Chapter 127: The Confirmation of Xie Yiyi’s Whereabouts

The combination of the Great Rain Palace and the two peaks poses a significant threat to Luyang City. Regardless of the circumstances, Gu Yi must find a way out; remaining trapped here is simply not an option. Although the chances currently appear slim, he must continue to strive for an opportunity.

Gu Yi and Gu Baici have spent considerable time here. Later, someone arrived to report a matter to her; though the details were unclear, the Palace Master allowed Gu Yi to return to Bo Pavilion afterward. However, on his way back, Shu Yu blocked his path.

"Have you been to the Gu family village? What did the Palace Master say to you?"

Shu Yu had changed her attire today into a red martial outfit. She still wore a mask, revealing only her clear eyes. Her figure was exceptionally well-proportioned, her soft, slender waist clearly visible in the tight clothing. Her forehead was smooth and radiant, giving her a particularly elegant and beautiful appearance. Gu Yi thought to himself that she was already this stunning while at the Return to Origin realm. He wondered what Gu Baici, a saint, must look like—perhaps the name suited her, and she was truly as flawless as white porcelain?

"Hey!" Shu Yu shouted at him.

"What?"

"If you keep acting like this, you will easily lose your life in the Great Rain Palace."

Gu Yi felt a bit embarrassed at being seen through, so he started walking forward. Shu Yu frowned, losing interest in her previous question, and said in a serious, low voice: "The people from the two peaks are almost here, and Qing Feng will be with them."

Qing Feng—speaking of whom, the only reason Gu Yi ended up in the Great Rain Palace was because of that scoundrel.

"Is it impossible for you not to kill him?"

Having been to the Gu family village, Gu Yi had a rough idea of how to keep Gu Baici happy, but he was uncertain if this act would provoke her. Yet, judging by Shu Yu's tone, there was no room for negotiation. "If I don't kill him, the anger in my heart will never dissipate! If you help me kill him, I will owe you a favor. In the future, whatever you ask of me, I, Shu Yu, will do my utmost." As she spoke, she performed a formal bow.

Gu Yi pondered for a moment. "Let me ask one question first. The two peaks are coming to negotiate with your Palace Master, so the person's rank must be quite high. Do you know who it is?"

"I know a little, but not in detail. It is said to be someone from the old days of the two peaks who has only recently reappeared."

Gu Yi's mind stirred. The owner of the Eighteenth Pavilion had mentioned that Xiao Yiyi had been to the Great Rain Palace to discuss matters with Gu Baici.

Outside the woods, a Great Rain Palace servant hurried over with small steps, bowing as they reached them: "Lord Shu Yu, the Palace Master requests your presence."

"Understood."

Before leaving, Shu Yu instructed Gu Yi: "This is likely to welcome the two peaks. I... hope you make the right choice."

"Where will they be entering from?"

Shu Yu pointed to a high slope. "Wait there; I will bring them past that point."

"If I strike, it will ignite a conflict between the Great Rain Palace and the two peaks. This benefits the Xu Kingdom, but it is disadvantageous to you. Aren't you worried about the Palace Master's blame?"

"I will explain it to the Palace Master. From the moment Qing Feng used the appearance of the Mo tribe, he was already a dead man."

How ruthless.

"Fine, then I will do it."

A rare ripple of emotion flickered in Shu Yu's eyes; she seemed pleased. "Then take care of yourself."

"If I die, will the Left Envoy bury me?"

"You will not die."

Gu Yi watched her slim, well-proportioned back disappear at the end of the stone path. He then walked to the high slope, his black hair fluttering in the wind. He gradually relaxed his body, his mind settling into stillness. In truth, he had killed very few people, but this Qing Feng had to die.

He had also been wondering where he could find Xiao Yiyi. Perhaps if he came this time, that would be for the best. If he did not come, then killing someone from the two peaks would reveal whether he intended to step forward for his subordinate or continue hiding; in any case, it would force him to appear. Otherwise, how long would he have to search the ends of the earth? Besides, being trapped in the Great Rain Palace meant he couldn't search for anyone. Currently, his options were limited, and this was one of them. Furthermore, Shu Yu had requested this repeatedly. As a member of the Mo tribe, her position in the Great Rain Palace was unique, and Gu Yi decided it was worth building a rapport with her. Everything pointed to Qing Feng; he had to die. Moreover, the man had indeed harmed him before.

