Well, trouble now.
Gu Chengming sat cross-legged on the bed, brows tightly knit.
With the Red Dust Art active, he could "see" the escaping Red Dust Qi with extreme clarity.
This Red Dust Qi was absurdly dense, and its aura was rather muddled, leaning more toward desire. Precisely because of this, if an ordinary cultivator wandered into it, they'd likely lose all self-control in less than half a cup of tea's time.
Nice—so he'd gone and cooked up an aphrodisiac series too.
At this thought, all sorts of game titles fitting the current situation automatically popped into Gu Chengming's mind—things like "Harmonious Joy Secret Medicine ~Sweet Bonds, Dangerous Scent~" and "Aphrodisiac Blender: Harmonious Joy Sect Sensual Night Chronicle."
—Damn, looks like I've been affected too.
The instant these thoughts surfaced, Gu Chengming hastily shook his head.
The good news was that although he was immersed in Red Dust Qi, the cultivation methods hadn't been greatly affected.
[The Red Dust Phantom Body Formula analyzed coolly: Things have come to this; further talk is pointless. The pressing matter is to understand the situation.]
Gu Chengming agreed wholeheartedly, closed his eyes, and once more channeled the residual sensing power within his body, trying to make sense of the situation before him.
A moment later, he reached two conclusions.
One good, one bad.
The good news was that this Red Dust Qi had indeed been concealed by some power.
From the outside, the Quiet Contemplation Court remained as calm as ever, without the slightest anomaly. The concealing power originated from the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation—that is, from the Yin-Yang Fish itself.
For some unknown reason, the Yin-Yang Fish had acted on its own to cover up the commotion he'd caused.
This meant the upper echelons of the Harmonious Joy Sect wouldn't detect the anomaly here for now; his identity should still be safe.
But the bad news was—
Though he hadn't been targeted by the sect's upper echelons, he seemed to have been noticed by the Yin-Yang Fish.
Gu Chengming could clearly feel that deep within that vast mass of yin-yang energy, a faint, indistinct "gaze" was watching him.
That gaze held no malice, yet couldn't be called goodwill either—it was more like a kind of curiosity?
[The Yin-Yang Creation Strategy raised its hand and said: The Red Dust Qi condenses without dispersing; even if concealed, given enough time it will still be noticed. Better to first disperse the Red Dust Qi from this place.]
Gu Chengming couldn't help but be startled. Immediately after, the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy within his body began operating on its own, attempting to disperse the Red Dust Qi within range back into the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation.
—Damn! Strat, my man, you're making me feel like I hardly know you.
He hadn't expected the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy to actually be reliable for once outside of matters between men and women. Feeling the surrounding Red Dust Qi continuously thin out, Gu Chengming finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, outside the court.
The moonlight was hazy, pink mist swirling.
Su Xiashao stood with hands on her hips, glaring furiously at Su Qiuzhi before her, her pretty face flushed red with anger.
"Su Qiuzhi! During the day you cursed me for being 'so desperate you'll take anything' and having 'low standards,' and at night you sneak over here to peep at people? Have you no shame?"
Su Qiuzhi was utterly disheveled at this moment. That surging Red Dust Qi from before had come too suddenly; she hadn't had time to react before falling under its influence.
It was only when Su Xiashao appeared that she'd snapped awake, realizing what she'd just been doing.
She lowered her head, her usual cold and aloof air completely gone, looking like a cat caught red-handed stealing fish, stammering as she tried to explain.
"I wasn't here to peep..."
"Oh? Then what were you here for? Admiring the moon?" Su Xiashao sneered coldly. "The moon over this courtyard is rounder than elsewhere, is it?"
"I came to see just what that apprentice's background is..."
"And then? You watched and watched until you were plastered against his window?"
"Never mind all that!" Su Qiuzhi abruptly raised her head, trying to justify the reasonableness of masturbating on someone's doorstep. "Didn't you feel it? The concentration of Red Dust Qi in this courtyard is all wrong!"
