Chapter Five: Please Paste

  Gu Yifeng, the true master of the Wuwei Marquis Manor, although now fallen out of favor, still has an extremely huge influence in the entire imperial capital.

  At this moment, the real master of the Hou Mansion was frowning slightly as he listened to the report from his most favored son, Gu Dingzhong. As Gu finished reporting all that had happened today, the thoughtful expression between his eyebrows became increasingly apparent.

  "Father, although this matter sounds unbelievable even to a child, but I must say that Master Wu Sheng has indeed shown extraordinary favoritism towards my seventh brother Gu Qing!"

  Marquis Wuwei nodded, but didn't say anything. Apparently, he was also carefully digesting this unexpected news for him.

  In his view, his seventh son was already frightened out of his wits after being defeated by that ordinary Sixth-Order Airway three years ago, and had been hiding behind closed doors for the past three years, not daring to have too much contact with the outside world. Such a son, if said to be a young master who could make Sword Saint Nian Wusheng treat him equally, was really hard to believe.

  "Father, look... should we call Gu Qing over and let you ask him yourself?"

  "Wei Wu Hou Gu sank into thought for a moment, weighing the cause and effect, shaking his head: "Let's not make any other moves for now. Ding Zhong, if I'm not mistaken, His Majesty the Emperor will host an early banquet tonight to gather all the young talents of our Great Qi Dynasty together, so that they can get to know each other and exchange feelings, in order to solidify the relationships between the younger generation of Great Qi... Later, you'll send a copy of this invitation to him!"

  "Let the seventh brother attend this gathering of heroes... This... The seventh brother is not well-known in the imperial capital and cannot be called a young hero... Moreover, because Miss Xu married him, many people have opinions about him, even jealousy... If he were to attend this banquet... I'm afraid he would encounter many difficulties..."

  "Thinking carefully, we have paid too little attention to Gu Qing over the years." Gu Yifeng's right hand tapped lightly on the table, and his thoughts gradually cleared up with this action: "This time, I let you send an invitation to bring him together to attend the Emperor's imperial gathering of heroes, not without a test."

  "Dad, you mean..."

  "If he is indeed the kind of master that Jian Sheng Nian Wusheng described, who has been hiding in seclusion, then he should be able to handle with ease the provocations from the many young and talented heroes at the Gathering of Heroes..."

  "What if he isn't? Wouldn't he be humiliating himself?"

  "Even if not, let him attend this gathering of heroes, perhaps there will be an opportunity for him to get along with Nian Wusheng. If the two of them can become friends, even ordinary friends, it would have a huge impact on our Hou Mansion!" Gu Yifeng's tone paused slightly, adding somewhat uncertainly: "If Nian Wusheng really holds him in such high esteem, and sees that he is being bullied, he won't just ignore it, will he?"

  Gu Dingzhong understood the meaning of his father, Wu Wei Hou, and thought that Gu Qing's reputation in the imperial capital was not great anyway. If he were to be humiliated, it would only make his reputation worse. On the other hand, if he could gain Nian Wusheng's appreciation or pull Nian Wusheng into their camp, it would have extraordinary significance for the Hou Mansion.

  "I understand, don't worry, Father, I'll have someone deliver the invitation right away."

  Gu Yifeng nodded and sat back down in the great hall, falling silent once again.

  ……

  After more than an hour, Gu Qing finally finished this set of punches that followed his heart's desire.

  During the period of his gradual slowdown, a stream of unparalleled comfort and warmth spread through the contraction and cessation of bodily movements, slowly spreading from the limbs to the brain, and after rushing to the Baihui point, it suddenly dispersed and formed a faint shockwave that spread throughout the entire brain domain, causing the entire brain to be immersed in a faint warm and comfortable state.

  After stopping his cultivation, Gu Qing gave a somewhat strange glance at the two women and a group of maids standing at the gate of the courtyard.

  These two women were none other than Gu Qing's legitimate wife, Xu Bingning, and her personal maid, Xu Xiaolin. The master and servant usually burst into this secluded courtyard without any courtesy, but today they stood at the door, seemingly waiting for him to finish his fist technique, a phenomenon that had never been seen before.

  "Xiao Lin, can you see what's different about his fist technique?"

  "Miss Lian, even a master like you with seven layers of aura can't see through it, so naturally I won't be able to discern its depth..."

  However, according to the subordinate's report, Jian Sheng thought highly of him only after seeing him perform this set of fist techniques, which in turn caught the attention of Hou Ye.

  "This... I don't know either...... Uh, it seems like Young Master has already finished his training. Miss, let's just ask Young Master directly."

  Xu Bingning also noticed Gu Qing's gaze in this direction, although she felt a bit uncomfortable, but still nodded and walked into the courtyard.

  Seeing several people walking in, Gu Qing smiled and nodded at Xu Xiaolin with a curious expression, then looked at Xu Bingying and waited for her to explain the purpose of their visit.

  Xu Bingning walked up to Gu Qing, staring at him intently for a moment, as if trying to figure out what made this nominal husband of hers, who had been married to her for over a year, worthy of the attention of the most renowned young master of the Great Qi Dynasty - Jian Sheng Nian Wusheng.

