"You few follow me into the city, the rest continue transporting the goods."
The whole process was very natural; no one could find a single fault with it.
The chosen ones were naturally overjoyed, for not only did they not have to work, but they could also follow the two Patriarchs into the city to eat and drink, which would make anyone happy.
And among these people was a disguised Pei Quan’an.
He unobtrusively followed behind the Nangong Brothers, leaving the ferry dock, and headed towards Ink Sea City.
Even though he hadn’t yet entered the city, the scenery along the way had already secretly shocked Pei Quan’an.
The road beneath was smooth and solid, paved with neatly arranged stone slabs, and on either side were various exotic flowers and grasses, exuding a heady fragrance in this midsummer season.
Key to this was the fact that the road was constantly bustling with carriages and horses, making it very lively.
Without even mentioning anything else, just this road alone was enough to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of Ink Sea City.
After all, not just any city would have the resources to construct such a road.
This required extremely abundant financial resources.
Pei Quan’an’s heart grew even more expectant.
After entering the city with the Nangong Brothers, the sights became even more astonishing to Pei Quan’an.
The city walls were tall and sturdy, and the streets inside were orderly and wide, with spacious and flat roads lined with rows of shops, their facades abutted together, overwhelming the eye.
The pedestrians on the street were all composed and well-dressed.
Along the way, you couldn’t even spot a single poorly dressed pauper.
Such a scene, not just here, but even in the largest city under Wanghai Tower’s jurisdiction, was unthinkable.
Seeing this, Pei Quan’an had essentially felt the immense wealth of Ink Sea City.
Now the only thing left to find out was what background Ink Sea City or rather the Gui Family had.
If it’s truly as the Nangong Brothers claimed, with no remarkable background, then Pei Quan’an planned to immediately send a message back, asking Zhen Juncheng and others to lead a group to come and swallow this piece of fat meat.
Although the residence of the Gui Family was also very luxurious, within the incredibly flourishing Ink Sea City, it hardly stood out as extraordinary.
When Pei Quan’an followed the Nangong Brothers into the Gui Family residence, he noticed that everywhere, there was an unintentional display of grandeur and luxury.
Unlike the vulgarity of the nouveaux riches, this felt very understated, yet more profound.
Especially when those of them who were attendants were also taken to a banquet hall and served a table of what could only be described as a lavish feast, Pei Quan’an secretly made up his mind.
No matter how significant the background, could it be more substantial than my Wanghai Tower?
This deal would definitely be made.
The reason was simple, this piece of meat was simply too fat.
So fat that Pei Quan’an wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t take a bite.
Meanwhile, in the banquet hall, the Nangong Brothers and Gui Heshu were raising their glasses and drinking merrily.
Nangong Henliang, while drinking, observed Gui Heshu, noting his sincerity without any semblance of pretense, genuinely pleased with their visit, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, Nangong Yanran and Gui Xuanqing had a severe dispute at the mountain-opening ceremony, even coming to blows.
Although that matter had passed, it had sown some discord between the two families.
This was evident from the fact that the Nangong Brothers hadn’t visited in over a year.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to come, but it was somewhat awkward.
But seeing Gui Heshu’s demeanor now, it was clear that he no longer cared about that previous matter.
So Nangong Henliang signaled with his eyes to his elder brother, Nangong Buliang.
Nangong Buliang got the message, raised his glass, toasted Gui Heshu, and then, taking advantage of the alcohol, said.
"Big brother, the two of us came this time firstly to visit you, and secondly to apologize for the previous matter."
"Apologize? Brother, you’re being too formal. Matters concerning children we as parents can’t control, and it’s just that my Xuanqing was without luck, so there’s no need to mention it again." Gui Heshu set down his glass and smiled.
Nangong Buliang sighed with emotion upon hearing so.
"Big brother’s right, it was we brothers who were a bit petty. Come, let’s have another drink."
The wine was a fifty-year-old vintage, smooth to the taste, but with a strong after-kick.
Coupled with several rounds, Gui Heshu’s face couldn’t help but flush with a wine blush.