Su Xiashao was stunned.
Only then did she notice the faint layer of pink mist pervading the surroundings—compared to elsewhere, it was indeed excessively dense.
"Dense Red Dust Qi is your excuse for plastering yourself against someone's window?" Su Xiashao exposed her mercilessly. "How come I didn't lose control?"
Su Qiuzhi was left choking on her words.
Indeed—both of them being in the same Red Dust Qi, why did Su Xiashao seem perfectly fine?
Could it be that her own willpower was simply too poor?
"I'm telling you, it's real!"
She argued anxiously: "The moment I climbed in, I felt something was off. That Red Dust Qi is nowhere near a normal concentration—it's like it was drawn here by something..."
She paused, her gaze landing on the direction of the wing room, and lowered her voice. "That guy surnamed Gu—there's definitely something wrong with him!"
Hearing this, Su Xiashao immediately seized on the key point. "You only felt something was wrong after you climbed in?"
Then what the hell were you climbing over someone's courtyard wall for?!
"Uh?" Su Qiuzhi opened her mouth, but found she couldn't explain at all.
"And another thing!" Su Xiashao pressed relentlessly. "You say that Gu An has a problem? He's a medic apprentice from the Imperial Academy, a cultivator not even at the Third Realm—what problem could he possibly have?"
"You think the Harmonious Joy Sect's Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation is just for show? If there were really any anomaly, the sect's elders would have detected it long ago—would it be your turn to discover it?"
Su Qiuzhi was rendered speechless. Logically speaking, Su Xiashao's words truly had no flaws.
A medic apprentice from the Imperial Academy, with lowly cultivation—how could he possibly stir up such a massive amount of Red Dust Qi?
Moreover, the sect's Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation was operating as usual; if there were truly an anomaly, those elders in secluded cultivation couldn't possibly have shown no reaction.
But she had clearly felt that abnormal Red Dust Qi with her own body!
Su Qiuzhi simply couldn't find any grounds to argue, her fair face flushing crimson. "Think whatever you want! In any case, my conscience is clear!"
She glared fiercely at Su Xiashao, then turned to leave.
Watching that disheveled figure disappear, Su Xiashao curled her lip.
"Tch, stubborn to the bitter end."
—After returning to their rooms, both of them rubbed one out to their heart's content.
A quarter-hour later, the Red Dust Qi in the courtyard had completely dispersed, and Li Suizhuang had at last returned from gathering intelligence.
The moment she entered the room, Li Suizhuang set up a soundproofing barrier and spoke with a sigh:
"I met with many of the sect's elders and dug up some information... The Yin-Yang Fish's condition is more serious than we anticipated."
Saying this, Li Suizhuang's brows knit tightly:
"Based on my speculation, the Yin-Yang Fish's imbalance didn't just happen recently. As early as three years ago, the sect's elders detected the anomaly, but the signs at the time were still very slight and drew no attention."
"Three years ago?" Gu Chengming mused.
"Yes, three years ago, a group of disciples went out from the sect to train, and most of them met with misfortune."
Li Suizhuang's tone was somewhat heavy: "At the time, the sect attributed it to an attack by external enemies and didn't investigate deeply. But thinking back now, the cause of those disciples' deaths was probably not so simple."
She paused before continuing: "After that, the Yin-Yang Fish's fluctuations grew more and more frequent. The Sect Master and several elders tried various methods to suppress it, but with little effect. Until a month ago, when the Yin-Yang Fish completely lost control, and the sect had no choice but to seal the mountain."
Gu Chengming pondered for a moment. "Is the cause of the imbalance known?"
"Unclear." Li Suizhuang shook her head. "We only know that the yin qi within the Yin-Yang Fish keeps strengthening while the yang qi keeps declining... If this continues, once the yin-yang imbalance reaches its extreme, the entire Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation will collapse."
