Gu Qingyu changed back to her man"s robes and re-tied her hair with a hairband. She stared at the wooden hairpin on her palm, a sigh escaped her lungs while she slipped the accessory into her sleeve. As she walked out, she noticed Jia Qizhe had been waiting for her in the corridor.
"Not going down yet?" Gu Qingyu rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, let"s go." Jia Qizhe seemed pleased with Gu Qingyu"s obedience and went downstairs with a smug grin on his face. Gu Qingyu rolled her eyes again and followed him.
The table was set, and the rest of the party had already taken their seats. It appeared that they had been waiting for the two of them. Qi Wan caught Jia Qizhe"s grin and Gu Qingyu"s grim expression. He figured out what happened after he left the room, but he knowingly kept quiet on the subject.
Boss is important, but my life is even more so! If Gu Qingyu knew, she would vomit blood from rage.
With Xie Zang"s addition to the party, Qi Yichen and Qi Wan found a new partner to chat with. Who knew Xie Zang was so chatty! On the other hand, Murong Zuoyu had been quiet the whole time and refused to look at Gu Qingyu. Is it refusal or avoidance? Guilt ate away her guts.
Nightfall.
Gu Qingyu had changed into her pajamas and was about to crawl into bed. Then, there was some rustling from the trees outside her window. Normally it would be too faint to hear, but thanks to her cat demon powers, she has extrsharp hearing at night. And her powers had grown immensely after the contract with Yan Zun. She quietly gathered energy in her hand and shaped it into a blade. As she approached the window, she caught a sweet smell in the air. It smelled like flowers, her heart tightened at that realisation.
d.a.m.n! I did not see this move coming! My mistake!
Gu Qingyu immediately held her breath, but her strength was being sucked away bit by bit, the glowing blade in her hand was slowly dissipating as well. Her knees gave out and she fell backward onto her bed.
Someone opened the window and jumped in. Gu Qingyu forced her eyes open to see the intruder"s face clearly. It was the lady in pink, the one who led her upstairs and brought her a dress?! Did she want to hurt me? Isn"t she one of Qi Wan"s people?
"Still hasn"t collapsed? I"ve underestimated you." The lady laughed, the silver edge of the dagger in her hand gleamed under the moonlight. "Gu Qingyu."
She knows my real ident.i.ty?!
Gu Qingyu put up a front and smiled. She was surrounded by martial arts experts, help would arrive soon enough, she just needed to buy time. "Oh, I never thought I had such a widespread reputation."
"Gu Qingyu, don"t think about reinforcements." The woman smiled in a sinister charm. "This place is covered by my aura."
Aura? What does she mean?
Yan Zun had appeared once again, he hovered near Gu Qingyu as he mumbled to himself, "Hmm, this person does have an incredible aura, it looks like it would be hard to find us now."
Are you still my master?!
Gu Qingyu rolled her eyes. The pink lady thought Gu Qingyu was being cheeky. She walked over with feather-light steps. "I did not plan to take matters into my own hands, but those idiots are too incompetent..."
Those idiots? Does she mean the black a.s.sa.s.sins?
"You don"t work for Qi Wan?" Gu Qingyu grimaced.
The woman paused, then she laughed. "Of course not, I belong to His Majesty. But because they were so useless, His Majesty had to let me out to kill you." She gently placed her finger on her pink lips, her smile was as sweet as honey. But Gu Qingyu had no time to pay attention to that, she had to escape!
"Don"t try running away. Do you even know why I bother to tell you so many secrets? That"s because dead men tell no tales!" She lifted up her dagger. "The Lifeblood Jewel of Destiny belongs to His Majesty! Rest in peace!" She wasted no more words and drove the dagger down.
Slas.h.!.+
"What? You"re not continuing? Or, that"s all you got?" Gu Qingyu retorted with a smile. She was still lying on her bed, but she stopped the dagger with a firm grip. The blade sliced open her palm, blood splattered everywhere. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes and her hair had turned crimson. Luckily, Yan Zun was around. That rock finally has its uses!
The pink lady seemed afraid but she regained her composure and pushed down the dagger. Gu Qingyu refused to let go of the dagger, the blade inched closer and closer to her chest. Then the dagger stopped again. Gu Qingyu twisted her lips into a smile as she stood up and tossed the dagger away. The dagger flew across the room and jammed deeply into the wall. As Gu Qingyu admired Yan Zun"s powers, she felt her own body weaken. Something was holding her up, allowing her to go on, but once that power fades, she would collapse.
This must be the side-effects.
Gu Qingyu looked at the lady with a chilling glare and enveloped her with a mysterious force, the lady was no longer able to move or speak. Gu Qingyu chuckled. "One look at a stupid bird like you and I can tell that your master is as good as s.h.i.+t!"
The woman could understand "stupid bird" but… what even was "s.h.i.+t"?
