After a moment, Gu Changhuai faintly heard a helpless sigh in the air, as if compromising.
Almost thinking he'd heard wrong, Gu Changhuai's heart skipped as he tentatively observed Rong Ye's reaction. But he saw the other's expression was calm, seemingly not noticing anything abnormal, even carrying a bit of faint confusion as he looked back.
"..." He feigned composure, averting his gaze.
It was confirmed that Rong Ye probably hadn't discovered it. Otherwise, how could there be no reaction at all?
Then Gu Changhuai felt his waist tighten again. Looking down, he saw an arm circle from behind his lower back to press on the other side, almost imprisoning his entire person firmly in an embrace.
The already close distance between the two instantly became even closer—so close it made Gu Changhuai somewhat uneasy. He felt wrapped by an aura like loose snow, clean and cold. The unfamiliar presence carried an unquestionable domineering quality, as if wanting to completely invade him.
Gu Changhuai's pupils constricted. Instinctively somewhat uncomfortable, he wanted to refuse.
The next moment, Rong Ye's low, husky voice sounded by his ear: "Hold on tight. We're going out."
Hearing this, Gu Changhuai gave up his thoughts and obediently wrapped his arms around Rong Ye's neck.
Instantly another sensation of weightlessness attacked. Before his eyes, heaven and earth spun as they leapt upward. At the same time, the Ten-Thousand Jin Curse's dragging, pulling sensation attacked simultaneously.
Leaping upward against the wind while falling downward—two extremes pulled at Gu Changhuai's form, destabilizing him. Too late to think, he immediately held onto Rong Ye in return.
In a few breaths, blinking again, they'd already escaped the pit, standing more than ten feet beyond the trap.
Gu Changhuai was stunned for a moment. Recovering, he suddenly released Rong Ye and stepped back two paces, smiling as if nothing had happened: "Thank you for the rescue, Immortal Lord."
His embrace suddenly empty, Rong Ye paused, lowering his eyes indifferently to withdraw his hands.
Gu Changhuai felt Rong Ye's calm, unruffled gaze sweep over him. Afraid Rong Ye would notice something wrong, he changed the subject to remind: "Wei hour is approaching. Immortal Lord, we'll be late."
Rong Ye nodded. "Let's go."
Seeing Rong Ye's expression showed no abnormality, Gu Changhuai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, after walking only two steps, Rong Ye's figure suddenly stopped.
Gu Changhuai: "?"
He saw Rong Ye's brows furrow slightly as he reached up to wipe where he'd just scratched his neck. The fingertip he brought down was stained with a trace of blood.
This trace was especially conspicuous before their eyes.
Instantly the air filled with deathly silence.
Gu Changhuai coughed twice, his expression unchanged: "Perhaps the trap just now was too narrow. Your neck must have accidentally scraped somewhere. I'll help the Immortal Lord apply medicine later."
This explanation was reasonable and logical. He couldn't help but admire his own clever wit.
Rong Ye didn't doubt it, responding lowly with an "Mm," saying: "Alright."
...Hmm?
Gu Changhuai rubbed his ears, hesitating in place... Had he just heard wrong? Rong Ye said "alright"? He said "alright"?
Was he believing the wound was from scraping, or agreeing to applying medicine?
Before he could verify, Rong Ye had already continued walking toward Stone Long Platform. Gu Changhuai patted his head and could only follow first, temporarily not thinking about this doubt.
Whatever. At least he didn't suspect him.
_______
Stone Long Platform was surrounded by cliffs on three sides. From the cliff tops, one could clearly see a white-haired elder seated at the very top of Stone Long Platform.
The elder was eloquently discoursing, his voice slow and lingering, echoing in the empty valley. Following the stairs downward were orderly rows of cultivators listening to lectures, each with a long table before them for recording key points.
