The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Let's go in and take a look," Qi Yuan said. At this moment, the old man also sat down inside. The six people entered the house. Strangely, the small house looked tiny from the outside, but once inside, it was quite spacious.

Inside the room was an eight-immortal table, and on the table were their lost items.

The old man sat on a chair on the north side of the room and said to the group, "Sit down."

The old man smiled like a kind grandfather, but in this dark forest, no one dared to let their guard down when they saw him. The six people slowly sat down.

Black Tiger lay down beside a fireplace at the far end of the room. "Put your things away," the old man said, his expression turning serious.

"I have been here for a long time. As you know, the Floating Life Continent is about to descend into chaos. I hope you can survive."

The six people looked at the old man with puzzled expressions, unsure of how to respond.

The old man suddenly stood up and said, "You may leave now, but remember that you have not seen me today."

The old man glanced at the black tiger and continued, "Yao will send you out of the forest. Whether the future holds fortune or misfortune, you'd better watch yourselves."

The six people looked at each other, and in that instant, the old man quietly disappeared from their sight.

"We still don't know how to address you, senior," Qi Yuan and Bi Li said at the same time.

A gust of wind brushed against their cheeks.

"From today onwards, I will be called Qingfeng," a voice came from outside.

At this moment, Black Tiger slowly walked out of the house, and when he reached the door, he turned his head and glanced at the six people inside.

The six people followed Black Tiger outside.

……

Snapping out of his reverie, Qi Yuan handed the paper in his hand to Bi Li.

"Black Tiger, Qingfeng, Shi Qingfeng." Bili exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the information provided by the Wind Whisper Society. After calming down, he said to Qi Yuan, "The old man in the Black Forest that day, could he be Shi Tao, the former patriarch of the Shi family, now known as Shi Qingfeng?"

"I'm afraid that's it." Qi Yuan nodded.

After listening to their conversation and observing their expressions, Luo Yifei said softly, "I wonder if you remember that the assassin named Shi Hao from Mount Emei also had the surname Shi."

"That's the son of Shi Chuan, the third son of the Shi family. Shi Chuan is the person the Shi family sent to the Black Forest to find the Sleepless Clan," Qi Yuan said to Luo Yifei. He then recounted his group's experiences in the Black Forest to Luo Yifei.

"So, you didn't know that the old man was the head of the Shi family at the time. But we heard about the Shi family's brutality all along the way, how they swept through the northern part of Qi in just one month. So why didn't Shi Qingfeng attack you?" Luo Yifei analyzed seriously.

"I don't know, it's too strange. Based on the current intelligence, there are too many things that can't be explained. These big shots are probably playing a long game," Qi Yuan replied.

"Shi Qingfeng, Shi Chuan, Shi Hao." Luo Yifei silently recited these three names in his heart. Thinking back to when he had just arrived on the Floating Life Continent a little over a month ago, he was imprisoned on Mount Emei with Shi Hao, and he couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

Then, Lin Quan's face appeared in Luo Yifei's mind. He had always had a strange feeling about this leader of the Red-Clothed Cult. Then, another person's face appeared in his mind—Lin Fan.

With this thought in mind, Luo Yifei had a bold conjecture.

"Shi Qingfeng didn't kill you, but Shi Hao insisted on killing you. It's really strange." Luo Yifei said to Qi Yuan, "The Red-Clothed Sect knew Shi Hao's identity, so they only dared to kidnap him, not kill him. But Shi Hao still died. So Shi Qingfeng, in the name of revenge, annexed the northern territory of Qi."

After listening to Luo Yifei's words, Bili stopped looking down at the intelligence report and looked up at him, wanting to hear what he had analyzed.

However, Luo Yifei changed the subject and said, "Along the way, whether it was the gossip in the inns or the news from the Wind Rises Society, it was all about the Red-Clothed Sect joining the Tang Sect. And I, an unknown nobody, was found out by the Tang Sect Master, who sent Tang Sect swordsman Song Han to deliver intelligence to me and invited me to meet."

Qi Yuan looked at Luo Yifei quietly, waiting for him to continue.

“I was on An Island at the time, still seasick. But on the way from An Island, I always felt something was wrong.” At this point, Luo Yifei’s meaning was quite clear. He continued, “The only possibility is that Lin Quan, the leader of the Red-Clothed Cult, told the Tang Clan leader about my existence.”

"Even so, what does that prove?" Bili's expression showed that he did not understand.

"Lin Quan's surname is Lin, which reminds me of a friend named Lin Fan, whose father is named Lin Hai." Luo Yifei said, looking at Qi Yuan.

"Was Lin Quan originally called Lin Hai? Just like Shi Qingfeng was originally called Shi Tao?" Luo Yifei finally voiced his guess.

“Lin Hai and I both come from that legendary other world most similar to the Floating Life Continent. You should have already known this when you were on Mount Emei.” Luo Yifei finished speaking, looked at Qi Yuan, and said nothing more.

Qi Yuan remained silent for a moment.

"Luo Yifei, what are you talking about? You're from another world, aren't you from the Western Continent?" Bili's voice broke the silence.

However, Luo Yifei did not answer Bi Li's question, so Bi Li could only look at Qi Yuan again.

There was another moment of silence.

“I don’t know if Lin Quan was called Lin Hai before. But he did tell me that you came from another world. The world that the God of Wine caravan arrived in more than a thousand years ago, the world described in the book called ‘The Libationer’.” Qi Yuan’s words confirmed Luo Yifei’s guess.

"So throughout this journey, you've been trying to subtly suggest that I impersonate a Westerner, and you've provided me with the relevant information." Luo Yifei laid his cards on the table.

“Yes, Lin Quan is my friend, and he wants me to protect you this way,” Qi Yuan said frankly. “Just like I told you on An Island, there are too many people in this world who are interested in other worlds because they dream of a divine realm. But I know that your and Lin Quan’s homeland is not a divine realm, but just a world similar to the Floating Life Continent. So I don’t want the flames of war in this world to reach your homeland.”

Bili was no longer surprised and silently watched the two of them.

"Actually, the war had already reached our hometown four years ago," Luo Yifei sighed and continued, "Many people died, and the war only ended three years ago when the tunnel was closed."

"Tunnel? You mean the teleportation altar?" Qi Yuan replied.

"Yes, you could say that. The tunnel has reopened now," Luo Yifei continued.

"Can't we just prevent those people from finding the location of the altar? Or destroy the altar?" Qi Yuan said.

"I heard at the Meng'an Inn that the Red-Clothed Sect built a city at the foot of Mount Emei," Luo Yifei said softly, as if relieved.

Qi Yuan clearly understood what he meant.

“You mean, the altar is in that city.” Bili, who had been silent all along, spoke up, revealing what the two of them understood without saying a word.

A sudden loud noise from inside the house startled the three of them, who all grabbed their swords at the same time.