Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way - Chapter 56
Chapter 56 – An Agreement and an Invitation
CLACKER ANNOUNCEMENT
I am pretty sure an entire chunk is missing between the end of ch55 and the start of ch56.
Hang Wanling does not appear in the book ever again and this chapter suddenly starts with Gu Suihan talking to the head of the Wan family, without any mention of Hang Wanling nor her father.
100% Gu Suihan has slaughtered them both but I don’t know why it’s missing and I can’t find any raw sources with it.
So just imagine them throwing talismans, weapons, furniture, potted plants, fruit, and random koi fish while shouting garbage meaningless pretentious Heaven Earth Gold Fire Lightning Watermelon Pikachu, and then eventually Hang Wanling and her dad are in pieces all over the floor, much to the horror of the Wan family.
And now, we carry on.
The head of the Wan family was trembling and his face was as white as a sheet. Gu Suihan slowly asked, “And who told you I was a disciple of the Seven Kill Sect?”
He had kept his disciple token in his storage ring before even entering the secret realm, so there was no way anybody could have seen it by accident. He hadn’t asked earlier only because he needed to find out what was going on first and recuperate. Now that he had fully recovered, he didn’t have to worry about anything.
“I…I happened to see it…” The middle-aged man shut his mouth again when he saw the mocking look in Gu Suihan’s eyes. Then, he changed his answer, “It was the castellan who told me so.”
“The castellan?” Gu Suihan frowned and suddenly felt very wary.
“That’s me!” a thick voice echoed from behind Gu Suihan.
Gu Suihan had a faint smile on his face as he turned around to see a middle-aged man with a squarish face, dressed in a loose-fitting white shirt and trousers1. After looking at the man for a while, he asked quietly, “Why?”
“I happened to see you and saw that you had the Seven Kill Sect symbol on your clothing. Even if I hadn’t saved you, you wouldn’t have died. But of course, you wouldn’t have recovered this quickly,” replied the castellan in a low voice.
Gu Suihan did not look like he got the explanation he wanted and asked a second question, “Why?”
There was an approving look in the castellan’s eyes as he laughed, then grew serious again and said, “I needed to strike a balance. The Hang family was getting too powerful, so I needed to whittle them down, but I did not intend to wipe them out. Besides, I don’t want one family to be more powerful than the rest.”
The first ‘why’ was Gu Suihan asking why the castellan had allowed the Wan family to claim that they had saved him when they hadn’t.
The second ‘why’ was Gu Suihan asking why the castellan was standing in his way and preventing him from wiping out the Hang family.
“Twice.” Gu Suihan did not argue and stared emotionlessly at the castellan.
“This is for you.” The castellan did not elaborate and threw a token and a small pouch at Gu Suihan. “Here’s compensation. Even though you’re the one behind that tax ship robbery some years ago, you’re in my territory and I will not pick on you. Also, there’s 500 Spiritual Stones in there, so I think that’s fair. We’ve even now.”
“Deal!” Gu Suihan’s lips curled into a smile. He weighed the pouch to confirm the amount, then turned his attention to the intricately made token made entirely from dark iron and had a ferocious beast carved onto one side.
“What does this token do?” Gu Suihan used his spiritual sense to scan the token but didn’t find anything unusual about it.
The castellan chuckled and smiled as he said, “This token will get you a bit of a discount when you spend money in the capital. Also, you can use it to look for me anytime. I’m willing to do you one favor.”
“Are there any auction halls nearby?” asked Gu Suihan after he kept the token away.
“Yes, there are, and they’re open now. You have something to sell?” The castellan’s interest was piqued. He knew that sect disciples usually had good stuff on hand, especially if they showed a lot of promise, like Gu Suihan.
“I have a flying spiritual weapon with six layers of seals.” Since the castellan looked interested, Gu Suihan took the leaf-shaped object out for him to look at.
The castellan’s eyes widened as though something had made him very happy. He checked it over carefully, then asked, “How much do you intend to sell this for?”
“The ones that can fly are usually more expensive and this one has six layers of seals. It’s a low-grade spiritual weapon, but it can both attack and defend, plus it moves at a really high speed.” Gu Suihan saw the castellan’s expression fall, so he laughed and said, “But I didn’t gain possession of this item legally, so…I’ll sell it for just 25,000.”
The castellan stopped frowning and looked rather admiringly at Gu Suihan. This young man really knew how to read the room. His opinion of Gu Suihan improved even more and he decided not to beat around the bush. He kept the spiritual weapon, then took out a magic storage bag, filled it with the correct number of Spiritual Stones, and threw it to Gu Suihan. “Young man, you’ve definitely got a bright future. I’m actually buying this for one of my nieces as a present to her. As for who was the original owner of this item and how you got it? Humph!” He scoffed with a disdainful look on his face, which showed that this castellan had pretty powerful backers.