The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
Gu Chengming picked up his teacup but didn't drink, instead gazing thoughtfully at the gently rippling tea within.
He was hesitating over whether to tell Li Suizhuang about what had happened last night.
By rights, they were partners on this trip, and sharing intelligence was only proper... But that matter was simply too bizarre, and it involved the Yin-Yang Fish's "attention" toward him. Blurting it out rashly—who knew what consequences it might trigger.
[The Red Dust Phantom Body Formula was likewise pondering. After summarizing over a hundred possibilities in its mind and weighing the pros and cons, it finally said: You can tell her!]
—Damn, there's even an external-brain segment!
Seeing that even the Red Dust Phantom Body Formula thought it was fine to speak, Gu Chengming felt a weight lift from his heart and finally opened his mouth.
"Physician Li, last night... something happened."
Li Suizhuang raised her eyes to look at him, a hint of inquiry in her gaze.
Gu Chengming chose his words carefully and gave a brief account of last night's experience.
He said he'd tried to use the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy to sense the Yin-Yang Fish's condition, but had accidentally stirred up a large amount of Red Dust Qi.
He also said that the Red Dust Qi had been actively concealed by the Yin-Yang Fish, without alarming the sect's upper echelons.
"...So, I suspect the Yin-Yang Fish has already noticed me."
Having finished, Gu Chengming picked up his teacup and took a light sip, waiting for Li Suizhuang's reaction.
Li Suizhuang's expression was somewhat subtle.
She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.
"You mean..." Her voice was somewhat strained. "You were in the Quiet Contemplation Court last night, and drew in a large amount of Red Dust Qi?"
"Correct."
No wonder—when she'd passed near the Quiet Contemplation Court last night, she'd always felt the aura over there was somewhat abnormal.
So it was this kid who'd caused it?
And that Su Qiuzhi...
Li Suizhuang recalled the scene she'd chanced upon in the corridor last night.
At the time, Su Qiuzhi's expression had been panicked, her steps hurried, her whole person looking somewhat off. She'd assumed this cultivator had run into some cultivation trouble—she hadn't expected...
"Physician Li?"
Seeing her silent for so long, Gu Chengming called out.
Li Suizhuang came back to herself, gave a light cough, cast aside those stray thoughts, and fell into deep contemplation.
A moment later, she slowly spoke, a hint of uncertainty in her tone.
"The Yin-Yang Fish has existed for a thousand years and long since developed spiritual intelligence. But its essence remains an innate spiritual object; it doesn't possess true thinking capacity."
"All its behavior is based on some kind of instinct."
"The Yin-Yang Fish is currently in the agony of imbalance, and its instinct will drive it to seek anything that might help it recover balance. And your Yin-Yang Creation Strategy happens to have touched this instinct of its."
Gu Chengming mused.
If Li Suizhuang's analysis was correct, then the Yin-Yang Fish's attention toward him wasn't hostility, but a kind of... expectation?
"There's another possibility." Li Suizhuang's voice suddenly dropped low. "The Yin-Yang Fish's imbalance might not be a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity."
Gu Chengming had this same conjecture. "Someone is secretly controlling the Yin-Yang Fish?"
"I'm not certain." Li Suizhuang shook her head. "But the cause of those disciples' deaths three years ago, and the timing of the Yin-Yang Fish's sudden imbalance, are all too coincidental. If there really is someone stirring things up behind the scenes, then the Yin-Yang Fish choosing to conceal your presence takes on another layer of meaning."
"It doesn't want that person to discover you."
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing gravity in the other's eyes.
"In any case," Li Suizhuang stood up, her tone turning resolute, "understanding the Yin-Yang Fish's true situation is now a matter of utmost urgency."
"I'll try to dig up more information from the Sect Master. And you..."
She looked toward Gu Chengming, hesitating for a moment before saying: "If you get the chance, try to approach the Yin-Yang Fish?"
