Chapter 209 – Five Sources, Nine Ancestors, Return to the True Self; Four Lotuses as One; Innate Shadow Blood - Part 2
A few days later.
Gu Xuejian arrived. She had bright, piercing eyes like a rising sun, an aura as wild as a free-running steed...no trace of meekness about her. One might call her a heroine—at least, she wore the attire of one, looking like a poised young warrior maiden. Her true age, however, was anyone’s guess.
But Li Yuan did notice a curious set of numbers hovering above her—2,548~6,536. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if she was at the fifth rank or the fourth.
“Senior, this is my uncle,” Yan Mu introduced. “Uncle, this is the senior I mentioned before.”
Gu Xuejian wasted no time, showing off her strength by suddenly leaping into the air, scanning the surroundings from above, then twisting lightly to land. “Not a bad spot. I’ll stay here.”
Seeing her nonchalantly display the power of a fifth rank martial artist, Li Yuan feigned just the right level of astonishment and said, “You’re...fifth rank?”
She nodded. “I hope you’ll keep it to yourself.”
Li Yuan quickly agreed. “Of course, of course. You’re my nephew’s friend, so you’re my friend, too.” Then he added, “What would you have me do, Senior?”
Gu Xuejian said, “No need to call me Senior. That’s just Yan Mu’s habit. You...” She paused, then continued, “Call me Gu Yu, or Miss Rain if you’d like.”
Li Yuan felt a little speechless. In the past, he’d gone by the aliases Mister Wood and Woodson. It was a play on his name Li, which used the radical for wood. Now she was calling herself Gu Yu, basically a play on the Xue character in her full name. So they were kindred spirits in that respect.[1]
“Uhhh, I think Senior Gu would be more preferable,” he said at last.
Without dwelling on the form of address, she explained, “I need to borrow your resources to help me track down any unusual Red Lotus Cult activity in the surrounding area. Don’t bother with small fry, only if you see something big. Also, if anyone asks, just say I’m an enforcer you hired to work for you. Since you’re Yan Mu’s uncle, I’ll trust you for now. Don’t disappoint me. I’ll repay you handsomely afterward.”