Gu Suihan nodded slightly and took his leave. He hadn’t wiped out the Hang family, but they were now less powerful than the Wan family, so it was going to be hard for them to make a comeback.
He calculated how much time had passed and realized that it wasn’t far from the internal disciple selection tournament. He quickly flew back to the sect.
“I need to check your disciple token,” said the guard.
“Here,” said Gu Suihan as he smiled faintly and showed his token, then turned to walk towards the East Compound.
After he had walked sufficiently far away, the guards gathered together and whispered, “That’s Gu Suihan?”
“Gosh, this fellow is a real vicious one. I think he’s killed off all the potentials for the next internal disciple selection.”
“I heard he even killed that internal disciple, Hang Chulong. He’s really one scary fellow.”
“Isn’t he afraid of getting punished by the sect?” someone raised a question.
“He won’t get punished. The sect rules only apply to what happens within the sect. Nobody cares about what happens outside.”
“I think something big is going to happen during this round of internal disciple selection…”
——-
“Young master, I’ll go cook something for you.” Taohua beamed brightly when she spotted Gu Suihan and hopped right to the kitchen.
After having a meal, Gu Suihan sat comfortably in the bathtub and enjoyed a massage from Taohua. As her slim fingers gently pressed on his skin, she looked a little reverently at the fairly handsome young man in front of her.
“Did you get your Spiritual Root checked while I was away? Do you know if you are suited to be a cultivator?” asked Gu Suihan suddenly as he ate some fruit.
Taohua made a face and said sadly, “Young master, I did go and ask to be tested, but I was told that I could not get a test by myself. You have to bring me there.”
“How troublesome.” Gu Suihan frowned, then pulled Taohua into his embrace. He ignored her shy and frantic flailing as he used his spiritual sense to test her Spiritual Root and used his hands to swiftly touch her main chakras on her dantian and down her back2.
The warmth of his large hands as they gently touched those sensitive areas made Taohua feel as though she had been hit by lightning. She felt her body go limp and she went into a daze as she leaned against Gu Suihan’s chest.
“You’re a Five Water,” said Gu Suihan as he patted the soft and supple body in his arms. Taohua possessed a body with inner charm, so she could count as one with a level of aptitude that was slightly above mid-level but less than high level.
“Young Master,” she murmured, her warm breath blowing against his neck. She pulled her slim arms around him and obviously aroused.
Taohua walked over shyly with a slightly awkward gait and frowned a little from time to time. It was clear that certain parts of her body still ached from a night of passionate action, but she was in a good mood.
“Miss Mo Yuluo and Li Rong have asked you to go to the Way Seekers Alliance courtyard if you have the time. They said that they need to talk to you about something,” she said with a blissful twinkle in her eyes as she looked adoringly at the man writing at the desk in front of her.
“I’ll head over right now.” Gu Suihan put his pen down and kept the paper away. When he noticed how Taohua had difficulty walking, he gave her a Body Stabilizing Pill and told her to eat it, and instructed her to try and use her Qi to hasten the absorption and then rest.
Gu Suihan had a rough idea of why those two were looking for him. They probably wanted to make their stance clear.
It didn’t take him long to arrive at that mildly familiar courtyard. A disciple came to receive him and led him to that prettiest and most intricately decorated little building right at the back.
The first thing he saw was the chiffon curtains, the red carpet beneath his feet, and the specially cultivated bonsai all around. Four people were seated around the central table and were chatting merrily with one another.
“Oh, you’re here!” Mo Yuluo was seated in the seat reserved for the host. She got her servants to refill everyone’s cup of tea, then dismissed them.
The chatter slowly died down and everyone observed one another cautiously. A tremendous invisible pressure engulfed the entire building. Standing at the center of this invisible pressure was Gu Suihan.
He stood in the midst of the pressure for a long time. All of a sudden, Gu Suihan unleashed a murderous air that was filled with nothing but cruelty and violence, as though they were now in purgatory. It was as if they were now in a bloodbath, surrounded by a sea of corpses and broken bones.
From the outside, the entire building was covered by a faint blood-red murderous Qi, which dyed the white stone walls and pillars a similar reddish color.
“His aura is powerful enough to be physically visible. It is true after all,” said Fang Suyu in a grim voice as he quietly kept his aura away.
Gu Suihan raised an eyebrow and retracted that bloody aura he had unleashed earlier and sat down on the last empty chair. He tapped a finger on the table and said flatly, “So, why did you want to see me?”