Gu Chengming nodded—this had been the very purpose of his trip.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance listened to the two's conversation, somewhat lost in the fog, but this didn't stop it from envisioning the script to come.]
[Next up is the plot where Heavenly Emperor Gu resolves the Harmonious Joy Sect's crisis, seizes that Yin-Yang Fish supreme treasure or whatever, and becomes the Harmonious Joy Sect Master, right?]
[Heh heh, if you ask me, whatever the schemes and plots—with Heavenly Emperor Gu's fortune, just steamroll straight through!]
—Hundred Emperor, your dreaming skills just keep getting more and more impressive.
Gu Chengming looked at the dialogue box before him and gave a helpless smile.
He couldn't shake the feeling that some kind of inverse-proportion function existed between the Hundred Emperor's IQ and its stat values.
If the Red Dust Phantom Body Formula was his external brain, then the Hundred Emperor was probably his external super-powered body.
Thinking this way, the tension of being "surrounded by a pack of wolves" within the Harmonious Joy Sect suddenly eased quite a bit.
Since he'd decided to go investigate the Yin-Yang Fish's condition, naturally the sooner he acted, the better.
Fortunately, with Li Suizhuang around, much of the intelligence-gathering and collection of necessary mission items didn't require Gu Chengming to lift a finger himself.
That night. The third quarter of the Zi hour.
The entire Red Dust Mountain had fallen into slumber, with only patrolling disciples still going through their routine rounds among the various pavilions. Within the wing room of the Quiet Contemplation Court, Gu Chengming opened his eyes.
He'd lain motionless on the bed for two full hours, using only his divine sense to perceive every movement around him.
He'd already figured out the patrol pattern.
Every half hour, a team of disciples would pass through the corridor outside the Quiet Contemplation Court. The previous patrol had just passed not long ago, and the next one's arrival was still nearly half an hour away.
This was the optimal window for action.
Gu Chengming rose silently, leaving a phantom body in his original spot. Without lighting a lamp, by the faint moonlight coming through the window lattice, he changed into a set of night-travel clothes suited for movement.
He pushed open the window, and a cool breeze rushed at his face, carrying a faint floral fragrance. The courtyard was utterly silent, with only that old osmanthus tree swaying gently in the night wind.
Gu Chengming took a deep breath, his figure flickering, and like a wisp of blue smoke he melded into the night.
During the day he'd already committed the rough terrain of Red Dust Mountain to memory. Now, relying on that memory, he deliberately chose the secluded little paths to travel through.
The moonlight was hazy, all sounds hushed.
Gu Chengming's footsteps were so light they were almost soundless; each step landed precisely to avoid dead branches and fallen leaves, leaving only a faint whisper of wind.
He advanced hugging the base of the walls, and when he came upon open areas, he used the cover of rockeries and flowering plants to pass quickly, never lingering anywhere.
After walking about a cup of tea's time, a side hall appeared ahead.
Gu Chengming slowed his pace, hid behind a tall ginkgo tree, and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
The side hall's door was ajar, with no light inside; it looked as though it hadn't been used in a long time. But Gu Chengming knew that passing through this side hall and going another hundred-some zhang further was the entrance leading to where the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation lay.
He was about to skirt around the side hall and continue on when his ears suddenly caught a faint anomalous sound.
Footsteps.
Very light, but definitely there.
Coming from the direction of the side hall, drawing closer to where he stood.
Gu Chengming's figure immediately froze. He channeled the Red Dust Art to conceal his aura and melded like water into the shadow cast by the ginkgo tree.
A moment later, a black figure slipped out from the side door of the side hall.
It was a male cultivator dressed in Harmonious Joy Sect disciple robes, around thirty years old, with ordinary features—if mixed into a crowd he'd draw absolutely no attention. But his trajectory of movement was very strange.
Though he'd come out of the side hall, he hadn't taken the main door but slipped out through the side door, his whole person exuding an air of furtiveness.
More importantly, the direction he was heading—was precisely where the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation lay.
