421 Double the Stars Shining on the Earth (1/2)

The dim light immediately turned bright. Meng Qi found himself sitting in a shabby temple. The setting crescent released its bright light throughout the temple.

Opposite him was that huge man who had seated himself cross-legged on the ground and leaned against a table that was about to fall apart. He was dressed in a black robe. He was tall and large, almost a full head taller than Meng Qi. His facial features were covered with hair, and his eyes were as deep as the vast sky. There seemed to be a twinkling in his eyes.

Meng Qi was still suffering from the aftereffects of the Sacrifice Formula. He had grown weak and suffered a bad headache. Fortunately, he had taken the Recover Pill before, so he was gradually getting better. In order to stall for time and remove his doubts, Meng Qi asked, ”Seniors...”

”Why do you call me 'senior'? Am I old?” The man mumbled, ”Call me brother.”

”Hmm. He doesn't seem to be violent and ruthless...” Meng Qi was kind of relieved. Judging from the reaction of Gu Xiaosang, the man had to be somebody. Maybe he was famous in the Terrestrial Rankings and it was impossible to defend his attacks. ”Brother, why do you need me?”

Addressing him this way made Meng Qi feel awkward, but in order to please the man he did.

The man tapped his thighs and said, ”To borrow your True Emperor Seal.”

”How do you know that I have True Emperor Seal?” Meng Qi was surprised. He had thought that besides Wang the fraud nobody knew. How did a mere passer-by know that he had True Emperor Seal?

The man laughed. ”Others don't know, but I know. True Emperor Seal naturally is connected to real emperors!”

He seemed to be complacent.

”A real emperor...” Meng Qi looked at his face which was covered and thought of the man's words, he did not believe the man was a real emperor at all.

However, he would not be foolish and refute him. Instead, he asked him in confusion, ”Why did you take me away if you just wanted to borrow True Emperor Seal?”

Although he was grateful that the man had taken him away from Gu Xiaosang, Meng Qi had to figure out the reason. Since the man only wanted the Seal, why had he kidnapped Meng Qi?

The man froze for a moment. Then he scratched his head and said, ”Don't you think that I would be like a bandit if I just 'borrowed' the Seal? But if I 'borrowed you', I would be more like an expert out of the mortal world. Haha...”

He laughed with a connotation that said, ”don't mind the details”.

”For image...” Meng Qi was astonished as he looked at the man. The image of himself in his old age filled his mind.

”If, if I became a man like him, I would rather kill myself!”

”If you want to take care of your image, you should hide it deeper. You should be consistent. Do you get it?”

He took a deep breath and said, ”Brother, when I got True Emperor Seal, I made a Soul-pledging Oath, so I have to bear the consequences. If you want to borrow it, can you mortgage something for it?”

As long as he could ”sell” the Seal at a nice price, he would kind of sort of have accomplished Sikong Tu's trust.

”I would return it!” The man said becoming kind of awkward. ”I left in a hurry, so I did not take anything valuable with me.”

He turned to Meng Qi and nodded slightly. He suddenly became serious. ”I know all about cause and effect, but since you bear the results, I'd better have you with me. You can still keep the True Emperor Seal.”

”Obviously it's because you did not have anything valuable!” Meng Qi nodded reluctantly. After all, he could not let anyone ”borrow” the True Emperor Seal for the consequences were quite serious.

”Brother, what's your name?” Meng Qi asked cautiously. A man who understood cause and effect could never be a nobody!

The man straightened his back and abruptly sat upright. He tried to be cool. ”I have kept myself away from Jianghu for several years. I am not a citizen of South Jin either, so you probably did not hear about me. Alas, reputation is useless. I am Gao Lan.”

He looked at Meng Qi with his bright eyes as if he was waiting for him to be surprised or shocked.

”South Jin? Is he a man of North Zhou?” Meng Qi frowned slightly. ”I really have not heard about you.”

Except for the famous on Ranking List of Young Masters, Meng Qi knew little about other masters outside of the Great Jin Dynasty and the Bohai Sea. Even for Terrestrial Rankings, he merely scanned it because there were too many names listed.

Hearing Meng Qi's answer, the huge man lifted his brows and said urgently, ”Think harder. I'm Gao Lan from Changle!”

”The Gao Family from Chang Le, the imperial family of North Zhou Dynasty... He was an expert of Gao Family... No wonder that Gu Xiaosang was so afraid... It was said that the Gao Family's 'Chapter of Heart's Quietude in Thingless' was extremely hard to accomplish. One little mistake would lead to insanity. So the Gao Family was known for its violence... Fortunately, he was a funny person...” Meng Qi was shocked, so he chose to remain silent to avoid irritating Gao Lan.

Gao Lan frowned. ”Still can't remember who I am? I'll give you another hint. I'm the Mad Prince. No, Wise Prince Gao Lan!”

Meng Qi hit the brick beside him hard and pretended to be extremely shocked. ”That Gao Lan! I admire you very much. I've often felt sorry having no opportunity to meet you. I never imagined that I would meet you here today!”

If Qi Zhengyan had been here, he probably would have laughed at Meng Qi's pretentious reaction. But Gao Lan laughed as he raised his face toward the sky. He was very much flattered. ”Haha. I thought that everyone in Jianghu might have forgotten me since I hid myself for so many years. You are such a wise man!”