Liu Yue closed in on Gu Yichen. Getting within an appropriate distance, her hand encased in blue qi shot out. Just as the fist was about to slam into his chest, Gu Yichen stepped aside, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
"We are all civil—" Liu Yue ignored his words and, regaining her balance, followed up with a spinning kick. Her foot felt the heaviness of coming in contact with something solid, but not quite flesh. Gu Yichen was thrown back. Not giving him a chance, she shaped her qi into a spear and thrust forward.
The sharp blue tip pierced Gu Yichen's shoulder. He didn't show any sign of pain, only resignation. The next moment his body swelled and burst into a rain of paper slips. Liu Yue was pushed back several steps from the power of the blast. A second Gu Yichen emerged from where the first one had been. "If you have vented your anger, can we speak like civilized people now?"
Several thick vines emerged from beneath his feet and in the blink of an eye wound around his legs, holding him in place. They gradually made their way up his body. First, his legs were bound. Then his hands and chest. In the end, only his head remained free.
Xiao Ming looked at him with a predatory gaze. She clenched her fist. The vines circled around Gu Yichen's neck and came closer, narrowing down their size and strangling him in the process. Suddenly, the second Gu Yichen also burst into paper slips and a third one appeared beside the raised vines. "At least now?" he asked.
Xiao Ming lowered her hand and all her vines retreated into the earth. "It certainly feels good. Maybe we should do this a few more times later."
"You would have killed me if I was really here," Gu Yichen said in a self-deprecating voice.
"Come on, don't be so sad," Xiao Ming cheerfully said. "If the real you were here, I would have just broken a bone or two."
"So where are the others?" Liu Yue asked while walking toward them. "Don't tell me that everyone is roaming around the mountain."
Before Gu Yichen could speak, a rustling sound of leaves came from the forest behind. Turning their heads, they saw Gu Da walk out of the dark shadows cast by the looming trees. He flashed a warm smile at the trio. "I thought that I would be the first to arrive after getting lost. But it seems like I am not even in the top three."
"All the best for next time," Xiao Ming smiled back mischievously. "If there is ever one. Though I doubt that the results would change much."
"Do you know what happened back then?" Liu Yue looked at Gu Da and then turned her head to face Gu Yichen, who shook his head in denial. Looking at this, Gu Da's eyes narrowed, but maintaining his facial expressions he didn't say anything for now. Suspicions still grew in the back of his mind.
The bushes in the back rustled just then. The group turned their head to see Tieshan walking out side by side with a six-legged demonic wolf whose fur glistened beneath the lights thrown by the bright lamps lit on the fences surrounding the Gu Estate. The tall boy waved at the others and released his hold on the demonic beast. Instead of fleeing, the Foundation Establishment wolf whimpered and knelt down in submission, frozen in fear.
Liu Yue hopped toward the wolf and, bending down, gently patted its head a few times. In response, the demonic beast shuddered even more, its instincts screaming that death loomed over it. Liu Yue raised her head and glared at Tieshan. "You shouldn't pick up on the weak!" She tacitly ignored her own behavior while searching for a way out of the forest. Tieshan rubbed his chin at a loss for words.
The awkward situation did not last long. Two loud huffing breaths filled the area. Lingling stepped out of the forest, her clothes and face dusty. She carried Xiaomeng on her back, who held on tightly with her eyes closed. "How much longer?" Xiaomeng asked from the back.
"You can open your eyes now, we have reached our destination." Lingling assured her. Narrowing her eyes into tiny slits, Xiaomeng looked around their surroundings with her finite vision, and as her eyes fell on the others, she let out a sigh of relief. "Finally free from that—" Even before she finished her words, the land underneath them shook and from within the forest a loud screech rang out. A twin-headed centipede rushed out after the two girls.
Xiaomeng and Lingling both screamed and ran. More like one ran and the other cheered from her back. Darting forward with inhuman speed, Lingling passed everyone else and rushed toward the light of the Gu Residence illuminated at a distance.
