The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 116 Old Chu, Old Chu (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets, 13 words daily)

"Although the habit of eavesdropping is not very good, I am grateful that Chu Xiangshuai did not stand up and disturb us at that time."

Fang Yunhua gestured towards a small earthen mound not far away.

He walked ahead, while Chu Liuxiang followed behind with a very complicated expression.

After Fang Yunhua sat down on a large rock on the earthen slope, Chu Liuxiang spoke.

"I cannot verify your identity."

"What identity do I have? I am Lu Xiaofeng with four eyebrows. I believe Chu Xiangshuai should already know that."

Chu Liuxiang remained silent, staring intently into Fang Yunhua's eyes. After a few seconds of careful observation, he frowned again.

“There are no signs of disguise on your face, and the distance between a person’s eyes cannot be changed. You are skilled in acupressure and your agility is also quite good. This makes me very certain that the truth I am seeing now is completely different from the person I thought I was seeing.”

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Fang Yunhua rubbed his temples. In the original storyline, Wuhua recognized Chu Liuxiang after he was disguised. His reason was that no matter how a person disguises himself, he cannot change the distance between his eyes, which was Chu Liuxiang's flaw.

Having anticipated this, Fang Yunhua was not about to fall into the trap any further.

Conventional methods cannot change the distance between the eyes, because the distance between the eyes in adults is determined by the orbital bones. However, for Fang Yunhua, who developed the Fang Yunhua-style bone shrinking method, it is possible to make slight changes.

Of course, maintaining such precise facial changes is quite a challenge for him.

But it was all worth it for him.

He didn't want to get into a pointless argument with Chu Liuxiang by revealing his identity. This time, he wasn't just going to kill Shi Guanyin, but also all of Shi Guanyin's disciples and subordinates. He didn't intend to let any of them go, including that thrush, which he would also kill while he was at it.

Although the original storyline explains that Liu Wumei was indeed deceived by Shi Guanyin, and ultimately died from the torment of her imagined illness.

However, before Chu Liuxiang saw the other party's corpse with his own eyes, he suspected that Liu Wumei was taking revenge on him for Shi Guanyin's death. Even later, when he seemed to confess that everything was due to the exchange conditions proposed by Shui Mu Yin Ji, he did not suspect that Liu Wumei was taking revenge on him for Shi Guanyin's death.

However, there is also a one percent, one thousandth, or one ten-thousandth chance that this woman, whose true thoughts are impossible to fathom, is also taking the opportunity to seek revenge.

He came to this vast desert precisely to end all of this.

He's prepared so much for this plan, so it should all end here. Before he can fully enjoy his carefree life, he needs to eliminate all potential threats completely.

This "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free" approach will inevitably clash with Chu Liuxiang's style of leaving a way out for every bad guy.

In a team, only one voice is needed.

Since that's the case, we might as well be more decisive.

"But I still trust my intuition."

Fang Yunhua didn't respond to Chu Liuxiang's words, but Old Chu continued talking to himself.

In fact, when preparing to meet Fang Yunhua today, Chu Liuxiang went through a fierce internal struggle and also thought deeply about why Lu Xiaofeng was unwilling to reveal his true identity in front of him if he really was Fang Yunhua.

I knew I would definitely help him.

So Chu Liuxiang made a hypothesis for himself.

Assuming the other party is indeed Fang Yunhua, and having completely put himself in that person's shoes, he offered some speculations that he was unwilling to fully disclose to himself.

He quickly figured out the reason.

That is, his behavior and conduct are inconsistent with the mainstream values ​​of this martial arts world.

Not killing was his way of showing benevolence, but not the way others should follow.

This will inevitably lead to disagreements with others, especially his companions, on some choices and judgments. And because he has always been the absolute protagonist, the final decision is ultimately in his own hands.

But in the current situation, Fang Yunhua is facing Shi Guanyin, the female demon who nearly wiped out his sect and has a blood feud with him. Moreover, Shi Guanyin has many subordinates; otherwise, how could she have become the tyrant of this desert?

Based on his current understanding of Fang Yunhua, he knew that Fang Yunhua would definitely eliminate him completely.

So, will I stand up and stop it then?

The answer is beyond doubt.

It definitely will.

He was taught from a young age that no matter how bad a person is, you should always give them a chance.

However, his own principles were undoubtedly in fierce conflict with Fang Yunhua's plan at this moment.

