Light Fortress
Chapter 351 - 42 Qing Sui

Chapter 351: Chapter 42 Qing Sui

The wind and snow howled through the alley.

In the distance, the lights dimmed in the vast whiteness, leaving only a faint red glow.

Within the wind and snow, a deep and faint cough could be faintly heard.

"Miss, please put on more clothes."

A deep voice sounded.

The man holding the umbrella against the snow took off his grey suit, revealing a white shirt stretched by his muscles. He had a face that was both elegant and profound, its mature countenance betrayed no hint of effeminacy even as his hair was tied back in a ponytail.

This was a man whose mere silhouette could be perceived as magnetically attractive.

If one were to lock eyes with this man—

Many people... would find themselves lost in his deep gaze.

"Uncle Gao..."

The girl who appeared to be only fifteen smiled gently, "I’m not cold."

The wind and snow were blocked outside the umbrella.

Invisible heat emanated from "Uncle Gao," swirling around the pair and, even without the umbrella, would not have landed on the girl.

Despite her words, the girl still took "Uncle Gao’s" suit and draped it over her shoulders. She was dressed quite thinly, apart from the suit she now wore; she had on a light, ancient-style black ruqun.

The girl’s features were as delicate as a porcelain doll’s, and she resembled an "ancient" who had walked straight out of several hundred or thousand years ago. Whips of hair like dragons’ whiskers gently swayed in the wind, possibly due to malnutrition, her hair was slightly tinged with green.

At that moment, two snowflakes stuck to the side of her hair, yet they made her complexion appear even whiter than the snow.

Something incredible happened—

After putting on the coat,

The girl did not cough again... her sickly little face also gained a healthy flush, now bearing three shades of color.

She felt the warm streams wafting around her, a warm current brushing past the bottom of her heart, yet she sighed softly and helplessly said, "Uncle Gao... I really am not cold, there’s no need to use ’Karmic Fire’ to chase away the chill."

Uncle Gao, holding the umbrella, simply smiled gently and did not answer.

The two arrived at the entrance to an estate in the alley.

As Uncle Gao prepared to knock on the door,

"Uncle Gao..." the girl gently tugged at his sleeve and said with a soft, warm smile, "Judging by the time, they should almost be done eating... let’s not go in. Let’s wait here for a while."

Uncle Gao was taken aback.

Who could refuse such a request from a girl like this?

All he could do was sigh, straighten the suit on the lady’s shoulders, and then silently summoned a strand of spiritual power.

...

...

A man’s low voice suddenly sounded beside Gong Zi’s ear.

At the same time, Mu Nan, who was sitting in front of the hot pot, was about to relish some beef when his expression changed abruptly.

They both heard the voice at the same time.

The voice said, "Now that you are finished, please come out... Do not make my young lady wait outside too long."

Both thought of a "terrible" fellow unbidden.

"Why is he here too?"

Gong Zi’s heart skipped a beat as he quietly said, "And he arrived at the door without us noticing... neither of us detected him..."

Just then,

Gu Shen, who was seated across, looked toward the window, through the estate’s wooden door, to the snowy courtyard outside.

He spoke deeply, "Gentlemen, it seems there is some bad news... An impressive guest has arrived outside our door."

Gong Zi and Mu Nan exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

More surprising than the unexpected [visitor] outside the door was Gu Shen’s sharp perception.

Both of their spirit realms were significantly stronger than Gu Shen’s.

Yet, they had not sensed anything amiss, but Gu Shen had?

Gu Shen lightly tapped on the table, his expression uncertain. In his "Blazing Fire Vision," a figure with an extraordinarily solidified Extraordinary Essence stood outside the door. Such a terrifying phenomenon of Essence concentration was incredibly rare.

Those who could compare with this were only Titled individuals like "Mr. Shan" and Gu Nanfeng.

Outside... there was a Titled individual.