Gu Chengming's eyes narrowed slightly.
Coincidence? Or some other scheme?
He decided to follow and see.
Gu Chengming kept a distance of about twenty zhang from that black figure—neither too far nor too near, able to see the other's movements clearly yet not be discovered.
That man's lightness skill wasn't particularly clever—full of holes, at least in Gu Chengming's eyes—but for some reason, he could always precisely avoid the patrolling disciples.
The two, one ahead and one behind, passed through several courtyards, skirted a bamboo grove, and finally arrived at the entrance of a deep, secluded valley.
At the valley's entrance stood a stone stele, engraved with the two characters "Yin-Yang," the brushwork sharp and fierce. On either side of the stele burned an everlasting lamp; the dim yellow flames swayed gently in the night wind, casting the entrance in flickering light and shadow.
But strangely, there were no guards here.
By rights, the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation was the foundation of the Harmonious Joy Sect—how could its entrance possibly be unguarded?
That black figure had clearly noticed this too. He hesitated at the entrance for a moment, then took out a jade talisman from his robes and waved it before the stele.
The runes on the stele flickered a few times, and that faint, indistinct restriction at the entrance dissipated.
The man slipped inside, vanishing into the depths of the valley.
Gu Chengming hid behind a boulder not far off, his gaze flickering.
This man possessed a command talisman to enter the forbidden ground.
This meant he was either a core member with the authority to enter this place, or had obtained the command talisman from some core member.
Either way, the act of sneaking alone into a forbidden ground in the dead of night reeked of oddity.
Gu Chengming didn't rashly follow.
He waited about twenty breaths, and after confirming there was no other movement around, slipped out from behind the boulder and quietly arrived at the valley entrance.
That restriction had restored itself after the command talisman left, but to Gu Chengming, this was no difficulty at all.
He took out a restriction-breaking talisman that Li Suizhuang had prepared in advance and gently pressed it against the stele. He used his sleeve to block the light of the burning talisman script, and after just three breaths, a gap large enough for a person to pass through appeared in the restriction.
Gu Chengming slipped inside.
The scene within the valley was utterly different from the outside world.
Dense yin and yang energies converged here, forming visible streams of black and white qi that slowly circulated in midair. A rather mystical aura pervaded the air, and Gu Chengming immediately channeled the Qingxin Formula to seal off the influence of that aura.
He advanced along the sole stone path through the valley, his steps slow and gentle, but his senses stretched to their utmost.
The rock walls on both sides of the valley were covered with ancient runes, which glowed faintly under the nourishment of the yin and yang energies—they looked to have existed for who knew how many ages.
After walking about a hundred-some zhang, the way ahead suddenly opened up.
A massive underground lake appeared in Gu Chengming's field of vision.
The lake water displayed an eerie black-and-white dual color, sharply divided yet intertwining at the boundary, forming a natural taiji pattern.
And at the center of the lake, a massive fish-shaped illusory silhouette flickered in and out of view.
That was the illusory image of the Yin-Yang Fish. Though the Yin-Yang Fish was not present here, as the formation eye of the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation, the formation of this place held a certain connection to the Yin-Yang Fish.
Gu Chengming's mind was involuntarily drawn to that illusory image, and the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy within his body began to faintly stir, but he quickly came back to himself.
Because he'd spotted that black figure. The man was standing on a reef at the lake's edge, and at some point a bead as black as ink had appeared in his hand, which he was slowly extending toward the Yin-Yang Fish's illusory image in the lake.
Gu Chengming's pupils abruptly contracted.
The aura emanating from that bead... was too familiar—cold, decaying, carrying a nauseating aura of death.
That was the aura unique to the Eternal Life Sect!
Almost the instant he recognized this cold aura, Gu Chengming's eyes were filled with an extreme killing intent.
He had no intention of probing at all. Taking a deep breath, the spiritual power within his body surged madly like ten thousand streams returning to the sea.
—Hundred Emperor, aid me!
