Gu Yejin was accompanied by Su Nü.
He was dressed in black, his sleeves embroidered with metallic threads. At first glance, he seemed to be wearing solid dark colors, but the fabric was luxuriously woven. Today, he was to meet the eldest daughter of the Mu family, so he had chosen and tidied himself up with particular care.
Su Nü, on the other hand, wore a soft, flowing purple gown, her hair adorned with a hairpin, and stood demurely beside him.
Upon seeing the eldest daughter of the Mu family descending the steps, they stepped forward to meet her.
Su Nü, understanding the etiquette, fell a step behind, offered her greeting, and then did not approach further. Gu Yejin, however, stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Jun Shi."
The first time Su Nü heard the eldest daughter of the Mu family addressed as "Ming Shi," she had been somewhat surprised. Such a powerful and overbearing title was used for a woman. Since ancient times, the emperor was the most esteemed and the teacher the most revered. She seemed to have completely encompassed both "reverence" and "nobility."
When Mu Junshi saw Gu Yejin again after many years, her eyes smiled, and her thoughts were filled with a touch of emotion. "Yejin, it's been seven years. You've been in seclusion intermittently during these years, so we've met less frequently. Now, compared to your youth, you've become a distinguished young man. Are you comfortable using that arm?"
As she spoke, she reached out as if to take his hand.
When Gu Yejin heard the mention of "seven years," he did not speak as freely as she did. Instead, a stifling pressure built in his chest. This person before him was someone he had once been grateful to and loyal to, yet when she drew near, he instinctively avoided her.
Mu Junshi's movement paused. She looked up at him. Gu Yejin was also stunned by his body's reaction. Mu Junshi looked into his grayish, congenitally blind eyes. They were like a pale gray sky, filled with clouds, fog, and dark hues, but utterly devoid of bright radiance. What was he thinking? What could she find within that "gray sky"?
Mu Junshi placed one hand behind her back, her gaze gaining a sharp intensity. "Yejin, you've been in seclusion for three years. You should have broken through the ghost path's辟谷 (pì gǔ - abstaining from grain) and possessed a ghost heart, and also reshaped this strong and healthy body. Then, our plan should proceed as scheduled."
Her other hand firmly clasped his wrist. This time, she would not allow Gu Yejin to evade. Her knuckles tightened. The fabric of his sleeve bunched up.
When the two met, Mu Nanxue took it upon herself to clear the surroundings, taking Hua Jie and Su Nü away, leaving the two to talk privately.
As soon as Gu Yejin heard her mention that "plan," he was silent for a moment before saying, "Zun Zhu (Revered Master), do we truly have to carry out such a plan..."
"Gui Ying (Ghost Infant), don't forget, from the day I bestowed your name with my surname, you swore to be wholeheartedly loyal to me and never to have second thoughts."
Gu Yejin met her eyes at that moment. They were eyes of strange and wicked beauty, with dark pupils and crimson sclera, like a pool of clear water into which thick red ink had been dripped, spreading a vast expanse of cold, crimson color. In her words and gaze, Gu Yejin's consciousness felt like a black butterfly caught in a fine net; even if the butterfly died and the net broke, it could not escape. The former Gui Ying, now Gu Yejin, had never escaped his predetermined fate of being manipulated by evil forces.
"Kindness and mercy cannot control your will, because I am your entire will." She tightened her grip on him, a red, misty poison flowing from her and transferring into Gu Yejin's body...
His eyes suddenly widened slightly, his skin and muscles tightening into knots, hard as stone, his eyeballs instantly becoming bloodshot.
"Do you know why you appear in this world in the body of a Gui Ying? Because this world will no longer dictate your fate. Why do you have congenital blindness, unaware of the vastness of heaven and earth, the light of the sun and moon, the grandeur of mountains and rivers, the beauty of faces, the magnificence of palaces? It is because your eyes were destined from birth to be mere vessels—"
"Yejin, stop resisting the voice in your head. You should do what you need to do."
Gu Yejin's mind exploded, blood surging backward into the ancestral acupoint. His eyes were no longer clear.
"Yejin obeys."
---
The eldest daughter of the Mu family chatted privately with Gu Yejin for a while before coming to find Mu Xuenan and the others. As they approached, the eldest daughter of the Mu family pulled her hood back up. Gu Yejin's face was slightly pale, his expression stern, composed, and serious, making him look like a formidable figure not to be trifled with.