Whoosh—

The wind picked up. Gu Yi tied back his messy hair, letting it hang simply down his back to avoid irritation. White clouds drifted leisurely. Standing on the high ground, Gu Yi looked like a dashing young man in a painting—a beautiful scene, yet one destined for bloodshed.

Soon, a graceful figure appeared on the stone path below. Her hair was thick and dark, cascading down her back. Her temperament was exceptional, truly like a fairy. Shu Yu had clearly received her instructions from the Palace Master. She did not exchange any secret signals with Gu Yi, simply walking past quietly. It seemed it would happen soon.

Gu Yi didn't know if her injuries had healed; he had forgotten to ask out of concern. Her breathing was steady, but her forehead was so pale that he couldn't tell. She was always that pale when she was in good health.

"Hey, kid Gu Yi, what are you doing here?"

Hearing someone speak to him, Gu Yi turned and saw the Long-Legged Cat.

"Come, come. Since you seem to have nothing to do, spar with me."

"I can't spare the time; I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone? So what? If you spar with me now, I won't bother you when they arrive."

Gu Yi knew both of them were rather mischievous. He explained, "The person I'm waiting for, I intend to kill. If you drain all my spiritual energy, how will I kill him later?"

"Kill someone? There's such a fun thing happening?" Upon hearing this, the Long-Legged Cat was delighted, as if he had encountered something wonderful. His rolling pupils stared at the end of the stone path, then back at Gu Yi waiting there, and he began to put things together. "Could it be someone from the Great Rain Palace?"

Gu Yi nodded.

"Aha!" The Long-Legged Cat clapped his hands. "This is good, this is good. Kid Gu Yi, we've known each other for a while—I've eaten your chicken and your fish. Tell me who you want to kill, and I'll do it for you. Let's see what kind of big shot dared to upset our Gu Yi."

His wild laughter attracted Yan Lang. Yan Lang was incredibly fast, appearing instantly from nowhere with squinted eyes. He was small, about half Gu Yi's size, and circled him excitedly. "What fun thing is happening? You can't just bring the Long-Legged Cat and not me!"

The two beasts chattered incessantly, noisy as could be. Gu Yi had already set his posture and specifically fixed his hair to look super cool, but these two animals had completely destroyed his vibe.

Gu Yi said bluntly, "The person I'm dealing with today is a personal enemy. It has nothing to do with you. If you have nowhere else to go and are truly bored, just watch from here."

Watching was probably not enough to satisfy them.

"No, no, kid Gu Yi, you've got it wrong." The Long-Legged Cat, desperate for someone to play with, began to argue illogically. "You say you're a junior of the Eighteenth Pavilion's master, and we're his friends. If someone is giving you a hard time, even if Yan Lang doesn't care, how could I just sit by and watch?"

Gu Yi thought, *You're not doing this for me at all. You're doing it for yourself.*

"Fine. If you're really doing it for me, then I also have a problem with Gu Baici. Isn't it tyrannical of them to lock us in here? Why don't you go fight her?"

The Long-Legged Cat's eyes nearly popped out, and he panicked. "How can that be the same thing? Don't mix things up."

"Hahaha," Yan Lang laughed happily.

"In any case, this is an important matter for me. You are not to intervene unless I am losing."

Long-Legged Cat: "Then I'll help the other guy instead."

Gu Yi: "..."

Such strange and bizarre beasts!

Ignoring them, Gu Yi continued to wait. But after three minutes, while he was indifferent, the Long-Legged Cat and Yan Lang grew restless, sitting, standing, and lying down in turns.

"By the way, what do your true forms look like?"

*Pop, pop.* Yan Lang transformed into a large black-and-white dog, while the Long-Legged Cat became a leopard-sized feline, quite intimidating.

"Change back, change back."

One was clearly a dog but insisted on being a wolf; the other was clearly a cat but always wanted to have a "King" character carved onto its forehead. In truth, they weren't listening to Gu Yi—they were just so bored that when someone suggested doing something, they simply followed along.