  No matter how she sized him up, Gu Qing was just Gu Qing, standing in front of her with an ordinary appearance, and she couldn't feel any fluctuations of true energy from him at all.

  After a moment of hesitation, she finally took out an invitation card and handed it over, saying: "His Majesty the Emperor will host a grand gathering tonight to welcome young heroes such as Sword Saint Nian Wujing to the capital. This is the invitation card, His Excellency hopes that you can join us at that time."

  Gu Qing glanced at the invitation handed over by Xu Bingning and shook his head slightly: "This occasion is not suitable for me."

  "This is what Master Hou means...". As he said this, Xu Bing's eyebrows furrowed and a hint of unusual color appeared on his face: "Sword Saint Nian Wusheng seems to have taken notice of you for some reason, and it appears that he has changed his opinion of you. If you can establish a connection with him at the Gathering of Heroes this time, your position in the Hou Manor, and even in the entire imperial capital, will be greatly elevated..."

  "No need, I think it's fine like this now!"

  "Is that all?" Xǔ Bīng Niáng's expression changed, and a hint of coldness appeared: "You're a grown man, with such little ambition, always staying in the Hou Mansion, not even daring to step out of the main courtyard, wasting your precious youth drawing those useless things. Is this really the life you want? Have you never thought about making a name for yourself, making Lord Hou and all the young nobles in the capital look up to you?"

  "I never thought of it!" The three words came out of Gu Qing's mouth, so loud and crisp.

  "You..."

  Xu Xiaolin saw that her own young lady was going to quarrel with her brother-in-law again, and hurriedly came over to mediate: "Alright, alright, miss, you're not unaware of Seventh Young Master's character, he..."

  "Hmph, if he had said that before because of his mediocre qualifications, thinking that he had no hope of making progress in his cultivation and didn't think about advancing, then it would have been understandable. But now, clearly, as long as he can establish a relationship with the Sword Saint Nian Wusheng, who has a high opinion of him, his value will increase tenfold immediately. Such a great opportunity is right in front of him, but he still doesn't know how to cherish it, it's simply..."

  "Miss, miss, don't be in a hurry, your injury isn't healed yet, if you get angry and hurt your body, it won't be good. Let me persuade him, see if I can persuade Young Master Qi."

  Xu Bingning let out a soft hum of frustration and turned her head away, no longer speaking.

  "Seventh Young Master..."

  "En, what's up?" Gu Qing said with a light smile.

  "What's going on..." Xu Xiaolin was slightly stunned by her own young master's question, and she hadn't recovered from the shock: "To attend the gathering of heroes."

  "There's nothing good about gathering, as I said, Xiaolin, you'd better not go either, no need to waste time on this."

  "Hmm... I don't really want to go either, but... if Miss goes alone, it'll be so boring. I have to accompany Miss, otherwise Miss won't even find someone to chat with..." As she said this, she put on a pitiful expression and pleaded: "Seventh Young Master, please come with me too, at least that way we can still talk..."

  "Never mind, if you don't want to go then just don't go, I'm sure your family's young lady won't make things difficult for you."

  "But I couldn't abandon Miss! Last time Miss entered the imperial palace, I didn't follow her, and as a result, Miss was bullied by Prince Qingping and Second Prince Ning Tianqi. The injuries she suffered still haven't healed yet. That Second Prince Ning Tianqi is really despicable, taking advantage of Miss's..."

  Xu Xiaolin hadn't finished speaking when Xu Bingying's somewhat cold voice came from beside her: "Xiaolin, I've told you before, I don't want to hear that person's name again."

  "Yes, miss." Xioa Lin cutely stuck out her tongue: "Can't mention that person anymore, anyway, at the time that disgusting guy will also go to participate in that so-called gathering of heroes. In order not to let miss get hurt, I must not let miss act alone again."

  Gu Qing's eyebrows furrowed slightly, unconscious of his own actions: "Miss Xu is a cultivator of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, yet she was still injured by the Second Prince. You are only at the Sixth Layer, what use would you be if you went?"

  "My other identity is as Miss's personal bodyguard, it's my duty."

  "Xiao Lin... you don't have to go!"

  "No way, miss. I absolutely won't let you fall into danger alone again."

  Xu Bingning's somewhat aloof face showed a hint of emotion, and seeing her insist on following him to the Gathering of Heroes, he finally nodded slightly, not wanting to disappoint her enthusiasm.

  Seeing the two of them bidding farewell as if they were going to their deaths, Gu Qing chuckled and said: "Since that gathering is being hosted by the Emperor of Da Qi, naturally there will be people personally enforcing the law. Even if you go, it's unlikely you'll truly be in danger."

  "I didn't know, last time I went to the palace wasn't it...” As she said this, Xu Xiaolin suddenly thought of something and changed her tone, saying: “Seventh Young Master, you're right, this is a banquet hosted by His Majesty the Emperor. As long as there's an invitation card, anyone who goes will be suitable. Since that's the case, why don't you go attend this banquet? Take the opportunity to get to know more people, establish some connections, and make plans for your future. Wouldn't that be great?"

  "Ah!"

  This time, Gu Qing was extremely pleased and directly took over the invitation card from Xu Bingning's hand.

  "I'm going!"