Hua Jie clenched the corner of his clothes, feeling a little apprehensive, keeping his gaze down. But as Gu Yejin passed by to leave, he deliberately exposed half of his profile towards him. At the same time, he spoke, "Eldest Miss."
The eldest daughter of the Mu family looked over upon hearing his voice. Gu Yejin also glanced over.
But he could only "see" a figure whose internal energy was turbid and whose spiritual power was mottled with impurities, relying on his spiritual sense. This person had accompanied Mu Junshi and Mu Nanxue earlier. He had assumed he was Mu Junshi's attendant and hadn't paid much attention. Now, seeing this person's low cultivation and his spiritual roots being only a four-elemental root with insufficient purity, he knew his guess was wrong. The Mu family shouldn't have assigned such a low-level guard to Mu Junshi and the others.
"He is..."
Mu Junshi, after Hua Jie inexplicably called out to her, had been watching him. Hua Jie did not shy away, but with his beautiful deer-like eyes, shimmering with watery light, he stared at her with anticipation and nervousness. What was he anticipating? What was he nervous about? Mu Junshi was amused by his "tea-like" maneuvering, clumsy and obvious, not even a tenth as skillful as her own in the past.
"He's merely a plaything to pass the time."
Clang—
The expression Hua Jie had maintained cracked, and he stood there stunned. At this moment, Mu Nanxue also walked over, glancing at Hua Jie. A hint of mockery flashed in her fiery eyes. "A mere plaything, you say."
Hua Jie was like those exceptionally proud but poor "little white flowers." He had thought that with this flawless face, he could make the eldest daughter of the Mu family fall in love with him at first sight, but now she had publicly humiliated him. His fingernails dug deeply into his palm.
Su Nü's focus was different; her apricot eyes were probing. A plaything? Had this eldest daughter of the Mu family also learned from the powerful figures in Fengdu, engaging in the practice of keeping young pets within their courtyards for amusement and pleasure? Unexpectedly, some of Su Nü's past illusions and admiration for this eldest daughter of the Mu family were shattered. She was a person with keen observation. Her cultivation might not be top-ranked in Fengdu, but her ability to survive safely and hold some influence in Shuofang City relied on her empathy and insight. Based on her brief interactions with this eldest daughter of the Mu family, observing her words, actions, and her attitude towards Gu Yejin, Su Nü couldn't reconcile her with the "she" that Gu Yejin occasionally mentioned. This feeling always arose, profound and indelible.
To be a "pet," this young man's face, to be honest, was the most beautiful Su Nü had ever seen. A youth of fifteen or sixteen, his eyes were clear and pure, capable of being either masculine or feminine, making "beautiful" the most suitable description. If he were to grow a bit older, who knew what a captivating face he would develop.
What Su Nü could think of, Gu Yejin naturally also considered. He couldn't describe the feeling of hearing that Mu Junshi wanted to keep such a "plaything" by her side. But he remembered someone. What happened seven years ago in the "Dragon Island Secret Realm" after he discussed matters with Gu Junshi and parted ways, and then encountered the threatening Dan Ya, he couldn't recall clearly. He only remembered waking up one day to find himself in Fengdu. Fengdu was a paradise for ghost cultivators; staying and cultivating there offered him only benefits. Later, he changed his surname to Mu and became the "Gu Junshi" of the eldest daughter of the Mu family, who found him. In these years, Mu Junshi had no longer had Liu Jiang Fusheng, who had been inseparable from her. He didn't know if something had happened between them back then. But he couldn't ask about these matters, and she hadn't mentioned the past to anyone. Now, with the appearance of this "plaything," and the fact that the usually indifferent Mu Junshi intended to keep him by her side, could it be that this person was special?
Gu Yejin asked Su Nü, "What does this person look like?"
Su Nü was taken aback. Seeing Gu Yejin's curiosity about this young man, she guessed that he must be jealous. For years, he had obeyed the eldest daughter of the Mu family without question, and their affection was so close. With someone intruding between them, he was bound to feel indignant and competitive. However, with so many people present, she couldn't distort the truth and could only describe his actual appearance: "It's hard to capture his delicate bone structure with a pool of spiritual spring water; it's hard to etch his radiant, world-shaking face with a wisp of starlight and moonlight. His skin is flawless, his lips are like peach petals, utterly unparalleled."
