Chapter 122: A Friendship Beyond Time

Poor Gu Shenyu just like that agreed to Old Man Hua’s request, obediently staying by his side for half a year. Of course, Old Man Hua had also promised that once the six months were up, he would be free to leave, and he would never forcibly keep him.

Naturally, Gu Shenyu had no idea he had successfully sold himself off; he was still foolishly helping Old Man Hua count his money. What a clever-by-half child.

"Kid, tell me, where do you come from?" Old Man Hua asked casually, crossing his legs and holding a chicken leg.

Gu Shenyu understood that Old Man Hua was a very kind-hearted elder, and he had also sensed the old man’s mischievous, boyish nature. He began to grow familiar with him, unceremoniously snatching more chicken meat from the old man’s hands and eating with great relish.

Old Man Hua swatted at Gu Shenyu with his chicken leg: "Hey, you brat, aren't you full yet after eating so much? I even specifically prepared an extra one for you, and you still snatch an old man's food! Do you have no respect for your elders, kid?"

"Old Man Hua, since you aren't eating it, heh heh, I’ll eat it for you~" Gu Shenyu jumped away, taking the opportunity to snatch the untouched chicken leg from Old Man Hua's hand.

"You brat, are you doing this because you know I won't hit you?" Old Man Hua stood where he was, roaring at Gu Shenyu, who was now perched on the eaves!

Waving the chicken leg in his hand, Gu Shenyu deliberately licked his fingers and smiled brilliantly: "Old Man Hua, don't forget that you are an elder, you should cherish the young~"

Watching Gu Shenyu eat with such delight, Old Man Hua couldn't help but swallow his own saliva. He had lost count of how many times he had eaten this beggar's chicken, so why had he never felt this way before?

Old Man Hua stood there grumbling. It wasn't that he lacked spiritual power; he simply didn't want to reveal his true strength! Seeing Gu Shenyu finish all the beggar's chicken, he shook his head in resignation and finally had to admit defeat. He was thoroughly impressed by this brat, Gu Shenyu! He beckoned to him: "Come down! Don't worry, I won't hit you! Old Man Hua is still very fond of the young!"

Hearing the way Old Man Hua gritted his teeth when saying "fond of the young," Gu Shenyu laughed impishly, though he knew better than to offend this mysterious and unpredictable old man. With a cheeky grin, he flew down from the eaves and walked toward Old Man Hua with long strides: "Old Man Hua is the best~ I knew that a great person like you wouldn't hold a grudge against a small person like me~"

Seeing Gu Shenyu act this way, Old Man Hua couldn't bring himself to be angry, even if he wanted to! He was completely speechless. How could he not have realized that the boy he picked up was such a shameless rogue?

From somewhere unknown, Old Man Hua produced a prepared pheasant. While meticulously massaging the bird's body, he tilted his head to look at Gu Shenyu: "Kid, don't you go eyeing this one; this is reserved for me! It’s a good thing I made secondary preparations! Now, hurry up and answer my question, be conscious and proactive!"

Gu Shenyu squatted on the other side of the fire, poking at the firewood, and said slowly: "Old Man Hua, the 'brat' you speak of is not from the Void Continent."

Upon hearing Gu Shenyu confirm he was from the Desolate Continent, Old Man Hua merely raised an eyebrow, not even pausing the movements of his hands, for he had already guessed as much.

"As for me, I originally didn't know about this parallel world. If it weren't for a friend whose parents were both trapped in the Void Continent, and who needed to enter the Void Continent to save them—and because her strength alone was far from enough—there were four other friends besides me. The five of us, following the method given to us by my friend's father, forcibly tore open a space talisman and successfully arrived in the Void Continent as we had hoped."

"Your friend?! Who is it? A man or a woman? Fat or thin? Tall or short? Beautiful or ugly?" Old Man Hua looked up, his eyes shining; it seemed he was a very gossipy old man.

Gu Shenyu felt as if countless black lines were flying across his forehead. This old man was far too lively!

"Cough, cough, Old Man Hua, she is a woman. She is very strong and mentally mature. Besides, none of those things you're concerned about are the point, okay..." Gu Shenyu wished he could pry open Old Man Hua's head to see what was inside.

Old Man Hua showed no signs of shame, his eyes still shining: "Alright, alright, heh heh, what is your relationship with that woman? Heh heh~"

Gu Shenyu didn't know what was going through Old Man Hua's mind, but he was truly speechless at the old man's chilling, wicked grin. If he knew that Old Man Hua was asking this to find a future matriarch for the Tiger King Clan, who knows what he would think...

"We are just friends," Gu Shenyu said, straightening his expression, though a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.

Old Man Hua, of course, did not miss that look. He thought to himself that it seemed the brat’s heart belonged to someone else. But it didn't matter; as long as it was someone the brat liked, he would help him snatch her if necessary when the time came. Heh heh~ This brat was becoming more and more to his liking. Not bad, not bad at all.

Taking a pile of soil from the nearby thatch, Old Man Hua carefully wrapped the pheasant, poked at the fire with a branch, found a good spot, and placed the beggar's chicken into the fire.

