Gu Chengzhu suddenly burst into laughter. "Hehe, just in time! My daughter has returned recently. I'll have her host you all. You young folks should have plenty to talk about."

‘Daughter? If she’s not adopted, that means she’s married. That’s quite rare. Could it be that the husband is a son-in-law? Speaking of which, the Gu family doesn’t seem to be a small clan at all.’

Bai Feng pondered these thoughts as he watched Gu Chengzhu walk over to Yu Yao.

"Little Yu Yao is here too!" Gu Chengzhu seemed quite familiar with Yu Yao, bending down to pick her up. "Come on, let your aunt see if you've grown taller."

"Aunt, stop it! I'm not a child anymore! Let me go! My master, junior sister, and junior brother are all watching!"

Yu Yao immediately began to struggle, putting in a great deal of effort to escape Gu Chengzhu's grasp and retreating to a safe distance.

Gu Chengzhu didn’t mind at all. She turned back to the others with a smile. "By the way, you must be tired from your journey from Tianjian Sect. I've prepared a feast at the City Lord's Mansion. After everyone has eaten and rested, we can discuss the construction of the grand formation."

Liu Meng nodded, not refusing. "Then we’ll be in your care."

...

On the way to the City Lord's Mansion, Bai Feng first glanced at Gu Chengzhu chatting with his master and the others, then quietly moved to Yu Yao's side and whispered, "Is the City Lord your aunt?"

Yu Yao's face still bore a hint of annoyance as she nodded. "Yeah, if she didn’t always treat me like a child, I’d actually like her quite a bit."

"Uh-huh..." Bai Feng looked around and then quietly asked, "I’m a bit curious. How did your aunt become the City Lord of Xuanguang City? And what about your uncle? If there’s a special reason, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just a little curious."

"My uncle passed away when I was young," Yu Yao shook her head, not hesitating to share. "It’s not really a secret. I heard he bullied a wandering cultivator when he was young, causing that person’s family to be destroyed. It was quite tragic. That cultivator later joined the demonic path, gained some opportunities, and became powerful enough to seek revenge. To protect his wife and daughter, my uncle fought to the death with him."

"…"

Bai Feng didn’t know how to respond. There were so many points to unpack. If he were to speak on it, he’d find this story quite inspirational, especially the vengeful cultivator.

Yu Yao could see the thoughts swirling in Bai Feng’s mind. When she first heard this story, her reaction had been quite similar.

She waved her hand dismissively. "If you want to laugh, go ahead. I don’t like that troublemaking uncle of mine either. It’s a pity for my aunt, who married such a scoundrel for the sake of a family alliance. Just when my uncle finally turned over a new leaf, his enemies came knocking."

"But thankfully, my aunt has good talent and cultivation. By a stroke of luck, she became the City Lord of Xuanguang City, and now she’s doing much better than before."

"That’s definitely good to hear."

Bai Feng nodded in agreement. He didn’t want to pry into someone else’s family matters.

At least Yu Yao’s aunt was a City Lord and not some oppressed woman. Otherwise, her daughter would surely attract the attention of a fated son, and he would have to run far away.

Wait a minute...

Bai Feng suddenly fell into deep thought. This configuration of a widow with a daughter, especially with Gu Chengzhu in a high position, made him feel like they would be 'targeted' by a fated son.

If Gu Chengzhu encountered a particularly tricky problem, then a new fated son would surely make an appearance.

Could it be that there’s already a new fated son hiding in the City Lord’s Mansion?

Bai Feng quickly opened the system and glanced at the small map it provided.

He let out a sigh of relief. Aside from Bai Yumo and the other fated sons near him, he didn’t see any others.

It seemed Gu Chengzhu’s 'story' hadn’t begun yet, so there was no need to worry about encountering a new fated son for the time being.

...

At the banquet, Bai Feng also met Gu Chengzhu’s daughter. She didn’t inherit the genes of the Yu family but instead had beautifully taken after her mother’s figure.

The two were nearly the same height, probably around 1.7 meters, and their faces resembled each other, though in a couple of areas, Gu Yueqing’s features were slightly smaller.

Since cultivators age slowly, standing together, they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

Hmm, the more he looked, the more she seemed like the type to be pursued by a fated son.

