Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way Chapter 203

“Oh, I got to Mid Foundation Establishment a few days ago.” Fang Rou's fingers froze for a moment before continuing what she was doing again, kneading Gu Suihan's shoulders in a firm but relaxed manner.

“The waters in Fengyang are very murky now,” murmured Gu Suihan. He ignored the confused expression on Fang Rou's face and got up from his chair before slowly making his way toward the restaurant across from his shop.

Ever since the owner of this restaurant came over to have a game of chess with Gu Suihan out of boredom, Taohua and Lihua never had to cook again.

“Why, hello there! What would you like to eat today?” The owner sitting at the counter of the restaurant was just feeling bored when he noticed someone walk in. His expression immediately lit up when he saw who it was and started waving. “Once you're done eating, let's have another round! I'm certain I'll defeat you!”

“You've already lost ten years' worth of meals to me,” said Gu Suihan with a chuckle as he ignored the confident declaration made by the owner. He slowly walked toward a seat near the window. “I'll have my usual.”

He didn't bother waiting for a response from the owner and rapped his knuckles on the table to tell Fang Rou, who was standing behind him, to call Taohua and Lihua over for lunch.

Even though given his level of cultivation, nothing bad would happen to him even if he didn't eat or drink anything. But since he could get free lunch, he didn't see why he should let himself suffer because of that. This was something that Fang Rou didn't understand. To her, Gu Suihan was someone who spent his days doing absolutely nothing and indulged in leisure activities like these. She had never seen him cultivate. If an older family member hadn't warned her several times with a wary and fearful look on his face that this young man was truly a cultivator, she would have lost her temper by now.

Gu Suihan's level of cultivation hadn't risen at all, and he remained around Origin Core or so. The most important thing to do now was to recuperate well, but that was easier said than done. He wanted to do that, but he didn't have the energy to.

This city was merely a commandery, yet the waters were so deep. This was a place watched over by not just one cultivator at Divine Soul, but three cultivators at that level.

He could imagine how much more difficult it would be to survive in any of the 49 domains, and there was still the big boss of the Qin empire… What level of cultivation could Ying Zheng be at?

“Higher than Immortal…” Gu Suihan could guess without even using his brain.

“Hoho, 49 domains, large worlds, the great Qin empire.” Gu Suihan looked out of the window in a daze as he continued thinking to himself, “Ying Zheng, you're such an ambitious one. Why does it seem as though…you wish to rebuild Heaven?”

The more he thought about it this way, the more careful he was about his actions. This wasn't something to joke about. Over the past few years, he had made some rough calculations. Even if he were to recuperate completely and be as formidable as he used to be, he wouldn't be able to stir up much in this empire.

The waters here ran too deep. The more he understood this and the more he discovered, the less confident he became.

He knew himself best. He could have been called an Immortal back then and was able to roam that lousy place called Earth without running into any problems at all, but he knew that at the end of the day, he had accomplished this in an illegitimate way. He had arrived at the Immortal stage through unconventional means, and that actually made him a fake Immortal of sorts.

He had a lot of dao runes branded all over his heart-soul, but he wasn't an expert in any of them. He had relied entirely on an era that did not believe or practice the Way, the few resources that Earth had left, and the countless souls of living creatures to finally barely put his heart-soul together. You could say that he was undernourished.

“Should I find a faction to join and find out a bit more about the situation?”

After considering that for a long time, he finally gave up on that tempting idea. It was too dangerous to do that. Any sect that managed to survive the oppression of the Qin empire was definitely guarded by some ancient fellow. He had no way of finding out exactly what these ancients were capable of. Most importantly, he couldn't ensure his own safety. Nobody knew if these ancients happened to know some secret technique or if they cultivated some sort of hypnotic techniques and other forbidden arts like that. If that were the case, then Gu Suihan wouldn't be able to get away if his cover was blown.

“Young Master, why aren't you eating?” Lihua shook Gu Suihan's arm, and he snapped out of his daze to find three pretty pairs of watery eyes blinking innocently at him. None of the dishes on the table had been touched.

“I'll just deal with it when it comes. This chance…is coming soon!” Gu Suihan narrowed his eyes to conceal the murderous look deep in his gaze and cleared his throat. “Let's eat, let's eat. I was busy thinking about some matters just now.”

The three ladies at the table finally picked up their chopsticks and started eating in small bites after Gu Suihan started eating.

Those were the rules. By right, servants were not allowed to eat at the same table as their master, but Gu Suihan couldn't be bothered to follow such unspoken rules. Taohua and the other two ladies were happy that Gu Suihan never cared about such things, but those were still the rules that everyone else in society adhered to, and they dared not break them still. It was only after some time before they finally agreed to eat at the same table as him, but their condition was that Gu Suihan had to start eating before they could start. So, it was a compromise on both sides.

