Chu Feng had no idea what was going through Qingyu Dong's mind, nor did he bother to try and guess.
What Chu Feng was worried about now was the safety of Chu Qing and the others.
He couldn't be certain whether Chu Ping, Chu Qing, and the rest had managed to avoid being discovered by the Green Feather Monster Clan this entire time.
Fortunately, when Chu Feng returned to the end of that Celestial River, though the river itself was gone, Chu Ping, Chu Qing, Chu Haoyan, and Chu Huanyu—all four of them—were still there.
Moreover, all four of them had actually broken through by one level of cultivation.
This went to show that although the Celestial River hadn't lasted long, the benefit it had provided them was far from insignificant.
And because their breakthroughs were entirely thanks to Chu Feng discovering the Celestial River, both Chu Ping and Chu Qing were immensely grateful to him.
Even Chu Haoyan and Chu Huanyu had offered Chu Feng their thanks.
Whether their gratitude was sincere or merely perfunctory, at least the proper attitude had been put on display.
Chu Feng, for his part, told Chu Ping and the others about what had happened to Chu Shuangshuang and what he had done to Qingyu Fengming.
After all, this time he could be considered to have thoroughly offended the Green Feather Monster Clan, and Chu Feng needed to make sure they were mentally prepared.
"I'm truly sorry for causing trouble for everyone," Chu Feng said to Chu Ping.
"Brother Chu Feng, please don't say that. You had no grudge with them to begin with—you only acted on our behalf. If anything, we should be the ones thanking you."
"Besides, the Green Feather Monster Clan has always been overbearing. Even if you hadn't dealt with them, they might not have let us off the hook," Chu Ping hurriedly reassured him.
"Brother Chu Feng, what Big Brother Chu Ping says is right. This isn't your fault. You did all of this for us. If they really come looking for trouble, we'll shoulder it together with you," Chu Qing also spoke up.
"A real man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. Why don't we just lay low for now? The Ancestral Martial Cultivation Realm is vast—there's bound to be somewhere we can hide. Once our cultivation grows strong enough, we can settle the score with them."
"With Brother Chu Feng's talent, it won't be long before they have no way to make things difficult for us."
"Right, I think Chu Huanyu's idea is workable."
Even Chu Huanyu and Chu Haoyan spoke up one after another.
Though they hadn't committed to shouldering the responsibility alongside Chu Feng, their words could at least be taken as a proposed plan for dealing with the Green Feather Monster Clan.
"Actually, the situation isn't as bad as everyone thinks. There might still be room to maneuver. It's just that... for this matter, I'm afraid Brother Chu Feng will need to be the one to step forward," Chu Ping suddenly said to Chu Feng.