Chapter 63: Gongsun Sheng: Pfft—

Song Qing had arranged for Lu Junyi to sit at the same table with Lin Chong and Qin Ming.

Trusting Cai Fu's analysis, Lu Junyi actively looked over at Lin Chong.

As it turned out, casting flirtatious glances at a blind man was a waste of effort, for Lin Chong refused to even look back at him.

At that moment, half of Lu Junyi's heart turned cold, and he had no choice but to turn his attention to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming, on the other hand, smiled back at him.

Although it was merely an awkward yet polite smile, it at least made Lu Junyi feel slightly better inside.

After smiling at Lu Junyi, Qin Ming immediately turned to chat and laugh with Lin Chong, the two of them acting as if they were old friends of many years.

Heh.

Lu Junyi gave a bitter smile and shook his head, parted his collar, picked up a bowl of wine poured by a lackey, and drained it in one gulp.

Bitter wine down the throat breaks the heart; better to hang oneself from a tree in the southeast!

Lu Junyi recalled his youthful days and his past with Lin Chong. Every single detail lingered in his mind, yet it all felt like a fleeting dream...

Big Brother is right. As distance tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's heart; fierce winds test sturdy grass, and raging fires reveal true gold!

Fortunately, I have Big Brother...

Lu Junyi looked up toward Cai Fu at the head table.

Cai Fu had been chatting with Gongsun Sheng, who was seated at the same table.

Seeming to sense Lu Junyi's gaze, Cai Fu turned his head and happened to lock eyes with him.

There was a hint of inquiry and concern in Cai Fu's eyes. Lu Junyi felt a warmth in his heart, and the wine no longer tasted bitter.

Seeing that Lu Junyi was fine, Cai Fu nodded and turned his gaze back to Gongsun Sheng.

"Brother, can I cultivate immortality?"

Gongsun Sheng answered, "No."

Was he really going to be that blunt...

The corners of Cai Fu's mouth twitched imperceptibly twice before he asked, "Why not?"

Gongsun Sheng did not beat around the bush and spoke with complete candor.

"Brother, you may not know this, but anyone capable of cultivating immortality has a divine beam of light erupting straight from the crown of their head! Even those born with such a beam of light are not guaranteed to achieve immortality, let alone someone like you, Brother, who doesn't even have a wisp of light?"

A divine beam of light erupting from the crown of the head?

Cai Fu subconsciously looked at Gongsun Sheng. Gongsun Sheng certainly possessed features out of the ordinary: a pair of slanted eyebrows, apricot-shaped eyes, a square jaw, and a full beard.

Atop his large head, his hair was bound into twin buns identical to Nezha's hairstyle.

Though Gongsun Sheng stood eight feet tall, looked dignified, and exuded an imposing aura, his hairstyle somehow made him look utterly adorable!

Cai Fu stared at Gongsun Sheng's twin hair buns for a long while, yet failed to spot any divine beam of light erupting...

"Stop looking, Brother. Mortals cannot see it."

Gongsun Sheng kindly comforted Cai Fu.

"Actually, Brother, even if you lack this divine light, there is no need to belittle yourself. At such a young age, you possess a body of thoroughly tempered sinews and bones; you are simply a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy! If one day you are given command of thousands upon thousands of troops to gallop across the battlefield, wouldn't you soar like a dragon into the heavens? As the saying goes, a golden scaled fish is not meant to be a creature of a mere pond..."

As he spoke, Gongsun Sheng began calculating on his fingers. Even just to comfort Cai Fu, he had no intention of spouting random nonsense.

"Once you encounter wind and clouds, you—pffft!"

Gongsun Sheng's eyes bulged wide. Just as he was holding a bowl of wine in his hand, a mouthful of old blood spewed directly into the wine bowl!

Only by doing so could he manage to maintain his image as a cultivator of immortality...

Goodness gracious!

Gongsun Sheng looked at Cai Fu in utter shock. He had merely made a shallow calculation...

Truly just a shallow calculation, as he simply wanted to offer some targeted comfort to Cai Fu.

He never expected such a massive backlash!

What did this signify?

Gongsun Sheng's mind was in turmoil. He remembered his master, Master Luo, mentioning that there were certain types of mortals who could not be divined:

They were either men destined by fate to bring about a new dynasty, or men destined to suffer through cataclysmic trials, and they had to meet the threshold of "transforming heaven and earth"!

To meet the standard of transforming heaven and earth, a man destined by fate was like Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, while a man destined for cataclysm was like the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu!

