Divine Foundation City:
Huangfu Chaoge sat in a study with a group of important officials standing before him.
“Your Majesty, Duke Lu Yang sealed off my Divine Foundation City. Now, we are unable to send any information out. Furthermore, he is sending soldiers to attack the other cities of my Divine Foundation Royal Dynasty. We can’t just sit here and wait to die. Those cities didn’t even receive any warning,” an official said worriedly.
“There’s no need to worry. We have sent messages to the various cities. They all know already,” Huangfu Chaoge said indifferently.
“Ah? You already sent out messages? How?” That official appeared shocked.
Huangfu Chaoge looked at that official coldly.
“Yes, yes. This old official has overspoken. The fewer people who know about this, the better,” that official immediately said while shaking his head.
Huangfu Chaoge nodded.
“Has the city’s sound barrier been activated?” Huangfu Chaoge asked.
“Yes. Your Majesty, rest assured. We have already activated the sound barrier. No matter how good the hearing of Duke Lu Yang’s Army Breaker is, he will not hear any secrets from the city,” another official said.
“Good. Alright, that’s all for today. Go back and rest,” Huangfu Chaoge instructed.
“Yes!” The officials bowed as they slowly left the room.
Only a gray-robed person remained in the study.
Gray robes completely covered this person; not even the face was visible.
“Foundation Rock Deity, thank you for the hard work.” Huangfu Chaoge smiled bitterly at the gray-robed person.
“Your Majesty is too polite. Back then, it was Your Majesty who saved this old rock. Your Majesty even named the nation after me. What hard work is there to fear for this old rock? It is what I’m supposed to do,” that gray-robed person said while shaking his head.
“But the war with Duke Lu Yang is due to my personal matters, yet I dragged the Divine Foundation Royal Dynasty into it,” Huangfu Chaoge sighed.
“Your Majesty, there’s no need to blame yourself. You once said that Duke Lu Yang would not let us off even if you did not oppose him. It was just a matter of time. Isn’t this better? Your Majesty’s suddenly falling out with him messed up his arrangements, causing him to focus on destroying you. This ended up spoiling Duke Lu Yang’s plans.” The gray-clad Foundation Rock Deity smiled.
Huangfu Chaoge nodded.
“That’s right. Your Majesty, my tribe is made up of earth-attributed element spirits. Traveling through the ground is our strength, allowing us to send out information. A young foundation rock golem brought back a love flower treant today, saying that Granny Qing Hua sent it to deliver a message,” the foundation rock golem said.
“Oh? Granny Qing Hua?” Huangfu Chaoge felt slightly startled.
“Bring it in,” the Foundation Rock Deity said.
“Yes!”
Buzz!
A hole suddenly opened in the floor in front of the table. Then, a love flower treant appeared.
“I already said I would not speak unless I saw Huangfu Chaoge!” the blindfolded love flower treant growled.
A foundation rock golem climbed out of the hole. Then, it tore off the blindfold on the love flower treant.
Rip!
“Huangfu Chaoge?” That love flower treant’s eyes lit up.
“We are at war, and things are exceptionally sensitive at the moment. Please excuse me if I have been inconsiderate in any way,” the foundation rock golem at the side said politely.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. As long as I meet Huangfu Chaoge, that will do. Granny sent me to deliver a letter straight to your hands!” That love flower treant spat out a letter from its mouth.
Huangfu Chaoge received the letter and opened it.
“Long Xiaoyue’s daughter Long Wanqing came here to find her mother’s murderer? She came to know through He Shikang that I know the truth behind Long Xiaoyue’s death and asks me to go over?” Huangfu Chaoge said in a heavy voice.
“Yes. Granny told me not to hide anything from you. Granny said that right now, you are filled with anger and murderous intent. She feels somewhat worried about you. Long Wanqing is Long Xiaoyue’s daughter. As Granny likes everything about Long Xiaoyue, she sees Long Wanqing as a granddaughter, so she does not want Long Wanqing to take the risk of coming here. She asks you to make a trip to Love Flower Valley. If you still have Long Xiaoyue in your heart, then come with me,” the treant said gravely.
“Long Xiaoyue? Long Wanqing?” Huangfu Chaoge’s eyes reddened slightly as he nodded.
“Your Majesty, you can’t! You can’t take this risk!” the Foundation Rock Deity immediately protested.
“Taking a risk? Haha! I have been taking risks from the moment I declared war on Duke Lu Yang. Long Wanqing…I met her before at Silver Moon City. However, she was still young at that time. Those two sisters probably do not remember what I look like. Does she look like Xiaoyue?” Huangfu Chaoge looked at the treant.
“Huh? There’s a strong resemblance, but she is not as lively as Long Xiaoyue,” the treant said after some thought.
“Lively? Haha! Her mother died when she was ten, she had never seen her father before, and she had to help bring up a young sister without being bullied. It is practically impossible for her to turn out lively,” Huangfu Chaoge laughed.
“Then…are you going?” the treant asked, feeling confused.
“I’m going. Just based on her resemblance to Xiaoyue, I have to go. Wait first. I will make some arrangements during tomorrow morning’s assembly, then declare that I am entering closed-door cultivation. We cannot let word of this leak.” Huangfu Chaoge smiled.
“Alright.” The treant nodded.
Love Flower Valley:
After Gu Hai read through various materials for ten days, Granny Qing Hua called him over for a private chat.