The outcome will no longer be like that of Hu Tiehua and Ji Bingyan, who, despite disagreeing with his non-killing philosophy, have always been understanding of him, and will ultimately be the other party choosing to compromise and accept it.

The worst possible outcome would be a violent clash between the two sides, each fighting with swords drawn, over their shared beliefs.

After silently recounting his guesses, Chu Liuxiang said in a deep voice.

“I won’t lay a hand on my friend, but I can’t think of a way to resolve this conflict of principle. Maybe this is not so bad. For the sake of Xiao Hu and Xiao Ji’s lives, I have no choice but to compromise because of your threat.”

At this moment, Chu Liuxiang seemed to have no intention of getting an answer from Fang Yunhua. After finishing his long speech, he turned and left.

Even now, he isn't entirely certain that Lu Xiaofeng is Fang Yunhua.

At this moment, Fang Yunhua spoke up.

"Before you leave tomorrow, you can talk to Ji Bingyan. He extracted a lot of information from my companion, which might put your mind at ease."

In fact, it would be pure nonsense for Ji Bingyan to think she could extract any crucial clues from Yuan Suiyun.

Although Yuan Suiyun acted like a follower along the way, he actually knew that this was the only way to ensure Fang Yunhua's plan would go perfectly. This cooperation between the two, one as the main and one as the assistant, was something they had agreed upon long ago.

Therefore, anyone who underestimates Yuan Suiyun will only end up being completely taken advantage of by him.

The information Ji Bingyan could obtain was only the intelligence that Yuan Suiyun had voluntarily made known to her after receiving instructions from Fang Yunhua.

Chu Liuxiang waved his hand to indicate that he had heard.

Just as his figure was about to disappear from Fang Yunhua's sight, he suddenly turned around and said something.

"I'll just assume you're the person I think you are, and I hope this is the last time! Really, really the last time! Otherwise, I'm going to get really angry!"

Fang Yunhua blinked. During this private meeting with Chu Liuxiang, he didn't say more than three words.

Then he silently watched as the other person completed another round of self-consolation.

Old Chu never considered what he would do if he were really Lu Xiaofeng. Wouldn't it be incredibly awkward to put himself in Lu Xiaofeng's shoes? He was just rambling on and on to a stranger, making the other person witness him convincing himself in a way that resembled a confession.

This made Fang Yunhua, who had a wicked sense of humor, suddenly want to actually play Lu Xiaofeng until the very last scene.

But when he thought about having to go all out in the battle against Shi Guanyin, he realized that the idea of ​​pretending to be someone else was unrealistic.

"What a pity, what a waste of such a memorable scene."
-
Tonight is another sleepless night for Chu Liuxiang, especially when he lies in bed. As his thoughts wander, a hypothesis suddenly comes to mind: Lu Xiaofeng is just Lu Xiaofeng.

So what does it mean that he went up to the other person tonight like a lunatic and said a bunch of irrelevant things?

Imagine the other person watching you ramble on like you're an idiot.

Old Chu, already deeply immersed in the story, started squirming in bed.
Tonight, Fang Yunhua was still slightly moved by Lao Chu's words.

Regardless, Old Chu temporarily set aside his principles for his own sake. It should be noted that Gu Long's world of martial arts is a world that values ​​spiritual beliefs, and the firmness of one's will is closely related to one's strength.

Although the other party is using this seemingly self-deceptive method to evade the issue, this is truly the first time they have ever encountered such a situation.

This made Fang Yunhua decide that next time! Absolutely next time! He would never trick Lao Chu again!

He was thinking that once this matter was resolved, he would definitely give Lao Chu the most satisfactory and sincere apology!
However, upon returning to his tent, he was entangled by a soft and smooth mermaid, which made him immediately forget about Old Chu.

Even in the darkness, her amber eyes remained bright and captivating. Fang Yunhua could feel her body trembling slightly; the fact that she had taken this step already showed the immense courage she had displayed.

Then it shouldn't be the other party who takes the initiative next.

The first time you drive a new car on the road is always such a pleasant surprise.

When their fingertips touched the steering wheel, they could feel the delicate leather texture, and as the key turned, the engine emitted a deep hum, like a beast awakened and vibrating rhythmically in its chest.

The accelerator pedal is surprisingly responsive; you can feel the linear thrust from the turbocharger with every slight press.

The instrument panel LCD screen glows with an ice-blue backlight, and as the numbers jump, the vibrations from the tires rolling over speed bumps are filtered into gentle undulations by the suspension system.

The steering wheel damping is just right when turning, and the tire grip makes the car body as stable as if it were glued to the track.

