Zhang Mingye led Ye Ling into the backstage and stopped in front of a private room. He respectfully said to Ye Ling, "Mr. Kong, the family head is inside. Please trouble you."
"Mm."
Ye Ling nodded and pushed the door open to enter.
Inside the private room, Sun Zheng sat on the sofa, his brows furrowed, staring ahead in a daze.
Sun He stood behind Sun Zheng, looking uneasy.
Ye Ling scanned the private room with his divine soul and discovered that besides Sun Zheng and Sun He, two hidden experts from Hongchen Pavilion were concealed in the shadows.
'Still testing?' Seeing the situation in the private room, a smile flashed in Ye Ling's eyes. He casually sat opposite Sun Zheng and smiled, "Nephew, what is it you need me for?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Sun Zheng snapped back to reality. Seeing Ye Ling already seated opposite him, he quickly stood up and said, "Mr. Kong, I'm truly sorry to trouble you at the start of the auction."
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Ye Ling was direct and to the point.
He had searched Kong Xuhan's soul and knew Kong Xuhan's personality and habits. Ye Ling was now imitating Kong Xuhan, even mimicking his demeanor so perfectly that Sun Zheng felt no sense of incongruity.
Seeing Ye Ling's direct question, Sun Zheng was not surprised. He quickly smiled and said, "It's nothing major... it's just that your nephew has a request."
Ye Ling frowned slightly.
Seeing Ye Ling's impatience, Sun Zheng trembled slightly and quickly said, "Your nephew heard from my father that Mr. Kong was once a Gu Immortal. I wish to borrow Mr. Kong's Gu King for a moment."
"Borrow the Gu King?" Ye Ling raised an eyebrow. "Have you been poisoned by Gu?"
Ye Ling now understood that after the incident at the Sun family manor, Hongchen Pavilion had begun to suspect his identity.
Furthermore, the fact that Kong Xuhan was a Gu Immortal was something very few people outside knew.
If someone were to impersonate Kong Xuhan, and they didn't know about the Gu Immortal matter, then a simple test regarding Gu would inevitably reveal them!
Moreover, even if they knew Kong Xuhan used Gu, most people couldn't produce the Gu King that had been nurtured with Kong Xuhan's vital essence for a hundred years.
Fortunately, Ye Ling had been cautious and kept all of Kong Xuhan's Gu insects. Otherwise, he would have had to alter everyone's memories, and every time he encountered someone from Hongchen Pavilion in the future, he would have to modify their memories, which would be an extremely troublesome process.
Sun Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded to Ye Ling, "Yes, yes, your nephew has been poisoned. My father said Mr. Kong has a Gu King that can remove the Gu poison from my body, so..."
Sun Zheng spoke of the matter openly, but secretly, he was cursing the people from Hongchen Pavilion!
He had just been summoned by Qing Mu and asked some inexplicable question.
After arriving at the Golden Wind Hotel, he was stopped by another group of cultivators from Hongchen Pavilion who insisted that his memory might have been altered and demanded that he prove Ye Ling's identity!
Moreover, to force him to test Ye Ling, the Hongchen Pavilion faction had actually poisoned him, and only Kong Xuhan's Gu King could cure it.
Helpless, Sun Zheng had no choice but to follow Hongchen Pavilion's instructions, inviting Ye Ling to the private room to have Ye Ling produce his Gu King to prove his identity.
Sun Zheng himself was a physician and had a rough understanding of Miao疆 Gu techniques. He knew that the Gu of every Gu user was extremely precious and would not be easily revealed to outsiders.
As for Kong Xuhan's Gu King, it was the king of Gu, nurtured with his lifeblood, a priceless treasure!
To have Kong Xuhan use his Gu King to cure him would mean that the Sun family would owe Kong Xuhan an immense favor, and the price to repay it in the future would be astronomical!
Furthermore, the Gu Master from Hongchen Pavilion had planted the Gu in him with serious intent. If he couldn't remove the Gu within a certain period, he would suffer the torment of a thousand ants gnawing at his flesh, and ultimately die!
This Hongchen Pavilion treated him as less than human!
However, Hongchen Pavilion was too powerful, and the Sun family still needed to rely on Hongchen Pavilion. Sun Zheng dared not refuse Hongchen Pavilion's request.
Ye Ling looked at Sun Zheng deeply and said, "You should know how precious a Gu King is. It's a great fortune for ordinary people to even get a glimpse of it, yet you now want my Gu King to cure you?"
*Thump...*
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Sun Zheng directly knelt before Ye Ling, "Mr. Kong, my life is in grave danger. Only Mr. Kong's Gu King can save my life. Please, Mr. Kong, lend your aid!"
"I swear, I will absolutely not tell anyone about this, and I will repay your great kindness in the future!"
Hearing Sun Zheng's words, Ye Ling smiled and looked at Sun He standing behind him, "Although you say that, there is a second person in this room."
"If the matter of using Gu gets out, it will be bad for my reputation."
Sun He hadn't expected the fire to spread to him. His face changed slightly, and he quickly knelt before Ye Ling, begging for mercy, "Mr. Kong, spare me! My lips are sealed. I promise I will immediately forget everything that happened here!"
"If I say anything out of line, Mr. Kong, you can take my head at any time!"
He had accompanied Sun Zheng to wait for Ye Ling, but he hadn't expected to hear things he shouldn't have heard here.
The legendary Immortal Doctor was also the notoriously wicked Gu Immortal of legend. If this news got out, it would surely cause a storm in the cultivator circles!
Given the heinous deeds the Gu Immortal had committed in the past, if Kong Xuhan's identity as a Gu Immortal were exposed, then Kong Xuhan would have no place to stand in this world!
Under normal circumstances, Kong Xuhan would absolutely not let anyone know his secret.
Although Sun He was considered high-ranking in the Sun family and managed most of the family's affairs, compared to people like Kong Xuhan, he was merely an insignificant minor character. Kong Xuhan could kill him with a mere word.
If he provoked Kong Xuhan, he wouldn't even know when he might suddenly die!
Sun He knew he could easily be silenced, so he surrendered from the beginning, showing his stance.
"You know that." Seeing Sun He's subservient appearance, Ye Ling merely smiled, then took out a black bottle from his pocket and said to Sun Zheng, "Considering you are the child of my old friend, I will help you this once and use the Gu King to remove the Gu."
"But remember, after using this Gu King, your Sun family will owe me a tremendous favor, and it will need to be repaid."
"Yes, yes..."
Seeing Ye Ling agree so readily, a flicker of excitement flashed in Sun Zheng's eyes.
To be honest, although Sun Zheng had heard from Sun Bugui that Kong Xuhan's Gu techniques were masterful, and his Gu King was the best in the world.
However, he had never seen a Gu Master's Gu King before and couldn't appreciate Sun Bugui's words.
Now that Ye Ling had agreed to use his Gu King to treat him, it would be an eye-opener, and he was extremely excited!
Ye Ling looked at the excited Sun Zheng, a smile flashing in his eyes, and crushed the black bottle.
A centipede flew out of the bottle and rapidly grew larger.
"Roar!"
Instantly, the centipede filled the entire private room and stared directly at Sun Zheng, scaring him into falling onto the floor!
"So, so big!!!"