"Gu Yi, who exactly are you killing?"

Gu Yi said, "The person who indirectly caused me to be trapped here. I met the Palace Master today, and from her tone, it seems I'm almost certainly unable to leave."

Yan Lang lay down, resting his chin on the turf. "Wasn't it already certain that we couldn't leave? Why won't you give up? Is it that you can't forget the outside world? What is it like out there?"

It was a surprisingly poignant question. Gu Yi looked at the Long-Legged Cat and found his eyes equally clouded. "Have you... neither of you ever been out?"

"Maybe I have, but I don't remember." Yan Lang grinned, showing his teeth, seemingly unbothered. "There must be many people out there to fight."

Gu Yi scoffed. "I'm already very strong out there, so few people can beat me. And even if they could fight me, everyone is busy and can't be bothered."

At this, the Long-Legged Cat lost interest. "Then it doesn't seem very interesting."

"But there are fun things out there too. The scenery changes everywhere, and the people are all different. If I have the chance to leave, I still want to go. As for whether you want to, that's not my concern."

The Long-Legged Cat said weakly, "If the Palace Master let us out, of course it would be good to go. Even if we can't find anyone to fight, just walking around would be interesting. Yan Lang, what do you think?"

"Me? If I can get out, I'm definitely going!"

These ideals were just a pity. Gu Baici was a strange person, and she wasn't very reasonable when it came to these things.

"Sigh..."

The two beasts imitated him, keeping the same posture. "Sigh..."

"Boring."

The Long-Legged Cat said, "You're the boring one. What are you waiting for here? Don't tell me you're making this up just to avoid sparring with me? In reality, there's no one coming, right?"

It was no wonder he thought that; the Great Rain Palace was nothing if not monotonous, and sometimes no one new would enter for a long time. It was a wonder Gu Yi was even here. However, as the Long-Legged Cat said this, he saw a subtle movement in Gu Yi's brow as his gaze shifted to the stone path below.

"Shu Yu? She isn't properly recovering from her injuries—what is she doing?"

"Here they come!"

Gu Yi stood up and brushed the wind-blown hair to the side. In the distance, Shu Yu’s figure appeared first, followed by four people carrying a sedan chair, a person in a black robe, and Qing Feng...!

"It's not just one person," the Long-Legged Cat, who had been dozing off, jumped up instantly. "Kid Gu Yi, look, it's not just one person. Should I help you fight the others?"

Gu Yi had expected it wouldn't be just one person. But there was someone in the sedan, and the black-robed person was another. Under these circumstances, he really would need their help.

"Fine, but stay here for now. Don't make a sound."

The Long-Legged Cat grew anxious. "Why?"

"Dummy, it's called a surprise attack. My target today is the youth waving the fan. When I clash with him, the others might not immediately intervene, but they won't just watch either. If others join in, you strike then, understand?"

"Is that okay... what if no one helps him?"

"Stop nagging and wait here!"

Gu Yi threw out these words and vanished from his spot with a *whoosh*, landing on the stone path below in an instant. In the Great Rain Palace, a single step covered a great distance. Shu Yu, who had looked so small in the landscape painting, passed him within a few strides.

"Does the Palace Master know?"

"She knows," Shu Yu replied briefly, then whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Take care."

"Understood."

Gu Yi glanced at the sedan chair, its dark curtains drawn—he didn't know who was inside. The black-robed person stood to the right, head bowed, their features obscured. He hated people who played at being mysterious; if you want to remain unnoticed, just dress normally. Dressing like that was clearly begging for attention; they looked like an idiot with no sense. As for who was in the sedan, he was even less certain.

But in the front left of the sedan, that person... he looked very familiar.

*Snap.*

Qing Feng tapped his fan and stood there, his smiling expression nauseating. "So, Miss Shu Yu and all of you didn't die after all. You really are lucky." Qing Feng placed his small fist to his mouth, shoulders shaking as he smiled gently. "I wonder how someone from the Luyang Academy ended up in this Great Rain Palace."

To Gu Yi, Qing Feng was already a dead man. Since the Palace Master of the Great Rain Palace wasn't stopping him, there was no way he would survive today. The black-robed person was at most a Dao-Integration realm; if they tried to interfere, the Long-Legged Cat could handle them. As for the one in the sedan, Gu Yi was also concerned.