The moment the car window was lowered, the wind noise and engine sound suddenly became clear, as if the whole world was playing a march for this first voyage.
-
The sun has just risen.

Just as Fang Yunhua was busy doing his morning exercise with Princess Pipa...

Chu Liuxiang had already hurriedly arrived at the tent where Yuan Suiyun was.

Once inside, he found that Ji Bingyan's situation was not bad.

The other person was eating the food prepared by the servants and drinking a small glass of wine, and his mental state was much better than before.

It seemed that he and the man named Hua Manlou were getting along quite well. The two were talking about something, but they stopped talking when Chu Liuxiang suddenly came in.

But what about Hu Tiehua?

He subconsciously glanced around and then spotted an unidentified object that looked like a caterpillar in the corner of the tent.

"This"

“Young Master Hu is not very honest, so he needs a helper. I pressed his sleeping acupoint, which ensured that he slept very well last night.”

Yuan Suiyun calmly stepped forward and pulled Hu Tiehua out of the rolled-up quilt. He also untied the ropes binding her legs and arms. Hu Tiehua slowly woke up when she realized that someone was touching her.

Upon seeing Yuan Suiyun for the first time, he immediately began to curse.

"draft."

Biu~
It's good to be young, just fall asleep.

Chu Liuxiang watched silently as Hu Tiehua was knocked unconscious by acupuncture. He didn't say anything, after all, the first thing he did after waking up was to curse someone, which was indeed a bit annoying.

Seeing Ji Bingyan calmly eating her breakfast, he knew what was going on with Xiao Hu.

It's entirely my own fault.

"I want to talk to him."

Yuan Suiyun nodded and waved generously.

This left the bewildered Chu Liuxiang leading Ji Bingyan out of the tent.

Is he really that careless?

"My acupoints have been sealed, and all my internal energy has been imprisoned. The other party's technique is very skillful. To undo it, either Lu Xiaofeng himself will have to do it, or I will have to spend ten days or half a month slowly breaking it open."

If he were to flee, in this vast desert, a martial artist lacking internal strength, with a formidable enemy lurking outside, wouldn't that be tantamount to suicide?

Even if you manage to rescue both me and Xiao Hu before this situation can be resolved, we'll just be two more burdens.

Ji Bingyan calmly analyzed the current situation.

He then recounted the intelligence he had gathered.

Much of this information corroborates that both sides are completely aligned on their positions regarding Shi Guanyin. After Ji Bingyan's investigation and repeated questioning, this can be largely confirmed as trustworthy. Most importantly, the other side's preparations are far more thorough than their own.

Clearly, Fang Yunhua's warning to him yesterday was effective.

"Our best course of action right now is to wait and see. Compared to Lu Xiaofeng and his group, who seem to be our adversaries but haven't done anything to us yet, Shi Guanyin is the real enemy. Moreover, she was almost certainly behind the death of that eldest princess."

Chu Liuxiang nodded, which coincided with his decision.

At this moment, he looked at Ji Bingyan, his expression hesitant for a moment, but he finally spoke.

Three days have passed.

"What? It's already past? The time when the King of Kucha and Shi Guanyin exchanged the gems? Shouldn't it be today? By the way, be careful when you go to exchange them. I have a feeling about that Lu Xiaofeng..."

"Lu Xiaofeng is very likely an alias."

Ji Bingyan understands now.

He understood what the other party meant by these three days. It was an agreement he had made with Chu Liuxiang that Fang Yunhua's name must not be mentioned for three days.

Compared to Chu Liuxiang, who relies on intuition, Ji Bingyan follows a rational and logical approach.

"You think Lu Xiaofeng is Fang Yunhua? But is that possible? With your understanding of disguise, how could you not see through his disguise? Most importantly, the level of agility he displayed when he captured Xiao Hu was quite high."

This is far from what you said before, that his agility was somewhat lacking.

Moreover, he did not use the Thirteen Styles of Qingfeng. His specialty was a profound acupoint striking technique. In fact, in my opinion, this technique is the strongest acupoint striking technique I have heard of in the martial arts world in the last thirty years!

"Now tell me, in what way does he resemble Fang Yunhua?"

"Feel."

Ji Bingyan felt that was enough. He reasoned with the other party, explained the logic, and gave a series of examples. In the end, Chu Liuxiang only uttered two words.

Feel!

"A reason! I need a reason!" Even Ji Bingyan, who was usually quite calm and good-tempered, couldn't help but become irritable.

