Chapter 231 – Different Way, Different Path

“Sir, here’s your number. Please keep it carefully.” A servant held out an oval purple piece of jade with an ingratiating smile. The number 8 was carved into the jade with bold strokes.

Gu Suihan grunted in acknowledgment as he took the jade from the servant and held it in his hand. A light flickered in his eyes as he instantly broke through the thin formation in the way and stared at the three gigantic flying ships parked in the huge clearing.

“Each one is at least a hundred miles long. That’s practically a castle,” mumbled Gu Suihan as he casually scanned the dizzying runes all over the flying ships and marveled at how tough this thing was. He couldn’t be sure if a Nascent Change cultivator would be able to break through the defense formation of these flying ships.

As long as you were a sentient living creature, you would put civilization into a very revolting yet indestructible pyramid structure of sorts.

That is, the division of people into different levels.

Cultivators divided themselves like that, and so did ordinary people.

The demonic race and immortal race had even more divisions.

Not only did this make low-level creatures fear the ones above them, but the ones above could oppress the ones below without having to worry.

Even the Buddhists, who always talked about nonsense like “all humans are equal”, were no better. Why else would they split themselves into arhats, bodhisattvas, and buddhas?

Words like “equality”, “justice”, and “fairness” were used to fool those bottom-feeding fish, that’s all.

The piece of jade in Gu Suihan’s hands was reserved for those at the highest level, like a VIP pass.

The ones for a lower grade were red in color, and the cheapest one was white.

“Great Dao Master, this way, please,” said the maid assigned to serve Gu Suihan. She cast her gaze downward and bowed slightly. She didn’t dare to do anything that might seem rude in front of him.

It was really because the invisible but concentrated fiendish qi emanating from Gu Suihan made her heart tremble. As a maid serving such guests, she was no ordinary person herself, so she knew what it meant when she felt afraid. This qi was an extremely domineering aura that guaranteed no mercy to anyone who stood in his way. In front of a person like that, it was best to behave yourself and not pull any stunts. Otherwise, nobody would pity you if you were suddenly struck dead.

“Lead the way.” Gu Suihan nodded and retracted some of that murderous aura coming from himself, instantly releasing the pressure from the completely silent lobby.

“Oh my gosh, I nearly couldn’t breathe! That gentleman is definitely a master at Nascent Change.”

The lobby became lively and noisy again right after Gu Suihan walked out. Everyone heaved huge sighs of relief, and their tense hearts slowly relaxed.

The murderous intent Gu Suihan emanated was simply too frightening. It felt like a sword on their necks, and they didn’t dare to let out even a squeak in case Gu Suihan killed them with just a thought.

“He’s not local,” said a young man in the crowd who was surrounded by several bodyguards. He fiddled with a small dagger and had a strange little smile on his lips.

The maid next to him heard what he said and couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “Young Master, how do you know that?”

The young man with handsome features and a gentle expression looked down and chuckled before whispering in reply, “If he were local, he could have used the inter-domain teleportation formation in the Castellan’s manor. It’ll be faster that way. It’s very expensive, but a Nascent Change cultivator like him would have more than enough spiritual coins to spare.”

“Young Master, you’re such a clever and observant person,” replied the maid in a polite voice as she smiled faintly.

“Get me a purple-class ticket. I have things to do,” the young man instructed his maid after chuckling.

After she had left, the young man’s eyes started to cloud over. The sunny smile on his face faded, and he had a more sinister expression on his face now.

“Ha! Someday, I will return, Father!” shouted the young man inside his mind as he hid away his true emotions.

“Great Dao Master…” the maid tried to speak, but Gu Suihan waved a hand to cut her off. He said emotionlessly, “From now onwards, call me sir. Great Dao Master sounds terrible.”

“Yes, sir.” The maid was rather shocked, but she didn’t let any of it show on her face. She bowed politely and asked, “Sir, do you need anything?”

“Get me some tea. I have a guest coming later,” said Gu Suihan as he smiled faintly, leaned lazily against the soft chair, and shut his eyes.

“Yes, sir.” The maid quietly left the room. Gu Suihan was a Nascent Change cultivator, so he wasn’t going to drink low-grade tea. He didn’t care, actually, but the maid certainly didn’t think that way.

Firstly, the fact that he was taking the flying ship that belonged to their company was already doing them a favor. Secondly, as a powerful Nascent Change cultivator, he acted as a very useful bodyguard for the flight. It was only right for them to make sure they took good care of this gentleman.

