Chapter 76

Not knowing how long he had been unconscious, Gu Fei suddenly heard a clear and pleasant sound of a zither, which woke him from his daze.

The zither's melody was like flowing water and floating clouds, extremely beautiful, as if one were in the mountains, feeling the cool breeze on their face, completely at ease. At times, it was like rain beating on banana leaves, as if a storm were about to come, with dark clouds pressing down, creating a sense of oppression and romance. At other times, it was sad and heavy, and from the sound of the zither, one could sense the fluctuations in the player's mood.

Gu Fei opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a bed, which seemed to be moving slightly up and down.

"Where am I?" Gu Fei suddenly sat up, but a sharp pain, as if it were piercing his bones, shot through his arms and chest, causing him to cry out in pain.

At that moment, the zither music outside the room stopped, and then Gu Fei heard the sound of light footsteps approaching.

Looking down, Gu Fei saw that his broken arms had been fixed with wooden boards, but the movement of sitting up had caused the wounds to be jolted, making the pain unbearable.

The door creaked open, and several people entered. Gu Fei quickly looked up and saw that four people had come in, with a strikingly handsome young man leading them.

"Hmm? This young man looks a bit like Zi Yu, both having a feminine appearance, looking like a girl?" Gu Fei's gaze swept over the four people, and their figures and appearances immediately registered in his mind.

"Hmm! You're finally awake." The young man, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, spoke in a deliberately low and deep voice, but even so, his voice was still too soft.

Even his voice sounds like a girl's. Gu Fei couldn't help but feel a bit strange, a gut feeling, not because he had noticed anything unusual about the young man.

"Who are you, and where am I?" As he spoke, a sharp light flashed in Gu Fei's eyes, and a fierce aura immediately spread from his body.

"This person..." An old man with a hunched back, wearing a blue robe, and with white hair, felt the young man on the bed suddenly emit a dangerous aura, making his heart race. The old man took a half-step forward without showing any emotion.

Although the old man only took a half-step, the angle was perfect, almost flawless. With this half-step, he could both attack and defend, and also subtly protect the young man and the two pretty maidservants beside him.

Clearly, this old man, dressed as a servant, was an experienced fighter.

"Hehe! My name is Ling, and this is the ship of the Haotian Merchant Group." The young man chuckled and answered, seemingly unaware of Gu Fei's hostility.

However, the young man's clear but low and deep voice, which seemed to be trying to sound mature, sounded a bit awkward to Gu Fei.

"Brother, why were you injured and fell into the water? Were you attacked by bandits? Or... if our ship hadn't passed by and rescued you, you would have been in great danger." The young man tapped his hand with a folding fan and sat down on a chair nearby.

The young man didn't say the words "pursued by enemies," but the implication was clear to everyone.

"Haotian Merchant Group?" Gu Fei couldn't help but think deeply. He had never heard of this name before. Gu Fei had grown up practicing on a mountain and was like a blank sheet of paper to the outside world, where everything was unfamiliar to him.

"I am Gu Fei, thank you for saving me." Gu Fei was a man who clearly distinguished right from wrong and kept his mind pure, not letting the outside world affect his state of mind. Therefore, he didn't think much and directly gave his name.

"Gu Fei? In Tenglong Continent, there aren't many people with the surname Gu, and among the noble families in the three countries, there is no family with the surname Gu. Where are you from, Brother Gu?" The young man thought for a moment and then asked.

At this point, the hostility in Gu Fei's body had dissipated, and the old servant's tense nerves relaxed.

Gu Fei's gaze inadvertently fell on the old man in the blue robe, and that gaze made the old man's heart race, as if it could see into his innermost thoughts.

This young man... is not an ordinary person. The old man couldn't help but become wary of Gu Fei, a person of unknown origin and not simple, making this experienced old man feel uneasy.

The old man naturally stood behind the handsome young man, actually protecting him at all times, and any slight movement around him would not escape his eyes.

"This person has no magical power fluctuations and is not a cultivator. Could he be practicing martial arts like me?" Gu Fei had long noticed that this old man was not simple, with his inner energy restrained and his steps silent. Although he seemed to be an ordinary old man, Gu Fei could sense a well-hidden aura of strength from him.

Seeing that Gu Fei seemed a bit hesitant, a green-robed maid beside the young man immediately said unhappily, "You are very impolite. Why don't you answer my... my young master's question? If it weren't for my young master rescuing you from the river, you would have been food for the river turtles."

"Xiao Cui, don't be impertinent!" The young man waved his folding fan and looked at Gu Fei with a faint smile, seemingly scolding but without any real blame in his tone.

Gu Fei glanced at Xiao Cui, his face expressionless, and said calmly, "I am from Tai Xuan Mountain in the State of Qi. I wonder if this answer satisfies Brother Ling?" Gu Fei had been brought to Tai Xuan Mountain by his master, Wan Xian Cheng, and had grown up there, so saying he was from Tai Xuan Mountain was not inappropriate.