But Chu Liuxiang's eyes darted around and he actually found a flaw.

"You just told me that yesterday, because Xiao Hu was being cheeky, he punched Xiao Hu directly, right? Before that, in that princess's tent, he also punched Xiao Hu. Especially considering the strength he showed, he didn't need to exchange a few blows with Xiao Hu before he took him down."

He did it on purpose; it's a personal grudge!

Ji Bingyan started rolling her eyes. They had all witnessed Hu Tiehua's foul mouth just now. The first thing he did after waking up was to insult the other party's parents. It was only natural that he would get hit with it.

"Then tell me, what is this personal grudge?"

“Gao Yanan, you know that Master Kumei only has three disciples. Now Fang Yunhua has become the young sect leader. He even made fun of me because of this. He is very dissatisfied with the rumors about Xiao Hu and Gao Yanan in the martial arts world, especially the impact on the reputation of Huashan Sect.”

If I had the chance, I would definitely give Xiao Hu a good beating.

Just you wait and see, even if Xiao Hu doesn't talk so rudely, he'll still get beaten up.

Chu Liuxiang finally found a reason, and he looked very confident.

Especially seeing that Ji Bingyan, who always refuted him on this matter, had fallen silent, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in delight.

However, as he gradually noticed that the other person's expression was not quite right, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

The reason Ji Bingyan had gone to the desert was to completely forget Gao Yanan and not want his unrequited love to affect his friend's marriage. He could tell that Gao Yanan's crush was Hu Tiehua.

But Hu Tiehua was a complete scoundrel. The woman he cherished so dearly was discarded by him like a worn-out shoe, and he even hid from her for several years, which led to the amusing story of the woman pursuing the man circulating in the martial arts world.

"You and I."

Chu Liuxiang is now in a hurry. Since the three of them reunited, they have been avoiding talking about related topics, because this is also a knot in Ji Bingyan and Hu Tiehua's hearts that cannot be untied.

But now, in order to prove that Lu Xiaofeng is Fang Yunhua, he accidentally blurted it out, which also brought about the revival of the love that Ji Bingyan had hidden deep in her heart.

"There's no time to lose, so I'm leaving now. Anyway, I trust my intuition, so you should all be fine. Brother Fang is very principled in this regard."

Ji Bingyan didn't hear a single word of what these words said.

He silently walked into the tent, looked at Hu Tiehua lying on the ground, and kicked him.

Then, perhaps feeling that one kick wasn't enough, they followed up with several more.

It wasn't until Yuan Suiyun, bewildered, intervened that this one-sided beating, which left him completely baffled, was stopped.
-
The other team is ready to depart.

Unlike the original storyline, which only sent three camels, three warriors, Hu Tiehua, and Princess Pipa, this time the King of Kucha directly dispatched his most trusted golden-armored guards, with the entire team numbering over twenty people.

The King of Kucha wasn't too worried about his safety. After all, knowing the enemy's identity and purpose gave him a sense of confidence, as it was like having a god's-eye view of the game. Besides, he had his good son-in-law.

He knew that Princess Pipa hadn't returned home all night.

Actually, he had anticipated this situation after seeing the two of them kissing that day.

In retrospect, Princess Pipa made a decision that benefited both herself and the country, but he still felt a sense of unease.

Especially when he saw Fang Yunhua chatting energetically with Chu Liuxiang, but did not see his beloved daughter, he felt a pang of sadness.

"Brother Lu, is there anything you'd like to say before you leave?"

If he had previously relied entirely on his intuition to believe that the other party was Fang Yunhua, he estimated that the probability of success was only 50%.

After learning that the other party had beaten Hu Tiehua, the probability of success skyrocketed to 70%.

"To explain. Hmm, there is indeed something I need to say."

First of all, you don't need to worry about past grievances with Shi Guanyin; those two sons are nothing more than tools in her eyes.

As the saying goes, those who are favored are fearless. As one of the three most charming men in the martial arts world, Chu Xiangshuai should be very good at using his good looks.

Then there's even less need to worry about the other party bringing up past grievances.

"WTF?"

Chu Liuxiang was stunned, but the other party's crazy question, which was not like that of a normal person, made his success rate soar by half a percent!

75%!
"You can take this as an explanation, a reminder, and there's one more thing."

Fang Yunhua blew the whistle to summon the falcon, activating the one that was on standby, which was now convenient for Chu Liuxiang to take away.

