you cultivation techniques,” Gu Tang said to Gu Nuo in a low voice. “To improve your physique, I will also give you some medicine or medicinal baths.”
He asked, "These processes won't be easy. The medicine will be very bitter, and bathing in the medicinal solution will be painful. The path of cultivation is lonely and long, full of hardships... Noel, are you afraid?"
"I'm not afraid!" Gu Nuo said crisply and firmly, "As long as I can become stronger!"
This child is teachable!
Gu Tang nodded in satisfaction.
This is the kind of thinking a future protagonist should have; why bother with so much sentimental romance!
He opened his mouth, wanting to give his son a few more instructions, when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from the mountain road.
Two inner disciples of Danxin Pavilion soon appeared before the father and son.
Their eyes lit up when they saw Gu Tang, and they strode towards him, saying, "Gu Tang! We were just looking for you!"
The disciple on the left shouted, "Quickly, come with us to see the sect leader!"
"Gu Tang, come with us!" The disciple on the right walked up to him and gave him a rather impolite shove.
He was clearly not going to hold back at all, and his gaze toward Gu Tang was filled with schadenfreude.
"Senior brothers," Gu Tang asked calmly, "Does the sect leader wish to see me for something?"
"Gu Tang, Gu Tang!" The gloating man looked him up and down. "I didn't believe Zheng Minghui when he said you stole the sect's herbs. I didn't expect... you really are that capable!"
He paused, then deliberately dragged out his words, "He's just a minor cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he has the audacity to steal from Flying Cloud Palace. They've even come knocking on our door themselves!"
Chapter 5 The Son's Father is the Demon Lord (5)
As the disciple spoke, he gave Gu Tang a hard shove: "Hurry up, stop dawdling."
Those disciples who are able to enter the inner sect are at least at the Qi Condensation stage.
He showed no mercy, pushing Gu Tang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so hard that he stumbled, and Gu Nuo, whom he was holding, almost fell as well.
The two disciples laughed gleefully when they saw the father and son's disheveled appearance.
"Nuo'er, be careful," Gu Tang reassured Gu Nuo.
He stood up straight with a nonchalant expression, glancing at the two disciples.
Although the Qi Condensation stage is only one level higher than the Foundation Establishment stage, the higher one climbs on the path of cultivation, the more difficult it becomes.
To advance to the next level, one often has to put in a hundred times the effort of the previous level.
Therefore, the requirements for cultivators are very high.
These two disciples, despite having already condensed their meridians, still took pleasure in bullying Gu Tang, who was a whole major realm lower than them.