Tieshan looked at the approaching monstrosity and, taking two steps ahead, punched out. "No!" Gu Da tried to run but was a little too late. Tieshan's fist coated in black qi slammed into the large centipede which was nearly thrice his own size, blasting its head off and killing it in an instant. The dead demonic beast's body suddenly swelled and burst, staining a large patch of land around it in its slimy and foul-smelling green blood. Unluckily, all those standing there were caught in the aftermath. Xiaomeng and Lingling escaped by a narrow breath.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…" Xiao Ming looked at her hand, feeling the sticky wetness that enveloped her body completely. Beside her, Liu Yue had formed a barrier over herself just in time due to Gu Da's sudden warning, averting the disaster. Alas, the warning giver himself was not too fine, covered from head to toe in the demonic creature's blood.
The atmosphere suddenly chilled. Rong Ning who had exited the forest wrinkled her nose due to the horrible stench spreading in the area. Frosty mist spread beneath her, forming icy steps that jutted high out of the ground, allowing her to traverse the area without coming into contact with the filth. She didn't spare a single glance to the victims of the demonic centipede's self-implosion.
"Arghhh," Xiao Ming roared and circulated her qi into the ground. Thick roots emerged from underneath Tieshan, circling around his limbs and raising him into the air. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!" Xiao Ming shouted. Yet no matter how much she tried, her vines were not able to inflict a scratch on Tieshan's body. It was also a fact that she wasn't going all out and just venting her anger for her current horrible state. Would this foul smell that resembled rotten eggs mixed with spoiled fish and a few other things she couldn't bring herself to name, and was clinging to her, even go away after washing? She just didn't want to smell bad!
Tieshan was thrown to the ground from the middle of the tingling he was enjoying from the roots. His body fell and sloshed around some of the slimy green blood, making waves in the already uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Okay, that certainly didn't go too well," Gu Yichen chimed from the side. "Luckily, we have just the right herbal baths in the residence to deal with these kinds of situations." He winked at Xiao Ming.
"Will this smell really go away?" Xiao Ming nearly gagged while speaking.
"Of course." Gu Yichen nodded. "This kind of thing happens every once in a while. There are a lot more demonic beasts in the Mengling Mountains who are quite weak but dealing with their aftermath is too much of a hassle. And that smell is not quite pleasing, when dozens of people in the house are constantly reeking of it. So, after much trial and error, we have developed the herbal bath that deals with this problem," he explained proudly.
"I didn't ask for a history lesson." Xiao Ming grumbled. "By the way, why are you still okay?" she asked, looking at his spotless appearance. Gu Yichen's figure shattered into tiny paper fragments and another Gu Yichen emerged from behind the first one.
So, he can also do that intentionally, Liu Yue noted at the back of her mind. Tieshan had also gotten up and joined the others.
Even though I am just a soul, I am still feeling nauseated just looking at you, the remnant soul spoke in Gu Da's mind. Moreover, that boy, Yichen, was clearly lying some time ago. I don't know what goes on in your clan but keep your guard up at all times. I have a hunch that something is about to happen. And my hunches are mostly right.
I'll keep that in mind, Gu Da replied. He had also felt a little off from the time he had arrived here. He was just not able to put a finger on what the problem exactly was.
Zhao Feng, the one and only member who was completely forgotten, trudged out of the forest with heavy steps. He had been teleported with Rong Ning, who killed the demonic beast standing beside them and soon disappeared from the clearing. Left alone, he had made his way through the forest. After several wrong turns and a few instances of nearly becoming food for a group of Core Formation demonic beasts, he had found his way out, only to be greeted with the remnants of the demonic centipede. Taking the long route, he bypassed the slimy stuff covering the ground, and fell in stride with the others.
Xiaomeng and Lingling who had gone ahead encountered a woman wearing a servant's attire standing at the edge of the compound. Looking at the two girls approaching, she bowed her head. "Welcome honored guests, the Young Master has sent me to take you all inside and attend to your needs." Her hair was tied back in a plain bun that accentuated her sharp features.
"Hurry up! We have to go inside quickly. That centipede is… is…" As Xiaomeng turned her head back, the centipede was nowhere in sight. Realization dawned on her, and also on Lingling.
"Quickly," Lingling said frantically. "The others must be covered in that yucky stuff. We have to go inside before they come here, or else we might also get infected by that stuff."