Watching Old Man Hua's craftsmanship, Gu Shenyu thought he should ask him to teach him how to make this beggar's chicken one day! Such a rare delicacy—he didn't want to miss out on it after leaving Old Man Hua.

"Right, you mentioned earlier that your friend's father gave you a method to enter the Void Continent. What kind of method is that?!" Old Man Hua clapped his hands and sat directly on the ground, appearing quite carefree.

Having squatted for so long, Gu Shenyu followed suit and sat down, not caring whether it was clean or not: "It’s like this: four people with peak Fantasy-level strength and one descendant of a reclusive family must simultaneously exert their power at a specific location to forcibly tear open a space talisman."

"Who is your friend's father?!" Old Man Hua stood up abruptly, appearing very agitated.

Gu Shenyu looked at him with some suspicion. Could it be that Old Man Hua knew Yin Yao's father?!

Seeing Gu Shenyu dazed, Old Man Hua stomped his feet and shouted: "You brat, what is your friend's father's name!"

"Uh, it seems his surname is Mo!" Gu Shenyu scratched his head. In truth, he remembered the name of Yin Yao's father, but he said it this way on purpose to test if Old Man Hua truly knew him.

"Sigh, sigh, is that person named Mo Qin?!" Upon hearing the name 'Mo,' Old Man Hua had already confirmed who it was.

"Hey, Old Man Hua, how did you know?!" Gu Shenyu feigned surprise, not expecting that Old Man Hua really knew Senior Mo Qin, and seemed quite familiar with him at that!

Seeing Gu Shenyu's reaction, Old Man Hua didn't bother to fuss. Instead, he squatted back down and said earnestly: "Mo Qin is a rare talent. He originally belonged to the 'useless' category because he didn't inherit any divine beast power. However, because of this, his path of cultivation was not restricted. He could learn all kinds of skills. He was widely involved and strove for excellence, deserving of instant fame. Because of him, humans like him were viewed with a completely new perspective."

"Your Old Man Hua, I have always been a person who doesn't stand on ceremony. With such a rare talent—no, 'eccentric genius' is more fitting for him—I went to meet him by reputation and accidentally became a close friend despite our age difference! Back then, when he learned that every one of the four great clans had once exiled some errant clansmen to the Desolate Continent, he wanted to bring them back and researched a method to tear open space talismans, exactly as you described! But when he told me about it, he hadn't yet put it into practice."

"Later, because Mo Qin fell in love with a Spirit Fox Clan member, the Spirit Fox Yin Hu, they faced opposition from the elders of the Spirit Fox Clan. To escape their sight, the two chose to flee to the Desolate Continent. The day before they left, Mo Qin came to see me one last time. He told me he was going to the Desolate Continent to carry out his plan and help those who originally belonged to the Void Continent return! Since then, I lost all news of him."

It was shocking that the eccentric Old Man Hua was actually a close friend of Yin Yao's father! Their relationship was so close! Looking at Old Man Hua, it seemed he missed Senior Mo Qin dearly!

"Old Man Hua, are you alright? Don't worry, Yin Yao will definitely save Senior Mo Qin." Seeing Old Man Hua's reddened eyes, Gu Shenyu felt a lump in his throat, and he reached out to pat Old Man Hua's shoulder lightly.

Old Man Hua swatted his hand away and quickly wiped his tears with his other hand: "You brat, your Old Man Hua is tough! By the way, your friend's name is Yin Yao, right? And you said she returned to the Void Continent for Mo Qin and Yin Hu. Does that mean they didn't flee to the Desolate Continent back then? That can't be right; otherwise, how would you know the method!"

"Oh, so Old Man Hua didn't know! Well, that makes sense! You haven't kept up with their affairs! Senior Yin Hu did indeed flee to the Desolate Continent, but Senior Mo Qin stayed behind to distract the pursuers to ensure the safety of Senior Yin Hu and the child in her womb. Unexpectedly, he was captured after being tracked, and we don't know his exact location now! Senior Yin Hu was brought back by people from the Void Continent about six years ago!" Gu Shenyu relayed the news he had received from Yin Yao.

"So that's how it is!" Old Man Hua stroked his chin and nodded.

Seeing Old Man Hua's reaction, Gu Shenyu suddenly felt his chance had come. He gave a cheeky smile, lunged toward Old Man Hua, and said coaxingly: "Old Man Hua~ I am going to help Yin Yao save Senior Mo Qin, so let me go find her earlier, okay~ Three months, how about it? How about it?"

Swatting away Gu Shenyu's hands, Old Man Hua grumbled: "Don't even think about it. If you want to help, I'll go with you when the time comes!"

Gu Shenyu was disappointed! Why wouldn't Old Man Hua agree! He had no choice but to retreat to his spot, head bowed, wondering what to do.

That pitiful little look made Old Man Hua's heart soften. He deliberately turned his head away and said in a low voice: "Finish the tasks I’ve given you, and I will go with you to find Yin Yao. If you work hard, you should be able to finish within three months."

"Wow, wow, Old Man Hua, you're the best!" Gu Shenyu, completely abandoning his dignity, lunged at him...