The question then arose: was Cai Fu a man destined by fate, or a man destined for cataclysm?

Another one who spat blood?

Cai Fu hurriedly steadied Gongsun Sheng and asked with deep concern, "Brother, what is wrong..."

"It is nothing, nothing at all."

Gongsun Sheng used a turtle-shell fan to shield his face with his left hand while quickly pulling out a handkerchief with his right to wipe the blood from his chin.

Thank goodness he reacted quickly enough that no one noticed, but what was he supposed to do with such a huge bowl of bloody wine?

Right at that moment, Song Jiang arrived.

Instantly, all the Liangshan heroes present leaped to their feet and swarmed around Song Jiang like fans greeting an arriving celebrity.

Cai Fu's attention was also drawn away by Song Jiang. Seizing the opportunity, Gongsun Sheng gritted his teeth and widened his eyes.

"Bottoms up, bottoms up, bottoms up..."

There was no help for it; the blood of a Daoist practitioner was precious, and if handled poorly, it might even bring about a calamity of bloodshed!

A bit fishy-tasting it might be, but drinking it gave him peace of mind!

However, the way Gongsun Sheng looked at Cai Fu changed completely.

Previously, he had thought Chao Gai was a man of destiny or cataclysm, but Chao Gai had already proven with his death that he was not.

Later, he had thought Song Jiang was a man of destiny or cataclysm, and Song Jiang had not yet proven that he was not.

Gongsun Sheng had originally intended to observe Song Jiang for a while longer, but he never expected to accidentally divine Cai Fu...

Although he did not know whether Cai Fu was a man of destiny or cataclysm, following Cai Fu was definitely the right choice!

Whether a man of destiny or a man of cataclysm, he would surely transform this decadent Great Song dynasty!

That would make his journey down the mountain into the mortal world worthwhile...

...

Who had come?

Lu Junyi withdrew his gaze from Cai Fu and was pouring himself a drink when suddenly a commotion broke out before the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

Lu Junyi subconsciously looked toward the entrance and saw a short, dark-skinned fellow strutting in like a big shot surrounded by stars holding up the moon.

Hmph!

A flash of murderous intent crossed Lu Junyi's eyes, but an instant later, he was stunned by the reactions of Lin Chong and Qin Ming...

The moment Lin Chong and Qin Ming saw Song Jiang arrive, they immediately jumped to their feet and eagerly rushed forward to surround Song Jiang and kiss up to him!

In truth, when he first came to Mount Liang, Lin Chong had acted precisely like this, only Lu Junyi had lacked the mind to pay attention to it.

Thinking back on it now, it was laughable. In Lu Junyi's memory, Lin Chong had only ever reserved that kind of attitude for his master, Zhou Tong...

"Heh."

Lu Junyi shook his head and raised his cup in a distant toast to Cai Fu.

Cai Fu also picked up his cup, and the two brothers smiled at each other.

"Bottoms up, bottoms up, bottoms up..."

Having finished this bowl of wine with Lu Junyi, Cai Fu stopped thinking about Lin Chong—they were simply not people of the same path anyway.

Turning back to look at Gongsun Sheng, Cai Fu froze:

Wait a minute!

Where was Gongsun Sheng's bowl of bloody wine?

Meeting Cai Fu's suspicious gaze, Gongsun Sheng braced himself, smiled, nodded, and made a gesture:

Everyone has arrived, shall we go and welcome them as well?

Utterly baffled, and with Song Jiang already standing right before them, Cai Fu had no choice but to join Gongsun Sheng in greeting Song Jiang first:

"Big Brother has come."

"I'm here, I'm here!"

Beaming with self-satisfaction, Song Jiang stepped forward and shook hands with them one by one.

After sleeping on it, Song Jiang had figured things out.

No matter what, the fact that he could continue sitting as the master of Liangshan Marsh was a joyous occasion in itself!

Everyone up and down Liangshan Marsh were his people; how many followers did Cai Fu even have to be able to stir up any major waves?

With the arrival of Song Jiang, Wu Yong, and the others, all the Liangshan heroes were assembled, and the banquet officially began.

Since today's banquet was held to celebrate the arrival of Cai Fu and Lu Junyi on the mountain, and Cai Fu held the position of Deputy Chieftain—second only to one and above tens of thousands—many heroes stepped forward to toast him.

Wang Yingzhu's small eyes rolled mischievously as he picked up his own wine bowl and headed toward the back hall in search of Hu Sanniang...