“Granny Qing Hua, many thanks. I heard from the hall master that you sent a love flower treant to inform Huangfu Chaoge. If you can call him over, it will save me a lot of effort,” Gu Hai said with a faint smile.
“Mister Gu, I’ve heard Wanqing talk about you these few days. She told me everything about you, no matter how major or minor; she seems to treasure you a lot.” Granny Qing Hua smiled.
“Oh? Is that so?” Gu Hai smiled faintly.
“You probably saw my change in emotions that day, right?” Granny Qing Hua sighed.
“I did see a little of it, but…” Gu Hai shook his head.
“The Silver Moon Mountain Manor’s previous manor lord? Ha! It was just a moment of anger back then. Unexpectedly, it led to us separating forever. Hah!” Granny Qing Hua said bitterly.
“Oh?”
“I once had a husband, but he died young. When my husband died, my heart died with him. Later on, I met the previous manor lord. I don’t know what about me attracted him, but he pursued me for twenty years. However, I kept refusing him. I misunderstood him; until the very end, he never married.
“The love flower treants require emotions to strengthen ourselves. The previous manor lord played the zither for me every day, putting in a lot of effort just to make me smile. At that time, I only had my late husband on my mind and remained cold towards the previous manor lord.
“The previous manor lord pursued me for a long time, putting in a lot of effort. My long-sealed heart slowly softened. However, although I felt moved, I kept my guard up. My heart belonged to my husband forever.
“One day, the previous manor lord proposed marriage to me. He wanted to bring me back to Silver Moon City. However, I did not agree. I even mocked him. That day, we had a ferocious argument. After he left, he never returned.
“I only realized that I lost something after he left. My heart felt empty.
“It turned out that after so many years of pursuit, he had already entered my heart.
“After he left, Long Xiaoyue occasionally came by, bearing news of him. I came to know that although he had left in anger, I remained in his heart. He never married.
“We maintained this stalemate as though waiting for each other to forget the other party. However, we did not forget; we even thought about each other even more.
“Up until I heard of his death.” Granny Qing Hua’s eyes turned red.
“One only learns to treasure something after losing it?” Gu Hai sighed.
“Indeed. I have been feeling very frustrated these days, regretting. If only I did not reject him back then. What if I did not chase him away? What if I just lowered my head and admitted my mistake after doing something wrong? At the very least, it would not have resulted in him never receiving my acknowledgment,” Granny Qing Hua said with bloodshot eyes.
Gu Hai remained silent.
“I now understand. Status does not matter. Back then, he lowered himself and tried to please me with everything he had, following me everywhere. Why? He did not owe it to me. Why? What right did I have to be so cold to him? Hah. It did not matter to him whether he lowered himself or humbled himself to flatter me. It was because he loved me. If he did not love me, who could make him lower his head, given his pride? I was ignorant back then, ignorant and stupid. Do you know how much regret I feel now? Haha!” Granny Qinghua said bitterly.
“Granny Qing Hua, I’m sorry for your loss. Hah,” Gu Hai sighed.
“Mister Gu, you are a smart person. However, being smart does not mean that you can manage your feelings well. What I want to say is, since you like the grandaughter whom I just acknowledged, Long Wanqing, why do you keep hiding it?” Granny Qing Hua looked at Gu Hai.
This slightly startled Gu Hai. Then, he smiled bitterly. “Is it that obvious?”
“At least it is obvious to me.” Granny Qing Hua smiled.
Gu Hai smiled bitterly. “Granny Qing Hua, you know about my matters, right? I have a wife, an intense hatred, and powerful enemies; great danger stalks me.”
“You don’t want Long Wanqing to get involved with your danger? However, do you know that she is already involved, no matter what you think?” Granny Qing Hua smiled bitterly.
Gu Hai frowned slightly, remaining silent.
“By choosing to avoid it, you are not only hurting her, but you are putting her in even more danger. I just told you, although I did fall for the previous manor lord, I still loved my husband deeply. That would never change. Don’t wait until you regret it,” Granny Qing Hua advised.
Gu Hai smiled bitterly and turned his head to look in the Xiaoyue Secondary Residence’s direction. Long Wanqing was there.
Gu Hai sighed and smiled bitterly. “Let’s wait and see. Let everything flow naturally.”
Granny Qing Hua looked at Gu Hai and shook her head while sighing.
“Oh, right. Granny Qing Hua, while wandering around your Love Flower Valley with the hall master, I noticed that some of the floating islands here make it appear like a Go board?” Gu Hai gave Granny Qing Hua a puzzled look.
“So, you can tell. Well, there’s nothing to hide. That’s right. It was Old Mister Guan Qi who helped me lay this Thorny Ritual Array back then. Indeed, there might be some telltale signs of Go here. You gave good eyes.” Granny Qing Hua smiled.
Gu Hai shook his head and said, “Perhaps it’s because I am sensitive to Go, but I discovered what seems to be an opening on the east side, next to the sea.”
“Oh? An opening?” This slightly startled Granny Qing Hua.
“Yes. The weakest segment is there. I don’t know why Old Mister Guan Qi left that there.” Gu Hai appeared somewhat suspicious.
“Old Mister Guan Qi was a very mysterious person. The opening there might not be a good thing.” Granny Qing Hua frowned slightly.
“I will bring you over to take a look later. You can see whether I am right or wrong. However, rest assured. If you are willing, I can help you fix it by setting up a ritual array there,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“Oh? That’s good. Thank you for the effort.” Granny Qing Hua nodded.
