Chapter 732: How Could She Be So Skinny and Frail?

Gu Shuo could feel a growing excitement he could no longer suppress. They had come ashore a month ago, and she had returned just a few days after they left Dayu City. To think they had missed each other for a whole month.

"Gu Shuo, do you think it’s really her? The little girl?" Elder Chen found it hard to believe.

"If it wasn’t her, who else would go to all the trouble of celebrating your birthday for you?" ’In the whole world, it could only be her.’

Elder Chen was greatly reassured by his words. "You’re right. It could only be her. How much longer until we reach Dayu City?"

"It would take two days by express horse, but at our current pace, it will be three."

’At least we’ll still arrive in Dayu City the day before the banquet.’

"Three days is too long! Perhaps I should get out and ride a horse instead," Elder Chen said, lowering the carriage curtain as he made to exit.

"Elder Chen, at your age, you’d be even slower on horseback than in the carriage," Gu Shuo stopped him.

"You underestimate me." Elder Chen insisted on getting out and switching to a horse.

The young guard watched, dumbfounded.

It had indeed been many years since Elder Chen had last ridden a horse. He even had some difficulty mounting it. Once he finally got up, he started to sway after the horse had taken only a few steps.

"Elder Chen, if you want to see her sooner, you’d best just stay in the carriage. Otherwise, you’ll miss the birthday banquet entirely." It wasn’t as if Gu Shuo wasn’t in a hurry himself.

Elder Chen dismounted helplessly. "Sigh... I suppose you can’t fight old age. Oh, that’s right. Gu Shuo, hurry and send a message back home. Tell your mother. Even though your grandfather doesn’t recognize people anymore, we should still let him know."

"Yes, I know," Gu Shuo nodded.

’The shock had been too much for his grandfather, and he’d never recovered. The pressure he’d been under for all those years had taken its toll on his mind.’

"Sigh. It’s a miracle he’s held on this long. Perhaps seeing the little girl will help him get better." He was Elder Chen’s only lifelong friend, and the thought of his condition was heartbreaking.

"I hope so."

’I hope everything will be all right.’

Elder Chen climbed back into the carriage, and it began to move much faster than before.

"Boss Gu, Elder Chen seems like a completely different person," the young guard said, puzzled. "Who exactly is Miss Ye?"

"Do you remember the name of your Xianyue Sect’s founding Sect Leader?" Gu Shuo asked.

"Of course I do. Her name is Ye Qianning. Every morning at the sect, we have to wake up early and pay our respects toward her shrine..." The young guard’s voice grew softer and softer until it trailed off, his eyes widening. "It couldn’t be... she’s... our Sect Leader, is she?"

Gu Shuo merely gave him a look.

Taking this as confirmation, the young guard stood stunned for a moment before slapping his forehead. "Miss Ye, Ye Qianning... Oh, man, I just thought the names were the same, I never imagined... Who would have guessed our Sect Leader is a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who looks so thin and frail?"

"Thin and frail?"

"Yeah. I can’t believe she’s the Sect Leader."

"Frail? How could the little girl be frail? She was so chubby! Now that she’s grown up, she should be about this big... no, *this* big..." Elder Chen poked his head out of the carriage, making a large circle with his arms to demonstrate.

"Elder Chen, the size you’re gesturing is big enough for two of the Sect Leader! She’s very thin—dark and thin."

Elder Chen froze. He subconsciously looked toward Gu Shuo, just as Gu Shuo looked back at him. Their eyes met, and they both saw the deep worry reflected in the other’s gaze.

’Dark and thin?’

’She was so chubby as a child; how could she possibly be dark and thin now?’

’She must have suffered terribly all these years.’ Thinking back to the circumstances of that time, Elder Chen’s eyes began to redden.

Gu Shuo also remembered the day the old Daoist priest had taken her away. Under those circumstances... it was a miracle that she had survived, let alone returned.

’From now on,’ he vowed, ’I will never let her suffer the slightest grievance or harm again.’