Iron Wall?
Xuan Tian halted in his steps. He snapped around, looking at the source of the voice. And what he saw would be a picture he would remember forever.
A young woman was running toward him, wearing all black common infiltration garb—but without the mask. The clothes wrapped her body tightly, her curvy figure more prominent under the moonlight. Her hair was tied up in a man bun, a trace of her mission.
But it was her eyes that hit Xuan Tian the hardest. They may have been dark brown, but they shone brilliantly, like a galaxy—pulling him in, making him want to lose himself inside them.
He stood there dumbly, which was so out of character that Jing Xue pounced on him, snapping him awake.
"General! Wake up! What's wrong with you?"
Xuan Tian was still standing there, watching Ling Yu approach without blinking. As if he were afraid that if he blinked, she would disappear.
Gu Tianzhu and his four disciples arrived one by one near the house. They all heard Ling Yu's shout and immediately knelt, bowed, and saluted. "Greetings, Shengzun!"
Their greetings were quite loud—it startled Han Zhaofeng. He recognized Gu Tianzhu from Bai Xunli's reports. He had never met the man himself, but he had heard Gu Tianzhu's reputation. He had never seen Xuan Tian's interaction with Gu Tianzhu and his disciples before. Seeing an Elder from Ziyu Sect, a man of Gu Tianzhu's caliber, kneeling before Xuan Tian drained the blood from his face. That's Gu Tianzhu, right? Why is he kneeling? And happily at that.
The Enforcers, however, were happy to see the five new arrivals. More friends meant more reinforcements.
Xuan Tian ignored everything else. His mind was still busy processing that this woman approaching him was Ling Yu.
When Ling Yu stood in front of him, she was all smiles and stared back at Xuan Tian. She took her time observing him too. It had been five years. Not one single contact between them.
He's still the same as five years ago. No—he's more. But I don't know what more.
Ling Yu watched Xuan Tian and slowly realized he hadn't blinked. Her eyes grew wider. She waved her hand in front of him.
"Hello! Anybody home? Iron Wall?"
Nothing. She continued, ordering, "Blink!" and began blinking herself.
To Han Zhaofeng's and Jing Xue's surprise, Xuan Tian began blinking too.
Gu Tianzhu and his disciples were still kneeling, but they were looking up and saw this too. Li Ran started giggling. His three Shixiongs were grinning widely.
Ling Yu blinked a few times, and Xuan Tian followed her.
She finally hit Xuan Tian's arm. "Iron Wall. Wake up!"
Xuan Tian blinked a few times, before... "Little... Chaos?"
She giggled. "Yes! It's me! You don't recognize me?"
She twirled around, arms opened. "I guess that makes sense. It's been a while."
She twirled again. "Do you like what you see?"
Then she continued, "Iron Wall, my Shizun and Shixiongs have been kneeling for a while. Shouldn't you return their greetings or something?"
"Ling Yu!" Gu Tianzhu warned her.
Ling Yu?! Did I hear that right? Ling Yu?! So, she's the one that Ge is pinning for! Lemme see.
Jing Xue approached Ling Yu slowly, and sniffed around her.
Xuan Tian heard Ling Yu's question regarding her Shizun, and his focus came back. He turned to Gu Tianzhu and his disciples.
"I apologize. Gu Zhenren, please get up."
"Thank you, Shengzun!" all five Ziyu Sect people said in unison.
Li Ran got up, still smiling. "Shengzun! It's been a while! Have you been well?"
Sheng Qingyu knocked his head. "Stop treating Shengzun like your friend."
Li Ran held the top of his head. "Sorry, Shengzun."
Xuan Tian said nothing; he just lightly smiled and patted Li Ran's head.
"Hey, it's such a beautiful dog! Whose dog is this?" Ling Yu was busy petting Jing Xue.
Jing Xue was enjoying the petting—perfect dog-like behavior.
"Mine," Xuan Tian answered.
"Yours? You have a dog like this? Did you just get it?"
Xuan Tian nodded. Then he turned to Gu Tianzhu again.
"It's good to see all of you again. Unfortunately, now is not the time for a heartwarming reunion."
Gu Tianzhu nodded. "You're right, Shengzun."
Gu Tianzhu approached Han Zhaofeng and saluted. "Han Zhaofeng Shengzun. I am Gu Tianzhu of Ziyu Sect."
He gestured toward his disciples. "These are my disciples."
Five disciples bowed and saluted in sync. "Han Zhaofeng Shengzun, we five disciples greet you."
"I am Sheng Qingyu. I am Shizun's first disciple."
"I am Chen Zhaoyun. I am Shizun's second disciple."
"I am Lu Jianhong. I am Shizun's third disciple."
"I am Li Ran. I am Shizun's fourth disciple."
"I am Ling Yu. I am Shizun's fifth and last disciple."
Gu Tianzhu couldn't help but beam proudly.
Han Zhaofeng nodded, smiling. He bowed slightly to Gu Tianzhu. "And I am Han Zhaofeng. I'm glad I can finally meet you. You have exceeded your reputation, Gu Zhenren. And your five disciples are excellent."
He gestured toward the house. "Please, come in."
Everyone settled into the now crowded house. Jing Xue kept following Ling Yu, which made Xuan Tian want to strangle him. This was the first time Jing Xue had ever blatantly refused to follow Xuan Tian's order.
Since the house did not have enough space for everyone to sit down, only the 'higher ups' were sitting down. They were Han Zhaofeng – which was obvious, Gu Tianzhu, and Xuan Tian. The rest of them were standing around. Han Zhaofeng had asked Wu Zhenhai to sit down too, but he flat-out refused – respectfully.
Gu Tianzhu was sitting comfortably, ready to answer any questions shot his way. He was feeling happy and content that Xuan Tian was there. It had been five years since he last met Xuan Tian. During those five years, he didn't hear anything about Xuan Tian. As if he vanished.
But he's a Celestial. He must've returned to the Celestial Realm. Gu Tianzhu was reeling at his own thoughts. Celestial Realm. I can't believe I'm saying it so casually.
Han Zhaofeng, on the other hand, was confused. He felt like he had many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't know where to start.
Everyone was silent, waiting for Xuan Tian to speak first.
Xuan Tian was scanning the room. But he found it difficult to focus. His attention kept shifting to Ling Yu. He knew it wasn't the time, but his mind…
Xuan Tian closed his eyes and exhaled loudly.
Jing Xue noticed this, Interesting. This is really getting interesting, Ge.
Gu Tianzhu and Han Zhaofeng turned serious. They thought Xuan Tian was sensing something else. Gu Tianzhu was ready to spring into action.
When Xuan Tian opened his eyes again, he saw everyone was looking at him, seriously. He was stunned.
"Why are you all looking at me like this?"
"What are you sensing now, Shengzun?" Gu Tianzhu asked, laser focus.
Han Zhaofeng nodded, "Yes, are more people coming?"
Xuan Tian was obviously confused. He didn't know how to answer.
So, he just said, "I'm not sensing anything else. And no one is coming."
Gu Tianzhu and Han Zhaofeng were looking at each other, then back at Xuan Tian. They didn't say anything, but their faces clearly questioning.
Xuan Tian sighed again. I have to focus.
Before he could say anything, Ling Yu suddenly said, "You must be wondering why I was at the dungeon, aren't you Iron Wall?"