"Don"t understand? Do you find it interesting? I knew you wouldn"t understand such high-level words! Then let me explain! s.h.i.+t is also known as whatever that"s in the toilet! Now you understand?" Gu Qingyu explained as condescendingly as she could. The lady"s face turned red and contorted with anger, it seemed that being unable to speak or fight back had aggravated her rage.
"Do you think my a.n.a.logy was so apt that you want to clap and cheer, but could not find the words to describe my wisdom? Then, you got too excited and your face is all red? Or is it that I"m too handsome, that you can"t help falling in love?" Gu Qingyu raised her eyebrows. She has taken trash-talking to new heights!
"Gu Qingyu, you…" The woman bit her tongue as a bid to break free from Gu Qingyu"s spell, but she was at a loss for words.
"Hey, don"t be so hasty, I understand, ok?" Gu Qingyu gave a meaningful smile while a streak of red light gathered in her hand.
The pink woman closed her eyes. "This is my incompetence! Gu Qingyu, kill me, destroy me, do whatever you want!"
Gu Qingyu was about to lower her blade without hesitation, but suddenly the world spun before her eyes. The pink lady sensed that Gu Qingyu"s spell had finally weakened, her eyes opened and she sent daggers of light into Gu Qingyu"s chest. Gu Qingyu could only watch as the daggers of light flew towards her, she no longer had the strength to dodge them. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for impact. The daggers made their mark, but it was neither deep nor light, as if something stopped the daggers. The pain caused her to open her eyes, a man stood in front of her. He was dressed in red robes, his black hair fanned out and blocked out everything else in her vision.
Xie Zang? No, it"s Yan Zun!
Yan Zun gazed upon the pink lady with stone-cold eyes,, his pale and boney fingers had wrapped around the lady"s arm, his nails dug into her skin. His vice-like grip had stopped her in her tracks. Then, a bright red light glowed from Yan Zun"s hand, the woman howled and was tossed out of the window like trash, the sound of a crash downstairs followed.
Yan Zun turned back to Gu Qingyu. "How are you? Let me have a look." He ordered her as he made Gu Qingyu lie back on her bed. His touch seemed to be real… and warm, like a real person. In an instant, whatever strength Gu Qingyu had left escaped her.
"Yu"er!" Mo Bai barged in.
"You"re finally here, isn"t it a bit late?" Yan Zun commented with an icy stare, then his body slowly vaporised and he vanished.
Maybe he left because the doctor is here? Actually, it is not even leaving. He"s just going back to his spirit world.
"Gu Qingyu!" Panic was evident on Jia Qizhe"s face, but he suppressed it.
"Downstairs…" Gu Qingyu whispered hoa.r.s.ely, the throbbing pain in her hands and her chest had made speaking increasingly difficult.
"Qi Yichen and Qi Wan already went down... d.a.m.n!" Jia Qizhe leaped out of the window. "Mo Bai, cure her! I owe you one!"
"I will even if you don"t tell me." Mo Bai closed the doors and windows. He took out a roll of cloth from his sleeve, needles of various sizes lined neatly in what appeared to be his needle roll.
Kill me, please! Just the thought of those needles on my body feels like torture!
Mo Bai gently smiled and stroked her forehead at the sight of worry and resistance in her eyes, "Don"t worry, believe in my skills, it won"t hurt."
Can I not believe you? It"s not like my belief in you would change anything!
"Really, it won"t hurt." Mo Bai gently slipped out a needle. Gu Qingyu finally gave in to the pain, her eyes rolled into her head and she pa.s.sed out.
After losing consciousness in the real world, Gu Qingyu arrived in the spirit world. And there he was, Yan Zun was in the hot spring. His eyes were closed, if she had not known better she would have thought that he was relaxing in the warm waters. But his shoulders were tense, his jaw was tight, there was a slight furrow between his brows. Yan Zun was far from relaxed, he was angry.
"Master…" Gu Qingyu started cautiously.
Yan Zun gave a "Hmph" and proceeded to ignore her.
"Master?" Gu Qingyu tried again, but he did not reply. So she scooted over and sat next to him, "Hey, Master, don"t be so upset! It looks like I owe you a few million dollars..."
Her voice softened as she saw the anger in Yan Zun"s eyes. She had never seen him like this, but for some reason, it felt familiar.
"Gu Qingyu!" Yan Zun finally snapped, "Did you realise the danger you have landed yourself in today?"
"What happened today?" Gu Qingyu pondered.
Nothing happened, aside from getting stabbed…
"You knew that form does not last long! And it will hurt you if you use it, and you still had the mood to goad that woman? In my eyes, you are the pile of s.h.i.+t!"
He"s even throwing insults like that, it looks like he is really angry…
"Had I not taken a stand and appeared in flesh, do you think you can still see me now?" Yan Zun stared into her eyes, anger still crackled in his eyes.
Actually, she wanted to ask about the whole "flesh" situation.
"Master, I…" Gu Qingyu began.