After the maid reported Gu Suihan’s request, the other party paused to think for a while, then said in a melodious and clear voice, “You don’t have to go back. I’ll serve him myself. According to Father’s divinations, some disasters will befall this flight. We’ll have to rely on this powerful man to help us when that happens.”

“But Miss, you’re…” The maid’s jaw fell open in horror as she hurriedly tried to dissuade the other party.

But the female voice cut her off before she could finish her sentence, “Enough. Nobody knows where this man has come from, but that aura of fiendish qi is not something that an ordinary Nascent Change cultivator would be capable of exuding. We must not become enemies with this man. Get me my Dao Understanding Soul Cleansing tea.”

“Sir, how is the tea?” The young lady had bright eyes, clean and straight teeth, and a charming smile. She wore a thin chiffon dress that revealed her fair and supple arms. Under the tea table, her pair of long and slim legs were vaguely visible beneath her chiffon skirt. She was very attractive.

“The tea’s not bad. It’s a pity that it’s got karma.” Gu Suihan smiled faintly as he looked down at the several vengeful souls struggling as they roamed inside the cup, letting out howls that were barely audible. He sniffed the light fragrance of the tea that was coming from those souls.

“Someone like yourself would be afraid of karma too?” The young lady poured Gu Suihan more tea, allowing her silky hair to cascade past her shoulder and into the deep cleavage below her flawless neck. She looked like she was just making a casual comment, but her tone of voice was subtly trying to get a certain response out of him.

“Who isn’t afraid of karma?” Gu Suihan tapped a finger on the lip of the cup and chuckled slightly. “You’re not afraid?”

“Of course, I am afraid of it too.” She laughed quietly, her laughter as ethereal yet crisp as bells.

“And it is precisely because I’m afraid, so I chose to cultivate in an attempt to understand it.” Her watery eyes seemed to sparkle. “Do you agree? Or not?”

Gu Suihan took a sip of tea to moisten his lips, then said, “Those with differing hearts and differing ways would naturally go down a different path.”

“Sir…” Her expression shifted a little, and she was about to speak again when someone suddenly knocked on the door.

“Is the Great Dao Master inside? Could I come in and have a chat with you?”

“Sir, your guest is here.” The young lady calmed her heart down, and bit her luscious lips as she threw Gu Suihan a slightly annoyed glare before getting up to open the door.

“It’s you?” said both the young lady and the young man when she opened the door, and their eyes met.

“Very interesting…”

Gu Suihan’s eyes were dark and looked as though comets were flying through them, which made them seem really eerie. The faint smile on his face and the white fox fur shawl on his large black cloak made him look even more feminine and mysterious.

The two men looked at one another for a long time without saying anything.

The young man finally snapped out of his daze, and looked intently at the young lady for a moment before walking into the room. He bowed politely and said, “I’m sorry for coming by without making any prior arrangements, I hope you don’t mind. Here is compensation for my rude visit, please accept it.”

He retrieved an intricately packed small wooden box from his storage ring and placed it on the tea table.

“What’s your name?” asked Gu Suihan a little curiously as he shifted his body to motion to the young man to sit. He glanced nonchalantly at the little box but did not take it.

“My surname is Ouyang, and my name is just one word, Duan,” said Ouyang Duan politely.

“You know her?” asked Gu Suihan flatly as he glanced at the young lady who had started making more tea.

“We’ve met once or twice. We’ve spoken a bit before.” Ouyang Duan pursed his lips tightly. He felt rather nervous, and his face was tense, but he dared not hide anything from Gu Suihan and stammered a little as he responded with the truth.

“Before you arrived, she asked if I’m afraid of karma. Let me ask you – are you afraid of karma?” Gu Suihan flicked a finger and slid a cup of tea into Ouyang Duan’s hands.

“Am I afraid of karma? Karma is the concept of cause and effect, so there’s an effect only as a result of a cause. But there aren’t really that many causes and effects in the world. Most of them have a start and no end. So, why should I be afraid?” Ouyang Duan was a little caught by surprise by the random question but quickly gave a response that made the young lady’s heart tremble in shock.

“What do you think of what he said, Miss Murong? Or rather, the first saintess of the Equal Spirit Order, Miss Murong Yun.”

Gu Suihan broke into a smile as he stared at the dazed young lady and slowly revealed her true identity.