"Brave Tiger?"
Li Qing smiled faintly and shook his head, shifting the topic. "What is your relationship with Gu Tianxing?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Yu's expression changed dramatically, his eyes narrowing with a vigilant gaze fixed on Li Qing, even more tense than when he had just learned that the other party was the Brave Tiger.
"He is my father."
In the end, Gu Yu still acknowledged this relationship.
"Ha!"
Li Qing let out a long breath, then took out a thick ancient book from his bosom, saying, "Speaking of which, I should be calling you Senior Brother."
Bang!
As his words fell, the book, Ancient Hammer Technique, landed on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Gu Yu's eyes widened, momentarily stunned and unable to catch the ancient book.
He stared at the book on the ground, which felt both familiar and unfamiliar, unsure of what to say, frozen in place for a long while.
It was Li Qing who broke the awkward silence:
"Master Gu is my teacher; he taught me blacksmithing and martial arts. Now, it is time for this martial art to return to its rightful owner."
Gu Yu trembled as he crouched down, his usually steady hands now shaking slightly.
"More than a decade ago, my father had just joined the Wuli Army when the government sent word of his death. Hadn't he already passed away?"
This statement left Li Qing momentarily stunned. After a long while, he finally reacted, and anger surged onto his face.
Creak!
Li Qing clenched his fists, feeling as if a flame was burning within him.
Indeed, after Master Gu's death, he had left behind not even a single coin of inheritance, leaving nothing behind.
At that time, Li Qing thought that Master Gu must have handed over the military salary he earned to his family.
Master Gu did have a salary; this he was absolutely certain of.
However, seeing that his descendants still lived in such a dilapidated alley today left Li Qing puzzled, thinking that Master Gu's descendants were wastrels.
Now, it seemed that was not the case at all!
Someone had fabricated news of Master Gu's death and embezzled the silver that should have been sent home each year!
"Master Gu passed away last year and was buried outside Wangyuan City," Li Qing tried to keep his tone calm, though the anger in his heart had already overshadowed the raging flames of the forge.
"Senior Brother, have you received even a single coin of silver over the years?"
Gu Yu knelt on the ground, facing the Ancient Hammer Technique, slowly shaking his head. "No, not a single cent."
This is a parasite!
They dare to embezzle even such money! Truly deserving of death!
Li Qing thought to himself, his tightly clenched fists finally relaxing slowly.
"Sigh, Senior Brother, pack your things, leave Chongning, leave Qingzhou, and come with me to Shengtian."
After all, he was Master Gu's son; it was only right for him to call him Senior Brother.
Clap!
Gu Yu heavily bowed his head to the Ancient Hammer Technique.
"Father! I am unfilial!"
Two days later, at the city gate of Chongning County.
Two horse-drawn carriages, one in front and one behind, left the dilapidated county town. Master Gu's descendant did not hesitate at all and readily agreed to go to Shengtian with Li Qing.
"Sigh, why are there more corrupt officials in poorer places?"
Inside the carriage, Li Qing stroked the soft fur of the tiger cub, unable to suppress a sigh.
They even dared to embezzle the Wuli Army's salary; it was beyond bold.
Li Qing had no intention of exposing this parasite for the time being; his current strength was insufficient, and even if he wanted to avenge Master Gu, he was powerless.
As for Gu Yu's family going to Shengtian, he had already made proper arrangements in his heart.
He planned to buy them a residence on Chiming Street and open a blacksmith shop, as Chiming Street was in need of a blacksmith to forge daily ironware.
Finally, he would leave enough silver for Gu Yu's family to live on and ask Big Boss Fang of Chiming Street to look after them.
In this way, he would have done all he could. Master Gu had taught him the art of blacksmithing and the Ancient Hammer Technique, undoubtedly an important guide in his life.
This journey back to Shengtian was surprisingly smooth.
Because the entire Qingzhou martial arts world was focused on Sun Qi.
Immortal Fate Method!
Although it was unclear whether immortals truly existed in this world, just these four words were enough to drive mundane martial artists to madness.
Not long after Li Qing left Chongning, the leader of the Black Fiend Gang unexpectedly joined forces with a top expert from the Lei family, bringing many people to search for and hunt down Sun Qi's whereabouts.
This was undoubtedly a shocking turn of events, even Li Qing felt quite astonished.
Previously, in Jingyang City, these two forces had established a deep-seated enmity, yet now they had turned around to form an alliance.
Outsiders speculated what kind of agreement had been reached between the two parties that allowed them to set aside such grievances and unite.
Before long, Sun Qi's whereabouts were finally leaked.
In the small Cangshan Mountain of Qingzhou, Sun Qi had actually built a hut there, hiding in the wilderness to practice his swordsmanship.
The head of the Lei family and the leader of the Black Fiend Gang acted immediately, jointly heading to Cangshan Mountain.
On that day, within the forests of Cangshan Mountain, Sun Qi found himself surrounded by the two forces, battling against two internal strength experts.
In the end, Sun Qi proved why he was the number one swordsman in Qingzhou, fiercely breaking out of the encirclement, slaying dozens of experts from the Lei family and the Black Fiend Gang.
The entire martial arts world was thrown into an uproar, all shocked by Sun Qi's profound swordsmanship.
Days passed, and Sun Qi's whereabouts were exposed once more.
He was actually recuperating at the Longmen Inn in Changshui County, Qingzhou. That night, several martial arts experts staying at the inn launched an attack on Sun Qi.
Unfortunately, the attackers were merely a few external strength experts. Even injured, Sun Qi still managed to cleanly slay his enemies and leave gracefully.
Such combat power left many feeling alarmed, while also igniting the greed of many in the martial arts world.
Was the treasure Sun Qi possessed truly the Immortal Fate Method?
This fellow had never clarified or defended himself throughout.
And the allied Lei family and Black Fiend Gang also remained tight-lipped about the matter, always speaking ambiguously when it was brought up.
Absolutely suspicious!
Thus, martial arts experts throughout the Maple Kingdom began to feel restless, starting to set their sights on Sun Qi.
For instance, in the Maple Kingdom's most prosperous area, the imperial capital, Shengtian!
Not long after its establishment, the Maple Guard dispatched an internal strength commander, accompanied by several external strength experts, heading towards Qingzhou.
The commander leading the charge was none other than Commander Zheng Shu.
"I want to see just how fierce this Qingzhou Sun Qi's swordsmanship is!"
In the Prince Yu's residence, a burly figure in a python robe summoned a secret guard from within the residence.
"The Maple Guard has also moved? Go to Qingzhou and investigate the situation for this prince."
A shadow hidden in the darkness knelt down and replied in a crisp voice, "Yes!"
South of Shengtian, at Xiao Cuiling.
In a hidden tomb within the mountains, the Star Stealer Ning Yuan emerged from the tomb, stretching lazily in the morning sun.
"Qingzhou is so lively now? I suppose the Prince Yu's residence can't sit still either; it's time to find an opportunity to take a look."
Ning Yuan yawned and added, "Xiao Qi, I am about to embark on a journey and probably won't return for a while. After that, I won't be able to help you with your path; you must take care of yourself."
"I hope to see you again one day!"
With that, Ning Yuan's figure floated away, disappearing into the mountains in no time.
Inside the tomb, a thin figure knelt at the entrance, seemingly using all his strength to deeply bow in the direction Ning Yuan had departed.
(End of Chapter)