Gu Yan's face was very pale, those deep wrinkles seemed to be filled with the sorrow and misfortune of his life.
His eyelids kept twitching, trying to open his eyes to welcome Zhou Yan's arrival, but the process was incredibly difficult.
Yet he still tried his best to do so; what was simple for others was as challenging as ascending to heaven for him.
His snow-white long hair, due to his current weakness of spirit, made him look even older; but at this moment, he still opened his eyes.
As soon as his eyes opened, within his somewhat cloudy gaze flashed a lightning-like Sword Qi light. This sharp gaze shot towards where Zhou Yan was standing. Instantly, he saw Zhou Yan's concerned, handsome, yet somewhat weathered and deep face.
This face was one he knew well, but compared to the familiar face in his memory, it held a bit more unrestrained wildness and a bit less melancholy.
His sharp gaze, initially fierce, became slightly softened, and eventually extreme gentleness replaced it. The fierceness unconsciously dissipated completely.
"Yan'er... I never thought it would really be you... after so many years, have you been... well...?"
Gu Yan murmured softly, his tone filled with undisguised deep concern.
"Uncle Gu, I've been well, don't worry." Zhou Yan walked over, gently supporting Gu Yan as he attempted to stand up.
At this moment, his condition wasn't good either, but his injuries were clearly better compared to Feng Lingqing's situation. His injuries seemed to come in bursts rather than being persistent.
Thus, after observing the series of changes in Gu Yan, Zhou Yan felt more at ease.
"Good, as long as you are well. Over the years, the Gu family declined, and though we tried to visit, the Gu family lacked status. Nowadays, we can't even enter the Zhou family gates... it's my own uselessness... I actually know you've suffered a lot over the years."
Gu Yan's somewhat wistful words moved Zhou Yan.
Some people, no matter how well they pretend, will always reveal flaws, like that Preaching Elder Zhou Wuyan; some people, with just a few words, can make others feel their inherent sincerity, like this Gu Yan.
Zhou Yan was no longer a child. With the inheritance from the Grandmaster, his disposition and sensing power far exceeded ordinary people by countless times. At this moment, after understanding Gu Yan's sense of helplessness and powerlessness, he felt more touched.
If it were an average person, being refused entry by the Zhou Family would probably cause discomfort; after all, as the head of a family, even if not as prestigious as the Zhou Family, they were not without status, yet couldn't even enter the Zhou Family's gate...
But in Gu Yan's words, there was no blame on the Zhou Family for their lack of humanity; instead, his words were entirely sincere, with only sighs and self-blame for his inadequate strength.
In this moment, just a few words increased Gu Yan's standing in Zhou Yan's heart.
"Uncle Gu, the issues with the Zhou Family, it is they who owe you. If there comes a day where I can make decisions, I will ensure this situation never happens again."
Zhou Yan avoided discussing his own matters, only speaking on the matter of family status, essentially conveying a message to Gu Yan—that in the Zhou Family, he currently couldn't make decisions, and these matters were unrelated to him. He wasn't someone who abandoned loyalty for personal gain.
"Yes, I understand. I know what kind of friends I have.However, as much as I know this, I become more worried about your father... Seeing you in Spirit Armor now, I think they wouldn't dare make things too difficult for you; this puts my mind at ease somewhat."
Gu Yan misunderstood this time as well.
"Father, this Spirit Armor is actually Brother Zhou Yan's... the Zhou Family people have been terrible to Brother Zhou Yan..."
Gu Xi couldn't help but chime in, summarizing the relationship between Zhou Yan and the Zhou Family.
"Unbelievable! This is simply unacceptable, these people are truly outrageous! Don't they realize that without Brother Wang Chen in the past, there would be no Zhou Family as it is today? They are..."
"Ah, Yan'er, it's my incompetence that let you suffer grievances. I thought I had been silently following you all these years, yet you faced such hardships, and I knew nothing!"
Gu Yan's gaze held deep guilt, as the extreme anger previously had now wholly transformed into a sense of powerless sorrow.
This feeling of sorrow made the deep wrinkles on his face appear even more profound, hiding countless pains within those furrowed lines.
"Uncle, trust me, everything will get better. You see, aren't I fine now?"
Zhou Yan gently patted Gu Yan's back; he hadn't felt such deeply caring familial love for a long time. Gu Yan nearly treated him like a 'son,' and this kindness, though felt when he was a child, had never been so profound until now.
