Chapter 397: Thoughts of Home During the Festival

Seeing Feng Wei’s bewildered expression, Temple Keeper Huang quickly reminded Yao Wu to reveal himself while also explaining how this village guardian had become an Earthly Immortal.

After hearing the explanation, Feng Wei looked at the towering man with a square face and a simple, honest smile—Yao Wu—and couldn’t help but marvel, “Mr. Gu truly possesses extraordinary abilities. He can even bring back the dead and turn them into Earthly Immortals!”

“I didn’t have the chance to tell you before, but my Little Nan was suffering from consumption and wasn’t getting any better. Mr. Gu personally brought us a fruit.”

“The moment my Little Nan ate it, the illness vanished completely!”

“We came back this time hoping that Mr. Gu would be around so we could personally thank him.”

“Wait a minute,” Zhou Zhongtian clicked his tongue. “Sister Feng, that’s not what you said when you saw me before. You told me you knew we’d come back and made a special trip to see us!”

Hearing this, Feng Wei glanced at him, then took out a red envelope from her waist. “Well, if I hadn’t said that, would you have given my son such a big red envelope?”

“Oh, come on!”

“So you were just after my money, huh?”

Feigning heartbreak, Zhou Zhongtian sighed dramatically. “Does my dear sister really think of me as a miser who never parts with a single coin?”

Feng Wei paused for a moment, then countered, “Aren’t you?”

Faced with such a blunt retort, Zhou Zhongtian pulled a dumbfounded expression, prompting a round of laughter from the group.

“Alright, alright! Let’s have a toast before we dig in!” Temple Keeper Huang stood up, raising his cup. “Happy New Year, everyone!”

The others followed suit, standing up and exchanging New Year’s greetings before downing their cups of strong liquor.

Of course, among the eight at the table, two didn’t actually drink.

One was Qiao Min. Her cup contained only tea, not wine. She didn’t particularly care, but Temple Keeper Huang had deliberately replaced her drink, saying that young girls shouldn’t drink alcohol until they were older.

The second was Yao Wu, who had no physical body. As an Earthly Immortal, he sustained himself by consuming energy, much like City Gods and other yin spirits.

Once everyone sat down, they started eating, chatting, and laughing. And naturally, no conversation lasted long without mentioning Mr. Gu.

It couldn’t be helped—he was simply too intriguing. A figure as legendary as an immortal had somehow ended up becoming an External Agent for the Golden Guard and had spent time as their comrade.

The very idea of having worked alongside an immortal sounded absurd. If they told anyone outside this group, no one would believe them.

Even Yao Wu, who had been enthusiastically “eating energy,” paused to chime in, “Mr. Gu is truly remarkable. If even someone as dim-witted as me can become an Earthly Immortal, you all can definitely do even better.”

“When you die someday, remember to ask Mr. Gu to help you become Earthly Immortals too.”

The room fell silent as everyone gave Yao Wu a strange look.

A second later, they all turned to the side and spat three times in unison.

Realizing his mistake, Yao Wu quickly followed suit, spitting a few times before going back to “eating energy.”

Three rounds of drinks passed, and five dishes were finished.

With his face flushed from the alcohol, Zhou Zhongtian leaned back against his chair with a long sigh. “Ah, if only Mr. Gu were here. That would make this a proper reunion.”

“I wonder where he is right now. Do you think, on this New Year’s Eve, he’s also having a meal and drinking like we are?”

Hearing this, the group fell into a brief silence. The New Year always brought out thoughts of longing, and for them, it was even more poignant. Not long ago, they had fought side by side, and while it might not have seemed like much to Mr. Gu, they had all come to see each other as family.

“Temple Keeper Huang,” Zhou Zhongtian suddenly called out, his words slightly slurred.

“What is it now? You scared me! Have you had too much to drink?” Temple Keeper Huang chuckled.

“I’m not drunk!” Zhou Zhongtian waved his hand dismissively. “I just wanted to ask—do you know what Mr. Gu is up to right now?”

Hearing this, Temple Keeper Huang smiled mysteriously and pointed toward the sky.

“Heaven?” Zhou Zhongtian exclaimed in surprise. “Mr. Gu went back to heaven to become an immortal?”

Temple Keeper Huang put on an air of mystery. “It’s not something that can be easily discussed. Matters of immortals are best left undisturbed.”

“Hey!” Zhou Zhongtian clicked his tongue. “What’s going on? Why the mystery? Hurry up and tell us, we all miss the man.”

At just the right moment, Feng Wei chimed in, “Yeah, Temple Keeper Huang, if you know where Mr. Gu is, let us know. I’ll see if I can take Little Nan to pay him a visit and wish him a Happy New Year.”

“Exactly, Temple Keeper Huang, tell us where he is. I need to thank Mr. Gu properly. He’s really elevated the abilities in our sect!” Grandpa Donkey urged.

Seeing that everyone assumed he knew Mr. Gu’s whereabouts, Temple Keeper Huang stopped his teasing and became serious. “Actually, I don’t know exactly where Mr. Gu is.”

“However, do you all remember what happened more than half a year ago? In the middle of the night, the sky was shrouded in ashes, and then a red glow suddenly appeared, lighting up the entire Great Wu?”

Liu Feng quickly spoke up, “I remember! I hadn’t gone to sleep yet, and when I looked outside, the sky had turned gray. It looked like there were gray snowflakes floating in the air.”

“Then, suddenly, a red glow appeared!”

Guo Teng added, “I saw it with my own eyes. I was escorting a caravan at the time, and when the red light appeared, the horses in our convoy were too frightened to move. They all dropped to the ground, trembling!”

Grandpa Donkey spoke seriously, “That gray sky was an omen of bad things to come. It was probably a natural disaster, but for some reason, after the red light, everything just vanished.”

The group discussed the incident, and even Miss Yu Ling, who had been mostly silent, spoke up, “I was getting up in the middle of the night and thought I had woken up to the morning sky!”

At this, Temple Keeper Huang raised his hand to quiet them. “I didn’t feel anything, but Qiao Min did. She said that red glow was Mr. Gu’s sword light.”

“She’s been taught swordsmanship by Mr. Gu, so if she can feel it, it definitely wasn’t wrong.”

“A sword that brightened the sky!” Zhou Zhongtian’s mouth fell open in awe. “Mr. Gu really is amazing!”

“Did Mr. Gu get into trouble?”

“Is Mr. Gu fighting an enemy?”

Miss Yu Ling and Feng Wei, being women, had more delicate thoughts and expressed their concerns one after another.

Miss Yu Ling added, “If Mr. Gu is in trouble, shouldn’t we try to help him?”

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table exchanged strange glances.

Realizing her words might not make much sense, Miss Yu Ling awkwardly laughed and said, “What am I saying? With someone like Mr. Gu, what can we possibly do to help him…”