When the man noticed that I had spotted him, instead of being surprised, he gave me a friendly smile.
However, Gu Yuan looked solemn at the sight of him. I didn't recognize this man, but it seemed that Gu Yuan remembered him well. This man bore a slight resemblance to the Heavenly Emperor, and his imposing manner was no less.
It seemed that this strange wind was not just a random occurrence.
Gu Yuan took my hand and walked towards the man. He didn't avoid this person, but he didn't show him a friendly face either. He sat down expressionlessly on the seat next to the man.
As the professor entered the classroom, it fell silent.
At this moment, their conversation could be heard clearly. At first, I was afraid they would disrupt the class order, but after they started talking, I realized I was overthinking. At this moment, they both concealed their figures.
No one around could hear their conversation except me.
"Yuan'er, long time no see," the strange immortal said first, breaking the silence.
Gu Yuan said coldly with a straight face, "I'm sure Uncle Long Jin didn't come to see me just because it's been a long time. I wonder what could have made you condescend to come to this tiny place to find me?"
"Hahaha... This is not a tiny place. The mortal world is a really interesting place and truly worth lingering in. I must take your father, the Emperor of Heaven, down to travel one day. He might like it even more."
Hearing Long Jin's words, Gu Yuan snorted, "Forget it. If you guys linger here, I'm afraid the mortal world will become the second Youdu."
"You..." Long Jin was almost enraged by Gu Yuan's sarcasm, but he managed to suppress his emotions and continued talking to Gu Yuan.
"I'm here to tell you something very important."
Gu Yuan didn't say a word but listened to Long Jin continue.
"The Heavenly Emperor has announced in the Heavenly Realm that your position as the Crown Prince will be restored. I came here in person today to take you back to the Heavenly Court."
"Oh? As far as I know, not long ago, Long Lin was appointed as the Crown Prince by the Heavenly Emperor. Why was he deposed so soon? Is the position of the Crown Prince in the Heavenly Realm so cheap that it can be deposed and appointed at will?"
"He was just acting as the Crown Prince. In fact, in my heart, you've always been the best candidate for the Crown Prince. Not only do I think so, but your father also thinks so." After Long Jin finished speaking, he reached out to pat Gu Yuan on the shoulder.
Gu Yuan frowned. After Long Jin withdrew his hand, he instinctively reached up to dust off his shoulder. It seemed that he had no affection for this uncle at all.
No wonder. As the saying goes, "One who shows excessive kindness for no reason is either a scoundrel or a thief."
The Heavenly Emperor was a scheming man. His sudden show of kindness was probably not a good thing.
"Tell me. What's your real goal?" Gu Yuan could easily see his ulterior motives. He didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
Seeing that Gu Yuan didn't want to waste time with him anymore, Long Jin straightened his back slightly. With a wave of his arm, a eunuch wearing a high hat appeared beside him, holding a scroll. I guessed that this should be the imperial edict of the Heavenly Emperor.
As the eunuch unfurled the imperial edict, the few of us actually left the classroom. At this moment, we were standing in a pavilion.
The peach blossoms here were as gorgeous as brocade, and the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant. This was exactly Gu Yuan's former residence: Yunwu.
Yunwu had been in ruins before, but unexpectedly, it had regained its former vitality in just a few days.
As the eunuch announced the imperial edict, the peach blossoms here fluttered in the wind, and a rain of peach blossoms fell.
"By the order of the Heavenly Emperor, Long Yuan, listen to the edict..."
Gu Yuan didn't kneel to receive the edict. I stood shoulder to shoulder with him and listened to the eunuch finish announcing the edict.
Since it was all in ancient Chinese, there were many things I didn't understand, but the general meaning was that due to various reasons before, Gu Yuan's position as the Crown Prince had been deposed.
Now all the misunderstandings had been cleared up. Now his position as the Crown Prince was officially restored, and he was to return to the Heavenly Court immediately to resume his duties.
After listening, Gu Yuan showed no intention of accepting the edict. He didn't want to have any more ties with the Heavenly Realm. He was even too lazy to say another word.
"I can't accept this. Please leave."
"Prince Yuan, the imperial edict has been announced to the Three Realms. The matter is a foregone conclusion. You have to accept this position as the Crown Prince even if you don't want to. Now the Heavenly Realm is in trouble. The Crown Prince is needed to return to the Heavenly Realm to share the worries of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. Please return to the Heavenly Court within three days to resume your duties and take charge of the overall situation."
Sure enough, just as Gu Yuan had thought, it seemed that there was quite a commotion in the Heavenly Realm. Otherwise, they wouldn't have ordered Gu Yuan to return to the Heavenly Realm to take charge of the overall situation.
"Take charge of the overall situation. Uncle, can't you see that I'm just an ordinary mortal now? What ability do I have to take charge of the overall situation? I, Gu Yuan, have never had any lofty ambitions in my life. I just want to live a peaceful life in the mortal world..."
After Gu Yuan finished speaking, he took my hand gently and said, "Lanlan... Let's go..."
"Yuan'er, now the Heavenly Realm is in turmoil. Long Lin has rebelled with the powerful immortals. Now, they are almost at the South Heavenly Gate. If you don't take action, do you think you'll have a good life if Long Lin really ascends to the throne of the Heavenly Emperor?"
Hearing this, Gu Yuan realized that it was Long Lin who had rebelled. However, this didn't seem to be news anymore.
When I was in Yunwu before, he and Gu Yuan had talked about these things. Long Lin had always wanted to be the Crown Prince. He had dreamed of making contributions and winning the favor of the Heavenly Emperor.
But unfortunately, Gu Yuan was the Crown Prince. At that time, the two of them had a deep friendship. Due to Gu Yuan's identity, he could only endure it and choose brotherhood.
Now, the two of them had turned against each other. Gu Yuan had killed Long Lin's beloved Manyue twice. He already hated Gu Yuan to the core.
Now that Gu Yuan's position as the Crown Prince had been restored, it would invisibly add more hatred between the two of them.
If Long Lin found out, he would definitely wish to skin Gu Yuan alive to relieve his hatred.
Gu Yuan was such a smart person. How could he not understand the meaning behind Long Jin's words? But he wasn't angry either. He asked in his usual cold voice,
"Uncle, after this imperial edict is announced to the world, you don't intend to let me have a good life, do you? You're forcing your nephew to death."
Hearing Gu Yuan's words, Long Jin laughed heartily, "Nephew, there's a saying in the mortal world that one can only be reborn after being driven to a desperate situation. If I don't force you like this, how can you sit firmly on the throne of the Heavenly Emperor? Just like this peach blossom forest. After experiencing a great fire before, it has now regained new life. The peach blossoms are blooming more delicately and fragrant."
Gu Yuan scanned the tens of thousands of acres of peach forests around him. His eyes were calm. He waved his arm gently in the sky full of peach blossoms. All the beautiful scenery in front of him disappeared. It turned out that we were still in the big classroom and hadn't gone to Yunwu.
It was just that class was over by now. The classroom was empty, and all the students had left.
"All beautiful scenery is like a dream bubble, illusory and ethereal. If one is too attached to it, they may end up with nothing in the end."