“You're up so early?” A middle-aged man with a pot belly came down from upstairs and greeted Gu Suihan in a lighthearted manner.

This fellow owned a shop nearby, and Gu Suihan had gone to his shop for some tea before. Gu Suihan raised his cup of wine to acknowledge the greeting and smiled as he replied, “I'd have to go to your shop later and get some free tea, I see.”

“Sure, sure,” said the middle-aged man with a chuckle as he put a palm over his other fist politely and turned to leave.

Just then, a hoarse, duck-like voice (Quackers!) suddenly resounded, “Aren't you Fang Rou? Why in the world are you wearing the clothes of a maid?”

The sounds of footsteps descending the stairs paused after those words were uttered. A group of four had come down the stairs in pairs. The one leading the group wore a simple robe with gold embroidery and had healthy eyebrows, but unfortunately, his cheeks were a little saggy, his eyebags a little gray, and his pupils dim and listless. It was clear that he had indulged in vices too much, which caused his previously rather handsome face to look somewhat sickly.

The entire restaurant fell silent. Everyone instantly turned around and looked at the somewhat sickly-looking rich young man with some sympathy in their eyes.

Gu Suihan turned around, glanced casually at the young man, and asked softly, “Who is he?”

“One of the sons of the Wang family, Wang Chunyang,” said Fang Rou with disgust as her face tensed up.

“The Wang family? That sounds familiar…” said Gu Suihan. His voice was soft and indifferent, but it echoed pretty loudly in this rather small and silent restaurant.

“Brother Li Yu…Li Yu was engaged to this man's older sister,” said Fang Rou quietly.

Gu Suihan suddenly realized why this name was so familiar. He looked at the other young man carefully and twitched his lips. “Wang Chunyang? Why not Wang Shengxu instead?” (Chunyang basically sounds like he's filled with nothing but yang energy, ie, a very high sex drive, while Shengxu literally means 'weak kidneys', which is a descriptor for men with ED problems, since traditional Chinese medicine links the two.)

“Why, you…” Wang Chunyang was so angry, he was shaking. But he wasn't stupid. Anybody who could treat someone like Fang Rou as a mere servant had to be someone pretty formidable. So, he pretended not to have heard this dig at him and forced himself to puff his chest out. He held his folding fan out and got ready to attack. “Humph! How dare you ignore me like that! Fang Rou, you've become terribly bold, haven't you? Let me teach you a…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was attacked by a rush of sword qi that came flying at him from outside the window.

“Hoho, is the MC about to start on his weak to strong journey and commence his faceslapping antics?” Gu Suihan's curved eyebrows were like little crescents that made his already handsome face a little more feminine.

“Wang Chunyang, you must be tired of living!” A roar resounded from the entrance to the restaurant, like the roaring of a mad lion. Everyone turned to look, only to find that the man roaring away was actually Li Yu, who had disappeared for a long time now.

Going back to when Gu Suihan nodded and agreed to let Fang Rou become his maid in exchange for letting Li Yu off…

The Li family finally decided to remove the third punishment they had planned and allowed Li Yu to just leave the home with nothing to his name.

Just when Li Yu was filled with hopelessness for the future, a wound that had burst open by accident spilled some fresh blood on the common-looking ring on his finger.

And so, he became fucking awesome. He unlocked a cheat code and got his golden finger. He got what it took to become an OP MC, and he now had the MC aura of a weak-to-strong MC.

After going through a battle where he nearly lost his life, Li Yu managed to somehow kill a severely injured cultivator at Qi Activation stage who was on the verge of death. He had done so by following the instructions of an “Esteemed One”. This Esteemed One taught him how to take the cultivator's spiritual root for himself, thereby managing to gain a ticket into the world of cultivation.

After that, he went through all sorts of trials and gained a lot of experience in killing others. And because he had MC aura, he was also able to overcome his IQ zero enemies – wastrel sons of rich families. They all died harboring hatred in their hearts.

Finally, he made it to the Foundation Establishment stage.

And when he entered the city to buy some things, the Esteemed One suddenly told him that one of his beloved childhood playmates and eventual members of his harem was nearby. Worse still, she was being teased by one of those nasty wastrels.

So, he flew in a rage. His temper exploded and blood rushed to his head.

He ran at a speed above his usual speed and managed to get here just in time.

And proceed to save the damsel in distress.

“What a perfect…soap opera,” said Gu Suihan wistfully in the midst of the silent restaurant, which interrupted the longing look that Li Yu and Fang Rou were giving each other right now.

Author's note:

Li Yu's about to embark on his journey of a good-for-nothing making a comeback, defying the heavens as he seeks justice, surrounded by pretty women, and showing off all sorts of moves…

Guess how long he's gonna live for?

And how long is Fang Rou gonna live for?

And how long are the two maids who have inherited the glorious traditions of their same name predecessors gonna live for?

Chapter end