That "Senior Brother Gu" came out with the utmost sincerity, and without the slightest guilt.
In the cultivation world, the accomplished came first.
Gu Chengming's understanding of the Huiyuan Sword Art far exceeded Liu Enchuan's expectations. In some respects, he had even surpassed Liu Enchuan, an elder.
There was nothing shameful about calling him Senior Brother.
Besides, Liu Enchuan was using a false name and wearing a disguised face. Who would know that he was the dignified Elder of the Ministry of Works, Liu Enchuan?
As long as he kept his disguise airtight, calling someone Senior Brother wouldn't cost him a thing.
Gu Chengming also had a rather favorable impression of this "Junior Brother Liu En."
Not only had this exhilarating sparring match deepened his understanding of the Huiyuan Sword Art, but his opponent's final "recovery"—which had looked clumsy but was in fact ingenious—had impressed him as well.
Gu Chengming had never seen that move before, but the quality of his Clear Sword Heart had let him sense a hint of danger in that instant.
There was no doubt that it was an extremely profound sword technique.
Setting aside the Huiyuan Sword Art, if they were judging swordsmanship alone, this "Junior Brother Liu En" was undoubtedly far superior to him.
The two sheathed their swords and stood facing each other, then exchanged a few more insights.
The more they talked, the more they felt they were kindred spirits—almost as if they had met too late in life.
Of course, that feeling differed ever so slightly in each of their hearts.
Gu Chengming thought: I've finally found a reliable sparring partner who can take a beating and knows his stuff!
As for Liu Enchuan, the more he looked at Gu Chengming, the more he liked and approved of him.
This is the future hope of Huiyuan Gate!
As he spoke, Liu Enchuan's tone unconsciously took on the kindly warmth and satisfaction of an elder looking at an outstanding junior.
"Senior Brother Gu, you must practice your sword diligently. Don't waste that talent of yours. If you run into any difficulties in your cultivation, just... Ahem, just tell me, your junior brother."
Gu Chengming felt a little uneasy hearing that.
What's with that tone...? He sounds like the old man next door telling his grandson to behave.
He assumed this junior brother was a sword-obsessed fanatic, wholly devoted to practicing swordsmanship and clueless about social niceties. He didn't think too much of it, simply smiling and agreeing.
Liu Enchuan seemed to realize he had let himself go a little, sounding rather too "kindly."
He quickly gathered himself and returned to the carefree demeanor of a young Sword Cultivator. After a little more conversation, he cupped his hands and took his leave.
Watching Liu Enchuan walk away, Gu Chengming was in high spirits.
That fight had been worth it!
Meanwhile, over at the Sword Repository Pavilion, life was not going nearly so well for a certain Elder Yu.
Ever since she had been left hanging at a crucial moment that night, Yu Wenqiu had felt as if she'd caught some kind of poison called "update fever."
Every day, she sat behind the Sword Repository Pavilion's counter, seeming to meditate with her eyes closed and contemplate the Great Dao, when in truth her mind was full of wild imaginings.
Even when disciples came to exchange for Cultivation Methods, she seemed absent-minded.
"Elder, I'd like to exchange for this Blazing Palm."
"Hmm... What do you think would happen if the protagonist chose the third option?"
"Huh? What did you say, Elder?"
"Ahem, nothing. Take it."
After two days of this, Yu Wenqiu finally couldn't take it anymore.
No, I can't just sit around and wait! If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain!
She decided to take the initiative and find that boy, Gu Chengming, to ask when he would bring her the sequel!
As an elder, finding an Outer Sect Disciple's residence was child's play.
All it took was a wave of her finger to look up the sect's disciple register, and she could even pull up a map with the exact door number.
Before long, Yu Wenqiu had pinpointed Gu Chengming's residence.
If Gu Chengming had known, he probably would've said, "Holy crap! Boxed in!"
Yu Wenqiu didn't go straight there. Instead, she returned to her cave abode to get ready.
She changed out of her conspicuous elder's robes and into a moon-white dress that looked modest but was made from fine materials. She also simply pinned up her hair, securing it with a plain, elegant jade hairpin.
Once she was ready, she rode her Escape Light quietly to Gu Chengming's residence.
As soon as she landed, she heard a series of muffled thuds coming from the courtyard.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Curious, Yu Wenqiu peered inside.
In the courtyard, Gu Chengming stood bare-chested, every muscle taut and sweat running down his back.
In an extremely strange, almost self-tormenting stance, he repeatedly slammed his body into a thick wooden post.
It was the "Bone Forging" method recorded in the Hundred Bones Ming.
Every impact came with a faint crackle of bone. Just watching it made her ache.
Yu Wenqiu's heart stirred slightly, and her expression grew complicated.
That boy... he really is pushing himself.
She thought of the sect's upcoming Disciple Grand Examination.
Gu Chengming must have been working so hard so he could get a good result in the Grand Examination and avoid being expelled from the sect, right?
She remembered how she herself had crammed at the last minute and stayed up all night training to pass the elder assessment. She'd even lost a fistful of hair...
A pang of fellow-feeling welled up in her heart.
Yu Wenqiu sighed inwardly.
