Chapter 1 Chapter 1 A Stunning Boy
Daliang, Jizhou in the north
In the depths of winter, the snow on the ground is already half a foot deep, and goose-feather-like snowflakes are still falling from the sky.
"The empty alleys are quiet, the spacious courtyards are idle." It is difficult to see pedestrians on the streets.
Inside a restaurant in the city, however, a completely different scene unfolded. The restaurant was three stories high and, from the outside, appeared unremarkable. However, the plaque on the restaurant's sign resolutely read the three characters "Drunk in the Red Dust."
There is a stage in the center of the first floor for storytellers to perform.
"Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever heard? When the wife of the Duke of Yingguo was pregnant, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated that the child in her belly was born with the destiny of a phoenix and would be extremely noble. Upon hearing this, the late emperor promised that no matter which prince ascended the throne in the future, she would be the empress. Unfortunately, fate played a trick on her. The child could not bear the blessing and died at birth. Later, the late emperor passed away, and the sixth prince inherited the throne, who is the current emperor. Speaking of the current emperor..." The storyteller on the stage spoke with such ups and downs.
At this moment, a group of people suddenly walked in. The owner of the restaurant saw them and went to greet them personally, which was enough to show their noble status.
The servant beside him folded up the paper umbrella covered with snowflakes.
"Hey, Master Sun, what brings you here?" Shopkeeper Wu said flatteringly. He reached out and tried to brush away the nonexistent snowflakes from the man's body.
Snap——
Sun Ang slapped his hand away and said, "Go away, Master, are you allowed to touch my clothes?"
"It's my fault. Young Master Sun is a precious person and I cannot touch him." Shopkeeper Wu was not angry after being insulted. Instead, he smiled apologetically.
Outside, the wind and snow were raging, and inside the building, it was oppressively hot. Sun Ang glanced at the storyteller on the stage, then took off his fox fur coat and threw it to the servant behind him. He said to the shopkeeper, "I heard that there have been a lot of new young men coming in recently. Pick out a few sensible ones and have them serve me well tonight."
After saying that, he walked towards the box on the third floor.
Shopkeeper Wu said flatteringly, "Don't worry, we have the best goods for you."
Sun Ang is a regular here. He has long been accustomed to the attitude of the shopkeeper and is looking forward to the people coming in the evening.
When he reached the second floor, Sun Ang suddenly stopped. The servant behind him didn't react and accidentally bumped into him.
The servant was so frightened that he immediately knelt down to apologize, but Sun Ang seemed to be deaf to his words and stared blankly ahead.
Following his gaze, I saw a young man leaning against the window, which was half open, and snowflakes fell on his shoulders from time to time.
The boy's face was as white as cream, his eyes were as black as lacquer, and he looked like a god. Even the pure white snowflakes falling on his shoulders would make people feel that they were defiling this celestial being.
The young man, wearing a turquoise robe, looked at the storyteller below with boredom. No matter how the storyteller quoted from scriptures, the young man's expression remained unchanged, as if none of the stories in this mortal world could arouse the immortal's interest at all.
Sun Ang boasted of having seen countless people. His eldest brother was a highly praised son of an aristocratic family. He had also seen many sons of prominent families in the capital who were carefully nurtured, and even the emperor who ascended the throne at a young age. But compared to the person before him, none of them could compare.
When Sun Ang first saw such a divine figure, he was afraid that if he missed this opportunity, he would never see him again. For a moment, desire overcame reason.
Sun Ang was afraid of startling this godlike young man, so he suppressed his inner restlessness and walked carefully to Gu Shiyan. He raised his hand to touch his face, but unexpectedly, the seemingly gentle young man took out a jade fan from somewhere and hit his hand with it. The pain made Sun Ang retract his hand.
His father was the governor of Jizhou, so it was no exaggeration to say that he was the local emperor. His grandfather was Duke of Su. In the capital city where many aristocratic families gathered, there were very few people with higher family backgrounds than him, let alone in a mere Jizhou.
He was the youngest son in the family, and even his august grandfather doted on him. He had never suffered such injustice before. When he realized what was happening, he shouted to the guards behind him, "Hurry up and capture him for me, young master."
Gu Shiyan usually sleeps until noon, but today, in order to sneak down the mountain, he got up at dawn, so he had no energy at all. He couldn't even listen to the storytelling he usually loved. He had no interest in continuing the trip and just wanted to return as soon as he was more awake.
Gu Shiyan's personality is usually very easygoing, but only those who are familiar with him know that the young man is grumpy when he wakes up. He is a little irritable when he just wakes up. He is like this to people close to him, let alone a stranger who is ready to flirt with him after only meeting him once.
The two guards rushed to Gu Shiyan, ready to attack, but found themselves unable to move, and their internal energy had vanished without a trace. They were both secret guards trained by the Sun family for generations.
The martial arts world is divided into four levels and thirty-six layers: Bigu, Tempering Body, Sea-facing, and Free and Unrestrained. They were already masters who had just entered the Sea-facing realm. To be able to subdue them so easily, they must be at the high level of the Sea-facing realm or the even higher Free and Unrestrained realm.
But now there are only five venerable people in the Free and Easy Realm. The Confucian Venerable established a college in the northwest to educate the people; the Buddhist Venerable served as the abbot of the Zhenguo Temple and protected the emperor; the Medical Venerable traveled around the world and his whereabouts are unknown; the Demon Venerable rebelled against the teachings and was despised by the righteous path; the Martial Venerable avoided the world and lived a thousand feet high in Yunliang, not caring about worldly affairs.
The young man in front of them was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but he could actually be a master of the Free and Easy Realm who was on par with the five in front of him. This really amazed them. After being surprised, they were deeply frightened that their young master had actually offended such a person.
