Have You Two Remembered the Map Wrong?

After the heavy snow, the sky was clear and the air crisp.

Clad in a fur robe, Gu Yuanqing stood at the cliff's edge and gazed into the distance, his heart buoyant and his mind at ease.

A mountain eagle circled in the distance, then suddenly beat its wings and plunged downward. Moments later, it rose from a ravine carrying a wild pheasant. It dropped the pheasant beside Gu Yuanqing, landed on the ground, and chirped at him twice.

Gu Yuanqing chuckled despite himself. "Thanks."

With its wings slightly spread, the eagle walked up to Gu Yuanqing step by step, looking like a long-legged pheasant in feathered trousers, then tilted its head to look at him.

Gu Yuanqing stroked its head and smiled. "You bring me food every few days. Aren't you worried your wife and son will go hungry? Careful, they might not let you back into the nest."

The eagle chirped a few more times, then sprang onto Gu Yuanqing's shoulder and opened its beak, trying to groom his hair.

Gu Yuanqing laughed and scolded it as he pushed its head aside. "All right, it's getting late. I should head down the mountain. I'll take this pheasant back and have someone cook it for an extra dish."

As his Divine Sense melded with North Spring Mountain, the animals there grew increasingly close to him. He could easily distinguish every tree on the mountain and every animal that made its home there.

Unable to chat with people, he found talking to these animals rather pleasant too!

The eagle took flight, and Gu Yuanqing carried the pheasant toward the dwelling of the two Old Servants.

Upon reaching the servants' Courtyard, Gu Yuanqing handed the pheasant to the middle-aged woman and smiled. "Aunt Feng, an extra dish for tonight. Make it spicy." As he spoke, he pointed at the red chilies.

Over the past few months, Gu Yuanqing had learned only that the woman was named Feng Tao. Those were also the only two characters she could write.

Understanding what Gu Yuanqing meant, the woman smiled, took the pheasant, placed it in a basket, and made a few gestures.

Gu Yuanqing roughly understood that she was praising his skill at catching a pheasant in weather like this.

The old man beside her carried a load of dry firewood into the house and noticed the marks where sharp talons had pierced the pheasant's windpipe. He found the young man before him increasingly unfathomable. In his perception, Gu Yuanqing was still an origin scholar, yet for some reason, he occasionally gave him a sense of danger.

Then there was the Sword Intent that often emanated from Gu Yuanqing's Courtyard. No matter how he looked at it, that should never have appeared in someone at the origin scholar stage, yet he was certain no outsider had visited.

Living on the same mountain, he had naturally also seen how close Gu Yuanqing was to its wild beasts and birds.

Gu Yuanqing nodded to the old man, then turned and left.

Unlike Feng Tao, the old man had no desire whatsoever to communicate with anyone. Even now, Gu Yuanqing did not know his surname or given name.

Back in his own Courtyard, Gu Yuanqing reclined in a chair, basking in the sun and thinking about cultivation.

The qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha he gathered daily had already filled the entire Profound Martial Secret Treasure. An ordinary person would have needed years of effort to accomplish this.

As the qi of heaven gang and qi of earth sha mingled, the Profound Martial Secret Treasure transformed each day, with faint phantoms of heaven and earth appearing within it.

Gu Yuanqing often submerged his consciousness within it, letting his will resonate with the Secret Treasury. Gradually, it became like an acupoint of his own, aligning completely with his body and will.

"I wonder what Strange Phenomenon my Secret Treasury will nurture?" Gu Yuanqing felt a little anticipation.

The nurturing of a Strange Phenomenon was tied to one's will, temperament, aptitude, and encounters. Even fellow disciples practicing the same cultivation method would not necessarily develop the same Strange Phenomenon.

That evening, a large platter of Chili Chicken was brought into the courtyard, and Gu Yuanqing feasted heartily.

After dinner, he went out into the courtyard and reclined in his chair, unafraid of the cold wind, gazing at the stars.