In an instant, a terrifying aura erupted from within his body. Gu Chengming's figure vanished from where it stood in an instant, leaving only a trampled, shattered afterimage where he'd been.
That Eternal Life Sect member hadn't even had time for an expression to fully surface before Gu Chengming's fist—wrapped in the Hundred Emperor's divine might—had already, with an air-tearing shrill scream, slammed heavily into the very center of his back.
This fist—crushing all in its path!
There was no anticipated sound of cracking bones, because under the grinding of that absolute force, the opponent's protective spiritual power couldn't hold out for even an instant before shattering completely. Immediately after, the man's spine, organs, sinews, and flesh were shaken into a sky full of fragments the moment the fist's force burst out through his body.
Amid the muffled bursting sound, that Eternal Life Sect member was like a rotten tomato struck by a heavy hammer—his upper body exploded in an instant, turning into a cloud of blood mist and blurred rotten flesh that sprayed out in a fan shape, splattering the reef ahead.
The remaining husk collapsed limply to the ground like a tattered sack, long since unrecognizable as human.
A single breath of time? No, merely an instant.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance was quite pleased that its judgment had proven correct.]
[It had said all along that as long as Heavenly Emperor Gu just steamrolled straight through, killing all in his path, he'd find the clues!]
Gu Chengming, on the other hand, was somewhat vexed. Dammit, affected by the Hundred Emperor—his body had reacted faster than his brain and just beaten the guy to death outright. If he'd captured him alive, he might've been able to interrogate more information out of him.
Still, it was no big deal. Though this cultivator looked to be at the peak of the Second Realm, it was hard to say he had no hidden strength. Once entangled in a fight with him, failing to capture him alive—drawing others' attention would be a minor matter; alerting the enemy and letting the force scheming everything within the Harmonious Joy Sect notice something was wrong would be the true case of losing the greater for the lesser.
His gaze fell on that black bead that had rolled onto the ground. The bead was pitch-black all over, exuding a nauseating yin qi, with some twisted runes faintly visible on its surface.
What was this thing?
He was just about to reach out and pick it up when the air around him suddenly congealed for an instant.
Hummm—
A sharp alarm suddenly rang out through the entire valley!
Immediately after, the yin and yang energies above the lake churned violently, and that flickering fish-shaped illusory image abruptly opened its eyes.
Gu Chengming had no time to think much. After quickly cleaning up the blood and flesh fragments here, he grabbed the corpse from the ground, hoisted that still-bleeding body onto his shoulder, and at the same time scooped up that black bead and stuffed it into his robes.
One incense stick of time earlier.
The main peak of Red Dust Mountain, the Council Pavilion.
The night had grown deep, but the pavilion was still brightly lit.
Li Suizhuang sat properly in the guest seat. The teacup before her had been changed three times, tea fragrance curling upward, yet no one had the heart to savor it.
Across from her sat three elders of the Harmonious Joy Sect. In the center was a woman who looked to be around forty, her features exceptionally well-maintained, a purple palace dress setting off her dignified grace. She was Yun Ni, an elder of the Harmonious Joy Sect—that is, the "Senior Sister Yun" who had greeted them at the mountain gate during the day.
To Yun Ni's left was a gaunt old woman, her head of silver hair combed into a simple bun, her features withered. To her right was a maiden who looked no more than twenty-some, with a lovely appearance and an ethereal air, clad in white whiter than snow. But Li Suizhuang knew this seemingly youngest elder was actually four hundred years old—she'd merely mastered the art of preserving her youth, maintaining this maiden's appearance.
"Suizhuang, how have these years at the Imperial Academy been?"
Yun Ni's tone was gentle, as if merely making small talk with a long-lost junior.
But Li Suizhuang had spent over a hundred years in the Harmonious Joy Sect and knew well the depth of this Senior Sister Yun's cunning. The seemingly casual question was, in fact, probing at every turn.
