When Gu Nanyan and Shen Beian arrived, the hall was already packed with people, with only the rest areas having empty seats.

Their arrival did not cause much of a stir; the two went straight to the rest area.

Although the rest area here isn't a private room, it's still screened off, so aside from not being soundproof, the privacy is pretty good.

If you want to rest, you can go to the private rooms upstairs. The upstairs rooms are all guest rooms, which are specially provided for rest.

Gu Nanyan poured Shen Bei'an a glass of warm water and placed a chocolate mousse in front of him.

Shen Bei'an never refuses the desserts that Gu Nan'an offers to him.

Gu Nanyan poured himself a glass of water, somewhat absentmindedly. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure and gently patted Shen Bei'an's shoulder. "I saw someone I know. Baby, do you want to come over and take a look?"

Shen Beian was still chewing on the mousse in his mouth when he said, "Hmm...is he someone very important?"

Since he's someone we know, we can just go over and chat for a bit. Why bother inviting him along?

"Yes, he is my master." Gu Nanyan did not hide it. Zou Bingjun had come over when the two got married. He originally wanted to introduce Shen Bei'an to him, but Zou Bingjun had something to do and left in a hurry.

Now that we've finally met again, it's only natural that I introduce them to each other.

"Huh?" Shen Bei'an was slightly taken aback, her beautiful face showing a look of utter bewilderment.

"Baby, do you not want to see me?" Gu Nanyan's voice lowered a few decibels.

It was a perfectly normal sound, but Shen Bei'an sensed a feeling of grievance from it.

She quickly put down the small spoon in her hand and grasped Gu Nanyan's hand. "No, it's just that I didn't prepare any gifts or anything. It's not good to meet someone for the first time without bringing anything."

Master Shen was very clear about the most basic etiquette.

Upon hearing this, Gu Nanyan's smile became much more sincere. "It's alright, Master doesn't care about these things."

"Oh well."

"Who is it? Can't you see I'm drinking?" Zou Bingjun held a small jade pot and poured wine into his mouth.

Drinking in such a setting is indeed inappropriate, but the drinks were prepared by the medical alliance. Since they were prepared, it's normal for guests to want to drink.

“Master, isn’t it inappropriate to drink here?” Gu Nanyan reached out and took the small jade pot from Zou Bingjun’s hand, his tone somewhat nonchalant.

Zou Bingjun tilted his head and looked.

I don't know

Look closely

His apprentice

Still the most reckless one

"Xunqian," Zou Bingjun said, controlling his voice, "what kind of weird stuff have you put on your face?"

Tilting his head, Zou Bingjun saw the person next to Gu Nanyan. Because he had drunk quite a bit of alcohol earlier, and Shen Bei'an was also wearing makeup, Zou Bingjun didn't recognize him at all.

Her face darkened. "Don't tell me you're starting to follow in your mother's footsteps."

Such a stunning beauty!

Or did he come from outside? How much effort did he expend to bring her destined person here?

“Master!” Gu Nanyan suppressed his anger. “This is my husband, Shen family’s fifth master Bei’an. He’s just wearing makeup for convenience when he’s out and about.”

She has several cousins ​​from her maternal side, but it's clear that Zou Bingjun was referring to Sheng Jingchen.

"Ah, cough cough." Zou Bingjun was a little embarrassed. "Well, I've been drinking, and my eyesight is getting a bit blurry."

This was the first time Shen Bei'an had encountered such a situation, where he was mistaken for his wife's mistress.

They stared curiously at the gray-haired old man who had just been vehemently defending himself.

But why does this voice sound somewhat familiar?

“An’an, this is my master. You can call him ‘master’ as I do.”

Shen Bei'an responded and then called out "Master".

Zou Bingjun's wrinkled face stretched into a chrysanthemum-like smile. "Oh, good, good." He pulled out a jade pendant from somewhere and stuffed it into Shen Bei'an's arms. "Take it. These girls and boys have asked me for it several times. I won't give it to anyone else, but I'll give it to you."

This child is a bit spoiled, but that's only because of his good-for-nothing eldest apprentice.

Why didn't we let this child go up the mountain in the first place!

If one were to be kept under his wing, what a dignified and elegant young master one would be!

If Gu Nanyan and the others knew what Zou Bingjun was thinking, they would surely say: "Ha, a seemingly refined and elegant young master?"

It would be good enough if they didn't grow into a seemingly innocent but actually cunning and ruthless villain.

Before Shen Bei'an could react, a jade pendant was shoved into his hand, leaving him completely bewildered.

"What is this...?"

However, the "sisters" and "brothers" he mentioned should be his wife and the others. Since they all want something, it must be something good, so it's not really appropriate to give it to him.

Upon seeing the object in its entirety, Gu Nanyan's gaze became more complex. "Since Master says it's a gift for meeting, An'an, you should accept it."

"Don't you dare try to covet it," Zou Bingjun warned Gu Nanyan.

Gu Nanyan was even more helpless, "Master, is this the image of your disciple in your heart? Would you steal something from your own husband?"

Although she initially really wanted that thing, after thinking about it carefully, she realized that the Gu family didn't seem to need it, and besides, Zou Bingjun wouldn't give it to her, so she gave up.

“Don’t be silly and give it to her,” Zou Bingjun pulled Shen Beian down to sit again. “Aren’t you working on that foundation or some humanitarian association? It might come in handy.”

"When you discuss this with Sister Li, have Brother Zhi by your side. Don't be foolish and fall into Sister Li's trap."

Zou Bingjun talked on and on with Shen Beian, mostly telling him that if Gu Nanyan wronged him in the future, he should come looking for him.

Gu Nanyan sat to the side, serving tea and water to the two of them. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Shen Bei'an was his precious disciple.

However, seeing that his master liked him so much, Gu Nanyan was also happy.

After chatting for a long time, Zou Bingjun finally looked at Gu Nanyan, as if he had something to say, but in the end he didn't say a word.

He waved his hand and said, "You two can go now. By the way, I'll go to the capital after I've dealt with Li-jie's matter."

Zou Bingjun spoke casually.

"Master," Gu Nanyan began, "the Zou family..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zou Bingjun got up to leave, saying, "You can make the arrangements, don't worry about me."

Before leaving, he didn't forget to take his little jade pot with him.

Comes without a trace, goes without a trace

"Yan Yan, what's this for?" Shen Bei'an shook the jade pendant in his hand.

Master didn't say anything about it either.

"It's Jingning Mountain."

“Jingning Mountain is different from Yunding Mountain. Yunding Mountain is open to the outside world, while Jingning Mountain is a completely private site and is never open to outsiders.”

“After our class, the elite academy at Jingning Mountain temporarily stopped recruiting students, and as a result, no one has entered Jingning Mountain for more than ten years.”

——

This master may not appear often, but he's very useful!