Gu Tong spotted Quan Yong coming out through the mountain gate to greet him from afar. A smile immediately spread across his face, and he quickened his steps, cupping his hands in greeting first. "It has been a long time, fellow Daoist. Your bearing is as splendid as ever."
Quan Yong was all smiles as well. Returning the greeting, he said, "You flatter me. It is your magnificent presence that puts me to shame, fellow Daoist Gu Tong."
The two smiled at one another, the picture of harmony.
Gu Tong's gaze swept imperceptibly over the rippling illusion that concealed Quan Yong's features. His smile did not falter in the slightest, but inwardly he cursed, Old bastard.
Quan Yong also noticed the several direct disciples and two junior brothers behind him—a considerable entourage. The smile remained on his face, but inwardly he offered an equally cold rejoinder: Old fox.
Gu Tong walked beside him toward the mountain gate, then suddenly asked, "Have the jade slips from the Yu Sword Gate and Boyue Mountain arrived here yet, fellow Daoist?"
Quan Yong froze slightly at the question. He opened his mouth to speak, but forcibly changed course just as the words reached his lips. "They have," he said with a smile. "Thank you for your concern, fellow Daoist Gu Tong."
Gu Tong was no ordinary judge of men.
Quan Yong's hesitation had lasted only an instant, but he had seen it perfectly clearly.
His expression betrayed nothing, but his thoughts had already begun branching out, drawing certain inferences from Quan Yong's reaction.
Jia Hua usually handled such trivial matters, so it was hardly unusual for Quan Yong himself to know nothing about them.
Yet as a matter of routine, Jia Hua always made another copy and sent it to Flying Yellow Mountain.
Given