"Thanks to Senior Sister's concern, Suizhuang has been well at the Imperial Academy." Li Suizhuang bowed slightly, her tone respectful. "the Master has treated me generously, and my colleagues at the Imperial Academy have been quite considerate as well."
"That's good, that's good."
Yun Ni nodded, picked up her teacup and took a light sip, but her gaze circled faintly, indistinctly, over Li Suizhuang's face.
"Come to think of it, this time you've returned to the sect, Suizhuang—besides visiting old friends, you surely have other purposes as well?"
Li Suizhuang's heart tightened, but her expression didn't waver.
"Senior Sister jests... Suizhuang has been away from the sect for many years and has always held the sect dear in her heart. This time happens to coincide with the Imperial Academy's rest days, so I thought I'd come back to have a look."
"Is that so?" Yun Ni's smile didn't change. "I thought it was because of Fu Xiaoxiao's matter."
Li Suizhuang's movements stalled slightly. She paused, then met Yun Ni's gaze. "In returning to the sect this time, Suizhuang does indeed intend to see Senior Sister Fu Xiaoxiao..."
Yun Ni gazed at her, and after a long while gave a light smile.
"Suizhuang is still that forthright type after all."
Elder Kurong beside her suddenly spoke: "Forthrightness is a good thing, but some matters can't be solved with forthrightness alone. Fu Xiaoxiao's matter is far more complicated than you imagine. The waters here run deep."
Li Suizhuang respectfully lowered her head. "Please instruct me, Second Elder."
But Elder Kurong didn't continue; she merely closed her eyes again.
The atmosphere turned somewhat subtle for a moment.
Seeing this, Elder Jingxin spoke up to smooth things over.
"Second Senior Sister has always been blunt and outspoken. Junior Sister Suizhuang, please don't take offense."
Her voice was clear and pleasant, like spring water in a mountain stream. "Senior Sister Fu's matter is indeed thorny; the whole sect is troubled by it. If Junior Sister Suizhuang could truly help, that would naturally be for the best."
Li Suizhuang was about to reply when an inexplicable unease suddenly welled up in her heart.
That feeling came without any warning, as if something had struck her heart hard.
Was it... Gu Chengming's side?
Her brows knit slightly, but her expression revealed nothing.
Almost at the same moment, the three elders across from her simultaneously changed color.
"This is..."
Yun Ni abruptly rose to her feet, her gaze cast toward a certain direction deep within Red Dust Mountain.
"The Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation!"
Li Suizhuang's heart clenched violently.
She forced herself to stay calm, feigning a look of bewilderment. "Senior Sister, what's happened?"
Yun Ni didn't answer her question but strode quickly toward the pavilion door. "Senior Sister Kurong, Junior Sister Jingxin, come with me to take a look!"
Elder Kurong's figure flickered and she'd already appeared at the doorway, her speed utterly inconsistent with her decrepit, aged appearance.
Elder Jingxin followed close behind, glancing at Li Suizhuang before leaving, a hint of apology in her tone.
"Junior Sister Suizhuang, I'm afraid tonight's reminiscing will have to end here. Go rest first; we can discuss anything else tomorrow."
"Wait." Li Suizhuang called her back.
"Senior Sister Jingxin, what exactly has happened?" Her tone carried just the right amount of concern. "Over at the formation... has some incident occurred?"
Elder Jingxin hesitated a moment, then still gave a brief explanation: "Someone has intruded upon the place where the Twin Yin-Yang Fish Formation lies."
A look of surprise appeared on Li Suizhuang's face. "Intruded?"
"Unclear." Elder Jingxin shook her head. "But whoever it is, daring to trespass into the formation's core means they must bear the consequences."
With that, she turned into a beam of white light and gave chase in the direction of Yun Ni and Kurong.
In the Council Pavilion, only Li Suizhuang remained.
After pondering briefly, Li Suizhuang stepped out of the Council Pavilion and gave chase toward the forbidden ground.