"Remember the notes and actions I'm about to play. You can use them to command this falcon. It can guide you, deliver messages, and help you escape and return if you get into danger."

"Dangerous land? I'm just going to exchange for a Star of Elysium!"

While studying, Chu Liuxiang glared at Fang Yunhua. Fang Yunhua's words had undoubtedly increased his chances of guessing correctly to 80%.

It's already 80% complete!

Although there are still many things that Chu Liuxiang can't understand, it's basically like having the cards out in the open.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if Lu Xiaofeng were really just Lu Xiaofeng, thinking about his actions last night, he would want to dig a sandpit and bury himself.

Looking back at last night's events now, it demonstrates Chu Xiangshuai's foresight and exceptional resourcefulness.

"Brother Chu, this is the last time."

Chu Liuxiang, who was about to ask a few more questions, swallowed them all because of this sentence. He looked at the other party seriously, nodded, and then controlled the eagle to disappear into the air before leading the main force away.

Fang Yunhua watched the team disappear into the horizon, intending to return to his own tent first.

But after thinking about how the Pipa Princess, who had been struggling in the long battle, was still quietly recovering her health, he changed course and went to Yuan Suiyun's tent.

As soon as they entered, they saw Hu Tiehua with a bruised and swollen face.

"Isn't this a bit too much?"

Of course, that's what Fang Yunhua said on the surface, but he still secretly gave Yuan Suiyun a thumbs up. Even though the other party couldn't see it, Hu Tiehua could, which was great. It would infuriate him!

"Waaaaaah!"

Still gagged and bound in a turtle shell, Xiao Hu clearly wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He could only continue to glare fiercely at Fang Yunhua.

Yuan Suiyun then spoke with a sense of helplessness.

"I didn't hit him."

"If it wasn't you, who else could it be? Did I sleepwalk over here last night and beat him up? That's unlikely. I fought until dawn and continued fighting at dawn. During that time, I circulated my internal energy several times, which served as a substitute for rest."

Fang Yunhua looked puzzled, and then he saw Hu Tiehua gesturing to him with his eyes.

The direction the other party was pointing was towards Ji Bingyan.

"Oh? What's going on? Is this some kind of self-inflicted injury ploy?"

"No, I'm doing this on behalf of Gao Yanan. No, I'm not qualified to do this on her behalf. I'm doing this because of a grudge I've held in my heart all these years."

After saying this, Ji Bingyan calmly sat cross-legged on the ground. Fang Yunhua even saw a hint of tenderness in her usually indifferent expression.

He got it.

It seems that his senior sister isn't as scum as he imagined.

Yeah, when she gets here, we can have some fun.

"Then do as you please, beat me up if you want, don't hold back."

After saying that, Fang Yunhua had no desire to squeeze in with these rough old men. He wanted to go back and hug his sweet and soft Pipa Princess, and catch up on some more sleep.
-
However, he had only been catching up on sleep for three hours when he was woken up by guards sent by the King of Kucha.

Next, there were two things that Fang Yunhua needed to know.

First, the King of Kucha has confirmed that Shi Guanyin has left. The one who has replaced the queen is probably one of Shi Guanyin's disciples. By observing some details, it is easy to notice the difference between the two.

The King of Kucha had been focused on his own plans, which is why he overlooked the easily noticeable loophole that his people had been quietly replaced.

After that, he entrusted Steward Wu to deliver a letter to General Qing, confirming the time of his arrival and that the other party had agreed to the temporarily changed location.

The time is tomorrow.

The location is in this oasis, but before entering, the other party needs to do some disguise in order to avoid being seen by Shi Guanyin.

Since the King of Kucha had already paid General Zi to help restore his kingdom, General Qing wasn't too worried about being ambushed in this unfamiliar territory.

He was even very concerned about the situation on the side of the King of Kucha.

After all, this incident was a very important opportunity for him and the entire Desert King's faction to demonstrate their strength.

As news of the death of the Desert King Jamukha spread throughout the Western Regions, the power structure there was naturally affected, including the Desert King's cavalry subordinates, who might also have some ulterior motives.

Therefore, by hiring the King of Kucha to help him restore his kingdom, they can prove to other forces that they are still reliable and also stabilize the restless hearts of their subordinates.

Unfortunately, their young prince was too worried about Chu Liuxiang's safety after seeing the Pearl Steed returning alone, which led to the four women returning east once again.

She directly abandoned this opportunity to gain exposure and establish her prestige as the new Desert King through the matter of restoring her kingdom.

(End of this chapter)