Gu Shiyan was a little tired and wanted to end this trouble quickly so that he could return to the mountain earlier, so he said, "Today, you tried to disrespect me, so I will cripple one of your hands. If you are not satisfied, you can come to Yunliang Qianchi to find me."
Hearing his self-proclaimed name, everyone was shocked. It turned out there was a sixth Venerable in the world, and one so young. The Free and Easy Realm Venerables were the most powerful forces in the world, coveted by many factions. Now that there was suddenly another one, the world's structure was about to change dramatically.
After saying that, the fan in Gu Shiyan's hand flew out, and just lightly touched Sun Ang's hand before flying back. Everyone looked at his actions and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that this venerable just wanted to scare the young master and had no intention of really crippling the young master's hand.
But the next second, Sun Ang's face was full of pain. He used his other hand to press the hand that was touched by the fan, trying to relieve the pain, but it was of no use.
Gu Shiyan's powerful internal force had already entered Sun Ang's body along the fan. The internal force went up along Sun Ang's arm and stopped at his shoulder, breaking Sun Ang's bones inch by inch. Soon, Sun Ang could no longer bear the pain and fainted.
Everyone was already horrified. They could not imagine that the gentle and refined young man could be so cruel.
Seeing that he had received the punishment he deserved, Gu Shiyan released the internal energy that was suppressing the two guards and flew out of the open window using Qinggong. Before leaving, he reminded them, "Remember to bring your young master back. If you refuse to obey, I will wait for you at Yunliang Qianchi."
After the guards brought Sun Ang back to the palace and explained the situation to Sun Chang, he didn't blame them. To be one of the governors of Daliang Jiuzhou, Sun Chang was definitely not a fool; on the contrary, he was quite intelligent. Yunliang Qianchi had a Martial Venerable in charge, and now with the addition of a new Venerable of unknown identity, this force was truly formidable.
Sun Chang ignored his wife's crying. Instead, he asked someone to prepare generous gifts and took Sun Ang to Yunliang Qianchi to apologize.
At the same time, he secretly wrote two letters and ordered them to be sent to the capital at full speed. One was a family letter to his father, Duke Su, and the other was a memorial to the current emperor.
A new Free and Easy Realm cultivator has emerged, and he must inform his family and the court to prepare early.
The thousand-foot-high Yunliang Mountains are covered in perpetual snow year-round, creating a fairyland on earth. Just as the poem goes, "How high the snow-capped mountains are, how steep they are, I have no idea; how many tens of millions of feet high, only the towering cloud peaks are visible. Rocks and icy hills compete with each other in the ravines, while the luminescent rocks are gleaming and towering."
Martial Master Ji Ruoxi personally received the two of them. He said to Sun Chang, "My disciple has been spoiled since childhood. He has only been practicing for thirteen years and has already entered the Free and Easy Realm. Now there is no one in Yunliang Qianchi who can control him. I hope Master Sun will forgive him."
This statement not only gave Sun Chang enough face, but also contained a warning. If your son behaves like this again, he cannot guarantee what Gu Shiyan will do.
Sun Chang was secretly amazed. It took only thirteen years of practice for him to reach the state of freedom. Such talent was truly rare in the world.
He said to Ji Ruoxi with an apologetic look, "My son was ignorant and offended Your Excellency. It is only right for Your Excellency to teach him a lesson. But now that my son has realized his mistake and has suffered a little, could Your Excellency please withdraw his inner strength?"
"To be honest, this child's mother cries all day long. We've consulted all the famous doctors in Jizhou, and they all say that if the internal force isn't removed, there's no cure. I hope Wu Zun can give her some advice."
Before Ji Ruoxi could reply, a sound of a piano came from afar. The internal force transformed from the sound of the piano merged into Sun Ang's arm and merged with the previous internal force, actually reconnecting the broken bones.
Sun Chang and his son were so shocked by this unpredictable method that they were speechless. So this is the strength of a Free and Easy Realm Venerable.
"For Master's sake, I will spare you this time. But if there is a next time, it won't be as simple as just one hand." Gu Shiyan's voice came from afar, and with the help of his internal strength, everyone could hear it clearly.
"This kid is becoming more and more unruly," Ji Ruoxi scolded with a smile.
"Your Excellency is very generous. My father and I would like to thank you here," Sun Chang pulled Sun Ang and bowed in the direction where the voice came from.
"Since your son's injury has healed, please go back. Yue'er, please see Lord Sun off on your behalf." The last sentence was said to Ji Yue who was standing aside and watching the show.
After hearing this, Ji Yue curled her lips and whispered, "You only know how to order me around. If you have the guts, go order my senior brother around."
After he finished speaking, he raised his head and gave the two people from the Sun family a generous smile, making a gesture of invitation, "Please follow me, both of you."
After leaving the hall, Sun Chang handed Ji Yue a purse that should be bulging with money. Ji Yue took it with a smile, thinking that according to the storybook, there should be silver bills in it, but he didn't know if this Lord Sun was generous. Then he thought of the apology gift that the Sun family brought to his senior brother, which was three boxes full of precious medicinal materials, jewelry, and weapons. He instantly had great expectations for this purse.
Ji Yue knew that Sun Chang would not give her a gift for no reason, and that he must have some ulterior motive, so she said, "Lord Sun, if you have something to say, why not just say it directly?"
Sun Chang said with a smile, "I've long heard that a tiger father has a dog daughter. Seeing her today, I can see that her reputation is well-deserved. Miss Ji is indeed generous."
He lowered his voice and said, "I still don't know your senior brother's honorific title."
Ji Yue smiled upon hearing this, her face brimming with pride as she spoke, "My senior brother's name is Yue Zun. I gave him the name 'Huainan's bright moon over the cold mountains'. Only someone as aloof and aloof as my senior brother is worthy of the name 'Yue'."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
