"Another day to collect the monthly salary has arrived..."
Gu Changge prepared a simple meal and ate it without delay, then stood up and headed toward the Inner Court of the Gu Family.
The Gu Family, as the first clan of Qingzhou, owned a main branch estate stretching over thousands of acres; in terms of power, the Gu Family even surpassed many sects in Qingzhou!
While he was supposed to live in the Inner Court as a direct lineage of the Gu Family, the reason he stayed in the small courtyard of the Back Mountain was his own request.
The reason why...
He, being a transmigrator, apart from the fact that his parents had passed away, had absolutely no cultivation talent!
Although the Gu Family treated him quite well, even keeping his parents' Inner Court residence for him to live in, Gu Changge, fully aware of the dangers of the world, preferred to remain unnoticed and usually only appeared in the Inner Court to collect his monthly salary.
The Back Mountain was somewhat distant from the Inner Court; he walked for about an hour before seeing the great halls one by one. The Gu Family, the foremost clan of Qingzhou, was second to none compared to those sects, with an Alchemy Room, Seclusion Rooms, Artifact Refining Rooms, and even a mission hall for the younger generation in the family to undergo training.
Along the way, Gu Changge did not linger much. When he encountered some servants, they would respectfully greet him as "Young Master Changge," and fellow clan kin would greet him as well.
Passing by the Martial Arts Arena, he saw those of similar age from his clan; those with a bit of cultivation talent had already reached the first rank of the Qi Condensation Realm, and a few had broken through to the second rank of the Sky-controlling Realm, able to walk on air briefly, distinct from ordinary people!
*Saying he felt no envy at all would be a lie,* but after eighteen years, without being able to gather a single wisp of spiritual energy, he could only avert his gaze and quicken his pace toward the hall where the monthly allowance was distributed.
"Third Uncle, I'm here to collect this month's..."
Gu Changge hadn't finished his sentence when he noticed that his Third Uncle, responsible for distributing the monthly allowance, seemed to have an unusual expression.
"Well, Third Uncle, I'll skip the monthly salary this time, I've got other matters to attend to,"
He was about to step forward but quickly retracted his foot and turned to leave!
"Hold it! Am I some sort of god of plague that you have to run away when you see me?"
Gu Sanfeng slapped the table, speaking in a muffled, sulky tone.
"Third Uncle, I really don't have any spirit stones to lend you..."
Seeing his Third Uncle approaching, Gu Changge could only shrug helplessly.
"Nonsense, am I only borrowing money from you, you little rascal?"
"Besides, who am I borrowing money for? Isn't it to figure out a way for you to cultivate?"
Seeing his expression, Gu Sanfeng was annoyed, stomped as if to kick, but ultimately just stopped halfway and patted his pants.
"Oh, not borrowing money, huh? Then why the long face?"
Gu Changge asked tentatively in a low voice.
"See for yourself!"
Gu Sanfeng snorted coldly, looking at the letter on the table, signaling for the boy to read it himself.
Hearing this, Gu Changge, with curiosity in his heart, walked to the table, picked up the letter, and raised an eyebrow to read it.
[The arranged marriage between the Gu Family and our Liu Family should come to a conclusion, I will visit the Gu Family in seven days.]
It was nothing more than a simple note with the signature at the end: Liu Qingqing.
"Finished reading?" Gu Sanfeng approached his nephew's side, still with a somber expression, and said.
Gu Changge scratched his head, nodded blankly, and said, "Yeah, finished. It's just a short note. I have to say, the handwriting is quite elegant; seeing the writing, Miss Liu probably isn't too bad looking either."
Hearing this, Gu Sanfeng's face turned green. Was the boy doing this on purpose?
"Are you playing dumb with me?"
"They're looking for you! The childhood betrothal back then was between you and that lass from the Liu family!"
He said, snatching the letter and pointing ferociously at Liu Qingqing's name.
"Huh?"
"I didn't know!"
"Childhood betrothal, no one ever told me!"
It was Gu Changge's turn to be dumbfounded. Having lived for eighteen years since transmigrating here, he had no idea there was an unmarried fiancée out there!
Who was this Liu Qingqing?
"Oh... It seems the betrothal was set up before you were even born."
"You weren't aware...," Gu Sanfeng rubbed his nose, finally realizing, and his tone softened.
Over the years, his nephew had been living in seclusion in the Back Mountain, never taking part in any family affairs, and indeed, no one had told him about this...
"So... Third Uncle, are you jealous that I'm about to get married while you're still single?"
"It shouldn't be, right, Third Uncle? We, as uncle and nephew, may not be that harmonious, but at least we're not enemies. You're not that petty."
Even after understanding the situation, Gu Changge maintained an indifferent demeanor.
"Are you delusional!? You, a good-for-nothing who can't cultivate, that girl from the Liu family has already joined a sect and is about to compete for the position of Saintess. Does she seem like someone who'd fancy you? She's clearly here to call off the marriage!"
"Cancel the engagement! Understand?"
Gu Sanfeng, feeling both regret and anger, slapped his thigh in exasperation! But after speaking, he regretted it a little, worried he might have dealt the boy a harsh blow.
"Oh... Yes, according to procedure, it should indeed be called off."
Gu Changge only paused slightly, then calmly nodded.
It was just calling off an engagement; he was familiar with this. Too bad he didn't have a magic elder nor any cultivation talent to shout, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west..."
His calm response utterly confused Gu Sanfeng.
*Shouldn't you feel humiliated, feel anger?*
*Why does this brat seem indifferent and familiar with the notion of calling off the engagement as if saying, "Oh, calling off the engagement, no biggie"!?*
"You, eh... don't seem to need me to comfort you."
"By the looks of it, the Heavenly Cold Sect will probably arrive by tomorrow. If you don't want to be present at that time, the family will handle the matter for you."
"Whether you come to the Council Hall is up to you."
With that said, Gu Sanfeng tossed the letter along with this month's spirit stones over; his spirit stones were visibly more than other direct disciples, but they didn't include elixirs. This was after he had tried cultivating with no results over the years and had asked the family to convert the elixirs directly into spirit stones.
As Gu Changge walked away, Gu Sanfeng stuck out his head, muttering his concern, *"This boy, he can't be faking it, can he? He's just too calm..."*
...
By now, the flying boat of the Heavenly Cold Sect had already crossed the boundaries of Qingzhou.
On this trip to the Gu Family, there were two elders, six deacons, and several accompanying disciples.
On the flying boat, discussions among the disciples could be heard from time to time.
"How could that Gu family waste who can't cultivate, be worthy of Senior Sister Liu? I think a letter should have sufficed; why should Senior Sister personally make the trip!"
"You're right! Not only does Senior Sister have countless admirers within the sect, but even across the entire Northern Domain, how many women could compare to Senior Sister!"
Within the cultivation room of the flying boat, an elder from the Heavenly Cold Sect, unfazed, spoke to Liu Qingqing, "Qing'er, just handle matters as you see fit, the sect will support you."
"Even though the Gu Family's influence is unsurpassed in Qingzhou, they're still not quite on par with our Heavenly Cold Sect. They wouldn't possibly turn against us over a waste who can't cultivate."
Listening to these words, Liu Qingqing slightly furrowed her brow, her face cold as she nodded slightly.
No matter what the sect said, she was going to handle this matter according to her own plans. Otherwise, she wouldn't have personally undertaken this journey.