At this time, Nangong Henliang continued, "I heard that my nephew Xuanqing is faring quite well in the Azure Dragon Temple, and in the battle that shook the entire Beyond the World, he performed outstandingly?"
At the mention of this, Gui Heshu’s face lit up, proudly lifting his head.
"This is not just my boasting; Xuanqing indeed performed excellently this time, and I am very gratified."
"Then congratulations to big brother, come, let’s drink!"
The brothers, as if planned, took turns toasting Gui Heshu with glasses of wine.
Before long, Gui Heshu’s gaze began to grow hazy.
Taking advantage of this moment, the Nangong Brothers started probing indirectly, asking about the Gui Family’s backing.
Gui Heshu hiccupped and then chuckled.
"I won’t hide it from you two; our Gui Family does indeed have backing. However, this lord is usually very aloof; he’s the one who contacts us proactively, and we can’t reach him at all."
"Oh?" The Nangong Brothers exchanged a glance, then Nangong Buliang cautiously asked.
"Who is this lord, then?"
"Haha, I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, but this lord hasn’t contacted us for a long time, and we don’t know what’s going on over there."
As he said this, a trace of worry appeared on Gui Heshu’s face.
No matter how much more the Nangong Brothers asked, Gui Heshu refused to say anything further.
With no other choice, the two had to give up.
After the banquet ended and they returned to their guest room, Pei Quan’an had already been waiting for them.
"Well, how did it go?" Pei Quan’an asked impatiently.
"We found some clues, but Gui Heshu wouldn’t say anything more specific."
Nangong Buliang then recounted what had been said at the banquet.
After listening, Pei Quan’an only pondered for a moment before sneering coldly.
"It doesn’t matter; whether this person is still around or not, even if he is, he’s certainly no match for my Wanghai Tower, so..."
He looked at the Nangong Brothers, and greed glimmered in all three of their eyes.
"Let’s do it!"
Pei Quan’an quickly wrote a small note, placed it in the leg band of a carrier pigeon he had prepared earlier, and released it into the night.
Although this place was far from Wanghai Tower, the pigeons were specially bred by Wanghai Tower to fly extremely fast, so they could arrive in at most two or three days.
Considering the time for Zhen Juncheng and others to learn the news and come over, at most it would take five days.
After releasing the pigeon, the three settled their minds and began to patiently wait.
While the Nangong Brothers and Pei Quan’an harbored ill intentions and lay in ambush in Ink Sea City.
Changes were also happening in Azure Dragon Temple.
Ever since that day when Zhao Ya publicly spoke about the principle that dignity must be picked up by oneself.
The atmosphere at Azure Dragon Temple was renewed.
The previous despondent and lowly mood was swept away, replaced by an ambitious and enterprising spirit.
Whether disciples or elders, everyone wholeheartedly devoted themselves to training after finishing their tasks.
Under the influence of this atmosphere, even if you were usually lazy, you couldn’t help but muster up your spirits and move forward now.
Even Guo Luming couldn’t help but sigh about this change.
"If only the people of Azure Dragon Temple had this momentum earlier, they wouldn’t have declined to this point."
Zhao Ya smiled and then switched hands to continue diagnosing Guo Luming’s pulse.
After examining it, Zhao Ya’s mood inevitably grew heavier.
Because Guo Luming’s pulse was weakening at a visibly rapid pace.
Moreover, this change was happening very quickly.
If a few days ago during the pulse check, Guo Luming’s condition was like that of a middle-aged person in his forties or fifties, now it was like he was entering his sixties.
This could be clearly seen from Guo Luming’s increasingly dry white hair and cloudy eyes.
Zhao Ya knew this meant Guo Luming was inevitably sliding toward death.
But the more it was like this, the more unwilling Zhao Ya felt.
Is there really no way at all?
As if seeing through Zhao Ya’s thoughts, Guo Luming chuckled.
"All right, you don’t have to be so worried. Now, every day I live is another day gained, so instead of thinking about those things, it’s better to think about how to live happier."
Despite this, Zhao Ya’s heart was still heavy.
After leaving the Library, Zhao Ya began to contemplate how to extend Guo Luming’s life.
The urgent task was to first control the speed of Guo Luming’s decline.
But how to do it?