Further back, people were still continuously arriving, yet all were extremely quiet. No one made a sound, all silently listening. A rough first glance encompassed probably three or four hundred people—and this wasn't all. Behind, more people were arriving to find empty seats and sit to listen.
Just as Rong Ye emerged from the mountain path, the white-haired elder at the very top of Stone Long Platform stopped his lecturing voice, saying: "Since Qing Lian has arrived, afterward let Qing Lian answer everyone's questions."
Rong Ye nodded. "Something delayed me. I'm a bit late."
The white-haired elder smiled warmly. "No matter. Good that you're here."
The conversation immediately attracted everyone's attention. Several hundred people turned their heads in unison—quite a spectacular sight.
The figure blocking Gu Changhuai suddenly disappeared. Unfortunately, Gu Changhuai was too late to hide. He was right behind Rong Ye. Once Rong Ye left, he appeared directly before the masses.
As someone appearing together with Rong Ye, he instantly attracted all gazes. Most of the stares shifted onto him.
There was scrutiny and assessment, also undisguised hostility—all harboring different thoughts.
...His rather good mood came to an abrupt halt after showing his face at Stone Long Platform.
Gu Changhuai silently raised his eyes to look at Rong Ye, who'd already replaced the white-haired elder's position. Looking at Rong Ye's calm expression, he cursed several times in his heart.
"..." Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment, deciding to face it optimistically. His expression unchanged, he waved in greeting: "Hi, everyone, good afternoon."
No one spoke. Complete silence.
Gu Changhuai didn't feel embarrassed either, tucking his hands in his sleeves with a smile, preparing to quietly slip away after Rong Ye took the stage.
What a joke—he was from the Demon Clan. Why would the Demon Clan listen to Dao lectures from the immortal cultivation world? It was like reciting scriptures, giving him a headache just hearing it—both sutras and the Demon Venerable could go die.
However, Rong Ye apparently didn't plan to let him go.
With a wave of his sleeve, a long table fell to the side of the top position. Pointing, he looked down at Gu Changhuai, indicating: "Sit here."
The righteous path leader's only designated seat. Gu Changhuai instantly earned another wave of eye-daggers.
"..."
Gu Changhuai's smile froze.
Gu Changhuai fell into silence.
Good, good, good. The "excellent student exclusive" seat he hadn't gotten before book-transmigration, he was instead sitting in after book-transmigration at the male protagonist's golden finger's place.
Especially after ascending to this position at the very top of Stone Long Platform, Gu Changhuai discovered this location's view wasn't inferior to standing on the cliff top. He could look down and clearly survey everyone present at a glance... Of course, everyone's gazes could also focus on him.
Instantly, it was like thorns on his back, like sitting on pins and needles.
Really, the Demon Venerable wanting him dead had some logic to it.
...
Listening to lectures was impossible. Listening to lectures would never be possible in this lifetime. Only slacking off in class was normal.
Gu Changhuai propped up his jaw in boredom, his gaze sweeping to take in the several hundred people below at a glance, silently counting radishes while his thoughts drifted far away.
The Demon Venerable said to see blood within three days. He'd gotten the blood, but how he got it needed polishing. Otherwise, the Demon Venerable would act up again. Must think of a way to report better.
Couldn't say in the letter that he'd ambushed by digging a pit, but didn't trap Qing Lian Immortal Lord and instead fell in himself, right? That would make him seem even more useless. Couldn't tell the truth.
Let him ponder properly.
Making up lies...
Just as he was racking his brains, he suddenly met a pair of burning gazes. Gu Changhuai was stunned. The other party was a refined young man in gray robes stained with some ink, cultured and full of scholarly air—except his left eye bore a bruise as if punched out by someone's fist.
Meeting his gaze, the scholarly youth seemed even more excited, eyes unblinking as if discovering a new continent, staring intently at him.
Gu Changhuai withdrew his gaze, ignoring him.
The scholarly youth's gaze then turned to Rong Ye beside him, afterward returning to Gu Changhuai. Back and forth scanning, looking very busy.
