Chapter 114: Memories (4)

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Listening to Ye Zheng, Gu Mojiang found it hard to believe. Something so difficult was actually being called the most basic technique. Were the cultivation methods of spirit creatures all this advanced?

Wasn’t that a little too exaggerated? The secret arts he had practiced before were only Earth-grade. Yet upon meeting Ye Zheng, he had been told to learn Heaven-grade techniques right away. Wasn’t that leap a bit too fast?

Or was cultivation simply this easy in the eyes of spirit creatures? Perhaps cultivating came much more naturally to them than to humans.

Thinking of it that way made Gu Mojiang feel a little better. But from another perspective, were humans truly inferior to spirit creatures when it came to cultivation?

Gu Mojiang would have been better off not thinking about it. The more he did, the more agitated he became. After eating, he went off to cultivate in earnest. He refused to believe that a human as gifted as himself could not surpass a group of spirit creatures.

He did not believe it. He would master their cultivation methods, and he would obtain everything he wanted.

“Gu Mojiang, I’ll give you one month. Once you’ve mastered these techniques, I’ll teach you something else.” Ye Zheng, who was drinking tea in the sitting room, glanced at Gu Mojiang as he was about to leave and called after him.

It was true that Ye Zheng had no fondness for him, but he would still teach whatever he was supposed to teach. As for how much Gu Mojiang could learn, that would depend on his own ability.

“My lord! My lord! My father asked me to invite you up for a drink. Are you coming?” Bai Tangxi, still in the form of a youth, shouted at Ye Zheng from far away. His voice was so loud that it arrived before he did.

“Tangxi, could you stop speaking in dialect? It’s truly painful to listen to.” Ye Zheng reached out and flicked Bai Tangxi sharply on the forehead, then rubbed his ear with an expression of distaste.

There were simply too many dialects in the various regions, and he had heard far too many of them. Sometimes, he genuinely mistook one for another.

“My lord, my father asked you to go drinking. He said that if you don’t come, the others will start without you.” Bai Tangxi smiled shyly, looking at Ye Zheng somewhat awkwardly.

His lord usually looked like a cold and heartless iceberg, but most of the time he was actually quite easy to get along with—especially when drinking.

“I’m not going today. Tell your father that I’ll come up and drink with you all in a few days.” Ye Zheng waved his hand, indicating that Bai Tangxi could leave.

One could not drink every day. He had been drinking far too much lately.

When he had the time, he wanted to go out and take a look around the mortal world. Staying on Mistbrow Mountain all the time was truly boring.

He usually only visited the same few places. He ought to see some others as well, if only to pass the time.

He had heard that the mortal world would soon be celebrating the New Year. He wanted to go and see it for himself, to experience the lively atmosphere.

He had lived alone for who knew how many years—over ten thousand, perhaps!

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Tribulations… He had not undergone one in a very long time. He could no longer even remember when his last tribulation had been.

This time, far too much time had passed. It had also been a long while since he had gone to wander through the human realm.

The people involved in his tribulation this time were not limited to his disciple, Gu Mojiang. There was also a little girl, though he did not know when he would encounter her.

A tribulation of love… He did not know whether he would be able to endure it.

If he failed to overcome this love tribulation, he would probably have to remain here for a very, very long time.

The outside world was full of wonders. He wanted to go and see it, or perhaps experience that sort of life for himself.

But there were too many things he had to handle. He could not think only of himself. He also had to look after the spirit creatures of Mistbrow Mountain, as well as those scattered throughout the mortal world.

In truth, it was not as though he absolutely had to manage these matters. He could simply leave them to their own devices. But no one knew what the consequences of doing so might be.

He did not want trouble, nor did he want to deal with trouble, so he had always watched everything from above with an easygoing detachment.

He said little and interfered even less, merely observing them from a position of authority.

The Bai family helped him manage Mistbrow Mountain, while the Ling family of the Red-tailed Fox clan handled matters outside. To be honest, he had a fairly easy time of it.

The only problem was that the Ling family was somewhat unruly. They were always using the time they spent working for him to engage in disreputable activities. Most of the time, he simply pretended not to notice and let it pass.

For now, the Chi family seemed reasonably obedient. Nothing they had done appeared wrong on the surface, and they were quite skilled at keeping up appearances.

The Liu family was genuinely honest. Aside from matters within their own duties, they never interfered or overstepped. Ye Zheng trusted them quite a bit.

The Wu family seemed to have developed thoughts of rebellion recently. They paid lip service to everything while secretly doing the opposite, and not a trace of sincerity could be seen from them anymore. Only Wu Song continued to remain obediently on Mistbrow Mountain.

The Mo family had always been the same. Whatever they were told to do, they did, never meddling or saying more than necessary. They were much like the Liu family in that regard.

The Cheng family was harder to judge. They had always maintained a neutral stance, neither advancing nor retreating, doing only what they themselves wished to do.

Ye Zheng never took any of this to heart. He did not need their loyalty, but he would not tolerate anyone rebelling or causing trouble under his authority.

“My lord, the Winged Tiger clan needs to descend the mountain soon. I’ve come to report it to you.” The newcomer had a rather tiger-like face and wore the honest, straightforward expression of a simple man.

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Ye Zheng waved his hand, indicating that it was permitted.

As far as such matters were concerned, they could do as they pleased. There was truly no need to report every little thing to him.

Even when he was trying to sleep, they kept coming to disturb him. It was enough to drive him mad. Sooner or later, he would have to teach them all a lesson.

Either that, or he hoped the lot of them at the summit would ascend soon and leave, so they would stop bothering him. He really could not stand them any longer.

“My lord, tomorrow is…” Before the man could finish, Ye Zheng sent him flying with a single slap.

They were simply too noisy. He only wanted to sleep—why did they insist on irritating him so much?

Mistbrow Mountain was vast. When they had nothing to do, they could go for a walk instead of constantly clustering around him and pestering him to death.

With a sigh, he set up a barrier, lay down, and went quietly to sleep.

When the group at the summit saw that Ye Zheng had not come, they could only drink among themselves.

Whenever they drank, they always invited Ye Zheng as well. But his tolerance for alcohol was poor, and whenever he drank too much, he would torment them one after another.

There was another possibility: Ye Zheng might drag them into listening to his complaints, saying that he had lived for too long and was truly tired of this life. Most of the time, everyone treated such words as a joke. Once they sobered up the next day, they forgot all about them. After all, they did not have the courage to discuss Ye Zheng’s affairs in private.

Compared with their curiosity about Ye Zheng, they cared far more about their own lives. None of them could withstand even one of his attacks.

On matters like this, everyone kept silent—especially in Ye Zheng’s presence.

“My lord has taken on a useless disciple and is annoyed to death. Whether you have business or not, you’d better handle it yourselves, so you don’t provoke him and make things worse for all of us.” Qingdai reminded the people seated around her. She was afraid they would go looking for trouble and drag her into it when the time came.

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