And Chu Ling’s Spiritual Link had given no warning of anything unusual, this meant that Deep Sea had not detected anything amiss... this Titled individual possessed a special means of shielding against Deep Sea’s perception.

"Could he be here for me?" Gu Shen felt an ominous premonition creeping within him.

Gong Zi and Mu Nan both gave sympathetic looks.

The answer was obvious.

"When you leave later... be careful with what you say, the one standing outside the door is currently one of Changye’s most..."

Gong Zi kindly reminded but cut off midway, as if he heard some sort of warning.

"Brother Gu... please."

Beyond the snow and wind, the doors of the residence opened.

Because the surveillance images from Deep Sea were blocked by an unknown power... Gu Shen had no idea what the scene outside the door would be like.

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

Accompanied by Gong Zi and Mu Nan, he pushed the door open with some trepidation, but the scene that met his eyes somewhat surprised him.

The one who had come to find him was not one of Changye’s few powerful Titled individuals.

It was a classical Ruqun dress-clad young girl with a petite figure, draped in an adult man’s suit coat.

In his Blazing Fire Sense, the man who had filled his entire field of view was now quietly like a shadow, merely serving as a tool to hold an umbrella behind the girl... he was silent, and upon actual confrontation, did not exert the terrifying pressure Gu Shen had imagined.

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

Contrary to the "ill intentions" he had anticipated,

it seemed that the visitor was quite benign.

The quiet that followed the opening of the door didn’t last very long, barely three seconds, before Gong Zi took the initiative to speak.

He sincerely complimented, "Miss Qing Sui, you’ve become more beautiful again in just a few days."

Qing Sui...

The origins of this girl were actually very easy to guess, one that made Gong Zi and Mu Nan treat her with such respect.

She was the only one from the remaining Five Families who had not yet made an appearance, the Li Family.

"Brother Gong flatters me."

Li Qingsui smiled, and indeed her face was quite pretty, albeit too pale lacking a hint of color, giving off a rather sickly appearance.

"No need to be modest... Calling me Brother Gong is too formal, just call me Old Gong," Gong Zi said, grinning with delight, somewhat forgetting himself. This prompted Uncle Gao, the umbrella holder, to give him a dark glare. Gong Zi quickly composed himself and retracted his last statement: "Cough cough, just a joke, just a joke."

Li Qingsui simply gave a brief greeting without looking at the two men anymore, nor did she pay attention to the not-so-funny joke.

The girl standing under the umbrella, separated by a door, looked towards Gu Shen at the other side.

She stared intently at Gu Shen.

And equally intently at... the wisp of fire on Gu Shen’s forehead.

Once again, the residence fell into silence.

"So beautiful..."

The girl stared at the wisp of flame somewhat lost in thought, murmuring as if dreaming.

Her murmuring made both Gong Zi and Mu Nan wear strange expressions...

There was a situation!

After a long while.

"My surname is Li, Li Qingsui."

Li Qingsui smiled and gave a curtsey, a gesture from an ancient form of etiquette... just like the dress she wore, originating from the complex family cultures going back hundreds of years.

Although Gu Shen didn’t understand, he mimicked the gesture and returned the curtsey: "Gu Shen."

"Miss Qing Sui..."

After thinking it over, choosing his words carefully, Gu Shen still used the term ’miss’. He mustered up the courage to ask, "You’re not also here to invite me to dinner, are you?"

Li Qingsui withdrew her gaze from the wisp of flame, smiling warmly: "Would you refuse?"

Gu Shen hesitated.

He really wanted to refuse.

But then the silent umbrella holding man suddenly directed his gaze towards Gu Shen... silent as a shadow a second before, now he seemed as heavy as a mountain bearing down on him.

"Just now... I’ve already had dinner," Gu Shen stated, struggling to speak under the pressure.

"You could still have a late-night meal."

Li Qingsui smiled innocently: "Outside the alley, there’s also a Bai Lu... Brother Gu Shen, you might want to think about it, whether you choose to leave with me now or go with her later?"