"Yes, enough about this. Yan'er, while you're here, take a walk with Xi'er, ease your mind. Let the past stay in the past. Here, treat it like home. Though Uncle's house is a small family, and it's fallen on hard times, everyone here means well, and they're all our own people."
Gu Yan said earnestly.
"Uncle, I know. But there is one thing you might have gotten wrong; the Gu family isn't as simple as you think."
Zhou Yan's words carried a more serious tone.
At this moment, Gu Yan's pain had subsided, and his complexion gradually restored some color.
"Oh? Yan'er, what do you mean by that?"
Gu Yan's face slightly stiffened; he trusted Zhou Yan's words. No matter how long they hadn't seen each other, he knew Zhou Yan's father too well, so why wouldn't he believe Zhou Yan? He asked this, realizing that perhaps something significant had happened with his daughter Gu Xi.
"This matter, let's discuss it later. Uncle, do you know who injured you so severely this time?"
Zhou Yan asked.
Gu Yan exhaled a long, turbid breath and said calmly, "Uncle might be a small character, but I was your father's loyal, lifelong guard, ventured fearlessly throughout the world, killing countless people! For someone to seek retribution against me is justified. Why would I exhaust my energy investigating their origins and intentions? Whatever trick they play, I will accept it as it comes."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh lightly, "Uncle, I know you're a person who stands firm under heaven and earth, unafraid of life, death, and slaughter. But you and my father are both considered unrestrained and romantic figures. If someone were to take your life through such malicious means, wouldn't that be a case of 'hurt to those who love you, happy to those who hate you'?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yan's face showed a somewhat bleak smile, "Yes, I used to be like that, not caring about anything, whoever provoked me, I would kill whoever. But... now, having suffered such a severe injury, I unwillingly care, but... what ability do I have to investigate now?"
Gu Yan's words made Zhou Yan's expression more solemn, "Uncle, your physical condition is not good, but doesn't the Gu family still have people who can be used?"
"Ha, those people, almost all have died. In the Gu family, it's now just us 'old, undying ones' and some third generation disciples." Gu Yan said, closing his eyes.
Zhou Yan remained silent for a long time and said, "Xixi said, this time it was the Yang Family who acted?"
"The Yang Family indeed acted, and it was Yang Qingtan who injured me, but I do not blame him."
After a long while, Gu Yan opened his eyes again.
Zhou Yan asked, "Why?"
Gu Yan stayed silent, not answering.
"Uncle, are you worried that I will confront Yang Qingtan and put myself in danger?" Zhou Yan sighed softly, not being foolish, he naturally contemplated such thoughts.
"No... Yang Qingtan defeated me fair and square, and he has always been a decisive person, such a ruthless method that makes life worse than death is definitely not his style!" Gu Yan shook his head, speaking with certainty.
Hearing this, Zhou Yan was a bit puzzled, "Uncle, since he injured you so severely, why do you still speak for him... Yan'er is a bit confused."
"You don't understand him. The first time I saw Yang Qingtan, he was just a child."
Gu Yan's voice carried a touch of melancholy, plunging into memories.
"At that time, at the rushing waterfall in Tianji Mountain, he kept charging upward.
Back then, he was the Yang Family's waste, the Yang Family's abandoned child...
He just kept charging toward the waterfall, wielding a broken sword with no edge.
Back then, his deep, determined eyes shocked me to the core!
Over the years, I never forgot those eyes from that year, as if engraved into my Soul, unable to fade away."
"At the time, I said, 'The way you're pushing your potential, your body will definitely be ruined, eventually becoming a waste.'"
"At the time, he bit his lip, blood incessantly flowing, yet he didn't even look at me, coldly saying, 'I'm already the family's waste, kicked out, what worse outcome can there be than now? Why can't pushing potential break the shackles of the body? Why can't it lead to success? I don't believe it!'"
The torrential waterfall, with its powerful strikes, even I at the time wouldn't have been able to withstand it for hours; such force was bone-breaking, severe and unyielding, its power invincible!
He charged again and again, constantly upwards, only to be brutally knocked into the water every time by the torrents.
I watched him for an hour there, he never gave up despite failing time after time, and his body was almost completely mutilated, a ghastly sight.
Season after season passed, he persisted like that until one day, before I arrived, I saw him standing at the top of the rushing waterfall.
His clothes were worn, a short sword, but carried the demeanor of a Sword Saint!
At fifteen, he broke through the Four Great Realms and comprehended the Sword Intent!"