"..." Gu Changhuai roughly guessed who he was. His hand hidden in his sleeve touched the Heaven-Reaching Device, sending in a thread of divine sense.
As expected, he wasn't the only one slacking off.
Inside the Heaven-Reaching Device, voice transmissions from all directions continuously flooded in.
Book Study said excitedly: "I see it, I see it! The Immortal Lord personally attended to designate Attendant Gu's seat. Eye contact, extremely affectionate, hehe..."
Pei Tianyi gnashed his teeth angrily: "Zhao of Book Study, you're incorrigible, aren't you? Already said Gu Changhuai and the Immortal Lord have no other relationship! Wait until this Discourse on Heaven Assembly ends. I'll show you!"
Book Study mocked: "Save that bit of strength to scrub the Enforcement Elder's back!"
Someone spoke up to mediate: "The Discourse on Heaven Assembly only comes once every five years. Rarely having a chance to hear Qing Lian Immortal Lord lecture, yet you're arguing here?"
Another person sighed in agreement: "I'm a poor student. This question is a bit too profound. It'll take me another five years to digest."
Gu Changhuai: "..."
That's the flavor. Right.
Gu Changhuai's eyes looked down to the platform, finding Pei Tianyi in a corner. The youth was turning his head, expression hateful, glaring at Zhao of Book Study.
Zhao of Book Study remained unmoved, still raising his head and chest, looking at him and Rong Ye.
As long as cultivation and divine sense were higher than others, if one cared, one could listen to the voice transmissions below. Gu Changhuai listened for a bit. The two had left the Heaven-Reaching Device and were transmitting privately, already arguing fiercely.
Zhao of Book Study painfully denounced Pei Tianyi: "Do you understand what love is? An attendant, not even an outer disciple, brought by the Immortal Lord to hear the Discourse on Heaven Assembly lectures, even designated the closest seat—if this isn't love, what is?"
Pei Tianyi sneered coldly: "I don't understand. Does your black eye understand?"
Zhao of Book Study touched his bruised left eye, speaking with painful grief: "Violence can't solve everything. The Enforcement Elder will uphold justice for me. If you're capable, use your pen to dialogue with me! Those two are true love!"
Pei Tianyi: "Violence can't solve everything, but it can solve you..."
"Pause a moment." Gu Changhuai interrupted their dispute, transmitting so both could hear clearly: "When you two dance, can you care about the actual person's feelings?"
"..."
Deathly silence.
Silence.
Hearing Gu Changhuai's voice, Pei Tianyi's expression instantly panicked. Nervously raising his eyes, he met Gu Changhuai's gaze. After pausing a moment, his complexion immediately flushed bright red, covering his face in shame.
In comparison, Zhao of Book Study had much thicker skin, saying: "Time will witness everything."
Gu Changhuai didn't understand: "Witness what?"
Zhao of Book Study: "Witness your and the Immortal Venerable's impure future."
"..."
Gu Changhuai admitted—at this moment, his fists hardened.
But did Rong Ye know someone was gossiping about him to his face?
Thinking this, Gu Changhuai turned to glance at Rong Ye, seeing his expression was calm as water, still calmly discoursing on Dao principles. He probably didn't have that leisure to be distracted listening to voice transmissions below.
"Watch your words and actions," he warned Zhao of Book Study. "Otherwise, I'll beat you up."
Zhao of Book Study shook his head, sighing: "The world's morals are declining."
Suddenly the surroundings fell silent. Gu Changhuai felt his head being tapped—it didn't hurt. He looked up to see Rong Ye had somehow stood up. The jade slip in his hand tapped twice more, his voice deep, low, and cold: "Focus."
Instantly, the chattering voice transmissions in the Heaven-Reaching Device disappeared.
The whispering voice transmissions below also disappeared.
Gu Changhuai: "..."
Oh no, caught slacking off.