Her reason was simple—as a former disciple of the Harmonious Joy Sect, hearing that someone had intruded upon the formation, going to help was only natural.
The night wind howled, stirring her white hair and skirts.
Li Suizhuang's speed grew faster and faster, and the unease in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
Gu Chengming... you'd better not run into any trouble.
At the same time.
On the little path outside the Quiet Contemplation Court, Su Qiuzhi, wrapped in an ink-colored cloak, hid behind an old scholartree, staring fixedly at that tightly shut wing-room window.
She'd come again.
Yes, she'd come again!
What had happened last night was too bizarre; that surging Red Dust Qi was absolutely abnormal. But that fool Su Xiashao simply didn't believe her words, and even took her for someone protesting too much to cover a guilty conscience.
She had to find evidence, to prove that the apprentice named Gu An really did have a problem.
Then she could fling the evidence in Su Xiashao's self-righteous face and see how she'd dare mock her again.
Harboring such thoughts, Su Qiuzhi had already been crouching in wait here for nearly a full hour.
But that window remained tightly shut the whole time, without any movement inside either.
Could that person already be asleep?
Su Qiuzhi was thinking just this when a faint stirring suddenly came from the distance.
The footsteps were very light, but in the silent night they were especially clear.
Su Qiuzhi immediately held her breath and shrank her entire body into the tree's shadow.
A moment later, a black figure vaulted in over the courtyard wall.
It was that apprentice! Su Qiuzhi's eyes instantly lit up—sneaking out secretly this late at night, he really was up to no good!
But immediately after, she noticed something off.
What was that on his shoulder?
The moonlight was hazy, and Su Qiuzhi couldn't see too clearly—she could only faintly make out that it was a long, rectangular bundle, tightly wrapped in some dark-colored cloth, looking heavy.
Gu An pushed open the wing-room door and set the bundle on his shoulder down onto the ground.
"Riiip—"
That was the sound of cloth being torn open by brute force, especially jarring in the dead silence of the night.
Su Qiuzhi's eyes widened as she saw Gu Chengming half-crouching on the ground. That Imperial Academy medic apprentice who'd looked so gentle and low-key during the day now had half his face hidden in darkness.
He extended his slender fingers, dragging a corpse out from that black cloth sack.
No, it could no longer be called a corpse.
It was a mass of flesh violently crushed, every bone broken, soft and limp like mud—the chest cavity caved in, ribs turned outward, the internal organs seemingly churned into a lump of slop, piled sticky and viscous within the shattered abdominal cavity. Most terrifying was the head: the crown of the skull entirely shattered open, pale-white brain matter mixed with blood, flowing down that already twisted, deformed face.
Gu Chengming's grip was very strong. He grabbed that "rotten flesh" by the collar and shook it out of the sack like discarding a bag of garbage.
"Crk." That was the sound of the broken ribs dislocating once more amid the dragging.
Su Qiuzhi felt a chill surge straight from the soles of her feet up to the crown of her skull. That Eternal Life Sect member's face was turned right toward her direction, the eyeballs bulging out of their sockets from the pressure, glaring dead and unclosed into the void, as if recounting what a terrifying slaughter he'd just suffered.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Su Qiuzhi heard the sound of her own heartbeat.
That sound grew louder and louder, heavy as though someone were beating a drum right beside her eardrum.
At that very moment, Gu Chengming's movements halted. He abruptly raised his head, looking toward Su Qiuzhi's direction.
The two's gazes collided fiercely in midair, and Su Qiuzhi's mind went instantly blank.
The next second.
Su Qiuzhi merely felt a blur before her eyes, and the air before her abruptly distorted for an instant. Flying swords from who-knew-where instantly locked down every position around her.
"Whoosh—"
Gu Chengming's face had already appeared less than three inches from her, the two's noses almost pressed together.
Su Qiuzhi could clearly see her own ashen-faced reflection in Gu Chengming's pupils.
—Now I'm done for.
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