Preparing to Depart

Gu Fang stood outside the room. The moment he heard the door open, the anxiety in his heart eased. She had finally come out!

He felt a slender hand clasp his wrist, and heard...

That soft, irresistible voice whisper by his ear, "Ya Fei came late. Why not go to Ya Fei's room instead?"

What man could withstand such a test?

After all, with a peerless beauty like Ya Fei saying something like that, how many men in this world could truly endure it?

But Gu Fang held back, because...

In his haste, Gu Fang had not heard what Ya Fei said at all.

He simply grabbed her and headed straight toward his own room!

Ya Fei froze for a moment, but Gu Fang was too strong for her to resist. He dragged her all the way to his room.

Though Ya Fei remained as alluring as ever, her heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Her gaze swept across Gu Fang's room.

Is this where I am destined to end up?

Then Ya Fei saw a figure in black robes lying on the bed. Looking upward, she saw a familiar face. As an auctioneer, Ya Fei had her own methods for remembering people.

At first glance, Ya Fei had already recognized her...

The woman on the bed was the female attendant who had guided Gu Fang at the counter in the hall earlier.

In an instant, Ya Fei recalled her previous assessment of Gu Fang: humility and arrogance gathered in one person!

But now, that assessment began to crumble bit by bit because of Zhan Xue lying on the bed.

What humility? It had all been nothing more than lust at first sight.

How laughable. When had she herself become a woman who judged people by a single glance?

Was it because of that face of his as well?

Then again...

Gu Fang truly was handsome. Even with all Ya Fei had seen, he could rank among the top three, perhaps even take first place.

Perhaps that appearance was what had won her over!

Ya Fei smiled bitterly to herself, but at that moment, Gu Fang's voice suddenly sounded beside her ear. "You know Zhan Xue, right?

It's not convenient for me to handle the rest, so I'll leave her to you."

"Hm?"

Hearing Gu Fang's words, Ya Fei let out a cold laugh.

He has already done everything, yet now he says it isn't convenient for him? How interesting!

"Oh, right. You won't need to worry about Lei Ou and Lei La anymore. No, that's not it...

You may never have a chance to see them again."

Gu Fang suddenly recalled the situation with Lei Ou and Lei La and casually told Ya Fei.

Ya Fei was stunned upon hearing him. Her peach-blossom eyes swept toward Gu Fang. "What do you mean? What do you mean I may never get to see them again?"

Gu Fang then briefly explained what had happened earlier.

By the end, Ya Fei gritted her teeth. "Beasts!"

"Take better care of Zhan Xue. I'll be leaving this place tomorrow!"

After saying that, Gu Fang walked toward the side room. "I'll cultivate first. Help her change into a different set of clothes."

After speaking, Gu Fang turned back one last time and glanced through the gap at Ya Fei's long, slender legs. He pursed his lips, silently recited the Luo Tian Yuan Huo Jue, and entered a state of cultivation.

It was impossible to say that Gu Fang did not covet Ya Fei. After all, who did not like beautiful women?

Moreover, Gu Fang had read the story of Battle Through the Heavens. His targets were the women around Xiao Yan, such as Xiao Yu, Yun Yun, and the others!

But coveting them was one thing. Gu Fang would not put on that lecherous, piggish expression and make himself repulsive.

No horny thoughts!

Ya Fei glanced at the side room where Gu Fang was, and an astonishment beyond her usual charm flashed across her face. The situation was now completely different from what she had imagined.

"No, what was I thinking from the very beginning?"

Like a little girl, Ya Fei patted her own head, then walked over to the bed and gently lifted the black robe.

At first glance, Ya Fei saw...

A palm-shaped bruise on Zhan Xue's neck. The instant she saw it, Ya Fei could not help reaching out to stroke it.

How much strength had it taken to leave such a bruise?

And what kind of terror had Zhan Xue endured before this?

"What a beast!"

Ya Fei cursed, then gently shook Zhan Xue awake.

Ya Fei had already seen Zhan Xue's condition clearly. If she did not wake her up, there was no way to change her clothes, much less clean her body.

About half an hour later, Ya Fei had changed Zhan Xue's clothes.

Sitting beside Zhan Xue, she listened as Zhan Xue sobbed and recounted everything that had happened—how Gu Fang had acted, how he had saved her, and finally...

Zhan Xue fell asleep from exhaustion.

Looking at Zhan Xue's face, Ya Fei could not help lifting her eyes toward Gu Fang's room.

Though Ya Fei could not see what was happening inside, she could already imagine what Gu Fang looked like as he cultivated.

"What kind of person is he, really?"

Ya Fei shook her head and smiled.

Thinking back on it now, every time she tried to define him, whatever he did next would shatter that impression to pieces.

Then she would have to form a new one.

"What an interesting fellow!"

Ya Fei tucked in Zhan Xue's blanket. Seemingly thinking of something, she lifted the brocade quilt and slipped inside as well.

After turning off the Magic Crystal lamp, her charming eyes gazed at the faintly glowing ceiling. They gradually softened, and somehow, Gu Fang's image seemed to appear before her.

Even Ya Fei herself did not realize that, without her noticing, she had begun paying Gu Fang far more attention.

And most of that attention was positive.

If Lei La, now reduced to ashes, had known this, he probably would have been so furious that he reincarnated on the spot.

After all, the person whose attention he had tried every possible way to gain had shifted the gaze he had long begged for onto someone else because of his own meddling.

The current situation perfectly matched a saying from a past life:

Kill me to liven things up for them!

Gu Fang sat cross-legged in cultivation. He knew nothing of the change in Ya Fei's state of mind in the outer room. Even if he had known, he would merely have been somewhat pleased and would not have paid it much attention.

For Gu Fang, wanting something was one thing—after all, everyone appreciated beauty—but...

He did not possess that kind of obsession.

After witnessing the Ancient Emperor make a move, Gu Fang had shifted his focus onto cultivation.

After all...

This was ultimately the Dou Qi Continent, where strength reigned supreme!

Even though his father was Gu Yuan, a Peak Nine-star Battle Saint, his father could not remain by his side forever. Only becoming strong himself was the proper path!

With every breath, the Luo Tian Yuan Huo Jue drew the surrounding scattered Dou Qi into his meridians. The Yuan Fire then tempered away its impurities, compressed it, and sent it into his Qi vortex.

At the same time, throughout his cultivation, the Dou Di bloodline continuously transformed Gu Fang's body.

It made his body tougher and stronger, laying an incomparably solid foundation for cultivation that would never be unstable.

After a long while...

Gu Fang slowly exhaled, then opened his eyes and looked at the sky outside the window, which was only beginning to brighten.

He murmured, "It's time to go to Wutan City. I wonder how Sister Xiao Xun'er is doing now.

"And Xiao Yan...

"Is he like he was described in the book?"

"Oh, right..."

Gu Fang pursed his lips. "I wonder how Old Yao's alchemy compares to Master's?"