That gaze was still sharp and cold, like a knife or a sword, and he remained as proud as the Flying Cloud Palace Master who had never taken the world seriously.
Qin Junche glanced at Mo Qingli briefly before his gaze fell on Gu Tang.
In that instant, Mo Qingli felt as if she saw the spring snow melting away.
Flowers bloomed in profusion, and the spring breeze swept across the land, softening Qin Junche's expression.
That was a gentleness he had never seen on the face of the Palace Master of Feiyun in all the years they had known each other.
Mo Qingli: "..."
He had almost forgotten the purpose of his trip to Feiyun Mountain today, and somewhat absentmindedly bid farewell to Gu Tang: "I'm taking my leave."
Mo Qingli practically fled in panic.
The courtyard gate closed again behind him.
After confirming that Qin Junche had re-added the restrictions to the courtyard gate, Gu Tang turned around with a smile and asked, "Did I do a good job?"
He paused, then said to Qin Junche, "I can't stay out for too long. Tonight I'll hand over the alchemy array to Lin Fei, and tomorrow I'll be returning to Danxin Pavilion. As for the sword technique..."
Gu Tang thought for a moment and then asked cautiously, "If you have nothing else to do, why don't you come with me to Danxin Pavilion?"
Qin Junche remained leaning against the pillar, his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.
He didn't speak or make any movements, which made the atmosphere a little awkward.
Gu Tang felt very embarrassed.
He wanted Qin Junche to go to Danxin Pavilion with him, entirely for his own... mission.
Gu Nuo is now well-suited to cultivate in the cold pool at Danxin Peak.
Throughout his journey through Feiyun Mountain, he couldn't find a more suitable place for Gu Nuo to cultivate.
Moreover, Qin Junche had clearly agreed to become his Daoist partner, but the system did not notify him that the side quest was completed.
After thinking about it for a moment, Gu Tang guessed that the problem lay in the latter part of the task.
Why should we give Gu Nuo a complete and warm home?
“Before I came, Nuo’er also said she missed you,” Gu Tang had no choice but to say again.
When Gu Tang and Qin Junche returned to the wooden house where he lived at the foot of Danxin Peak, Gu Nuo was still practicing his sword in the cold pool and had not yet returned.
“Let’s go pick him up. Nuo’er will be very happy to see you,” Gu Tang said to Qin Junche.
"Okay." Qin Junche nodded.
Gu Tang now feels that Palace Master Feiyun is really easy to talk to.
This time, Qin Junche didn't take him flying up Danxin Peak. The two walked slowly up the mountain path side by side. They were just around the next bend when they would reach the cold pool where Gu Nuo usually practiced his sword.
A burst of children's noisy chatter carried on the wind to Gu Tang's ears.
Gu Nuo's soft, clear childlike voice, tinged with obvious sobs, stood out particularly well among the other children's voices.
"You're talking nonsense! My father isn't that kind of person! You're the bad guys!"
Gu Nuo is too young and too well-behaved.
All they ever say is "bad guy".
The other children were much more unrestrained, especially several of the louder-sounding ones, who were spewing out all sorts of foul language.
Gu Tang's face darkened immediately upon hearing this.
He turned and glanced at Qin Junche.
The other person seemed to understand his meaning, and with a swift movement, grabbed his waist and swept away.
In the blink of an eye, the two landed side by side on the edge of the cold pool.
Chapter 18 The Son's Father is the Demon Lord (18)
On the grassy bank of the cold pond, Gu Nuo, dressed in blue, stood to one side.
There were about a dozen children opposite him.
The smallest one was more than half a head taller than the skinny Gu Nuo.
The oldest one is already twelve or thirteen years old.
Gu Nuo's face turned bright red, and she held a short wooden sword in her hand.
That was carved for him by Gu Tang before he left, and it's perfect for Gu Nuo to use for repairing the sword now.
"Shame on you!" A little girl in a pink dress across from Gu Nuo gestured with her hand across her face a few times. "Shame on you, shameless! Little Gu Nuo, you're bragging! Hehehe..."