"Let me see who is in the sedan. Perhaps we know each other."

"I do not know you."

Gu Yi raised an eyebrow. The voice was unfamiliar—it sounded like an old woman. "Little brother, I don't know what grudge we might have, but today I am here to see Palace Master Gu. If there is nothing else, please step aside."

Even if Xiao Yiyi wasn't here, Gu Yi was basically certain where he was. The problem was that Gu Baici wouldn't let him leave.

"Where is Xie Yiyi?"

Hearing the name, the black-robed person raised their head slightly, and Qing Feng's smile froze.

"Qing Feng, who is this?"

"Someone from the Luyang Academy, named Gu Yi." Qing Feng turned and bowed slightly.

They both had this reaction? Gu Yi felt a surge of excitement. How many days had it been? He had been searching, and yet there hadn't been a single scrap of news.

"It seems he really is here. And he's even organizing the two peaks to stir up trouble! When you go back, remember to tell him to come and see me!"

Qing Feng let out a snort of laughter. "Gu Yi, if you speak of that person in that tone, both masters of the two peaks will take your life."

"Young Master Gu, could it be that you are one of our old acquaintances from the two peaks?"

"I am not your old acquaintance, but I happen to have some connection to the two peaks."

The black curtain was slowly lifted, revealing a pair of old cloth shoes. "No matter. If that is the case, then Young Master Gu is a friend of the two peaks. After I have seen Palace Master Gu, I will speak with you in detail. Since you are now in the Luyang Academy, you will surely be a great help to our grand cause. The two peaks will certainly treat Young Master Gu as an honored guest."

Gu Yi gave a scornful laugh. What kind of wishful thinking was this? Why would he live a good life just to be a spy for them? Wasn't braised perch delicious enough? Perhaps Xiao Yiyi missed the glory days of the two peaks, but he wasn't a human in the true sense anyway. Besides, did the cheat system listen to the host, or did the host listen to the cheat system?

Gu Yi shouted, "Is your 'grand cause' to destroy the Xu Kingdom? And would the new order established by the two peaks be any better? The tides of history rise and fall; it's merely repeating the same old path. While I am not a hero with the world on my shoulders, I will not be an accomplice to the executioner of this era."

The curtain stopped halfway. Gu Yi squinted, seeing a pair of withered hands—skin stretched over bone, not a shred of flesh. On the back of the hand was a green, block-like pattern, though he couldn't make out what it was.

"According to Young Master Gu, the destruction of our two peaks by Yin Xu is the righteous path, while our destruction of Xu is injustice? I have long heard that people in the Luyang Academy hold themselves in high regard, arrogant and conceited. I thought it was just because they achieved success early, but I did not expect such unreasonable tyranny."

Gu Yi spoke freely. "The petty thief is executed, the usurper of a state is made a marquis. The struggle for legitimacy between nations has no distinction of righteousness or injustice. I am simply someone who does not agree with a group of people who think they can change the status quo, yet fail to make it any better."

"Ignorant child, spouting nonsense. How do you know the status quo will not be better?"

"I truly do not know!" Gu Yi also raised his voice. "But the price for proving whether it will be better is war, and war means people die."

"People always die."

Gu Yi retorted sarcastically, "Don't just say things that are true but useless. If that's the case, why haven't you died yet?"

Qing Feng was astonished listening to this argument. The person in the sedan fell silent for a moment before sighing. "I thought you were an old acquaintance of the two peaks, capable of... enough, enough. Our paths were different from the start. Since you cannot leave this Great Rain Palace anyway, what is the point of arguing with you? Young Master Gu, please step aside."

The old woman let the curtain fall.

Qing Feng 'swished' his fan open and gestured with a smile. "Young Master Gu, our Peak Master requests that you step aside."

"Stepping aside is impossible. I came here today—finding news of Xie Yiyi was just an attempt—but my main goal is you, Qing Feng."

Qing Feng cupped his hands and asked, "Young Master Gu, what advice do you have? Feel free to speak."

Gu Yi said lightly, "I have no advice. I am going to kill you."