"I wonder if one of those stars up there is the home I once knew?"

Only after a long while did he come back to himself and enter Mountain Observation.

It was nearly midnight before he returned indoors and circulated his cultivation method to refine the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi he obtained each day had now increased to eight strands, allowing his progress in the true martial realm to match his pace as an origin scholar.

In just a few short days, he had crossed two minor stages and reached the Third True Martial Level. Once the Strange Phenomenon within him finished taking shape, he would reach the Fourth True Martial Realm.

Such speed was simply inconceivable. Even while living in the Prince's Manor, where he had heard of many extraordinarily gifted people, he had never heard of anyone reaching this level.

"Even Li Miaoxuan, the Imperial Family's Eldest Princess, who joined the Lingxu Sect as a child, began cultivating at three, became an origin scholar at six, and reached true martial at ten, probably couldn't compare to me, could she?"

Gu Yuanqing chuckled and murmured to himself. Then he remembered the imperial daughter with whom he had shared intimate relations, and fell silent. He wondered how she was doing after these past few months.

After cultivating, Gu Yuanqing rose and was about to return to the bed in his inner room when he suddenly sensed something. He turned toward the West Cliff and entered Mountain Observation.

A short while earlier, an old man with white hair and a white beard had arrived at the western foot of North Spring Mountain, accompanied by a young man whose face was as flawless as polished jade.

The two looked up toward North Spring Peak.

"Jun'er, wait here for me. North Spring Mountain is Great Qian's forbidden ground, after all. Who knows what old monster might be hiding inside?" the old man said.

Qin Baijun gritted his teeth. "Grandfather, don't try to dissuade me. My mind is made up. This is no different from the hatred of having one's wife stolen. Unless I kill him with my own hands, I won't be able to untie this knot in my heart. I fear my cultivation won't advance a single inch afterward."

"Ah, foolish boy. Come, then. Even if it costs these old bones, I'll keep you safe!"

The instant the two entered North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing sensed them. As his connection with the mountain deepened, he could perceive it roughly without entering Mountain Observation. In particular, whenever outsiders set foot on it, he noticed immediately.

Gu Yuanqing "watched" the old man and young man climb straight up the sheer cliffs toward the summit, and his eyes lit up. "Looks like another bunch after North Spring Mountain's hidden treasures. Perhaps there'll be a good show tonight."

"Judging by their movement techniques, these two seem a little stronger than the last pair. I wonder if a fight will break out this time. If it really does, can that Old Servant of mine hold them off? After all, he's served me for over eight months, chopping wood and fetching water every day. Even without any great achievements, he's put in plenty of hard work. It would be a shame if he couldn't withstand them and something happened to him.

"Oh, right. I nearly forgot the commander of the Imperial Guard Army at the foot of the mountain. He certainly won't let the old man die. After all, the old man might be from the North Spring Sword Sect and know plenty of secrets outsiders don't. With his strength, he should have no trouble holding on until reinforcements arrive from below."

In a single instant, Gu Yuanqing imagined all sorts of possibilities. Then he specifically went to pour himself some tea, found a chair, and sat down, ready to wait for the show to begin.

Moments later, the old man and young man reached the summit.

Elder Qin surveyed their surroundings by moonlight and frowned slightly. "Jun'er, North Spring Mountain is quite large, and I can't recklessly search it with my qi. Finding someone here could be troublesome."

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I've already made inquiries. He should be living... over there!" Qin Baijun pointed.

"In that case, let's go! Make it quick once we get there. I'll hold off the others for you, but remember, this is Great Qian's forbidden ground. The longer we linger, the more things may change."

As they spoke, the two employed their movement techniques and headed in the direction Qin Baijun had indicated.

Gu Yuanqing, who had been watching the show, suddenly froze. That direction looks like it leads to my Courtyard.

"Hey, have you two remembered the map wrong?"