As soon as the little girl started singing, all the children joined in, laughing and clapping as they sang along happily.
"My father would never lie to me!" Gu Nuo's face turned bright red, and her big eyes widened as she tried to stare.
His tears welled up and rolled around inside, but he held them back, not wanting to shed a tear in front of his friends who always bullied him.
Father said that crying in front of those who bully him will only make them happier.
Only those who love him will shed tears and feel sorry for him.
He mustn't cry!
"My mom said your dad is a liar, everyone in the family knows that!" another boy, around ten years old, shouted. "He's the weakest in the family, only good at shamelessly climbing on other people's backs... Aaaaaah!"
Before the little boy could finish speaking, Gu Nuo's small body suddenly shot towards him like a cannonball.
He was so thin and small, and also so young.
He rushed forward with all his might, and without thinking, crashed headfirst into the other person's stomach.
"Ah!" The little boy was caught off guard and bumped into by Gu Nuo. He stumbled back several steps and sat down on the grass with a thud.
Gu Nuo was also feeling bad.
He stumbled back a few steps as the little boy bounced off him, his head spinning slightly.
After a while, he managed to stand up steadily.
"Don't talk about my father!" Gu Nuo shouted.
He tried to keep a straight face and stared at the children: "Elder Zhu said that Daddy is very powerful now..."
"My father said that he became powerful by sleeping with other men!" Another boy, about eleven or twelve years old and looking quite strong, interrupted Gu Nuo loudly.
"You're talking nonsense!" Gu Nuo shook his head and charged at the boy, dragging his little wooden sword.
"That little bastard hit someone!" the boy screamed to his friends. "He started it, beat him up!"
Gu Nuo was younger than them all. Although he was exceptionally talented, he had only been cultivating for a short time.
Surrounded by a dozen or so children, he was quickly pushed to the ground.
The tall, strong boy, around eleven or twelve years old, bent down to pick up the small wooden sword that had fallen to the side, and threw it into the icy pool: "What kind of trash is this? You little bastard, you dare to practice swordsmanship?!"
The wooden sword drew a small arc in the air, about to fall into the icy pool.
With a "whoosh," the wooden sword suddenly flew back and stuck straight into the ground.
The boy was stunned for a moment, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He slowly turned his head, but before his head could fully turn, a strong force came from the back of his neck.
Someone grabbed him by the back of the neck and casually threw him out.
"Aaaaaaah!" The boy let out an even more piercing scream than before, then rolled to the ground.
"Huh?" He thought he was going to fall and get a bloody head, but he only fell on his butt and it hurt a little.
The boy paused for a moment, then quickly got up from the ground.
Before he could even stand up straight, he saw his friends being thrown over one by one.
The children who were just surrounding Gu Nuo were all thrown to the ground in the blink of an eye.
Amidst the screams, the children all got up unharmed.
They looked at each other.
Finally, they all looked at Gu Tang, who was gently bending down to pick up Gu Nuo, not far away.
Gu Tang, who had just arrived, was almost amused by the group of children.
He could not name all the children, but he recognized that they were mostly children of outer disciples of Danxin Pavilion.
The oldest was no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.
Danxin Pavilion is, after all, a major sect that ranks among the top in the entire cultivation world.
He truly never expected that the children taught by his disciples would turn out like this.
No wonder Gu Nuo fought with them!
Times have truly changed. The world of children today is far more filthy than he imagined!
"Nuo'er." Gu Tang bent down and patted Gu Nuo's shoulder.
He looked into his son's eyes and asked gently, "Are you alright?"
"Father..." Gu Nuo called out softly, her stubborn little face tense.
He was so worried—would his father have heard what he just said?!
He didn't want his father to hear!
"Noel is alright!" he said quickly.
"Good boy." Gu Tang smiled slightly at him.
He ruffled Gu Nuo's hair and suddenly asked, "Then, can you still fight?"
"Huh?" Gu Nuo was stunned for a moment, looking at Gu Tang with some confusion.
Only then did he realize that there was another person standing next to his father...
No! Another father!