"Tai Xuan Mountain?" Everyone in the room was taken aback, and the old man standing behind the young man was clearly surprised, his face showing a hint of astonishment.

The young man's eyes immediately brightened, and he stood up from his seat, closing his folding fan, and said excitedly, "Is Brother Gu a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect?"

It's no wonder this cross-dressing young lady was so excited. The three major sects in Tenglong Continent had an extraordinary status, being the three most sought-after immortal sects.

And this young man named Gu Fei might very well be a member of one of these immortal sects, which is why these ordinary people were so surprised and excited.

It was also the time when Tai Xuan Sect, one of the three major sects, opened its doors every ten years to recruit new disciples. In the entire Central Plains region, which noble family's children wouldn't hope to be selected by Tai Xuan Sect, thus ascending to the ranks of cultivators and having the chance to understand the immortal path of eternal life?

The two maidservants beside the young man were now speechless, staring at Gu Fei in shock, as if they were looking at a monster.

The Ling family was currently troubled by who among their children of the right age would go to Tai Xuan Sect in the State of Qi to participate in the disciple selection.

This cross-dressing young lady, Ling Yan, had come out to play and relax, away from the family's internal struggles.

In a large family, no matter how wise and skilled the head of the family is, conflicts over interests are inevitable. Whether open or hidden, the scheming and deceit are the most troublesome.

"Does Brother Ling also know about Tai Xuan Sect?" Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Gu Fei was taken aback, not understanding why. He had never been to the outside world and didn't know what the three major sects meant in Tenglong Continent.

Cultivating and becoming an immortal, enjoying eternal life, and even living as long as the heavens and the earth, is something every ordinary person aspires to.

"Hehe! Brother Gu is joking." The young man, surnamed Ling, realized he had lost his composure and sat back down, "The three immortal sects are the Daoist cultivation holy places of Tenglong Continent, known to everyone."

"Oh?" Gu Fei was a bit surprised. At this point, he roughly understood the status of his sect in Tenglong Continent.

Gu Fei had no ulterior motives, and his actions were always spontaneous, doing what he thought without the many reservations of ordinary people.

"Indeed, I am a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect's Cui Ling Peak. I wonder what Brother Ling's background is and if you can tell me?" Gu Fei's nature was straightforward, and he spoke directly and to the point.

"Haha..." The cross-dressing young lady, Ling Yan, was very happy and said with a smile, "Indeed, Brother Gu is really a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect. It's great to meet you."

"Yes! I am Ling Yan of the Haotian Merchant Group. My father is the head of the Ling family, and I am the thirteenth child, so you can also call me Ling Shisan." The cross-dressing Ling Yan formally introduced herself to Gu Fei.

Hearing Ling Shisan's introduction, the two pretty maidservants beside her couldn't help but cover their mouths and exchange smiles, and the old man in the blue robe's eyes also flashed with a hint of surprise.

Everyone's expressions were noticed by Gu Fei. Although his thoughts were simple, he wasn't a fool. He felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint what.

Gu Fei had almost no experience in the world, and even though Ling Shisan acted very "feminine," he couldn't tell that this strikingly handsome young man was actually a girl.

Of course, apart from her name and gender, everything else she said was not a lie. This girl was indeed the thirteenth daughter of the head of the Ling family of the Haotian Merchant Group, Ling Luoyan.

"Brother Ling, if there's nothing else, I would like to rest." Gu Fei was eager to practice and heal his injuries and didn't want to talk to Ling Yan for long.

"Oh! I got carried away and forgot that Brother Gu is injured. I'm really sorry. In that case, I'll take my leave." Ling Luoyan stood up from the chair and bowed to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei nodded and said nothing more.

Ling Luoyan, dressed as a young man, didn't mind, smiled faintly, and then led the two maidservants and the old man in the blue robe out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Who would have thought I would survive such a great disaster. The bottom of the abyss turned out to be a large river. It was really dangerous!" Gu Fei shuddered as he thought about being struck by Zhao Xuanye's sword and falling into the abyss.

By then, night had fallen, and the stars were beginning to appear in the sky. The three large ships had already docked at a pier by the river, and the lights on the ships illuminated the nearby river surface.

Ling Luoyan and the others came out to the deck from the cabin.

"Who would have thought that this journey would lead me to meet a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect. It's really worth it." Ling Luoyan looked at the river and muttered to herself. The two maidservants, Xiao Cui and Xiao Yue, were by her side.

"Miss, forgive me for speaking frankly, but that Gu Fei might bring us a lot of trouble." Zhong Bo frowned and said in a deep voice.

"Hmm? Zhong Bo, why do you say that?" Ling Luoyan was taken aback by his words.

"Miss, think about it. Who in the entire continent would dare to attack a disciple of one of the three immortal sects? Such a person is not to be provoked. Moreover, I didn't sense any magical power fluctuations from Gu Fei, which are typical of cultivators."

"You... you mean he might not be a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect?" Ling Luoyan's face immediately turned grim, her beautiful features, which could make fish dive and birds fall, instantly covered with a layer of ice, cold and terrifying.