Hearing this, Hua Jie vaguely seemed to grasp the issue with Gu Yejin's eyes. However, upon hearing this description, a face appeared in Gu Yejin's mind, lacking specific features but piled with a jumble of flattering words described by others. That familiar and similar facial description made his expression sharpen. He turned his head, his terrifyingly cloudy gray pupils fixating on Hua Jie.
"Liu, Jiang, Fu, Sheng?"
Hearing this name again after so many years, not only did the eldest daughter of the Mu family fall silent, but even Mu Nanxue's mood became slightly complicated. That peerless genius who had astonished the entire "Newcomer Rankings," that individual with numerous titles, that youth with an exquisite appearance, had now been missing for years. Mu Nanxue couldn't help but recall the events of that year. It had only been seven years, yet she felt as if it were a lifetime ago for some reason.
When Hua Jie heard this name, his pupils contracted, and he turned ashen. He dared not meet the gaze of the congenitally blind Gu Yejin, and took a hasty step back, then cupped his face and said, "No, I don't know anything!"
Hearing Hua Jie's sharp cry, Mu Junshi frowned slightly. Why was he so startled by the name Liu Jiang Fusheng? Could it be that his having a face similar to Liu Jiang Fusheng was not an accident or coincidence, but held some hidden secret?
"If you don't know, why are you so agitated?" Mu Nanxue spoke quickly.
Hua Jie also realized he had been too flustered. "I, I've heard this name."
"From where have you heard it?" Mu Junshi asked.
This matter couldn't be hidden, nor could a lie be fabricated. Hua Jie knew that one lie required countless others to support it. But all the people present were not easily fooled, and he couldn't concoct a flawless lie. He could only tell the truth: "From, from Hua Lü."
Hua Lü? Mu Junshi and Mu Nanxue thought of the proud and cunning child wearing a patchwork coat and a felt cap in unison. How could he know Liu Jiang Fusheng, who had been missing for nearly seven years?
"How could he know this name?"
"I don't know. I only vaguely remember Hua Lü mentioning this name once, but I have amnesia and don't remember many things from before. If you ask me again, I won't remember. Perhaps I remember this name because it's too special, so it left a slightly deeper impression."
Amnesia? With the same face and a vague impression of the name "Liu Jiang Fusheng," could he be Liu Jiang Fusheng who had lost his memory and changed his personality? But their ages didn't match. It was impossible for Liu Jiang Fusheng to lose his memory, change his spiritual roots, and return to youth. Or perhaps he was Liu Jiang Fusheng's brother or a blood relative; such a thing was not impossible.
Mu Junshi: "Are you and that child named Hua Lü biological brothers?"
At the time, Hua Lü had denied it publicly. Now, Hua Jie also couldn't: "No, he came to Hua City around the age of three. He said he was hiding from someone and also looking for someone in Fengdu, but later, it seemed he stopped looking."
"Since he's not your biological brother, you seem quite concerned and anxious about him." Mu Nanxue mocked him, implying that he had chosen to "abandon" him in order to climb the social ladder.
To hide his guilt, Hua Jie lowered his eyes, pretending not to understand Mu Nanxue's sarcasm, and spoke with feigned deep affection: "After all, he and I depended on each other for over two years. I've always treated him like a brother, but it seems he doesn't think so and just casually left with a mysterious big man of unknown origin."
Mysterious big man? When this person was mentioned, Mu Nanxue immediately forgot to continue taunting Hua Jie. She said to Gu Yejin, "A powerful and unfathomable big man with a scar came from Shuofang City. He wields a black electric whip, his martial arts are unfathomable, and most importantly, he completely disregards the Mu family's authority, acting arrogantly and calmly."
Gu Yanjin's attention shifted from Hua Jie to the person Mu Nanxue was talking about. "I will investigate this person."
---
Thorn Forest
"Wahhhh—"
Hua Lü was startled by the sudden brightness and a piercing scream. He buried himself in the rough man's chest: "What the hell!"
The rough man walked forward directly carrying him. The screaming figure had already run and crawled away. Only a treasure – a bright lamp – fell to the ground. A low-grade treasure, with no special abilities, it only excelled in its primary function. With a glance, the lamp lying on the ground floated up. The rough man took it and held it to light the way for the child who was afraid of the dark.
"It's not a ghost, it's a half-lizard demon."
A half-demon refers to a demon with only half demon bloodline within its body. Generally, such mixed-bloods are despised and ostracized by demons, and their treatment by humans is not much better.
"Why was he screaming when he saw us?" Hua Lü swallowed and poked his head out, hearing that it wasn't a ghost.