She and Xiao Gu not only shared a taste in storybooks; even their experiences of desperately struggling to pass an examination were so alike.
Since they shared an interest, and he was such a hardworking young man, she, as an elder, didn't want to watch him get expelled just like that.
More importantly... she was counting on him to buy her the next parts of that storybook!
If he were driven out of the sect, who would bring her books to read?
Thinking this, Yu Wenqiu couldn't help wondering how she might help Xiao Gu.
Just then, Gu Chengming, who had been focused on his training, seemed to sense something by the entrance.
He stopped, wiped the sweat from his face, and turned toward the courtyard gate.
When he saw the woman standing there in a moon-white dress, her manner gentle and refined, he froze for a moment. Then, surprised, he said, "Elder Yu? What brings you here?"
Yu Wenqiu had been lost in thoughts of "helping a struggling junior disciple." His voice brought her back to herself.
Only then did she remember what she had come for.
"Ahem!"
Yu Wenqiu coughed awkwardly twice, quickly composed herself, and walked in with her hands behind her back.
"Well... I happened to be passing by. I remembered you exchanged for the Hundred Bones Ming a few days ago, so I thought I'd drop by and see how your training was going."
She pretended to inspect the wooden post, which had been knocked somewhat out of shape, and nodded.
"Mm, it seems you've been working hard. The Hundred Bones Ming may progress slowly, but it lays a solid foundation. With such diligence, you haven't let down the effort I went to when I made an exception for you... Ahem, when I went to the trouble of making things convenient for you that day."
She had twisted and turned her way through that speech, making it sound perfectly dignified.
She sounded just like an elder sincerely checking on a junior's studies.
Gu Chengming was taken aback. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your concern, Elder. This disciple will certainly keep working hard."
Seeing that she had laid enough groundwork, Yu Wenqiu changed the subject and asked as if it were just a casual thought.
"By the way, aside from your training... I've also taken a look at the storybook you brought me the other day in my spare time."
She paused, her gaze drifting for an instant, then pretended to speak nonchalantly.
"Some of the plot points... were rather original. I wonder when you might find the next part? That way, I can... Mm, continue contemplating the truths of the mortal world within it."
Looking at her as she tried desperately to act unconcerned when she was clearly impatient, Gu Chengming found it amusing.
Looks like I've found another gal-game fan?
Since she had come all the way to see him, Gu Chengming saw no reason to keep hiding the truth.
After all, they would be working together for a long time. Letting her know the truth would actually make it easier for him to "hold the Emperor hostage to command the feudal lords"... No, to forge a deeper revolutionary friendship.
He smiled and said, "If Elder Yu likes the storybook, that is this disciple's honor. Actually..."
He pointed to the unfinished manuscripts on the stone table.
"I didn't buy that storybook. I made the whole thing up and wrote it myself in my spare time."
Yu Wenqiu's eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at Gu Chengming, then at the stack of ink-scented manuscripts on the stone table, and stood completely frozen.
She secretly swept the manuscripts with her Spiritual Sense.
Sure enough, it was the same familiar handwriting, and the story picked up right where the first part had ended!
At the brink of life and death, the protagonist had actually come back to life! And then...
She'd only read one glance, but it had already drawn her in. She couldn't wait to read the rest.
But Gu Chengming smiled at just the right moment and said, "The second part is still in progress and isn't finished yet. It'll be a little while before I'm done. Once I've written it, I'll bring it to you, Elder Yu."
Yu Wenqiu quietly withdrew her Spiritual Sense, her heart itching as if hundreds of cats were scratching at it.
Her feelings were incredibly complicated.
On the one hand, she thought the boy was detestable! He'd dared to leave her hanging, and then hidden the book instead of letting her read it!
On the other hand, she felt an unbearable itch of anticipation and admiration. Xiao Gu was a master storyteller, too.
But in the end, every feeling gave way to a single thought—
This boy absolutely cannot be expelled from the sect!
If he gets eliminated and has to pack his bags and leave, what will happen to my storybook?!
The writer of this chapter has three thousand words.
Another chapter will be updated soon, before midnight, and that one will also have three thousand words!
### Unaware of what Elder Yu was thinking, the two exchanged a few pleasantries at the courtyard gate—or, rather, she urged him to hurry up with the next installment—and only then did Yu Wenqiu take her leave reluctantly.
Before leaving, she fixed her usually languid phoenix eyes on Gu Chengming. Her tone was so solemn that it sounded as if she were entrusting him with a sect secret.
"When it's finished, you must bring it to me to read as soon as possible. Remember, remember!"
Gu Chengming smiled and nodded, watching as the elder turned into a streak of Escape Light and vanished into the distance.
After that, Gu Chengming's life returned to its dull but fulfilling "three points on a line."
He practiced swordsmanship at dawn, trained his body in the afternoon, and wrote late into the night.
Only recently, Gu Chengming had occasionally experienced a strange illusion.
It was as if someone were watching him.
The feeling was faint, so faint he could barely catch it.
It wasn't the hostile lock of a gaze, but an elusive attention, there and gone. At first he sensed it while practicing swordsmanship; later, while training his body.
"Was I imagining it?"
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