He hoped nothing would go wrong during the construction of the grand formation!

At the very least, it should wait until after I leave!

"Little junior brother, after dinner, do you want to come visit my auction house?" At that moment, Yu Yao tugged at his sleeve. "You and Yumo can come along. I’ll treat you to something good."

Bai Feng immediately halted his wandering thoughts—he almost forgot about that dangerous place!

Speaking of which, when Yu Yao mentioned that her auction house lacked items for auction, he hadn’t thought much of it at the time. But now, upon reflection, it felt like it could also involve a plot related to a fated son.

If he managed to avoid the fated son here, but Yu Yao’s side ended up encountering one, and if they became friends and returned to the sect where Yu Yao introduced him, wouldn’t all his efforts to evade be in vain?

But if he worried about Yu Yao meeting a fated son and went to the auction house with her, wouldn’t that be like setting off a bomb ahead of time?

It’s no different!

Bai Feng found himself in a dilemma.

Why is this happening? Where did it all go wrong?

If he traced it back to the root, it was because he drew lewd pictures, attracted a seductress, and was forced to join Tianjian Sect.

Damn it!

I just wanted to draw lewd pictures! What’s my fault? Why is this happening to me?

"Little junior brother?" Yu Yao noticed something was off with Bai Feng’s mood and asked with concern, "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Bai Feng waved his hand. At that moment, he had made up his mind. "I just suddenly remembered I need a few materials for formations. If senior sister doesn’t mind, I’ll go bother you for a bit."

Yu Yao immediately smiled. "Hehe, don’t worry! I’m the young lady of Yu Linglong. I can give you a discount on the materials!"

---

Chapter 87: Yu Yao is just too weak; she got drunk after just one sip.

Bai Feng’s change of heart about going to the auction house was simple. He preferred being proactive rather than passively accepting whatever came his way.

This way, he could gather more information, and even if unexpected situations arose, he could prepare in advance.

While Bai Feng and Yu Yao were chatting, Gu Chengzhu approached with her daughter, a smile on her face. "I hope I’m not interrupting your bonding time?"

"Aunt, please don’t say such strange things!"

Yu Yao immediately perked up, feeling alert. She wanted to inch closer to Bai Feng, but realizing that would only make things worse, she instead squeezed in next to Bai Yumo, keeping a wary eye on Gu Chengzhu.

"Don’t be so shy!" Gu Chengzhu didn’t feel hurt by Yu Yao’s reaction; instead, she smiled more. She turned to the girl beside her and introduced her to everyone. "This is my daughter, Gu Yueqing. For this time, let her help you get familiar with Xuanguang City. If you run into any trouble, you can ask her for help."

"Got it, got it! Aunt, you should head back now. If there’s any trouble, I’ll help too!"

Yu Yao quickly waved her hand. She was genuinely afraid her aunt would suddenly rush over and pick her up like a child again.

So what if she was a little shorter? Why should she be treated like a kid?

"Then I won’t disturb you any longer."

Gu Chengzhu, not offended by being shooed away, smiled at everyone before turning back to her seat to continue chatting with Liu Meng and the others.

"Hello, everyone."

Gu Yueqing seemed a bit shy, especially since she was surrounded by people she could only look up to, each one a genius in their own right.

Even without mentioning Bai Feng, who had made the Feng Ling Sect suffer, she was also aware of Bai Yumo, who possessed a celestial bone, and Su Lanqian, a fellow genius in formations. Further away was Luo Chen, who was said to have mastered the heartless sword path and defeated the previous master brother of Tianjian Sect with a single strike. Even the male disciple next to Luo Chen, Lin Yan, was known as a genius in alchemy, and aside from alchemy, he was also a formidable combat cultivator.

While she too was praised as a genius, standing among such a crowd made her feel quite inferior.

"Gu Jie, don’t just stand there. Come sit!" With Gu Chengzhu gone, Yu Yao became bolder again. She pulled over a chair and placed it next to Gu Yueqing. "It’s been a long time since we last met, hasn’t it?"

"Thank you." Gu Yueqing expressed her gratitude, pressing down her robe at her hips and thighs, almost revealing her curvaceous figure, before slowly sitting down. "It’s been several years, right? Ever since we entered the sect to cultivate, we’ve hardly seen each other."