Looking at the frantic behavior of the two girls, the maid gave a stiff smile and leading them, walked toward the entrance to the Gu Estate. On the opposite side of the walls, bright light illuminated the residences even in dark of the night. Rong Ning also joined them at some point. At first, Xiaomeng and Lingling were worried, but looking at her spotless appearance, they both let out sighs of relief.
The two girls had been teleported together. When they regained their footing, they were in the middle of a fight between several demonic beasts. Using her physical mobility, Lingling had picked up Xiaomeng and darted into the forest. Instead of retreating, the two girls climbed up the tall tree and watched the fight unfold while hiding their presence. Though all the demonic beasts were weaker than them, they rarely got to see such a sight.
The demonic centipede that was involved in the brawl was killed. Its corpse bulged and after a certain point burst, splattering everyone else with that slimy and foul-smelling blood, essentially ending the fight. The two girls were seated atop the trees hence they were saved. Yet the strong stench invaded their noses, making them gag. They quickly escaped from that place. The next time they encountered another demonic centipede, all their will to fight had vanished in an instant, and all they could do was run.
Coming back to the present, the maid led the trio through the front entrance. As their feet touched the ground inside the large door, something akin to a spiritual sense washed over them. It was very thin and hard to detect. If the three girls were not as sensitive to energy as they were, they would not even have detected it. It didn't seem harmful.
Since the Gu clan was a renowned cultivation clan, the trio had expected the atmosphere to be a little livelier than the silence before them. The straight street cutting through the center of the estate was empty and destitute. Although the homes lining the road had their lights on, the voices supposed to be coming from inside were absent. The whole estate was illuminated with spiritual lamps, and still was somehow able to give off a dreary presence of loneliness. For a moment they wondered whether they had come to the right place.
"Please don't mind it," the maid said, looking at their uncertain expressions. "The people of the estate like to keep to themselves." At that moment, the others also entered through the entrance.
"Why didn't you warn us ahead of time?" Xiao Ming threw Lingling and Xiaomeng an accusatory glance. Liu Yue had used her qi to create water to wash the affected ones, but the stench still lingered.
Lingling pinched her nose and took several steps back. "I told you to run but you didn't. How is that my fault?"
Xiao Ming would have lashed out if not for the fact that Lingling was genuinely giving her an innocent look. Along with Xiaomeng giving a similar look from beside her, the effect was doubled. Why was not everyone like Tieshan? She could only complain in her heart.
"We are getting late." Gu Yichen walked to the front. "Let's hurry up." He guided the group through the empty street that led straight to the main family's residence. Three stories high and spread on all sides, giving off a feeling of history and grandeur, the main residence occupied the area right at the center of the whole estate.
The two maids standing at the front welcomed the small entourage. "Take them to the herbal bath." Gu Yichen pointed at Xiao Ming, Gu Da and Tieshan.
"I also want to take a bath," Liu Yue said.
"Me too. Me too." Lingling jumped to emphasize her point.
Gu Yichen's brows furrowed. "Do one thing. Take them all." Giving the order, he climbed the stairs and entered the main house. The maids led the small group from the side. The boys were taken to the right and the girls to the left. Special bathhouses were constructed for the convenience of multiple guests at the same time. The bathrooms were segregated by walls, each engraved with dozens of arrays, isolating them completely from each other.
Opening the door, Xiaomeng blinked twice in rapid succession. The area was even larger than her room back in the sect. Not wasting time, she closed the door behind her and began to enjoy herself. After a long time, she was reminded of her home back in the upper realm. There she could take such baths regularly.
The water was warm against her skin. It also had a very nice smell. It was as if several spiritual herbs and plants were blended in just the right proportion so that they all came together naturally to form this fascinating scent. After soaking for an hour, her strained muscles had relaxed, and her mind was also at peace. It was time to get up. Drying herself off, she wore her sect clothes and exited the bathhouse. The other girls soon came out as well. All their faces had a tinge of rosiness, even Rong Ning.
The maid waiting outside directed them to the hosting area where most of the guests were supposed to gather. Not long after, the whole group from the Jade River sect was seated in the reception hall, waiting for the head of the Gu Family, Gu Yichen's father, to arrive. The door behind them slid open. All eyes turned. Standing tall and giving them a deep look was none other than Li Mingjian who was supposed to be in closed-door seclusion with the Second Elder.