Chapter 56

Unexpectedly, the two men waved their hands, and the one who seemed a bit older said, "We both come from family traditions, and these techniques have been passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors."

"Oh? Family traditions," Gui BuGui's eyes narrowed as he said, "Go on, I want to see whose family has such a strong backing."

"Our family fell into decline several decades ago, and mentioning it would only disgrace our ancestors," the two men originally did not want to speak, but under Gui BuGui's repeated urging, the one who had spoken continued, "My name is Gui Lai, and that is my younger brother, Gui Qu. We don't have any famous people in our recent generations, but the founder of our clan, you have probably heard of his great name. Our ancestor's name is Gui BuGui."

"Gui BuGui, Gui BuGui, Gui BuGui, hahaha," Wu Mian laughed loudly, somewhat out of control. Gui BuGui and the two men surnamed Gui looked at Wu Mian at the same time, and Gui BuGui looked somewhat embarrassed, grinning awkwardly. The two Gui brothers, however, were full of anger, and the elder brother, Gui Lai, said first, "What's so funny! Are you mocking us or our ancestors!"

Wu Mian's lips curled up with a smile, "Do you have to be so clear about it? How do you mock us, and how do you mock our ancestors?" When speaking about the ancestors of the Gui brothers, Wu Mian glanced at Gui BuGui, and at this moment, the old man's embarrassment became even more pronounced. He seemed to want to say something, but hesitated and did not speak.

Although they knew they were no match for Wu Mian, when their ancestor, who was sitting right there watching them, was mentioned, Gui Lai became as excited as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He glared at Wu Mian and said indignantly, "Mocking us brothers is one thing, but mocking our ancestor Gui BuGui, you don't deserve it! Back then, our ancestor Gui BuGui was a figure as renowned as the Great Alchemist Xu Fu, and even the Great Alchemist would call our ancestor 'Master.'"

At this point, Gui Lai paused, sighed, and then looked at Wu Mian again, saying, "If it weren't for our ancestor Gui BuGui ascending to immortality a hundred years ago, our Gui family would not have fallen into decline. We have now sunk to the point where anyone can bully us."

"Renowned as the Great Alchemist Xu Fu and ascended to immortality," Wu Mian glanced at the immortal who was as renowned as the Great Alchemist, then said with a half-smile, "Who told you that? Did the old ancestor Gui BuGui say it himself?"

"It's written in our family genealogy, how could the genealogy be wrong!" Gui Qu, who had not spoken much, could no longer hold back and actually forgot about wanting to be apprenticed to the young man with white hair. He shouted at Wu Mian. However, before he spoke, he forgot that the genealogy might have been written by the ancestor Gui BuGui himself, who had already ascended to immortality.

"Actually, whether or not one ascends to immortality is just a name. It's better to be a long-lived immortal in this world than to ascend," at this point, Gui BuGui could no longer hold back. He chuckled dryly at Wu Mian and then continued to the Gui brothers, "Meeting is a matter of fate, and I have an unbreakable bond with your Gui family. Since you are sincere in your desire to be apprentices, I will take you both as my disciples. However, how far you can go in the path of alchemy depends on your own destiny."

Although it was not the young man with white hair who was taking them as disciples, the elderly man with the air of a sage seemed more capable. The two did not hesitate and immediately knelt before Gui BuGui, bowing their heads and calling him Master.

Gui BuGui, seated in the position of honor, grandly accepted the kneeling of his descendants. He then said to the Gui brothers, "Since you have become my disciples, tell me how your Gui family fell into decline and why you two are engaged in this disreputable business. Let me make it clear, I have the means to discern truth from falsehood, so don't try to deceive me."

The Gui brothers did not know the old man's true capabilities, and the art of alchemy had already been hyped up in the folk. The two brothers did not dare to lie and immediately recounted the decline of the Gui family and their own experiences.

When Gui BuGui was in Xu Fu's door, the Gui family was at the height of its power. Because of Gui BuGui's influence, the Gui family was somewhat arrogant in the countryside. Until a hundred years ago, Gui BuGui suddenly disappeared one night. Over time, those who had offended the Gui family realized that the old man probably would not return.

Although the Gui family always claimed that Gui BuGui had ascended to immortality and was enjoying bliss in the afterlife, they thought that having a deity in the family would reduce trouble. However, they did not expect that this also told others that Gui BuGui might not have ascended to immortality, but he definitely would not return.

One night after Gui BuGui's disappearance, the Gui family was struck by a heavenly fire. The fire burned strangely, and no matter how they tried to extinguish it, the fire did not diminish. Some clan members used the fire control techniques passed down by Gui BuGui, but when the spells were cast, they felt an external force interfering. After a few rounds, the Gui clan members were defeated. In the end, the fire burned all night, destroying all the property of the Gui family.

From that day on, the Gui family rapidly declined. The clan split apart, and because they had offended too many people, the clan members scattered to other countries.

Gui Lai and Gui Qu's branch originally settled in the State of Yan. By chance, the clan members were treated well by the Yan king, and many were appointed as court alchemists to serve the Yan king. When the two were born, the family was still well-off. Although not extremely wealthy, they were at least well-fed and well-clothed. However, good times did not last long. When the State of Qin unified the world, the Gui family branch in Yan was almost completely wiped out in the battle to destroy Yan, with only the two young men, Gui Lai and Gui Qu, escaping.

The two brothers, stranded in the civilian world, had no means of making a living. Fortunately, when they were young, they had learned some basic alchemy from the adults in their family. They originally planned to use these skills to earn a living, but on their first performance, they were spotted by a bandit leader who was buying grain in the city. He half-threatened and half-fooled them into bringing them to the bandit stronghold.

Thus, Gui Lai and Gui Qu became bandits. Whenever they encountered a difficult situation during a raid, the two would use their skills, either summoning a dense fog to cover the mountains or suddenly launching a fireball at the enemy leader. Later, whenever they were in danger, they relied on the two brothers' abilities to turn the tide. The entire bandit stronghold looked up to the two brothers, and after the loot was divided among the chief, the two brothers would get the best share. Life on the mountain was quite comfortable for Gui Lai and Gui Qu.

Three days ago, the chief of the bandit stronghold died. Before his death, he entrusted the entire stronghold to the two brothers. However, on their first raid as leaders, they encountered Wu Mian and Gui BuGui. Due to their habit of using hidden attacks, they became nervous when facing Wu Mian and forgot the incantations for their fire-summoning technique.

After hearing the story of the Gui brothers, Gui BuGui took a deep breath and looked at the two, saying, "Since you two have met me, you should stop this disreputable business. After dispersing the bandit stronghold, follow us..."

Before he could finish, Wu Mian interrupted, "Don't rush to disband the stronghold. Guang Ren already knows the location of your cave, and he might have arranged for his disciples to ambush us there. This bandit stronghold is different; Guang Ren would never dream that we would be staying less than twenty miles from Liaoxi County."

After saying this, Wu Mian looked at the high mountain by the road and said to Gui BuGui, "Thanks to your good fortune, we can see the stronghold today."

In front of Wu Mian, Gui BuGui did not dare to act too harshly. He smiled and said to his newly acquired grand-disciples, "You are lucky. It looks like we will be staying in your stronghold for a few days. Lead the way, I hope it's not too far. It would be best to get there before dark."